GelaBela

It's funny, I was having a similar conversation with my husband this evening. I'm going to my first follow up appointment tomorrow so I put on my same clothes I wore to the hospital, took the same picture with the same angle, lighting etc. As soon as I did a side by side comparison, I was shocked. I look fatter in the picture I just took! My first thought was, "great, I spent $14,000 to scar my stomach, not be able to eat, and now I look even fatter." But realistically, I know that's not the case. It will happen. I just need to be patient. And honestly, I don't regret having this done for a second. I have the rest of my life to make myself as healthy as I can be. Would you have lost 10 if you didn't have the surgery? Celebrate that 10 pound loss!

16 pounds down in 14 days. 3/30/15 220 (date of surgery) 4/14/15 204 (date of first check up)

I don't know how old you are, but I am also in Tampa. I was sleeved on 3/30/15.

I've notice there are several different requirements for pre-op meals. I'm guessing a lot has to do with insurance requirements. And I'm sure different doctors have their own preferences. Maybe it also has to do with the weight and health of the patient. (Just my option from reading various posts.) I have a BMI of 43 and my doctor isn't concerned about how much weight I lose during my 10-day pre-op. (That is an inevitable side effect.) He did, however, want me to have a very low carb diet to shrink my liver, therefore giving him more room to do the sleeve. On a daily basis, I can have 3-4 8oz Protein shakes a day and 4oz of lean protein like chicken or fish with 1/2 cup of green vegetables. I'm self pay, so fortunately no insurance requirements dictated my pre-op instructions. As far as helpful tips on how to get through the pre-op diet...well, I only have 2 full days behind me, but for me variety is good. I have my favorite Protein Shakes I keep on hand, but I'm not afraid to try new things. And when I have to sit there and smell the delicious chicken burrito that my husband is eating for dinner, I remind myself that I just "can't" (because even one tempting bite would cause a downward spiral and I know I would continue to cheat throughout the week, defeating the purpose.) And when my co-workers bring in giant fluffy glazed doughnuts, I tell myself it's more important to prepare for surgery than to have that melt-in-your-mouth doughy ball of sugar-coated goodness. It's my chance to prove to myself that I can do this - that I have self control. It's also helped to get up and move. Take a walk, brush my teeth, drink some Water and focus on other things than food. Also, I find it very helpful to track everything I eat and exercise. I use Endomondo for exercise and sync it with MyFitnessPal for food tracking. My surgery is March 30, and I am very much looking forward to it.

I work in a small, professional office. I would consider my co-workers to be fairly close and personable. I am taking a week off work and they know I am having surgery, but I am not telling them it is for weight loss. No one has asked, and they have been very supportive and respectful of my privacy.

I'm getting sleeved on March 30 and my pre-op is in 4 days on 3/19. I'm excited, but I'm scared because I have such a hard time losing weight. My hope is that this surgery will help alleviate some of the side effects of PCOS.