LBD

Has anyone seen the chips in stores yet?

Hi everyone, HW 289 SW 274 CW 194 10/15/13... Still tracking, keeping calories under 1000, protein intake is good, daily workouts but pretty much stalled out for quite a while now. Feeling good but so slowwww.

Light & fit Greek is by far my favorite... Creamy without being pasty, yummy flavors, lower carbs than most.

I find that after losing 89 pounds, most people are smart and just say 'you look great' or something like that. I sometimes run into people that I don't know, but have seen me before surgery and actually ask if I had weight loss surgery. Maybe because it's more common these days they think that it's ok to ask? Still feel a little awkward when I don't really know them, lol.

Yes, this is true and WLS patients get the double whammy of losing hair due to the actual surgery/anesthesia and the major weight loss. Had the same issue after a prior surgery.

I started losing... (more like shedding) hair at about 4 months. Had my VSG in October so I'm 7 months out- still shedding but it's not really noticeable. Hoping that it regulates soon. I try not to wash it every day but when I put product in my hair after washing it, I end up with quite a few strands on my hands- but it's not like it comes out in clumps. Biotin regrows hair but does not prevent it from falling out. My understanding it that if you get your fluids in, keep your protein up & take your vitamins, all those things will help. This past week I hit a major milestone- under 200 lbs. I've lost 88 pounds so far and I have to say that the hair thing- although it's scary- is well worth going through to get my health and life back!

Congratulations on a major accomplishment!!!! Fantastic!

I agree, Dannon light & fit tastes the best, higher in protein, lower in carbs than some of the other Greek yogurts. Stick with the 'blended' variety now... The fruit on the bottom ones will have to wait a little while, but those are yummy too- I eat one every day.

I've tried them all & the best by far are the chocolate chip cookie dough, cookies & cream & coconut cashew bars. Yes, as was mentioned above, the carbs are mostly from fiber, so the net carbs are really low. I buy mine from Amazon with Amazon prime, so no tax & they're about $25-$27 a box for 12, so $2+ a bar. Sometimes you can get a deal at GNC also. Not so bad especially if you use them for a meal. I eat one a day & look forward to them. Yes, to me they taste like I'm eating a candy bar, so I don't feel deprived & I stay on track.

Just took my first flight after dropping 80 lbs. Last time I flew, I could not buckle my seat belt and was way too embarrassed to ask for an extension.... This time, I had about 6" of slack! Yay! Still a long way to go but that made me really happy!!!

Yes, I have the same issue. I've lost close to 80 lbs & I've only gone down from a size 22/24 (depending on the brand) to an 18/20. Things are mostly loose but that is still pretty crazy. I'm 5'7" & don't ever really expect to see a single digit pant size, but if you consider that I've lost a little over half the weight I need to lose- from 289 to 209, that's just not right! I'd like to land somewhere lower than a 14 if possible. Think the rest of my weight must be coming directly off my belly & thighs only- I'm fine with that!

Hi everyone... Almost six months out & my surgeon ordered blood work. My potassium is low as well as my protein levels. I was pretty surprised about the protein levels considering I use MFP everyday to be sure I get around 80 g per day. Anyone else have these issues? Do you need to take an additional supplement?

Thanks, elfnow... I decided to go with bariatric fusion because I was trying to minimize the # of pills my dr was telling me to take and the frequency throughout the day, which, knowing myself, I wouldn't keep up with. For me, keeping it simple is best but it looks like I'll need potassium unless there's another multivitamin out there that contains more of it... My doctor's office does sell it, and although it's a lot cheaper through them. I want to trust that they are right but I did wonder if the formulation/quality was that much better, or just a way to keep patients coming back to their office....

Thanks- I do take Bariatric Fusion regularly and it does contain potassium iodide, but maybe not enough? According to MFP, my goal for potassium is 3500mg daily, don't think I could hit that mark if I tried with my diet. My dr ordered another blood test to see if the original test was a fluke so we'll see. Still wondering about my protein levels& why they would be low considering that I get around 80g each day.

If you have a decent blender at home, there are a ton of recipes for protein shakes using protein powder. I used, and sometimes still use pure protein powder(25 g protein per scoop), either vanilla or chocolate, or for fruity drinks, I also used Syntrax nectar, (23 g per scoop). Syntrax also makes unflavored protein powder that you can add to food & drinks. Personally, the ready made drinks tasted gross to me so I blended my own. My favorite shake was vanilla protein powder, 1/2 small frozen banana, 1/2 cup skim milk, water & a tablespoon of PB2- yum!

Feel free to add me too... MFP has really helped me to stay accountable! More friends would be great... LBDowling2013

Please add me also LBDowling2013

You can edit the amount of food you ate, ie from a full portion to 1/2, etc and it will update, or you can swipe the individual food item from right to left to delete it altogether.

LBDowling2013.... Would love more MFP friends!

Tortoise here as well. Saturday will be 5 months out from surgery. 15 pounds down on my preoperative diet then 56 since surgery. I am thrilled to be down 71 lbs total... Never ever lost that much in my life! I plateau a lot, but I always have & at this rate, I'll be at goal within 7 months... I'll take it!!! Feeling great, able to get around much easier, far fewer aches and pains. I have been back teaching art in middle school & actually have the energy to do my job well again. Grateful!

Just an FYI, some unflavored protein, like Syntrax medical for example, becomes ineffective & loses it's nutritional value if the food you're mixing it into is too hot. It "denatures" the protein if it's over 140 degrees.

Wow- this is interesting. Never heard of this option before. The only thing is that it doesn't effect the production of ghrelin, so I also wonder if people are able to keep the weight off long term. Seems like it would be a good kick start for a young person at the very least, who might choose to opt for surgery sometime in the future.

I completely understand the fact that you want desperately to help your daughter, but you might want to consider waiting a bit to see if your insurance status changes in the next few years. My hesitation is a result of my own personal experience with weight loss surgery, and I too have a thirteen year old child & feel like I'd want to know both the good and the bad so it's important that I share my story with you. I've been overweight since I was about your daughter's age and yes, my weight really did effect my quality of life for decades. In 2007, I decided to have gastric bypass surgery, which as you know is also a laparoscopic procedure. The surgery was attempted by a well respected American doctor who was head of Bariatrics at a center of excellence. Unfortunately, he made a mistake when inserting the laparoscopic tool and cut my aorta. I had no blood pressure and lost 7 units of blood. Fortunately, my doctors opened me up so that the vascular surgeon who was already scrubbed up and ready to perform another surgery was brought in to graft my aorta. I often wonder if I had my surgery at a clinic in Mexico, and the necessary specialist wasn't there to assist, would I still be alive today? Not sure... It was a close call for me even with an amazingly talented surgical team plus the vascular surgeon jumping in to save the day. My intention is not to frighten you, rather as a parent myself, I would want to ask all the "what if" questions before going to Mexico, and personally, I would definitely consider a major medical center only. Six years later, in 2013, I decided to have a vertical sleeve gastrectomy, which was obviously a hard decision to come to. A wonderful surgeon, (who had helped to save me after the head surgeon's screw up) wanted to make things right & performed the surgery this past October... Same great hospital & thankfully no problems at all this time. Although rare, mistakes do happen, so I recommend that you take your time, ask lots of questions, and weigh all your options. Best of luck to you and your family!