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I have been on this site for a while now reading, commenting, and chatting; but I never really told my story. So here goes.....

I have ALWAYS been heavy. I can remember going to weight watchers when I was 8 years old. Eating cottage cheese and liver and onions! (what every eight year old wants to eat) I was on and off diets my whole childhood. When I was 13 I went into a Children's Hospital weight study. I lost over 155 lbs! I was down to 135!!! The smallest I have EVER been. It was a Protein diet I ate 17 grams of protein a day and that is IT!! No carbs, no dairy, no fat, only green veggies. After being on that diet for over a year my kidneys started shutting down and I was breaking bones left and right. I had to get off that program and I started a weight watchers style program thru Children's Hospital and gained all the weight back plus more by the time I graduated high school. In college I yoyo dieted losing 20- 65lbs. Getting to the highest I have ever weighed 411lbs. Then I was introduces to the Adkins diet. My mom and I both went on it I lost over 100lbs I met my husband who just so happened to be on the Adkins diet also. We dated for 3 years going on and off the Adkins diet losing and gaining weight... After we were married I discovered my passion for cooking and baking welllll...... 11 years later my husband is at his max weight of 309lbs and I was slowly climbing back to my max weight. I have wanted to have the surgery but my insurance company will not cover it and honestly my husband was not a big fan of me getting it done. So after the insurance company said no and we found out the cash price I just let it sit on the back burner. Then my husband went to the doctors with me and heard the doctor tell me I am going to die if I keep up this weight (390) with my family history. It was light a light bulb went off in my husband’s head. Then my husband started having chest pains and trouble walking because of the weight he gained. So I talked my husband into going to a local doctor’s seminar on the sleeve and we did and he was SOLD!!! Not only did he want me to have surgery now he wants it also!!! We thought about how we were going to pay for it even thought about taking out a second mortgage, but I had a friend tell me about Mexico. So I started researching, while I was researching Mexico my husband business partner is from the country of Jordan and his brother and brother in law are doctors so he offered to find out how much it would cost to get it done in Jordan. My husband came home and told me about Jordan so I started researching it also. We looked into airfare it was very pricey and a VERY VERY VERY long flight and we were not sure if we would be able to fly back after surgery in the given time we had off of work. So I told my husband about Mexico. I emailed alighterme.com and by the end of the end of the day Ronda called me and emailed me everything I needed. In October we made or deposits and bought our plane tickets. We started drinking Protein shakes twice a day and eating a low carb dinner. We stayed on this until Christmas. Christmas we did eat but I have to tell you it was a fraction of what we would have eaten last year. I weighed myself the day before Christmas and I was down to 366 my husband 287. Today we decided to take our before pictures and OMG!!! I usually dress very well for my weight but for my before picture I put on a tight tank top with a pair of leggings so NOTHING can hide!! I looked at that picture and asked my husband am I really this big? I never take full body photos, I know I am fat but I will be honest I did not realize I was this large! We started our pre op diet today again and I am hoping to be less than 350 before my surgery February 8th with Dr. Lopez! I cannot wait to start my journey to the NEW me!!

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Thanks for sharing your story.....congratulations to both you and husband for being able to do this together. How exciting! February will be here before you know it!

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Good luck to you and your husband!

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I think it's great that you and your husband are trying to get healthy together. What an awesome support system!

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Good luck to u and ur husband. My husband and I are sleeved. I was sleeves first in Feb 2012 and he was sleeved in Oct 2012. I have to say I was very happy when my husband decided to do it too. It is really great to be with someone who understands what u are going through and can support u when ur having a not so good sleeve day (not that there are a lot it those). It nice to share a meal when we go out. It nice to have someone help make a better food choice. It made the journey easier for me and definitely easier for him. We are both very happy with our results. U wish u the best of luck!

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    • Doughgurl

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      · 1 reply
      1. Phil Penn

        Good Luck this procedure is well worth it I am down to 249.6 lb please continue with the process..

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      I am new here today... and only two weeks out from my sleeve surgery on the 23rd. I am amazed I have kept my calories down to 467 today so far... that leaves me almost 750 left for dinner and maybe a snack. This is going to be tough for two weeks... but I have to believe I can do it!
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    • Doughgurl

      Hey everyone. I'm new here so I thought I should introduce myself. I am 53y/o and am scheduled for Gastric Bypass on June 25th, 2025. I'm located in San Antonio, Texas. I will be having my surgery in Tiajuana Mexico. I've wanted this for years, but I always had insurance where bariatric procedures were excluded. Finally I am able to afford to pay out of pocket.  I can't wait to get started, and I hope I'm prepared for the initial period of "hell". I know what I have signed up for, but I'm sure the good to come will out way the temporary period of discomfort and feelings of regret. I'd love to find people to talk to who have been through the same procedure or experience before. So I look forward to meeting you all. Hope you have a great week!
      · 2 replies
      1. Selina333

        I'm so happy for you! You are about to change your life. I was so glad to get the sleeve done in Dec. I didn't have feelings of regret overall. And I'm down almost 60 lbs. I do feel a little sad at restaurants. I can barely eat half a kid's meal. I get adults meals often because kid ones don't have the same offerings at times. Then I feel obligated to eat on that until it's gone and that can be days. So the restaurant thing isn't great for me. All the rest is fine by me! I love feeling full with very little. I do wish I could drink when eating. And will sip at the end. Just a strong habit to stop. But I'm working on it! You will do fine! Just keep focused on your desire to be different. Not better or worse. But different. I am happy both ways but my low back doesn't like me that heavy. So I listened (also my feet!). LOL! Update us on your journey! I'm not far from you. I'm in Houston. Good luck and I hope it all goes smoothly! Would love to see pics of the town you go to for this. I've never been there. Neat you will be traveling for this! Enjoy the journey. Take it one day at a time. Sometimes a few hours at a time. Follow all recommendations as best you can. 💗

      2. Doughgurl

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    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. LeighaTR

        I hope your surgery on Wednesday goes well. You will be able to do all sorts of new things as you find your new normal after surgery. I don't know this from experience yet, but I am seeing a lot of positive things from people who have had it done. Best of luck!

    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. summerseeker

        Life as a big person had limited my life to what I knew I could manage to do each day. That was eat. I hadn't anything else to look forward to. So my eating choices were the best I could dream up. I planned the cooking in managable lots in my head and filled my day with and around it.

        Now I have a whole new big, bigger, biggest, best days ever. I am out there with those skinny people doing stuff i could never have dreamt of. Food is now an after thought. It doesn't consume my day. I still enjoy the good home cooked food but I eat smaller portions. I leave food on my plate when I am full. I can no longer hear my mother's voice saying eat it all up, ther are starving children in Africa who would want that!

        I still cook for family feasts, I love cooking. I still do holidays but I have changed from the All inclusive drinking and eating everything everyday kind to Self catering accommodation. This gives me the choice of cooking or eating out as I choose. I rarely drink anymore as I usually travel alone now and I feel I need to keep aware of my surroundings.

        I don't know at what point my life expanded, was it when I lost 100 pounds? Was it when I left my walking stick at home ? Was it when I said yes to an outing instead of finding an excuse to stay home ? i look back at my last five years and wonder how loosing weight has made such a difference. Be ready to amaze yourself.

        BTW, the liquid diet sucks, one more day and you are over the worst. You can do it.

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