hopeliveshere

I originally had joined dailystrength a few years ago with this handle. My bf was in active addiction to alcohol/cocaine/ prescription pills and i made it b/c even though his family had given up on him, hope still lived within me that he would come through it. Today he is 20 months sober after 30 years of active addiciton.
Now, hopeliveshere, signifies my new start, i have hope that i will overcome obesity.

i have pretty thick hair at around 3 months my hair started thinning on the sides and i had to stop using my eyelash curler b/c when i did my lashes would just crumble.
ive been taking Biotin since end of march (5000 units i believe). Hair loss is still about the same, i get at least a brush full everyday plus its always all over the inside of my jacket. but as of last night my eyelashes have finally seemed to regain their strength.
i agree with bufflehead, toppix is a great product to use and comes in a variety of colors

well said!

Lately, I have had a few people send me PM's with this question and it is an oft posted thread to which I usually reply with a summarized version of this, but this has been my basic plan over the last 3 years, so I thought I would post a recent reply to a PM here:
As far as the few days after surgery, I'm not going to lie to you. It is tough. The whole first month. You are drinking your meals for the first couple weeks and then soft foods after. I often whined to my wife, "I just want something with texture in my mouth!!!" About a month out, like so many others, I questioned, "What the HELL have I done to myself!!??" But, for me, the bottom line was to just keep putting one foot in front of the other and do the next right thing. These feelings subsided as the scale began to move and I adopted a new method of eating.
As far as what I have done since then ... well ... that is a huge question with a very lengthy response. If you are viewing from a web browser, you can hover over my name and a pop up will show. From there, you can select My Content and read the hundreds of threads I have responded on. But in a nutshell, I followed the guidelines closely. Those are:
Don't drink just before, during or immediately after eating (it is difficult at first, but you get used to it)
Take smaller bites
Chew ridiculously well
Put the utensil down in between bites
Evaluate how that bite felt. How does my stomach feel? Stop eating one bite before you are full. You are going to learn a new definition of what being full means, so you need to take the time to figure this out.
Exercise. Find something which will get your heart pumping up in your target heart range for weight loss. If you are going to take the time to exercise, then make it worth your while.
Only weigh once a month. If you can't do that, then no more than once a week. DO NOT WEIGHT DAILY!!! This only leads to disappointment as there is no way to lose everyday. You will have stalls. This is a normal way your body is going to react to the drastic reduction in caloric intake. So many folks get discouraged and cry over a tub of ice cream. Self sabotage is our killer.
Don't eat processed foods. Take the time to learn how to prepare nutritionally balanced meals. Only eat things which are nutritionally relevant. Use a food tracking software (MyFitnessPal) and track everything that goes into your mouth until you find your groove.
Understand your motivation for everything you put into your mouth. Why am I eating right now? Is it because I am hungry or am I eating for some other reason? Bored ... tired ... angry ... lonely? Try to only eat when your body need nutrition.
Get the sleep your body needs. If is so much easier to make the next right move when our bodies are well rested.
Stay active in a support group, whether here on BariatricPal or a local WLS support group. It is easy to forget where we came from once things start going well and we may fall back into old habits.
Remember that you are important. Give yourself permission to make yourself a priority in your life. Sometimes, at the minor cost of someone else. Don't make things more difficult by not setting yourself up for success.
Do I do all of this perfectly? No, but these are my guidelines to which I strive for. I've been maintaining for over 2 years now and this has been a lifestyle I feel I can maintain.

@@optasia
i am doing great
thanx for asking
any happier i would pop my cork
i am 2.5 yrs PO
reached goal one year PO after losing 105 lbs
no more diabetes/insulin/meds
high blood pressure and CPAP gone too
my epilepsy dosage has been cut in 1/2
thats the BEST health issue that happened because of losing weight
you/me/we all MUST consider to watch what, how much we eat always, forever and a day
drink Water properly et al
this is a lifetime change
you MUST continue all your hard work for the rest of your healthier, happier, longer life
IMO rules are meant to be followed always to maintain your health, happiness and weight loss
losing the weight - we've all been there done that
its the keeping the weight off thats hard
with the help of the sleeve and your diligence - you/me/we should/will all be successful
you work with the sleeve - and the sleeve will work for you
good luck with pending surgery
kathy

I would contact a dermatologist if you can afford it (most health insurance will not pay for hair loss). They are the ones who are experts in this area.
Biotin is supposed to help with hair regrowth -- but it won't stop it falling out.
If you aren't already, check out fill in fibers such as Toppik or Nanogen to cover up that bald spot. They really do work well!

