kaitlynm

I'm just ending a three week stall. I think part of it was because I stopped measuring some of my foods, like nuts and fruits, and I think I was getting more calories than I was recording. I'm learning that just because it is healthy doesn't mean you can eat as much as you want. Peanut butter is another really good example of healthy but too calorie dense.

My Dr also forbids gummy vitamins of any kind for life. I take the bariatric advantage multi vitamin and it has biotin in it. 5 months out now and no hair loss so far. Keeping my fingers crossed that it stays that way.

I'm right there with you.....200.5 this morning. I'm just getting off of a three week stall which has made this really frustrating. I had 3 goals within 10 pounds. First 203 which put me at a 34 BMI, then 199.9 for Onderland, and finally 194 for the lowest I've weighed in over 20 years. Of course right when I was getting there I hit the stall. What was really cruel was I hit 203 and then gained 1.5 pounds to start the dreaded stall. I hope to join you either tomorrow or the next day.

This is awful! I can't imagine having to be weighed in front of the entire school. Luckily I didn't have that experience. High school is where my problems started. I had a normal BMI, but I was bigger than other girls in my class. I self imposed a state of anorexia back then and began to yo yo back and forth for the rest of my life. I have no doubt that this is how I got to 286 last year. I'm on the right track now so hopefully this will work for me long term. I still do worry that with the sleeve it will allow me to go back to the anorexia way of eating too easily.

Congratulations! I'm just one pound away and I hope to get there this week. I was thinking a new swim suit might be a good reward. We are already at 90 here in Texas today.

I have PCOS and plenty of chin hair. I shave it every day. I'm down 85 pounds and 5 months out. I would say the hair growth is actually worse now. I think it is because of the biotin in the vitamins and also because there is less chin but the same amount of hair. I was told that once the hair starts growing the only way to get rid of it is by laser.

I told my family and close friends, but I don't think I would even do that again. Everyone seems to have an opinion and most of them are negative. I would stick to a need to know basis only if I were to do it again.

My Doc recommends 1000 for sleeve, and 1500 for bypass.

My Doc just wanted high protein and low carb for 5 days before surgery and my surgery went perfect. His partner however requires his patients to do a week liquid diet. So even surgeons in the same office have different requirements.

I had to stop taking mine before the surgery. Within 2 months I was having very frequent hot flashes which I had never had before. They make you stop taking hormones because it increases the chance of blood clots. Two weeks ago I asked if I could go back on them and the surgeon agreed to let me take them. I'm 5 mos post op. Usually he waits until 6 mos, but he thought I was far enough out. The hot flashes are better, but unfortunately they have not gone away completely yet.

Congratulations!!! I'm 2 ponds away and I've been stuck for 3 weeks. I know I'll get there soon. Can't wait. I was sleeved on Oct 13 and have lost 66 pounds since then.

If you have proof he did it wrong, I sure would present it to him. Of course you would probably have to let him fix it.

I'm thinking I got a similar letter as your last letter. I have BCBS of TX. It was confusing because they said I had met all of the requirements, but yet predeterminination didn't guarantee payment. Very confusing. They ended up paying for mine, but it did have to be at one of their designated centers for excellence. Luckily my surgeon agreed to go to that hospital. It was not a very good hospital unfortunately, but they negotiated a very cheap rate so I'm sure that is why they do it.

Wow, I think your previous Doc should be paying for this surgery.

I was somewhat slow to drop sizes in the beginning, but then at about 2 1/2 months out I started going through sizes like crazy. It gets pretty expensive replacing clothes. Now I have leveled off for a bit, but hope I will be dropping sizes soon.

Just keep pushing through it! Those first two months on restricted foods is bad, but you will get through it and it will be a distant memory. I'm 5 months out and now barely remember those stages. I was allowed sugar free pudding and watered down cream of wheat on my liquid stage. They helped me get through.

Does this group ever have mini regional conferences?

If possible you should try to stretch your legs (shins, calfs, hamstrings, and quads). When I first started walking several years ago I got horrible shin splints from not stretching. For walking you should just need to do your legs and not worry too much above that at this stage.

You may want to try eating more. I know it sounds counterintuitive, but it helped me break a stall. I was only eating around 700 calories a day, and burning about 1,000 during my workouts. My Nut said to go up to 1000 calories and include more good carbs. It helped me for quite awhile, but unfortunately I'm in a two week stall right now.

I originally had planned on doing the bypass, but my Doc pointed out a lot of good things about the sleeve. I ended up with the sleeve and am very happy so far. I'm 5 months post op and have lost 83 pounds since this journey began. I must admit that one of my key decision makers was the thought of never having a piece of cake or other sweets again. I was afraid of the dumping. My Doc also told me that at the 2 year mark the results were about the same for sleeve and bypass, so I thought why risk it. I also have pernicious anemia and he thought that might cause a problem with the bypass because I couldn't get any B-12 from the oral vitamins. So far I haven't found any foods that I can't eat, but I don't think that is true for everyone. Good luck!

I'm a fan of the Oh Yeah One bars as well. I like lemon cake and chocolate mint. I just ordered white chocolate raspberry so hopefully they will be here soon. I get them on Amazon.

Be careful, you will loose more weight quicker than you think. I just got home from the outlet mall and set a new record for purchases I think. I was a 24 / 3x in Oct. today I'm an XL and a 14. I didn't allow myself to try on any plus size clothes. (These purchases have to last all summer). I was shocked how everything fit me. Now I have to learn that just because it fits doesn't mean that I have to buy it! I'm hoping that buy the end of the summer these clothes will all be way too big. I don't think I will buy ahead anymore because it is hard to guess what size you will end up.

For most national healthcare insurance it is the employer that determines whether it is covered or not.

I have BCBS of tx and I had to write a letter. It was just a couple of paragraphs.

Great! Glad to hear it worked for you.