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!

Have fun on the cruise Janet. Are you leaving your husband behind, since he went through rehab? I was just thinking that cruising was a problem for you two in the past....... with his drinking. You deserve to have a good time without him. Good luck. Les

Have fun on the cruise Janet. Are you leaving your husband behind, since he went through rehab? I was just thinking that cruising was a problem for you two in the past....... with his drinking. You deserve to have a good time without him. Good luck. Les

Do you ever make positive comments?? If not, please don't respond to me. I ignored you the last time you were rude - was kinda hoping you would just go away.

If this was your best effort at nice and not intentionally sarcastic ... he is actually doing very well and I am sure this trip will go just fine.

Have you tried adjusting your meds to improve your disposition? Sheesh.

Hi sweet friend!!

You are doing FABULOUS!!! I just love reading your updates!! I'm super jealous of you going on a cruise, I have been on one and it was the best. I loved all the food, I think I could go on one now and not have food be the most important thing! I did not use the gym, but I swam and did water aerobics everyday. Great memories!

Have a great time, and I know you will!!!

Thank Fab!

And I am excited to get away! We hadn't been in the Caribbean for a long time, until last January, and then the weather was just so-so. This time should be nicer. And we are going to 3 ports that the rest of family hasn't been to before - so that is always nice.

I am a little concerned about the food thing, mainly dinner : ( I figure I will have an appetizer and main dish - and then chocolate melting cake with a side of vanilla ice cream! Maybe one of the girls will share with me. LOL

I love to cruise. This will be my 20th. Kind of a milestone.

We will be going to the beach, ziplining, cave tubing and hiking so I should get a decent amount of exercise : )

You will get plenty of excersize so don't worry about having dessert you will be fine! Have a wonderful time and take lots of pictures!

Congrats Pnw218, You are doing wonderful and inspiring us all. Have a great time on your cruise, wish I could stowaway.lol Keep rocking that sleeve sister!!

Great update and nice work:) Have a fantastic time on your cruise!

Congrats Pnw218, You are doing wonderful and inspiring us all. Have a great time on your cruise, wish I could stowaway.lol Keep rocking that sleeve sister!!

There's always room for one more! : )

And thank you! It is so exciting to finally be successful :thumbup: I am sure you are feeling the same! You don't have much further to go either!

Great update and nice work:) Have a fantastic time on your cruise!

Thank you! I was just looking at your photos! Amazing how people change! You are looking great too!

Back in town!

And it was about as I expected .... wearing a bikini was awesome! the spa on the Carnival Dream was wonderful! the visits to the beautiful beaches were too short! :wink1:

dinner???? Was horrid!!! ok. the food was great but I got full too quickly! I did fine at Breakfast and lunch. We always did the buffet and I only took what I could eat. And I could nibble while the family stuffed themselves. LOL However, at dinner, they bring one course at a time. And I could only order 2 - an appetizer, Soup or salad and a main dish. So, I sat there drooling over the bread, and the multiple courses they all ate! I did sneak bites here and there from them ... but also could barely make a dent in the main course or I wouldn't have room for dessert! And dessert is very important! :biggrin2: I had to take dessert back to the cabin for a midnight snack a couple of times. Overall, being slender was much more fun than eating 5 courses at dinner.

Not gonna lie tho. It was hard. When we got back to Florida for 5 days, I pretty much quit ordering and just shared. My stomach was upset quite a bit - I figure I was eating very different food than normal tho. And - I didn't make time to find a costco or somewhere I could buy my normal Protein drinks. Next trip - that is mandatory.

I eat every 2-3 hours and it was hard to do that while spending days in ports or at theme parks. I didn't want to eat Protein Bars all day everyday, and Protein drinks actually would have been heavy to carry around and hard to keep cold. I know, I am whining! :blushing:

I have no intention of giving up traveling, so will just need to adapt. The other issue I had was motion sickness. I have never had problems flying or driving, and rarely cruising unless the waters were very choppy. I had to take bonine (Meclizine) regularly. Even when we got back on land, I had to continue with the med, especially when we were going on rides at Universal. it was highly annoying.

