katyb

I was allowed to use plastic retainers in my piercings during surgery.

I'm going to be the odd one out, but I don't think the people saying this are meaning to offend, for a number of reasons. 1) Americans are generally large. The "average" is overweight. That skews the perception. 2) The general thought of many people is that WLS is for the super morbidly obese. People tend to assume that if you're ambulatory, that you don't fall into a category of a WLS candidate. 3) A lot of us carry our weight well. When I was at my heaviest, my husband DID NOT BELIEVE ME that I weighed that much. Not because he's uneducated or unintelligent, but it "hides" well. I wouldn't read too much into it. Let comments, specifically the ones directed at you, roll off your back. I'm not getting worked up and raising MY blood pressure just because of an unfortunate comment.

I generally do full or low fat. If I do a pungent full fat cheese, I can use less for the same flavor, and I don't have all of the nasty additives.

Oh, there's also a walgreens on the strip and some grocery stores within a 5 minute drive, 10 minutes to Trader Joes.

I did Vegas post-band, twice. There's plenty of small plate options on the strip, and if you avoid the fast casual type places, you can do just fine. You get to eat at higher class places, spend less, and not gain a ton of weight! Also, if you have a car and can go off the strip, take the time to go to Lotus of Siam. BEST THAI food EVER!

60 is the goal I was given for a minimum.

I'm a 38G, so they're VERY substantial, and I used a sports bra for the first week or so.

I don't know about alternatives, but it really isn't the worst. It's just like, half an ounce. Plus, once I was out of the hospital, I only took it for a day or two.

It varies for everyone. Tuesday will be 4 weeks for me and I haven't had one yet. (Knock on wood!)

Tuna, eggs, well cooked produce, berries, just had some fresh papaya, ground meats, etc. I had a really moist turkey burger (no bun) earlier today at a BBQ and it went down just fine.

I can tolerate a pretty decent amount right now. I've had nothing disagree with me so far. I can't wait to see what they say on Friday!

Okay! I'll go through my closet!

What size tops?

I could KILL for a salad right now, too!