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I wish I ate more of the things I loved pre-op LOL!!! Nah jokes aside, WLS is a tool that we utilize towards - hopefully - permanent life changes, if you see it as a means that'll all it'll ever be, if you see it as an effective tool, it will get you where you want to be. I would say, clean up your act, get moving, change your daily habits and get into the fat loss mindset. This doesn't mean going completely cold turkey on everything, but whatever bad habits that led you to needing the surgery in the first place need to be thought of and turned around. I didn't need a liquid diet, my BMI was on the lower side and I worked out consistently my entire life so I didn't much change anything and boy I wished I changed some things because dealing with the discomfort of the surgery, the huge changes in your diet and all the restrictions afterwards is no fun all together. I wish I cut back on caffeine (I had caffeine a week post surgery because I had terrible headaches), I wish I cut out diet soda prior to WLS because I love diet soda so very much and it was tough to think that I can never have this without any mental preparation beforehand. I wouldn't change much else because fortunately for me, I had a good experience post op, the weight dropped off very quick, I never threw up or had severe food aversions and have very effective restriction. But I also had a very balanced diet and workout regimen before WLS and that helped me tremendously and I know that might not be the case for everyone. Also, prepare yourself for a new life and new you, it's cliché but it's very true.

Greetings. My name is Jacki, 41 years old from Norther California and I am new around these parts. Here is what my weight is looking like. First visit with surgeon after referal sent over, 11/28/23 I was 373 pounds. 4/19/2024 was 353 after my doctor told me to lose 20 pounds before my next appointment. My scale at home lied to me by like 5 pounds so we will go with the office scale. I left that appointment on the 19th with a surgery date of May 9th, 2024. Nervous and excited is an understatement. I start my 2 week pre-op diet tomorrow 4/25 and it is gonna suck because my birthday is 4/27 but I know this is the best birthday gift I can give myself. This is like the last piece of my puzzle of taking over my life and figuring out who I am and who I want to be. Anyways, I look forward to getting to know all of you guys. Have a great day.

If you've lost weight and gained it back multiple times, you might want to ask yourself if there was something truly, miraculously different THIS time that is going to stop you from repeating that pattern. Because if you have not had a completely life changing experience that has totally altered your approach to weight loss and nutrition forever, there's no reason to think the weight loss this time is going to prove any more permanent than it was before. But only you know the answer to that. Change is scary, and surgery is a big change. The chances of a serious complication are very tiny, but the chances for things that annoy you after surgery are close to 100%. I still find that I get an upset stomach about once a week for reasons unknown, and it can be a real nuisance. And I still have to take protein shake supplements sometimes and I hate how they taste. On the other hand, the power of the metabolic changes for losing weight and improving comorbidities is unmatched. All I can say personally is that I worked with my hospital nutrition and medical program for 7 long years only to never reach anywhere close to my goal and eventually gain every single pound back. I have now reached a weight after only 4 months post-op that I haven't seen in 25 years, no matter how many times I tried. And the surgery gives me a much better chance of keeping it off. So I'm glad I did it. Whatever you decide, just make sure you are being realistic with yourself about the possible risks and rewards of either choice.

I am lucky that the government health care system here covered my operation and all I had to pay was a small subsidy, think 15 Euro, for each night I was in a shared room (even though most of the time no-one shared with me) I was in hospital which in turn then was covered by the health insurance of my employer. Then for the weeks I was in a private room I had to pay that but it was 100% recoverable under the health insurance. Of course, the subsidy should only have been about 30 Euro but as I was in hospital for much longer than the planned two nights it cost the bit more but not much in comparison to what others have to pay and as I say it all was recoverable. It feels like it is all free but in reality my taxes go towards it all

Exactly around day 5 i experienced a hunger like no other. I honestly didnt know what to do i went from shocked, angry, depressed i went through the motions. I never felt that hunger during my pre op liquid diet so i was stunned. Wasnt the point of this surgery to NOT be as hungry because so little will fill you up? Lol i probably slept my way through that day and the next 3 after that it was not pretty but im at day 12 now and its not as bad as that time it will get better for you too i will hope i wish they warned us about that moment before hand lol.

