1Day1Life4Now

My NUT allows me 2 servings of fruit daily to be eaten AFTER the Protein serving at a mini-meal. I don't eat fruit every day but do tend to eat it several times a week. I am also allowed 2 multigrain servings daily (not to be eaten at the same time as the fruit serving). So far my weight loss is pretty steady so I'm not seeing any harm from eating these Fiber rich foods daily. And I hardly ever have any issues with Constipation.

I am also sad to report suspicions about ALM denials here...I was offered contact to speak with a male since I'm finding men's experiences seem to be quite different with BGS. I got an invalid email address repeatedly, was told I would be contacted to discuss ALM as an option for my upcoming surgery. I gave my number, waiting to be called or email a week ago, and nothing. I will be sticking with Almanza for my next week May 11 surgery.

Because WLS is fuckin' expensive and a lot of insurance companies don't cover enough of the price. Mexico is cheaper, with some great doctors

I can also confirm that Alex Brecher was in Tijuana until April 21st as that was my surgery date with Dr Illan and he personally visited me in my hospital room that day.

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I can absolutely confirm Alex Brecher was in Tijuana the week in question. I had my surgery at Oasis of Hope hospital on 4/17/17 and the day I got there he was at the hospital talking and taking photos with the doctors. While I was checking in he went out of his way to introduce himself, which I thought was really nice.
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This is such sad news and we should all pray for this sweet family who lost their mother. It is heartbreaking.
One of the many purposes of a site like this inform and educate patients about the doctors available to them. To say people only go to Mexico because it's cheap or because they want it done fast is very judgmental and uninformed. That is not why I went, I had a choice, and the cost would have been the same with insurance coverage or going to Mexico. You cannot unilaterally categorize an entire country and patients who choose to go there based on your preconceived notions. People die on tables in the US also and the US has butcher assembly line doctors as well. You are naive to think you any safer when you do not do you research. My mother, an RN, worked directly with bariatric patients post op in Texas and I could tell you some pretty scary stories about many US TX surgeons. YOU have to do your research wherever you decide to have your surgery. There are some very good and experienced surgeons in Mexico and the US and mine happened to be Dr. Illan. I am a mother of 3 and you can bet I did my research.
Thank you Alex for keeping us informed and please people, do your research.

Congratulations on your weight loss. You have lost a tremendous amount of weight and you look so much younger. Great job. Keep up the hard work and you will be at goal before you know it. Your clothes are really cute too so I know you are enjoying the shopping aspect more.

Get a bra like this
http://www.justmysize.com/shop/justmysize/plus-size-intimates/bras/just-my-size-bras/just-my-size-wirefree-bra-jm1274
Wear a loose dress if you can, I wore a maxi dress.
I also kept and extra bandage on the incision that was right along my bra line, to pad it.
You want clothes that are as easy to get on and off as possible.

All of the replies on this topic have inspired me to make my latest video based on real life events. Probably the hardest video I have had to make to date since its so personal and hits close to home. You are not crazy for considering taking some form of action, you're crazy for NOT taking some form of action.

Hi everyone, I'm new and learning my way around the app. Where do I introduce myself?
Maybe I'll just do it here! I'm two weeks out from my RNY and doing pretty well. Always looking for friends and happy with information. I live in Europe, work part time, am married and enjoy my life with Hubs, my dog, and my retired horse.
RNY 14 April 2017

Welcome!
This surgery will be like starting all over from scratch again. Clear liquid diet after surgery, etc. I'm not that familiar with how long a band patient takes to resume a normal diet, but a mgb patient will take 8-9 weeks.
Expect the recovery to be a little worse because it is a revision, and it is a more invasive procedure. Not horribly worse, but a bit.
Did the band erode into your stomach? If so, then it's an added complication.
Once it's over and you are healed, you should find the new procedure superior to the band. No more fills, more natural eating.

I went to the ALM facebook page to get the other side of the story and there was nothing posted there about the story at all. I have to believe what Alex is telling us to be true, unless you can provide us with some other information. Those of us that have already had surgery are fine but there is no way I'd support a friend going there unless there is some transparency and information sharing.

