Surgery is something I have casually thought about before, but was so sure I could lose weight on my own. 10 years later, it hasn't happened and I am finding myself with more medical issues: depression, sleep apnea and back problems. I met someone recently who had the sleeve surgery in Mexico about a year ago and she has lost well over 100 lbs. I didn't even realize surgery in Mx was an option. I have insurance but it wouldn't cover this specific surgery, I don't meet the guidelines, etc etc.

I became a grandmother this past fall to a beautiful little girl and I really want to watch her grow. I want to have the energy to play with her and take her to wonderful places.

My husband and I discussed this option and decided to go for it! We will be paying OOP which I think is still less than if I had the surgery locally by the time I paid my deductible, 20%, etc.

My surgery is scheduled for Thursday, February 18th at Hospital Jerusalem in Tijuana, Mexico with Dr. Almanza. Melissa is my coordinator. Except for a select few, we have decided not to tell anyone else until afterwards.

The 18th is also my 49th birthday. I plan to be 50 and fabulous in a year!

My stats: 5' 4" tall, highest weight 199, current weight 192, goal weight 130.

Here we go!

Thank you! It is pretty darn exciting! People are finally starting to notice, it is nice.

I do lousy on the days I am home, there are just too many temptations and too much food around. A bite of this and a bite of that. LOL Or I get totally sidetracked with a project and forget to eat for hours! Then I feel dizzy!

At work, there are fewer and better choices, altho we do keep a variety of Snacks around for the employees.

Exercise is not big on my schedule yet, altho I am getting there. The desire is mostly back, now I just need to make it happen. Going to PT twice a week has helped tho. Last week I asked for some specific exercises to work on the love handles that wouldn't irritate my back. Starting to think summer!! :wink1:

And I am ready for that belly ring date anytime you are! My stomach is doing well. I really don't think I will need surgery to remove any extra skin.

You got to your goal weight quickly! I hope my loss continues and I don't slow down below 2 lbs per week. I am really getting excited to be thin again!

Wow, you are doing great! The 150's must feel incredible!

thank you!

it is wonderful! I don't have any jeans that fit properly right now, so I am either wearing some with a baggy behind or lviing in a pair of adidas sweats that aren't too bad yet. hoping to hold off for another week or so to buy anything. I will probably end up at the thrift store before I buy new ones tho!

You will love having the sleeve. It is incredible!! I hope you get a date soon and become a "loser" like the rest of us!

At 11 weeks - the scale is at 157.8! A loss of 35.2 lbs! I wish I could come up with new descriptive words! Absolutely unbelieveable! Even tho I have read the stories here, seen the before and after photos, and talked to a local gal who had success, I didn't really know if it would work for me.

AND ... I now have less than 30 lbs to lose!! yea!!

The biggest problem? Even my shirts are becoming unwearable! They look sloppy as they hang. Several of my layering tanks are too long and too stretched out.

I expected to need pants but didn't realize the shirts would be an issue also! I know, a "terrible" problem to have! I was hoping the shirts would be doable until I was done losing weight, and I could buy new ones then. I did wander thru the Misses department the other day, and maybe found 1 or 2 things I would even consider wearing. Funny how our tastes change as the weight comes off! I may have to move down to juniors! LOL

We have a birthday/mother's day party for my MIL tomorrow. No clue what I will wear. And no one on this side of the family knows about the surgery. I probably won't even bring it up unless someone really pushes the weight loss issue. We see most of them so rarely it just isn't important.

Life is getting better! My back issues have settled down, altho I just finished 6 weeks of PT. I now have 2 weeks off and on my own for exercises before I see the specialist again. We'll see if it holds out. I would love to start running again and if I want to continue to coach volleyball, I need to be healthy.

I have adjusted to the cpap machine and other than the past week, I have been sleeping much better. I am a little less tired during the day and hopefully that will continue to improve.

I was sick this morning. Slept lousy, was probably awake every 1-2 hours. Woke up very dizzy, hands shaking and blurry vision. The glasses I wear for driving didn't even help. I went to the office for about 2.5 hours, then came home for a nap. I really pushed the Protein today and a few extra calories. Better but not perfect tonite. Would be curious to know if it was a bug, related to sleep or something with the diet/weight loss. Guess I will just wait and see!

