MRSSTAX

How much water are you drinking? I am currently back UP to 175 pounds after being all the way down to 130. When I was 130 pounds I KEPT a yeast infection – I’m telling you – ALL OF THE TIME. When I was thin (my band was too tight, but I was SOOOO SKINNY) it was almost impossible to drink more than 20 ounces of water a day, and I never ate more than a cup of food a day. I was essentially starving to death, but boy was I hot! Anyway, I could NOT figure out why I couldn’t get rid of my yeast infections. I went from maybe having one a year (tops) to having one at least twice a MONTH when I was really thin. I was doing Diflucan, but it didn’t work so I had special PRESCRIPTION (any other way is DANGEROUS – don’t self-medicate!!!) boric acid suppositories, and I was still miserable. Also, because I had so much acid reflux I drank milk (when I could drink) to help soothe my stomach…. And the little bit I did eat was usually something crunchy and dry (crackers, chips, etc) that would go down slowly. So, milk or milkshakes and carb-heavy food (all sugar, essentially) was all I could eat – but it was such small amounts that the calories didn’t matter. I was tiny (size 4) and really sick… but SO skinny L…. Anyway, I had no clue what was going on with me – but I told my husband I KNEW it had something to do with my band being too tight. I guess I was just too deprived to think it through! Now that I’m FAT AGAIN and can think clearly, it’s obvious it was the lack of water washing out my body. I also went to a doctor and got prescription laxatives because I would go weeks and weeks with no bowel movements. I was totally clueless looking back. We need water SO MUCH… it does so many things for our bodies – every part of them. It keeps everything moving and healthy and flushes out all of the bad stuff. Recently, my band got too tight again (I’m three years out from surgery and this thing is NEVER going to be right, I’ve had about 60 adjustments and I have now officially given up on it ever working right for me, for real)… but I was losing weight again so I was stubborn and let it stay tight for a couple of weeks (as long as I can swallow my spit I will let it be tight, my doctor says he has never seen anyone like me). I was barely drinking water (it hurt my chest) or eating anything and I started experiencing symptoms of a yeast infection. Since I wasn’t starving to death I finally had the good sense to put two and two together – and did a Google search “not enough water yeast infections”… there are hundreds of websites dedicated to it. This is the first time I’ve ever posted on here – I know this is a really long answer but I always want to know every single detail of why someone knows something. Drink a lot more water… I guarantee you’ll notice a difference. As soon as I gave in because I was so sick and had my band loosened up my yeast infections went away… that was 2 years ago. Not ONE SINGLE yeast infection since my band was loosened.

I miss eating... sometimes more than others. I was never an emotional eater, I have always just loved food - the way it tastes, how it smells, the textures, how I feel when I'm full, everything. I've been overweight my whole entire life. I was banded back in October, so I'm 9 months out. I have lost about 70 pounds, and it's wonderful! I'll tell you though, I miss eating so much. I don't go without anything, if I want it I eat it, but I can only eat a tiny bit. The surgery has been a success for me in that sense, I look great, I'm running and lifting weights again, my blood pressure and heart rate are fantastic, it's all great.... but I miss eating. A lot. I miss pizza and beer so much, I feel like I'm mourning for a person. I don't talk about it a lot because I feel like I made this choice and it's not like I have cancer, I didn't HAVE to have the surgery, but I can't describe how much I miss eating (overeating, really). I've always eaten more than any woman I knew, it was kind of a source of pride for me, and now I can't even finish a tiny meal most days. It's good because I was well on my way to morbid obesity and beyond, but I can tell you that sometimes it's really hard. I told my husband the other night (he wanted me to talk to him about it, I usually don't) that it was like I was a full-blown heroine addict and I woke up one morning with no veins in my body. Food was my drug, I still want that feeling, that taste, but I can't have it anymore. Luckily for me, and somewhat miraculously, my hunger and cravings have taken a HUGE nosedive since the surgery. I'm rarely very hungry and even when I'm starving I can only eat a little. I know that we are all on here because we were overweight but I really think I was the hungriest person on the planet before the surgery. I'm probably right at line between the red and green zones but if I were any looser I'd be gaining weight and eating like crazy so it's good. The great news is that I don't regret the surgery AT ALL, it's the best decision I've ever made and I only rarely feel sad, the happiness and feeling good are about 98% of the time! Also, since I can only eat a little I get to eat whatever I want and still lose weight, which is like a dream come true for someone who's been overweight since the day she was born!