Rena's got this

I lost quite a bit of hair, and now my naturally straight and fine hair seems to be coming back curly and thick. I've always wanted curly hair, but if I ever got a perm, my hair would frizz and be very damaged, so no perms for me. All I do now is put a bit of styling mousse in my hair and scrunch it. Looks like I have a perm! Whenever it rains though... pooof it goes frizzy!

I had the sleeve. If I could do it over again, I would have the bypass. I can eat anything with my sleeve, and find that my portion sizes keep getting bigger. If I had the bypass I am pretty sure I would stay away from sweets a bit more because of the dumping syndrome that sweets seem to trigger. I had the sleeve in Feb, 2014, lost an initial 67 pounds before starting to regain. I'm really struggling to hold my weight steady. My sister in law had the bypass a few months before my surgery. She is at goal weight and is not having any trouble keeping it there. I don't think I'll ever reach goal weight, but I'll keep trying with the tool that I initially chose.

I lost hair, not only on my head. All my armpit hair is gone, or maybe turned into very fine blond/grey wisps. On my legs, I just pluck the few longish dark hairs that remain or ignore them altogether. The hair on top of my head has gone from thick, straight and strong, to curly, frizzy and thin. I don't know if this is from the weight loss, or from genetics. As my mom got older, she lost a lot of hair too. I've unfortunately gained back 20 pounds and am no longer in onederland, but this hasn't made any difference to the changes in my hair status!

Thanks for the info. They do charge a surcharge for non-members, and tax. The total for mine is $22.29, which is still better than the $24.99 regular price... and you can't beat free shipping.

In my case the sleeve has had minimal impact on WHAT I can eat. I can eat anything I used to eat, only in much smaller quantities. If I had the bypass, I believe I would have developed more of an intolerance for sugary foods and possibly high carb foods. Hope this helps.

I had the sleeve in Feb 2014. Like one of the posters above, I wanted to have my cake and eat it too. I wanted help with losing weight, but didn't want to lose all my eating fun, or risk nutritional deficiencies. Well, I have gained back around 15 pounds, and it is due to the fact that I have returned to old eating habits of sugar and carbs. I still can't eat much in one sitting, but seem to be grazing a lot throughout the day. If I had chosen the bypass, I think it would have helped me avoid going back to sugar and carbs by giving me consequences for doing so (dumping perhaps?). As it is, I can eat anything, just not in large quantities. Yes, I think I should have had the bypass instead of the sleeve. But in any case, I need to go back to using the tool that I now have and force myself back to a better way of eating. It is all on ME now!!

Thanks for the info JamieLogical. I can always count on learning more and more from this forum!

I regret.... not having it done earlier. I regret.... not choosing the bypass instead of the sleeve. I have the sleeve of steel, and can eat anything I ate before surgery without tossing my Cookies. I wish I could say that sugar makes me physically ill, but it doesn't. Cakes, candy, donuts, chocolate....anything fried... nothing bothers my tummy. Sooooo....I'm having to "work" more at making sure I eat a healthy diet and not too much of the bad stuff. Having the sleeve is an excellent tool, but you have to "use" the tool. It ain't gonna use itself! (except for that first year, of course). I have gained about 15 pounds back since I stopped losing last January (nearly 1 year post op). I'm now having to really watch what I eat. Not how much, I still have the restriction, but how often! I can graze without realizing how much food I'm eating over the course of a day! I was really hoping that I wouldn't have to go on a diet any more after surgery!

@@JamieLogical I'm also seeing his nutritionist monthly at the WLS support groups. The nutritionist is also supportive, and is always bringing us samples of Vitamins, Protein drinks and stuff that he finds that will help us. He puts on presentations, and gets people to come and talk with us regarding stuff like plastic surgery, exercise and cooking. We have a really good system here in eastern central Alabama.

