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Gees, you just don't stop! So tell me about your recipe for this protein coffee. I'm always on the lookout for new tips and ideas. Am enjoying the treadmill, increasing the time on it each day. I am feeling better, more energetic each day.

Another high achiever! Kudos to you, too. In the same timeframe I'm down 75 lbs to your 126, so I hope you are celebrating your achievement with impunity! The holidays WERE wicked, and the winter weather does not cooperate with our intentions. I just got a treadmill, and am revising my daily routine to incorporate its use to my advantage. I've been trying to adapt some recipes to make protein cookies and protein granola for treats. It's all trial and error and ADVENTURE. Not a moment's regret for getting this surgery.

@Cynisca - I appreciate your reply. Again, it sounds like you worked hard to "peel the onion" to get to the core issue(s) for you, and well worth the effort. The program I'm working with has a Social Worker as part of the team and we can book appts as we feel the need. I had never heard of a food psychologist, and am wondering what the differences might be pertaining to bariatric clients. I associate psychologists with testing. I associate psychiatrists with their M.D. ability to prescribe meds. I associate social workers with holistic/whole person in their environment. Did you go through a battery of testing? The social worker I have access to feels ho-hum in my experience of three sessions. Our support groups are facilitated on a rotational basis by the SW, an RN, and NUT, so I see the SW in action with others as well. I'll delve into some research on this!

LOVE that sentence - thanks for sharing it. And WOO HOO to you - you have done an amazing job -- so committed and driven. Your efforts have paid off and you inspire the rest of us. I'm curious, though - are you located near a metropolitan area? Where did you find a food psychologist?

Wow, you are DRIVEN. Great to see you being so fierce. I'd like a cup of that elixir, please!

Thanks for those tips, @photogirl70 - I, too am at the computer too many hours each day. I will look into the resources you shared. Even if I lived next door to a gym I would probably still do my workouts at home!

I'm in the same boat. I have to review some of my habits after getting this in my inbox -- https://blog.myfitnesspal.com/8-bad-habits-that-kill-your-metabolism/?utm_source=mfp&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=MFP_Extra_Popular_20190130&os_ehash=55@sfmc:132886233. Also read that habits can take a long time to cement, depending on the person, the habit, and the motivation. We should allow at least 66 days. Or more. Every day I have to ask myself Can you live with this _____ (insert action, meal, routine, etc) and be happy/content with it for the rest of your life? The hair loss seems to have slowed a bit. I take biotin and L-lysine to combat that. And I am having a treadmill delivered next week. Exercise is a challenge here in the land of snow and ice, and fitness centers are an hour's drive away. I'm looking forward to incorporating walking into my daily routine and hope that will also make a difference on the scale.

I cannot imagine your heartache and sorrow in losing a child, Frustr8. I am so sorry for your loss. I love your memorial balloon tradition, though - very special. You have an inspiring attitude about your life trials - with plenty of humor. You don't seem to take much lying down...unless you're on a gurney for a test or in OR! Carry on!

@Frustr8 I suspect you have the Guinness Record for number of doctors involved, number of hospital trips, and most dramatic moments in your journey. With the Golden Globe Awards coming up, there should be a category for you. You're a "Contenda!" You're gonna kick and scream your way to Victory. What a woman!!

Me, too, but other than that the hair loss continues and weight does not change. My PA okayed bumping up the Biotin and L-lysine dosages. The other problem is that I live in the land of snow and ice and walking for exercise just is not happening here in the boondocks. I am solving that with my order today for a treadmill -- you know, those metal implements that get converted into a clothes rack after a short time? I surveyed treadmill owners I know who own them...Why did you stop using yours? A. boredom. B. it's in the basement/garage/spare room & I never go in the basement/garage/spare room. So this one goes in the living room, in front of the TV, within good earshot of the music collection. As I've heard before, this weight loss journey is 80% nutrition, 20% exercise, and 100% mental!

I'm reading James Clear - Atomic Habits, to assist in carving out my new life habits since surgery. Excellent reading! In today's email, he summarizes 55 non-fiction books he's read this year, and one of them seems so appropriate for us. Here's a link to his site and article, and then the summary that struck me relative to our stalls.... https://jamesclear.com/book-summaries Mastery by George Leonard Print The Book in Three Sentences: The most successful path to mastering anything is to practice for the sake of the practice itself, not for the result. All significant learning is composed of brief spurts of progress followed by long periods of work where if feels as if you are stuck on a plateau. There are no experts–only learners.

I'm with you! I had a 4 week stall and was SO DEPRESSED. I have learned to regard them as the body's Time Out while it adjusts to everything - an Adjustment Phase. Hang on, and see if you can boost your exercise routine, change it up, add more water - do some thing differently for a day or two, even just rest or nap. It is demoralizing, though, any way you cut it. Try to take the long view --- "this, too, shall pass."

I am going through the same thoughts - having to learn to eat a meal even when not hungry. With most cravings gone now, I am indifferent, as you noted. My PA says that is a good thing, for we are no longer looking at food as a comfort or a pleasure. The thing is, we have to find satisfaction in other things. I have gone through - and sometimes still do -- periods where I am looking for some food item that provides satisfaction as in days of old. Looking and not finding, so must move on. It's all a process and journey of learning and relearning. Food is becoming "maintenance meds."

@J San -- "wanting to add amino acid powder to my daily shakes a" I got weary of the whey protein powder and started adding collagen hydolysate to soups and drinks. It is fairly tasteless and can be used in hot foods, a distinct advantage over the whey. I got Great Lakes collagen hydrolysate (green canister) but it's not a complete protein as it lacks Tryptophan. I get around that but adding an opened capsule of tryptophan. It's an easy way to add 12g protein to a food, and give the system another type of protein which is easily digested, at least for me. Glad you're beyond the pleurisy and wow, you've made so much headway on your goal - maybe your system needs some time to process and adjust to all these changes. But talk with your medical team about your protein levels and types, as well as appropriate dosage for lysine - see what's best for you. Carry on!

I ordered Lysine through Amazon, after clearing its addition to my meds with my PA. I also did some research on the most reputable pharmaceutical brands (ethical, purity, accuracy, fair priced, ingredients not made in China) that are also available through Amazon: Thorne Research, Pure Encapsulations, Douglas Laboratories, ProThera -- I'm sure there are others... ultimately I bought Thorne L-lysine capsules. Here is a link to just one of several articles on all this https://www.stopandregrow.com/my-top-5-vitamins-for-healthy-hair-growth and another article I just read https://www.drdkim.net/ask-the-dietitian/understanding-hair-loss-after-bariatric-surgery/ indicating hair loss may last for 6 months - O NO! - didn't hear that before. We all need to be careful not to overdose on these things in thinking "more is better" - there are toxicity levels to be mindful of.