glitter eyes

I am eleven months post op so I can eat more than a recent post op. Here is an example of one of my days: Breakfast: two scrambled eggs Lunch: grilled chicken (one leg and a thigh) Dinner: grilled salmon, steamed green Beans Snacks: one piece of string cheese, Greek yogurt, turkey Jerky Of course my days vary. Sometimes I will add a Protein drink a few days a week. I also am only a few pounds from goal so I do have "cheat" days. Yesterday was one of them. I had a chocolate bar, and two sugar Cookies. Will be back on my plan today. I feel I can almost eat close to what is considered "normal".

I stuck to my plan faithfully until about month six. It was Christmas time and I had some sugar cookies and cake. That was the first carbs I had eaten since surgery. I got right back on my plan by Jan 1. I am now post op month 11 and some days I chose unwise foods such as pretzels, cookies or cake. However, I try to keep it to a minimum and only one day a week. I have been able to maintain doing this and even occasionally will lose a pound.

The weight loss is more than worth the hair loss. I have lost about half of my hair- thankfully it was thick before. Sometimes I think the hair loss is the luck of the draw. I started taking biotin three months pre op, get my protein requirements in everyday and sometimes exceed them, take all my vitamins and my blood work is and has been normal the entire time. I also use coconut oil on my hair and get plenty of healthy fats (occasionally some not so healthy fats) I am almost a year out and my hair is still thin and falling out. However the rate which it is falling out has slowed down a lot so maybe there is hope. LOL That being said, there are a lot of people on this forum who have experienced little to no hair loss. Hopefully you will be one of them. Wishing you lots of luck!!

Good luck to you!! It will be the beginning of a new and wonderful life. I personally never had sugar cravings or felt head hunger until after I ate carbs/sugar for the first time: which was about seven months post op. Sugar is the devil. When I eat it I want more so I try to avoid it. Keep us posted on your recovery!!

I think it's awesome that you are at goal. Also, it doesn't matter if you have lost all your weight- everyone needs support. Maintenance is just as hard ( I am going to say it- if not harder) than losing the weight. I say keep seeking out support and joining the challenges. Forget the negative people. I think when we get to goal it can become easy to slip up with bad eating habits and forget that no matter how thin or fit we all may get we are still recovering from obesity. Therefore, even being at goal or below goal takes hard butt kicking work. So I say congratulations to you!! Don't let negative people keep you from seeking out the support you need.

You are not alone. My surgery was last June and I remember clearly how thinking about my surgery consumed me too. I used that time to do lots of research, stalk this forum, and begin to make slow changes to my diet and life style. I also made a list of goals- some weight related and many not. It is such a fun exciting journey and your turn will be here before you know it. Good luck!!

I used a small travel pillow to brace my stomach with. It's helped with the pain of walking and for any bumps or jolts traveling. Also, biotene was a life savior, but I see that you already use that. Lots of luck to you

My pool is in the middle of a huge renovation, but as soon as it is finished I can't wait to start swimming. This is my first summer post op and at goal so I am going to enjoy every second!!

Congrats!!

I go to the gym five -six days a week, but when I am there I mostly do cardio (eliptical,treadmill, arc trainer, rowing and have just added spinning) and three days a week I add the strength machines for my arms. I need to tone my midsection, and inner thighs. I was wondering if anyone has used the Beachbody on demand and if it is worth the 2.99/week. I want something that I can do at home in addition to the gym, however I am looking for something to tone and define my body. Thanks!

I had an ablation four years ago and it has been the best. I had horrible bleeding and cramping so so bad. It was awful. the ablation completely stopped my bleeding!! And as for the cramping, I rarely have any at all. If I do have cramping it is over so fast I don't even have a chance to get a Tylenol. It has been a miracle. Good luck to you and hope everything works out!!

I have been fortunate not to have any kidney stones post op. However, I had a spell about ten years ago where I kept getting kidney stones one after the other. It is so painful, so my heart goes out to you. One of the things that helped me is I began to squeeze a fresh lemon and add it to a bottle of water and I drank it first thing in the morning. Occasionally I would drink another lemon in my water in the afternoon. I still drink a lemon in my water almost everyday and since I started that I have never had another kidney stone. It could be a coincidence, but lemons are natural cleansers and I think they helped me. Good luck to you!!

