FINALLY, 100 lbs. Down.

Well, I was wondering if this day would ever come. I have officially lost 100 lbs. since starting this journey. It has been almost 7 months since my surgery and I feel great. The last 4 lbs. I have lost has taken weeks. The good news is I continue to lose inches at a very good rate. I can comfortably wear 38 waist pants now and the  40 waist pants are officially too big. That is a great feeling considering I was in 52 waist pants less than 7 months ago. I am wearing more Large shirts now and many of my XL shirts are getting too big. This too is a great feeling because I was wearing 4xl  only 7 months ago.

I had raised my calorie intake to 1200 calories a day for my strength training at the gym, it has helped my exercising and reduction in inches but it had slowed my weight loss. With my weight loss STILL being my main priority, I reduced my calories back down to 900 a day and lowered my carbs to below 80. That helped resume the weight loss and get me off my stall. I am only 16 lbs. away from my weight loss goal. It really seems attainable now that I am this close. I was hoping to reach my goal by January 1st but that is not going to happen. I am going to increase my cardio workouts, slow my strength training and keep my calorie intake down for the next month or so and hope to reach my goal by February 1st.

My surgery was on 5-25-2011 but it seems like years. I have to keep telling myself it has not even been 7 months yet. I am getting a little impatient now that I am getting this close.

6 month blood work and survived Thanksgiving Holiday.

I survived the Thanksgiving Holiday and actually lost two pounds. I did not get in too much exercise but I did walk a lot. I did not deprive myself but I ate sensible portions and tasted anything I wanted. My snacks still consisted of Beef Jerky and almonds.

I had my 6 month post surgery blood panel done yesterday and everything was fantastic. Prior to my surgery, my A1C test for my blood sugar was 10.2, it was down to 6.3 at the 3 month mark and yesterday, it was 5.5. My Diabetes is totally under control with no medication and has improved at every reading. My Cholesterol is also in the normal range which it has been since the weight loss. The one number that had been hard to improve was my good cholesterol but I was able to get it up to the normal level as well. My blood pressure was excellent as well. This sleeve is such a great tool I have been given and I am going to take full advantage of it. My diet and exercise continues to inch me closer to my weight loss goal, I am now down a total of 92 lbs. in 6 months.

Stay tuned, I am ramping up my strength training and going to increase my cardio as well. I am going to try to reach my weight loss goal by January 1st.

Thanksgiving Holiday

Well with the Thanksgiving holiday coming up, I have so much to be  thankful for this year. My surgery has changed my life in so many ways including giving my health back to me. I am down
90 lbs. since I started my journey a little less than 6 months ago. The surgery along with the new eating lifestyle and the exercise program has allowed me to lose the weight and open up a whole new world to me.

I think the best phrase I have heard is I now eat to live instead of live to eat. This is so true. I look back and I used to plan my life around eating. I still enjoy going out and eating with friends but it is more of a social thing and not having to load up on food.

There are several discussions on the  WLS forums about people having their first big family meal over the holiday since having their surgery. I experienced this over the 4th of July Holiday. I actually lost weight that weekend and I ate what I wanted, just very little of it. I controlled my portions and did not pig out. The exercise level will help as well. Just because there will be a lot of food around for the holidays, it does not mean you have to deprive yourself nor does it give you a license to pig-out. We just have to listen to our sleeves and not overeat.

On another topic, when you get a chance to check out our website, www.mexicosurgerysolutions.com , let me know what you think. We are also on Facebook. I just posted some new articles about Diabetes, there are some pretty scary statistics. I have been so blessed now that I can help people change their life and improve their health. All of my before and after blood panel numbers are posted on my website, my next blood work  panel is scheduled for the end of this month.

I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving holiday, we all have many things to be thankful for.

Personal Training

I wanted to give you an update on how the training is going. My weight loss is still at a crawl but I am getting in much better shape. We break up the weight training and the cardio. When working on the weight training, we do upper body in one session and do the lower body in the other session. I have my personal training twice a week and then work out at the gym at least 3 other days on my own. The strength training has helped a lot, but I am sore all over. I am ready to get past this stage but it just goes to show how out of shape I really was.

I am training for a 5k run, my goal at this stage is not to win, it is just to finish. My conditioning is getting much better but I still have a long way to go.

