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You look fantastic! Congratulations!

As the others have said the most important thing is to get your Water in so you don't get dehydrated. I was on a clear liquid diet for a week before I was even allowed to try Protein drinks. In priority: Water Protein Vitamins The thing that honestly worked best for me to ensure I got my liquids was to literally hold that cup in my hand and take a sip every few minutes. Good luck! You will do great!

Welcome Brad! Congratulations on getting healthy. You are already doing fantastic!

@@rmag Congratulations on getting your surgery! You are going to love to see what begins to happen now! Everyday gets you closer and closer to your dreams and goals! Good luck!

I am very excited for you! It probably feels like Christmas morning for you! I know that was how I felt. I had a huge grin on my face when they took me to surgery. I had a huge grin when I woke up in recovery. All I could think about was what this surgery was going to help me do. I am so much more healthy now and it doesn't hurt when someone sees me for the first time in a while and they are shocked. Both my sons were with me last night and both were like Mom, your getting so skinny! Apparently I am carrying my 191lbs well because no one can believe I have another 25 to go. They were shocked when I revealed my weight to them. They both said we are clearly not used to seeing you so slim. P.s. Last night I was purchasing a jacket. Normally I would buy a 3x, I had to buy a medium!! I never thought I would get into a medium again in my life! You are going to love your new lease on life!

I think many of us lost weight while waiting for surgery but most of us know what you likely already do. For someone who has the disease obesity, losing it is the easy part. Keeping it off is where we all fall down. Having weight loss surgery gives us another tool in our tool box to help in not gaining it back. You will absolutely work your behind off to lose this weight. In the end every pound that comes off, comes off for good if you follow the plan. My biggest fear is gaining my weight back. I know that I can never have the same eating habits I once did and be successful. The time you take now to change those habits will make things easier for you post WLS. Trust me, slipping back into old habits is not easy to break but having the tool definately makes it much easier. I would have already gone off plan and started gaining back if it were not for everything I have learned about nutrition and had my grouch pouch kick my butt if I misbehave. Good luck to you as you figure out what you are going to do. For me, I wish I would have done it 15 years ago before I damaged my spine and joints. I would definately not have WLS if you are truly not ready. You will only be disappointed.

@ You are doing fantastic so far don't get discourage. I am wondering about the volume you are eating at one sitting. 1 cup to 1 1/2 cups would actually cause me to be over full and get sick. I can maybe get a cup in at 11 months post op and it really depends on what I am eating. For example I can eat a whole container of yogurt which is 6 ounces but I am full afterwards. I could never eat 6 oz. of meat. Especially if it a dense meat like chicken, beef or pork. I am lucky to get in 3 oz. If I am eating salad then I can eat close to 1.5 cups depending on what Protein is in there. I can eat 1/2 cup cottage cheese with a couple of strawberries. When you say protein laden, can you give some examples of what that looks like? It might help us help you. Also you may need to consider eating 5 smaller meals spread out throughout the day and no Snacks. I know it sounds weird but sometimes you just have to change things up as in your routine.our bodies get used to the same things and then stall. Good luck to you and please don't get discouraged, the weight will come off. I lost the most weight in the first 8 weeks and then everything slowed down. I now lose between 8 and 12 lbs a month. And I have had a whole month where I lost nothing. Yet in the end I have lost 119lbs in 11 short months.

@@Madtownsunshine17, Definately with water. You literally don't even know it is in there.

Yup, I had the same thing happen to me. I was told by my trainer and bariatric team to eat more and back off my excercise a little bit, it broke the stall and I began losing again. Then I had major spine surgery and have been restricted from anything other than walking. Which by the way is not as easy as it once was due to pain. When I started losing quickly again I was even more confused! Here I was barely doing exercise but following a 1000 calorie a day diet and my weight was coming off slowly but surely. Then I stalled again for almost a month. Because I could not exercise, I have had to be very very careful about what I eat. The weight just comes off slower now but it still comes off which is what is important. Anyway, I was shocked that I was told to exercise less and eat more but it certainly worked!