If you take away the time you had a feeding tube, you’re probably more at about the four month mark compared to the rest of us. I think I was eating about 600 calories then so a little more. I was a low calorie small eater too. Didn’t stop e losing all my weight & more. So don’t give up. (So sorry you had these struggles.) and I would expect that is also why your doctor is okay with your lower food intake at this time & your eating routine. While yes it is important for you to be slowly increasing your caloric intake & increasing your portion size as you progress, I would expect t your path will be even slower. Out of curiosity what are you eating? Maybe there are some foods that are less dense & with higher calories you could be consuming. Do you regularly see a dietician to guide you on food choices with your specific needs? May be you could reduce some of your activity to take some stress off your body. Exercise only contributes to about 10% of your weight loss. I didn’t exercise as such. Just upped my daily every day activities. Parked further away from where I was going. Walked up escalators. Took stairs. Did single trips up & down my stairs instead of carrying multiple bags or whatever at once. Get some resistance bands. You don’t have to do a lot to see a change in muscle toning & building which ultimately will help you burn more fat. I’ve been doing about 4 x 5 minutes or so sessions across my day for about a year. Doesn’t burn a lot of calories. I say I wouldn’t burn 40 calories a day but my arms look great & I get complements & I had to buy new pants as my thigh muscles had grown. All the best. And yes, the stall will break when your body is ready.

If all you're having for breakfast is a protein cold brew, that won't stick with you for long. I have a smoothie in the mornings and it packs a good nutritional punch. I recall even from before surgery that a smoothie would keep me going until lunch. My new go-to, after some trial and error, is 150g frozen fruit, 30g baby spinach, 1tsp each of hemp seed, chia, flax, and raw sunflower seeds, 100g drained and rinsed canned beans (cannellini, white beans, black beans, chickpeas will all work), plus 2 scoops unflavored protein (20g), a scoop of beetroot powder and a scoop of Benefiber. I fill with as much water as my 20oz blender cup will hold. I add a squeeze of the bottled grated ginger to kind of mask the bean flavor, and I blend the heck out of it with a Vitamix so it's really smooth. It's about 360 calories, 30g protein, and has 16g fiber (11 from ingredients, 5 from Benefiber). It takes me about 45 minutes to drink it at 9 weeks post-op.

Hi. Has anyone else been told to skip the liquid phase and go immediately chewing soft foods? I’m finding that all I can tolerate is toast crunched into a liquid consistency, puréed ground chicken and puréed potatoes. My protein shake gave me dumping syndrome today. It’s only day 5. But I feel like I can’t manage eating. My plan tomorrow is to just do white bland puréed foods. I just don’t think I should be feeling dumping Syndrom when it isn’t necessary. I feel like I’m being asked to skip the first three weeks of healing and my body is saying it needs to go slower.

I totally sympathise. But honestly this sounds completely within normal limits. There's no way you're going to have this surgery, stick to your programme, and not lose a heap of weight. It's just that the loss isn't linear. There are times when you lose half a pound a day (early!) and times when you lose a quarter of a pound a week. And all manner of gains and plateaus and whatever in the middle of that. And you'll be eating much the same and exercising much the same so there's no rhyme or reason to it! I hope you don't get hung up on this - you've already proven that you are losing inches. I truly hope you get to where you want to be asap.

Does anyone have any experience with taking beet root? If so: 1. When after surgery (RNY) can/did you start taking it? 2. Results you've seen/experienced: good and bad. 3. Did you start at maximum dose, or work your way up? 4. Powder, pills or juice..or? 5. Did you take it before or start after your surgery? I'm looking for decrease in BP, increased energy and more O2 to the brain..you? Thanks in advance for your response!