I am down to 229 lbs, I am so happy to be in the two-twenties, even if it is 229. I keep changing my goal weight from 195 to 200 lbs. I think I will push to the 195 and see how I feel. I think if I get in shape and I am toned up, I think I can wear the 195lbs and look healthy. Wish me luck.

Very happy to be "Just Overweight".

Well, this is the first time in many years that I am not " clinically Obese". My BMI is under 30 for the first time in probably 20 years. I do not put too much stock in the Normal, Overweight and Obese categories simply because I felt as good last week as I do this week. The only thing that has changed is I lost a couple more pounds and medically changed categories. Do not get me wrong, I am excited to be out of that Obese category but my goal is to be healthy, not in a " normal category".

The good news is I am still losing a lot of inches, much faster than my weight loss at this point. I am down to a size 40 pant now, that is amazing to me considering I was in a size 52 just about 5 months ago. This makes shopping a lot more fun.

I have finally reached the point of hiring a personal trainer. I have been working out on my own for several months now to lose the majority of my weight. I wanted to make sure I was completely recovered from my surgery before I committed to a more demanding workout program. My first evaluation is tomorrow and then have committed to meeting with the trainer twice a week. I need some help in getting rid of this last 30lbs to reach my final weight loss goal. Wish me luck.

Back from Vacation

Hello all, I am back from the D.C. area and hard at it back at the gym. I was gone for over 10 days and was ready to be home. Even though I did not have a gym while I was gone, I walked several miles every day. The National mall in  D.C. was amazing.
We went to Virginia Beach for a few days and walked the boardwalk several times a day. Our hotel had a workout room but after walking all day, I did not even want to look at it. We spent a lot of time in Williamsburg, I really enjoyed the history of that town.

I was away from the scale for over 10 days, that was real nice. I ate real healthy while I was gone but I was concerned that missing the gym time would hurt my progress. I only lost two pounds while I was gone but I am still losing more inches. Even though I am down from a 4x shirt to a 1x and down from a 52 pant to a 42, it is almost time to go down another size.

I started back at the gym on Thursday morning, today was my 2nd day at it and it was not as tough to get back in the swing of it as I was expecting. After my last trip, it killed me to get started again. I am increasing my cardio and my lifting over the month, I have a goal for my next medical physical.

The 25th of this month will be my 5th month post surgery. I am having my 6 month blood panel workup at the end of November and I am excited to see even more improvement from my 3- month workup. I have not been this healthy in over 25 years and I am on a mission to develope and maintain a healthy lifestyle.

More to come.

Hard to get back to it.

It has been a while since I have posted, I was out of the country on business and now I am paying for it. When I got back to the states, I had a horrible sinus infection and laid off the gym until Saturday. Once I started back, I thought it was going to kill me. I am down to 238 lbs which is a good thing but the eliptical machine is a tough challenge again. I was up to 25 minutes on it and going strong, now 5 minutes brings me to my knees. It is like starting over again. I am still losing inches and my clothes size keeps going down. I am going on another trip on the10th but I am hoping I can keep my exercise going, I do not want to lose momentum this time.

The weather is a lot cooler now so my bike riding is going to pick up, hopefully the 100 degree days are over.

I Actually Enjoy The Gym, go figure.

I cannot believe I am saying this but I have actually started to enjoy the gym. Just a few posts back, I was wondering how anyone in their right mind could actually enjoy working out. Well, I am one of them now. I think what changed for me is I started taking my IPOD and listening to a playlist that I created especially for working out. I also watch SportsCenter while on the Elliptical and get caught up on all the scores. I no longer watch the clock wondering when this workout will be over. I think results is also a driving force, even though my weight loss has slowed a bit, I continue to lose inches and tone up a bit. As you will see on my ticker, I am down to 241lbs and more importantly, Only one point away from no longer being technically obese. I know medically, you have to be below 30 to not be obese and I will be there real soon, I am at 30.9 right now. I can tell you this, I do not feel obese, I feel great and a hell of a lot better that I did when I weighed 315lbs  less than 4 months ago.

Finally, Broke the 250 barrier.

