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My post op "plan" has been pretty much opposite of yours. Despite reading all the "requirements" of successful sleevers to track my calories, track my carbs, track my protein, plan my meals, use fit bit, Use MFP, weigh everyday, etc. I chose to not do any of those things. Sounded too much like being on a diet to me. And I refuse to be on a diet the rest of my life. I did track my fluids and protein for the first month, because that was such a critical healing period and drinking enough was so hard. But once I could eat Regular food and drink pretty well, I have just been winging it. I don't own a food scale, I don't use measuring cups, I don't plan my meals, and I don't have an app for tracking anything. I eat whatever I'm in the mood for following the rule protein first, then veggies, then carbs. I also don't go out of my way to go "low fat". Our body needs a certain amount of good fats for healthy cell function and vitamin absorption. With that being said, I pretty much get stuffed on protein and a small amount of veggies and have yet to really even eat carbs. (Had a couple bites of rice noodles once and had 1 bite each of cheesecake and tiramisu at a party 2 weeks ago). I actually don't think I'm getting enough veggies, so I do try to drink a glass of V8 everyday. And I do take all my vitamins. I weigh myself once/week and I was on a stall for a month when I only lost 2 pounds. But I didn't fret over it because I know stalls are a normal thing. Even with the stall I've lost almost 60 pounds since Dec. 4. I'm thrilled with my sleeve and I'm living my life without being obsessed with food or feeling like I'm on a diet. I guess only time will tell if "my way" works for long term success. I also don't have followup visits with a doctor or nutritionist, so I don't have anyone telling me I'm doing it "wrong". As for bananas, I blend one up with a chocolate premier protein and milk for a huge 32 oz protein drink at least 3 times/week. Maybe you should take step back from your regimen for a week or two. No tracking, no weighing, no counting. Just eat what you want following the golden rule of protein and veggies. Try to limit carbs as they will not fill you up and they just make you want more carbs. See how that feels for you.

Congrats! You are such a better exerciser than me. I was on the treadmill at home for the first month, but then when I got sick with a Clostridial infection. I was afraid to do ANYTHING that might make me break a sweat because I was pretty much dehydrated for 5 weeks ( had to get IV fluids 3 times). Now that I 'm feeling better I'm back on my recumbent bike but only 3-5 miles/day. Really, I just hate exercise, but I can definitely tell the muscle loss. As for size, I'm exactly where you are....18 is a little baggy, but 16 isn't quite right yet. Having to wear long underwear for work everyday definitely affects what's comfy, though. So glad you are doing well! Yeah to OCC alumni!

That's right, not just one, but two of the ORIGINAL sliders....White Castle Cheeseburgers. I used to love these in college (especially drunk at 2am). But as a "good" sleever, I fed all of the bun portion to the dogs and just ate the savory beef, cheese and onions. Mmmmm. 14g protein/17g fat/zero carbs. Not really a "slider' by WLS standards, though, as I was very full afterwards. But the dogs weren't.

3 months.

I had issues sleeping, too. Melatonin can help, but The best thing I started doing was drinking a big cup of Sleepytime Extra herbal tea right before bedtime. The warmth on my tummy is very soothing and relaxing and the camomille and valerian helps with sleep. Not to mention the extra 12oz of fluid to add to your daily total.

I'm a little confused about these third party "coordinators". If you do your research and find the surgeon you like, why can't you just book your surgery directly with their office? Why would you have to go through a middleman? Seems to me it's like going through a travel agent instead of just booking a flight directly with the airline. You end up paying them for something you could do yourself. This isn't the first story I've heard about someone getting ripped off by a medical tourism company. Seems like when something goes wrong they blame the surgeon, who you can't actually contact directly, but still keep your money. I had my surgery with Dr. Ortiz and Dr. Martinez at Obesity Control Center and I booked directly with them. They had patient coordinators, but they were OCC staff, not a separate company. I have been able to corresponded with the OCC doctors directly both pre and postop.

I really liked Dr. Jimenez. He sits down and goes over your health survey in person and he does your ECG. I was wearing a packer jersey the day of my surgery and that sparked quite a conversation because he is a Vikings fan.

My surgeon uses a 32 and oversews, so it doesn't get much tighter! I'm only 3 months out with outstanding restriction, but It should loosen up at. 6-12 months from what I hear.

I had my weekly weighin yesterday and I am no longer obese. My BMI puts me at just overweight. I'm not big on the importance of numbers, but I'm still doing a little happy dance.

Congrats! I downgraded (or upgraded?) my BMI to overweight yesterday, so you are my inspiration for the next step!

What email address are you using? Initially I filled out their online form requesting info (you can specify if you want to communicate via email or phone) and got a generic reply from coordinators@obesitycontrolcenter.com. I worked mostly with Carolyn at carolyn@obesitycontrolcenter.com but also dealt with Lori when Carolyn was on vacation.

HW 238 SW 216 CW 179 I am no longer obese!

I'm eating 3 meals/snacks and two protein drinks each day.

