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@ To surfer girls point, if you choose a Bariatric center of excellence, your chances are better than your new insurance will cover you down the road. But I would definately get started because there is likely going to be a supervised diet of some sort that insurance or the center itself requires. Good luck to you!

I think we all test it at some point or another. Unfortunately I am one of the folks that don't get sick from sugar at all. The only time I get sick is if I eat too much. By the way, that is not fun either just in case you were wondering. Those of us that don't get sick have to work harder to refrain from eating things we shouldn't. At first it is fairly easy because it just doesn't taste the same but down the road your taste begins to change and you can eat those things. Trust me, I know! The best thing you can do is stay away. I wish I would have. Now I just have to make sure those foods don't make it past the front door.

@@ButterflyRainbow The hair loss issue is a shock that is hard to prepare yourself for. I started losing mine immediately (with 8 weeks post op). I started losing what I thought to be a lot. Then at 4 months my hair started coming out to the point where it scared the heck out of me. I am now 10 months post op and yes, it Is still coming out however it is not as bad as it was a month ago. I was lucky enough to start with a very thick head of course hair. I have lost 3/4 of it. At 6 months I cut it in a short bob. It looked much better than before. I have been taking Biotin since the beginning and have lots and lots of new growth. Here is the thing, I am 52 years old and of course very grey but I have my hair tinted each month. My hair growth is still what it was before. I can tell because the roots grow about 1/2 inch every 4 weeks. I call it the skunk look. LOL. My hair has not stopped growing. Your hair will continue to grow long, it will just shed and new hair will come in. Obviously when your hair is longer it is more noticeable, especially to you! The only people who have noticed is my husband and stylist. Try not to woody about it growing back if you cut it short. It will.

@@SWEETTEA Congratulations you your success! I am green with envy and cannot wait until I reach my goal!

@@leag78, In reality the weight loss does not work on a timed schedule. I also had RNY. The first 60 days I lost a lot of weight very quickly. After that, I have lost on average about 10lbs per month. I have had many stalls along the way, one lasting 28 days 60lbs in 4 months is not bad, in fact it is excellent! however your doctor is probably thinking about the first year as the golden year and wondering if you are doing everything you can to take advantage of it. You did not give us a lot of information about why you think you need to reset. It may be appropriate if you have allowed things into your diet that you shouldn't have and want to break that trend. If you are following the plan and not grazing throughout the day, then look at your overall Protein and where you are getting it from. The majority should come from your food. If you are eating protein rich foods, and good carbs like fruit and veggies, there should not be much room for anything else and it should keep you full. if you are getting your protein from nothing but shakes and eating a lot of carbs, then you will get hungrier faster and eat more. This in itself can cause your weight loss to slow down. I have experienced this myself, I can almost know exactly what the scale is going to tell me before I step on it. If you are not already doing this, use an app like my fitness pal to log your food. Log it all and you will see the trends. If you are eating per the plan then you simply are a slower loser and it will all work itself out. You are the only one who knows his the plan is really going and whether or not you need to make changes. I wish you the best of luck!

There are so many things it may be hard to list them all: I can chase my husband or grandkids around the house and actually catch them. ( my husband is not happy about this one LOL) I can sit in an airplane seat without an extender! I have about 6/8 inches of seatbelt left over. I can sit on the floor with my legs folded under me! I can walk for miles both outside and on the treadmill. I can go 30 minutes on the elliptical when before I was lucky to last 5. I can literally run up the stairs without feeling like I am going to have a heart attack. I can sleep without a CPap and not feel like I am suffocating in my sleep. I can eat any food I want without getting severe reflux. I can take my blood sugar in the morning and it is always under 90. There are so many more things that I could like but you get the picture.... For me I just wanted to get healthy and be on this earth longer than my Mom was. She died from complications of Type 2 diabetes and obesity at the age of 66. I did not want to do that to my children, husband and grandchildren.

