princesstia

http://www.amazon.com/Neocell-Super-Powder-Collagen-Ounce/dp/B0011DJ71I/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1371678809&sr=8-1&keywords=collagen+powder this is the link to the exact brand i use. You can also get this brand out of GNC but i don't think you'll beat the price. It helps with so many things. I previously had back pain that has subsided since taking, my hair loss has been little to none, and my skin does not sag at all after 70 pounds of weight loss. It will definitely be a lifelong supplement for me.

I def think its the working out. The scale isnt moving but muscles are definitely starting to form and flexbility has greatly increased! I'm working out every single day. My body feels awkward if i miss a day. I sweat like crazy, and I'm sore in some area or another every single day so I know I'm definitely building muscle. One thing I do is take a scoop of collagen with my Protein shake every single morning. I honestly believe it has helped greatly with my muscle recovery time, the elasticity of my skin, and the overall glow of my skin. I defintiely see my strength progessing and my body becoming more and more comfortable with working out, but after being overweight for so long, the normal feeling is to think you will never get to goal weight. I am not going to stop until I reach goal weight but it definitely is a roller coaster ride of emotions when your giving it 100% and see no scale victories.. damn that scale!

I said I'd try not measuring and weighing myself. But let me tell you, the inches are definitely leaving. Im in a size 12/13 starting from a size 18. I've given away all my clothes. The bikini i tried on is an extra large top and medium bottom. For some reason, my boobies just won't go! But thank you! I have to just keep working at it and stop looking at the scale!

I am officially 6 months post op tomorrow and i am down 71 pounds. Starting weight: 256 Current weight: 185 Goal weight: 140-150 (depending on how i look at 150) I said i wanted to get into a bikini by 6 months.. and honey I did. Didn't say I would wear it... just wanted to get into it! At a terrible stall however. I've not recorded a lost in an entire month. I'm working out every single day (even see my abs starting to form) and the scale just won't move. At first I thought it was Water weight. Now I just have no clue! Anyone have any suggestions on how to jumpstart this weight loss again?!?!? If not, I'm going to have to try the pouch test.

I was sleeved 12/20 so it'll actually be 6 months post op tomorrow and boy have i stalled as well. Ive lost a total of 71 pounds since surgery and I have 40 more pounds to go. I am going to try the pouch test and hopefully boost my loss back up. I've been exercising every single day with no off days and eating pretty good for the most part aside from these crazy sugar cravings. Does anyone have any other tips to get things moving again?

I was sleeved 12/20 so it'll actually be 6 months post op tomorrow and boy have i stalled as well. Ive lost a total of 71 pounds since surgery and I have 40 more pounds to go. I am going to try the pouch test and hopefully boost my loss back up. I've been exercising every single day with no off days and eating pretty good for the most part aside from these crazy sugar cravings. Does anyone have any other tips to get things moving again?

i am beginning P90X on may 27th (to get a sunday rest day) and i have to say all these things are correct. I got through 46 days of P90X back in 2010 and only in that short time had gotten waaaay stronger lost so many inches. However it was very hard to get through the workouts because they do tear down some serious muscle and recovery took so long because i was not taking advantage of that window nor getting the proper amount of protein to rebuild (hence why I only got through 46 days). As I have educated myself post op as far as nutrition and all the great info sharing this forum has to offer, I feel better equipped to start and complete the program. We'll be on our journey together

Great insight. Was wondering where you purchase the tonic alchemy green drink. any links to that? I'd love to incorporate a green drink instead of juicing a bad of spinach a day

december 20th 2012

I saw that thread and have been looking into them. I juice right now so it would be great to substitute going to the farmers market twice per week with some superfood powder. I have liquid vitamins that I've never used before. A guy bought them for me but they were super expensive. I don't think i can keep replacing them.

I have an appointment to come in and get some blood work done so i'm interested to see if anything is lacking.

So i'm 5 months out and am having an extremely hard time getting ALL my vitamins in everyday. I have my mutli vitamin, calcium, iron, vitamin d, vitamin b12, biotin, garlic oil, and MSM. But literally between trying to eat small meals, get in all my protein and water, and take the vitamins, i usually come up short. I try and take a few with each meal, but honestly i dont even eat enough meals in a day to get them all in that way. Was wondering if you guys had any strategies on how you get them all in each day. I've been extremely tired lately and feel this is due to not getting the proper amount of vitamins each day.

