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I take calcium citrate in tablet form, iron in capsule form, acid reducer in capsule form and bariatric advantage multi vitamin in capsule form. Been swallowing capsules since I was in the hospital.

There are some who will say that the bubbles in soda will stretch your sleeve.. I consider this a huge sleeve myth... I am only 6 weeks out and I have no desire for soda right now... but when I'm further out and enjoying a social occasion, I may indulge in a cup of soda. My doctor said no soda for 6 weeks following surgery and it's ok after that if you are comfortable drinking it.

I'm a store clerk at a little convenience store. It's not a sit down job but I do spend a lot of time just standing behind the counter.. I've been sneaking in squats and lunges between customers. I also go out of my way to stock shelves when it's really slow even when they don't really need it... I also do laps around the store with whatever I can think of to add intensity... Yes I've been caught more than once by customers while doing a lap around the store with "high knees" or "running grapevine" *shrug* nothing embarrassing about trying to be more active!

I've been using a straw and no problems at all.. It's a comfort thing.. if you use one and you feel gassy and like you're drinking too fast then maybe you're not ready.

These days when most people talk about juicing we're talking VEGETABLE juice which is a whole different animal than fruit juice. There is no need to be juicing straight fruits.. eat them whole.. But if you want the goodness in say, a pound of kale.. it's kind of hard to eat a pound of kale, even if you have a normal stomach... but you can juice it up with some cucumbers, celery, ginger lemons and maybe a bit of granny smith apple for sweetness and you've got an AMAZINGLY healthy green juice that's going to give you enzymes, Vitamins, minerals soluble Fiber and even a good dose of protein!

I know it's hard to see on yourself because you start convincing yourself it's just "wishful thinking"... But I can assure you objectively that YESSSSS! definitely a big difference already.. You're getting a much more defined waist and your belly is changing shape and definitely smaller. And yes.. I think we ALL look better in clothes.. I actually look WORSE naked now than I did before.. because not only am I fat.. but I'm now fat and weirdly wrinkly already! Oh well... It's just temporary until it's time for a tummy tuck right?

I had surgery at 7AM on Wednesday and left on Friday afternoon, so that would be 2 nights and 3 days. This is the standard for my doctor unless for some reason she thinks you need to stay longer.

maybe a year? I've never had a problem.... if you're concerned, buy from Bed, Bath and Beyond, use one of their 20% off coupons. That way if you have a problem, they'll stand behind the product.

Started taking capsules under direction of my surgeon the day after surgery while still in the hospital. Never had any problems. My acid reducer, multivitamin and iron are all in capsule form.. My calcium is in tablet form and I was told not to take the tablet until I was 2 weeks out, but yeah.. capsules were going down just fine at 1 day post op.

and it's sometimes kinda gritty huh? Also, the serving size is for two scoops.. I never use both scoops though so scoop for scoop it's about equal to other good quality low carb whey protein isolate powders...... I do like the jay robb better but isopure is just so much cheaper.

I use the "swiss" brand it's in the dairy case, but it's a regional thing.. any sugar free "fruity" drink would work.. sometimes I use Vitamin Water zero.. some people use crystal light.. also welch's and nantucket nectar make sugar free juicy drinks too. The coffee tastes great with vanilla or chocolate Protein powder!

You could probably schedule your surgery for next week if you wanted to! Pick up the phone and make the calls... I went with Mexico Bariatric Center, but I called around to many different places. They all just have you fill out a health questionnaire and approve you for surgery based on your questionnaire. I called in November and could have had my surgery the same month... but needed to get together some money and I wanted to lose some weight first in order to reduce my surgical risk and to not have to pay the high BMI charge(I went from a 55 BMI down to a 48 BMI by surgery day) so I scheduled my surgery for March.

I'm not one who usually would tell you to ignore your nutritionist but seriously?????? Your nutritionist is nuts..... ENSURE??? Most programs specifically tell you to AVOID the ensure as the whole point of it is to provide CALORIES. Just look for any whey Protein isolate powder that has around 25 grams of protein for around 110ish calories.. that way you'll know that most of your calories are coming from protein.. Do two or three shakes a day plus your lean and green meal and you'll lose and shrink your liver. You can mix your powder with milk or with some calorie free fruity drink. I mixed my first shake of the day with milk (just to get the extra little sugar from the lactose in milk) then my second shake I mixed with coffee (soooo goood just don't let the coffee be too hot.. I mix the Protein Powder with 1/4 cup milk and 1/2 cup coffee then when it's all mixed in, I add the other cup of hot coffee.. makes around 15 ounce drink) Then my third shake I mixed with diet blueberry tea.. then I ate a piece of lean meat and some greens at night. My favorite brands are Jay Robb and Isopure because they make very thin shakes.. just tastes watery.. not like all thick.

