WhoozisAnyway

I use these: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005LKB0IU/ref=oh_details_o02_s00_i00 The sound is great, they stay on, sweat doesn't seem to cause any issues, they stay charged forever and so inexpensive that I don't worry about breaking them. The Bluetooth works great, I've even used them on phone conversations, crystal clear. I must have freakishly shaped ears, because in-ear headphones don't stay in, ever. Was considering duct-taping my old set to my ears before I found the Kinovo. Sent from my iPad using VST

I was sleeved 4-9 and have just started losing hair In the last three weeks. It's pretty bad but I have short hair already so it doesn't show much. Been taking Biotin since day 1 and Nioxin shampoo, plus I can count on two hands the number of times I've fallen below 75 grams of Protein per day since surgery. Regardless, it is not permanent and if thin hair is the worst than I experience, than so be it. Sent from my iPad using VST

I have hypothyroid as well and although my loss has been a little slower (57 lbs in 5.5 months) than others, I feel great! You will be fine! Sent from my iPad using VST

Try taking refried Beans or black beans and purée them with Water until liquid. Having something savory helped me get through the liquid phase until I could start mushy. Sent from my iPad using VST

Welcome! Enjoy your journey! Sent from my iPad using VST

Breakfast - 1 Morningstar veggie sausage patty, 1 Babybel mini Gouda AM snack - 1 container Dannon Oikos nonfat plain yogurt with Splenda lunch - 1 cup unsweetened soy milk dinner - 2 oz. grilled shark steak, 1 grilled mushroom, 1 oz butternut squash PM snack- Wasabi soy almonds, glass of Pinot Grigio wine. Plus LOTS of Water because I was working in the yard for four hours and my usual Vitamin supplements Sent from my iPad using VST

Slow loser here too, but we'll get there! Congrats! Sent from my iPad using VST

I started exercising one month after surgery, as soon as I was cleared by the surgeon. I have to stick to low/no impact exercises due to a herniated disk. My ortho doc said elliptical, treadmill and Water aerobics only. I actually find the impact of walking on the treadmill hard on my back, so I stick to elliptical and water aerobics. When I started, 15 minutes on the elliptical at level 1 about killed me. Now I can do 65 minutes at level 12, with intervals up to 18. Right now I am committed to an hour of cardio 4x week (2 water aerobic classes, two sessions on the elliptical), plus at least 2 30-minute sessions of upper body strength training. I probably need to do more but I'm barely home as it is. I've lost just under 60 lbs since starting this journey, about halfway there. However, I'm thinner at this weight now than what I was at the same weight several years ago. Started at 2X tops and 22/24W bottoms, now in a M/L top and 14W/16R bottom, size 12 in dresses., Just tonight I tried on an old fitted top in a medium, and it fit. I was almost 20 lbs lighter when I wore it before and I think it looks better now. Have lots of very jiggly areas but in all honesty I'm not terribly interested in plastics. I'll always be saggy and jiggly to some extent but I'm 42 and have no interest in wearing a string bikini in public. Whatevah. Sent from my iPad using VST

Welcome, Mary! You will find this site and the people on it invaluable during your journey. Best of luck to you! Sent from my iPad using VST

It's really the little things like this that make me happy these days!

Last night I had errands to run after work, between that and rainstorms, I ran too late to go to the gym. By the time I got home, I was CRANKY. I grumped around the house, put on my workout clothes, decided against the Wii because I would have had to move the sofa with husband attached to it, tried the mini trampoline that made my back hurt, and finally grabbed a dog leash and dog and went for a brisk walk in the drizzle. Did about a 2.5 mile walk around the neighborhood and tried to let my mind clear a little. On the way back up the street, I had an epiphany. I just walked over two miles at a fast pace, and I was not sweating, gasping, limping or being dragged by my dog. It blew my mind a little. In mid-February I had to be wheeled through airports because of my back injury, weight and general bad condition. Oh. My. Freaking. Gosh. Needless to say, my bad mood disappeared instantly. I love Me 2.0, and can't wait to see what the next upgrade will bring!

I'm married to a metabolic wonder - someone who can eat almost obscene amounts of food and hardly gains any weight. Even though I'm not a competitive eater in any way, it's very hard to be around someone like that and not gain weight yourself. We don't eat fast food or fried foods, don't keep sweets or bad Snacks at home, but that's not enough to keep me from gaining weight. In the last month, my husband decided that he wanted to lose 10 lbs (!!!!!!!!) so he's also joined MFP. My sister joined MFP as well. She's very fit and eats healthy and it's helped me be accountable for everything I put in my mouth. I'm friends with several VST members as well. Do a search here on VST for "MyFitnessPal" and you'll see several threads with people providing their user names. Mine is dznygrl70. Looking up restaurant menus has reduced a lot of my post-surgery anxiety - but I also look for a nutritional menu if it's available. For example, we wanted to go out for dinner last weekend. Three chain restaurants in our neighborhood (Red Lobster, Olive Garden and Outback) all had dinner specials. I was voting for Olive Garden until I looked up the nutritional values and saw the horrific calorie counts - even eating at my much reduced amount would have been unhealthy. I then thought "Fish is lighter" and checked out Red Lobster - and they were even worse! Of all places, Outback was the best choice from a nutritional standpoint. A 6 oz Outback Special steak with broccoli and salad with lo cal dressing comes in at under 600 calories, and I was able to get three meals out of that one order. I couldn't have had any of the special dinners at the other two restaurants for even a third of those calories. Who would have thought that a steak dinner was the answer?!! Last week I met a friend at TGIF for lunch. I checked the menu first, thinking I'd just order an appetizer for my entree. They only had one appetizer under 900-ish calories and it was a spinach/cheese flatbread. The fried green bean appetizer is 900 calories - that is just CRAZY!!!! For green Beans? I almost had a crying meltdown when we visited a local Thai/Vietnamese restaurant last month. The menu was huge, I didn't check it out beforehand and I got completely overwhelmed trying to figure out what to order. I finally just gave up and asked my husband if I could just nibble off what he ordered. That ended up working out perfectly, thank goodness.

