INT125922

Old post but ..... I put on 30 lbs in the 4 months waiting for surgery .... then lost 30 lbs in the 2 weeks prior to surgery (3 shakes a day).

Thanks David. I have not had surgery to remove skin no. Yes I work out LOL. I posted information here: http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/316464-flappy-skin/?p=3621086 about what I did to assist with skin, have a look if you feel.

Thanks guys. RE: the cake, I know right, that's $40 ingredients alone !! Mmmmmm, so good (black forest). RE: pictures, yes I have now reached goal, there's another pic or too here: http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/320725-goal-weight-achieved-230-pounds-shed/ and I'm sure I can scratch up another few newer ones for you

Yes, I remember when I first got it. They warned not to do it more than 10 minutes at first or you would get bruising. I too spent the first 5 or so "10 minute workouts" bending over picking it up off my feet - it really was a workout still though LOL. I eventually got frustrated enough that I looked on utube for a tutorial and was able to do it after just a few tries then. The reason I bought it in the first place was because the company had indicated that you could burn up to 800 cal an hour and said that it burned the same calories as boot camp. Sounded good to me, hoola hoop or boot camp ?? Pretty easy choice.

I lost 230 pound and went from a definite pear shape to a classic hour glass - expect the best.

There are weight loss specific threads available on this website. There's one available for people with 200 + pounds to lose. http://www.bariatricpal.com/forum/420-200-pounds/ I suspect you will be able to find many a person who started over 400 pounds in there while you wait for other replies. I myself started at 390.

I googled like mad and even saw my Dr. to try to stop my hair loss. I tried brushing with a special scalp stimulating brush and used a hair skin and nails supplement (containing biotin) and was also on a contraceptive pill for it too. I even used an anti-dandruff shampoo with ingredients to combat dandruff caused by fungal infection in case it was a fungal thing (thanks for making me paranoid Dr. Google). Still, my hands were full of hair in the shower from month 3. Thankfully, I had my hair loss stop entirely just 3 days after commencing treatment with 2 products taken daily (combined). How I heard about it: I read a book about gut health that described how many studies are linking the majority of illnesses in humans in western society back to malnutrition caused by compromised gut flora resulting in mal-absorption of the nutrients that we do actually intake. This is then compounded by our poor diet (take away/processed food) and mineral deficiencies that are common in western society . The information presented led me to suspect that my hair loss could be attributed to the same; due to undergoing stomach gastrectomy – it just made a lot of sense that my good bacteria would have taken a beating during that type of surgery. The writer of the book recommended a product called Nuferm Organic 2012 mixed with organic green barley grass. What is Nuferm Organic 2012 / organic green barley grass ? : Nuferm Organic 2012 is an extremely high quality non-dairy, non refrigerated pro-biotic power containing 20 organic living wholefoods that are broken down (fermented) with 12 strains of Lactobacilli bacteria to enhance the foods goodness. The (Certified) Organic green barley grass is sourced in New Zealand and is described as the most complete food for humans on the planet – full of natural state Vitamins, minerals, enzymes & amino acids in a form that is easy for your body to recognize and use. The website that I bought the green barley grass product through quoted: After 10 years of research Japans foremost nutritional researcher said, "My research has shown that the green leaves of the embryonic barley plant contain the most prolific balanced supply of nutrients that exist on earth in a single source." Yoshihide Hagiwara, MD Why are they to be used together ? : The writer essentially describes that the 2012 gives you the relevant bacteria that allow nutrient absorption and the barley then supplies the nutrients we are lacking. I took the two together until the containers were empty. If you are eating well and are not on antibiotics the bacteria will prosper – this meat that I did not need to buy another set of the 2 products once they were gone because the bacteria had multiplied/colonised inside of me. What it cost: Price Australian: $54.95 (2012 product) + Price: $29.95 (Barley Grass) = $84.90 total How I used it: ½ - 1 teaspoon 2012 + 1 heaped teaspoon of the green barley in one glass of Water (I used alkalized water). I tried to do this first thing in the morning, empty stomach but often didn’t get to it so I did it late at night sometimes instead. One other thing: I feel it important to add that I had also added Himalayan pink salt to my diet 2 weeks prior to commencing the 2012 and barley grass regime. I was using it daily as I had read that it is a complete mineral supplement as it supplies the 84 minerals that the human body needs. I find it is most economical to buy the salt from the cooking section at the grocery store it only costs a few dollars in a grinder.