I'm almost 5 months out and i'm definitely hungry. I find myself craving carbs and sugar so i figured maybe its that time of the month. I try and drink water when i have this feeling. because when i get hungry ill try and eat something and my eyes are bigger than my stomach and i end up wasting most of it.

Im having the same problem but i know it's because of my water consumption. im only getting in about 40oz per day and im nearly 5 months out! i was also told to incorporate vitamin b12 into my dailys. i wasnt doing that before.

you look awesome! my inspiration!!!!

i'm having two possible issues right now and im scared because of it! first the scale went up by 4 pounds. Not sure if my body is retaining water or if im doing something completely wrong. My period was due to come on may 11th and no sign of it yet. so im also afraid that i may be pregnant. Lord please no! If I'm not pregnant, and my period is just late, I'm hoping that the 4 pound gain is due to that. I've not seen a jump in the positive direction on the scale since before surgery. That freaked me out. But what's even more scary is the possible reason it could have jumped. Emotional wreck right now. any thoughts?

for my shampoo and conditioner i use of combination of MSM shampoo and Garlic Oil Shampoo.. here are the links to them: MSM shampoo: http://www.luckyvitamin.com/p-19339-trimedica-msm-shampoo-8-oz Garlic Shampoo: http://www.amazon.com/MBP-Alopecil-Garlic-Shampoo-Vitamin/dp/B000UOG3E8/ref=sr_1_1?s=beauty&ie=UTF8&qid=1368454232&sr=1-1&keywords=alopecil+garlic+oil+shampoo for condition I use MSM conditioner: http://www.vitacost.com/TriMedica-MSM-Conditioner for supplements I take garlic oil, msm, hairfinity hair pills, along with the other perscribed Vitamins my doctor needs me to take. Here are the links to them: hairfinity: http://www.hairfinity.com/Order.htm garlic oil: http://www.amazon.com/Odorless-Garlic-1000-Twin-Pack/dp/B001QRZ0LK/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1368454535&sr=8-2&keywords=garlic+oil+pills msm: http://www.amazon.com/Doctors-Best-1500-Tablets-120-Count/dp/B000NRXNRC/ref=sr_1_1?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1368454550&sr=1-1&keywords=msm biotin: http://www.amazon.com/Natures-Bounty-Potency-5000mcg-60-Count/dp/B001G7QYGU/ref=sr_1_3?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1368454571&sr=1-3&keywords=Biotin i also mix a scoop of collagen in my Protein shakes: http://www.amazon.com/NeoCell-Super-Collagen-Powder-III/dp/B002OGVI0O/ref=sr_1_7?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1368454760&sr=1-7&keywords=collagen+powder I also massage a specially formulated oil into my hair 3 times per week before styling. I wear braids most of the time so i just oil my scalp with it. The ingredients to make an 8ounce applicator bottle full are: 2oz Extra virgin olive oil 2oz jamaican black castor oil 2oz jojoba oil 1oz grapeseed oil 20 drops of peppermint oil 20 drops of tea tree oil 20 drops of rosemary oil The products i included are the actual products I use. Hope this helps everyone!

