VSGAnn2014

That white Kerrygold cheddar is very good. I keep it in the fridge all the time. A wide variety of American and English cheddars -- the sharper, the better Stilton blue (English) - the real stuff Not to mention Roquefort -- mmmm Maytag - the premium American blue cheese - is good, too, although some of its products are being recalled now due to possible Listeria contamination. I'm sure it'll be resolved. Camembert -- a soft, slightly "stinky" cheese -- love it! The original "Parmesan" -- Parmigiano Reggiano (the King of Cheeses) Emmentaler and Gruyere cheeses (Swiss) - both great with nuts, dried fruits Rogue River (Oregon) makes some amazing blue cheeses, including one wrapped in grape leaves. I can get that one only once a year at our local wine / gourmet shop. It's pricey ($40/pound), but probably worth it. For other cheese lovers, here's a great Web site ... http://www.cheese.com/alphabetical/ P.S. And @@Dub ... find a gourmet grocery store with strong cheese offerings and do some tastings. I think you'll be amazed at the breadth of flavors.

Here's what I believe .... I believe we can believe anything we can talk ourselves into believing. So what makes complete sense to me may not work for you at all. You have to figure this one out for yourself. Good luck.

Ha! Nobody scares me. And no -- my PCP and my bariatric surgeon don't intimidate me. They are both awesome. They're very smart and great listeners. They invite and welcome all the questions I can come up with, which can sometimes be a lot. They never fuss at me for saying, "I read on the Internet that ...." (which could get a bit old for any professional). They're both straight shooters. Frankly, I adore them both and think I'm so lucky to have them on my healthcare team. One other thing -- Hubby and I are in our 70s, and a few years ago we realized we needed for all our healthcare providers to be in their 40s. We don't want to be finding and breaking in new doctors when we're in our 90s. So our PCP and our surgeon are both in their mid 40s.

I had only a single one-on-one consultation with my surgeon prior to VSG surgery. Actually, it was two-on-one (hubby went with me). We talked for about half an hour. Then, of course, I saw him the day of surgery. And, of course, I'd sat through 3.5 hours of his introductory lecture and had a very, very good sense of what he was about, his philosophies, strategies, experience, etc. Although he's done over 5,000 WLSs, he's also a general surgeon and has performed surgery on my husband, so we know him from multiple consultations and his surgery services with hubby. But the bulk of my post-op services from the surgery center have been with his AMAZING physician's assistant who rocks. She knows more (by multiples) about nutrition than the nutritionists on their team, so I rely on her for so much. She's also available and responsive via email. I am looking forward to seeing my surgeon this summer. He hasn't seen me since I reached goal. :)

Dub, you truly have a positive, sweet soul. It's a pleasure to read your posts. Thank you.

Nope, no regrets. I was one of the vast majority who have no complications and a comparatively easy recovery. That's not to say there aren't challenges -- of learning, adapting, risking, not being perfect and trying again, figuring out perfect isn't required -- just consistency. I think WLS has sparked one of my long life's best personal growth periods. I'm workin' it. P.S. I've lost 100 pounds and maintaining at 135.

LOL! I meditate. But Chopra and Oprah would not be a turn-on.

Jeez, I'm 19 months post-op. I started out at 235 pounds and now weigh 135 pounds. I'm 5'5". And I'm 70 years old now. I've maintained my weight for a year now. How in the world did I do that?! (What freakin' idiots!) Admittedly, not everyone who has WLS loses all their excess weight. And most people do not maintain all their weight loss. Many (not all!) patients regain 10-20 pounds during the 2nd, 3rd, 4th years or later. And some regain more than that. Some patients (I don't know what proportion) regain all the weight they lost. However, there ARE people who have maintained their full weight loss forever. By that, I mean they gain 5-10 pounds, go back to WLS basics, and lose the weight -- just like regular-weight people do from time to time. These are people who have made significant lifestyle changes in what they eat, how they eat, when they eat, how much they exercise and how they exercise. That's my plan. P.S. Many people work with therapists (not the kind of yokel you met with ) who help them address various issues they need to resolve re eating, lifestyle, and other underlying psychological and physical causes of their overweight. I've met with a psychologist for almost two years now (since before my WLS) to do this kind of work. He's been very helpful to me. BTW, he says he knows and works with many people who've lost all their weight and maintained it for years.

Others are right ... what doesn't work 8 weeks post-op may very well work fine down the line. I'm 19 months post-op and have cut WAY down on coffee, compared to what I drank pre-op (at least 2-3 cups a day). When I get up, I have half a cup of strong coffee with half a cup of heated skim milk -- a homemade skinny latte. At 3:00 pm I have another skinny latte (same recipe). And, thus far, I've had no coffee-related problems I'm aware of. Fingers crossed this continues.

So very, very sad. And incredibly infuriating.

I'm voting "No" on dehydration as the cause of temporary hair loss (telogen effluvium). I'm voting "Yes" on the contributors to temporary hair loss cited by a gazillion medical authorities: acute injuries and illnesses, surgery, anesthesia, childbirth, medication changes, shortfalls in Protein and Iron, extreme weight loss, etc.

Thanks, @@Inner Surfer Girl . I just bought on Amazon the dry brushes (body and face) referenced in that piece. Will report back on its use / results.

That's some serious self-awareness right there, young woman. You're going to surprise yourself -- in a good way. And, best of all, you're going to learn so much more about yourself and "life" in the coming few years. WLS is visibly about losing excess weight, building and leading a healthy lifestyle, and maintaining a healthy weight. But that's just the part others can see. It's about so much more personal growth. You have already opened the door to rooms that lead to rooms that lead to .... I'm so excited for you!