So, I've gotten some great advice & learned from some great mentors here on BP. This is what I I follow...
The best advice I've ever received (and I live by it):
1) UNDER-EAT YOUR SLEEVE
..... "I can eat 1cup of rice. Is that to much"... Well, yeah. If your doc tells you 1/2 cup of food, why are you even putting a cup in front of you???
Other great advice:
2)Water Water WATER
3)you aren't a naturally thin person, don't try to live like one.

This is so personal but I am going to share anyway...
I have had a drain in my side for a few weeks and the darn thing is right at my bra line. So if I have to get dressed I need help to get one on because if I do it myself I twist it around my body and look out..not interested in that much pain. So I called my daughter into the room and asked her to hook me up in the back on the last hooks so it would not be tight to my skin. Well I diligently packed the girls in the bra and she set out to fashion the clips. When i was done she said there you go all set...
Pause.....Mom you have not put the girls in there yet....They are still out and on the loose she said. I was sure they were hidden away..But no they were peaking out of the protective armor I had put on...I should have been horrified like I always am..But the two of us laughed ourselves silly at the thoughts that were running through our heads.....
Body image is just that. Even if we were older without weight as an issue we would be sagging somewhere... You know the expression ( gravity works ) well it is true in all cases of the human body...I am not even thinking about plastics for my girls because I can roll them up and tuck them away hopefully. We are who we are.
Remember when you were twenty and you wished you were smaller, had a rounder or slimmer look to you or a smaller nose...We will always have that surrounding us because that is life the new way society depicts us....I loved this little story, which I will share...
A very popular make up artist who has done thousands of famous peoples makeup said that every woman who sits in her chair speaks negatively about her face, hair and looks. They apologize to her before she even takes up her brushes and begins to work with them. She said there is only 2 types of people who do not beat themselves up when they sit in her chair. That is a over worked mother who has no time to look at herself and spend time degrading herself or a client who is maybe a 90 year old woman who comes in and says I got a gift for a makeover I am so excited...
She said is this what it takes to make you happy? She said she never makes them into something they are not but brings out the beauty that they already possess. You already have wonderful beauty it just has to be found and looked at in a different way then we are taught to see ourselves.....
Remember what your mamma always said.. (Beauty is skin deep) But a great person who gives in life and focuses on what they can do to make things better lasts forever.......
I am not saying that I won't get surgery eventually. But I will do what I can and see myself as someone who can try to change the way people view WLS..Ring some bells and make some cracks in the walls of abuse....Me I can wear spandex until something else comes along......
Jane

Going thru this process I have been taking a mental/emotional journey. Why am I so fat? Why do I eat each meal like it’s my last? What’s with all the rage all the time? Why am I using food to feed my soul?
In another thread about how people will say having surgery is an easy way out made me remember my past thoughts on wls. A few years ago three people within mere months had wls. And all I could think was that same old bullshit ‘taking the easy way out’ ‘just eat less and workout more’ ‘it isn’t going to work because people have regained the weight so you’re wasting your time’. Funny thing is I actually knew NO ONE that had actually regained the weight, just heard stories. I knew NOTHING about the surgeries. I had NO facts to make an intelligent decision about it. So I base my highly unintelligent opinion on NOTHING!!!
Now that I am here, going thru my checklist of items I need to accomplish in order to get a surgery date, I reflect back. How many other times have I spouted off with my mouth on stuff I didn’t know about? Who the hell am I to judge anyone? I am no one special. Have I walked the proverbial mile in their shoes? No I didn’t.
So I am thinking that maybe I need to STFU way more and show more compassion to my fellow human beings. Granted if you asked people that know me, they wouldn’t say I am anywhere near as bad as I am painting myself right now. A lot of it is internal thoughts and feelings that I don't say. But I think with a more positive aura, I think I would be a better person.
I saw a Pinterest sign ‘Everyone is trying to fight their own battles, try not to be a c*nt’. So that is what I am trying not to do-not be a c*nt to other people and myself. And maybe if I wasn’t so harsh on myself, I may not have such an issue with food…..
Just my random thoughts~

On Thursday 5/22/2014, I have a nutrition appointment. I am coming into five months out and am having the same issue. I have already two long stalls. First one during my entire fourth month. That one finally broke and I went down a few more pounds. Now I am in another stall. One thing I am going to address with her is that I feel like I am back in my pre-bariatric life where I am constantly seeking a remedy that will help me lose weight.