Would be curious if anyone else has had motion sickness after surgery. I am hoping it was a fluke and doesn't happen again. It also took me longer to get over the time change. I am hoping to have a more normal day tomorrow!

The girls and I did work out regularly on the ship and took the stairs instead of the elevator most of the time. I came back only one pound up. Not bad after 2 weeks on vacation! Hoping the scale will be back to normal tomorrow!

Janet

So happy to hear that you had a wonderful time on your vacation!!! I can just imagine you sitting through all of the food they serve on the cruise! I have been on only one cruise but they do not skimp on food!

Okay now I want to see bikini shots!! Did you let anyone take any of you? I hope so, you need to show off that new bod!!

Very happy that you had a great time!! I just started the 5 day pouch test today, wish me luck!

PS just looked at your pictures!! Love the bikini!!

Edited August 9, 201016 yr by FabBy50

6 month update! it is hard to believe that surgery was six months ago already!

Biggest Change: My BMI is now officially "healthy"!!

Current Stats:

- current weight 144.2, only 3 lbs in the past month but I was also on vacation for 2 weeks : )

- have lost just under 55 pounds, 77.5% of my goal of 71 pounds;

- really need new jeans, they will be size 4's!

It is great not to worry about running into old friends ... and it is actually fun to get dressed in the morning!

I still have a love/hate relationship with food. I love food and hate that I can't eat more of it! Meals are more of a hassle than an event. I do Protein shakes most of the time out of convenience. Going out to eat is not lots of fun unless there are more people and more chatting going on - to distract me from the food! lol

I would still do it again and am very happy with my results!

Monday, August 30th

Weighed in at 141lbs! Bought size 4 Levi's this weekend!

New photo in album.

Went on a hike with the high school volleyball team on Saturday. Definitely brought up the end but no after pains with my back! I guess removing nearly 60 pounds has helped!

Have lost 1/3 of my beginning weight. Amazing!

After seeing high school friends this past weekend (31 yrs since graduation), it reinforced my thoughts that I may not push losing anymore. It seems the skinner gals get, the more wrinkles they have! I would rather have 10 lbs than 10 wrinkles! : ) I have more than accomplished my first goal - single digit jeans.

I was also able to get into a pair of my daughter's skinny jeans this weekend altho I couldn't zip them all the way. LOL She just glared at me .....

Will return to working out next Tuesday (9/7) .... nice to have a few weeks off and sleep in!

7 month update ....

I just keep sounding like a broken record! For those young kids in the crowd, a record is what we old folks listened to music on, and if it got scratched or broken, it would stick and we would hear the same thing over and over again :lol0: lol

Life is so good! I have lost a few more pounds, down to 138.6. I am back to Curves on a regular basis. It is a low impact toning workout and serves my purpose well.

I bought all new workout clothes this past week and it was so exciting to buy everything in size small. I doubt that I will go below a size 4 - or rather I have no intentions of going smaller :thumbup1:. Just trying to tone everything up at this point.

I have lost almost another 10 inches overall.

Still having one or two Protein shakes a day, and food the rest of the time. I am not counting calories at all. If I want something, I eat it. Ok - 2-4 whole bites that is. LOL I am still limited in quantity, never over 4 ounces. I do drink just a little with my meals.

It is fun to see people I haven't seen in six months. There are many double takes. Very good on the ego! It is wonderful to hear: wow! you look great! I didn't even recognize you!

The hair is still falling out. Hoping that will slow down and stop soon. I have had a few bouts of nausea; a very odd type of nausea that I never had before. Nothing seems to resolve it. Had it hit today; took phenergan and slept most of the day. This started on the cruise in late July and has been hitting about once a week or every 10 days. I see my GP on Monday so will discuss it with her.

The mental aspect is getting much easier as time goes on. I don't even think about it much anymore. I take a few bites and move on.

It is so very true: food doesn't taste as good as skinny feels!

hello everyone!

I have missed a few updates but not much has really changed.

I am holding easily at 132, eat whatever I want - just in small quantities.

After the holidays, will do the Protein shake thing and get down to 128, my original goal just to see what it feels like. I don't really want to lose any more curves tho - I like how I look now.

I just posted a few new pix. Will write more later!

Hope everyone is doing great!