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I agree with the poster above. I love salads. That was one of the things I was sad to have to give up. About a year post op I started having them again. I will do either a spinach salad with a grilled chicken breast on top, or a spinach salad and scoop of light chicken salad. I eat the Protein first and then have a little room for a few bits of the spinach. I never do lettuce. It is completely devoid of nutritional value. I need the Iron and one way I can get it is through the spinach so I opt for that. Honestly, I've been eating that for lunch for over 2 years now and I've lost 130 pounds, so I guess it's working :-) You just have to eat the protein on it first. Also....I skip all the added things on the salad bar. You know...all the goodies that add hidden calories. Just spinach & protein. That's it.

Definitely get as much Water as you're able too. Miralax & colace can help too. I sometimes use milk of magnesia if those don't work. If your doctor thinks you need the Iron, keep taking it! I didn't and my iron and hemaglobin dropped severely low and I am having to have iron transfusions & possible blood transfusion if that doesn't work. Iron is super important! But I know how miserable that can be too! If it's been a week, miralax may not do it. It does help to keep you on track though.

My surgeon set a tentative surgery date when they submitted to insurance. They said we could reschedule if we had to appeal or anything. As long as you know all of your inusurance's requirements ahead of time and have been diligent with meeting them & documenting things, you should be good to go! Good luck!

You look amazing! And very happy. Congrats!

You are human and things happen! Just don't let it spiral out of control. Use it as a learning experience. I hope things settle down for you soon!

I can reiterate what the others have said. Every day will get a little bit better and you will soon arrive at your "new normal." I know it is hard at first....way more difficult emotionally than I expected.... But just keep going! You will get through!

I try to stay at or below 40g

Welcome! I'm sure you will find lots of good info here! Just remember to stay connected! For some reason I feel like being connected here holds me accountable in some weird way. Lots of people going through the same thing you are. Good luck on your journey. It sounds like you are off to a great start.

Welcome and good luck! It's a long road, but SO worth it in the end!

It was the hardest part of the whole journey for me! You are doing great, though! Occupy your mind with some inspiring before/after pictures or success stories! That will remind you the pain/discomfort now is So worth it!

You can also get leg cramping if you are low on Iron.

Oops...too late. Haha. Didn't see your update :-)

I don't think I would have been ready at a week. Pain wasn't really an issue for me, but just an overall lack of energy. I went back to basically a desk job at 2 weeks and would have preferred one more week. But if you tell your work it is a medical issue, hopefully they will work with you. Good luck!

I think that's pretty typical, as the poster above said. Your body basically thinks its starving and so it holds on to the fat because it doesn't know when it will get food again. Once your body quits freaking out and realizes it's not starving, the weight will fall off if you stick to the plan. However, if you have had issues in the past with self-sabotage, I would deal with that right now so it doesn't become more of an issue down the road when you can tolerate pretty much any food.

Welcome! I'm sure you will get lots of helpful information in the forums! Have you met with a dietician? They would be able to work with you to come up with a specific food plan.

It is rough, but honestly, probably the hardest part of the whole process for me! Just remember how much it sucks to go through the sugar/carb withdraw so you are not tempted to let them back in later and have to go through that again! Hang in there!

Wonderful! Congrats!!

That's awesome! Congrats! One of the best parts of this journey for me is that, while I still feel a little self-conscious, I now can walk into any exercise class I want to and not feel out of place or unable to keep up. I recently discovered barre and it is my new obsession! :-)

Wonderful! Congrats! Find some inspiring success stories to read up on while you've got the time! It will remind you of what you have to look forward to!

I definitely remember that feeling! I remember once pulling a shirt out of the dryer thinking "crap! I shrunk it!" Then I put it on and realized I just really was that small. The shirt didn't shrink, I did :-)

That may be a big part of it, but I was pretty religious about getting all my protein in once I was able to eat full foods. It can be a lot of things. Eating a lot of protein can slow it or make it not so bad, but I think it's probably going to happen to some extent anyway, kind of like after childbirth. I had some thinning but it wasn't so terrible that anyone really except myself noticed.

I don't think there is honestly a whole lot you can do to stop it. Once it stopped, around probably 7 or so months, I focused on what I could do to repair in and encourage the new regrowth. I've used a combination of Biotin supplements by mouth, with these 4 products: Shea Moisture Jamaican Black Castor Oil Strengthen, Grow & Restore Shampoo OGX Thick and Full Biotin & Collagen Weightless Heating Oil Mist Not Your Mother's Way to Grow Long & Strong Conditioner Grow Gorgeous hair Growth Serum I'm not sure what is working since I've used them all together, but my hair is growing like crazy, lots of new regrowth around the crown and a lot thicker. It cost probably about $50 at Ulta for all 4 of the products and maybe another $10 at the drugstore for the oral biotin. Hope that helps!

You inspired me to create a "bikini pics" album :-) Something I never would have thought possible before~!!