PamelaAM

I had purchased 5 wigs when I lost so much of my hair. The lace front seem to be the way to go because they give you a natural hairline. Spoke to friends who have worn wigs for a long time due to chemo etc, and they swore by the synthetic wigs because they are literally shake and go so that's what I bought. Once you purchase what you think you like, go to your hairdresser and have them trim it for you if need be.

I still can't believe you guys did that in the pouring rain!!! WOW! I sat down there with Michelle and debated and decided not to get drenched and headed to the gym instead. You two are our HEROES! Let's plan another one for a sunny day and I'm SO there! Or let's do the trail. . .

Patrice! I am just now seeing this post - haven't been on the board that much. I too, started going up again and gained 14 lbs. Am struggling to get it off again but started going to the gymn every morning and love how it makes me feel. Haven't lost anything but I need to get the food under control too. You tend to forget how easy it is to go back to old eating habits - maybe not as much but still the wrong stuff. So now I am only at the half way mark - back up to only 50 lbs lost so have another 50 to go. Bound and determined to get there. .

So funny how it is SO different for everyone! I don't really struggle with much (unfortunately) with the exception of taking that one bite too much of anything- then I suffer :-(

Happens to almost everyone at about that same time. . .no worries - just stay the path :-)

Bonnie! You look amazing! I am so proud of your accomplishments! What a phenomenal inspiration!

So here's something that I wouldn't necessarily advise for others but it was what my surgeon advised for me after 11 days when I was so weak I couldn't hardly stand and they couldn't even get a blood pressure reading on me. He said "go home and eat ice cream". So I bought those little Haagan Das little cups and it took me 4 sittings to eat just one but after doing that Friday night, Saturday and Sunday I actually woke up on Monday morning feeling normal again. He told me that my body could not take the lack of carbs. Everyone is different. I suggest that we all listen to our surgeons and go by what they are telling us - they are trained to adjust when necessary and that is what he had to do for me. I would have never done that on my own and honestly was shocked when he suggested it but it was, as they say, "just what the doctor ordered". And this is a surgeon in SoCal that does thousands of these procedures and there is a waiting list to get in to him. Everyone's body is different and that is why we have medical professionals gudiing us through this process. We have people in our support group that can't stop losing weight and are eating donuts and drinking alcohol and then there are others like me who stick to a plan for the most part and end up and very long stalls. We are all different and our bodies react differently. But again, please defer to your surgeon for guidance on what my work for your particular biochemistry. Don' t take chances with a surgery like this one - leave it up to the experts. But trust me, we have ALL eaten something at least once that was probably not the smartest move and we paid the price :-(

It really is true. I worked for years in the fashion industry when sizing was monitored and you were basically the same size everywhere you went - like it or not :-) Now I am fitting into smaller sizes than I ever would have imagined at this weight and while it feels good to fit into a "smaller" size, I know the sizes aren't real so it's pretty much a bubble burster.

I had the luxury of taking 6 weeks off of work - actuall 3 weeks off and then worked from home for 3 weeks. There is no way I could have gone back to an active job before 3 weeks. For me, the 6 week time frame was about right. But I had a really tough recovery and couldn't hardly get out of bed for the first 2 weeks. Everyone is different. I would suggest that you take as much time as possible off before going back.

Bonnie: You are amazing!!! I hope you can make it to our September meeting! We are doing a pot luck at my house and we are going to have some newbies here that I would love them to see your progress!! Rock on!!!

So here's the deal. . .I had one of the PA's in my surgeon's office explain to me why the hair loss. She said that when you do something as drastic as removed 85% of you stomach your body thinks that it is dying because a major organ has been compromised. So it starts sending all of it's energy to all of the major organs in an effort to save itself. Thereby not having any energy left for any of the peripherals - hair, nails etc. So your hair follicles actually die immediately after surgery but it takes 3 months for them to work their way out of your scalp. That's why you start experiencing hair loss at about 3 months out. LeslieH is correct that it normally lasts for about 3 months and then will slowly subside. My hair was very fine to begin with. I wore it in an A-line bob and colored it - both bleach and color, just to have some texture to it so that it appeared thicker. Once my hair started coming out at 3 months I started to freak out and went out and bought 5 wigs - very cool wigs, I might add - you'd be amazed at what's out there. I just could never bring myself to wear one. So I ended up cutting my hair really short (which I thought I would NEVER do) still color and bleach and everyone loves it, including me! When I was 60 pounds heavier I would have never been able to get away with a cut like this because my face was way too fat, but now it looks ok. This surgery will change your life. No doubt. It is such an amazing transformation you will be in awe. I, too, freaked out about the hair loss and I'm not going to tell you that I didn't have some incredibly emotional times over it, but the weight loss and the new life is SO worth it. It doesn't fall out completely and for many of the gals that have gone from really thick hair to normal hair or even thin hair, when I see them, they still look fabulous - one would never notice the hair loss. Sleeve4me uses those clip in extensions and you would never know it's not her own hair - looks incredible. For me, I just went really short and honestly, don't think I will ever grow my hair long (er) again!

Hey guys! Thank you SO much for all of your comments and tips - it all makes sense! Going to start a new regimen and see if I can't get rid of these last 40 lbs once and for all! I think sometimes we all just need some encouragement or maybe a swift kick in the butt from each other :-)

Myrori - you have done amazingly well! WOW! I know in the past (and I mean since I was 16 and I'm now 58) I have really struggled on other diets that normal people lose on. I remember one time being on that one where you get the daily injections of HCG and Vitamin B12 and they had me on 500 calories a day and I still only lost about 30 lbs. it got to the point where they were saying things like "ok, instead of that 1/2 of red apple, try a 1/2 of a green apple because there is less sugar in it". They couldn't figure out why I couldn't lose anymore. And I totally wasn't cheating at all - I was so obsessed with losing. I am probably eating a bit more than I should but I am going by what the nutritionist said. I think I just need more exercise.

I am drinking probably about 100 oz of Water a day and doing about 1200-1400 calories. I'm sure it's the exercise that I am missing and I need to quite coming up with so many excuses that I don't have time :-( Here's what my day today will look like: 6 bottles of water - 4 with Kellogg's K20 to add 20 grams of Protein 2 Kelloggs Protein Bars to add 20 grams of protein Breakfast: 1 egg salsa small amount of cheese (1/3 cup) 2 small slices avocado lunch Greek yogurt 1/2 cup blueberries 1/2 cup strawberries 1/3 cup granola dinner 3 oz salmon (baked) 2 Tbs tarter sauce grilled veggies (zuchinni & onions today) If I need something in the evening I will grab a small handful of reduced fat wheat thins.

Just trying to see what everyone else is doing with regards to food intake once you've gone beyond the 6 month mark. My nutritionist told me to eat 1200-1300 calories and 120 grams of carbs and 80 grams of protein. Seems like the carbs are so much higher than what everyone is doing. I had a problem doing low carbs in the beginning so they told me that I needed to do 120-130 of carbs per day - just seems like alot.