catwoman7

I haven't had mine tested, but it totally makes sense that working with weights might help. Weights help to build muscle. It takes more calories to maintain muscle than it does to maintain fat. That's why people who are muscular tend to be able to eat more (or lose more if they're eating the same amount as someone not as muscular) - their bodies require more calories to function.

N-O-O-O don't slide! We are surgery mates (we had our surgeries one day apart). I don't want to hear this!! :-) Get back on track right away before it starts to avalanche - it'll be much easier if you can get back in control now.

re: saggy skin. Almost everyone who loses a massive amount of weight has that. I have some but it's fairly easy to hide - I just wear elbow-length (or longer) sleeves and slightly oversized, longer shirts that cover my abs. Some people wear shapewear to help with it (like Spanx). And some people have plastic surgery

I was pretty tired the first few weeks, too (esp the first couple of weeks). I think your body's just exhausted from the surgery. It'll pass.

it depends on your plan. Some surgeons recommend ultra-low carb plans, others don't. And some people "low carb" even if their plan doesn't require it because they find it easier to lose weight when they "low carb".

that's what I was going to say - ketosis.

they don't bother *me*, but I can see how they'd be a trigger for some people. Maybe you should start with just buying one or two rather than a whole box - then it it turns out they're a trigger for you, at least you won't have a bunch of them sitting in your house. that could be a disaster!

Quest, Pure Protein, Oh Yeah One (if you get the latter, make sure it's the "One" series, that stands for one gram of sugar. The regular Oh Yeah bars have a lot more sugar

Ramsey, NJ? I'm on Long Island but if that's the one it looks like he is worth traveling for.... I have a while before I'm ready - but did I find the right one? Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App it seems like a lot of people on the East Coast go to Dr. Capella in Ramsey or Dr. Michaels in Maryland. They both specialize in people who've had massive weight loss, and they both have stellar reputations. I'm considering both of them (as well as a couple others), and I live in the Midwest....

I knew it! He's supposedly one of the best in the country. You look great!!

Did Dr. Capella do it? Whoever did it did a really nice job!! You look great!

I didn't lose any hair, so I can't help you with that part, but from reading these boards my take-away is that it's fine to dye it.

I also had to take it for six months. My surgeon said it greatly reduces the risk of gall bladder problems, but it doesn't completely eliminate it.

of course, I meant my program doesn't have *specific*, numerical limits on carbs. My guidelines were just to avoid the simple ones, and limit the complex ones.

people's food plans vary quite a lot on this. Mine doesn't have limits at all - they just said to avoid simple carbs (sugar, white flour, rice, etc) and limit complex carbs (fruits, whole grains, etc). I usually eat 80-100 carbs a day, and the dietitian said that was fine. other programs are ultra-low carb - e.g., limiting people to like 40 carbs a day. I'm kind of glad mine is more of a moderate-carb program, because I don't think I could sustain ultra-low carb for very long. a couple of things to keep in mind: 1) some people are really carb sensitive - eating carbs makes them crave even more carbs. If you're one of those, you might want to limit your carbs even if your program doesn't require it (I'm not particularly carb sensitive) 2) carbs require a lot of Water to metabolize. When you cut back a lot on carbs, you lose a lot of water because you don't need it since you're not eating many carbs. When you add them back in, your body starts hanging on to water again because it needs it to metabolize the carbs. So at least some of the additional weight you can lose by severely limiting your carbs is really just water.

Ha! We must have gone to the same one!

I think almost everyone has that thought, but it almost never happens. It's one of the safest surgeries out there. The mortality rate is something like 0.3% (even less for the sleeve), which is safer than even knee or hip replacement surgery. You have a 99.7% chance of NOT dying. Pretty good odds, I say.

you may be fine. I took three weeks off, but I could have easily gone back after about 10 days. I felt fine.

look up "three week stall". It happens to almost everyone, and it's not always at the three week mark. But sometime within the first month or two, almost everybody has a major stall. Mine lasted two weeks. Just stick to your program - it'll break. After mine ended, I dropped like 6 or 8 lbs just in a couple of days.

most people lose their appetite/hunger for a few months after surgery. A small minority lose theirs forever (I hoped and prayed I'd be one of those, but no....). Mine came back at six months out. For others, it's more like a year. But for most people, it does come back at some point. Take advantage of not having it - it's *really* easy to lose weight when you're never hungry!!

I know estrogen is stored in fat and sometimes people have hormone dumps the first couple of months since they're losing weight so fast. Might be related to that. But if you're worried, call your doctor.

I haven't had that issue, but I know it's really common

if it were *me*, I'd do the top left - the flats. But then, I'm biased because I've never been crazy about boots and heels hurt my feet!

I use unsweetened almond (or cashew) milk in my shakes all the time - and have since day 1. Just make sure it's the unsweetened kind.

It may be part of the addiction. I don't have many food dreams, but I still have smoking dreams even though I quit smoking 22 years ago!!