Regardless of where you go for surgery, I highly encourage that you go for it. I was borderline diabetic, had sleep apnea, arthritis pain, severe reflux and miserable with my weight but had the surgery and I've become a new woman. Everything now is under control and I take no medications other than the protonix for acid. The restriction makes you rethink your eating chioces and the weight loss just makes you feel so darn good. Go for it but do your research first.
Color me satisfied.

Exciting news for you. Congratulations. You are going to love it once the surgery is over. Are you having the sleeve or the bypass? Enjoy the journey, you are going to have a lot of changes in a short amount of time. Good luck.

I went to the ALM facebook page to get the other side of the story and there was nothing posted there about the story at all. I have to believe what Alex is telling us to be true, unless you can provide us with some other information. Those of us that have already had surgery are fine but there is no way I'd support a friend going there unless there is some transparency and information sharing.

UMMMM.... Maybe you need to bring your attitude down to a Zero because my comment was not directed to you. You should read that I offered her an option. I did not Quote you nor read your Quote. The world does not revolve around you and what you have posted. To make sure I am talking to you, I have now Quoted you.

Thank you for posting the video. Your process for deciding sounded a little like some of my thoughts. I am not morbidly obese, but I already have weight related health issues and I am only 48. Diabetes and heart disease run in my family and I really need to stop the progression now.
I would much prefer to have the surgery closer to home but I don't have the $20-25 thousand. I am still undecided as to what I should do. I know a few people that have had surgery in Mexico and were very satisfied with the care they received. They did not have WLS so I am researching now to see if I can find a surgeon that I would be comfortable with.
I could just wait for the inevitable weight gain back to a BMI of 35, but that also sounds crazy to me. My current changes to my diet should help me by successful with WLS and I don't want to go backward.

To change your city and state. Do the following:
1) Click your username on the top right hand side (Then Click Account Settings)
2) On the right hand side, you will see edit profile.
3) Scroll down and input the information you would like people to know.
I hope that helps.
Now, there are many people on here whom have gone to Mexico for surgery. Search some of the topics, as they also refer great surgeons that would help you.

Hi all,
I had the sleeve done in Sept 2013. I've been having severe GERD/reflux since, with barium swallows showing instantaneous backflow up my esophagus. I'm tired of the constant heartburn, so I'm having the bypass procedure done next month.
Anyone else go through this? How did the bypass procedure compare to the sleeve - pain wise, recovery time, post-op diet, etc?
Also curious about additional weight loss... SW was 234, GW was 155. I reached 147, but CW is now 180 (sleeve has stretched and I admittedly haven't adhered to diet very well).

Why Psychologists Deny Certain People for Weight Loss Surgery and How to Not be One of Them


