nyxa

yeah... i've read quite a few on here say that they become lactose intolerant.. but no worries, because there's a variety of "milk" out there.. there's soy milk, almond milk, cashew milk, hemp milk, rice milk, etc.. if you like the taste of milk, i think rice milk is the closest out of the ones i've tasted. Protein wise, hemp, soy & almond are pretty good. almond milk is yummy, too. they come in different flavors, as well & have Vitamin D in them, just like milk.. there's also rice cheeses.. you could just look into vegan options for dairy products. they have "nice creams" and "cheeze".. cream cheese, etc. you wouldn't be "missing" anything, just changing how you do it.
i lost 80lb in 6 months just by cutting meat & dairy out of my diet.. i ate everything i wanted, including bread & chocolate (dark) everyday and had tacos and "burgers" and etc.. lost 80lb.. and i didn't exercise.
just saying that to show you that there's nothing to fear. losing dairy may not be what you're used to, but it could end up helping you shed extra pounds & get to your goal.

i'm not a post op sleever, but i would look at stores online as well as ebay & stuff. maybe hop down to a thrift store or good will & buy clothes in various sizes, as backups "just in case" your feet may also shrink, so you might have to get some shoes, too.
anyways, congratulations!!! hope you guys have fun on your cruise! it'll definitely be exciting & worth it!! have you all decided where you're going?
i do know what you mean about the seat belt. those flight attendants can be pretty thoughtless.. when i went to korea & japan & had to ride in a smaller plane (for travel inside those countries), i had to ask for an extension & i would sneak up to the flight attendant as covertly as i could and look around to make sure no one was listening & then i'd whisper "may i have a seat belt extension, please?" and they'd be all happy & smile & be like "sure, i'll bring one right over!" then they'd find me & hand it to me in front of everyone & be all loud like "HERE'S YOUR SEAT BELT EXTENSION" and i'd sink down into my seat, thinking "omg.. why'd she have to be so loud?" lol "doesn't she realize i was being quiet & covert for a reason?!" lol

Just my first marriage. After that I retired winless.

not quitting smoking could be really detrimental to your surgery, so i'd honestly at least try to quit. i've seen some surgeries where people didn't stop smoking & it messes with your healing time, your skin as well as other stuff.. it's not pretty.
"Smoking does two things in terms of the cardiovascular system that anesthesiologists area concerned about. First, smoking increases the amount of carbon monoxide attached to hemoglobin in the blood. This has the effect of decreasing oxygen supply. Carbon monoxide also makes the heart pump more poorly, also decreasing the amount of oxygen that is delivered to the body. Second, nicotine increases the amount of oxygen that the body needs. So, oxygen supply is being compromised at the same time that more oxygen is being utilized.
Smoking obviously also affects the lungs. Among other thigns, smoking causes an increase in the amount of mucus secreted while at the same time decreasing the ability of the lungs to clear these secretions. In addition, smoking causes the small airways in the lungs to be narrowed and more prone to collapse. The end result of these effects are an increased susceptibility to infection, chronic cough and increased chance of pulmonary complications. Lastly, smokers also have increased sensitivity to stimuli and increased bronchial reactivity, increasing the chance for bronchospasm and other life threatening pulmonary processes.
This is not just theory. There have been multiple studies confirming that smoking increases the incidence of pulmonary complications after an anesthetic as much as six times. Smoking has been shown to be an independent risk factor for complications ranging from complications of lung function to wound healing to cardiovascular events such as heart attack."
source: http://anesthesiolog...es/12012003.php
also:
Q: What specifically does smoking do to inhibit healing and recovery from surgery?
A: Nicotine closes the blood vessels responsible for bringing oxygenated blood to the tissues. In addition to its healing power, oxygen also fights infection and helps to keep tissue alive, as well as being instrumental in delivering important medications like antibiotics. Furthermore, smoking clogs the lungs, and thus increases risk of pulmonary infection such as pneumonia.
Q: What are the worst-case scenario consequences of smoking before and after surgery?
A: Smoking significantly increases the risk of severe infections, pneumonia, and tissue death.
Q: Are there specific surgeries that you will refuse to perform on a smoker?
A: Certain procedures which involve a lot of pulling or altering of blood supply would present more risk for a smoker. These procedures include face lifts, tummy tucks, and the use of tissue flaps as in reconstructive surgery.
Q: Aside from quitting entirely, how long do you recommend patients avoid smoking before and after surgery?
A: Ideally, the patient would quit altogether. However, this is obviously not going to happen with a lot of patients. Generally, it is recommended that a patient avoid smoking for at least 3 weeks before and after surgery.
Source: http://plasticsurger.../smoking_PS.htm

Congratulations on your weightloss so far! I am still pre-op and I can't wait so looking forward to joining you on the other side.... Welcome to the losers bench...