Thank you and uou are welcome Jawaiian, also thank you to Jelmore. As you make better and better choices every day you will be at goal weight in no time flat. I was thinking, there are 2 more things that I did and have not listed above, they are: -Home made seaweed and dead sea salt body wraps: Method – I closed up the lounge room with a portable heater cranking I bought the dead sea salt powder from the health food shop and mixed it with filtered Water (as much water as the packet said) and I crumbled seaweed sheets that you normally use for sushi rolls into the mixture and put in organic coconut oil too. I wanted to buy bandages but they were going to cost $100 for enough (couldn’t believe how expensive they were) so I bought a cheap single bed flat sheet with stretch in it and ripped it into strips and rolled them up. I then stood in the bathtub covered myself in the mixture and wrapped the “bandages” on. I then wrapped tight with cling film and put down a cheap tarpaulin (blue plastic sheet) from the $2 shop on the floor in the heated lounge room and laid there for an hour. -Weighted hula hoop – I use a weighted hula hoop (fithoop) that has “notches” on the inside, I am convinced that it has carved my waist and assisted with the skin in the area also. I have used it 3 – 4 times a week for 20 – 30 minutes at a time for about the last 8 months – I love it and so do my friends - it cost about $50 Au and I bought it online.

I am unfamiliar with that brand of Protein powder. I use Vanilla flavour Body on the go shaping protein (ready to drink bottles) when I choose a shake. I put 2 tblsp chia seeds in, shake and wait 10 minutes and I call it my bubble tea. I prefer to use Quest bars to achieve my protein usually though. Once you feel you could stomach Protein Bars I encourage you to try them if you have not before. Per bar: 20g high quality protein 17 g fibre Between 160 and 200 calories I currently eat 1 – 2 per day most days (max. 2 per day approved by my dietician). Early out from surgery I could eat half a bar at a time. They come in many wonderful flavours such as: Peanut Butter and jelly peanut butter supreme double chock chunk chocolate chip cookie dough apple pie white chocolate raspberry Cookies and cream chocolate brownie vanilla almond crunch mixed berry bliss If you are cautious with your sweeteners the following are sweetened with Stevia and Erythritol (commonly considered to be 2 of the safe sugar alternatives): cinnamon roll chocolate peanut butter coconut cashew banana nut muffin (gluten free) lemon cream pie strawberry cheesecake The most economical way I know of to buy them is from their official site however I am in Australia.

I Lol'd when I read your title because I thought yes indeed I have broken a set of scales or two in my time too (after all we are in the 200 pound + to lose section). But it appears you did not mean that you literally broke them under your weight. In addition to the scales that met their demise when I stood on them I have been given and then killed 3 mini stepper machines. I had to stop using my treadmill because once I exceeded 300 pounds because it started to rock from side to side ! PS My Dr's scale weighs me 4kg heavier without fail but he swears blind they are correct. Don't let me get started on the scales at the gym ...

I'm the same as you (eat way less and better and think about food all the time) but I like it (? ) I enjoy finding the most nutritious food instead now. I can't do fly by seat of pants like him either, I find I put on when I eat reactively.

Glimpse of collar bone woot

As they say a leak is very painful - you ask when the pain happens, the pain happens when the trouble starts with infection and fever and such. However, leaks are very uncommon and are only really a risk if you don't follow the rules in the first 6 weeks after surery. Just follow the rules. You ate pot roast over 3 and a half hours. As long as it is inline with the recommendations you received to eat the pot roast then that's OK (if it's not then don't do it again haha). It didn't hurt you said, that means you ate ate a good speed for the volume you ended up getting in which is great at 4 weeks. Early on I often found myself in pain after eating maybe half a pot of yoghurt sized portion of food (pain that I described was like an elephant siting on my chest), it was because I was eating too fast. Don't worry about it, just follow the rules and once you are on normal food again you are home free

