nyxa

wow! you look amazing! lol i just realized i said the same thing.. but it's true! lol so i guess that's a good thing, right?

it could also be toxins being released from your body. fat stores chemicals & the food that you eat has pesticides and stuff in it and on it.. your body could be releasing those chemicals through your skin & that be part of why you're breaking out.

O.T.R.sleever & MegInNOLA are correct. there's also very strict vegans that are called Fruitarians, who only eat the fruit of plants.. so they'll eat fruit and nuts (because they're the fruit of a tree) & etc. there's also vegans that are "raw" meaning they don't eat any cooked food... they will "warm" food up to 110 degrees or less, otherwise it destroys the digestive enzymes in the food & they consider it "dead" & lacking nutritional value. there are "raw" foodists who eat meat, but they're not vegans/vegetarians. they also drink raw milk and stuff. all kinda strange diets out there, isn't there?

i'm with ya lol

that's amazing! keep up the great work!

patience young grasshopper.. lol jk i do wish you the best of luck. lol if i could afford the trip, i'd fly out there with ya & keep you company & make sure they didn't take anything or leave anything they weren't supposed to. lol

breast augmentation is usually around $3,500-$8,000 depending on the surgeon & how big you want 'em & also what type of implants you get.. and how they're positioned & etc.. they can go through the nipple, through the under arm, through the belly button, etc. I'm not from there, so I can't recommend any doctors, but california has some of the best!! in regards to tummy tucks, i'm not too familiar with those.. but again, cali has some of the best plastic surgeons around, so you'll be in good hands. wish you the best with your surgeries! i feel that i should mention that there are natural methods of enhancing your bust.. massage, "boobie butters", taking certain herbs (wild yam extract, fennugreek, evening primrose oil, etc).. also caffiene is terrible for breast growth, so if you drink any or eat anything with caffiene, you should stop. there's also forums out there for women looking to increase their bust naturally.. i've also posted links to some stuff on natural breast enhancement if you care to look it up. there's also the Noogleberry.. you can google it & i've posted it in various places on this site as well. noogleberry is basically like a penis pump... except it's for boobs. lol the idea is that you draw blood & cause swelling to your boobs & over time it makes them bigger, naturally. it really does work! they have pictures on their website of transgendered male to females who have used it to grow their breasts naturally.. one of 'em even has like D cups. in regards to saggy skin... there's things you can do to help.. take MSM (it's a sulfur compound derrived from rain water), skin brush- it helps get rid of dead skin cells & force new ones to start growing), eat things high in collagen, because collagen is what gives your skin it's elasticity.. there's some good low carb foods high in collagen, like blueberries... and of course, keep your skin moisturized. they sell a great MSM lotion on Amazon & it has all sorts of other beneficial oils in it, that are not harmful & the lotion isn't greasy & it is unscented. it's got shea butter, sunflower seed oil, olive leaf extract, aloe vera, grape seed extract, evening primrose oil & Vitamin e- the real kind, not the synthetic. wish you the best with everything & congrats on your weight loss!

one workout that i love doing.. er.. USED to love.. is with Gilad.. he was fun & always thanked me for trusting him with my body. lol he also has been on TV since the 1980's & i figure if you're on TV that long in the fitness world, what you're doing must be working for people.. so... his workouts are easily modified, if you're too heavy or whatever & usually the only things he may have are dumbells or a step system.. which you don't HAVE to use.. in regards to dumbells, you can use canned food or something if you don't have any. lol and he gets you moving and whatnot.. i really enjoyed his workouts. he has DVD's you can rent on Netflix, too.. if you have that. there's a plethora of stuff on there.. belly dancing, yoga, etc. ddp yoga is supposed to be zero impact on your joints.. so may look into that... i've been wanting to get it for a long time. lol this guy below used DDP Yoga & went from being a disabled veteran that couldn't walk without assistance to being able to walk again freely... he was a paratrooper (and that is really hard on your feet, knees, back & shoulders!) here's an article about him from huffington post. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/04/arthur-boorman-veteran-walks-again-yoga_n_1478847.html

that's awesome! you're doing a great job! you really can see a big difference!

i got my passport in like a month & i didn't even order it to be rushed. it was 120 something bucks @ the post office. you've waited this long. what's 1 more month going to hurt? lol

glass toys are awesome! in regards to the coldness.. they are cold. lol but that's not so bad, they can easily be warmed up by running them under warm Water or by your own body heat. they warm up pretty fast & retain the heat pretty well. you can also stick them in the freezer, if you're into that (hey, some people are- i'm not one, but whatever floats your boat!).. they are also non-porous, so that means that they won't be harboring or holding on to any weird bacteria.. so less risk of infections.. they clean up really easily.. you can wash 'em with plain old soap & water or even toss them in the dish washer or dunk 'em in bleach or whatever. heck, sulfuric acid won't even destroy them, because glass is non-porous! lol woo hoo! another awesome thing about them (in my opinion) is that they have a nice weight to them. it makes for an interesting sensation. once you buy one, it's yours for the rest of your life. unless you break it, it's not going to have to be thrown away & over the long haul, it's a good investment. they also come in pretty colors and some of them even have actual gold in them! you can also buy ones that vibrate, if that's what'd you like. the wooden ones don't have splinters. they're sanded down very fine & smooth. they used them since way back when. lol the emperor of china's concubines used to stick wooden eggs up their vaginas to train their vaginal muscles with.. they also had metal & wooden dildoes.. they had them all over the place.. you can research for yourself.. they made them out of everything from bamboo to ivory to jade & metal. in fact, they still sell jade eggs.. i have a set myself! lol and chrome ones, too! lol anywho, you'll get your drive back. that's one of many good things you can look forward to! <3

