SerendipityHappens

I was hoping you'd respond here. I think it's important for you to voice your views on this topic. You are in the minority here but your experience is just as valid as everyone else's. I know in another thread you mentioned that having had the surgery makes you feel isolated socially. I also hope in time you will see it differently. I did 3 and a half months of an 800 calorie VLCD preop.. it was not easy.. it was like eating like a sleever but with a full size stomach. For the first three months I felt so cut off from everyone since food is such a main part of socialization and since I didn't eat then I didn't go anywhere that had food. Then two weeks before surgery, something clicked for me and I realized that I didn't have to be separated from the socialization just because I was not partaking in the food. The week before surgery my sisters were shocked when they asked "what do you want to do" and I said "Let's go to chinese" I just drank the tea and we talked and had a great time. My not eating was a non-issue. I hope in time, your eating habits and new smaller appetite will become a non issue for you too.

I agree, that's why we have to research, research, research!
I think the main difference is that for most of us you're going to go in the USA, you will likely go with someone who is close to you and your choices are limited.. in my case it was a doctor who charged 20K and was not all that experienced. Most of us are not checking all doctors in the USA we're just checking the ones close to us.. When you're going to Mexico, you choose from many doctors and facilities in a variety of cities to get the one that's the best fit for you. I would never say that my doctor in Mexico is better than any Doctor in the USA.. , but I DEFINITELY felt more comfortable with my surgical team than the doctor I was researching that was near me. If I lived in a different city and was researching a different doctor, I may have felt differently.

I opted to just take some cottage cheese drain a bit of the whey from it, sprinkle some pepper on it then put a few tablespoons of marinara and a teaspoon of Parmesan and microwave it. Tastes great. I'm sure the ricotta bake is better.. but I'm happy with my simplified version.

I went to Walmart and bought three pairs of clearance sweats for three dollars a pop. DONE.. saving my money for non-walmart shopping spree AFTER I lose the weight.
If you wouldn't be caught dead in sweats, then yeah, yoga pants would be good.. especially if you'll wear them for working out post op. They have the danskin ones at walmart that are pretty good.. they have a nice fold down top. no drawstring. Personally, I just wear the sweats when I'm exercising.... but we all have different standards and apparently mine are pretty low.
Don't worry too much about how they fit around your belly or getting ones that are super loose.. the operation happens in the area from the belly button up.. The bottom part of my abdomen didn't feel any kind of pain or even discomfort.
Also at the hospital, I just wore the hospital gown.. I figure, I'd rather ooze and bleed over that ugly gown instead of my super fancy $3.00 walmart sweats.

I'm three weeks post op and I've been blessed with a perfect recovery so far. My sleeve has agreed with everything I've given her as I've advanced my diet.. No sliming, no pain, nada.. I have very little hunger. I have almost no swelling of my sleeve I can drink big gulps if I want. I can eat 2-3 ounces of meat or half a cup of cottage cheese, or one egg with cheese and 1/4 cup Beans... and I'm satisfied with these portions.. If I was one of those who could only eat a tablespoon of food, I think I'd be struggling more than I am, but I'm really happy so far with my eating and appetite and I feel great.
I did go through a period during the first week where I was like WHAT THE HELL DID I JUST DO?????? The permanence of what I had done was really sinking in but now I'm over the initial shock and am really happy with my limited capacity for food!

Personal preference sweetie.. I like thin/athletic men.. My current BF is 160 pounds.. My ex husband was BUILT.. AND he was a marathon runner! What you LIKE has nothing to do with what you LOOK LIKE! I am the opposite of them, but they found me attractive even though I didn't have a similar body to theirs.
For me it has nothing to do with self-loathing as some here have suggested.. I've never had a problem with the aesthetics of my weight and I've always been confident...(perhaps why I've never had a shortage in the men department???) I'm losing the weight strictly for my health. When I am thinner, I'll still like thin/athletic men.

I don't exercise to lose weight I exercise to gain health. You can lose weight without exercising, but just half hour a day of aerobic exercise will give you TONS of health benefits.

