Momonanomo

Yay im glad you're trying this. Another member had mentioned it a while back & I've been looking at it online for when my time comes. It seems like a great product. Do you use more than one color? (I have highlights) Is it messy? Can you sleep with it in your hair?

I love this!!

lol I was going to make a wise crack about you having some hair loss --- body hair

Nicotine also hinders wound healing and greatly increases risk of blood clots. See http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1323208 That was my big fear....blood clots.

I agree with Mokee -- go ahead and get rid of them. Maybe take a QUICK paw through them and pull out a couple of special things, but get rid of the rest. As you progress on your weight loss journey, you will have earned the right to buy new things

Im taking pics frequently, but i learned NOT to look at them!!! Just found a set-up where i can set the timer, stand in the same place, and take the pic. In a few months i will look at the progression, but if i look now it would make me sad i think. Just have to remember it is a long journey, but im headed the right direction at least!

Good for you!!!! You've made a huge step in the right direction. I quit smoking in January, after 25 years of smoking. My surgery was in May. I did it because I wanted to give myself every possible chance of having a good surgery & recovery. I knew having this drastic surgery meant committing to a healthy new life. I used the gum & then the lozenges, & eventually switched the lozenges for sugarfree mini altoids. I feel so in control of myself and not a slave to cigarettes. If i can do it you can too. Keep your eye on the prize! Best of luck!

I drink my syntrax nectar capp cold. I'm pretty sure the protein powders denature and get yucky if you put them in anything over 130 degrees F. Now that I'm a couple of months out and can have caffein without it irritating my tummy, I have switched to Chike. It is OMG awesome! Yum! 20g protein and the equivalent of 2 espressos.

Girl, 2 days after surgery my big fantasy food was cottage cheese! Lol

The bottom line is it's your decision. I understand that his support is important, but....... If he can't be supportive, then find support elsewhere. He hasn't lived in your body your entire life. Do YOU think you've tried hard enough? If you do, and you understand the risks of this major surgery, and you understand the hard work involved after surgery, then that's all you need. It's more harmful to your body to continue on yo-yo'ing your weight up and down with failed attempts at other weight loss efforts. And it's harmful to your soul to let someone else dictate what they think is right for you based only on their own experience. Sorry if I'm soap-boxing I had some rough conversations with my husband early on in my pre-op process. He really thought it was a matter of me not trying hard enough. But after a lot of long talks, he accepted that my reality was different than his when it comes to weight and food and exercise. He thought it was just a lack of trying on my part. I quit smoking cold turkey right then and there, and he saw that I do indeed have will power. Now he's already so glad that I've had the surgery. One thing to consider too....I know this was true of my husband....some of his reservations were coming from a place of fear regarding the surgery. He was worried sick about the risks of surgery and possible complications afterward. So I acknowledged that and we talked through it. And now that I'm "out of the woods" so to speak, we're all good.

Yep I'm 8 weeks out today, and that is EXACTLY how I would describe it now -- I just don't enjoy eating. It feels very bizarre too, because my ENTIRE frickin life I adored eating. So....I'm actually quite happy because that's what I signed up for. I didn't want food to rule me like that one second more. But it is a very strange thing to experience......this "meh" feeling about food. So unlike me! So Laura-ven says the enjoyment will come back.........I just don't want it to ever ever ever be like it was before!

Yaaaaay!! I'm happy for you! Yes one of my big goals too is to get to overweight! Where else but on VST could we be so happy to become overweight ?!?! LOL So-------- good job on getting to overweight!

as I read your post, I am sipping my green smoothie similar to what you're describing! Mine is: organic baby kale, local organic fresh pineapple, 1/4 small avocado, 1/2 oz raw almonds, and vanilla protein powder. I'm 2 months out from surgery & have been doing these nutriblasts for a few weeks. I have felt a LOT better since I started drinking them-- more energy, more 'regular', etc., and it's reassuring to me to know I'm getting my fruits & veggies in. At meals I pretty much only have room for the protein So I can say from experience that your plan is a good one!

This is exactly what i needed to read today. Thank you!!!

i donno bout you, but ANY server that actually rolled his or her eyes at me would be saying goodbye to their tip. They can be perplexed all they wanna be, but there better be some self control as far as a rude attitude goes. I'd even be tempted to speak to a manager about it (after the meal so as not to get spit in my food! lol)

