mousecat88

I don't know the answer, but does Midol help you? It doesn't have any NSAIDs in it. I don't imagine taking a few during that 2 day period would cause any harm though...

Starting weight April 1 was 203; Goal by April 31 is 186, which would be 100lbs at my 6 month anniversary. I wouldn't have said that on April 1, but somehow plopped down 6lbs over the weekend... so 6 more to go. Making an effort to drink more today! Found some sugar free koolaid packets in my desk and I think they are... old... so I'll have to scrounge for something else. Blecchhh. Trainer today for the first time in a week. I'm scurrrred. But excited to be going back. Edit: I now realize there are only 30 days in April. But I'm still saying April 31 because that's technically May 1 and that's my real 6 month anniversary. LOL.

I wasn't required to lose any weight (which probably isn't a good policy... looking back I wish I had weighed a little less when I had it done).

Great news! I had brutal insurance before that required a 12 month supervised program and made me use a key fob to track all of my exercises at a hospital gym (the results of which were sent electronically weekly). All of these hoops. I made it 5 months into that program but wasn't seeing the weight loss they were going to ask of me and gave up. Four years later, I work somewhere else with a new insurance with zero wait or requirements and finally got it done. Good luck with your surgery!!

Hmm... I'll have to look into those. I just don't want anything that'll make me sweaty or itchy. Maybe extensions? I have full bangs, too, which are really thin looking. I'll have to find something with bangs.

Omg I know... I had them use a cap once when I was younger... the painnn. I already have a sensitive scalp - other people shampooing my hair is torture. lol!

So, I totally wanted dark hair with my natural hair as the highlights... but I don't know if it's possible for them to do that. lol. They'd have to pull my natural hair through a cap and dye the rest under it??? I don't even know. I worked in a salon a very long time ago and never saw that happen.

I’m sorry, that must be hard! Have you considered going lighter, rather than darker? If you dye your hair dark, your thin roots may show more. I know you said you have tried shampoos, my stylist suggested ColorProf if you are up for trying another. My hair is a very light brown; it gets blonder over the summer. I used to always dye it a dark red or a really dark brown. I'd really like to do a super dark brown because it looks pretty.

I had a few complications post-op (marginal ulcer, hernia, gallbladder removal, med change required because my BP was bottoming out). I wasn't losing weight like I anticipated. Blah blah. But, like I predicted in my "yup. i regret this." post... the further away from the complications you get, the less you have the feeling of regret. Now that it's all over with and I can function like everyone else who had successful surgery, I feel less WTF about it. It'll get better with time. Glad you have a surgeon who takes you seriously! I don't know what I would have done if mine hadn't.

Diclofenac TOPICAL gel. It's an NSAID topical. Actually works. I also have Flexeril for muscle spasms. Tylenol sucks.

I went 17 days without pooping at one point so I know this pain well. LOL. I take Colace twice a day now and a Mag Citrate PILL (DO NOT GET THE LIQUID) in the evening. If I happen to go more than 3 days without going, I take some Milk of Magnesia. Smooth Moves tea works, as well, but I've found MoM to be better. You can also have Miralax twice a day... just add it to WARM drinks and not cold because it is not unflavored, despite its claims. lol. Miralax is meh, though. I was told not to take fiber because it is bulking. I had a hernia after surgery, though, and that may play a factor into why I was told no fiber supplements.

OP, I can share with you what my typical day is: This is during the work week (weekends vary much more) 8AM - Greek yogurt 10AM - Beef/chicken jerky 12PM - BariatricPal Lite Entree (the vegan chicken curry is my jam) or 6 small meatballs w/ cauliflower tots or 1 cup cottage cheese w/ fruit (this is standard lunch like virtually every day unless I go out to a restaurant) 2PM - TwinPeaks Protein Puffs or Kay's Protein Puffs (occasionally I will have a piece of fruit like a kiwi) 5PM - 5-6oz protein (beef/turkey typically) w/ portion of veggies (mashed cauliflower, green beans, cooked carrots, etc) And sometimes a diet ice cream bar in the evening (yay Breyer's carb smart... soooo gooood). When I go out, I get salads that have protein in them (chicken or shrimp usually) or burgers without the bun. I am 5 1/2 months out. Trainer and nutrition are super happy with this regimen and I rarely get above 60g of carbs a day. I am always over 70g of protein and don't need to rely on shakes anymore to get there. This is about 700 calories total, depending on what I have for dinner. Even though it's not a ton of calories, I feel full because everything is dense or high protein. Take advantage of the high protein options out there, even the ones offered through this website. I've found some really tasty things. The TwinPeaks puffs (off Amazon) are VERY FILLING (21g protein in a single cup and only 3g carbs). Yesterday on the weekend I basically only ate veggies and shrimp and steak and didn't pass 30g of carbs, but still hit like 900 calories because of the steak. Very filling and low carb. I usually have an egg with a slice of cheese melted on it for breakfast on the weekends or cottage cheese. They also now have egg white "crepes" stuffed with guac at Walmart which I am excited to try.

