JKC2016

I was worried I wouldn't enjoy food post surgery. Not a problem. The difference now is I enjoy the food and stop at a healthy portion. I'm ok knowing I can enjoy more or different at my next meal or tomorrow. That is like a precious gift. I used to binge eat. I love that is not an option now. I do notice those struggling most with food are still eating refined carbohydrates and sweeteners. I encourage you to experiment with whole grains only, no sweeteners, focus on lean protein, vegetables and fruit in moderation. After a few days, the cravings for less healthy foods are gone.

Are you tracking your body fat? Sometimes weight is stable when we trade lean mass for fat. Are you measuring too? If you are losing inches and body fat but not weight you are winning! I have a scale (Aria, auto uploads to my FitBit) that tracks body fat percentage and I focus on fat pounds lost, not weight lost.

I enjoy fruit with 2-3 of my meals per day. My focus is lean protein, vegetables and fruit. I eat some whole grains each day too. I worried fruit would trigger my sugar addict. There is a bit of that, but with focus on protein and the portion control my sleeve provides I'm enjoying fruit without over doing it. I weigh, measure and track everything.

The surgery does not solve anything. So important to get counseling for our underlying patterns and to develop new methods of coping. I find the sleeve incredibly helpful for supporting me in choosing healthy portion sizes. In every other way, I am the driver and need to keep my food and beverage choices healthy and stay active. This is no quick fix. The most common complaint is that weight loss isn't as fast as people expected. It is a wonderful support to a healthy lifestyle for me. I got the surgery to help me maintain a healthy weight. I've lost many times in my life. Never been at a stable weight. Nearly five months in, 50 pounds lighter, I'm getting close to goal and excited to learn what maintenance feels like.

For weight loss and health, consider moving away from prepared foods (including protein shakes and bars) and to lean protein, vegetables, fruits, and whole grains. Follow the stages of eating during healing of course. Then focus on healthy and delicious foods. My observation is the people who struggle most with cravings are consuming sweet protein shakes and bars and searching for lower carb substitutes for past high fat/carb foods. Taking advantage of the early days to change eating patterns will have incredible payoffs over our whole lifespan.

I cook a bunch of protein at once and generally have 2-4 choices in my fridge (chicken thighs, roast chicken, fish, seasoned ground turkey...) I also cook up batches of vegetables. At mealtime I mix and match based on my appetite or what gets me good variety. When eating out I choose a salad with protein, no dressing. My treats are plain yogurt with chopped apple, or a bowl of berries. Some nuts and seeds. Lots of different herbs and spices. Cheese in moderation.

Definitely a sugar addiction. I am learning to not restrict, I want a healthy relationship with food. I don't have sweets in the house now. If I really want to indulge I will, but I think about it carefully, weigh or measure, track. So far it's working out. (Nearly 5 months post surgery.)

Stick to the basics--lean protein first, 60-100g per day. Then vegetables, then fiber rich fruit. Then if there is room, a little whole grains. Measure and track everything, and get some exercise every day. Restricting down to vegetables will cause your body to stockpile fat whenever it gets a chance. Best of wishes for good health.

I was self pay and they had to go in again--I had some internal bleeding. I paid for the extra surgery and the blood transfusion. If i had purchased their insurance i wouldn't have had to cover those costs. It wasn't too expensive. And all my follow up care has been through my regular medical provider and insurance.

48 pounds. Loss is very individualized. We will always be curious and compare. Most important--are we healthier? Yes!

This is a super personal journey. Only you know what is right for you. I had my VSG in Tijuana in January. I am 5'9" and have had good success losing weight many times in my life with healthy habits, but I have never maintained a stable weight. I've always been either gaining or losing. My high was 237. I had lost down to 151, then gradually gained it back. When I got to 200, I decided I wasn't going back up again and scheduled surgery. Don't do this because you want a magic answer. You still have to do all the work--exercise and healthy food are critical for success. The biggest criticism is people not losing as fast as they thought they would. I am delighted with my results. I have been very health-focused. Daily exercise, I drink only water, eat delicious lean protein, veggies, fruit and whole grains. In just over 4 months I've lost 50 pounds of fat. I feel great, enjoy food and eating, and have a great supportive network of others who had surgery in January. I am now a normal BMI, I look great and I could call it done. I am enjoying getting really healthy, so I'll lose a bit more weight while focusing on strength training. I think they should lower the threshold to people anywhere in the Obese and up category who have had repeated challenges losing or maintaining. If you have hormonal or other issues making it hard to lose weight they will still be an issue. Addressing that can be very helpful. And it's smart to get counseling for food issues. Surgery doesn't cure those. I've found it much easier to manage. Take time to create a reasons why, reasons why not list. Will you be ok eating differently from others around you? This is 100% on you, and there are plenty of sacrifices. Truth is, we could just behave as if we'd had the surgery, but we don't. Good luck with your decision.