Happy Mother's Day to all this weekend! It even looks like we will have sun here instead of the usual rain!!

Edited May 8, 201016 yr by pnw218

Hi Janet

You are doing soooo good!! I'm jealous! LOL. I just got back from a long walk, I know this will help my weightloss again! I feel like I have been at the same weight forever, which I have!!

Sorry you were not feeling goo earlier, I hop you feel better now. Have fun at your gathering tomorrow! Get your speech ready because everyone is going to ask about your weight loss.

happy mothers day!

Thanks Fab!

And not a single person said anything! oh well, maybe they will notice the next time I see them in one or two years. lol

I am better today but not perfect. Kindof odd. Still a little shakey and eyes are weird.

Hopefully my MIL's 88th bday cake that I had for lunch will do the trick! : )

I wonder how long the weight loss will continue. The lowest I have ever been as an adult was 118, and that was too skinny. I think that was even after my second child! My body was always quite happy in the 125-135 range, so it will be interesting if it stops there or what. I need 10-15 more lbs to make the surgery worthwhile. After that, it is a bonus!

Good for you on the walking. I am just a lazy bum. If it doesn't get done in the morning, it ain't happening. lol I am sure my dog would love a walk. **maybe later**

Not ONE person said anything??? I can't believe that! How dare they?? After 35lbs you have got to be able to tell the difference! Oh well, you don't see them that often so maybe they did not know the difference.

I'm sure the birthday cake is what made you feel better!! LOL I just got back from the store and they had a yummy looking chocolate creme pie that I just had to buy! For the family of course! To be honest I don't really care for sweets, give me nachos, popcorn, chips....etc!! Always my favorites!

As far as "how low will you go" I wish I could tell you. I can eat way too much!! I don't have much restrictions, and I'm not sure what happened! It used to be I would eat about a cup of food and I would be stuffed, now I can eat lots more...not sure what to do to change it. I'm thinking I need to do the 5 day pouch test and see if that helps, not sure what else to do. Some have said that taking an antacid helps their hunger, maybe I should try that. At this point I'm just not sure, and I have totally stopped losing so go figure.

Take care!!

The other part of it is what is a reasonable amount of weight to lose?? Maybe your body is very happy where you are at. Your BMI is at a healthy level, you lost 91.42% of your posted goal. That is way more than what most sites say is the anticipated amount. Seems like the average to expect is 60-80% of excess weight in a year. You have done much better than that!

I am at 53.84, not that far away from 60% in a relatively short amount of time. It would have driven me crazy to only lose this much in a year! : )

Yesterday I needed salt, today it was sugar. Tomorrow is shrimp! LOL Or atleast that is what I am taking for dinner at my brother's house! I may eat the entire tray myself .......

That side of the family is very self centered and a very tight group. Often the one family will sit alone and talk amongst themselves and ignore everyone else. Except for their adopted daughter. I totally adore her. I am the closest to her but she wasn't there today. She would have noticed!!!! haha!

That is the nicest thing I have heard in a long time!!!

Maybe you are right, this might be where I was supposed to end up at. But you know I feel like I need to get just a little bit more off, just in case I gain a little back. I have really been pushing the excersize again, since the weather is nice. I took two walk/jogs today. I got in 5 miles total and I feel great!!

Janet thank you sooo much for putting all of this into perspective, I just thought that last 6 lbs would come off. I think For my mental state I need to get to my goal!! I really feel good where I'm at, I could stand some lipo on my thighs!! LOL I have always been thinner up on the top but I have thighs! Putting it down on paper makes it look so much better, I have been beating myself up for quite awhile now.

And if you want to eat the whole tray of shrimp go ahead!! You know I only say that because I know you never could. But at least it is a godd choice of food.

Thanks so much, friend!!

A little exercising may be just what you need - might tone up what you still think needs attention, and if you aren't trying, those dumb 6 pounds might disappear!

