PamelaAM

Oh, and one more thing - if you "like" them on Facebook they provide discount codes. Wish I had known that sooner because I paid full price but they said they will give me the 30% discount on my next order.

Oregondaisy - My biggest problem was that I always wanted to eat. Even though I still have great restriction, we all know that if you eat all day you are consuming way too many calories. My SIL had gastrci bypass many years ago and had lost and regained over the years. All of a sudden she was down 42 pounds and my niece down about 20 so I asked them what they were doing. They said they were on the Bee Pollen Diet and just took this pill (or two) each day. As desperate as I was, I decided to try it. I've only been on it almost two weeks now - the first week you just take one pill so I didn't really lose but I didn't gain either. Then you start on taking two pills in the morning and I was shocked at what it did to my appetite. I will start to think I want food, but then when I think about it I don't want it - at all. When I eat (haven't change what I eat at this point just trying to stay away from junk) my appetite is really diminished. I've lost 4 lbs this second week and have tons of energy. The only problem is that I have so much energy that sometimes it is hard to get to sleep at night but nothing serious. I watched my SIL struggle for so long after her bypass and she looks amazing now. How these pills make me feel is how many explain they feel after a sleeve - but for me, I never really lost my appetite - imaginary or real. I am not recommending this but just saying that for me, I love how it takes away my appetite and allows my sleeve to work as a tool. Here is the website: http://beepollendiet.com/ I guess there are alot of fakes out there that have copied these folks, so my SIL said to make sure you order from this site. She has no interest in the company, just knows it is working for she and her daughter. And I feel great for the first time in a long time :-)

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 :-(

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!

Leslie, you look fabulous! You shot by me so quick it was amazing!!! Great job! See you next week!

You look amazing!!! Can't wait to see you!

Thank you for the amazing inspiration!!!!!

It has nothing to do with Protein according to my doctor. The way it was explained to me was that when you remove 85% of your stomach which is a major organ, your body thinks it is dying and sends all of the signifcant energy to the major organs in an attempt to save itself. The hair follicles actually die at the time and right after the surgery. It simply takes about 3 months for the hair to work itself out and actually fall out during the 3-6 month period. If you look at the anatomy of your hair/follicle you will see the process. I take Biotin because I figure it might help with the regrowth but it doesn't help at all with the actual loss. Some people experience the loss and others don't. For me, I had significant hair loss to the point that I had to cut my hair really short and am actually doing a "comb over" on the top to disguise the loss. So it IS really important to get your protein in, but not because of the hair loss - but because your body just needs to to heal and perform it's functions well.

OMG Bonnie!!! You are doing amazing!!! I hope you can join us in May when we all get together again!

Absolutely amazing!!!! I, too, am so grateful for my sleeve! Keep up the good work - you look fabulous!

Congrats Sophia!!! Maybe if I ever get around to getting my knee replaced I can do it with you! UGH! I can't even stand the thought of THAT surgery!

You look GREAT! I started at 250 also and can't wait until I am at 153!

This morning, Sophia (sleeve4me) and I were invited to speak at the Kaiser Options graduating class! When we were in our class that graduated on April 2, 2010, it was one of the things that we promised ourselves that we would do - to go back after we'd had the surgery to encourage others. It was amazing! It was crazy to see how excited everyone was about OUR weight loss! We both brought a sample of our old clothes (Sophia brought her 18W dress to show and then also showed her Junior size 9 dress that she now fits into, and I showed my size 20 pants and then they saw me in my new size 14 skinny jeans!) and used them for show and tell. They had alot of really great questions but mostly seemed really excited to hear our stories and see our successes! What a great feeling to be helping give hope to the people in the class! I hope we get the opportunity again! We looked at everyone and it seemed like just yesterday that WE were the ones sitting in the 12 week class. So happy to be on the other side now and having lost so much of our weight! ] What a rush! It was amazing!

So scary! I think it is really important that you posted here so that others that are considering a plication as opposed to a regular sleeve know that it CAN happen. Thank goodness you are ok but what an awful thing to experience! I know it is all such a personal decision but I've never been really clear as to why someone would select a plication as opposed to a sleeve and leave that unused portion of the stomach in place. Have people ever really gone in for a reversal? Just really curious. Again, thank goodness you are fine and congratulations on your weight loss :-) Your note is a great reminder that none of us should ever ignore signs of our bodies not feeling right.