I had my goal for August to be under 250, I did not make it. I exercised more and ate less but I was on a stall that was hard to break. I weighed in this morning at 248 so at least the stall is broken and we are headed in the right direction again, I am only 4 days late. I am going to decrease my portions even more but increase my protein throughout the day. I am taking my NUT's advice and decreasing my exercise a little so my body does not go into survival mode, at least until I can get in more calories. I think it was this advice that helped to break my stall. I know it has been over 20 years since I have been below 250, it is a great feeling.

Blood numbers are back.

Well, there must be something to this whole notion about eating healthy is good for you. I just got my blood panel back from my 3 month post surgery check up. My Diabetes is totally controlled now with no medication. My A1C test ( 3 month average of blood sugar) went down from 10.2 ( dangerous level) to 6.2, normal level. My fasting glucose went from 237 to 105. This was very important to me so I would not have to get on diabetic medication. My total cholesterol went from 238 to 138, my bad cholesterol went from 137 to 82 and my triglycerides went from 286 to 96, all in the normal range now. My sleeve has been the perfect tool for me to restrict my food intake to lose the weight and get healthy. My exercise program has given me the will to push forward because of the results. Who would have thought that exercise and eating healthy was good for you.

Now for the bad news. I have been on a weight loss stall, I have been trying to get down to 249 for my August goal, I have been at 250 for a while and that 1 lb is tough to get rid of. My dietitian told me that I need to increase my food intake and reduce my exercise, can you believe that? I was told that your body goes into survival mode if you are not taking in enough calories and are burning more calories from exercise. Normally that is a good thing as long as your calorie intake is enough but I am only getting about 650 calories a day. I have one more day to lose that pound so I think I am going to eat a hamburger and sit on the couch.

3.5 lbs away from my August goal

I weighed in at 253 today, my goal by the end of August is 249. I have been losing a little slower this month and had a short stall.  It could have something to do with my sister-in-law bringing me an IN- N -OUT BURGER. I go for my Blood work on August 29th, I am really hoping all my numbers come out great. I have been losing inches even though the weight loss has been slower, my clothes sizes keep going down. I refuse to pay for expensive clothes until I reach my final goal weight. I have been getting some real nice clothes at Goodwill, resale shops and Academy sports and outdoors, they have great clearance prices. I found out that one of my Nephews is getting married, I told him they better make the wedding date at least January because I am not going to buy a new suit until my weight goal is reached. I told him I might show up in a blue leisure suit from goodwill if he does not wait. I played golf today, the first time since April, one month before my surgery. I hit some good and some bad shots but had a blast, I played with my Brother-In -Law and Andy, one of my Nephews. I sure did have a lot more energy on the course. I am going to put in some extra time at the gym this week, I need to make sure I reach that Goal before I go for my blood work. More later.

259 and counting.

I have finally broken the 260 barrier, I weighed in at 259 this morning. I still have a long way to go but that is a total of 56 lbs lost. I have started doing
sit ups and they are tough.

We took the kids to San Antonio this last week and we did a lot of walking. Thy gym has helped as I was not as sore as I thought I would be. We have not been riding the bikes, it has been too hot and this week does not look any better.

 I think I am going to stick to cold cuts such as turkey and chicken this week, it is too hot to grill out. I ate some bad stuff last week in San Antonio and I have to make up for it. My goal for August is to get down to 249, that is 10 lbs but I think I can do it. We are planning a trip to Mexico in January so I have to get in shape, I want to go parasailing and do some things I have not done for a long time.

The Exercise, Oh the exercise.

 Well, I am down to 262 and I think there might be something to this exercising myth. I have been going to the gym about 4 times a week, why people do this for fun is beyond me. I am doing it for one reason only, to lose weight and tone up. I do not know if I will ever get to a point where I will enjoy it. I did find out that I do have stomach muscles, not because they are showing, it is because they are sore. I did something on the treadmill that I have not done in years, I jogged. I was only going about 3 miles an hour and it took me almost 20 minutes to go 1 mile. I think that must be a record for the slowest mile. The toughest machine at the gym for me is the stair stepper/ski machine, I am only up to 7 minutes on that machine, it will kill you if you are as out a shape as I am.

Well, this eating healthy thing is not as bad as I thought it would be. I had a piece of pizza the other day and it just was not satisfying like it used to be. I do enjoy chicken and turkey more than I have in the past and
red meat still tastes great but I have limited that to twice a week. I still cannot incorporate fish into my diet, only if fried and that defeats the purpose.

