supbanana

This is one of my biggest pet peeves, but I admit I've seen people mistake the two for so long that whenever I type out that I'm losing weight I second guess myself and have to make sure I don't really mean loosing. Argh.

I'm a BBW (well, big, idk about beautiful) that is insanely attracted to tall fat guys. Like John Goodman status. I'm 5'10" and I've always been very fat in an area where most people are both shorter than me and skinnier by a good chunk. I've never really felt feminine and always kind of feel like a freak. Being around a guy that is both taller and heavier than me makes me feel like an actual woman instead of an awkward amazon, which is such a rare feeling because in my area there are very few men that match that profile. My only boyfriend was 6'4" and weighed 160lbs when I weighed 270. I always felt like I was going to snap him like a twig and was constantly self conscious about it.

I've been on a low carb diet for over a year and I still have a recurring dream where I'm gorging myself on fries and other high carb foods. I always wake up thinking it's real for a while, I hate that feeling.

Thank you! I knew about the hotel but wasn't sure which hospital. I'm really going to have to call Omar tomorrow, I think, I'm realizing that I don't know as much as I probably should. I admit that I'm really excited to see the hotel, lol, I've seen pictures and it just looks gorgeous. I'm really getting very excited about this whole thing.

Thanks! I messaged her. I think part of my problem is I'm really not sure which doctors operate from which location, all I know for sure are Illan and Aceves out of Tijuana. I feel a lot better having potential surgery/travel buddies, thank you saffikeagan and Susan!

Thank you!! That would be great.

Is it? I've been keeping an eye out here (both the August Sleevers and August 2013 Roll Call topics) and on FB for anyone else heading to Tijuana in that time frame and I can't find anyone! I keep missing people by like a day, heh. So... if anyone reading this will be there between the 8th and 13th, please message me! I would love a travel buddy to check in with. I think it would make both of us feel better.

Wow, no kidding? I think I'll call his office tomorrow, I haven't actually talked to anyone over the phone yet. That's so cool that he does that. Maybe if my dad hears from the surgeon himself that his patients indeed make it safely to the operating table he'll feel better. Of course, I can hear my dad now, "well, sure, anyone could buy a lab coat off the street." But it will make me feel more comfortable, so that's the important thing.

Thank you so much for your offer! That's very sweet of you. Idk about my dad, but your comment made me feel even better about this. I'll have to look around and see if there is anyone in my area. I live in Eureka, California, so a little too far away for a chat with you, but I still really appreciate it. That's really interesting, I'll have to look more into that. Thank you for the info! I'm going August 9th and I live in Eureka, California, USA.

I just added some relevant pages on FB too, it made me feel a lot better! That's a good idea. I admit I was scared as well, I think most people are, but I have the luxury of getting online and talking to people. My dad doesn't know the first thing about computers or the Internet so all he has is my word. I hope you get to go soon as well, and I hope you have a wonderful experience!

I've told him this and he's okay with the surgeon's skills, his problem is that he thinks I won't even make it to the hospital. He sincerely feels that I'll be robbed as soon as I get across the border. I have no idea how to dissuade him of those concerns, short of going there, getting the surgery, and coming back alive and well, which might be the only option here.

I think that's his main problem. He's disabled and can't make the trip, but he's said several times that he wishes he could go. I kind of wish he could go with me because he's a pretty big, strong guy and I've always felt safer around him, but my mom is making the trip with me so that helps. Of course, he and my mom have been separated since I was 4, so that doesn't make him feel any better.

Hi all, I'm getting my sleeve done in Tijuana. I've done research here and read all of the posts I can find about both the doctor I'm seeing and experiences travelling to Mexico for the sugery. I feel pretty comfortable with my decision and I'm really excited about going and getting this over with. The problem is, my dad is terrified. He's always been protective of me, but he's convinced himself that this is some scam and as soon as I'm over the Mexican border someone is going to steal my cashier's check and leave me stranded or worse. In fact, he's calling me so often and his concern is so sincere that now I'm a little concerned myself, which annoys me. I just honestly have no idea what to tell him or what proof to show him to convince him that it's safe, so that he'll feel better about it and settle down a little (or a lot). Any ideas? I mentioned all of the positive reviews here, but he just scoffed and said that of course there would be good reviews, the surgeons could hire anyone off the street to write a bogus review. I hope this doesn't offend anybody because that is sincerely not my intent and I don't mean in any way to imply that Medical Tourism is full of scam artists, I just would feel a lot better if my dad was more at ease.