Many of you may or may not know that i'm a hairfanatic! Not in the usual sense, but a serious, can tell you the chemical breakdown and properties of hair and all type hairfanatic! I had the surgery on Thursday, December 20, 2012, and because I am such the hair fanatic I am, this was the one downfall that almost turned me away from this awesomeness I'm experiencing. With that said, I did tons of research on different supplements and their properties and have figured out how to keep our hair after WLS. I'm almost 5 months post op, have followed the below regimen to a tee, and have about 2 new inches of hair growth. No thinning and no shedding at all. Before I begin, please visit my hair blog thehairyfairy.blogspot.com for more in depth info, but here's the skinny on how hair works! Understanding You Hair: Hair grows about 1/2 in per month. In order to keep and maintain hair, one must do things: Increase growth rate and prevent shedding. The hair strands in your head are in 1 of 3 phases at all times: the Anagen phase is the growth phase. Most hairs are in this stage. Short hair usually results from short Anagen phases. The Catogen phase follows this stage and its sort of the transitioning phase that prepares the hair follicle to shrink and allows the hair strand to enter resting phase. Finally you have the telogen phase which is the resting stage where no hair grows at all and the old strand is pushed out and the new strand re-enters the anaogen phase. This is important because the tendency for hair to be in each of these stages influences how long the hair will actually be able to grow before it sheds and starts a new cycle. With pregnancy, many women experience hair growth because all hairs kick into the anagen phase and hair is growing continually for the duration of pregnancy. Protein is what keeps this cycle going. For WLS patients, many experience hair loss because the reduction in protein slows this cycle and much of the hair is kicked into the Telogen (shedding) phase. Fortunately for us, the solution awaits... MSM First and foremost everyone should add some form of MSM (METHYLSULFONYLMETHANE) into their diets after weight loss surgery. You can google it and find a wealth of health benefits, but in short it's a sulfur compound that our body needs but can only take in from food sources. Unfortunately because of the way food is processed much of the sulfur contained in it is broken down so we don't get the proper amount we need. MSM has been used to treat joint and arthritis pain, alergies, digestive disorders, etc. But it is also the miracle beauty drug as it helps to synthesize Proteins in the hair skin and nails. In hair particularly, it increases the anagen phase of hair allowing hair to grow longer and for a longer period of time. A truly great hair supplement will have some amount of msm in it for this reason. MSM helps us WLS patients to keep our hair strands in that growth phase and out of that dreaded shedding phase. Collagen Collagen is also another key item we should all have in our diets. Collagen increases skin elasticity, smoothes away scars, and regenerates hair and nails. Collagen makes up 25% of the body's protein and is used particularly for hair loss because it supports the body's hair building protein. It is also one of those beauty drugs that targets many of the problems associated with WLS including hair loss, saggin skin, and protein loss. If your looking for something to help hair growth and keep your skin in snap-back mode, this product will not let you down! Garlic Oil I cannot stress enough, garlic oil is the key to our problem! Garlic oil is great for a healthy heart, but unknown to many, is the number one natural product people with alopecia use to combat hair loss. Garlic oil prevents shedding. GARLIC OIL PREVENTS SHEDDING. Every product I own contains garlic - shampoo, conditioner, and hot oil treatments. The garlic extracts increases the blood flow in the scalp, thus allowing more oxygen to circulate the proper amount of nutrients to the hair follicle. Msm and garlic working together allows for hair to grow longer and stronger without shedding. Use garlic oil as a supplement and topically. There are great odorless garlic supplements and I take about 4000mcg daily and you would never know it! I also give myself garlic hot oil treatments monthly, and wash my hair bi weekly with garlic shampoo and conditioner. Biotin For obvious reasons, Biotin should be included. Everyone has a wealth of information on Biotin, but why many people fail using Biotin is because they use it as a standalone. Biotin works well with other supplements as far as growing the hair, but alone, they do little to keep hair from coming out. Hair will grow, but the strands due to shed will shed. Every hair supplement you buy if its worth anything will contain Biotin and MSM. But they are best used as stand alone products together because the dosage of each is so much higher. I'm not the expert.. don't get me wrong. This is my approach to combatting hair loss during this incredible journey, and thus far, it has worked! If anyone is interested in specific brands for the items above or regimens, PM me. I'd be happy to help. I love hair and would do anything to help my fellow WLS friends keep theirs too!

you could be right! when i first started doing it my mom kept asking if i was prego.. im like no, its just what i want. I def need to keep in moderation tho.

When first getting the surgery, people told me my palette would change. However, being almost 5 months post op, my appetite has switched back into full gear and I'm having the weirdest craving.. Watermelon and Funyons, together, have become a favorite of mines. I use to love the 2 prior to surgery, but now when i see watermelon, i immediately want the funyuns with them and vice versa. Not only does it taste like everything i ever wanted in life, but it also goes down with no problem and i feel satisfied. Anything else i eat, aside from shakes and water, i can get 2.5 bites in and im done. With the funyuns, i can eat an entire (small) bad and about 1/2 a cup of watermelon. I really gotta get the chips under control. odd combo, but when i'm really having a craving this 120 calorie bag of chips and 35 calorie 1/2 cup of watermelon really does the trick... I probably eat this maybe once every 3 days.

are you in the socal area? if so, i'd like to get that deal as well. Do you have a link to it?

that happens to me periodically after I finish a crossfit session and for the life of me I couldnt figure out why. Would love to hear others chime in

I've been using collagen for the last 2 months (powder form) and am in love with it. Collagen has so many benefits! I've noticed my skin is snapping back like nobody's business, my hair nails and skin is becoming so healthy and my cravings are extremely reduced. I enjoy the powder form for better absorption however.. Good luck! you'll love it!

Your welcome.. Slow and steady wins the race. I wouldn't mind losing slowly. Give my skin a chance to bounce back as well!

I also agree with this. If this Water pill doesnt work for me, i carb up then go do some cardio like crazy, and man! my body is like "what have you done to me" lol