411angela

Yes' date=' what a bummer - i was hoping to find a surgery buddy around the same time...my checkout day is the 10th. Good luck with your surgery, 411angela - I will look out for your posts to follow your progress and journey.[/quote']

I'll do the same! I hope your journey goes well!!

. Vetniemeer, I guess we'll just miss each other! Ill be checking in at the Marriott on Sunday the 11th. My surgery will be on the 12th with Dr. Ortiz.< /p>

I buy mine from Vitamin Shoppe. Just brought strawberry kiwi. Love it.

Will the strawberry kiwi Syntrax be considered as a clear liquid?

I'm Aug 4 th I'll let ya know how it goes

I hope everything goes well!

Thanks!! Will do! I just realized that a year ago today is when I met up with an old friend and she had told me she had the sleeve. I had never heard of it. She looked wonderful. She was a year out and had lost 100 lbs. At first I didn't think I could do something as drastic as the sleeve but then after more failed of attempts at dieting and me staying home one day just boo hooing, I decided to look into it. I have been overweight as long as I can recall. As someone mentioned on another post, I am a professional dieter. I've done about every diet you can think of. I even went to WW with my mom when I was just in elementary school! I'm constantly judging myself because of my weight and turn down fun social activities because I don't want to be the fat girl amongst the crowd. I was disappointed when I seem my insurance's qualifications. I started researching private pay options and discovered Mexico as a cheaper option. After a few conversations with my husband, he agreed to me having surgery in Mexico. We've only been married a bit over a year. I'm truly blessed. He loves me unconditionally and knows how much my weight bothers me so he has worked his butt off to make the extra money for the surgery. I feel like its the best present anyone could ever give me!

Oh my goodness! 4 weeks from today my husband and I will be flying to LA, spend the weekend enjoying California, then driving down to San Diego to meet up with the driver to take us to the Marriott in Tijuana! My surgery will be Monday morning on the 12th! I can't wait! It will be here before I know it! I just hope I do well on my pre op diet while we're enjoying the day at Universal Studios! ( yes, we're leaving the kids behind while we go play!! Haha)

If Phase 1 Atkins is accepted I could handle that! Since July 1st I've been having a high Protein Shake for Breakfast and lunch, Greek yogurt, a handful of almonds, or turkey Jerky for snack, and then lean meat ( usually grilled chicken) with veggies for dinner. I lost 6 lbs the first week! The scales haven't moved yet this week but I haven't given up like I usually do. I think I just need to purchase Protein Shakes with less fat grams. I planned to do this "diet" until my official pre op diet. I guess I need to talk to Dr. Miranda!

Any of you who are scheduled August 12th going to be in Mexico!?

I am! Dr. Ariel Ortiz at the Obesity Control Center is performing my surgery.

Ugh!! I really want to be able to feel comfortable in shorts or a short dress. Now The only dresses I wear are maxi dresses with a short sleeve cardigan to cover my upper arms!

The reason I asked is I was watching the Extreme Weight Loss show last night and the lady lost a lot of weight, looked wonderful, but her legs still looked a bit "thick". Got me thinking about my own chunky legs.

I've always had thick lower legs. Those of you that have had this problem too, did you notice a significant change in your legs after your weight loss? I'm sure hoping I lose proportionately!

How frustrating!! I'm sure your doc's office is used to working with the different insurance companies and know which hoops to jump through. I wish you the best!

I wish I could just self pay and go to Mexico. I just cant afford it. Im praying that my insurance covers. What was your BMI that you didn't qualify if you don't mind me asking?

36. I can't remember what their requirement was now. I know they require the 6 month supervised diet and psych consult.

What Dr. are you going with in Mexico? I know you're excited.

Ariel Ortiz. I am excited! August just can't get here soon enough!

I live in Arkansas but I'm having my surgery in Mexico. When I started considering the sleeve I called BCBS customer service and asked about the requirements for them to cover the surgery and they reviewed them with me. Federal BCBS raised their BMI requirements this year so I didn't qualify. I did some research and opted for Mexico. I'm scheduled for August 12th! Anyway, I'm on and off here if you want to chat!

Yay!! Congrats! We have the same date!! You'll be fine! Just look forward to seeing those amazing results!

I'm August 12th too!! Counting down the days!! :-)

I don't think I've ever wanted a summer to fly by but I am so eager for August to get here! I look forward to this weight loss journey with all of you!

Thanks for the info!!! I'm going to try to do the pre-op diet for at least 3 weeks. I need to lose my 5-10% and I seem to do better on a very structured diet.

 

I'm not gonna lie - I thought the pre-op diet from Dr. Ortiz sucked big time. It did get a little easier after the first five days or so' date=' but still - it was a struggle for me. I was afraid I wouldn't lose the weight they wanted me to lose in time, so I started my pre-op diet 5 days before I had to. I ended up losing 22 pounds during the 19 days I was on the pre-op diet, so it definitely works if you stick to it, but it is HARD.

 

The best advice I could give you is just to concentrate on making it through one day at a time and know that YOU CAN DO IT!! When you start to feel like you want to cheat, come to VST instead. I spent A LOT of time here during my pre-op diet days...kinda like a junkie calling her sponsor! We are here for you.[/quote']

 

Did you use his Protein Shakes and Vitamins? I'm trying to decide if I should order them or not.

Good advice! Thank you!

Negative self talk is my worst enemy!! I got dressed this morning, looked in the mirror, and thought " Ugh! I look fat!" I let that one little thought negatively effect the rest of my day!! My mood was blah, I made poor food choices to feed my emotions, and avoided social interactions. Just ridiculous! I help others all day, time to help myself! Social Work 101: thought + belief = reaction. My thought "I look fat" + irrational beliefs "if I'm fat I'm not good enough" = depressed mood. I've got to challenge these irrational beliefs! They are so ingrained in me! Does anyone else struggle with this?

My first goal is to just get back into my size 14s without them being skin tight! Then getting under a size 12. I don't think I've wore anything smaller than a 12 since elementary school! I will be strutting my stuff if I get into single digits!!! Haha!!

I'm scheduled in Mexico too, August12th at the Obesity Control Center. I can't wait!

Good point, we may surpass our goals! I dream of looking good in a little black dress, but then again, I buy so much black now to help me look smaller that I can't wait to add some color to my wardrobe!

I always see clothes that I would love to wear if I was just skinny. With my surgery scheduled in August, I'm hopeful I'll be able to wear those clothes in the near future! Anyone pre-purchase a goal outfit? Got pics?