Seven weeks since surgery. I only lost a pound and a half since last week. Yeah, I’ll admit it: I’m kinda bummed. Obviously I’ve gotten spoiled to 4 & 5 lb losses each week. Spoiled rotten! I’m doing all the same things….so I guess it’s time to do some different things, huh? Tonight I’m going to a Pilates class. I loved Pilates back in the day. I may hate it tonight, but I'm sure I will love it again eventually I work in an accounting office, so I live my life in Excel. I have a spreadsheet tracking and projecting my weight loss. Really nerdy, eh? It’s my own special way of obsessing My average loss is -1.59% per week. That’s my AVERAGE, slightly inflated because the first and second weeks were big losses. But there’s this pattern that every 3rd week (well it’s an apparent pattern…it’s only been 7 weeks so far) my weight loss is miniscule. Perhaps this is tied to my TOM, which is roughly every 24 days (yes, this does suck). ANYways….could also just be the good old fashioned roller coaster that is major weight loss. It’s funny too, because in my past life, when this kind of thing would happen, I would throw in the towel and eat whatever I wanted, then feel like crap and not be active. Not gonna do that this time. Just gonna ride this old roller coaster. I’m frustrated because I wanted to be sooooo different immediately after surgery, as far as my weight, size, and energy. In some ways, I was different right away. The snoring stopped pretty quickly. Husband is significantly less grouchy for that I’m in clothes I haven’t worn in a while. I’m taking the dog out hiking 6 evenings a week. I no longer feel completely hopeless. But I want MORE energy. I want MORE weight loss. I want to feel stronger, faster. I want to get to the point where I can no longer go closet shopping and need to go real shopping. That’s why the Excel spreadsheet is fun….I have formulas set up to where I can see on any particular day in the future where I might be if I continue on this average weight loss. Other columns are set up to show if my weight loss rate increases or decreases….. We are planning a trip to the east coast (this is a huge trip for us from our home in Hawaii), and there is a possibility that if I could be in onederland by that trip. OMG. That would be awesome. However, living “in the now” as reality forces me to do, I am still stuck feeling obese and drained right now. Things are changing, but I wish they’d change faster. It’s funny how I got myself mentally prepared for surgery as if it were an end in itself in some ways. Reading the boards, I suspect a lot of folks are that way. But after surgery, life goes on. Surgery was drastic, but the weight loss can be gradual. I know it’s all perception, and that in a couple of months when I’ve lost more and my life is incrementally that much different, I will feel better about it. Perhaps I’m just melancholy this week in general. I am reminding myself that all things considered, I am in a much better place than I was at the beginning of May, right before surgery. And it stands to reason that in as many weeks in the future, I will feel that much better. I’ve just got to keep working. I will do this. Onward

Like Cindy, my clothes make it seem more real for me. I also find it helpful to go to a website called mybodygallery.com. Search for people at your current height & weight. Sometimes seeing other people with similar stats can help. The website is dedicated to helping women with body image issues. I think we all have that.

sip, rest, walk, rest....and repeat, over and over again. The first few days can be rough -- they can be really rough. I promise it will get easier, so try to reassure yourself that this part will soon be a distant memory.

Re #25: you have always motivated me You are the trail blazer! I'm so happy for you girl!

After I just accidentally slung the smoothie I just made across the kitchen counter, my husband has encouraged me to post on VST and ask: any one else feel like they got more clumsy after surgery? I am about 6 weeks post-op, and I have broken more glasses in the past weeks than I have in the past few years! I'm not falling down or tripping or anything--- it's more like I've become super butter fingers. Is it just a coincidence that this has happened post surgery? Has anyone else experienced this? It's kinda frustrating & kinda funny...

I wish you all much clumsiness, my friends!

omg that makes sense! Thanks Ms! well, well, well, I will put up with it if it's an indicator of ketosis. That's good validation that I'm in fat burning mode. Gee and I thought peeing on a ketostix was messy....lol

Aloha Today marks 6 weeks since surgery, and Wednesdays are my ‘official’ weigh in, although I do weigh every morning. I just record it only on Wednesdays. Yesterday the scale showed me down 40 lbs since start of pre-op, 30 since surgery. This morning I showed down 39 lbs since pre-op and 29 since surgery. ~sigh~ this is my first gain, and I’m guessing I ate something salty yesterday. I am absolutely not bugged about this. I will continue to weigh every morning. I am not obsessing. Just yesterday I had a meeting with my NUT and I asked her what her take on stalls is – is it something that just happens inexplicably, or is it usually something the person is doing wrong? Mind you, when I asked this I was still moving full steam ahead losing every day. LOL maybe I jinxed myself. ANYways, she said stalls just happen sometimes, but the individual has the power to break them. All this being said, I know that 1 lb gained overnight certainly does not constitute a stall. It has just set me to thinking about it. There will come a time when I actually do hit a stall. I want to be prepared for it. So screw the 1 lb overnight last night – I am very, very pleased with my progress! I am beginning to go shopping in my closet, and that is fun. I realized last weekend that I can cross my legs; hooo! that was a thrill! My nightly hikes have become more energetic – I can go longer and faster and work up a good sweat. My dog is loving it! I was thinking this morning that something I would love to be able to do would be pushups. Real, honest-to –goodness, straight leg, military style pushups. No way in hell I can do it now, but I was thinking how cool it would be to be able to do them eventually. My (very athletic) husband would be so impressed! And then I had a brainstorm that I will train myself in secret to be able to do them as a surprise for him! Every morning when he gets in the shower I am going to roll out of bed and start trying to do them. And then one day I'll say "look what I can do!" I also want to get some hand weights. My bariatric exercise specialist had given me a band to do arm strength training with, but I have begun to get very nervous using it because I am terrified it’s going to snap and put my eye out. Paranoid? LOL. Perhaps! But I noticed that in very tiny print on the typed instructions she gave it says “caution: wear eye protection when using the band”. LOL she never said it out loud, she didn’t wear glasses when demonstrating it for me, and I have never, never seen anyone in person or on TV wear protective eyewear with the band. Leave it to paranoid me to start thinking about goggles though. Actually, I’d just rather get some hand weights and not worry about it any further. So far my hair is the same as it’s always been – yay! I am fond of my hair. But I think it’s just a little early yet anyways to see any losses. I won't be surprised when it starts to thin a bit in a month or two. My nails are still growing like mad—I finally had to actually clip them so I could type. In the past they’ve always broken way before they got to the point of needing to be clipped. Hope this nice side effect lasts I guess as long as I get my protein and take my vitamins it will. My energy is getting better all the time. Still would love more energy, but I have faith that my energy level, along with other things in my life, will just keep getting better n better as time goes on. Onward!

Omg these look AMAZING! I will be looking for them tomorrow! Do you feel restriction when u eat them or are they a slider?