Katcloudshepherd

Hello, Don't think I qualify as a veteran, (other than military service) but that is one of my biggest concerns long term. I take all my vitamins--even taking additional supplements for my joint problems, such as Ester-C, Turmeric and Essential Fatty Acids,(EFAs). I'll have my year follow-up in December. I'm sorry I don't have any advice to offer. Wishing you better health and blessings, Kathleen

Congratulations Alex! Thank you for all you do. I think the article leaned towards the negative side regarding the lap band. It's only a tool. I give you a lot of credit because the lap band takes a great deal of discipline in order to LOSE the weight and KEEP the weight off. Blessings, Kathleen

RJ'S/beginning, I'm so happy for you. You must have an incredible amount of strength to go through what you have. I wish you the very best. Blessings, Kathleen

I wouldn't think of using ankle weights because all that extra weight I lost is what caused me so much pain in my joints. Using ankle weights won't help loose skin. I have skin hanging on my legs that actually comes from my butt! according to the nurse at the medical aesthetics business I go to for my fillers, Botox and Venus Freeze treatments. I'm 49, so IMHO, too old for exercise to help my sagging skin. I'm getting treatments on my arms and when I'm finished with them, I'll get treatments on my legs. I'm NOT attempting to advocate or advertise the Venus Freeze---I just want to say that is what I am doing. It's $200.00 per hour treatment, so I'm paying $1,000.00 for 5 treatments. Less than plastic surgery would cost but for many people that kind of thing is too expensive. I'm hoping it will be effective enough to avoid having plastic surgery. Kathleen

Camella, I've had extensive fillers, Botox and am undergoing Venus freeze on my arms. They are less expensive than plastic surgery and plastic surgery only lasts so many years. That is why so many celebrities that start using plastic surgery look so freakish over a period of time. They have one surgery, it only lasts so long, then they have another and another and then their face is all out of proportion. They have come a long way with non-surgical means to improve the appearance of the face and the rest of the body. I would add the caveat that sometimes plastic surgery is the only alternative for the legs, arms and abdomen. Good luck, Blessings, Kathleen

Bernie, I'll say a prayer for you. Hope your surgery goes well and you have an easy recovery. Blessings, Kathleen

Hello everyone, 1. You are not consuming any where near what you ate before surgery--IF you are on solid foods yet. 2. You have to drink the Water to get the bowel movements. 3. You have to MOVE to get bowel movements. 4. Protein will cause constipation and since getting the protein in is what is MOST important for WLS patients, it adds to the circumstances which lead to constipation. 5. Caffeine will help BUT dehydrates you AND most surgeons want you to stay away from it for that EXACT reason. Getting water in right after surgery is the most important thing. You have plenty of reserve energy--that's why you had WLS. I go every few days. I don't obsess over how often I go. I take a pro-biotic every day. I get my water in and exercise. I try to incorporate some kind of vegetable/fruit Fiber in my diet BUT I am almost a year out. Keep in mind that if you just had surgery, or you are not that far out, you're not going to be at the same stage as I am. Blessings, Kathleen

Adam, I hope your surgery goes well. I couldn't have said it any better than BitterSweet*. I'm 49 so I'll need some assistance with my "bat wings" and sagging skin on my legs. I have a herniated disc in my low back, a slipped disk and a 60 degree kyphosis, (C curve not S), in my upper spine. My knees are shot and need to be replaced. If you would have told me before surgery that I would have been able to NOT take any NSAIDS or pain killers after I lost a significant amount of weight----I would not have believed it. The more weight I lost, the better I felt and the less Voltarin I had to use. Voltarin is a prescription cream that works like an NSAID through the skin. My ortho docs would not prescribe any NSAIDS after I had the surgery. The Voltarin was the only thing that got me through the period of time when I was loosing weight and needed something for the pain. I also do all my exercising in the pool. I can work out VERY hard in Water but no way in heck could I do that on land. The water provides cushioning to my joints and resistance for ANY movement you are making in the water. Again I wish you well, Kathleen

bikrchk, Thanks for your comment. Yes, those habits developed after surgery are something you must continue to do to find success in your weight loss journey. I find that exercising makes me sleep SO WELL and just makes my body run more efficiently. I'm getting close to a year out and my appetite has come back but it's NOTHING like it used to be. I used to become a beotch from Hades when I was hungry before. Get the frack out of my way! Get me food now or I will hurt you! Now, I get a twinge and say sometimes out loud--"I need to eat something." If I am bored, I can graze and fall back into habits pre-sleeve. I choose to keep myself as busy as possible so I can keep from sitting in front of the TV and mindlessly consuming food. Blessings, Kathleen

optasia, I was amazed that after losing a significant amount of weight, how much less I would sweat. I used to be a BIG drinker of liquids with my meals. I learned to adjust to my doctor's recommendations of nothing 15 minutes prior and waiting an hour after eating to drink. It was difficult at first because it's a habit. Like any habit, it takes practice to stop doing it. A few times I took a drink without thinking about it and my body immediately let me know that it was not acceptable. I take a small sip to take pills with food--but it's a super small sip to get the pill down. Even in a South Texas summer, I was amazed at how much less I sweat. Blessings, Kathleen

ochiatl, Glad you had a successful, uneventful surgery. I'm hoping your recovery is an easy one. After surgery, the most important thing is to sip, sip, sip Water. Your body has plenty of stored energy to run on. Rest when you need to and allow yourself to recover from the major surgery and be as active as you can comfortably be. Welcome to the strange journey down the "losers" highway, Blessings, Kathleen

