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Also I get in about 80+ ounces of Fluid a day. I eat 5-6 small meals a day. Good Luck everyone The good thing is that the hair will grow back and that's what keeps me from thinking about it but that's probably easy for me to say since I haven't lost any yet :/

I'm mixed (mom is Cuban and dad is black) and I haven't noticed a change in my hair. My hair has always been thick and most people assume it's fake. I relax my hair (at home) and started coloring (at the salon) it in December. My surgery was almost 4 and a half months ago and I haven't noticed any change in shedding or thinning. It can still happen but it hasn't yet. I do get in all my protein (around 100+grams a day and sometimes about 130g), I take my vitamins every other day, exercise, breastfeed, etc. I also added a iron pill to my vitamins but I only take it once a week. I'm also a slow loser and maybe that's why I haven't lost any (knock on wood). My hair is so thick that I get my stylist to thin it because it gets so heavy that it just lays flat and I like when it has body and movement. I've been growing it out and it's a little below my shoulders (recently had it cut) but if it ever starts to thin I don't have a problem with cutting it back above my shoulders into a bob I also eat a balanced diet of carbs, fats, and protein. My carbs are around 100g per day. I don't take biotin because I heard it causes you to grow some unwanted hair and it's just not worth it to me. I heard that protein is very important and I figure if I'm getting too much protein then I will just piss it out lol I'd rather get too much than to have to little. I still drink at least 1 protein shake a day

Yup mine did! but I've also made other changes such as getting rid of facebook. I found myself being more active and communicating more and wanting to make friends in person and not online. I've been attending more military functions and meeting other wives and just enjoying life and not living vicariously through my facebook "friends". In a couple of months I will be attending a military ball and I'm so looking forward to wearing a dress. I'm also a more active mom because my daughter is now enrolled in a all star cheerleading team and I've been meeting the other parents. Life has been great since having weight loss surgery and getting rid of facebook.

I did and have zero regrets about it. I'm not a binge eater but I did enjoy eating without caring. Hell I've been monitoring my food for years and still couldn't shed the pounds so it felt good to eat without stressing over it. After a week of pigging out I was over it lol

I count protein shakes as fluid, especially in the beginning. Now that I'm 4 months post op I carry around my water bottle which holds 28 oz of fluid and I make sure to drink 2 of those a day (equaling 56 oz of fluid). I also drink 1 to 2 protein shakes a day and mix them with milk. I also drink water during the night also. We've always been told to count our protein shakes toward fluids. I get in about 100oz a day.

I don't know how they expect for you to fuel your workouts and daily life on just 15g of carbs a day. I agree with the other lady about the whole Atkins thing because it seems like some NUTS and surgeons put us back on Atkins. I had this good article about carbs and exercise after wls and it basically says that it's not good to exercise while eating low carb and that you need carbs. If my carbs are low I start feeling depressed and my anxiety goes through the roof!!! Not to mention my exercise always goes to crap on low carb. Plus just think about what this low carb diet is teaching your body in the long term. It's just another one of those diets that got us all to where we were before surgery. I'm not saying that you shouldn't listen to your NUT but IMO it seems like she put you on another diet and not something that you can do for the long term. Here's the link to the article about wls+exercise+carbs http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/fitness/Weight-Loss-Surgery-Carbohydrate-and-Exercise.html

Definitely keep drinking fluids and monitor your pee and make sure that it's light yellow and not orange or darker. I used to slack with fluids but now I look in the toilet to make sure that it's light yellow. I also got a water bottle that holds 28 oz of fluid and I make sure to drink at least 2 of those before 8pm and during the night I put a glass of water near my bed and sip on it every time I wake up. I get in about 80oz of water a day. Bronchitis sucks and hopefully once it's gone you will be able to drink and eat more.

Sleeve sister-let us know how it goes. That sucks that they tried to schedule your appt months away. I wish you the best at urgent care.

OP I'm scared for you You said that you only drink about 8-12 oz of Fluid a day and get in less than 30g of Protein per day, that's definitely not good. This girl that I knew who was sleeved the day before me struggled to eat and about 3 months after surgery they finally diagnosed her as having a stricture and that's why she could hardly eat and drink. If you find it hard meeting your goals then you should talk to your surgeon, maybe they need to scope you to see if you possibly have a stricture. You also mentioned that you dealt with dehydration, kidney stones, etc. and a lot of that is linked to not drinking enough fluids. I don't understand how you're not dehydrated right now. My husband is also gone for weeks, months, and a year at a time (Army). It's extremely important for you to take care of yourself and your health, what you're going through is far from healthy and I hope that you will consult with your nutritionist and surgeon. I was sleeved a couple of days before you and I drink 1 protein shake a day and sometimes 2. I aim for 80+ grams a day. I don't know how you've managed to go this long on so few calories.

^^^Sounds like my inlaws! I don't even talk to them anymore and that's just fine with me

I haven't been questioned about how much I eat. Sunday we had a superbowl party and I didn't eat that much but no one said anything. I went to a Army wives meeting and was only able to eat a small amount and no one questioned me. None of them know that I had surgery, it just never came up and I didn't feel the need to announce it or mention it. If someone asked then I'd probably be honest if they were also obese but if they are skinny I'd probably keep my surgery to myself. Do what's right for you.

I get my vitamin d from the sun. That's the reason why I started walking outside, oh and the fresh air is a bonus plus I hate taking supplements for something I can get for free My Vit D was low because I always stayed in the house prior to surgery and now I'm walking 3 miles 5 days a week in the sun and my energy has definitely seen a boost. I'm still a slow loser but I don't stress about that anymore.

