chickadee73

Chapter 1: My plane leaves at 7:15 am tomorrow, which means I must be up at around 4 am. Too excited and nervous to sleep. After all my whining, I actually did fantastic on the pre-op diet and lost 8 lbs. I am the only patient on Tuesday for Dr. Garcia and will have pre-op tests at 10 am and surgery at noon. Hoping for a surgeon with steady hands and a *yawn* boring recovery. Hope I haven't forgotten anything. If I have, I will get familiar with the Walmart that everyone talks about that is right down the street. Wish me luck, and watch for Chapter 2 tomorrow after I arrive in San Diego and get settled at the Marriott.

eat at Marriott , gas x strips 2 boxes to many clothes eat only the Popsicle in the hotel store lime green pk

Driver will call u shortly after your arrival wht mini van

I am having my surgery with Dr. Garcia on the morning at 10:00am. I am the only patient on that day. My name is Annie. I will be staying at the Marriott on August 29th. Hopefully I will see all of you there. Bigntexas, and Islandlife and SweetT23, please post your first names so I can say hi. I will be in the hospital until Sunday when I go back to the Marriott.. We got this my friends, this is the beginning of the next chapter in our lives!!

Islandlife, look forward to seeing you there, perhaps! Coco, good luck! I was in the same place as you a few months ago, researching and finding information.

If so, check in here with first name and sugery date and I'll look for you in the halls!
I'm Katrina and my surgery is August 27. Would love to "see" who all will be there at the same time! The information is all spread out on the boards in different posts and I'm having trouble remembering who is with me.

Way to go!!! And way to find something else to do rather than sitting home feeling miserable! Distraction is the name of the game for the next 7 days. LOL! You are only 7 days away from your permanent solution. YOU CAN DO THIS! :-)

I've been told the 30 minutes before and after rule as well. I recently went to a WLS support group and saw a demonstration explaining why....it's about being feeling satiated and prolonging how long the food stays in your stomach to keep you full longer.
The demonstration included a bottle, funnel, and applesauce......the funnel was put over the bottle (the funnel represented your stomach) and applesauce went through it very slowly...remember we need to chew our food to applesauce consistency....they added a little bit of Water, and the applesauce came running out..
So, if we're drinking while eating, we will need more food to keep us satisfied and not feel hunger....possibly resulting in eating more that we should.
That may simplify things a bit.....but seeing it as a visual was memorable.....HTH

This morning, I am down a total of 8lbs! I try to only weigh in the mornings. I Don't want to psych myself out by weighing after I've been drinking Water & eating. I'm feeling alot better & more in control today. In 1 week I will be starting a totally new life, and I couldn't be happier about it! Will be looking for you in the halls bigintexas!

Depends on when I weigh myself lol. This morning, naked, without an ounce of food or Water in me, it showed 7 lbs. After work, with clothes but no shoes, it only showed 4 lbs. STILL. First time the scale has gone down in many moons! I'll take it.

Chickadee73, I am craving food of any kind actually. I think my Protein Drink tastes sweet enough to keep away the sweet cravings, because what I REALLY want is some kind of meat and potatoes combo... Craving carbs for sure!!! We will get through this!!!

If so, check in here with first name and sugery date and I'll look for you in the halls!
I'm Katrina and my surgery is August 27. Would love to "see" who all will be there at the same time! The information is all spread out on the boards in different posts and I'm having trouble remembering who is with me.

Well, today was the first day I stuck to it. I don't know what worked, but I did it. shake Breakfast, shake lunch, grilled raw veggies and a tiny piece of salmon for dinner. Several times in the afternoon I reached for something, but I tied a knot in it and tried to just hang on. After dinner when I craved something sweet, I convinced my dear husband to take me on a motorcycle ride to distract me. One day down, seven to go until surgery. Thanks for the kick in the butt an the support ... I needed both.

Well, today was the first day I stuck to it. I don't know what worked, but I did it. shake Breakfast, shake lunch, grilled raw veggies and a tiny piece of salmon for dinner. Several times in the afternoon I reached for something, but I tied a knot in it and tried to just hang on. After dinner when I craved something sweet, I convinced my dear husband to take me on a motorcycle ride to distract me. One day down, seven to go until surgery. Thanks for the kick in the butt an the support ... I needed both.

Well, today was the first day I stuck to it. I don't know what worked, but I did it. shake Breakfast, shake lunch, grilled raw veggies and a tiny piece of salmon for dinner. Several times in the afternoon I reached for something, but I tied a knot in it and tried to just hang on. After dinner when I craved something sweet, I convinced my dear husband to take me on a motorcycle ride to distract me. One day down, seven to go until surgery. Thanks for the kick in the butt an the support ... I needed both.