The unstuffed cabbage rolls sound good. Believe it or not I’ve never made any type of cabbage roll. I have however been using deli roast beef for my cheese steak for a while. I just get the really rare meat and then heat it for a few Seconds in a skillet. I’ve never tried mixing cream cheese in it though. That sounds interesting. I like to make Philly cheesesteak stuffed peppers when I trying to be good. I bet the cream cheese would sorta hold the mixture down into the pepper better. I wish I could try it now. I suppose I could make it for my hubby and puree mine. My AC miraculously came back on last nigjt after two hours of flashing an error code and not working. It just started back up- so weird. We don’t dare touch it because we don’t believe it’s fixed but it’s cheaper to have someone come check it during the week. My husband is going to tell them the error code it was giving tomorrow and just see if there is anything they need to do. Maybe it is fine. That would be a nice break since it’s just barely out of warranty now plus I won’t habe to deal with the workers being here. I’m still thinking about them cabbage rolls. After the purée tuna was gross to me I kinda thought purée meat was gonna be a no go. Was it good? I’m sure iit helped that it was in the sauce and all that too. I was looking at another ricotta recipe that had chicken and spinach that was a casserole with cheese as well I was considering for my early soft food stage. I think it had artichoke hearts too. It was on Pinterest. They actually have a-lot of recipes under high protein low fat and high protein bariatric recipes. One thimg I forgot about is adding to the plain Greek yogurt. The ranch or French onion soup mix or PB2 to make dips. I added that and some peeled apples and a seedless cucumber to my shopping list for soft foods with the ranch and the PB dip in mind. I think the dry onions should wait for regular foods but it is really good so I mentioned it.

Hello everyone my name is Luna and this is my first time ever on this forum and website. I'll start by saying hello, and I hope all is well with everyone during these difficult times. I am a night shift nurse tech in a hospital. Almost 5 years ago I was 450 pounds. I had gastric bypass and I got down to 170 pounds, which was 20 pounds from my goal weight of 150. Three years post op I began working night shift and I have steadily, over the last three years, gained weight back until i was my highest weight since, of 244 pounds (Two weeks ago) I have since then begun eating better and drinking water and am now down to 234-235ish(it changes from day to day) but I am having such a hard time staying motivated and keeping myself from slipping back into the emotional and stress eating that working night shift and my job brings. I have a short term weight loss goal of 10 more pounds which I have decided I am going to reward myself with a new piercing, and I would like to lose twenty more pounds total before my trip in October, and just be more fit in general, so that my back, feet and ankles dont hurt when i walk around disney as bad this year. Long story short, im pretty depressed about my situation which really causes me to, ya know, stress/emotionally eat things i know I shouldnt, and begin to slip back into my bad ways. Looking for penpals, real life pals, online people I can become friends with to keep me motivated, as my support group is small right now due to the amount of hours i work. Feel free to reach out if this hits home. Maybe we can help each other!

That is so ridiculous that the south is targeted as eat poorly… all of America is obese.. America should really think twice of all the fast food places on every street corner.. I haven’t touched a fast food joint since my surgery 3 yrs ago but I’m amazed of how many there are

I never lost my hunger. Not with the sleeve and not with the revision to bypass. I just have more of a hard stop now that can't be ignored. My big thing has always been training my head. It's HARD, but very necessary. I always made sure I had 3 meals and 2 snack and a TON of fluids. And by a ton, I do mean A TON. My head told me I needed to eat, even when I knew I didn't. And that can manifest into physical hunger. I put myself on a schedule. Breakfast between this time and this time, snack here, lunch around this time, snack here, dinner between this time and this time. And then DRINK, DRINK, DRINK. Eventually my head and stomach learned when it's time to eat and when it's not. I only really run into trouble if I miss those times by a lot. THEN I'm in a minefield. Focus on protein as your #1 with food and snacks. That fills you up and keeps you full longer. Veggies are 2nd. Then carbs and HEALTHY fats. Sometimes at night, I'll have a sugar free popsicle if I really can't ignore the 3rd snack craving. I don't do it often, but the tropical ones are my favorite and they hit the spot. Make sure you're getting enough calories. Don't starve yourself, but also don't over eat. It's all about balance and training your brain. It takes a lot of time, patience, and effort. But I promise it's worth it.

Lol, you are right, the ones that fit always seem to be more expensive. I Tried on an old 32F yesterday, the cup fit good after getting all the "boob material" in- thanks ms.sss for the new reference, <3. A 30 will fit better. I want to wait til after PS to get new bras but I'm running out of options. My daughter sent me a link last night to an Amazon bra in the correct band and cup size that was around $30-35. The price is interesting. Quality? who knows.