During my wait I enjoyed preparing and acquiring things. Most of what I bought I used only briefly. Some not at all. I am very glad I got an AltaHR Fitbit and Aria scale. Those plus logging my food and water in Myfitnesspal are my fabulous accountability tools. I bought too many kinds and too much protein powders. I used only the syntrax (because it didn't significantly change texture or flavor). I gave away 3 other kinds of protein powder and PB2--quite a bit of money. I never used protein bars, and only used powders through the purée stage. I bought lots of gasX strips and only used about 4. I bought cute little spoons and forks and briefly had fun with them, now they are put away. I bought a covered ice tray, popsicle forms and 2oz containers and haven't used any of them. My portions aren't that small, and I didn't use popsicles. I bought protein fortified instant soup from BariatricPal and they aren't clear enough for liquid stage and aren't tasty enough for purée stage. I bought a year of Patch MD vitamins I am using and was happy to have at first, but I could easily have switched to oral 2 months in. An over the shoulder cape-style heating pad was briefly useful, but I stopped being freezing a month in. I had lots of smaller clothes, so didn't have to shop, but I was surprised how fast I went through sizes, and less than 5 months in I've found I will be needing smaller sizes than I've ever worn, even at what I thought was a healthy weight for me. Basic message, try to curb the impulse to shop. What you have will work, and you won't need a lot of anything new for a long time. I love my results. I make excellent healthy food choices, exercise daily, and just went out in a body hugging tank dress and felt good. I was low BMI to start, slower weight loss than some, faster than others.

I weighed 208 going in and I'm 168 now. Just over 4 months. All the weight lost was fat--between healthy food choices and daily exercise I haven't lost lean mass. This isn't magic. I've lost a little faster and with less hunger than with previous efforts, but it is still all about quality nutrition and fitness. I didn't get the sleeve to lose weight. I got the sleeve to maintain a healthy body weight, which I've never done for any significant time.

I am 4.5 months in and eat 3-4 times a day, avg 1100 calories and 80-100g protein. I love fruits and vegetables, so my food focuses on protein and a combination of veggies and/or fruit. I eat whole grains--muesli, cottage cheese and berries for breakfast, I use mini shredded wheat for crackers. Many meals include no grains. Lots of chicken (boneless, skinless thighs are the favorite) and fish and ground turkey. I love food, have a good appetite, and the portion control of my sleeve has been perfect. I am at a healthy normal BMI, still losing weight, not yet at maintenance. Loving my sleeve.

Do you have a scale that measures body fat? Sounds like you are losing fat and gaining lean, which is absolutely fantastic. I love my Aria scale and Fitbit. Plenty of days when my weight doesn't drop my body fat does.

My recommendation is stop any shakes and protein supplements and feed your body lean protein, a wide range of vegetables, small amounts of whole grains, and a little fruit. Whole Foods, no sweeteners. And drink tons of water only. No artificial or natural sweeteners. Give it a try. I think you will feel great and get results.

$5450 for single incision VSG with Dr Garcia at Tijuana Bariatrics. Regular incisions would have been $1000 less.

An update--my BMI was barely 31. I'm 2.5 months post surgery, down 32 pounds, more than halfway to my goal. I feel great--excellent energy. I'm exercising daily and eating very healthy. Lean protein, a wide range of veggies, whole grains, a little fruit. I am sleeping better, feeling so much better, and rapidly dropping inches everywhere. Great decision for me. My surgery was single incision VSG with Dr Garcia at Tijuana Bariatrics.

I focus on protein and a wide range of veggies, adding whole grains to 2-3 of my meals (muesli in the morning, a slice of Daves bread or a couple of crackers or a brown rice cake. Lots of chicken and fish. More veggies than grain, and no sweeteners.

Focus on Whole Foods--whole grain for anything grain related, lean protein, vegetables and a little fruit. With high quality food, you can increase calories to 1000-1200. Daily movement is key. Strength training 3 x per week is like magic. This works, don't lose momentum.

I had single incision January 2017 with Dr Garcia at Tijuana Bariatrics. I did have a JP drain. Healing of the incision and drain site were very fast. Minimal pain at the incision site. My primary physician saw me 5 days later and was amazed at how small the incision is. Single incision is also laparoscopic. The belly button scar isn't noticeable. Ask for a stitch to close the drain site. They just bandaged mine and there is a small scar there. Fading well. I do recommend single incision. It was an extra $1000.

I did a single incision VSG with Dr Garcia and Tijuana Bariatrics. Great experience. They pick you up in San Diego and return you to the airport six days later. One night hotel Marriott, 2 night hospital, 2 nights Marriott. The care is more thorough and attentive than in the US. Healing has been really fast. I am 3 weeks post now and back to normal activities. Learning to eat and drink differently takes time and commitment. Lots of research first. Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App

There is a great private Facebook page for people sleeved in January 2017. There are currently 110 members and it is a super supportive group of people who can and do ask anything. If you would like to join, send me the email you use on Facebook and I can add you. Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App

I intentionally had single incision VSG on 1/17/17. I'm so pleased with the result. If the scab is dry, you can put plain Vaseline in your belly button and then very gently ease the very edges of the scab. Did you have staples? I had 3 sealing my incision. The incision healed really quickly for me and with pretty minimal discomfort. People are paying extra for this single scar. I'm very pleased with mine. Good luck with the healing. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Just got sleeved with Dr Garcia at Tijuana Bariatrics 1/17/17. I was just barely at 30 BMI. I've lost 13 pounds since surgery. I just hit the 3 week stall everyone talks about. Same weight for 3 days, down 0.3 lb today. I lost 5 inches off my waist already. Too soon to give you much info. I am very pleased with the experience. Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App