@@Sunshine3073 Good morning! I will do my best to answer your questions with my experiences. You do have to remember that everyone is a little different. 1. True/False: My doctor says my taste buds may change after surgery and foods I love now I may not like. This is completely true. I have also found many foods I hated before surgery that I now love. 2. Will my appetite REALLY go away? Will the feeling of being hungry all the time disappear? This is definately true. In the beginning I had to even set a clock to remind me to eat. At about 6 months post op I started feeling actual hunger again. The good news is it takes very little to feel full. I never have that gnawing hunger I used to have though. I had bypass, I am not sure if those that had sleeve have a different experience. 3. I'm totally addicted to food. While I have been able to mostly control it over the past 3 months, there are times when I have NO WILLPOWER and stop at Culver's on the way home from work for a big, greasy double cheeseburger and a soda! Will I be able to break this after the surgery? Food addictions are something you have to work on with a therapist. If you go back to those foods you will begin to crave them. For me Pasta was a trigger. I stay away completely. Because I am now most happy with good Protein and good carbs, that is what I crave most of all. I do not crave sugar which was a huge addiction for me. In fact I don't like anything overly sweet. I'm so worried about this. I'm already having a hard time with the liquid diet. I'm on my 2nd day now and I feel HORRIBLE! The liquid diet is pretty tough, for me at day 4 I did not even care anymore. In fact I could not even drink all the Protein shakes. I would have 2 a day and then sipped on good chicken broth which was more satisfying for me. You are almost to your first goal line and you can and will do this. You have to stay busy. Go read a book, take a walk, have a bath. Anything to get your mind off of the food thing. Drink a lot of liquid, it will help with that hunger feeling. Good luck and I hope you have a safe and speedy recovery!

I would be very interested in this answer. How do you do it?

@ I went through a 28 day stall in June and then I started losing again following the same plan I was during the stall. Sometimes we lose slower and our bodies just decide to take a break. The moral of the story is you have to stay the course, the weight will come off. Good luck and I hope your stall breaks soon.

Oh my goodness! I really truly am shocked and dismayed. This is very sad, these young ones are likely to develop the same eating disorders at such a young age.

I had the same problem regarding lactose. You can use lactaid milk in your shakes. Or better yet try fair life milk it is lactose free and enriched with extra Protein. It tastes great as well. You definately need to find a protein shake that will work for you. My team had me use Premier Protein ready made shakes. They had me use lactaid milk to thin it out. Each one of these shakes has 30 grams of protein and they taste delicious. You can get them at Sam's, costco and some Walgreens store has them.

@@lachellove The feelings you are having are normal especially if you have not had surgery before. Try your best to relax today. Everything will go great and your imagination is much scarier than reality. The best thing for you to do today is do something's that take your mind off and release some of the anxiety. Try some deep breathing exercises that calm the nerves. start by putting on some music that is soothing to you. Get yourself very comfortable. Take a nice deep breath in through your nose and then blow the air out through your mouth. Do this for 10 minutes or so, it can be very calming. It also helps to do this after surgery. It helps with pain control as well. It helps to block out distractions. Try a relaxing bath or read a book. Anything to get your mind off of all the stuff that is causing anxiety, the best thing you can do is go into surgery with a positive attitude, it promotes healing. You are going to do great! I wish you a very safe surgery and speedy recovery! See you in the losers club!

Good luck! I wish you a safe surgery and speedy recovery. See you on the other side!

Honestly I can say that I have not developed any new bad habits, mostly good ones. I quit smoking 28 years ago and would never go back. The thing is, I gained 70lbs after quitting! Now the lbs are coming off thank goodness!

Go do something to get your mind off of it. That is the only thing that works for me.

No tips for you on this one. Prior to surgery I could not tolerate spice at all, now I crave spice but gave to be careful for the same reason you are asking. The Water issue! I have snuck a sip of water when it was just too much to take. Love spicy and very flavorful foods now......

Congratulations on your weight loss! That is a lot of weight in one week! I had cream of wheat this morning, I am 10 months post op. I also had it beginning in week 2 post op. I make mine with fair life Protein milk so it increases the protein level. I actually crave cream of wheat, I know it sounds strange but I like the texture. It is very good for you.

