Cody's mom

@@iamblessed1225, there is absolutely no way I would be able to stick to that diet for even a day. Why not eat the whole egg? There are so many great things you can eat why not enjoy food, the sleeve is not a death sentence, and if you try to stick to an unrealistic diet, things will not go well. Best of luck!

@@fluffy4now, I had surgery on Sept 14, 2014. I had prime rib ten days after, and have it once a week (I work in the oil patch and all meals are made for us). I had turkey, gravy and all the fixins last Sunday, and tomorrow is steak and shrimp night. This sleeve is not a death sentence, it's a means of controling your intake. I can not stand Protein shakes, and wish so much I could find one that I could drink without it coming back on me, but I can't, so I eat what is put in front of me in camp. I eat VERY small amounts, and guess what, I'm happy with that. Prime rib night use to happen, and I'd almost eat the arm of anyone who got in my way, now I just sit back and enjoy it. I even have yorkshire pudding and gravy if I want it (might only be a bite or two, but that's all that I need). I have lost 35 pounds todate, and have another 40 to go. I love that I'm happy with a few bites of everything instead of being able to out eat every man in the dining room. I'm happy that my stomach doesn't stick out further than my boobs. So this isn't the end of enjoying food, it's the end of un-natural eating. As for the other things you enjoy, trust me you won't be struck with a bolt of lightening if you eat them, use caution, but enjoy life!

@@RedSalamander, seven days (and had to drive nine hours to get to work), but I cleaned my house, grocery shopped, and worked my horses at five days out. I went shopping on the streets of Tijuana and costco two days out. I never felt fatigued, or sick, or had gas pains like some do. I was happy to get back to work and get into a routine again, it took my mind off everything. They say to restrick your lifting, and I tried, but I have a 85 pound pitbull who needs help with his bum getting into my truck so I was hoisting him in. Everyone is different. My friend went back after ten days and had no problems.

I had surgery on Thursday the 11th and was back to work on Monday the 22nd. If I could have worked from home, I could have started working probably a full week earlier, meaning I'd have only missed two work days.

Don't shoot me anyone - but I was back at work in 5 days, including a weekend. I only missed 3 days of work. I am a widow with a special needs son, so I'm the only one working. Thankfully I was good to go, just a bit tired.

I feel bad for sleeve101, it sounds like she's having a rough go, and some people do. Mine was easy, I was shopping as soon as I got out of the hospital, working my horses, cleaning my house and grocery shopping within a few days, and I ate a prime rib dinner ten days after surgery. I skipped all the diet plans set out because of the remote location I work in (I drove nine hours to work a week after surgery), so I had to adapt to my work conditions, I ate what the cooks made. Some people have a rough go of it, and others are able to carry on with out missing a beat. All the ladies that had surgery with me on the same day, are pretty much the same as me, we all jumped up and went shopping and to the beach as soon as we could, and aside from one or two having a few gas pains, went on with our lives pretty easy. So it is different for everyone, but just so you know, it is easy for some, I was shocked at how easy the surgery and recovery was, I was expecting it to be so much more difficult. Everybody is different.

We live in a life of food, we don't eat to live, we live to eat. We go for dinner, we go for lunches, there's sample tables everywhere we go, so it's difficult to not indulge, but this tool (the sleeve) will help so much. I was a self pay in Tijuana and it was easy. I had started to hide from everyone including friends and family because of the shame and embarrassment, so for me there was no other choice, I had stopped wanting to live all I wanted to do was hide. I think finding out who you are, and who you could be would be an exciting journey, and finding out the new things you can do would far out weigh your fears. "You're never to old to be what you could have been" (and that includes being thin and healthy). I wish you luck!

There are so many of us that were more afraid to lose our relationship with food than to lose our relationship with life. The sleeve isn't a death sentence, it's a tool to start you on the way to living again. You will be able to eat all your favorite foods again, you just won't want to sit and gorge yourself and this makes it easier to make better food choices. Make health and happy decissions for yourself, and learn to live again. Best of luck!