I have worked as a psychologist, providing psychological evaluations prior to bariatric weight loss surgery for the past eight years. For the most part, people need a power tool to help them lose and keep off the weight they have lost over and over again in their lives. The gastric sleeve, bypass, and now balloon are those tools. However, every once in a while, I will encounter someone who believes these procedures are the magic bullet.
I can pick this up in five seconds when I learn that:
this person has no exercise plan to maintain their weight loss a barrage of excuses as to why they can't exercise anymore zero insight into why they are overweight ("I don't know why I am overweight, I just eat steamed vegetables and grilled chicken mostly.") a lack of motivation or understanding for why they also have to engage in behavioral modification in addition to the surgery "Why would you reveal all of this?" you ask. Aren't I giving away the keys to the kingdom to anyone who reads this and wants to pass a psychological evaluation? Perhaps- but who are you really cheating if you don't go within and face the real demons that got you here in the first place?
When I ask people about their eating styles, I tend to group them into four categories:
1) emotional eater- someone who uses food when they are bored, stressed, tired, lonely, sad, or even happy in addition to eating when they are hungry
2) skip and binger- someone who fails to think about food until it is too late, and when they are ravenous end up going for whatever is available which is usually some type of carb and calorie laden fast food
3) miscellaneous- someone who just recognizes that they eat too large of portion sizes and/or the wrong types of food
4) food addict- usually someone with a history of other addictions, trauma, and a significant amount of weight to lose. They usually have comorbid psychological diagnoses that have been unaddressed or ill-addressed.
Out of the four categories, the 4th is the most troubling for a psychologist. This particular person is most correlated with the patient who fails to address their core issues, eats "around the sleeve," or bypass, experiences dumping syndrome, comes back a year later and asks for the bypass, or a different procedure.
This is the person who, ironically, is usually the most resistant to my recommendation that they seek therapeutic support prior to the surgery. They want it done YESTERDAY. They want it NOW. It is this type of thinking that got them into trouble in the first place. The impulsivity and lack of emotional regulation.
I've witnessed people fail to address their maladaptive eating patterns and never quite get to their goal weight. I had a male that would buy a bag of pepperonis at the grocery store and snack on them all day and couldn't understand why he wasn't losing weight. This daily "snack," which was a mental security blanket, served as a veritable IV drip of fat and calories throughout the day.
I've had a woman who figured out how to ground up her favorite foods into a liquid form because she never quite let go of her attachment to "comfort foods." One of her most notable liquid concoctions consisted of chicken and Cheetos. I'll just leave that for you to chew...er swallow.
They say with drug and alcohol recovery- you "slay the dragon," but with food addiction recovery, you have to take it for a walk three times a day. If you don't fundamentally shift your relationship with this dragon, you're going to get burnt when you are walking it.
My number one tip for transforming your relationship with food is to start looking at eating the same way you do as brushing and flossing: You don't necessarily salivate at the idea of what type of toothpaste you will use, where you will do it, who you will do it with, right? You just do it twice a day because you don't want to lose your teeth and you want to maintain healthy gums.
Food has to be thought of in the same way. You fuel up. You don't use food as a place to define your quality of life. You don't use food to Celebrate. You don't use food to demarcate the end of a long day. You don't use food to help you feel less alone. You figure out healthier coping alternatives to meet these needs.
Loneliness-call a friend for support
Celebrate- get a massage
Demarcate the end of a long day- start a tea ritual and use essential oils
Another reason you must say goodbye to comfort food is that it triggers the pleasure center of the brain, which ignites our dopamine, which perpetuates the addiction. Many people think we are just telling them to get rid of the comfort food because of the carbs or calories, but there are unique and harmful chemical consequences to ingesting these types of food we know are bad for us.
If you are ready to take a modern approach to weight loss and stop dieting for good- check out my wls/vsg psychological support course here for free.
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Hi everyone. I have lurked around this forum reading everything for a couple of years. I finally took the plunge and am signed up for surgery with Dr. Illian at the end of May. Can I ask who did you tell prior to your surgery? I find myself not wanting to tell anyone other than my husband. Maybe it is because I have struggled with my weight a 100 times. Maybe it is because I am afraid of being judged. Maybe it is because I don't want to hear other's opinons since my mind is made up. I don't know...who did you tell about your surgery and when did you tell them...or did you just keep it to yourself?

I never shared my surgery with people. I figured it was no ones business

I had surgery in February and I only told my husband and 1 friend (who was supposed to go with me). Other than that, no one. I've lost almost 30 lbs and people are noticing I'm losing weight and I just say thank you.

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I've been obese for about half of my life and I have an extensive medical history. I had my surgery April 11th and I decided before the surgery not to tell anyone. Only my wife knows and she is aware of my wishes to keep my surgery secret. Right now I am trying to figure out how to respond when my family members inquire about my rapid weight loss? Has anybody kept surgery a secret and how is it working out so far?

I'm confused as to why this is an argument.
#1 there are very big risks to this surgery. We all are informed of that going in. We do it for the reward in spite of the risk. So someone died. Tragic event and all together possible. Why deny this one when we know it's a risk?
#2 how hard is it to sign a contract saying you'll bring an adult companion with you to Mexico and then bring a teen companion? Saying it's not possible to bring a teen is like saying it's not possible to lie. Goodness.
#3 Not every surgeon has deaths for the simple fact that some Surgeons are a bit more picky on whom they operate on - agreeing to less risky patients or requiring patients take steps to become less risky (ex. lose weight) prior to authorization. If you haven't seen "my 600 pound life" where it discusses surgeons who refuse to operate on certain individuals, then you haven't done the most basic of research. Though asking your own surgeon is probably easier. People go to Mexico for surgery usually because they want a cheaper and more easily approved surgery with a surgeon who won't deny them so quickly or require more effort on the patient part before hand. The fact that more people die on a table with this route is the risk you take when you choose cheap and "easy" over harder and more expensive. If you're shocked by it, then I fear you haven't considered common sense.
HW: 328 (02/22/17)
SW: TBD
CW: 292