Hoping your recovery is an easy one. Walk, walk, and walk. When you are allowed to: sip, sip, sip. You have to take small sips all day long to get the Water in. Right after surgery water is your most important thing to ingest. Blessings, Kathleen

Congratulations! I know about the undies---but I'd rather have to keep buying them because I'm LOOSING weight instead of gaining it . Keep doing what you're doing and I'll bet you'll have continued success . Please thank your son for his service. I don't envy him considering who the current Commander In Chief, (CIC) is. Blessings, Kathleen

So for 18 days you lost 1.8 pounds A DAY! Then your body probably said : "WHOA--wait a minute here!" Take it one day at a time and do what you are supposed to do and your body will likely begin loosing again. You didn't gain all your weight in 18 days did you? It still takes time to lose it even with weight loss surgery. Blessings, Kathleen

Here is the web link: http://health.howstuffworks.com/wellness/diet-fitness/weight-loss/bmi4.htm The History of BMI Using a formula to calculate obesity is not a new concept. In the nineteenth century, a Belgian statistician named Adolphe Quetelet came up with the Quetelet Index of Obesity, which measured obesity by dividing a person's weight (in kilograms) by the square of his or her height (in inches). So the BMI came out of the 1800's!!!!!!! That tells me much about how well it can tell me, a 6' tall female in 2014, how much to rely on it. I do believe science has advanced since the 1800s to provide a better measure of how obese I am. So why in God's name do we use something that was developed in the 1800s? Blessings, Kathleen

Good morning y'all--if it's still morning where you're at, I was called "skinny" yesterday! I don't have any idea what my goal weight should be. I'm 6' tall so I thought 200 would be good. I was just going to let my body decide what weight I would be at and concentrate on what I need to do everyday to stick with doing what I need to do--Water, Protein first, Vitamins, exercise etc. Wishing you all a good day, Kathleen

Bravo, Bravo, Bravo BaileyBariatrics !!!!!! You are so very correct. My tastes have changed greatly since surgery. What I used to crave to the point of "I would go to war to get my hands on" is now of little interest to me. One of the blessings of the surgery . Going slowly with eating and finding out what your new sleeve can tolerate is something many people can forget. Kathleen

bigsoutherngal, I'm glad you are getting better So sorry you had such a rough time getting there The further out from surgery you get the more effort you have to expend to keep losing the weight. Enjoy your "honeymoon" while you drop weight at an increased rate. Your body will eventually start to adjust to less food and you have to work at it harder to loose the same amount as you loose in your "honeymoon". Blessings, Kathleen

Congratulations on the surgery that changes your life. As McButterpants said, everyone is different and you just had MAJOR surgery and are still recovering. Did you ever lose 4 pounds a week before and KEEP it off? Most of us who have undergone WLS lost a whole lot of weight but we never KEPT it off---that is the ultimate goal of having WLS--keeping the weight off. As McButterpants also said, do not frequently weight yourself--you are setting yourself up to play mind games with the scale. Hang in there. Take One Day At A Time, (ODAAT) because that is all anyone can do. Blessings, Kathleen

I registered with the site and the article IS fascinating. I know at the height of my food addiction to carbohydrates, I felt more depressed. Cutting them out of my diet seemed to lessen my depression. I experienced that pre-WLS when I attempted the Atkins Diet. I sent the article to several friends who know of my WLS and are in the medical field or collegues. Blessings, Kathleen

Good luck on your surgery. I hope it is routine and with no complications. Hoping you have an easy recovery as well. I didn't sleep before surgery but I made up for it after. Blessings, Kathleen

Thank you for posting. It is good to know that with discipline and hard work, the surgery works as a tool to keep the weight off. I was at the point of scheduling my lap band surgery several years ago and I am glad I didn't. The lap band doesn't remove the part of the stomach that the hunger hormone, Grehlin is made in. Lap band surgery requires an incredible amount of discipline to abstain from trigger foods and sliders, consistently maintain a way of eating and to exercise religiously to keep the weight off. Despite spending seven years in the US Army, I do not have that amount of discipline. I admire those that have been successful with the lap band WLS for I know now the incredible amounts of work they have to do to lose the weight and maintain that loss. The further I get out, the slower the weight loss. The more I have to exercise and watch myself to not fall into bad habits. I think the sleeve is just a tool but it gives you months of practice in eating small amounts of food, eating Protein first, drinking enough Water and exercising so you can change your life for the better. Blessings, Kathleen

I use it. I mix it with my coffee. I love the fact it dissolves easily and has very little taste. I'm going to get some celery, carrots and apples and use my Vitamix high speed blender to start juicing. I can add the GENEPRO and get Protein in the mix. I find it too hard to get my vegetables and fruit in since I eat protein first. I use the Genepro to get to my daily requirement of protein. I order it on Amazon. Blessings, Kathleen

Are you asking which ones people take or the dosage and type?

HalloweenBaby24, Good luck on your surgery. I hope it is uneventful and routine. I also wish you an easy recovery. Walk as much as you can to get rid of the CO2 gas and prevent blood clots. I heard a joke on TV that comediene Joan Rivers said. I'm paraphrasing: I'm so old now I can now get a mammogram and a pedicure at the same time . I can SO RELATE. At the age of 49 and having weight loss surgery, I've gone from a 48C to a 42Long. I need a border collie bra--one that can "round them up and point them in the right direction" . Blessings, Kathleen