Cristin

I would recommend giving people the benefit of the doubt. It can be frustrating to have people suddenly pay attention, but maybe they just didn't know how to talk to you before because they were shy or whatever. Now they have a compliment to open with, "You look great," and it makes it easier to start discussions. Also I know I tended to look sad a lot at my heaviest. It's possible you were unknowingly pushing people away like I did, and now that you're happier, people feel comfortable talking to you. You're a gorgeous woman, and you really do look great!

How many months out are you? You look great!

Wouldn't it just be your incisions healing? Coupled with dehydration and such a low calorie diet it makes sense you'd have some itching. Vitamin E lotion can help.

Maybe the Spanish translation of pain medication would help? Medicamentos para el dolor (Medic-ah-MENT-ohs PAR-ah el DOH-lore) Or just show the nurse the words. And say "mas" so he or she knows you want more. I hope that helps. I'm so sorry you're in pain!

I'm a bit of a hermit these days. It's really hard for me to even go outside looking and feeling how I do. I don't do things with my friends, love life is nonexistent... Did anybody's social life improve after surgery & weight loss?

Those darn zippered pockets! Nice call Lander!

A drivers license and birth certificate will work only when driving across the border, I think. You need a passport to fly. Sleep on it, and maybe tomorrow with a fresh start you can look again.

No worries! I was just being lazy; didn't want to add it all up myself before making it Thanks so much for sharing! I love it when people share recipes.

This is totally normal. Your period will be out of whack for a while. 5 months though seems like a long time. Let us know how it goes!

My surgeon's data over 9 years shows women that wait at least 2 years have an easier time keeping the weight off and have fewer difficulties with the pregnancy.

The environment you're in is really important, too. Are the people you're living with willing to support you by not bringing that kind of food into the house? You deserve support through this. Nobody needs this process made MORE difficult. And as a side note: try not to think of this as dieting. This is the rest of your life. We can't do this for a while, get to the weight we want, then eat anything we want because we're thin. That whole idea is completely false. Thin, healthy people, at least all of the ones I know go to the gym, eat right and really make disciplined choices 95% of the time. Maybe some people won the metabolism lottery, but where's the victory in getting your health handed to you? I'd rather earn mine through blood, sweat and tears (and trust me so far there have been a lot of tears). This is hard. Now go get it girl!

Can you use spices? I've been adding pumpkin pie spice to chocolate and vanilla powders with light vanilla soy milk, and it's SO good. I'm still pre-op so I'm not sure if that's ok, but I bet it probably would be ok post-op in the full liquids phase. Maybe you could use other seasonings for broths, too? I definitely feel for you. This is hard! And I can imagine it only gets harder, so you clearly are kicking butt to be getting through it!

Hey now, you are being very hard on yourself. Go a little easier. First and foremost, you have to really love yourself to make it through these tough times. And as the consummate self-loather, I know how hard that can be. But certainly part of this battle is not beating yourself up. We all break the rules once in a while. And I find that these artificially (as opposed to physically enforced due to the sleeve) imposed liquid diets are a lot to handle. Think about what you felt like before you ate and how you felt while you were eating. Try to learn your own behavioral patterns so you can be on alert for them. Just like I drive more cautiously when the roads are icy, I am more cautious about not exposing myself to food when I'm tired, stressed or bored, etc, or when I'm experiencing certain emotions like frustration. Love yourself and learn about yourself No need to beat yourself up! HW: 304 CW: 289 Surgery: 3/13/13

Hahahaha love this. HW: 304 CW: 289 Surgery: 3/13/13

Thanks for those links Dean. Great info. It's so much easier to avoid carbs, etc, if I know WHY I should be doing it, as opposed to just blindly following NUTs orders. To the OP, I think you either aren't getting enough calories or enough of the right types of calories (like protein). Try the fat and calorie shock discussed in Dean's first link. That might tell you something. And BMR is tricky. Websites all over put my BMR at 2065 or thereabouts, but when I took the actual metabolism test at my doctors office (using an extremely accurate device), it measured 2600 as my BMR. So don't rely too heavily on the online BMR calculators. Keep us updated! We're cheering for you! HW: 304 CW: 289 Surgery: 3/13/13

Have you recently started a liquid diet?