Seraphina

There's nothing you can do. Save your money. If you are destined to lose your hair during this process like so many of us, then you will. I got tired of agonizing over it (I really, really agonized) and bought myself some fabulous wigs. They are made so well these days that they are undetectable. Going bald was a blessing in disguise. Wigs mean no more bad hair days! (P.S. My pic shows my real hair prior to surgery. It's gone now. Whatever. I'd rather be skinny.)

F that B word! By the way, I'm about to share the best comeback of all time!! Ready? No matter what anyone says to you, say this, "Don't be jealous" and walk away. Just hold your head up and walk away.

I get it, it's terrifying! Do it anyway. Do it anyway! You will not regret doing it....you will regret NOT doing it! Getting your stomach ripped out won't kill you, it will make you a badass! It will give you back your life!

I'm so glad this is helping! I love your comments. I honestly don't know if I had any stalls. I had read exhaustively about it before the surgery so this first 5 weeks or so after the surgery I never got on the scale. Not once. If I had done the weigh every single day thing (which is so like me when I'm "dieting") I bet I would have had many, many demoralizing days. On another note, I was curious to see if losing 70 lbs in 7 months was relatively fast, slow, normal, whatever. I know of someone on this forum who had her surgery a week before me and her goal is to lose twice the amount I have. She is now half way to goal! In other words we lost at the very same rate with very different starting and ending points. Don't sweat it my friends...just remember that the scale is STILL the evil little contraption it has always been. Congrats to you all for doing something great for yourselves by getting your stomachs ripped out. We are total badasses!

Oh yeah, quick tip...stay off the scale! Once a week will make your whole next week awesome! Seriously, no more than once a week. I went an entire month more than once and was elated when I finally got back on and found how much I had lost. What a rush!

Thank you all! I totally relate to you who are having the same thoughts I did...so much self doubt and fear for us all. For me it was so bad that I told no one I was doing this in case I failed (I have yet to tell anyone). My goal was modest compared to some, but overwhelming for me. I have thyroid disease and a non-existent metabolism. I lost about 10 lbs on my preop and a little over 60 since then. It sucked, let's be real, but I didn't bust my ass or watch the food intake and I even drank alcohol whenever I felt like it. Some may think it irresponsible of me to say these things, given how much we all have struggled and continue to struggle post op in many cases. But my intention is to encourage everyone. It will happen! It will.

I met my goal today! It took a little over 6 months and I didn't even try that hard. If you think you will be the one person this will not work for, you are wrong. I just knew that I would be the one that failed. It happened for me and it WILL happen for you! Don't even stress it.

I'm 2 weeks post op and vegan. In my experience, doctors don't know any more about vegan nutrition than you're average non-vegan. I'm on full liquids so my diet is extremely limited, but I'm not worried about the future. Make sure you supplement (liquid and dissolvable for me now) all your Vitamins and minerals. Very important. I am currently blending almond milk (unsweetened vanilla) and vegan Protein powder. There are several different kinds. Some good quality ones are "Vegn" brand, "Raw Power" brand, and various rice Proteins. You can also mix the plain versions of these powders into Soups (there are tons of vegan pre-made soups (try "Imagine" brand). As you probably know, they make vegan everything now and it's easy to find vegan foods with protein. I suggest taking a very long, slow comb of your local health food grocery and you will be surprised at how many things that work post op. I can't wait to get on mushies...I'll have more choices than I'll know what to do with. Please PM me anytime and we can compare notes as the food stages progress. I would not have done this if I couldn't stay vegan, so don't be too concerned. Just do a lot of looking into vegan proteins. My favorite stuff in the world is "Gardein" brand foods. I can't wait to get to solid foods again so I can have those amazing protein foods. *sigh* You can easily do this as a vegan. And I think for us it might even be easier because we're accustomed to saying "no" to 90% of the food out there. (This is just a portion thing for me.) Best wishes!

I'm 5 days out and relating to all of this. I am sipping all day. It's very tedious. I miss drinking like a normal person. I get extremely scared when I feel that push/pressure in the breastbone too. I'm just sure I'm causing a leak, so I slow down again and keep sipping. I also have the infamous, "I'm going to be the one person this doesn't work for!" panic thoughts. It's rougher than I thought it would be. Question. I'm supposed to be on clears for 10 days. Can I mix Protein powder and drink that too? I can't drink clear protein because I can't drink whey. I desperately need some nutrients.

That's so true. It's hard to say certain things out loud, and if you do, it should be to people who you KNOW got your back. Everyone at VST's got your back. PM me anytime and I'll give you the real deal on WLS (the way I see it anyway) :wink1:

I'm here (Almater Hospital) now. Feel totally safe. The people here are wonderful. All of them. You can see the border from the hospital parking lot.

"Fighter" by Christina Aguilera "Since U Been Gone" by Kelly Clarkson "La La" by Ashley Simpson I have a long list of workout songs but this will get you started. Yeah, it's "chicky" music, but it gets you going super quick.

Dear Golden, I am second day post op. The only support I received and do receive is from some wonderful people on these boards. It's all the support I needed and then some. I told no one in my life about my surgery. Not a soul. And I pulled it off. Do your thing girl. Just do your thing.

Thank you all for your support. So sweet. I'm literally falling asleep as I read this. Pain meds, yuuuummm

I'm waiting for surgery to begin. Happy pill coming soon. And I just can't get over Dr. McDreamy here (Dr. Campos). I can't wait to get thin and fabulous and get me one of those! Thank you so much for your encouragement everyone! I reaaally needed it!