Eliseo A. Bautista, MD

I have started the process for the gastric sleeve surgery. I have 2 more supervised diet and excerise visits with my doctor before my info will be submitted to Cigna for approval. If all goes well I expect to have surgery in December. So far I have had my psychological review and sleep apnea testing. I have an appointment on Tuesday to meet with a nutrionsit. My starting weight was 290 lbs and I am 5'5. My current weight is 284. With Cigna they only require 3 months of supervised diet and excerise so it's 4 visits total within 90 days. My first visit was 7/16/2015 and my second visit was yesterday. My only concern is I was told that you can not gain weight during the 3 months supervised diet, so I weigh daily and try very hard to track what I am eating...no sodas and I am working on portion control.

The goal of the surgery for me is to lose weight so I can live a productive life. I don't want to miss out on experiences because I am obese. I also want to increase my chances of being able to conceive as I have a history of irregular menstrual cycles. I an looking forward to this journey and the outcome.

Updated on 11 Sep 2015:
So thru my supervised diet and weight loss consults I have found out that I have type 2 diabetes and from my sleep apnea test I now know I have sleep apnea as well. This makes me more determined than ever to get this weight off. My next weigh in is next Wednesday then after that one more on October 15th then I am done. Seems like everything is on track so far and the time is going by really quick. Can't wait for my insurance approval.

Updated on 11 Sep 2015:
Here are a few of my before pictures. Most people say I carry my weight well and they had no idea I weighed as much as I do.

Updated on 11 Sep 2015:
Here are a few of my before pictures. Most people say I carry my weight well and they had no idea I weighed as much as I do.

Updated on 16 Sep 2015:
Hello everyone! I had my 3rd weigh in today and I am 283 which is only 1 lb down from my last visit. Im just glad I didnt gain any lbs. I have one more weigh in on October 16th then I will be ready for insurance approval. My goal is to be in the 270s when I come back. Damn I'll take 279.

Did anyone else's doctor or insurance require you to not gain ANY weight during your 3 months of supervised diet and exercised period?

Updated on 20 Oct 2015:
Hello everyone

So my last weigh in was 10/18/15 and my final weight was 281 which is a total of 9lbs down in 3 months. I was a little disappointed because I knew I could do better if I had tried harder. My doctor or insurance didn't specify a certain amount that I had to lose only that I couldn't gain anything.


My paper work was submitted to Cigna yesterday 10/19/15 so everyone please pray for me. I want this surgery so bad it's all that I have been obsessing about for months. If I were to get denied I would be devastated. I plan on calling Cigna later today 10/20/2015 to confirm they received my paperwork yesterday.

Updated on 22 Oct 2015:
I called Cigna this morning and confirmed I have been approved for surgery! I am so excited I can't wait to start my journey. Now I'm just waiting on my doctor to conform my surgery date. I was told they give insurance a fake date then set a real date once it is approved.

Updated on 27 Oct 2015:
I finally have a surgery date. I am so excited...ish just got real! Lol!
The scheduler said she would send me a letter confirming my surgery date and preop appointments etc. I hope I get th in the mail soon .

Updated on 1 Nov 2015:
So I received a letter in the mail Friday with the dates of my pre-op appointment and 4 hour dietician class. My dietician class is November 12th and preop is December 1st. I guess at that time I will find out if and for how long I need to go on a liquid diet before surgey. I hope all my test come back ok and I am given the green light for surgery December 17th. I have heard several people say they found out they had hypoleri (not sure of spelling) during preop and their surgery had to be postponed. Hope this doesn't happen to me.

Updated on 7 Dec 2015:
I have 10 days until my surgery. I am excited nervous scared and anxious all at one time. I can't believe my time is almost here. I went to my preadmission testing December 1st and started my liver shrinking diet last Thursday. It hasn't been so bad so far. Today will be by 4th day in. I am allowed a protein shake for breakfast and lunch. One small peice of fruit. Low fat yogurt. And for dinner 4 oz lean meat and unlimited non starchy veggies. It hasn't been as bad as I thought it would be. During my preadmission testing my weight was 283 and as of yesterday it was 277. So I am down 6 lbs in 4 days. Not bad. I will post again after surgery. Good luck everyone!

Updated on 22 Dec 2015:
I finally had my gastric sleeve surgery Thursday December 17th 2015. Per the doctor the surgery went great however I was very nauseous when I woke up in the recovery room. I kept vomiting foam and clear liquid. This went on all day a Thursday and half of the day Friday. I was finally discharged Saturday afternoon and I have been doing pretty good at home. Haven't vomited since Friday and today is Tuesday. I am not able to get down all my liquids yet. Only able to drink about 30 grams of protein shake and 40 oz of water and that is with my literally sitting up and sipping all day. I try to walk as much as possible and each time I end up burping for a few minutes which makes me feel alot better. I am on a full liquid diet until next Tuesday which at that time I hope I go to soft foods. So far so good but I can say it's not as easy as I thought it would be. I'm not in any pain just bloated and lot of gas. Pictures below is of my incisions. I think I have 4 total. One is inside my belly button which you can't see. I was surprised at how well they look. Barely noticeable.