You are not alone!! Right after I was post op I craved pickles and pickle juice so bad. I would even dream I was eating pickles. It must be that our bodies are craving the salt. By the time I was done with my puréed diet and could eat a pickle the cravings were gone. Congrats on your surgery and good luck

@babbs. I agree that all hair loss is not related to nutrition. I feel like it is the luck of the draw for some people. I have always gotten my protein in and most days exceed my goal. I meet my fluid goals, take vitamins, biotin, and all my bloodwork has been perfect since surgery. My hair has fallen out by the bucketfuls. Thank goodness I started with really thick hair. I have friends who had surgery within two weeks of mine and one of them never takes her vitamins, eats like crap and her hair is great. I even juice raw greens and veggies. I do green smoothies a few times a week. I may not be perfect but I eat very healthy. However, I started taking liquid silicia that I brought on amazon. I add it to my water every day. It is tasteless. I was reading that silicia is a mineral that can help skin, hair, and nails. I have been taking it for about three weeks and finally my hair loss is slowing way down. It no longer looks like a dead animal in my shower drain after I wash my hair. Also, I haven't had to clean out my hair brush in over a week. It could be a coincidence, but I am going to keep taking it. I would rather have my thin hair and feel great, than feel like I did before surgery!!

It is the only milk I buy. My whole family likes the taste. I don't drink a lot of milk, but when I do it's Fairlife.

I absolutely went off my plan for Mother's Day. I knew I was going to do it, so I upped my exercise last week. I ate the chocolate icing off a piece of cake. Had a piece of strawberry shortcake, and a piece of Tres Leche cake. It was delicious. I just made sure my other food choices were grilled salmon and a kale salad. Then on Monday it was back to my normal eating plan of low carbs and high protein.

My surgeon ok'd me for mints. He even let me have one post op to help with dry mouth. However, what I use the most of is the Listerene breath spray. One spritz and my mouth feels fresh and moist. It's a life savior when I am waiting the 30 minutes after eating until I can drink.

My go to for fast food is a local BBQ restaurant. I get the smoked chicken. It is very tender and flavorful even without any sauce. They will sell me a piece of chicken by itself with no side items. Sometimes I will even buy extra for my next meal. High in protein and no carbs. Sometimes I get the smoked turkey.

I didn't start going to the gym and working out until about month five. I lost weight too without lots of exercise. I listened closely to my body and took it easy when I felt tired. I did try to get a little walking in each day. At about six months my energy level went up and I began to exercise seriously. Right now just do what you can and focus on eating healthily, staying hydrated, resting when you need it. As you heal and slowly increase your exercise your energy will come back. Everyone is different. Good luck to you!!

Hang in there it gets easier. It is very difficult to keep hydrated immediately post op. I poured my fluids in a medicine cup and it took me three tiny sips to finish one medicine cup. Then I would refill it and start again. Sipping all day long. You could try experimenting with different temperatures of fluids and also different kinds of flavored water, etc. Some fluids seemed to go down easier for me. It was about finding the right fluid and the right temp. As your stomach heals you will find it gets easier. Good luck!!

It sounds like acid reflux. That happens to me too. I just make sure I don't eat at least one to two hours before I lay down.

Congrats on your surgery. Hang in there every day gets better!

I was blessed and had no gas pains. I also walked a lot post op. I even walked from the recovery room stretcher to my room. I think the walking may have helped, or it just could have been the luck of the draw.

@@alindsey good idea about the instant mashed potatoes. I will be packing some!!

I am so sorry that you have had these problems. No one should have to have sub standard health care. However, I have to disagree with your statement that "no reputable doctor would do a resleeve". I work in a hospital that is a center of excellence for Bariatric surgery. Our two surgeons are amazing. Our facility has yet (thank goodness) to have a leak or a fatality. One of our surgeons has done resleeves and the patients that he has done have fared very well and gone on to be complication free and lose weight. He even resleeved our Bariatric coordinator whose previous surgeon did not make her stomach small. So people can and have been resleeved by great doctors. Good luck on your recovery.