I've been an employee all my adult life. Recently I was helping another department out when they lost their financial person, keeping them afloat until they could hire someone permanently. I also applied for this position since I was already doing the work. HR wouldn't even forward my application to the department head because I didn't have the "right" degree. I needed an accounting degree, not a business management degree. I even had a Master's in business education. Heck, I was qualified to TEACH accounting. After that fiasco I decided to take matters in my own hand and start my own business part time while working full time. Here is a great book that helped me make up my mind to do this: Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki. You can get this book at Amazon pretty cheaply if you want it.

I've been absent from this site for a while, but have been gaining weight again so decided that I needed to stay abreast of everything that's going on here! I had sleeve surgery in February of 2014. I lost 67 pounds within a year, but the last six months have slowly been putting it back on. Just a pound or so every week or two, but it is creeping along. I went from 180 pounds to 195. Got to nip this thing in the bud!!!! I had started eating carbs again, and grazing more often. I'm now trying to get back to basics. For instance, instead of having half a chicken sandwich for Breakfast, I'll just nuke a small chicken thigh and forgo the bread. I've lost back down to 193, and am hoping that just a few changes will help me get back down. I also saw my surgeon for my 1 year anniversary. He said not to weigh everyday, but to weigh every Wednesday morning, and write that number down, comparing it weekly. He wants to see me in 3 months, so he is doing a great job of helping me stay on track. Good luck to us all.... now that the honeymoon is over!

I've finally begun to date again. The first guy was gushy about thinking that we were made for each other and even mentioned eventual marriage... on the FIRST date! I didn't go out with him again. I've just met someone a week ago who is pretty nice, but he has been calling and texting me much more than I am comfortable with and is also talking about when "he and I can become we". It has only been a week! He is also very physical and I feel like I'm starting to have to insist on not being so touchy feely. Is this normal? I'm almost to the point where I don't want to date, and am wondering if it is just me or just the luck of the draw in meeting these two guys. Also.... (TMI alert)... I don't like french kissing and both of these guys seemed to want to chase my tonsils down my throat! Forgive my rant. I'm just not quite able to handle myself in this area yet, especially in handling the kissing issue. Any suggestions?

I wish I could quit grazing. I'm never hungry, but have developed the habit of noshing frequently during the day on whatever is available.... pretzels, crackers, leftover lunch items, etc. I've been in another stall, and I know that this is the reason why.

My surgeon didn't really specify, but like others said I'd lose around 60 percent of my weight. I feel like I'm not losing as quickly as I should, and I'm nearly a year out. I'm in another stall, but I know this one is entirely my fault. I've gotten into the habit of "grazing" and can't seem to stop.

My workplace is self insured, but BCBS of Alabama administers it using their requirements. I had to pay a copay for my sleep study and my nutritionist visits (not my PCP monthly diet sign-offs, since I wasn't required to come in and see her for those). I was unpleasantly surprised by my psych bill. I had to pay for all of it. I never quite figured out whether or not it was required, but I went ahead and did it anyway. For the actual surgery I only had to pay the $100.00 hospital copay.

That might be the least confrontational way to do it, and I'll probably do that too. I would kind of wonder though if I should just let him know and not let him be "hanging on" waiting for me to return his calls and texts. I'm very much non confrontational. I also think that, like you, I'm probably really happy being single, and shouldn't just date because I think it is what I SHOULD do.

So any advice on how to tell him that 1) he needs to take things slow with me and give me space, and 2) keep his tongue in his mouth...(not quite sure how else to put it!). Maybe I should just let him know that I'm just not feeling it with him, and not let it drag out. He really is a nice guy, tall, attractive, and appears to have his life in order, but I'm dreading spending time with him and not wanting to return his calls. It could just be me, not wanting to get into the dating scene yet, but I've been divorced for 7 years now, and it should be time to get back in the game....

As a kid, I absolutely loved white bread with mayo. I also would sneak the box of powdered sugar and eat it with a spoon. As an adult....Bananas Foster over vanilla ice cream. You slice a really firm banana into slabs, melt butter, brown sugar and rum in a sauce pan, then saute the bananas until they are coated and slightly soft. Spoon them over ice cream while hot and you have a dessert to die for!