Just curious, but why not the whole egg? The yolk is healthy fat which will keep you full longer, is great for your skin, hair and nails and tastes great. To make your eggs even better, add some cheese. You may find you need to snack less as you are getting almost no fat in your diet. That's not a good thing, in my opinion.

Snacks?

Almonds, beef Jerky, greek yogurt (blurp), cottage cheese, full fat cheese, avocado, sf lattes, Peanut Butter, hummus, cream cheese, deviled eggs.< /p>
I am making the assumption that you are SUPER new out of surgery because your diet is very limited. Add some variety! Your sleeve is not a sentence to bland meals and your body will get used to the same foods over and over and won't burn calories as efficiently.

Refried Beans and cheese, browned hamburger topped with Tomato sauce and melted mozzarella, a cheese stick rolled in ham, turkey or roast beef and grilled in a pan to get melty, meatballs (homemade is best!) and cheese, chicken salad, ham salad, egg salad.
Don't be afraid to eat just don't LIVE to eat.

I totally understand and to me, you are still really new out. It was so scary to me to start adding in new foods because I was afraid of "failing". Until you do it and see that you won't wake up back at your highest weight tomorrow, it's kind of terrifying.
High Protein, low carb, regular fat. Healthy fats, though, not french fries and potato chips.
Real foods. Real fat. If it has more chemicals than things you recognize, don't eat it. You will be amazed at how much better things taste. I do SF where I can and light milk because I prefer it, but real eggs, real cheese, real dressing.
My hair looks better, my skin looks better, I feel better. I am eating like a healthy person, not a dieting person. It's so freeing.

Congrats, I did mine Sept 14, 2014 and it was an easy, positive experience. I personally would recommend them to anyone. I also told my doctor here in Canada that even if I was offered the choice of doing it here in Canada that I would still have gone to Tijuana, and have more faith in the physicians there than I do here with this specific procedure. I felt completely safe at all times, and enjoyed my little holiday at the same time. It was funny, I remember waking up thinking "that's it, I'm done, really, okay lets walk". Wishing you nothing but luck, it will be so worth it.

My Dr told me I would most likely lose 75% of my excess body weight. I started out at 275 pounds. I am only 4'11.5. My BMI was 53!!! So 75% of 145 pounds of excess body weight. So close to 100 pounds. Of course anyone can exceed expectations. But they can also fall short. You still need to exercise, and make healthy eating choices.

I was 185 pounds and 5'1 and I was sleeved in September. Since the start of my pre-op diet I have lost 30 pounds (13 weeks). It's a tool to help you control your eating, it's not a guarantee you lose a certain number of pounds, and you don't automatically wake up and you're thin. Its work, just like a normal diet, it's a change of life, it's not a miracle but it's a damn great tool. I was told I would have lost more weight by now, and it didn't happen, so don't rely on things people say as to how much you'll lose, everyone is different, and every body will lose at a different rate. You might only lose 50 pounds, you might lose more. Even thou I haven't lost as much as I would have liked by now, I haven't gained, and that is very important to me!

I admire you, you fell off the wagon and are brave enough to get back on. I truly believe that many of us are addicted to food, it's probably the most important relationship some of us have, and the thought of losing that strong bond and love is scary. I too was scared to lose that best friend, but at some point you look at it and say what is more important..
I wish you nothing but the best of luck, this is something you can do, never give up, you've come so far already. Take it one day at a time, don't look back, look ahead!

I love Mexico, the safety guy I work with just got back on Wednesday and had several teeth pulled and replaced with new beautiful teeth, they look amazing. I have a girlfriend there now having two caps put on and her teeth whitened, and I'll head there next year to have surgery to have the lose skin removed. Again I LOVE MEXICO.
What scares me more than anything in Mexico, is what happens in my back yard, the rapes, murders, and abuse. And did you see what happened in Ferguson? NOW THATS SCARY!
You have to do what's right for you, but traveling the world, I have yet to see anything near as dangerous as people report. I had my sleeve done recently in Tijuana and loved shopping the streets and going for long walks (on my own). Felt as safe there as I do in my own city.