The nutritionist has me on 80 grams of Protein and 64 ounces of Water. On my own for the last week or so, I am trying to get in 100 grams of Protein with 100 ounces of fluids to wash it down. Guess what? Nothing - I am still getting nothing! And it is hard to pull off because there are only so many hours a day, and my calorie limit is 800 per day. 800 calories is not enough to fuel my exercise program porperly. The devil himself must live inside fat cells and will not concede without a knock-down-drag-out brawl in the kitchen.

If I come back from this appointment with new knowledge and encouragement, I will post an update to share the results with the forum. I wish you good luck and good health.

im just over 6 months out and it seems like the first 50 lbs came off so easily, now its a task to lost even a pound a week. i managed to lose 8 lbs in the month of april. i have only lost 2 lbs since the beginning of may. i dont know what to do. i keep trying to adjust my calories and swap Protein Shakes in place of meals....please tell me my body isnt done losing weight yet!
any advice would be appreciated.
my activity level is about 30 mins a day

Franken' Belly because my surgical scars look like Frankenstein.

I call mine Justin, cause it is "bringing skinny back" LOL!

When I'm hungry I say "my tube is empty " lol

Haven't named mine yet! But love the idea.
I think my tummy would say u can call me anything just not late for dinner!!!

Soooo if my new tummy doesn't like something... Can I say Stevie Nixed it??

I'm so proud of myself! I hit two milestones this morning. I was Sleeved on 3/04/14. My starting weight was 299, my starting BMI was over 50. Today, 9 weeks later, I hit the half-way point to my goal and my BMI is now just under 40. (Down 64.5lbs, and BMI down over 10.) Good job me!

I originally had joined dailystrength a few years ago with this handle. My bf was in active addiction to alcohol/cocaine/ prescription pills and i made it b/c even though his family had given up on him, hope still lived within me that he would come through it. Today he is 20 months sober after 30 years of active addiciton.
Now, hopeliveshere, signifies my new start, i have hope that i will overcome obesity.

I think everyone has their own list of sliders. I found out early on (lapband from 2009, sleeve revision 9 mths ago) that I can eat an endless amt of popcorn, chips, and cheese Its. But Cookies, ice cream, shakes, candy, etc I can only eat a couple bites of. Not sure why most people can eat tons of ice cream but if I eat more than say, 4 bites, I will most likely vomit. Or at the very least be extremely uncomfortable for a few hrs.
U live and learn everyday with wls. Some things that others don't consider as slider will be for u. And the opposite is also true - u may not consider something a slider that others do.
Not sure if there's an actual list becuz it's so personal.
Good luck!

Figured the powder Room was a good place for this....
As a WTG gift to myself, I've scheduled a boudoir photo session next week with a really amazing photographer. I've seen many women on this site list this as a reward for themselves-- I thought this was a brilliant idea... Something to make you feel beautiful and sexy--- but now I just feel nervous. haha. I'm wondering how Ill explain that I don't want to accentuate my batwings or loose skin??? lol
And now I've been practicing my "sexy face"... Yeah, not so sexy. lol
Good luck to me!

I originally had joined dailystrength a few years ago with this handle. My bf was in active addiction to alcohol/cocaine/ prescription pills and i made it b/c even though his family had given up on him, hope still lived within me that he would come through it. Today he is 20 months sober after 30 years of active addiciton.
Now, hopeliveshere, signifies my new start, i have hope that i will overcome obesity.

Im ecstatic. I am officially in onederland weighing in at 198.6! i am so proud of myself. its been 10+ years since i stepped on the scale and the number didnt start with a 2.....WOO HOO!

Im ecstatic. I am officially in onederland weighing in at 198.6! i am so proud of myself. its been 10+ years since i stepped on the scale and the number didnt start with a 2.....WOO HOO!

Im ecstatic. I am officially in onederland weighing in at 198.6! i am so proud of myself. its been 10+ years since i stepped on the scale and the number didnt start with a 2.....WOO HOO!

Im ecstatic. I am officially in onederland weighing in at 198.6! i am so proud of myself. its been 10+ years since i stepped on the scale and the number didnt start with a 2.....WOO HOO!