maynellrmnderm

Stina, you are doing great! You are losing faster than me and I work out with a personal trainer 3 days a week. I do have Hair loss and it's driving me crazy. I had a lot of hair loss when I was pregnant and then 18 months of breast feeding. It finally got better and then came the surgery and it's bad again. My hair is sooo much thinner than it was, but luckily I had a pretty good amount to start with.
I'm 8 months post op and I'm down about 60+ lbs with 50+ lbs to go

My surgery day was 3/14/12 and I'm down 40# with zero exercise and my diet is hit & miss depending on the day. I'm happy to be in "one"derland. I know once and when I start working out I will drop a lot faster and be happier with my self/results. Not to say I'm not happy now, I am plenty happy. All is well. No Hair loss whatsoever.

I think it's much more relative to the fat to muscle ratio you had preweightloss and I found it that the areas where I was already firmer obviously maintained its tightness but areas like behind my arms and inner thighs where fat deposits were are just hard to tighten. I agree w your slower theory unfortunately you almost have no control in the rate of which you lose unless your caloric consumption remains the same which I found. Early possible to do. I also ended up doing endermologie and cavitation to keep up with the skin concern -

I was dr Ortiz and for the healing process it was approx 4-6 days purely clear liquids broth etc then Heavier Soups and some non lactose keffir yogurts for another say 7-14days then soft foods creams ie tuna crackers mashed veggies then at about 21-28 days you can start solids. I had surgery 2/15 and I didnt start ie soft foods till about march 21 but I followed it to the T. Also not sure what your "plans" are but I vacationed shortly after and you just adjust.. Especially since you get full so easy

My Dr is Dr.Chock at Northwest Weight Loss Surgery in Everett, WA. I have had a great experience with her. My friend went to her at my referral and she also loves her. What state do you live in?

My doc has me on soft foods for a month. Cream of wheat, yogurt, Soup, tuna salad, cottage cheese, etc.

Thanks for your info. Who was your doctor and where did you get the procedure done?

Seems like different dr's say different things. I was Clear Liquids for 2 weeks, then milk based liquids for (I think) 1 week, then semi soft for a week, and at a month I was on regular food. I am hoping I am remember that right :-). My surgery was Oct 4th, so my brain is a little fuzzy. I have heard that some people have only been on clear liquids for 1 week.

I have never really been a Breakfast eater. I try and at least take a bite of something. DEFINITELY eat before taking any vitamins! Vitamins on an empty stomach will make you throw up! I usually take my vitamins (when I remember) in the evening.
Where are you in your eating? Are you on Semi soft yet? I know sugar free popsicles are okay in the Clear Liquids faze.

I despise evenings!! like right now , I would love to take a nibble on something..I wonder if a sugar-free popsicle would be ok? Do you find that you are not always hunger in the am? Typically i have to force myself to eat (especially when I take Vitamins etc..not good on an empty stomach)??

I was told to stay away from shakes because they are liquid calories that move through you quickly which in turns makes you hungry faster. I would say... If you're in a hurry and that's what you have available, than grab it. It's still a lot better than stopping at fast food! I drink some Protein Drinks also. Being a vegetarian, I am always worried that I'm not consuming enough Protein. Maybe when you drink a shake you should make a mental note that you can't have anything else to eat for 3 hours. That way you don't end up eating 2 meals. I find at night that I want to snack even after I've eaten dinner. It is my biggest issue right now

omg nights are the worst...!!! Do you think it is ok to grab a Protein Shake during the day if you are in a hurry and can't eat? It seems I heard somewhere that you should no longer have shakes after plicaton....that we need to say away from them??? what do you think?

Clovers- I agree with the weigh-ins not being everyday. I weigh myself maybe once a week, but I really go by the dr's scale when I go in every month. I agree what you said about the band. I don't do well when someone tells me "I can't" have something. I also didn't like the idea of having a device in my stomach and having to get fills.
I wanted to let you know that Kika79 is also in Miami, if you wanted to talk to another local. You need to make sure you are "Living" in Miami and not just "Existing" anymore! BTW... I think you're doing great with your weight loss. Sounds like we are on the same path and getting similar results .
Becky

tobethin- I feel like I can eat to much too! My Dr has assured me that my plication is doing great and not stretched out. I have also seen it for myself on the X-ray, but I still think I can eat to much sometimes. I am going to have her check again when I go back in June. She did tell me that you can stretch out your pouch by eating to much, to fast! I feel like I eat to fast sometimes and in the evenings I have a bad habit of snacking. I try and make better snacking decisions, but it's still a BAD habit! Good thing we have this site to talk to people about and try and hold ourselves accountable!

It is so great to hear everyone's success story's. I at times get discouraged cause I know I am eating to much and it makes me so mad at myself I deff eat alot less then before but more then when I first got the surgery. I. Had my surgery on March 3rd and I am down 46.2lbs it is exciting but I still have so far to go I still need to loss 146lb to get to my goal weight :-0 it seems like I will never get their. Has anyone else had a problem with eating to much?

She has lost 21lbs which we both think is a success..it's only been 47 days since surgery and she is eating what she wants (healthy and much less) but other than walking a couple miles twice a week, there's no exercise. She looks and feels great. She's now at 144.

Surgery day was 3/26. Including preop diet, I'm down 45 lbs and feeling good.

Ya, Beatrudz, my post could mirror yours almost word for word. I do NOT get on the scale every day like Juliehas6kids wrote. I don't wanna be bothered with eighths and tenths. I wanna see real whole pounds coming off so I restrict myself to 2 weighs per month. Last month I only lost 3 lbs. but it's entirely my fault for not being so 'good' sometimes.. some jelly Beans were irresistable, some passover matzos, some wonderful crackers from Whole Foods, cheeses that call my name ..but each day is a new day and each brings the chance to get it right and I do and I will as I never wanna carry so much weight around again. The hardest thing for me is to not drink during meals or shortly thereafter and in that respect, I've not been so good to me. I've lost 55 pounds, (in 7 months), so far and I really wanna lose half of me.
I was feeling smug because unlike some methods of WLS, like the band, there are many who can not and will never eat certain foods again, good stuff like chicken, and I was happy I wasn't one of them but having no dietary restrictions has its pitfalls too because I CAN eat anything..even what I shouldn't. But I WILL prevail! Failure is NOT optional. I AM the master (mistress?) of my own stomach.. blablabla.. Okay, Off my soapbox... I would love to chat with others who have been through this. I'm clovers@aol.com...live in Miami..well, 'exist' in Miami, anyway.......

@Bfacebaby- did you have the gastric plication or the VLS?

@Bfacebaby- did you have the gastric plication or the VLS?

Bfacebaby- You are doing much better than me! My surgery was Oct 4th, started at 268 and I'm down to 213 right now. Any tips you can give? I had a dr appt today to weigh in and I only lost 2 lbs in the last month . Any tips would be much appreciated! Fantastic job by the way!!!

Hi ladies I started at 286 I am now 204! I got my sergery in Dec. 11hope to hear from ya soon

Butterfly, I had my surgery done by Dr. Ponce, Chattanooga TN- Gastric Band Institute. I started at 252 and hoping to reach the 160-170 range. Seven weeks out I still do feel restriction and trying hard to keep it that way. I dont want my stomach to stretch so I eat very small portions throughout the day.