one thing that i have seen on shows, like the biggest loser & also read on forums & stuff (like bodybuilding.com & etc) over the years is that when you eat such low calories (like after WLS) sometimes your body will stall up, because it's not getting enough food. it is trying to retain nutrients & with WLS it's probably in "starvation mode".. so anything you eat, it's going "this is MINE, DAMMIT!!!!" lol and that's why you're not losing.. so what they do to get you past that is what COsleeveDude said.. eat a little more calories & fat & stuff, so your body isn't going "OMIGOD I NEED FOOD" lol. then when you do that, it'll be going "oh yeah, that hits the spot!" and you'll drop weight. losing muscle is really a bad deal. if you wanna have the sexy toned arms & legs & butt & all that, you need muscles. if you don't exercise, maybe look into using some exercise bands or something.. i know most women are scared to use weights when they work out, because they fear muscles.. here's a great article about how to get a hot body for a female via weight lifting & exercise: http://www.t-nation....e.do?id=1305014 i'm a girl, too btw. wish you the best & much success! here's some inspiration for ya: http://bariatric.sus...d-julie-hedges/

one thing you could do is switch to snoos (i think that's how it's spelled). that is at least LESS likely to cause you cancer in your mouth. it comes in little packets & they strain the tar & junk out of it.. my dad uses that... and he doesn't spit it out. maybe a start to weening you off of it. in any case, i wish you the best & think it's awesome that you've lost 140lb! that is AWESOME! keep up the good work!

Protein, etc.. i started putting my info in & it shows me all the stuff that i'm eating & what it has in it. if you know of something better, i'd like to see it, too! i just sorta happened across this & thought i'd share it with everyone.

thank you it doesn't break down the nutrients like cron-o-meter does, though.. so you make sure you get all your Vitamins & whatnot. but i signed up for it & put in my info!

Garden of Life, RAW PROTEIN.. 17g protein, 80 calories, 3g carbs, 1g fat, less than 1g of sugar.. dairy free, soy free, whey free & has live probiotics.

wow that's awesome! you have some guts! india is really up & coming in the medical department, so i have confidence in you! if you're confident in your surgeon, that's the main thing! being there must be pretty cool! i bet it's beautiful! good luck to you!

look up: skin brushing - it helps remove/exfoliate dead skin & force regeneration of new skin.. collagen - eat foods high in collagen.. blueberries, for example.. are low carb & have a lot of collagen in them. collagen is what gives your skin it's elasticity. MSM - taking MSM (powder form, while gross is cheaper & more effective, because you can take whatever dosage you need).. MSM is a natural sulfur (no smell) that is made from rain Water. it lubricates the joints & also makes skin very supple & soft. they use it on horses, too.. like race horses.. to help with their joints. exercise - weight train, to build muscle/tone & make less space for skin to sag. hot/cold showers - dunno what effect that has, but it's something to look into, as a lot of people swear by it. moisturize - keep your skin moisturized. they have MSM lotion on Amazon. it's got all sorts of other oils in it & isn't greasy or anything like that.. and no pthalates & etc.. pray - if you're religious, just pray for some good, tight skin! lol videos: http://www.youtube.com/lovingraw << this guy has a video on saggy skin. he was 400lb, lost it all (naturally) and he explains what he did in regards to saggy skin (he doesn't have much, if any) hope that helps. <3 wish you the best!

you can try green smoothies and juicing, too!

keep full with Water i fasted for a week, where i ate nothing & only drank water... if you fill up on water, it's not AS bad... still sucks, of course.. but not AS bad.

the majority of my family works in various hospitals around the nation.. from what my understanding is.. with any human body part.. they put in a furnace & burn it.. like cremation.. lol same thing they do with people's limbs when they get cut off or other body parts (ie breasts for mastectomies due to cancer, extra skin from skin surgeries, etc).. that way if there's any diseases, they don't spread.. and because it's easier to dispose of ash than a bunch of body parts.. but i'm not 100% sure.. that's just what i've been told is done with human body parts. i guess they may biopsy some stuff if need be.. or do tests.. but it probably depends on the needs of the person.

i'm just curious. i've read some people say between 700-900 i used to bodybuild & was a competetive athlete.. all my trainers and nutrition people and doctors always said that you have to get in 1500-2000 calories a day.. and that you can damage your body if you go below that.. because of starvation & it causes your body to put on weight & etc.. so if that's the case, how does wls work? lol i mean, that last bit is a rhetorical question.. but for so long it's been drilled into my head that you have to eat xyz amount of calories, Protein and blah blah.. so i'm curious how many calories you have per day, on average, as well as your other nutrients.. like carbs, protein, fat, sugar, etc.. what are your personal limits or guidelines that your doctor wants you to follow? if you can't put an exact number, that's okay.. can you please guesstimate? thanks for your time!

i have!! i have been really looking into all the different kinds of stuff that can be done & i think that would be awesome. i just worry that it's not legal here in the states & if i go to Mexico or canada or europe or wherever to get one put in, what if it pops or something?.. lol i'd have to go to the ER & try to explain why there's a silicone balloon in my belly.. "NO, Doc, i wasn't trying to eat that breast implant, i swear!!!" lol

thank you for sharing your story! i'm so sorry you are having to go through this. i hope everything will turn out for the best for you! bless your heart!

lmao.. that reminds me of a song...