I have often wondered what the login names of people mean if you have an unusual one. Mine is a mixture of words. My coworkers and I talk in a British accent sometimes and I always say "Pip pip cheerio!"..hence Pip. I also have a rescue cat we named Talula...hence lula...put them together..and Piplula was born. Please share! I am interested in the meaning of your handle!

tatylish is a shorter version of tatylicious which is a nick name i picked up in highschool. my real name is tatyanah but since im big i like to think of my self us licous or delicious haha. so my friends jst started calling me that. i created a profile with tatylicious but lost the password and the reset never worked through my email so tatyliSH it is

COsleeveDude...
CO=Colorado, where I live, but not where I was born, hence masking my true origins...
sleeve=duh (although tatts are popular around here, but I don't have any)
Dude=I tend to call guys dude a lot, and COsleeveMan sounds like some lame superhero

Ever enter a Toughman? I might try some MMA once I'm in better shape, just for a workout.

its hard to get up and down it definitely is nice to have someone to help you it's not as easy the first week i know it wasn't for me but i also had a hernia repair so i was in a lot of pain..... but the help is always wonderful....i also agree with nyxa its nice to have mom around i know i loved it my mom and older sister were awesome and i love them n appreciate them so much more helping me at my worst....

test what exactly? it depends on your insurance requirements. it also depends on what your surgeon and pulmonary come back with. i personally was toldto quit a month before surgery. im struggling really hard and i started to take chantix in hopes of quitting. its very. very. very. hard. but i know it will be worth it in the end. healthier and a better me!!! i currently have no cigs and money to buy them so thats a start

i'm a big sci-fi buff.. one of the shows that i loved was called Farscape.. in that show, Chiana (a character) called females "nixa".. ie "hey nixa, what's up?" (she never said that, just using it in a sentence so you can see) so i just switched the i to a y.. and there's how i came up with "nyxa" when i signed up that was all i could think about for some reason.. lol short, sweet & to the point, though.. so it works.

thank you for all the great resources!! i appreciate that you took the time to find these & also to share them with everyone. that was very kind and thoughtful! the cupcake idea sounds awesome, too! thank you again!

hey guys, welcome to what, for me at least, has been the best decision I have made in a long time.
The best advice I can give to pre ops, is start looking now into the kinds of foods you should eat after surgery. I was so consumed with the pre op diet, then the liquid stage of post op Protein Shakes, that I totally forgot that I'd get to eat real food eventually.
There are some really good resources out there for us, and these are the four that are my go to recipe sites.
recipes for the whole family.
Breakfast or lunch all week.
Good luck on your journey

MSM also helps tighten loose skin. There's a guy on YouTube -- his channel is LovingRaw, if I remember correctly.. anyway.. he was 400+ lb & lost down to his goal weight with raw food & doesn't have any loose skin. he does skin brushing & eats MSM... so might want to check him out & look into those options as well.
oh.. if you eat fruits and stuff high in collagen, that helps.. collagen is what give skin it's elacticity. one high collagen berry is the blueberry!
don't forget to moisturize your skin! they have MSM lotion on Amazon. it has all sorts of healthy oils & stuff in it! and also don't forget that your skin is your biggest organ & whatever you put on it is absorbed into your bloodstream.. so be careful about what creams and stuff you use.

MSM also helps tighten loose skin. There's a guy on YouTube -- his channel is LovingRaw, if I remember correctly.. anyway.. he was 400+ lb & lost down to his goal weight with raw food & doesn't have any loose skin. he does skin brushing & eats MSM... so might want to check him out & look into those options as well.
oh.. if you eat fruits and stuff high in collagen, that helps.. collagen is what give skin it's elacticity. one high collagen berry is the blueberry!
don't forget to moisturize your skin! they have MSM lotion on Amazon. it has all sorts of healthy oils & stuff in it! and also don't forget that your skin is your biggest organ & whatever you put on it is absorbed into your bloodstream.. so be careful about what creams and stuff you use.

that's awesome! you don't even look like the same person! i'm very happy for you!