Well, today was the first day I stuck to it. I don't know what worked, but I did it. shake Breakfast, shake lunch, grilled raw veggies and a tiny piece of salmon for dinner. Several times in the afternoon I reached for something, but I tied a knot in it and tried to just hang on. After dinner when I craved something sweet, I convinced my dear husband to take me on a motorcycle ride to distract me. One day down, seven to go until surgery. Thanks for the kick in the butt an the support ... I needed both.

Well, today was the first day I stuck to it. I don't know what worked, but I did it. shake Breakfast, shake lunch, grilled raw veggies and a tiny piece of salmon for dinner. Several times in the afternoon I reached for something, but I tied a knot in it and tried to just hang on. After dinner when I craved something sweet, I convinced my dear husband to take me on a motorcycle ride to distract me. One day down, seven to go until surgery. Thanks for the kick in the butt an the support ... I needed both.

You can do anything YOU decide you can do. Although I don't know you, I know you CAN do this!!!
Really, if you decide, you could probably put up with a LOT for only a couple weeks? For me, the pre-op diet came down to a meal by meal decision. Be uncomfortable and stick with it or fail (again) only a short time before surgery?
Decide you are going to KICK A$$ at this VSG thing! All the weight you lose now counts and is step closer to your goal weight.
I've lost almost 70 lbs and there are still some days where it is a meal-by-meal decision to stick with it.
You CAN do this! We are here rooting for you...keep us updated on how you are putting the beat down on the pre-op diet! If you need an accountability partner, you got one! Are you using myFitnessPal? If so, add me as a friend and I would even do just shakes for a couple weeks in solidarity with you! My ID there is Hoosier_Fatty. GOOD LUCK!

Oh that gives me such hope. I wish for a 41st birthday that is just as wonderful! Congratulations on your new body and new life.

Just wanted to chime in. I have posted very honestly on my blog about my cheating on the pre-op diet, the food funerals I had before the pre-op diet, and whether my inability to stick with pre-op diet meant that I'm not ready for this surgery. I have come to some peace. Many on this board have said they stuck with the pre-op diet to a "T." Others on here will suggest that if you can't stick with pre-op, you are less likely to be successful at post-op. For me, this surgery is a must - my BMI is 35, I have significant comorbidities (PCOS, high cholesterol, knee problems, sleep apnea). So I just have to have faith that I CAN DO THIS even though I didn't do the pre-op diet perfectly and, when I did do it perfectly, I felt like a crazy woman. As you said, if we didn't have food issues, we wouldn't be in this situation in the first place. As a practical matter, here is what I did for those crazy "I can't do this moments." First, I stopped beating the absolute hell out of myself for being so pathetic. Then, I started looking at the reasons I was so out of control and why I cheated. I tried not to find excuses, but rather get to the bottom of what was sending me off the proverbial wagon so that I could save myself next time. What I found was that I've not nearly given myself enough "room" during this prep period. I have been so worried about not working AFTER surgery that I've been pushing myself harder now. That hasn't worked for me. The truth is that when I stick with the pre-op diet, it is like a true detox and it causes fatigue, headaches, crankiness. Add on surgery pre-jitters and it is a perfect recipe for my disasters. So.... trying to find my way into the solution, I came up with this resolution:
1. Next time I want to go off the diet, I will post a plea for help on this board;
2. I will drink a glass of crystal light or Water or something else to buy myself some time before I eat.
3. I will write down 3 reasons I am having this surgery.
4. I will try to get by with as little as I have to do until surgery. In other words, I won't kill myself at work, cleaning the house, chasing the kids, etc.
For me, it is important to have "action" items. I am hopeful that these action items will help next time I'm tempted. I only have three more days til surgery. Surely I can suck it up and do that.... And I believe you can do it too! Keep the faith and remind yourself why you are doing this in the first place.
Best of luck to you!

I may have to try it. Some of the airports I go through, the options are beer, wings, or hamburgers.

Not here a whole lot and not sure what unsupportive activity is referenced, but I have been here long enough to realize that when Amanda posts, I read it, and I always like what she has to say. Including this.

I'll be at florence August 27. Starting to see lots of posts from folks there the same time as me--exciting!
I return to work 10 days post-op and fly toPhoeni for a four-day conference a week later. I called Alma and talked to her about the trip to Phoenix and she said she thought I would be fine. She said lots of sales people who have the surgery are back traveling within a week or so.
I figure Ill rest when I need to and it will be ok. I'm not afraid to cancel the trip to Phoenix, but hope I dont have to.

It seems the Drs. in Mexico are as qualified as the ones in the US. Some people have stated that the care is stellar (above what you get in the US). And it's less than half the cost. My insurance won't cover it here in the US. I can wait till January and see if my company will change carriers and whether that carrier will pay. However, most won't. I've jumped through all the hoops. I've tried pretty much every diet out there. This last time I reached 100 over my recommended weight. Spent tons of money at Medifast, lost 50 and gained almost 30 back. I'm sick of this!