I feel your pain about the pool our local was close for two long years as it was rebuilt - where I live the gym I’m a part of is part of the council group ‘city of greater Geelong’ so membership is for all centres - they are all within 25 to 30 mins away and I do classes as two of the other centres regularly (splashdown and leisurelink) but nothing quiet like having one 5 mins from home 😀 as a bonus the newly opened centre which opened 2 days before I had surgery has a warm water pool (25mt) which is only for 16 years and over and separate area from the main pool. I told my surgeon at the 2 week mark I had returned to aqua classes…. He was pleased fortunately but told me to take it easy lol just waiting for full clearance for Body Pump class haha

Stick to your diet plan, make sure you change up any workouts you're doing to "confuse" your body and work parts you normally might not, only weigh yourself once a week at most, and really take stock of how you feel and your Non Scale Victories. Get lots of fluids in. I'm very close to my goal, as well, and I'm in the same boat as you. It's annoying, but if we stay consistent, we'll push past it and get there. What surgery did you have? What was your starting weight?

I was cleared to go back to CrossFit at my one month follow-up, which ended up being 5 weeks out. My team acted surprised that I had waited and told me that I could have started sooner, just not to do anything that hurt. Now, I couldn't actually lift anything heavier than a 15 lb training barbell and my goal remains, almost a year out, simply not to pass out. But I was allowed to do it very soon after.

Hi Possum220! I feel like you are very honest and courageous to ask for help because it’s the true first step. Yes, I have been seriously depressed before and yes I am mortified by regain. My last serious depression was way before WLS but I know that the longer it goes without help, the longer it stays. I’m going to suggest you start your healing journey there because it’s life threatening. Please continue to advocate for yourself and your health in that regard! As regards regain, I have had some success with “Glucose Goddess.” Look her up, she’s on all social media platforms. She is a scientist and mathematician who got into a serious accident and needed to heal herself. She cites all the medical papers that she has researched, peer reviewed, and published. You can by her book, but I’m just watching YouTube to get the basics right now. Eating veg, then protein, then carb has seriously slowed my hunger AND stopped the near daily dumping I was experiencing. I was never diabetic but I think the severe dumping syndrome of WLS was making me the equivalent. I swear getting my blood sugar under control has been a game changer. Many studies report lessening depression and less anxiety. It has helped me with asthma because it reduces inflammation. I have lost four pounds this week, and all I did was change the order of foods I eat. So, depression is like asthma, you need to treat it first. But the Glucose Goddess has practical applications that help with those problems and helps with weight loss too. (By the way, it has helped even though I’m on a new medication that has even more steroids too.) I’m wishing you the best! Keep up with therapy and finding a med that works:) You are not alone. Let us know how you’re doing and what you found that helps.

Thank you so much for mentioning this podcast. I had to go to town to have blood drawn this morning, and I started listening to them. I started with the finale, and oh my gosh, they made me cry. When one talks about the best part of the journey so far and describes the thoughts she had as an obese person. I just lost it. I'll be 69 years old next week, and when I think about the hours of my life lost in "obese thoughts," it really hurts. Things like "Am I the largest woman in the room?" "What will the poor person next to me on the airplane think?" "Will I be able to sit at all comfortably in that chair?" "Will I break that plastic chair?" "Do I have to find sturdier beach chairs?" "What are they thinking of me?" etc... the thoughts have been never-ending and all-consuming at times. I'm going to go back and listen to more of their podcasts. Thanks again! @NickelChip Yay on the weight coming off again! So exciting, I'm really happy for you. I can understand the not being interested in food. There are times I even dread it. I try to shop for things that I like and they sound good in the store, but when it comes time to eat, I'm usually apathetic about it. Good luck with your vacation. I found some protein bars I like, but they will melt sadly. In case you haven't tried them, they are https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0C4V2ML1C/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&amp;psc=1

The title basically says it all. I get pain when I drink. Actually in the area they said the watch for immediately after surgery. My appointment is next week so I surely bring it up then. But do any of yall have experience with this?