After looking at your stats, I can't see why you titled this "failing horribly". You've lost 76 pounds in 7 months! Very, very impressive. You must be doing something right. I am a slow loser. I had surgery last February and I haven't lost as much as you. Still, I consider my loss very much a success. I'm not yet exercising formally, but am doing a lot more housework, yard work and walking at work. I had a 2 month stall around 5 months out, which finally broke when I got a stomach bug and couldn't eat for a day. That restriction that I could no longer recognize came back at that point and I'm losing again. You, my dear, are no failure!

Shoot.... I didn't get one for my C-Section either. Now I'm feeling deprived!!

I never had one. Actually I never heard of having one either.

I am 8 months out. I had a 2 month stall after 5 months. I was beginning to feel that this was it for me, and I would be stuck at the 200 lb mark. Then I got a 24-hour stomach bug during which I couldn't/didn't want to eat anything. The next day when I started eating again, I could definitely feel the restriction that had somehow disappeared. The weight started dropping off again, 2-3 pounds a week. I'm no longer going to be concerned with stalls, my body will just do what it wants and will adjust as needed. Last night I went to a pot luck dinner, and got a bit grumpy at all the wonderful foods that I could only take a small taste of, but it was just a little annoyance compared to not gaining any of this weight back. I'm happy... and that is something to really be thankful for this Thanksgiving!

My brother had the lap band about 4 years ago. He has probably lost 40 pounds with another 50 that he needs to lose. He says it doesn't feel like the band is restricting his eating much, and that he thinks that they gave him a band that was too large. That saying, he is comfortable with his loss and his current ability to eat. He expects to have the band for the rest of his life, but I know that a lot of people with bands eventually have them shift or have some other complication... after all, the band is a foreign object to your body. His wife had RNY a year and a half ago. She lost a TON of weight pretty quickly, and now wears size 0-2. She is too small in my opinion, but she had to have a hip replacement before the RNY, and I know having all her excess weight off enables her to walk around nearly pain free. That said, she has a problem with nutrition and her hair is extremely thin and dry. She is also comfortable with her loss, but expects (hopes) to gain 10-15 pounds back. I had the sleeve in Feb. 2014, and have had no complications whatsoever. I've lost over 60 pounds and am well on my way to my goal of 130. If I reach 150 and no further loss, I will be satisfied. I can eat whatever I want, I just don't want a lot of it, and I feel better when I choose Protein over sugary foods, so I have been sort of self-trained by my sleeve to choose healthier foods. I sometimes wish I had the RNY, so I would have had a faster loss, but over the long run, I know I chose the right option for me. If my insurance didn't cover my surgery, I would have gone to Mexico and had it done.

I'm kind of lazy, so I usually have a bag of bacon Jerky waiting for me at work. I'll also bring some cubed cheese to snack on. I keep a couple of Premier Protein chocolate shakes at work just in case, but haven't eaten one in a while now. Great in the beginning, but I'm just not into shakes.

I have been a normal weight most of my life, and most of my adult life too. In my late 40's I started gaining. My thyroid decided to get lazy and that didn't help at all. I stopped taking pictures or letting others take pictures of me, and just didn't really notice how large I was getting until my health started taking a turn for the worse. My ex husband took a picture of me at my mom's funeral last year, and holy cow....I looked like a beached whale! I could not believe that person was me. In my mind, I was still the slender person I had always been. Intellectually I knew I was fat because the scales and my doctors let me know in no uncertain terms that I needed to lose a lot of weight, but I just didn't see it when I looked in the mirror. Minus 60+ pounds later, I look in the mirror and I see the same person as always. I still see myself as slender, even though I still have a ways to go. Why does my mind see what it sees? I think it is a blessing that I never saw myself as fat, so I don't have to worry about seeing a fat woman in the mirror when I finally reach goal, but why can't my image in the mirror be truthful to what I actually am? I don't get it at all.