Personal preference sweetie.. I like thin/athletic men.. My current BF is 160 pounds.. My ex husband was BUILT.. AND he was a marathon runner! What you LIKE has nothing to do with what you LOOK LIKE! I am the opposite of them, but they found me attractive even though I didn't have a similar body to theirs. For me it has nothing to do with self-loathing as some here have suggested.. I've never had a problem with the aesthetics of my weight and I've always been confident...(perhaps why I've never had a shortage in the men department???) I'm losing the weight strictly for my health. When I am thinner, I'll still like thin/athletic men.

I had a fine experience at Mi Doctor.. just don't be shy about ASKING for what you need.

I'm 41 and work 50 hours a week on my feet all day. I used to come home straight after work and put my legs up and cry from the pain in my feet, ankles and knees. When I gave up wheat in November I noticed a great improvement even without weightloss though there was still some pain after my shift. Now it's getting better and better. I now work all day, go for a three mile walk, come home, prepare dinner and THEN put my feet up.. yeah my knees and ankles still do ache a bit but NOTHING like before.

I should rephrase that... it was my first commercial diet... My FIRST diet was when I was six years old.

yup deal a meal was on my list.. it was actually my first diet.. I think I was maybe in Jr. High.

I tried the potato chips fried in olean.... after that fiasco, I never tried another product with the term "anal leakage" on the warning label.

I was told that all liquids that are chemically made up of water count as water... Even coffee, tea, juice, milk, soda... pretty much all liquid things except oils! Somewhere in my instructions it also mentioned to "try" to shoot for about half of your fluid intake as just pure water.. and the other half could be protein drinks, coffee, crystal light, etc.

Weight watchers, atkins, southbeach, 14 day diet, Physician's weight loss center (got phentermine from this place), Deal a Meal... uh let's see.. Oh I went to a community group that was similar to weight watchers, also I went to two different weight loss centers where they basically charge you an arm and a leg and they weigh you three times a week and pretty much bully you into losing weight.

My advice is DON'T CHEAT! If you stick with the diet after three or four days the mad-crazy hunger will reduce and you'll feel a LOT better. You might even think you have the flu... or you'll die from weakness or hunger.. But you wont, I promise. Also, start drinking some Protein Drinks now to get used to them. If you're allowed coffee, a scoop of Isopure vanilla creme powder or jay robb vanilla powder, 1/3 cup milk and 12 ounces of coffee.. Mix the milk with about half a cup of coffee.. add the Protein powder... stir.. add the rest of the coffee.. enjoy. You're welcome! Remember that you WILL eat all your favorite foods again. Don't panic about that. Just enjoy the process and keep reminding yourself WHY you're doing this. You got this!

I agree, that's why we have to research, research, research! I think the main difference is that for most of us you're going to go in the USA, you will likely go with someone who is close to you and your choices are limited.. in my case it was a doctor who charged 20K and was not all that experienced. Most of us are not checking all doctors in the USA we're just checking the ones close to us.. When you're going to Mexico, you choose from many doctors and facilities in a variety of cities to get the one that's the best fit for you. I would never say that my doctor in Mexico is better than any Doctor in the USA.. , but I DEFINITELY felt more comfortable with my surgical team than the doctor I was researching that was near me. If I lived in a different city and was researching a different doctor, I may have felt differently.

My surgery was $4,500 in Mexico.. Would have been $20,000 or more here in Pennsylvania.. My doctor in Mexico has done a few thousand bariatric procedures.. the doctor I was looking at in pennsylvania had only done 200 procedures! My price included the cost of the preop testing, the operation itself, two nights in the hospital post op, plus an additional two nights in the hotel, plus ground transportation from the airport/hotel/hospital.

when I was 3 weeks out I was eating puree'd beans with melted cheese on it, eggs, and cottage cheese with marinara sauce, lentil soup and pudding