fruitandveggies

Awesome! Glad everything is doing well now. You'll be feeling great in just a few weeks!

No one wants to hear it but heavy weighted squats and lunges are still the best exercises! I personally wouldn't recommend machines since they reduce range of motion in the movement and that can put extra strain on the joints and back. When I started heavy squats I lost 10 INCHES off my thigh in 3 months. I kid you not!! Even my trainer was blown away.

And good luck today, @BusyMom945!

Yup, Nova born and raised. Had mine with Matthew Fitzer at Reston Hospital.

So true, I absolutely love your energy protection ritual!

Agreeing to yoga and core exercises! I love the Les Mills class CXWorx if you have a gym that does LM classes. I'm definitely going to try one of those posture correctors though! Great idea.

I take myKind multivitamins, vitamin D, and B-12. They are all organic, food-based so they absorb really well.

In addition to the water intake, make sure they test you for anemia! You lose so much iron with your period and since you are getting barely any with your food that might be causing a problem. When you take your iron, see if you can eat something with vitamin C with it to maximize your absorption.

I don't know you guys of course, but I know that a lot of times a big part of a relationship is being fat together. Not only will your eating habits totally change, your body will too. He might think that you won't be attracted to him anymore when you shrink, and he might miss the times you share together with food as the center point. He could be feeling negatively judged by you--not that you're doing that--but you're judging being obese as bad (since you're getting the surgery), and therefore he might feel like you think HE is bad now. He also may not want to deal with his own issues with weight, but feels like he has to now. If it were me, I would reassure him that though your habits might change some you will still love him no matter what. Let him know that you doing this doesn't change your opinion of him, and he doesn't need to do anything differently. Sometimes they just need some reassurance and validation, being obese is such a mental game!

Agree with all above, but I also add wrist, foot arch, and ring size. With my wrist, I can tell my actual frame size estimate (small for me), my foot tells me my new shoe size (I've already lost a size!), and rings size is going down like crazy! I have a ring sizer (cheap from Amazon) and I measured my ring finger at size 4 1/2 today. My wedding ring is a 4--almost there!!

Whenever this happens to me, I need to really analyze my food intake vs my RMR. Of course the most accurate way to get that number is a physical test, but you can do a calculation online for a decent estimate. Then just check that against your calories! I always find that I'm a bit over where I should be. I still eat like an obese person sometimes!

Sorry you have to deal with this, that is quite a commute! Here's my thoughts for your questions: 1. Usually, you will stay in the hospital at least one night, often two. My doctor only did Tylenol 3 while I was in the hospital and no pain meds at all for home. It was totally fine. The only "pain" I had was the insane gas pressure! Would definitely recommend some Gas-X or similar. And yes, no NSAIDs for us anymore! 2. I was told my my doctor that patches don't work very well unless you're under 185 pounds. In addition to that, we're supposed to take a double daily dose, so I'm not sure how that would work with a patch. Two patches? At first I did mini multis since I couldn't swallow very much water (and I need that water to choke down a pill). Now I take my regular vitamins: myKind Prenatal Once-a-Day Multi (has the correct amount of iron -18 mg- so I don't need an extra pill) myKind Chewable D3 - 2,000 IU MOM's B-12 sublingual - 1,000 mcg (local health food store brand, but you can find them anywhere. Love the sublingual.) Nature's Dynamics gummy biotin

Nope! Still nice and long and shiny. I'll have to post a before and after pic. Right--it's not giant patches of hair missing! It's actually a natural hair process, it's just skipping one of it's growth cycles. I agree, take all your vitamins, but in the end they didn't prevent hair loss for me (on double dose of biotin, Bcomplex, multi, etc). Who knows though, it could have been much worse if I didn't take them!

I've lost a ton of hair. I have very fine, thin hair to begin with and it's long. I can certainly tell the difference, especially near my temples when I put my hair up. I dye my hair black and I'm super pale so I feel like it's super obvious. However, my family can't tell the difference at all! I don't think they're just being nice either, haha. It's actually not too bad, no one would ever notice because no one else has studied my hair. It fell out like crazy for a few months starting around 6 months, and it's now stopping and growing back (and it's growing back Irish red--I'm a natural brunette!). I'll also add I've been taking double doses of biotin daily, along with all the other vitamin requirements. My hair (albeit thin right now) looks incredible I must say! So yeah, it's kind of a pain when pulling my hair back (you have to strategically place it) and there has been hair ALL over the dang house. But it's not that bad. It's nothing to get super anxious about. And the best part? It will stop falling out and grow back!

I love that Apple and Berry are Irish twins, sounds like the beginning of a delish fruit salad! And welcome, @kelsen! I'm sort of near you, in Loudoun County, VA. I figure if I work in an office with people from where you are, it's close enough to be in the "neighborhood!"

It's actually kind of good...takes out the "magic bullet" appeal some people might think about it.

It starts up your digestive process again. It can take days for food to go through your intestines, especially if you eat animal meat. It also creates massive hormone swings. I personally wouldn't mess with it!

Hi! Been vegan for 13 years, glad to see another one on the board! We have a good handful of vegan or plant-based people here. I personally despise protein shakes, so it was a real struggle for me to have them at all (I only needed to have them for 2 weeks, thank goodness). I used organic hemp protein and macadamia milk and it was okay, I could choke it down. When I tried it with almond milk there was no way in hell it was going down, so disgusting! I finally broke down and got some premade shakes. The best ones I could find that weren't pure sugar water were the vegan Orgain shakes. Svelte brand is okay too. Give them a try, if you like protein shakes in general you'll probably like those!

Do you happen to know what studies she was referring to? I would love to look more into this, but Google isn't coming up with anything!

I've lost the amount of trash I throw away in a month...that is disturbing in a few ways! I'm hoping to end up losing an average sized man...that's seriously disturbing!!

Hi! I love EO too. That amount of oil shouldn't cause an issue (though I have bypass, still shouldn't be an issue). I personally have problems with oily/fatty food, but not a few drops. I usually just diffuse too though. What are your fave combos? I mostly just use lavender, but sometimes I'll switch it up and do peppermint and eucalyptus when the family is studying (supposed to be good for memory/retention).

No seriously, I just went to Vegas for the first time and I swear I aged 10 years in a week! I was so achy and flaky!

Honestly the best trick I have is a good diet and lots of water. I noticed with even one day of eating salty, more processed food (even as a vegan), my skin is more wrinkly and dehydrated and I look more sallow. Tons of fruits and veggies along with a day of fresh juice only here and there really make me look better. That being said, I do use beauty products to help! I use toxin-free products and a shower filter since heavy metals and chemicals zap the life out of skin. My fave line is Pacifica Beauty and they are pretty cheap! You can get it at Target and Ulta. Their micellar water and Dreamy Youth Day & Night cream are my daily staples. The other daily thing I use is Andalou Naturals SPF Daily Defense facial lotion, as well as using an umbrella and sunglasses if I have to go out in the sun (I think you can also get this at Target). I've got lots of other specialty potions I use, but those are the ones keeping me going currently!

I was told it would take about 6 months to get pregnant after depo, but obviously it varies! But yeah, if you're pre-op you should wait at least a year, preferably 18 months.

My PCP wasn't too keen on the idea for me either (though I had mine in the states). She says as a doctor, she knows how dangerous and risky surgery is and doesn't encourage anyone to get it. That being said, she knew I'd been struggling with weight my whole life so she still signed off the okay. She wanted to make sure I was fully educated before I took the leap and I think I made her feel that I was well-informed. The others might be right, it could be her reticence about procedures in Mexico. Make sure if she won't sign off for you that you find someone else who will if you know this is the best decision for you!