Personal preference sweetie.. I like thin/athletic men.. My current BF is 160 pounds.. My ex husband was BUILT.. AND he was a marathon runner! What you LIKE has nothing to do with what you LOOK LIKE! I am the opposite of them, but they found me attractive even though I didn't have a similar body to theirs.
For me it has nothing to do with self-loathing as some here have suggested.. I've never had a problem with the aesthetics of my weight and I've always been confident...(perhaps why I've never had a shortage in the men department???) I'm losing the weight strictly for my health. When I am thinner, I'll still like thin/athletic men.

It does not matter if she was on a plane, or sick or had an emergency... A patient in a foreign country who just had surgery PAID for a service and expects to be supported. The company should have had someone filling in for her. Thank God everything was OK for this patient, but it was a LOT of blood to her eyes she soaked through bandages and sheets AND a towel. and she was obviously concerned and needed support. There is absolutely nothing "disgusting" about giving her honest opinion and feedback. She has said nothing untrue. I do not doubt that you had a fantastic experience... just as I do not doubt that this particular patient did not receive the support from A Lighter Me that she had expected. Rather than make excuses such as "she was on a plane" the company should be looking for ways to prevent this from happening to someone else.

YAY! So glad you are over this difficulty!
Don't worry about a lighter me.. You told your experience honestly. ALL companies have times when things happen and they are not able to put their best foot forward. Most of the reviews I've read about ALM have been positive, yours was not. It is what it is. Nobody is perfect hopefully this was just a fluke... but reviews don't mean a thing if people who have negative reviews aren't up front about their experience! Hopefully ALM will be able to use your reveiw in order to tweak the way they are operating in order to prevent other patients from going through what you did.
I'm SO glad you're feeling great now.

I stalled for an entire month just two weeks after surgery. You won't lose weight every day.. or every week... or maybe not even every month.. but the weight WILL come off.

Yes there are people on this forum who regret the surgery, but I'm not one of them! Best thing I ever did.. If I was able to be successful with diet and exercise alone then I wouldn't have ever gotten up to 360 pounds in the first place. The way I feel about it is our stomachs are not MADE for eating three square meals a day plus a few Snacks here and there.... An unsleeved stomach is the size of a FOOTBALL ya know so you can fill up and then not eat for a few days.. Do I really need a stomach the size of a FOOTBALL in a culture where you eat three times a day?????
Been sleeved for three and a half months now and it's going great. I can eat anything I want but choose not to most of the time. The portions are satisfying and I'm losing weight albeit a bit slower than many other sleevers.

Yes there are people on this forum who regret the surgery, but I'm not one of them! Best thing I ever did.. If I was able to be successful with diet and exercise alone then I wouldn't have ever gotten up to 360 pounds in the first place. The way I feel about it is our stomachs are not MADE for eating three square meals a day plus a few Snacks here and there.... An unsleeved stomach is the size of a FOOTBALL ya know so you can fill up and then not eat for a few days.. Do I really need a stomach the size of a FOOTBALL in a culture where you eat three times a day?????
Been sleeved for three and a half months now and it's going great. I can eat anything I want but choose not to most of the time. The portions are satisfying and I'm losing weight albeit a bit slower than many other sleevers.

1.Tired of having to come straight home after work every day and put my feet up for 6 hours just to make the swelling in my legs go down.
2. Not being able to take the Zumba class I wanted to because of 1.
3. Enduring multiple stress fractures in my feet because nobody told me that 330 pound women aren't supposed to climb mountains and hike.
4. Finally realized that just because I don't have any co-mordities like HBP, diabetes, high cholesterol, doesn't mean that I deserve to live with all this pain in my feet and legs.

1.Tired of having to come straight home after work every day and put my feet up for 6 hours just to make the swelling in my legs go down.
2. Not being able to take the Zumba class I wanted to because of 1.
3. Enduring multiple stress fractures in my feet because nobody told me that 330 pound women aren't supposed to climb mountains and hike.
4. Finally realized that just because I don't have any co-mordities like HBP, diabetes, high cholesterol, doesn't mean that I deserve to live with all this pain in my feet and legs.