I want to join! How do we join?

Hi guys, I ran a search but not much popped up. I've been on a ketogenic diet (high fat, moderate Protein, very low carb - basically the induction to Atkins except you keep it up forever) for the last 15 months. I know it's not a very well-understood diet and gets a lot of flak, but it's been great for me. I'm healthier than I've ever been and I adore this style of eating so much. The only problem is I hit a wall hard in the weight-loss department, hence the surgery. I'm wondering if anyone has had experience eating this way post-op? I know low-fat gets pushed a lot in surgeon-recommended diets, but I'm not sure if that's because low-fat is part of the government's idea of a healthy diet, or if there's an actual physical purpose? I think some people have mentioned fatty foods made them sick, but are they talking about doughnuts, or ribeye? If it's not possible then I'll accept it and just stay as low carb as possible, but I would really like to stick with keto after surgery if possible and am looking for reasons it might not be a good idea.

I admit that I avoid sugar too because it triggers the physical need for more of it. I switched to the ketogenic diet 15 months ago and I think that's done more for me than anything... therapy helped me with the mental addiction, cutting out sugar and grains helped with the physical. But you're right, it's always a struggle and I don't think it ever completely goes away.

My date is August 9th with Dr. Illan in Mexico, will I be seeing any of you there?? Also, it makes me happy that so many of you are getting sleeved August 19th. I'm biased because that's my birthday, but it's a pretty awesome date.

I used to be addicted. I ate my way up to 370 pounds through compulsive binging. However, I saw an amazing therapist and my addiction is behind me. The problem now is that the weight is taking forever to come off. I've been dieting and exercising for the last 3+years and have lost 90 lbs, but 2.5years of that time has been spent stalled, including the last year straight, I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong or why my body won't let go of the weight, but addiction no longer has anything to do with it. Food doesn't control me anymore.

Wow!! I'm so happy for you, you look amazing.

Yep! I'll be representing Humboldt County.

How's everybody doing? I'm definitely getting a little nervous about the surgery, starting my pre-op liquid diet tomorrow! Surgery is in a mere two weeks, I can't wait. Does anyone have tips for burning off nervous energy/anxiety??

Thank you so much for sharing your experience! I'm seeing this Dr. Illan August 9th for my surgery and found this very helpful.

It's a really hard decision, I think, and a very personal one. When I first looked into WLS I weighed 370lbs and was considering the duodenal switch because I was so desperate for drastic loss. Then, of course, a patient was admitted to the nursing home I worked out that was suffering serious complications from his own duodenal switch. He ultimately passed away (he had the surgery 10 years earlier, but refused to take his Vitamins and his diet was literally pizza and soda) and it scared me. I decided to lose the weight 'on my own'. First I tried a low-fat diet. I lost 30 pounds quickly and then stalled for two years. I was looking into the RNY when I found the ketogenic diet and decided that diet would be my last serious attempt before WLS. I lost 50 lbs in five months and then stalled for a year straight. My health dramatically improved and I love the low-carb lifestyle, but I finally decided that I can't keep working so hard at weight loss with no results. Today, I am 5'10" and weigh ~280lbs, and my sleeve surgery is scheduled for August 9th. Losing 50% of my excess weight will get me right around 200lbs and I'm okay with that. It took me years to decide to go through with WLS but I truly feel that I did the best I could with diet and exercise. Maybe you could do something similar, find a diet and stick with it, see if it works for you? Even if you hate it, the more weight you can get off pre-surgery, the close you will be to your goal. Even though those three years were so frustrating and full of stalls, I'm glad I stuck it out so I can start WLS 90lbs closer to my goal. Nutrition is not one size fits all, if you've tried low-fat with no success, maybe low-carb would be the way to go, etc. Good luck! (ETA: I'm self pay also. I'm headed to Mexico for my surgery... those three years I spent dieting and failing and crying were pretty helpful because I got to save up the money I needed for the surgery.)