*Glitter*In*The*Air*

I hit Onderland today! 199.5! Took forever, but it finally happened. I'm officially down 94.5 lbs. Only a few more to go before my next goal of losing 100 pounds. My hair is falling out like crazy. It's so hard to see that happening, but I'm hoping that if I kick up my water and vitamin intake, that it'll slow down. How's everyone else doing?

I thought I wasn't losing a lot if hair either until today. Today I lost a huge clump in the shower. I'm starting to get nervous about it. My surgeon's office said the only way to combat it is to try to reach your Protein goals and take your Vitamins. I've also started using two different shampoos. One is by L'Oreal. It's called Everstrong. It's a low sulfate thickening shampoo. And the other one is a Biotin & collagen shampoo. I can't think of the name of it, but it's a purple and gold bottle. You can get them both at Walgreens, Walmart or Target. And Niko, I can see a huge difference in your pictures! You look great!

What's been helpful for me is that my postop diet is basically low carb. I don't want to knock myself put of ketosis, so that's what's helping me stay on track.

It was okay. I had had one before, so I knew what to expect. I had mine done at silver cross as well. They basically ask you questions. Then they hook you up with some wires. You sleep. They monitor you. They see how many times per hour you stop breathing while you're sleeping. I didn't have to be woken up to have the CPAP put on me, so I don't know what that's like. I had a very mild case of sleep apnea, so I didn't end up needing the CPAP at home.

Yes and yes.

I'm from the Chicago burbs. Had the sleeve done 2/17/14 at Silver Cross. I'd be happy to answer any questions you have.

So sorry to hear this, LeighAnne. You're both in my thoughts and prayers.

I'm in the south suburbs. Had my sleeve done February 17th by the wonderful Dr. Lahmann at Silver Cross Hospital . Loving my results so far. Would love to meet up sometime, but this Saturday is already crammed for me. Please let me know of any upcoming dates.

Same here. I used to have tons of energy postop, but I have been dragging ass. I sometimes feel myself nodding off at work. No bueno.

Me too. Have been on a stall for 2 weeks now. Ugh

You look fantastic, SF!!

I'm also in Chicagoland. I have 24s, 22s, 20s. Hoping to be out of 18s soon. I have tops ranging from 3X to XL now. I'd be totally interested in an exchange.

Look at you, girl! You've got quite the hourglass figure going on! You look great!!

Yes, and I was as shocked as you are! It didn't affect my restriction at all cuz I can only eat 2.5-3 oz max.

I've had alcohol. I talked to my surgeon and he suggested rum and diet coke. I'm following a low-carb plan, so he recommended it over a glass of wine for me. I felt the effects of it quicker than before surgery. And I felt really dehydrated and crappy the day after. But I probably overdid it that night too.

Do you guys find that you think you can eat more than you actually can? My doc wants us eating 4 oz now and I can only get in between 2.5-3 tops. I measure out 4 and then I measure what I have left over. I find myself wanting to eat more, but I just can't. You know that saying "my eyes are bigger than my stomach"? Lol

Hi there. In case you hadn't seen it, there's a thread on here about sending away for 3 Atkins bars. I tried to copy and paste it, but I couldn't do it from my phone. If you search Free Atkins Bars, you should be able to find it. If not, let me know and I'll go on my computer and send ya the link.

Hey all!! Hope you're all doing fabulous!!! Sorry I've been kind of offline for a bit. Got busy with work and stuff. I'll try to be better at keeping in contact. Things are going well for me. I'm pretty much on a low-carb diet plan. Just last week, I got to add veggies to my diet, so I'm stoked about that. Meat, cheese, and eggs gets a little monotonous. Here are my stats: Starting weight - 294 Day of surgery (2/17/14) - 277 Current weight - 240 I'm down to an 18 in pants from a tight 24 and XL shirts from a 3X. And I've gone down to a D from a DDD. I was hoping I wouldn't lose my boobs so fast, but I guess I'll take a loss where I can! Lol *updated incorrect starting weight and included date of surgery

You look fantastic! Congrats!

The surgery in general was a lot more painful than I'd anticipated. I was in a lot of pain for a long time. I'm feeling great now except for some back and shoulder pain which I'm sure is work-related. I was really having a tough time with my diet at first too. I was on puréed foods day 3 after surgery. It seemed like everyone else had a completely different diet than me and I was sure I was not going to lose any weight. I was questioning everything when I should've just trusted my surgeon. After all, I trusted him to remove 75% of my stomach. I did follow my diet completely and I'm happy with my results so far. I just felt like out of the loop because everyone else's diet seemed to be so different. I'm on all proteins now with no carbs. As of yesterday, I am allowed one 1/2 cup serving of nonstarchy veggies and I'm really excited about that! No fruits yet, no caffeine, no dairy (other than cheese). What's your diet like these days?

Hi Sher. Sorry I've been kind of quiet on here. I was having a tough time at first. Hope all is well!

I'm a fellow surgery sister! Sleeved 2/17 as well. Was 294 before preop diet and weighed in today at 243!

I had a cup of decaf yesterday with some chocolate protein powder in it. Sooo yummy! It was almost like a mocha. (I was sleeved 2/17)

My postop diet was similar to your friend's, Tanya. I was on clear liquids in the hospital and my first day home, I started puréed foods. I was really upset at first, thinking I had gone through all of this and was going to fail. My husband assured me that I trusted this doctor enough to operate on me and I should trust him enough to follow his postop instructions. I stayed off the boards because everyone else was still on liquids and our diets were so different and it made me depressed. I'm now on all soft Proteins. I can eat any meat, cheese, or eggs. No carbs. I can't even have veggies or fruits yet and no cream Soups or pudding or anything like that. I was sleeved on 2/17. I lost 18 lbs preop and have lost another 20.5 since surgery bringing my total to 38.5 in just over a month. I trusted my dr and I'm doing great! My energy level is off the charts for me and I am seeing cellulite disappear from all over my body. I doubted my surgeon's methods and I was wrong! I hope this helps you feel a little better.

Definitely some smaller plates (and bowls if you want also), paper or glass. It makes the smaller portion not seem so small. I got really pretty pink paper plates. I have a small ninja - not the blender, but more of an electronic chopper that purées. I use that and my electronic food scale every day three times a day.