I take the following supplements: Super B Complex, Vitamin E, Vitamin D, Iron, Calcium, Potassium, Mag Citrate, Chia Seed Extract, Thyronine, Unjury Opurity, Inosine, L-Arginine, Beet Root Extract, and Colace. Maybe others I can't even remember offhand. If I can keep track of all that nonsense, you can do eet! Get a pill organizer and carry it everywhere. Baritastic App also yells at me when it's time to take my vitamins.

Flintstones!?! Crazy. I take Unjury Opurity Chewables. They are really cheap and once a day. I am probably going to switch to BariatricPal's multi pills, though, since it's "nicer" taking a pill than it is chewing a kinda tart vitamin. Not sure - the chewables probably absorb better (?) I take a LOT of supplements (some to support exercise, some required, some because they were BOGO [LOL!]) and nothing has stopped the hair loss. I think it's either inevitable or it isn't.

Awesome! One day at a time!

I am not supposed to have nuts until 7-8 months. I was told that 7lbs a month weight loss starting around 3 months is normal; I am at about that (sometimes 5lbs) and I eat well and exercise like a beast now (well, compared to pre-op LOL). My "honeymoon period" lasted like 2 months. I lost 65lbs in that period... and only 22 over the next 3 months. That's a little over a pound a week I am losing. You didn't have much to lose to begin with, so that's probably why you're losing slower. But you asked for advice and nice or not, everyone is right with respect to eating more protein over carbs. Just give it a shot and see if it helps.

Some people in another group I am in say they don't feel any restriction and never get sick or really feel full, but it's the malabsorption aspect that still helps them lose weight. So if you're not feeling restriction, you'll need to exercise greater self-control and rely on the malabsorption aspect.

Maybe (and I'm not a surgeon or anything) it's because some of those items are fairly liquid and pass through much quicker than a denser protein would. Oatmeal and yogurt probably pass through very quickly, leaving you hungrier sooner than say a piece of chicken would. I know every day I eat a greek yogurt for breakfast at 8am, but by 9:30 I am needing a piece of jerky because I am hungry again. But then the protein jerky tides me over until 12- 12:30.

Maybe keep your calories the same, but switch out some of the more carb heavy things for protein instead and see if that gives you a jumpstart! Then you won't be hungry, and cutting out some carbs. I definitely panicked when I stalled for so long, but it started again.

I'm sorry you don't have the same feeling of restriction. I really, really struggle to hit 800. My average is 500-600 now.

Whoops - my bad for accidentally not seeing page 2. Yeah, I concur - a LOT of carbs. Track using a mobile tracker like Baritastic or MFP. I try to stay under 50g a day max, and I am only that high right now because of my workouts (although I am told I could go slightly higher, but don't feel the need to). I am also around 800 calories a day, MAX. And we are about the same length out from surgery. Tracking helps significantly!! The only fruit I allow myself at this point is kiwi and a few strawberries (I'll have some others if they come in a salad I order or something, though). They are lower in carb but still give me the carb boost I actually need from working out (and some added vitamins).

Hunger isn't unusual. Mine returned 3 months out, fiercely. I had an 8 week stall, that started at 2 months out. A 2kg weight gain is only about 5lbs, right? I wouldn't stress about it yet. If you're eating and exercising like you're supposed to, it'll pick up again. I would up your exercise though. Maybe try circuit training and intense cardio, not just walking anymore (if you're physically able to).

Glad it's working out. I can't have isopure because it's also whey.

I also can't have whey protein - not because I think it's gross, but because it makes me vomit. NowSports Chocolate Soy Isolate is good! But really, I totally eff'd up on protein until like the 3 month mark. I got like 10g a day. Since whey made me vomit and I hadn't really found another kind that tasted okay, I just didn't drink any shakes at all. I lived. Try other proteins like pea, rice, egg, animal, or soy. And if you don't hit your goal right off the bat, don't sweat it.

I have gone back and forth the last 4 months whether or not I felt the complications were worth the results, and today, after blacking out in Walmart and having to sit on the floor to regroup numerous times throughout the day so I could do simple tasks like pick something up off the floor, I have officially decided I made a terrible decision. I am happy for those of you who have seen benefits of this surgery, but I am just... existing... day by day. I have lost no weight in 2 months (stalling at the same weight I did on Atkins, but with a crapload more complications). I feel awful. I could deal with an ulcer and the gallbladder and the hernia, but this low blood pressure is actually ruining my life - not to be dramatic. I have gotten lightheaded and confused at work during important meetings, I can hardly exercise without having to sit or lay down and I already paid for a trainer... I can't even lift a basket of laundry without falling on my butt. I sent a desperate email to my surgeon to try a prescription to raise my BP. I'm ending up on far more pills than I ever was pre-op. Losing 60 stupid pounds is not worth this. And I have no one I can vent to because my mother "told me" I always have problems with surgery and I'd regret this and I do. So I feel very alone. Someone please tell me this gets better.... Sent from my SM-G930R4 using BariatricPal mobile app