Yes there are people on this forum who regret the surgery, but I'm not one of them! Best thing I ever did.. If I was able to be successful with diet and exercise alone then I wouldn't have ever gotten up to 360 pounds in the first place. The way I feel about it is our stomachs are not MADE for eating three square meals a day plus a few Snacks here and there.... An unsleeved stomach is the size of a FOOTBALL ya know so you can fill up and then not eat for a few days.. Do I really need a stomach the size of a FOOTBALL in a culture where you eat three times a day?????
Been sleeved for three and a half months now and it's going great. I can eat anything I want but choose not to most of the time. The portions are satisfying and I'm losing weight albeit a bit slower than many other sleevers.

I had cabrera/valenzuela.. they used to be a team that did all their surgeries together. I was actually sleeved by Valenzuela, though to me it didn't matter which one did the actual surgery since I trusted them both and they both do the sleeve the exact same way and were both trained in the same program by dr Corvala.
I did book an extra day at the hotel because I was traveling to Boston which is a miserable flight even without having had surgery. Turns out the extra day wasn't needed. I felt fantastic. My biggest issue was trying to remember that I just had surgery and not lifting anything heavy!

This is "the one" I turned my nose up at lap band and at RNY... This is the surgery that makes sense to me. In 20 years I hope they come up with a better surgery than this, but I'm done waiting. And I'm totally ok with losing 85 percent of my stomach.

This is "the one" I turned my nose up at lap band and at RNY... This is the surgery that makes sense to me. In 20 years I hope they come up with a better surgery than this, but I'm done waiting. And I'm totally ok with losing 85 percent of my stomach.

This is "the one" I turned my nose up at lap band and at RNY... This is the surgery that makes sense to me. In 20 years I hope they come up with a better surgery than this, but I'm done waiting. And I'm totally ok with losing 85 percent of my stomach.

These days when most people talk about juicing we're talking VEGETABLE juice which is a whole different animal than fruit juice. There is no need to be juicing straight fruits.. eat them whole.. But if you want the goodness in say, a pound of kale.. it's kind of hard to eat a pound of kale, even if you have a normal stomach... but you can juice it up with some cucumbers, celery, ginger lemons and maybe a bit of granny smith apple for sweetness and you've got an AMAZINGLY healthy green juice that's going to give you enzymes, Vitamins, minerals soluble Fiber and even a good dose of protein!

Yes there are people on this forum who regret the surgery, but I'm not one of them! Best thing I ever did.. If I was able to be successful with diet and exercise alone then I wouldn't have ever gotten up to 360 pounds in the first place. The way I feel about it is our stomachs are not MADE for eating three square meals a day plus a few Snacks here and there.... An unsleeved stomach is the size of a FOOTBALL ya know so you can fill up and then not eat for a few days.. Do I really need a stomach the size of a FOOTBALL in a culture where you eat three times a day?????
Been sleeved for three and a half months now and it's going great. I can eat anything I want but choose not to most of the time. The portions are satisfying and I'm losing weight albeit a bit slower than many other sleevers.

I opted to just take some cottage cheese drain a bit of the whey from it, sprinkle some pepper on it then put a few tablespoons of marinara and a teaspoon of Parmesan and microwave it. Tastes great. I'm sure the ricotta bake is better.. but I'm happy with my simplified version.

LOL, 70 pounds of that was lost BEFORE SURGERY! I am a slow loser.. likely because I did lose so much before I had the surgery!

Yes there are people on this forum who regret the surgery, but I'm not one of them! Best thing I ever did.. If I was able to be successful with diet and exercise alone then I wouldn't have ever gotten up to 360 pounds in the first place. The way I feel about it is our stomachs are not MADE for eating three square meals a day plus a few Snacks here and there.... An unsleeved stomach is the size of a FOOTBALL ya know so you can fill up and then not eat for a few days.. Do I really need a stomach the size of a FOOTBALL in a culture where you eat three times a day?????
Been sleeved for three and a half months now and it's going great. I can eat anything I want but choose not to most of the time. The portions are satisfying and I'm losing weight albeit a bit slower than many other sleevers.