The scale has started to move again

It has been 10 days since my last post and I am down to 265lbs. My next mini goal is 259, just 6 lbs away. It has been a very long time since I was under 260 so that is what I am working toward now. I have purchased some retention bands and have worked those into my exercise program, so far they have just made me sore. I am getting ready to start at a new gym in town with a light weight lifting program and start some cardio. It still is hard to believe I was at 315 a little over 2 months ago, the progress is what makes me keep pushing forward. I am on my way out to ride the bike this morning, the heat has been terrible the last few weeks, if I do not ride early in the morning, It is not going to happen.

The bike riding has begun

I will tell you this, bike riding was a lot easier when we were kids. I rode a while this morning and it about killed me. I am going to take it slow and increase my distance each day. I found mucles I did not know I had and they are sore. Now that I am cleared to exercise, I am going to start a light weight lifting program to tone up a bit. I am hoping with that along with the walking and riding will provide enough exercise to aide in the weight loss.

I also broke the 270 mark and I am down to 269 as of yesterday. I think that the sweets, steak, shrimp and lack of exercise over the holiday helped me lose that extra pound. That might be my new food guide.

4th of July Holiday and going strong.

 I am in Oklahoma for the Holiday and have introduced some new foods post surgery and so far, so good. I tried some sweets for the first time ( very little) and all is well. I had some brisket and hot links with no problems as well. I am still not getting over 700 calories a day and since I can increase my exercise this week, I should be good. It is nice to not have a scale in sight this week, I can just enjoy the holiday and not worry about it. I am so glad I have not found any food that is not tolerable, I can have about anything in small portions. My favorite thing post surgery has still been the mighty scrambled egg. Have a great 4th of July holiday.

Have not crossed that 270 Barrier

It has been 10 days since my last post and I have been trying to break that 270 barrier and get down to 269. I am at 270, only down 2 lbs in 10 days. Since I cannot start my exercise program until after next week, the walking just is not getting it done. I am going to Oklahoma for the 4th of July Holiday and I am looking forward to eating some steak and shrimp, 4oz at a time. I feel so much better and the energy level is getting better, I still get in a nap once a day. I have been lucky, I have not found a food that I cannot tolerate. Bread is the only thing that is very heavy for me but I only have that every once in a while. Everything has tasted so good. I am staying away from carbs and sugar and only eating a few ounces of meat and vegetables. This is my 5th week and I am down 45 lbs total from when I started this journey. I have lost 26 lbs since the  actual surgery on May 25th. I cannot wait to lose the rest of the weight. It is amazing how getting rid of just this much feels, I cannot imagine how it is going to feel when I lose the rest. It gets a little frustrating when I go a week without losing and then I might lose 3 lbs the next week. It is going to take some time but I have set my goal at 8 months. I think once I can exercise, it will accelerate the weight loss.

My Stall is Broken

I have been sitting on the 275 number for over a week, I finally broke through this morning and I am down to 272. I am still not getting in enough calories as needed, they want me to get close to 700 a day and I am getting about 450. I could get it in I if could eat a big Cheeseburger. I have finally been able to get my water intake up to the 64oz a day, still falling a little short on the total protein I need to get in. That is a lot harder than it sounds, I would never have thought that it would be hard to get in 80 grams of protein. The good news is even during my stall when I was not losing weight, I am still losing inches, I am now wearing 2x shirts and 4 inches off my pant size. I have absolutely no pain or tenderness now and want to increase my exercise but I cannot ride the bike or any other exercise other than walk until my 6th week. My goal this week is to increase my calorie and protein intake to see if I can increase my energy level. It is better than it was but I still need to have more energy.

More energy and normal blood sugar numbers.

I am starting my 3rd week post op and I am just now starting to get my energy back. I have increased my walking every morning so I think that is helping as well. I am taking my muti-vitamin and my B-12 just to make sure I keep my blood in order. I have started eating sliced turkey and chicken, that was the protein I have been looking for. It is very hard to get that 80 grams of protein just through shakes, the food is a nice change. I am getting ready to get a couple of bikes so Karetha and I can ride the neighborhood, I am not allowed to do anything but walk until week 6.It is amazing how much better I feel just getting rid of 36 pounds. My incisions are all but healed, they are not even tender any longer. I can sleep on both sides now so I am sleeping much better. The best news of all is my blood sugar numbers are now normal, this makes the whole thing worthwhile.