Happy if it was encouraging! Now if I could just follow my own advice! LOL It's like we all know it ... it is just a matter of doing it! : )

I guess if I never get any smaller, this is the smallest I have been in years! My size 10 levi's hang on my butt, but the size 8's are still just a little tight. If you would have told me a year ago I would be wearing a size 10 again, I would have said "get out"!!! So I guess ther is always a positive, you just have to look for it!

Happy mommies day!

at 12 weeks .... 156.8 a loss of 36.2!

It has been encouraging to see the 2lb a week loss continue even tho the past week or so hasn't been "normal". Life in general has been busy and stressful, I was sick last week and didn't sleep well this week.

Being sick - wasn't sure if it was a "flu" bug or something I did (or didn't) eat. I spent about 4 days with blurry vision, dizzy, hot/chills, shaky hands. I spent last weekend protein and carb loading, drinking as much as possible. Finally went away - but then I couldn't sleep! Sunday thru Wed nights were terrible. I finally went to the acupuncturist on Thursday afternoon. Have been sleeping about 12 hours per night since then! LOL Feels great! :tongue_smilie:

Friday - Saturday I took our club volleyball team to Great Wolf Lodge as a reward for winning a difficult match. The good part - they are all 14-16 yr old teens so didn't need supervision - well, except for the boys! lol I would have felt very comfortable putting on a swim suit and hanging out in the water park, however the mom who came with me, wasn't - so I just wore a tank top and shorts, and we sat outside in the sun. It wasn't too hot and was very relaxing!

I am over the halfway point to my goal - again, a goal I pulled out of the air. LOL It is actually the mid point of the weight range for a female with a healthy bmi, medium build and 5'4".

My next short term goal is to hit the 40 pounds lost mark. Getting close!! I should be there before I go to Alabama the first part of June.

I have never had such confidence knowing that I could set a goal and actually have a reasonably strong chance of hitting it before in my life. It is a feeling you can't describe, but those who have done it, will understand.

Edited May 16, 201016 yr by pnw218

Lost another pound over the weekend. Another good Monday morning! 155.8, down 37.2! Next goals: loss of 40+ lbs and getting into the 140's!

Anxious to go to the back dr next Monday. Hopefully he will release me for exercise and I can start firming up. Overall not bad at all tho; was worried about loose skin but I must be losing slow enough that it's not an issue. However, the hips and bottom always need attention! LOL

Janet

You are doing so well!!! It feels so good to be a normal size again!

Hey how was Great Wolf Lodge?? We have thought about going several times, but just never get around to it. Plus I'm the only one in the family who like the water, my hubby and his kids are all afraid of the water. I grew up swimming everyday during the summer, taugh swim lessons for 3 years. I guess you could call me a fish!!

Have a great day!!

Good Morning! and thanks! It does feel good to be so close to normal! I even found my waist!! : )

GWL is fun - kinda spendy tho, especially if you have to go on a weekend. Sometimes there are specials and that helps! The rooms are nice tho. I wouldn't recommend the buffet - $35 per person and cold food the last time my daughter was there with friends. The snack bar in the waterpark area is decent pricewise and food quality/choices. We had drinks and nachos in the bar on Friday night and both seemed to be good values. We brought Snacks and Breakfast with us.

The park itself: perfect for little kids, elementary aged and junior high. Older teens will be done after about 5 hours - unless of course there are teens of the opposite sex to splash with! LOL There is a teen dance on Fri/Sat nights. The girls always like that : ) I like the wavepool and hot tub.

It would be nice if there was a parent/adult only area for those of us with older kids who don't need supervision. We did go outside in the lower sitting area near the hottub. There were lounge chairs and tables/chairs. You can't take your own food out there. Dumb.

There is only one area that I think requires actual swimming skills; most of it is just Water play. That might help those who aren't water fans?? There are also lifejackets everywhere and are free to use.

We have been three times. Took my daughter and 5 of her friends a couple of years ago. Met my sister and her then 4 yr old daughter - that was very fun! And then this trip with the teen vb players. Will probably take the granddaughter and have my sis meet us with her two kids this summer. The babies are just 1 day apart so that should be fun!

You can enter the park early on the day you arrive, before your room is ready, and then stay until closing time the day you check out. Helps to justify the price. At least this time I could deduct the cost as a club expense! : )