A BRIEF HISTORY... SIMILAR TO MOST ...

I AM NOW 57, AND YO YO DIETED ALL OF MY ADULT LIFE....(LOWEST 125!!) AFTER GIVING BIRTH - AGE 30- I FOUND MYSELF WEIGHING IN AT 235... MY HIGHEST!! I AM NOW 230. LIKE MOST OF US, I HAVE STRUGGLED WITH MY DIET, TRYING EVERY SINGLE FAD, EVERY SINGLE DIET TO NO EVAIL. I AM AT AN AGE NOW THAT I JUST CANT DO IT ANY MORE. MY METABOLISM HAS SLOWED AND NOW IT IS NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE TO KEEP WEIGHT OFF OR EVEN GET IT OFF. MY KNEES, HIPS, ACHE, I HAVE PLANTAR FACIATIS IN BOTH HEELS, HIGH CHOLESTEROL, ETC..JUST TO NAME A FEW.

I STARTED THIS FINAL JOURNEY SEVERAL YEARS AGO WHEN I HAD A FRIEND WHO HAD A GASTRIC BYPASS..SO I STARTED TO WATCH ON THE INTERNET FOR OPTIONS TO A PERMANENT SOLUTION TO MY DIETING INSANITY!

FINALLY LAST YEAR I WAS ON LINE SPEAKING TO A SURGEON IN MICHIGAN WHO HAD SUGGESTED FOR ME TO LOOK INTO PLICATION. THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT I DID. I FOUND A SURGEON NEAR MY WINTER HOME IN JACKSONVILLE FLORIDA. I WENT TO HIS SEMINAR..LIKED WHAT I HEARD. FROM THERE I MADE THE DECISION TO FOLLOW THRU. I CONTACTED MY INSURANCE, WHICH OF COURSE DENIED IT BECAUSE IT WAS STILL EXPERIMENTAL! I KNEW THEN I WOULD BE A SELF-PAY.....SO I ACCEPTED THAT AND FOLLOWED THRU WITH ALL MY REQUIREMENTS OF SEEING A DIETICIAN, AND A PSYCHOLOGIST AND GETTING A PHYSICAL WITH MY INTERNIST....GETTING THROUGH TO THIS DOCTOR WAS LIKE CALLING THE PRESIDENT OF THE USA!! ANY QUESTIONS I HAD HAD TO GO THRU A MESSAGE SERVICE THEN I HAD TO WAIT FOR DAYS FOR THEM TO CALL ME BACK! I DID NOT FEEL COMFORTABLE WITH THE WHOLE PROCESS.

SO BACK TO THE INTERNET I WENT...I KEPT SEEING Dr. Ortiz NAME, AND HIS OCC CLINIC OVER AND OVER AGAIN....I STUDIED HIS VIDEOS , READ TESTIMONIALS AND FOUND HE HAD DONE SO MANY BARIATRIC SURGERIES INCLUDING THE PLICATIONS THAT IT WAS A NO BRAINER! SO I MADE THE PHONE CALL TO CAROLYN WILLIAMSON. IT WAS A GREAT CONVERSATION AND I FINALLY FELT LIKE I HAD MADE THE RIGHT DECISION....... FOR ME!

THE REST IS HISTORY.... MY PLICATION DATE IS SET FOR APRIL 17TH, I WILL MEET MY SISTER THERE (SHE IS HAVING SOME COSMETIC SURGERY AT THE ARIEL CENTER - WHICH I MAY HAVE SOME PLASMA INJECTIONS IN SOME FACIAL LINES TOO)!! WE WILL STAY AT THE MARIOTT UNTIL THE 20TH THEN GO ON A VACATION FOR ANOTHER WEEK!

I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS JOURNEY AND PRAYING IT WILL BE MY LAST DIET ENDEAVOR!!

I STARTED MY 2 WEEK DIET YESTERDAY, AND AM NOW 227.....SO I AM ON MY WAY. I WILL KEEP UPDATING AS I GO....SO TALK TO YOU SOON!!