sounds awesome! i'm very happy that you had such a wonderful experience! makes it sound like a vacation, not surgery! 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
here's the link to DDP Yoga: http://www.ddpyoga.com/
Also, this guy's story is part of a movie/documentary called INSPIRED: The Movie..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Nbt_v_VS1c
here's the link to their website: http://inspiredthemovie.com/
and what the "About" section said... (I just typed it up, because it was in flash & unable to copy & paste, so please excuse any typos)
The basis for understanding what inspires each of us is first determining what we desire and what we believe is possible. By using a universal goal such as weight loss, we can better understand the concepts with a practical and clearly defined objective. As filmmakers with a strong understanding of what is possible from a weight loss perspective, we strive to depict stories of what is possible beyond what is typical, in an attempt to inspire the viewer to believe in a greater possibility for his or her own life.
INSPIRED: The Movie outlines the journey of different individuals as they follow different paths in an attempt to lose weight. Some factors relate to information associated with nutrition and exercise, and the proliferation of diet and health information that often confuse individuals trying to find a weight loss solution. Other factors we discover are a bit more abstract, as they pertain to human behavior, and how we treat goals, excuses, and environmental factors.
By offering a comprehensive look at what diets really mean, the science of human metabolism, and the factors that affect our ability to find motivation to resist temptation, we are able to offer a new hope and understanding to the iewer, and inspirfe change by illustrating what is possible at any age.
We as filmmakers believe that the first step to solving the worldiwde obesity epidemic is to provide the inspiration that leads to change at the individual level, as well as raising the awareness that we as a society are responsible for the environment we create for ourselves.
Unlike any project of it's kind, we look a each diet and exercise plan and discuss with experts the reasons such plans may or may not work. We look at the scientific basis for diets, as well as the less tangible aspects of diet plans such as Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig, to better undestand all the important factors for success. INSPIRED: The Movie, offers a unique look at what really works and why, to better equip our viewer with the proper knowledge to make informed decisions.

in regards to your boobs...
massaging stimulates growth... so.. worth a shot.. massage massage massage!
also.. there's the noogleberry.. it's worth a shot. lol http://www.noogleber...iewCat&catId=11
there's also herbs you can take that help stimulate breast growth. stuff for nursing moms, for example.. fenugreek, fennel seed, evening primrose oil, wild yam extract, etc. caffiene is bad for breasts.. so if you drink it, you may consider stopping.
here's more info on herbs: http://www.greenbush...rgirbrease.html
you could combine all of the above & end up getting your boobies back. there's natural breast growth forums you can join, too. one girl on one that i frequent got her boobs to go from a B cup to a DD & she stopped taking the stuff for a few years & the size was still there.
in regards to saggy skin.. there's a guy who lost all his weight naturally, with raw food (vegan).. he doesn't have any loose skin. he was 400 pounds & is now normal.. his secret-- besides raw food.. was that he skin brushed, which helps remove dead skin & help new skin growth.. as well as taking MSM (which is a sulfur compound made from rain Water & is natural)- it's used to lubricate joints and also helps soften skin. and he ate a lot of foods high in collagen.. like berries.. blueberries have a lot of collagen in them.. and they're also low carb..
you can find him on youtube --- http://www.youtube.com/user/lovingraw << he has a video about saggy skin.. one thing i liked about that video was that he said something like "if you're 400 lb and you're worried about having saggy skin, your head isn't in the right place.. you should be more focused on being alive and living.. worry about the skin later, when you know you're going to be alive." lol that was me paraphrasing, not his exact words. he was a lot more eloquent. lol
this guy was on the show "the doctors" as well..

here's the skin video that he did:

hope that helps you a little or at least piqued your curiosity.

there's all sorts of tea flavors out there, too.. go to a health food store & look at all the teas.. you can smell the boxes to see if it's something appetizing to you.
you could also drink Soup broth or liquid Soup, like tomato...
or get a v8 or try juicing.. carrot + granny smith apple & some Water.. that's one of my favorites.
might also try getting filters for your Water, if you don't already have them for your water.. or try locating a local well & get well water.. it tastes different than tap water or bottled water from the store.. or if you have one of those places near you that sells alkalized water, you could start drinking that. it helps alkalize your body & you can get it by the gallon.. it's only like 10 bucks a month for unlimited water.
regular tap water from the city has fluoride in it, which may be good for your teeth, but it's bad for your brain. hitler used it to make people more docile and to more easily accept what he was saying... i try to stay away from fluorinated products. there's also other chemicals in your water, which may be partially why you don't like how your water tastes & why you're reacting to it the way you are... so.. if you can afford to, i'd look into getting a *REALLY* good filtration system on your faucet.

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?

That happened at my high school graduation actually. My mother left her sweater in the car and the hall where the graduation took place was chilly. So she tried to leave to get it and they told her no re-entry. So she said, "What if I were diabetic and I had to get my insulin from my car?" The guard at the door asked, "Are you diabetic?" and my mother replied, "Do you want to take that chance?"
He let her go and come back in.

you can make your own jerkey. they sell jerkey mixes and you can read recipes online or buy recipe books for making jerkey. it's fairly simple.. just need a dehydrator.
doing that could save you some money, too.. cause you can buy meat when it's on sale & make tons of jerkey

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?