Well, today I go for my first post-op appointment. Thinking I may be on a liquid diet just a little bit longer. I met my fluid and protein goals on Monday, but then yesterday I did not because I was so sick I was in bed for literally the majority of the day. We'll see what happens. I think I may have gotten overheated because we went out yesterday morning so that I could get a haircut after my husband's doctor's appointment, and while he was in his appointment I did walking laps around the parking lot. And we have a heat wave striking again. But we'll see what happens. I'll try to post an update after I get home from that. Oh, I did remove the CGM sensor that had blisters forming around it. Well, they also formed under it. And... it wasn't pleasant. I essentially have a large hole in my arm now from where it took quite a bit of skin with it. I have also had an uptick in pain the last few days. I had taken myself off my pain meds completely, but I've had to take one a day since Sunday. I'll be discussing that with the doctor today too. Has anyone else experienced that? Also, real talk - Cottage cheese has always disgusted me because of how it looks. So someone please tell me what it tastes like, since I'm probably going to have to learn to like it. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ @ShoppGirl I am allowed to use milks (lactose intolerant so non-dairy milks). I've just been adding water to the one shake because it's super thick. Like, imagine drinking a milkshake through a tiny straw. That kind of thick. I'm less worried about protein on that one because it's 32g per bottle. I just have to be able to drink it for it to matter lol. I am sooooooo sorry about your a/c. I can't stand heat and I would probably be living in a hotel if ours went out right now. But I do know what you mean. I can't do much of anything right now still. I've been pushing myself to at least do dishes when I can, but even that is a bit much for me sometimes. But we're gonna get over this hump and then we're going to get our houses back in order! I do hope your a/c is fixed quickly and cheaply. Update - Glad to see your a/c just randomly decided to start working again. Any chance that the outside unit had frozen? Splenda is a Godsend, honestly. I've had to be on it for years already with my diabetes. I was told I could use any artificial sweetner as long as I didn't go overboard with it. So that is good to know for when I start the puree stage! I'm curious to see how much my taste buds have changed since surgery. I know a couple of people who can't stand even the smell of eggs now. I really hope that's not me. I love me some eggs. I was also told post-surgery, fish is going to be a go-to meal once I can get there. Like at least once a week, kind of thing. As someone who used to work for an allergist - the prick test is just for contact items, like fur and dust. If you are concerned about food allergies, that would be a multitude of appointments for each one you ares scared of. Because they have you actually eat the food while you are there in the office, and then you have to sit there and wait to see if you have a reaction. "It's just me and my hubby and if it bothers him then he is perfectly capable of doing it himself." This, 100000000%. lol. Hubby has asked me what I'm cooking for lunch/dinner, and I just stare at him for a long few seconds before it clicks what he just asked me to do. Then he's like, "Oh, nevermind." I do need to be better about limiting my bending and such. I'm obeying the weight guidelines, but I'm also of the opinion that if I can do something, I should do something. My husband has a stressful job (911 dispatcher) with crazy hours. And he has taken over a lot of the things that I was doing pre-surgery. So I feel like I have to do what I can to help him out too. I've been on Pinterest a lot lately, saving recipes for me to try later on. I am going to probably have a fight with my husband on certain things - like ground turkey for tacos, I already know he isn't going to be on board with. But that might be a thing where I make my food ahead of time and am like, "Okay, this is what I'm having on this night. If you don't like it, you're on your own to figure out food." But that skinny scampi sounds like it might be delicious! You'll have to let us know! I hope the eye appointment wasn't too terrible for you. Kudos to you on making plans for a healthy rest of your life. I need to really sit down and start figuring that out myself. My fear is that I work 3 jobs. While I'm off for 2 months for 2 of them, I worry that any kind of set schedule I make for myself now will get thrown out the window when those get added back. Right now, I'm trying to walk in the mornings before the heat gets too bad. And I have a cycle machine that fits under my desk, so I use that throughout the day. Once they let me, I definitely need to figure out how to get some weight training in. I'm still pulling sticky stuff off of me after multiple showers. It's not just you. This stuff just doesn't want to go away, which was good for surgery. But now it needs to go. LOL I definitely do not like the sleeping the majority of my day and night away because it's preventing me from having a schedule. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ @Onemealplan You said you can only eat 2oz of food every 3 hours. Are you meeting your protein goals with that? My nutritionist said that even at the puree and soft food stage, I'm expected to supplement my protein goals with protein shakes still. I'm still in the liquid stage, but it takes me an hour to finish an 11oz protein shake. I have yet to feel 'full' but I do know when I've pushed too far because I start to feel kind of sick. The lack of feeling full terrifies me, honestly. Which, I know it's just my anxiety but at the same time I'm like, "What if I have already screwed my stomach up because I didn't feel full????" Hopefully I get some reassurance today at the post-op. But I do get that mental hunger thing. It's been particularly bad lately because I just want SOMETHING that isn't liquids. Hopefully as I progress, I can start kicking that to the curb. I have a vacation coming up in October that I'm trying to prepare myself for. I should hopefully be on soft foods by then. As for the servers, one of the audiobooks I listened to in order to prepare for surgery suggested heading that off immediately. Just telling them up front you recently had a surgery so you will not be able to eat while you are recovering. One of my husband's coworkers who had the RYGB just orders water when he goes out with his husband. Sometimes he'll sip on it, sometimes he just leaves it sitting there. All depends on when he last had a protein shake. They offered you a surgery video? I haven't heard that. I would be interested in watching it if that's an option for me, but it may not be. How big of bites are you taking at this point? I'm just curious so I can start mentally planning for that vacation in a couple of months. (Man, am I so ready for a vacation, even with the dietary changes.) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ @Pepper_No_Salt I've also had extreme fatigue. If I was dishes, I'm having to rest for an hour. I'm not doing anything more than that right now because I just physically can't handle it. But yeah, there are lots of long naps during my daytime, which is also affecting my abilitiy to get fluids and protein in. Glad to hear that you've gotten better! I know yesterday was a bad day for me out of nowhere. I'm blaming heat, but I don't actually know what the problem was. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ @RRenaeL23 and @Pepper_No_Salt - Good luck at your next appointments! I hope you do get moved up to pureed foods! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ @Hiddenroses Interesting! I was told they would not move me on to the pureed foods until I was regularly hitting 60g of protein daily. They said nothing about whether or not I was active. I'll be curious to see what is said when I go to my post-op today. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ @Meme Campbell I hope your surgery went fantastically and you are recovering well! I know that liquid stage sucks, but it's for a good reason. Just keep reminding yourself of that.