As you know when you google loose skin remedies the professionals all say the only "real" solution is plastic surgery. However - the only people I know who’ve had the sleeve are “real” everyday Joes who were flat out finding the funds for the sleeve – never mind plastic surgery costs on top ! I knew upfront that I was not going to have the skin surgery ($$$) so I just had to do what I could instead. That being, I decided that I was going to do well for skin based on the power of positive thinking. All the while I understood that some realism was required if I wanted my subconscious to accept my affirmations as true. Weighing in at 390 pounds I did not set out with an expectation to look like Barbie but I knew I would certainly look a whole lot of % better than I did. I am now at goal having lost 230 pounds. I have minimal loose skin (just in the usual areas a lady might have jiggle anyway ie. lower belly, under arms and thighs). I did not exercise for the first 6 months (it took 20 months). Here’s what I did: I researched methods, decided what sounded legitimate and affordable and went about applying the methods I believed showed value. Throughout however, I also applied positive thinking, affirmations and visualization techniques because I understand that the placebo effect is real. I encourage you to use the placebo effect to your advantage if you already know its power or to look into it if you don’t know much about it yet. Skin Supplements: -hair, skin and nails supplement (I take a bottle and then take a rest for a few months and then take another bottle as per the advice the chick at the pharmacy gave me). -Sarsaparilla root supplements from the health food shop (I read about them online and thought hey, why not). Methods: -Dry skin body brushing (3 - 4 times a week for the last 8 months). -Exfoliating body wash (further info: 2-3 times a week for the last 2 months. Type is apricot kernel exfoliating Body wash at the moment; I also use the left over face exfoliator scrub on my chest). Products (Australian): -Homemade mineral salt scrub once a week (organic coconut oil and ground Himalayan pink salt) and -Used 1 or 2 at a time of the following 6 moisturizing methods (aimed for 5 times a week minimum but actuals were more like 3 times a week minimum): 1 -Bio-oil (I was going through it so started using the copy from Aldi only 7 dollars for the big bottle.) 2 -Organic coconut oil. 3 - Palmers cocoa butter formula all over body firming lotion with Q10 (recommended by chick at chemist - she said that all the pregnant women are raving about it, smells like chocolate). 4 -Home made skin firming moisturizer concoction: - 3 Tblsp. pure organic lanolin melted in saucepan (11 dollars for round short chinese container from the health food shop - too sticky by itself). Once cooled I stirred in: -70 ml Bio-oil (Aldi) -1/3 cup of the Palmers all over body firming lotion with Q10 mentioned earlier -1/3 cup organic coconut oil -35ml Organic Avocado oil (Mum gave it to me for Christmas and I had about 35 ml left so in it went) 5 - Nivea in-shower moisturizer for very dry skin - blue (new product – have been using 4-5 days a week for near 3 months, I don’t have dry skin I just wanted the richest one available, I stock up when it goes on special and use heaps and heaps everywhere. It rrps for about 7 dollars but you can get it on special at Big W for about 3.50 and coles for about 5 and woolies for 4.50). 6 -Palmers cocoa butter Rapid Moisture coconut rich spray lotion about 8 bucks (new product ... awesome – non staining with rapid absorption so you can get dressed after about a minute – I also spray this in my hair sometimes lol). Behaviours: -Increased fat in diet (avocado 5 days a week, nuts and seeds 7 days a week and coconut oil for cooking, salads and stirred into quinoa porridge) -80 g minimum per day Protein goal to maintain muscle mass for tone to fill skin -Water, water, water (alkalised water for the last year) -Toning/Strength training at gym (last 8 months only - cardio only between months 7 and 12 as I had received advice from the gym staff to just do cardio to get the weight down some more first – no exercise for the first 6 months) Being realistic: I have a friend who was recently sleeved who was an apple shape and she was telling me that she was worrying she would have a saggy belly at goal. I was pretty much just big all over but with a pear shape with trouble spots on my body at my belly, arms and thighs. I told her about those trouble spots and said that honestly I suspected that I may have a little loose skin in these 3 areas due to this and I was OK with that as I wasn’t expecting to be getting around in a bikini anyway haha. She confirmed that her belly already hangs at her current weight. This suggested to me that she will likely have some at her belly however she will have great legs, arms, shoulders, neck and face and can wear spanx undies up to her bra and google how to dress to hide a tummy. Being that you are a man I suspect you may have good legs and trouble spots at the chest and belly or maybe just big all over. Applying the above theory this would make me suspect that you could do really well for skin with perhaps a little on the chest and belly or maybe none at all . All the best Jawaiian Kind Regards INT Footnote: RE: Second sentence comments about “real” every day people. I mean no offense to people who do achieve plastic surgery after sleeve. I’m sure they are of course very “real” too. The reason I said that is because I find it disappointing that the internet can give the impression that we who are not in a position to fund further surgery have no hope of having good skin after significant weight loss.

I hit goal weight a few weeks ago: Surgery Date: Nov 28, 2012 Goal Weight Date: Aug 28, 2014 Height: 5'9 Starting Weight: 390 lbs Current Weight: 160 lbs Weight Lost: 230 lbs Current BMI: 23.6 Guidelines I followed once allowed regular food after surgery: Minimum per day intake: 1 carbohydrate 1 vegetable 1 fruit 2 Calcium 5 Protein Tips: Water (Alkaline) Protein 80g per day Fat is your friend (Avo, coconut oil, seeds, nuts, lean meat) Sugar is your enemy (Maximum 2 fruit per day) Exercise will get easier