Try taking some Maalox or Rolaids when you feel hungry. It could very well be acid. I was on 40mg Omeprazole but still got acid "hunger pains" in the first 6 weeks. Maalox really helped. At 3 months out I'm now off all PPI's and antacids. My surgeon uses a 32 bougie and oversews, so I have very good restriction. Do you know what your surgeon used? As for your slow weight loss, you are basically starting at the point a lot of people are finishing. Your BMI is very low for WLS and this is where everyone's weight loss really slows down. Unfortunately You may not get the magical "honeymoon period" because your body and metabolism is pre-adjusted from your band.

I pretty much do the same thing. I pick up what looks good at the time sticking with mostly Proteins. But I always buy too much and have a lot of leftover stuff. But at the point between when I know I won't eat it but before it goes bad, I give it to the dogs. They LOVE my new lifestyle.

A "slider" by WLS definition is anything that goes down and through your sleeve quickly. You don't get full and you can eat and eat and eat, thus, gain weight. It's usually carb stuff like bread, crackers, cookies, ice cream, chips, pudding, etc. The opposite of dense proteins that are subject to your sleeve's restriction and keep you feeling full longer. My post was a play on words since White Castle burgers have always been called sliders....and other restaurants now have "sliders" on their menu, which are just miniature sandwiches.

Our bodies are amazing...they do the best they can with what we give them.

At 6 weeks out I hadn't stalled yet, and I was thinking "yeah, I GOT this!). Then I gained 3 pounds and there I sat for a month. On the fifth week I finally dropped the extra 3 pounds plus 2 more. And this was all while I was sick on medications and could barely eat/drink anything. 3 rounds of IV fluids and maybe 400 calories/day. Basically starving with no weight loss. As soon as my Meds were switched I doubled my Fluid and calorie intake and immediately broke the stall. But even on the stall, my snug jeans became loose jeans, so my body was still losing inches, if not pounds. And I only weigh once/week so I wouldn't even know about the shorter stalls.

Lipstick lady is right, you need to be 100% mentally prepared and committed to this surgery and the LIFETIME changes that are required. There's more than one way to succeed (for example, I don't track or weigh or count anything) but you have to be willing to address your personal food demons and make changes. Like you've heard before, the surgery is only a tool and the hardest part is psychological. But a lot of your concerns seem to be the short term issues....being gone for 5 days, losing your hair, etc. these are tiny things compared to the long term changes you will experience. Yes, I think doing this would help you have a longer, healthy life, but you need to be mentally ready to make sure it is a happy life. It's so easy to fail if you arent prepared and you don't want to live with regrets. As for surgery in Mexico, that part shouldn't be an issue. Depending on who you are going with, No more risks than doing it locally. You should check for local support groups or counseling services you will be able to access afterwards. Sounds like you have the start of a good support system with your husband and sister.

Self pay = no wait

Are you REALLY hungry, or just head hungry? And acid can also feel like hunger. A couple tbls of Maalox would completely cure my early "Hunger pains". Are you still in soft food/puréed stage? If so, try bean Soups or split pea Soup. I found these to be very filling. Concentrate on high protein/very low carb stuff. The ice cream, oatmeal with brown sugar and sweetened yogurt is just feeding your carb monster and making you more hungry. Cottage cheese, plain Greek yogurt, cheese sticks, puréed tuna fish or chicken salad, hummus, etc. would be more filling options that won't spike your blood sugar and make you feel hungry every hour. And the biggest thing to realize is that the liquids and soft foods will not fill you up anyways. It passes through your sleeve very quickly. This is the point you need to be mentally strong and stick with the plan. If you are hungry, commit to a 16-20oz Protein drink before snacking on something else. Once I was on regular food, I got very full and stayed full on dense Proteins (chicken, pork, beef, eggs). And no drinking 30-45 min after you eat since that will just flush out your sleeve and leave you feeling hungry again.

Oh yeah, ditto! But make that my iPad mini.

My smoothie mixer, Blender Bottle and Water bottle with sip top. My roommate's treadmill for the first couple weeks (hard to get outside and walk off the gas pains when it was either snowing or below zero). I have yet to weigh, measure, count or track anything. I vowed to do this without obsessing over numbers since that's no different than all the annoying diets I've ever been on.

I'm a vet tech, so pretty active job. Back part time after 1 week, full time after 2 weeks but had 20 pound lifting restriction for 3 weeks. First time I've missed work in 4 1/2 years, so it felt like forever to me

As for things I wished I had known, I can't think of anything I didn't read about or expect. I spent every day on this and other forums and googling everything I could think of before surgery. There was nothing I went through or felt that I hadn't already read about. If anything, I was pleasantly surprised that I was not nauseous, I barely had pain, I had no problems with my incisions, I wasn't hungry, and I wasn't constipated. All the little things like gas pains, having a hard time drinking and getting in all my protein, feeling fatigued, stalling for a month, things tasting different, and even getting bad diarrhea from a non-VSG related Clostridial infection were all things others had posted about.