HW 290
SW 273
CW 266

Updated on 7 Jan 2016:
Hello everyone. I have been doing really good. I went back to work after 2 weeks and I actually feel like I am almost back to normal. I'm still struggling to get in all my protein and water. Right now I am getting in about 42 grams of protein and 45 oz of water per day. I am also on soft foods...so far I have had ricotta bake, black eye peas (for new years), grilled chicken breast, steak burrito without the burrito, eggs, and applesauce. I can only eat about 3 bites before I start to get a uncomfortable feeling in my chest and start burping. I would say I can eat about 2 oz and my goal is 4. So far everything is going great and I can't wait to see what the future holds.

HW 290
SW 273
CW 251
Height 5'5"

Picture of me is yesterday at the gym

Updated on 17 Jan 2016:
Hello everyone. As of today I am officially 1 month post op and I am down a total of 25lbs since surgery on 12/17/2015 and 35lbs since my preop diet on 12/1/2015. I thought I would have loss more weight by now but I am happy with what I have accomplished so far. My doctor is pleased with my progress so therefore so I am. I'm actually not taking my vitamins like I should as I hate taking any type of pills. I recently ordered the multivitamin patch and I hope it works. Keeping my fingers crossed. I am getting in about 50 grams of protein per day and 42 oz of water. I am working on getting more liquids in and eating more. I eat maybe 3 times a day and each time I may take about two bites. Well I will update everyone of any further progress. Thanks for reading.

Updated on 8 Feb 2016:
Hello everyone

I will be 8 weeks post op in 4 days and so far everything has been going great. I haven't had any complications and I am starting to have more energy. I was working out at about 4 weeks but I stopped because I noticed my weight loss stall. According to my doctor if I am going to work out I need to eat more calories which is very hard for me to do. So other than walking a mile a day I haven't been doing very much exercise. I don't go back to the doctor until 12 weeks and I would like to lose at least 15lbs before then. The weight is coming off but not as fast as I expected. This is harder than I thought it would be. For those who say wls is the easy way out ....boy are they wrong. I'm still working on getting in the proper amount of daily protein and this helps increase my weight loss. Well I will check back in after my 12 week post app appointment . Thanks for reading.

HW 290
SW 273
CW 239

Updated on 23 Mar 2016:
Hello everyone.

I am now 13 months post op and I am doing great. I have so much more energy and I am starting to enjoy food again. Not sure if that's a good thing though. I try to eat right 75% of the time. I always avoid bread, pasta, rice and definitely soda but I have had popcorn and the toppings off of pizza a few times since surgery. I can now eat about 3 to 4 oz of food per meal depending on what it is. Im still having a hard time getting in my water and protein goals per day. I drink about 40 oz of water and get about 50 grams of protein. I eat about 700 calories per day which I guess is right. I am down a total of 68lbs since my highest weight and 51 since surgery 3 months ago. I am very happy with my progress and hope to be in onederland by mid May. Well I will update you all in May to see if I made my goal. Here is a picture of me today. I will try to take a full body picture next time I sign in and post it.

HW 290
SW 273
CW 222

Updated on 27 May 2016:
Hello everyone

So as of today Iam 205lbs. Not where I wanted to be because I had hoped to be under 200lbs by now but I am still happy with my results. I went on a 7 day cruise last week and got a little off track but now Iam back and focused. Only 5lbs to onederland. Hope to be there by my birthday June 25th. Here are a few pictures from my recent trip.

HW 290
SW 273
CW 205
GW 170

35 LBS TO GOAL!

Updated on 14 Jul 2016:
Hello everyone

I will be 7 months post op July 17th and Im still struggling to get to onederland. I had got down to 200 but my weight has been fluctuating. As if right now I'm 202 but what is most important I feel great. I have more energy and Im just happier in general. Well I will update you guys in about a month...hopefully I'm closer to my goal weight then...oh yeah I changed my goal weight from 170 to 175 but that could change. We will see what happens.

Current pictures attached from 4th of July and last week.

Updated on 25 Jul 2016:
So on Thursday July 21st 2016 I finally made it to wonderland. Man does it feel good to say I weigh 100 something lbs. Haven't been able to say that since High School. Loving my sleeve

HW 290
SW 273
CW 199.5
GW 175

24.5 lbs to go until goal weight!

Updated on 29 Jul 2016:
So this past week I have been focusing on exercising and getting in my protein. Im happy to say it is working and really helping to shed the pounds faster. I went to the gym for 1hour 3 days this week and now I'm down to 197. Which is 2.5lbs in one week. I havent loss like that in a while. After 5 months post op my weight loss slowed down drastically. Maybe 1 to 2 lbs a month. So I feel great to lose 2.5lbs in a week. I hope I can keep it up. Just had to share. Keep pushing and stay motivated!