Chunky is back again, what can I say besides I clearly don't have the same experience you do. I have worked my butt literally off for the last year and a half. WLS is harder work than losing weight the old fashioned way. You have to plan everything you put in your mouth for every meal, you must focus on nutrients to ensure you don't end up malnourished, you must ensure you take your Vitamins, get in enough Water and in many cases my decision impacts those around me. From the restaurants we choose to eat at to the groceries we buy. WLS is the best thing I ever did for myself and my family but it certainly does not come easy at all. I would hate to see someone new read this post and assume everything is easy. And yes, I too am terrified of gaining it all back, so I focus every single day to make sure that never happens. It is the price I will pay to have my health back. I am 100% comfortable with my role in this journey.

I thought I knew a lot before starting this process because I had tried every diet there was. I knew which ones worked for me and which did not. That being said, I have learned so much more over the past two years. I realize I hardly knew anything and what I did know I struggled to follow. 2 years prior to my surgery I gave up trying to lose weight and guess what I put on more weight. Ugh! I feel like I know enough to be successful at this point but would love to learn even more. I never want to go back to where I was.

Alex, This is a great topic! I find talking to others on this site that our experiences are so very different. I agree with the thought that the surgery is very important but the pre op and post op care for years to come really is the most critical. That is where the complications come in if there is little follow up care. I used the Park Nicollet Bariatric Center of Excellence In Minneapolis and I am thrilled with my team. And when I say team, I have a bariatrician who meets with you before and after surgery at key intervals. I have a Bariatric nurse (by the way all their nurses have had some type of WLS), I have a nutritionist, a physical therapist, a psychologist and finally the surgeon. pre op - I met with a Bariatric nurse that was assigned to me, a nutritionist that was assigned to me and a bariatrician for the initial consultation which happens after attending a class led by the Bariatric nurses. Then once per month I would meet with my nut and my Bariatric nurse. I met with my psychologist twice before surgery and the surgeon once I was approved by the psychologist to decide what type of surgery That was suited best for me. After surgery I had regular follow ups with the nut and the Bariatric nurse at 1 week, 4 weeks, and then monthly until 6 months. Then I met with a bariatrician at 6 & 9 and again will meet with him at 1 year. Recently I had spine surgery and they went in through my throat making eating nearly impossible. I called them from the hospital and they immediately asked to see me for guidance. My relationship with this team is very personal. We hug every time we see each other. They set me up with a line by line manual to follow post surgery. I feel because of this team I was set up to win right from the start. I can call them any time for guidance or if I have a problem. I always feel bad when I meet someone on BP and they have received little to no guidance. I would have been lost without my team. I have even moved states and purchased a health care plan that considers Park Nicolette in network. I make the 6 hour drive because the care is incredible. I wish others had that kind of program.

I miss Water parks! I have not done that since I gained all my weight. Congratulations! What a great NSV.

If you mean 8 oz. of yogurt, I still can't do that and I am 10 months post op. I would probably throw up. At your stage I was lucky if I could get 2 tablespoons in and I would feel uncomfortable. I also was on Clear Liquids the whole first week and then full liquids the week after. I had bypass surgery so maybe this was different but you really risk damage at this stage if you overeat or eat the wrong foods. Is there a reason you ate that much and a timeframe in which you did it? If it took you longer than 30 minutes this may be a slider food for you. I would stick to your post op diet exactly if you want to remain complication free. Good luck!

I hope you have a safe surgery and speedy recovery! Good luck today and see you on the other side.

@@Karlnjax, @@keddykat75, I hope you both have a safe surgery and speedy recovery! Sending thoughts and prayers your way.

I love peeled apple slices with Peanut Butter. One of my favorite Snacks. I share it with my hubby because I cannot eat a whole apple. I also make a lettuce salad with fresh sliced strawberries or apple or nectarines in it, some feta cheese, some cashews and a little creamy poppyseed dressing. Sometimes I will grill a chicken breast and add a few ounces for du her or lunch. One of my favorites, I get fruits incorporated, with veggies and Protein.