JamieLogical

Your surgeon may supply you with garments, but you also may be able to save some money by getting them yourself. You will need a surgical bra, ideally one with a band that goes across the top of your boobs to hold them down. And obviously one that hooks in the front. Something very sturdy with several hooks. Something like this: http://www.hourglassangel.com/marena-surgical-bra-with-built-in-implant-stabilizer-by-comfortwear-b-isb/?c3ch=PLA&c3nid=B/ISB-Beige-L&gclid=CN246-yCjcUCFaRi7AodzjQARw Not advocating that specific bra or brand, mind you, just that style. You can also buy the stabilizer band separate, but when I did that I found that it moved around a lot. Having it actually attached to the bra was a better design. With everything you're having done at once, you'll need pretty much a full body compression garment, or one that at least goes down to your knees or capri length. I had lipo in my calves, so mine went all the way to my ankles. I HIGHLY recommend something that has fasteners all the way down the sides. My first garment went on kind of like pants and then only had fasteners from about my hips up. It was IMPOSSIBLE to get into and out of. It was literally a 3-person job getting me into that thing! When I got a lighter garment a few weeks post-op, I got one where the fasteners went all the way down to my knees and it was MUCH easier. Make sure you get one with a very large whole in the private region that you can put your underwear on over top of. That way you only have to take down your underwear to use the bathroom, not the whole garment. Oh! Get one that has shoulder straps so you don't have to worry about it sliding down. Something like this maybe: http://www.makemeheal.com/mmh/product.do?id=10013 Make sure you ask your surgeon about whether they think you should get something that goes below the knee. I think the type of thigh lift you are having doesn't have the incision down the inside of the inner thigh, right? If not, then knee length is probably fine. For sizing, you want/need it to be TIGHT, but remember, there will be a lot of swelling.

My surgeon was Dr. Ariel Ortiz of Obesity Control Center in Tijuana. Sorry I can't help you with advice or info about your specific surgeon, but if you have any questions about traveling to Mexico for surgery, I'll be happy to help.

@@kimpossible67 I am so so sorry.

It's normal to be tired and weak in the early weeks post-op. For me it improved significantly as I moved through the food stages and was able to get more calories in. I don't know that I was ever as low as 300 calories a day though. Are you not able to get your Protein shakes in at this point? When I was doing my three shakes a day I was around 450 calories, I think. How are you doing on Water? As for this alleged "gain" of two pounds... weight is going to fluctuate from day to day due to water retention and whatnot. It's best to either stay off the scale or get your mind right about the fact that normal weight fluctuation is normal. If you are going to be stressing out or breaking down every time the scale goes up or stays the same, then it's best to avoid it altogether and only weigh once a week or even once a month!

@@NewSetOfCurves Congrats on setting your date! You will definitely have a long road ahead, but a year from now, you will be looking and feeling great! Try to stay confident in your decision through the ups and downs. I am a firm believer that a positive outlook will make the recovery much easier.

Hi and welcome! This is such a great place for you to come and share your story, ask questions, vent, commiserate, celebrate, or whatever else you need to do. Hopefully was can help make this journey a little easier for you.

No one can be perfect all the time. All you can do is your best for THAT day. One day your best might not be so great, because of all the other factors involved. Just do the best you can and move onto the next day. Yesterday I was feeling sorry for myself because my ears are infected and hurt a lot and I wasn't able to exercise and so I had some ice cream. Oh well. One bowl of ice cream in the grand scheme of things isn't going to make much difference. All I can do is move on and do my best today.... whatever my best is considering my ears still hurt like hell. The point is, as someone else said, sometimes you just get tired of being strong and that's okay. The important thing is to not spiral downwards and let your "failure" serve as an excuse to "fail" some more!

I switched from protein shakes to bars once I was allowed solid foods. I am hesitant to drink my calories and don't find the shakes filling. If I have a bar for a meal or a snack, it makes me feel full until my next meal or snack.

Everyone loses at different paces. So it's impossible to compare one to another. If his surgeon is not distressed about his rate of loss, then that's all that really matters. I lost 11.2 pounds in my first 3 weeks. But. like I said, everyone is different. It can depend on age, gender, starting weight, how much weight was lost prior to surgery, genetics, recover time.... It really is impossible to predict. His surgeon will know best.