Hi, I am 1 month post op and I have den having the hardest time staying asleep. I don't have a problem falling asleep but then I wake up 3 hours later and toss and turn. My Dr prescribed Ambien to help but it's not doing much. I am trying to get my fluids and protein in but I feel like I am thirsty a lot. I also wake and my heart is beating fast in my chest. I'm wondering if I am dehydrated? Anyone else have the same issues?

Some great advice from the others. Heartily recommend Drs Matthew Weiner & John Pilcher too.They are great sources of information. Try not eating until you feel full. Aim for had enough. I ask myself do I need that next bite or do I just want it. Remember to keep eating slowly too. It takes a good 20 minutes for your full message to get through (mine can take way longer than that). So by the time you feel full you can easily have eaten more than you need/should. Wouldn't hurt to check your portions & track your calories for a couple of weeks just to ensure you are not over estimating - it’s easy to do. Also, maybe check in with your dietician to review the best portion sizes & calorie goals for you for where you are now.

I started taking my bariatric vitamins back when I got my original surgery date, in October, I think. I take the Celebrate One 45 chewable bariatric vitamin and 3 Celebrate calcium chews (fruit flavored, delicious!) per days, as well as lutein and omega 3 supplements that were recommended by my eye doctor (not weight related), and half a biotin chew because it can't hurt, right? I started early strictly to get into the routine. My memory is shite and I wanted to have it be second nature by the time I truly needed it. I do also add a scoop of collagen powder to my tea in the morning and I use retinol body and face creams, but that's more an anti-aging thing as opposed to loose skin prevention. As everyone has said, the loose skin and hair shedding is kind of unavoidable. The supplements, at best, are hopefully to ensure the new hair growth is as healthy as can be. I wouldn't go with expensive "miracle" products because they probably won't live up to the hype or the cost, but if it's in the budget to get a few things that make you feel better, it also can't hurt. I mean, peppermint and rosemary just sounds lovely. Even if it doesn't do a lot, it smells like heaven!