Stitches out

Well, Karetha took my stitches out today and I did not even feel it, she did a great job. My incisions look great and are just a little tender. I broke another milestone today, I am down to 279lbs and I have not been there in a long, long time. I have moved to soft foods such as scrambled eggs and it is heaven. I have not had any solid food since 5-16-2011 and it tasted like a T-Bone steak. I was only able to eat a little over 2 oz but it seemed like a plate full.

One week Post surgery

It has been a week since my surgery and everything has gone great. I am having a little trouble getting all of the liquids in but that is getting easier every day. I have had no pain and the gas has gone away. I am down to 281 lbs but have not lost any in three days. I am retaining water a bit but that should break any day. I only have two of those nasty CIPRO antibiotics left, I will be ready for that to be over.

The swelling in my stomach has gone down a lot and I have had no pain. My incisions have been itching but I guess that is a good sign. Karetha is taking my stitches out on Sunday, not really looking forward to that.

I have been able to sleep on my back and my right side, my left side is still a little uncomfortable to sleep on. I have three more weeks of this full liquid diet before I can move to soft foods, I will be ready for that day to come.

Surgery is completed

I am back home feeling great. I still do not have any energy since I cannot drink much protein right now, the stomach is still a little swollen. My incisions look great, I am a little surprised I am not more sore. If I did not have the x-ray from our leak test, I would not be convinced they took out 80% of my stomach. We had a great drive home and no pain. I have not taken any pain meds since 2 days after surgery. I am having a very hard time getting these Antibiotics down, I have to cut them into 4 sections and use yogurt to get them down, they are nasty.

The worst thing I experienced is this purple dye we had to drink ( 8oz) for our first leak test.The good news, no leaks in our drains, the bad news, it was the worst thing on earth to drink. It made our third leak test
( drinking the barium) for the radiologist a picnic after that purple stuff.

It looks like I have a couple more weeks on liquid and then I can move to soft foods, I think I will be ready.

Surgery Day

I woke up about 3:00am but very rested. I need a cup of coffee but I cannot have anything to drink or eat because of my blood panel I have to have before surgery. I am ready to get this surgery behind me. Today is day 10 on liquids only. Everything has gone very smoothly and the clinic has been on top of everything. They are picking us up about 8:15am and we will be heading to Tijuana. I have to have the bloodwork, EKG and then meet with the Cardiologist. My surgery will take place about mid-afternoon. There are 4 surgeries today including mine. He is doing one Lap Band and 3 Sleeves. I will be in the hospital overnight and then at the recovery house Thursday and Friday night. We will be heading back home sometime Saturday.

We are in San Diego

We Drove from Dallas to Willcox Arizona on Monday, almost 1,000 miles. We had great weather and it went very smoothly. We stayed last night at a nice hotel and slept like a rock. We left Willcox about 3:00am and drove to San Diego, got here about 10:00am. We checked in with the hotel and went to Anthony's for Lunch, we had broth, Karetha had two huge Lobster tails, they looked great. We are going to mess around San Diego today and they are picking us up tomorrow morning to head to Tijuana. My surgery will be Wednesday afternoon. Karetha will keep you updated.

Leaving for Mexico

We took Deja to Pet Paradise yesterday and headed to Dallas. We stayed at Noel and Gay's last night so we could get an early start this morning. It was nice, last night we went out so I could get some tortilla soup, the broth was all I could have but it was great. I woke up about 2:30am, I could not sleep. We are leaving about 4:30AM. We are going to drive as far as possible today so we can get into San Diego fairly early on Tuesday, Karetha wants to go to Rockin Baja Lobster, our favorite place in Old Town. I guess I will go and watch her eat Lobster. I will keep everyone updated on the trip.

Last big hurdle has been accomplished

We are leaving for our trip for my surgery on 5-22 and have been waiting to get our passports, they finally arrived today via Fedex, nothing like cutting it close. That has been a fiasco from the beginning, I guess that is about par when dealing with a Government agency.