I LOVE my sleeve! I have zero regrets about the surgery. Recovery was easy, my high blood pressure disappeared and I'm losing despite thyroid issues and a messed up back. Gyms always intimidated me but I joined a community center that has a gym and pool. It caters to families and older adults, and I don't have to hide from steroid muscle heads hogging the machines. I can get a little overwhelmed sometimes when faced with too many food choices (like at a restaurant), so I try to find a menu and decide what to have before we go out. I still love to cook, but when we sit down to eat what I cooked, it's like "meh". Get yourself a digital food scale if you don't already have one. I'm terrible at eyeballing a 2-3oz portion of anything. I don't use the scale for portion control really (no use in that) but to not waste food and accurately track nutrients. Join an online/mobile/app like MyFitnessPal. I joined MFP when I started my pre op diet, and have found it invaluable. It's free, a lot of people from this forum are on it, and it has the best food database I've ever seen. There are other good ones too, can't remember names off the top of my head. After surgery, immediately start weeding out your closet. First I got rid of all the clothes I owned but hated wearing because they made me feel old, frumpy and fat. I went through my pile of old clothes that I'd grown out of and picked out what still looked ok. Then I went to cheap places like Target and Ross and bought just a few mix and match shirts in stretchy materials that would last through a few size changes. . I hung all my "less fat" clothes in the closet even if I couldn't wear them yet and tried them on once a week or so. It's rather amazing how fast your size will change even if you aren't losing lbs. and you might actually shrink past clothes you could wear, so try on often. Expect to get frustrated sometimes. It's normal and ok, and it gets better. It's hard to stay on liquids after surgery, food you loved before won't taste the same, going out is overwhelming, everyone on this forum seems to lose faster and easier than you. Relax, take a deep breath and let it go. Sent from my iPad using VST

I've noticed the same thing! I've always been an hourglass with my weight in my boobs, hips, butt and thighs. While I still have tons of all those parts, my body is definitely becoming more proportional from exercising. I've gone from a 40DD to 36DD, losing band but not cup size (that's a first). My butt is disappearing rapidly and hip size is way down, but it looks like belly and thighs will be the last to go. Sent from my iPad using VST

Congratulations, that is awesome!

A little over 3 months post-op and I hit my first goal this morning with a total loss of 50 lbs (20 pre-surg, 30 post). It's coming off verrrrrry slowly, but I don't mind any more. This is the most I've ever lost in one go-round and it's so uplifting to know that these pounds will never, ever come back! Ordered a Fitbit this morning as my reward. Now I'm ready to start on the next 50! Starting weight: 274 Size 22W/24W Bottom, 1-2X Top Current weight: 224 Size 16W Bottom, M-L Top

I'm a new convert to exercise. I've always hated it. Plus I have a herniated disc, so I have to stick to low/non impact exercises. I started after surgery SD 4/9, started at the gym around 5/15. I began with 15 mins of elliptical trainer at level 1 intensity that about killed me. Now I can do 65 mins at 12-18 intensity. I try to get two 60 min classes of water aerobics in a week. Plus I do some strength training. Last week I tried a Zumba class and although I loved it, my back spasmed the rest of the week. My schedule looks like: Monday: 1 hr water aerobics 30-60 mons circuit/strength training. Tuesday: 1 hr elliptical, 30 mins circuit/strength training. Wednesday: repeat Monday Thursday: repeat Tuesday Friday-Sunday: off unless I'm making up for week before. Trying to commit to 4x week. Sent from my iPad using VST

I'm slow but steady. Working out is the key for me. Sent from my iPad using VST

Lip balm/Chapstick. Seriously, if you forget everything else, you can survive with Chapstick. Sent from my iPad using VST

Good luck to you, Sannah! Sounds like you have a good pre op blueprint for your future success. It ain't easy, but I don't regret a single thing. Wishing you nothing but good luck. Sent from my iPad using VST

Mine went haywire after surgery, I was having one every 2.5-3 weeks with spotting in between. My OBGYN said it would be like this for months. Noooooooo! About a month ago my sister told me about taking cinnamon and cayenne to help regulate and moderate TOM. I was skeptical but willing to try anything, so started adding 1/2 tsp of cinnamon and cayenne pepper to my morning Protein shakes. To my shock, the spotting stopped immediately. Thursday I started TOM (right on schedule for the first time in 4 months), and it's much lighter and hardly any cramps. There is a lot of info online about the natural benefits of cinnamon and cayenne, I suggest doing some research to see if it might help you. Sent from my iPad using VST

It's really no big deal if you did have one, it's easily repairable at surgery and doesn't really change recovery plans at all. I am so grateful that my awful reflux is gone! Sent from my iPad using VST

I'm hypothyroid. My weight loss has been slower than some others on here (48 lbs total, 28 since surgery on 4/9), but i haven't had to worry too much about saggy skin so far. I consider that a fair trade for the slow loss. Sent from my iPad using VST