food, food, food, I love food, and I got lazy, lazy, lazy. Then I just gave up and said tomorrow, tomorrow and tomorrow I'll start to diet and exercise. I had every excuse in the book, and I wrote a few myself. I layed blame on everyone and everything but myself.. And when I finally looked at myself and was so ashamed and embarrassed that I just wanted to hide, I got the sleeve. My only regret is not doing it sooner, but then again, I had an excuse for that too! But now I'm on the slow road to a happy and fulfilling life, living not eating, and living is so much more important than eating. For some people eating is more important than living, and loosing their relationship with food is more important that loosing their relationship with life! Just my thoughts!

food, food, food, I love food, and I got lazy, lazy, lazy. Then I just gave up and said tomorrow, tomorrow and tomorrow I'll start to diet and exercise. I had every excuse in the book, and I wrote a few myself. I layed blame on everyone and everything but myself.. And when I finally looked at myself and was so ashamed and embarrassed that I just wanted to hide, I got the sleeve. My only regret is not doing it sooner, but then again, I had an excuse for that too! But now I'm on the slow road to a happy and fulfilling life, living not eating, and living is so much more important than eating. For some people eating is more important than living, and loosing their relationship with food is more important that loosing their relationship with life! Just my thoughts!

I can't wait to be able to wear boots that go to my knee!!!
What do you wear now or what do you want to be able to wear one day that you couldn't wear as an overweight person?

I'm a cosmetologist, so fashion is huge for me. However, I cant wait to wear boots with skinny jeans, and a cute top.

My kids are 25 and 27...can I still blame it on pregnancy?

@@Scarlett72, they do cut it out, but you'll still crave. I pretty much always crave Chinese food, and I give in, luckily I can only eat a few bites and I'm good. Right now I'm hungry and craving perogies. I never really stopped craving food, the difference is I'm not obsessed with food any longer. You can eat what you want, just really small portions, and you can control it. I talk to everyone that had surgery on the same day I did, and we all still crave certain foods, and it's okay as it doesn't rule your life any longer. I thought losing my relationship with food would kill me, but I haven't lost anything but the ability to eat more than everyone I'm sitting with. Good luck!

food, food, food, I love food, and I got lazy, lazy, lazy. Then I just gave up and said tomorrow, tomorrow and tomorrow I'll start to diet and exercise. I had every excuse in the book, and I wrote a few myself. I layed blame on everyone and everything but myself.. And when I finally looked at myself and was so ashamed and embarrassed that I just wanted to hide, I got the sleeve. My only regret is not doing it sooner, but then again, I had an excuse for that too! But now I'm on the slow road to a happy and fulfilling life, living not eating, and living is so much more important than eating. For some people eating is more important than living, and loosing their relationship with food is more important that loosing their relationship with life! Just my thoughts!

I have always cooked, and last night at dinner it dawned on me why I'm so fat.... I eat AS I cook. I have to taste to season. By the time dinner was done I couldn't even eat with them. I was already full! Where before I would still fill my plate and eat with them. So I need to learn to QUIT eating as I cook ????????????

I was sleeved on 10/21/14. Now all I want go do is cook, which is great for my husband...lol I started my Thanksgiving cooking today and have more to do tomorrow and I'm loving it!! Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!!

Ditto. I had a wonderful experience in TJ. Everyone I met was very friendly....more so than a typical US city, for sure. I had no concerns walking around with my sister, shopping and even catching a taxi when I got tired. (The OCC driver recommended a particular taxi company to use when he dropped us off at avenude Revolucion) And the guys at Walmart were a hoot. They gave us tips for converting pesos/dollars and we helped them practice their English with us. My aunt and uncle live in Texas and have been traveling to Mexico for dental and medical care for decades. This made my decision to go to Mexico for my surgery very easy. I thought my parents would freak out, but they thought going to a skilled, experienced surgeon in Mexico was a much better plan than trying to bargain shop here in the US.
But you do need to do what you are most comfortable with. If you have found a surgeon you like in the US and it takes a little longer to save up then that's what you should do. Peace of mind and feeling safe is as important as anything. GOOD LUCK!