Major milestone for me

I started my liquid pre-op diet on 5-16-2011. My weight has been over
300 lbs for many years. I am at 296 as of this morning. The purpose of the pre-op liquid diet is to shrink your liver to avoid complications  during surgery. I have been drinking about  80 grams of protein a day and have not felt weak like I thought I would. My blood sugar has continued to go down as well. I have not felt this good in a long time.

Starting my PRE-OP liquid diet

I am not really looking forward to this at all. I have been shopping for the best tasting protein drinks, powders and energy drinks. I have been stocking up on chicken broth, sugar free jello and Gatorade, that is about all I can have from 5-16 until the surgery on 5-25. I have to keep my eye on the big picture, that is what will get me through this. The best flavor protein powder I have found so far is Unjury Chocolate Splendor, it tastes pretty good without the bad smell or after taste. The best prepared protein drink I have found is
EAS Carb Control, it is great in all flavors.

Surprise in my Bloodwork

I went to my primary to get a full blood panel and an EKG, I wanted to have a reference point and make sure there were no issues before making the trip to Mexico. My blood work came back showing I had very high blood sugar levels, I was diagnosed with Diabetes. I should not have been surprised but I was. My primary wanted to start me on all of this medication to get my Blood glucose level down but we decided to wait since my surgery was coming up at the end of May. Most people that have the surgery no longer have diabetes due to the new eating lifestyle and weight loss. Since the day in the doctor's office, I have not had any sugar and only very few carbs. I have a blood glucose meter that I test my blood and my numbers have already improved greatly.

The good news is my blood pressure has always been good and my EKG was clean. The next thing is to start preparing for the trip and gettting ready to start my liquid pre-op diet which will start on 5-16-11, stay tuned.

Search for a Surgeon

This was the hard part. Being self-pay, the cost was part of the equation but not a deciding factor. I live in the Dallas Area and there are some great surgeons there, I had narrowed it down to two but in reality, the cost was just too much. I had been on the forums and communicating with people all over the world trying to find a solution, something I could feel safe about and something to fit my budget. There were several Doctors in Mexico that came highly recommended. The first thing I thought of when I heard MEXICO was "underground" and organ harvesters. I was scared to death. The more research I did and the more people I talked to it became more and more logical. I found a surgeon in Tijuana, Mexico that has done more sleeves than any surgeon I could find here in the U.S. . The main reason the Medical care in Mexico is more affordable than the U.S. is the mal-practice insurance premiums and fancy hospitals in the U.S. , they have to be paid for by somebody.

I had found a couple of Surgeons there in Tijuana that was qualified and I felt comfortable with. The deciding point for me was communication. I had emailed and called both Patient coordinators, one got back to me in a timely manner, the other did not. I emailed more questions to both again, the same one got back to me, the other FIVE DAYS LATER. That was enough for me. Once I made my decision, I would email or call my coordinator several times a week, God bless her. She always takes the time to answer ALL of my questions and puts my mind at ease. My surgery has been set for 5-25-2011. More to come and a bit of a surprise.

How my journey all started.

I have been overweight since I was about 28 years old and Obese since I was 37, I am 46 right now. I am like most overweight people, I tried every diet, some successful, some not. What the common denominator was is I always gained all the weight back. My sister which is in the medical field had a Gastric Bypass for her weight loss surgery about 5 years ago. She has lost all of her excess weight and for the most part, kept it off. My insurance would not pay for weight loss surgery so at that time, WLS was not an option. In 2010 I started having some issues with my feet hurting, headaches and just not having any energy. I started doing a lot of research into different WLS, their risks and cost. There was a new procedure called the Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy, it is where they go in laparoscopically and remove about 80% of your stomach leaving it shaped like a tube or sleeve, hence the name. There is a video of a VSG surgery on the right side of my Blog. This was introduced in 2006/2007. After all of my research, I have choosen to have this type of WLS instead of the Gastric Bypass ( very evasive, changes your plumbing) or the Lapband which is very high maintenance with the adjustments and fills. These can also slip and have to be adjusted often. The VSG was the most logical choice for me since it is permanent and no maintenance. There are no adjustments like the lap band and no dumping ( throwing up) like the Gastric Bypass. With the VSG, you can eat almost anything but only about 4oz of it. It is a lifestyle change and it is permanent.