The shoulder pain is trapped gas. It will go away with time. Honestly, everything you describe will improve with time. The first few days are rough. There's just no way around it. Sip, sip, sip. Teeny tiny sips. Aim for one ounce of Water every 15 minutes. I found it a *little* easier to get my water in while marching in place. The good news is, everything you are experiencing will get better with time. Just hang in there and try to manage as best you can.

Stalls a re pretty normal. They are frustrating, but you have to trust in the process. Keep up with your Protein, Water, and exercise. I agree with @@beachgurl84 that you may need to work on consuming some more calories. It seems counter intuitive, but you need to convince your body that you aren't starving in order to get it to let go of the fat, so bumping you calories up by a couple hundred may be just the kick start you need to get the scale moving again. Once I was exercising 5-6 days a week, I worked hard to get up over 1000 calories a day and even added a few carbs on my workout days.

I agree with @joatsaint. If you are losing the head hunger battle, then try to eat something high Protein. Nuts usually help me cope when I feel "snacky". I don't know how far you are out from surgery, but for me the head hunger significantly diminished over time. I still get it every once in a while, but once my body and brain finally understood that I was never going to derive the same level of "satisfaction" from food as I did pre-op, the head hunger died down a lot.

This is exactly what I do. I eat 6 "meals" or Snacks a day, 2-3 hours apart and I rarely get hungry. Even a small snack like a cheese stick or an ounce of peanuts can tide me over to my next "meal".

You're caught up to me now! I fell a bit behind this week because I have ear infections. Hoping to finish my Week 6, Day 3 long run tonight!

I know exactly what you mean about the sour taste of greek yogurt, which is why I was really happy with the Dannon. It tastes more like just normal yogurt to me, but has the higher protein of greek yogurt. I've only tried the fruit flavors, not the dessert flavors, so I can't make any claims about those. I usually go for key lime, strawberry, or raspberry. A word of warning if you aren't far out from surgery, the strawberry and raspberry both have small seeds in them, which you aren't supposed to have immediately post-op.

Are you on a PPI for acid? What you describe sounds more like acid than real hunger to me.

So glad to hear you are doing well! Sounds like you've made a big improvement in your eating and it is helping you get back on track. Putting protein first really does help keep you full and energized. And like you said, if you go out or have something not-so-great for you one day, there's no reason you can't get right back on track the next day or even just the next meal!

I had a bowl of ice cream tonight! No one is perfect and if I thought I had to be perfect every day for the rest of my life, I'd completely lose it altogether! Do I want to be eating ice cream every day? Obviously not! But I if I have a bowl once in a while to stay sane, I don't see the harm in that. Feeling completely deprived all the time would just make me rebel and lash out at some point and go way off the deep end with my eating.

I'm sitting here at my desk at work with my space heater blowing right on me. I have to sit under a blanket on the couch at home. It's especially bar after I've cooled down after working out. Then I feel like a popsicle!

Ha! I can't advocate eating candy bars, but it's definitely nice to be satisfied by just the mini ones and not eating a king sized one anymore!

How long a period of time were you given to lose the weight and did you stick to the plan?

Definitely ask your surgeon about a PPI long term. Most surgeons prescribe the for at least the first couple of months post-op. Edit: As someone else on these forums often points out, you had surgery on your stomach, not your brain. So the head hunger will be a real struggle for the first little while as you adapt to your new relationship with food. It's a tough one for sure!

Family can be touchy. It really depends on the people involved. If you do decide to tell them ahead of time, the important thing is to stand your ground and don't let them try to dissuade you. You have made this choice for yourself. Try to approach it with a very positive outlook, instead of immediately being on the defensive. If you bowl them over with how happy and excited you are about this opportunity, they might not try to bring you down with their negative thoughts.

That is so amazing! Congrats!

Could also be acid. Did your surgeon put you on a PPI? I had a lot of "head hunger" in my early days post-op. I would see a commercial for pizza or something and think "man, I want that so bad!" even though I wasn't actually hungry and there is NO WAY I could have actually eaten it.