150g is my max but that's only because I exercise 4-5 days a week and I'm still breastfeeding. I also don't drink caffeine so I can't do low carb because it makes me so tired and grouchy, who the heck wants to be around that lol I have 3 kiddos to take care of

I used treadmills for many years and now I can't bring myself to get on one because they bore me so much now. I walk/jog outside and one of our gyms has a indoor track. I also take a spinning class 2 days a week. I did the C25K on the treadmill a couple of years ago and wasn't able to do the same thing outdoors because running on the treadmill is easier and that's why it was so easy compared to outdoors running. It's a really good program It usually takes about 3 weeks for me to get into a routine.

I've had times like there where I'm ravenous but I'm full. I usually just wait about 20 mins and take a couple more bites. Usually when I would start a exercise program I would have a increased appetite for about 3 weeks but then after that I would have less of a appetite after exercise. Also don't be surprised if you gain a little while your body adjust and know that most of it is water weight and will come off.

I 100% agree with PDXMAN. I think lifting heavy has slowed my weight loss but as long as I continue losing inches I know that the weight will come off, albeit slowly. I love exercise and to me that's more important than the scale moving rapidly from non exercise. Today I've had 78g of carbs so far and 104g of Protein. I'm gonna eat a Cereal bar before I go to bed because if my carbs are under 100g I tend to get insomnia, plus I have to do a 5k tomorrow. I can't do low carb and exercise. In the past when I tried it I would become way too tired and eventually stop working out. I refuse to stop working out so my carbs usually end up around 100-150 a day and that has been perfect and I don't burn out or hit a wall. I still drink at least 1 Protein shake a day, I don't drink them before my workout because protein doesn't do well for me when I need quick energy but it's a damn good recovery drink I've been using MFP for the past week and I've eaten about 1200 cals but I breastfeed (subtract 300 cals from total cals consumed) and I did a 1 hour spin class today (MFP says I burned 703 cals). It's saying my net calories is 195. Sorry for all my rambling but I guess what I'm trying to say is eat enough to fuel your workouts. I don't know how soon you plan to start training for your triathlon but I'm sure you will definitely need to up your food intake. I just listen to my body and go by how I feel after working out. During my spinning classes I drink G2 gatorade and I'm now able to keep going the whole hour. *end of rambling*

I started doing spin classes early January and my butt is finally used to the seat. I go Tuesday and Thursday morning to the one hour spin class. It's a great workout. Glad you enjoyed it

Before surgery I had my thermostat set at 74 degrees and that was still too hot but I didn't want my kids to be cold. Now after surgery I've set it at 78 degrees and sometimes I'm still cold but I started taking a iron pill and now I'm not cold like I used to be. I take the iron pill every couple of days when I start to feel fatigued or cold.

On their website enell.com and they sell them in certain stores, that info is also on their website The good thing about the enell is that it doesn't stretch, my husband jokes that it's bullet proof or a gun holster lol. I wear my regular bra under it also.

The thing that keeps me sane is exercising regularly. You don't have to go crazy and spend hours exercising but try and get in at least 1 hour 3-5 days a week if you haven't already. I also make sure to get lots of sunlight because the vit d helps with anxiety and the fresh air is amazing. Exercise has been the only thing to ever help with my anxiety and I hate pills or other medications that have tons of side effects.

My weight loss has been a stair step pattern and sometimes I gain. After being on these forums for a while I've learned that it's normal and to be patient and that's what I've always done. You will start to lose again. I've kept track of my carbs for the past couple of days and I'm eating around 100-140g of carbs and I need that so I can continue to have a productive workout. Are you exercising? If not then start, if so then switch it up! I don't agree with starving yourself in order to lose the weight or that you need to cut out a whole food group. I don't plan on eating low carb for the rest of my life, so why do it to lose weight. I'd much rather learn to eat a balanced diet and continue to lose at the rate I am, than to crash diet to the finish line and then panic once I realize that I can't maintain my very strict "diet" that helped me lose the weight. Carbs aren't bad and they do much better at fueling a workout. I actually found a really good article on obesityhelp.com http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/fitness/Weight-Loss-Surgery-Carbohydrate-and-Exercise.html I'm very thankful that my NUT believes in a balanced diet.

I went to REI and picked out some trail shoes but I have no idea what brand they are. They give me a lot of grip and cushion from rocks

I take a indoor cycling (spinning) class twice a week and boy do my legs burn after lol. I think the hardest part was finding a instructor that I liked, too many of them seem to be like Jillian Michaels and I can't stand that woman and all the yelling. I wear padded capris to my class and that seems to help but towards the end I start to feel a little sore in the crotch area. You can also buy those special seats. I purchased indoor cycling shoes also and it makes it so much easier to sprint and stand up. I do want to try zumba one of these days

I have LARGE breast and I've been using the enell sports bra for the past several years! It's the best sports bra for women with large breast. Thank goodness I was watching Oprah that day and she endorsed this bra and they sold out within a few days lol. I refuse to exercise without it. I used to wear about 3 of those cheap sports bras and they still bounced. Enell is definitely the way to go.....oh and they last for years! My first enell bra lasted about 2 years before the hooks started straightening out but my boobs were a 36i. I've had my current enell bra for about 2 yrs now and I still get support and containment I'm a 36K now and the enell hasn't let me down

I started walking around 3 weeks post op. I started with just walking 1 mile and that kicked my butt and I slowly added on another mile and now I'm up to walking 3 miles, 3 times a week and taking 2 spinning classes. I've always loved workout and I was a obese runner for a while before surgery but now that the weight is coming off it's so much easier. My advice is to start slow and then slowly add on. I also had to up my carbs once I added on more exercise, so that I don't hit a wall halfway through the workout. I keep my carbs around 100g and that seems to be the happy medium where I still lose weight and I can have the energy to kick butt during my workouts