Nope. Told hubby and two close friends (each 1,000 miles away from me in opposite directions). Didn't tell my siblings, my other (many) close friends, clients, colleagues, strangers, etc. Everyone on my medical team -- PCP and surgeon's office -- all know I'm on the down low and staying there. Why didn't I tell anyone? I didn't want to become a WLS posterchild and invite ignorant comments or discouraging words from every Tom, Dick and Harry. I'll also cop that I didn't want The Whole World Watching -- what I ate, making sure I exercised, just meddling in my business, period. Nineteen months down the road I'm much more confident of not regaining; I've been at goal or below for a year now, and that's the first time EVER EVER in my whole life that has happened! And I'm still happy as pie that nobody knows I had WLS.

For the record ... I did NOT like my body or a lot of other things about myself when I was fat. I didn't accept my body when I was fat. That wasn't the body I was meant to have. I had trouble walking, I was agoraphobic, I was embarrassed, I was not happy. Frankly, the whole situation sucked. And, frankly, my unhappiness with my body and that situation motivated me mightily to learn about WLS and, eventually, decide it was a solution that might work for me. I like everything about my body and myself and my life a WHOLE LOT MORE when I'm not fat.

You and me, baby! You and me! And I adore your thread title.

LOL ... @@Inner Surfer Girl ... my post was just a Saturday morning rant. Not sure it's even worth a party. And yes, I think you're right (and the OP is right) that corn syrup isn't a great food additive. I completely agree that there are times and places when specific foods aren't appropriate. For instance, eating sweets during the weight-losing phases after WLS surgery makes no sense at all to me. But does that mean that eating sweets is always a bad idea or (gasp!) "evil"? I'm not sure that it does. It is so un-nuanced and so fundamentalist and (yes) so very American to demonize things that make us uncomfortable. We are an incredibly dual-categorizing culture that defines behaviors, people, jobs, cities, and even foods as "good" or "bad." There are many cultures, e.g., France, Italy, Sweden, where sweets are found on daily menus -- in moderation, in small amounts, eaten deliberately and not mindlessly, and not hidden in every dish on the menu. I'm trying to become more like that. (And, yes, I am laughing at myself right now for being so self-righteous about not being a fundamentalist!) :-]

The stuff that passes for absolute truth on these boards, although no different from The Huffington Post content, would require more time than I have to debate it. So I usually don't. But throwing out a few well-known, well-substantiated facts -- like too much sugar and too much salt are bad for us -- does not warrant that all other comments and advice uttered thereafter are grounded in anything other than the poster's personal beliefs and experiences. What works best for you and what works best for me don't always coincide. And the presumption that my truth will solve everyone else's problems and become their authentic, legitimate truth really does strengthen cults and other rip-offs, whether it's Scientology's weirdess, Dr. Mercola's supplements business, Joel Osteen's church, or the Arbonne multi-level marketing company. Protip: If your guru wants your money, it's a cult. As with other cults, every dietary cult needs a super-villain. We've all seen rants and articles and cultish advice advising WLS patients to eschew these villains: trans-fats, saturated fats, non-virgin-olive oil, canola oil, beef, chicken, all animal Protein, eggs, milk, corn syrup, gluten, wheat, corn, celery (those evil strings!), raspberries (those devilish seeds!), artificial sweeteners, sugar, all alcoholic drinks, caffeinated teas, coffee, bottled Water, well water, filtered water, chlorinated water, unchlorinated water. Although my truth is no more valid than anyone else's truth, here's mine: Don't smoke (my only "eschew" truth). Eat less sugar. Eat less salt. Eat better fats. Eat slower food. Drink less alcohol. Stand up more. Walk more. Stretch more. Make your bed. Watch less television. Read more. Talk to your family at mealtimes. Take your meds. Have more sex. Smile more (fascinating, persuasive research about that one). Brush your teeth. And some unsolicited advice: Don't start a cult, and don't join one.

Speaking from great experience I will confirm that if you are craving sugar you are already eating sugar. Really. Admit it. Stand up and testify!

I weigh daily -- mostly because I'm a data hound and a control freak. Whether the weight is up or down, it doesn't bother me at all. It's just information. I record my daily weight on My Fitness Pal. But I record only my weekly (Monday morning) and monthly weight (on the 18th, my monthly surgiversary date) in an Excel file. I use the weekly and monthly information to see what my actual trends are. (I weighed exactly the same yesterday as I did two months ago -- which offers me assurance that I'm truly maintaining my weight now.) I use the daily weight information to see how my daily weights relate to my daily (MFP) calorie information. That's the kind of information I used to determine (accurately) what my daily calorie budget in maintenance should be -- 1700 to 1800 calories/day. My daily calories will increase when warm weather arrives, permitting an increase in my gardening, hiking and kayaking activities.

Thanks for the conversation,@@reallyrosy . It probably won't surprise you that my friends think of me as Pollyanna. So my goal isn't to vaporize those "immutable factors" that can stimulate over-eating, but to keep a mindful eye on them to see what's activating them. In other words, I still try to out-fox my own immutables and make them more mutable. The most powerful of these factors for me are long celebratory events -- parties, happy reunions with friends, great restaurant visits, a second or even third glass of wine poured by an over-generous host. Some other factors for me are boredom and the anxiety that comes with procrastination. Fortunately, life's truly great stresses cause me to under-eat, not over-eat. Good topic.

Agreed. This is big time truth.

Once again, a very educational thread. I knew nothing about kidney stones prior to all this. Thanks to CJ and others who've thrown down here.

Nope, didn't have any antibiotics pre-op that I recall. But I did have to shower twice before surgery with some special yucky surgical soap.

@@Inner Surfer Girl and @@ssflbelle ... you both rock! Truly. You are awesome.