PS HAVE ANY ONE OF YOU NOTICED HOW PEOPLE TREAT YOU WHEN YOU ARE HEAVY? I THINK THEY LOOK DOWN ON YOU...BUT JUST MAYBE IT IS BECAUSE IT IS THE VIBE IM GIVING OFF BECAUSE I DON'T FEEL GOOD ABOUT MYSELF WHEN IM FAT? NOT SURE, BUT AFTER ALL OF THESE YEARS, IT IS DEFINATELY A FACT! BUT I WILL REMEMBER THESE PEOPLE AND MAKE SURE WHEN I AM MORE SLENDER AND HEALTHIER TO EMBRACE MY REAL FRIENDS WHOM I LOVE.

:) :)

now 14 days post surgery' date=' and I have lost a total of 23 pounds...incl pre-op. Im so happy about that! I am getting a little tired of soup, but I only have one week left of full liquids....then on to soft pureed food. (can't wait) I am feeling a little more hunger, but I will keep the plan on track. Having trouble with the Water...i can only sip, and am tired of carrying a bottle everywhere I go.[/quote']

That's great, Sue! Keep us updated!

today I weighed myself and I am finally down 25 lbs!! Only 50 more to go...I hope it still comes off...sooner rather than later, but I know that I must have patience!

today I weighed myself and I am finally down 25 lbs!! Only 50 more to go...I hope it still comes off...sooner rather than later' date=' but I know that I must have patience![/quote']

25 lbs in 20 days sounds awesome to me!!!! Great work!

today I weighed myself and I am finally down 25 lbs!! Only 50 more to go...I hope it still comes off...sooner rather than later' date=' but I know that I must have patience![/quote']

25 lbs in 25 days sounds awesome to me! Great job!

surgery date was April 17...not quite a month.....I am now down 28 pounds....I was stuck on 26 pounds for 6 days!! but finally lost 2 pounds yesterday...who knows why?? I love my restriction...but you have to mentally adjust....I am finally making and ordering smaller portions because it always seems i can take only a few bites and i am done! I just pray that this restriction stays around, because it works! I really dislike that I cannot drink anything during a meal!!! Does anyone know exactly why you cannot drink? I am sooooo thirsty while eating (especially while eating protein!

The reason for not drinking while eating and within an hour after eating is because it helps the food digest faster, therefor you are hungry sooner. I have also found that if I drink to much or to soon after eating, it makes me feel bad and once I even threw up. I think it's because the stomach was already full of food and now I over stuffed it with water. I try and make a conscience decision to drink a lot before meals, even if I don't feel thirsty. I will try and drink a large glass of water right before my meal. The water goes through you really fast so you will still have room for food.

Thanks Bedrukz...I will try drinking water before I eat. I wish I was loosing a little quicker...It has been a month and a half...only down 30 pounds..which I know is good, but most of it was pre-op and the 2 weeks after op. I am loosing a little patience! Do you find it hard to drink (gulp) water I can only sip a few ...then my stomach feels full...so as a consequence, I do not get nearly enough water in! Any suggestions?

I can gulp, but not as much as I used to be able to. Are you getting barium scans? If you can... they help to see what your pouch and how much room you have. I think you're weight loss is good for the short time. I think you're doing good. I know what you mean about it being mental. I struggled a for a couple months with the mental aspect of the surgery. I was hard to not eat when you really "want" to. I can tell you that, that aspect gets better. I now naturally order smaller portions or share a meal with my son. I find it helpful sometimes to have a very small amount of a few different things so I feel like I get a variety.

Sue patience friend we didn't gain the weight overnight + slow and steady will ensure that your skin elasticity bounces back and we are not a bag of skin. Keep focusing on challenging yourself with exercise start to shift from a heavy set mentality to a lean mean athletic healthy machine. Set more goals that are action driven and I find it that when I stopped obsessing about it everything falls into place

OMG you guys are the best...I feel sooo much for confident that eventually everything will be ok...It is such my personality to get anal about things....I do need to up my exercise I know..and I plan on getting a check up in october or november providing nothing goes seriously wrong.