cupcake10

Try to not panic! First thing to remember is that your starting BMI is quite low in relation to many people this forum. So for those of us who have higher BMIs, we've been eating many more calories a day to maintain that weight (prior to surgery). Suddenly, following surgery, we are eating 400-600 calories (and sometimes less) per day, whereas before, we might have been eating 3000+. Of course we're losing weight like crazy in the beginning!
As your weight (and therefore your Basal Metabolic Rate) is lower, you may have been only eating 2000 calories (or even less) to maintain your preo-op weight. Now, following surgery, you're probably in the 400-600 calorie range (and possibly higher if you're doing well with the protein).
So you're calorie difference pre and post surgery is only about 1400 calories a day (maybe a bit less). That means it will take you approx. 2-3 days to lose a pound (without exercise)! Whereas for me, my calories difference is probably at least twice that, and I'm losing a pound every 1-2 days (or better, since I'm also exercising!).
This is also the reason people weight loss slows down as they get closer to their goal. Their intake/output difference shrinks down to very little and it makes it much much harder to lose the weight without ramping up your exercise (since there's not much room to reduce calories any more at that point!).
I know, your response to that will be....."yes, but that means in 3 weeks, I should have already lost at least 8+ pounds". Maybe, maybe not! Have you been drinking all your fluids? You may be retaining Water. Have you had good bowel movements? That's very difficult to do in the beginning and you may be carrying a few pounds in your intestines! Also, as we eat less suddenly, a survival mechanism in our metabolism kicks in, trying to hold on to calories by slowing the metabolism down (because it thinks we are starving). Sometimes you have to actually increase your calorie intake a bit to fool back into the proper metabolism rate!
Try to take the long view and be patient (DAMN DAMN hard, I know!). You will get there. Try to keep the things I've mentioned in your mind and work on getting your Protein, fluids and exercise (even if it's just walking!) in.
I know this will work for you. Don't give up!

I have lots of thoughts on this. I am in a similar boat. I was 219 on surgery day and am one month out. Lost 6 pounds the first week, then none for 2 weeks and then 2. I saw my surgeon yesterday and shared my concerns since I had been reading about all these people losing 20 plus pounds the first month. He reminded me that a lot of people are a lot heavier to start out with and that the first month of surgery should be about healing and to not even focus on the weight loss because he doesn't. I felt alot better. And as starting weights go, yours is one of the smallest I have seen. I feel quite sure this has something to do with it. Also, your body is still recovering from the shock of the surgery and this takes time. Sometimes more time for some people than others. Try not to feel too discouraged because you will start losing!! You can't not lose with the small amount of calories you are taking in. Hang in there!! Good luck!

Reality check, most likely the Mexico surgeons are worse which is why they are in Mexico and Not in the US where there are higher standards. I wonder every time I see so many Dr. (fill in the blank) in Mexico and wonder who is really posting them.
Get Real - don't be cheap on your health and get it done right. I have heard many horror stories form Mexico
Hear it Newbies save the extra couple of bucks to do the surgery right.

So the saying is true... you get what you pay for. It blows my mind when people take short cuts with their healthcare. Most people won't bat an eye to pay 17,000 for a new car, but they only want to pay 5,000 for a sleeve. :banghead:

I just saw my doc and Nut for my 3 month post op appt (actually 2 1/2 mo. out) Although I have been a really slow loser (-37.8 lbs from start) I have lost inches. They were happy w my progress, more than I was. Anyhow they assured me I was doing everything right and to keep at it. I now have to start with Calcium chewables to help w my teeth and bones to prevent losing teeth or getting bone fractures (scary thought)... The best part was getting told that I am now cleared to go ahead and consume alcohol! Yay! Perfect for this holiday weekend. Has anyone here had alcoholic beverages and felt sick? My NUT told me to b careful because my body would feel the alcohol super quick.
keepin it real

All things being equal, I would stay in the states. There's more to consider than cost.
Don't have to search for an aftercare provider, should one be needed
Like not having to mess with travel
Like that I could get home quickly
Like that I have post-op visits/long-term care with my actual surgeon who's most familiar with what happened during my procedure
Some prefer the MX surgeon histories. I selected my surgeon and am more comfortable with his history

I'd say keep trying through insurance, but maybe set a date at which you look at your other options. That's what I did - it all ended up working out, but I wasn't going to just sit around forever.
All things not being equal, my first choice was to self-pay my chosen surgeon's rates (about $12K).
I was initiall denied by insurance, appealed and won, then insurance changed and I was back to square one... I'd started working on this in September 2011. When it was Jan and nothing had happened yet I talked to DH and we agreed that if I didn't have an approval by March 31, we would just self-pay and not worry about the insurance. But that's a different scenario, because $12K is much higher than my copays (totalling about $400), and much higher than a MX surgeon.

According to what my NUT told me, stretching the stomach isn't as big an issue as liquid calories. She cited one patient who had not only stopped losing weight but began putting on a tremendous amount of weight. The culprit? Over 6000 calories a day in smoothies. Needless to say, I am very conscientous of my liquids.< /p>

I had my surgery 5/9. I'm on full liquids as well. I don't care for the Greek yogurt but I have stuff pretty regularly. We recently made a potatoes oup last night but used a food processor to de chunk the spuds. It was very good and filling