@@Jasley, Good morning! I was in the same boat as you are. I had my heart set on the sleeve after going through the classes and doing some on line research. When I saw the bariatrician she recommended that I do not go with the sleeve but the RNY because I suffered from reflux. I was devastated. Mostly because like you I was afraid of bypass. She asked me what about bypass was I concerned about. I told her I thought bypass was more radical, the malabsorption as well as dumping syndrome. She spent a lot of time with me. First, bypass is no more radical that removing 85 percent of your stomach. With bypass you could be reversed, with sleeve once your stomach is removed it is gone forever. Bypass is the gold standard in WLS. Then she explained that the malabsorption was actually a good thing that would help me to lose more weight as long as I took my Vitamins and had my labs completed by my bariatric team. By the way you have to do the same for sleeve. Lastly she reminded me that dumping was not automatic. Many people do not get it. If I did get it, I would learn what foods triggered it and stop eating the. After talking with her, I did get a second opinion from my gastroenterologist. He agreed that bypass was my best option given my reflux condition. If I had the sleeve there would be nothing they could do to treat it further as I was on the highest dose of the best reflux medication. The only way to treat it would be to revise to a bypass anyway. I decided to go with bypass because I only wanted to go through this surgery 1 time. I have never ever regretted making that decision. Bypass cured my reflux completely, no more diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, stage 3 kidney disease and sleep apnea. They are all in remission. I am down 119lbs in 11 months. Oh, and I don't suffer from dumping syndrome at all. No regrets here! Best thing I have ever done for myself as well. Good luck to you with whatever you choose to do. Please make sure you continue your research. This topic has come up hundreds of times on this site. You might want to search using the word revision to see just how many folks end up revising after lap and and sleeve because of the reflux issue. If I were you I would follow my doctors advice.

What the heck is wrong with people! I have always wondered at what point would someone think that would be a good thing to say to anyone at anytime. Not only that but really? She watches everyone so closely that she can notice when someone has gained 7lbs, 4 of which you lost already! I think not! For some reason this crass, ridiculous #%|?!, thought it would get a rise out of you. She is clearly a hater. A mean girl! She is probably someone who has nothing better to do than be hurtful to people. Chalk it up to complete stupidity. She is an A$$hat as my son would say. You have done fantastic! Don't let small people like her get to you. She isn't worth it.

@@jesslla I just wanted to say welcome and congratulations for taking steps to get healthy! I had a lot of comorbitities when I had my surgery last Sept. I had type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, severe acid reflux, sleep apnea and stage 3 kidney disease. I was removed from diabetes meds before I left the hospital. Within 4 weeks post surgery I no longer had high blood pressure, acid reflux, diabetes. Within 60 days my stage 3 kidney disease was in remission and my cholesterols were normal. I chose bypass specifically because I had severe reflux and the sleeve can make that disease worse. I was already taking the strongest reflux meds at the maximum dose of twice per day. Had I had the sleeve and had trouble there would be no way to treat it other that to revise to a bypass. I chose to have WLS one time only. I wish you the best on your research journey. Make sure to be thorough and reach out if you have questions. This group is amazing and very supportive. I am excited for you!

This is what it is all about! Congratulations on taking your life back! You should be very proud of yourself!

I might have to try peach infused water after this.

Congratulations on your fantastic progress! How wonderful to not have to go through knee surgery now. I hope that I am successful as you at year two. I always worry about maintenance. The good news for me is I never ever drink anything besides Water and I was like that for 2 years before my surgery. I don't feel like liquid calories will ever get me. I do worry about the crunch factor getting the best of me sometimes. I try hard to be very healthy with those Snacks.

I am so sorry you are having such a tough time! My thoughts and prayers are with you. I certainly hope they get to the bottom of why you are struggling so bad. That has to be miserable. Hope you get answers tomorrow. I will be thinking about you!

You must take your medical history into account. As @@Dub mentioned a history of reflux/gerd should push you to the bypass as the sleeve can both make it worse and in some cases give you reflux. Both surgeries are equally invasive and life changing. The risks are of course a bit different so you need to come to terms with the level of risk you are comfortable with given your own medical history. Your doctor should make a recommendation in partnership with you. I would not let the 100lb weight loss be the thing that makes your decision, you should be able to lose that much weight with either option if you follow the plan.

I don't know, maybe you are not far enough down the road yet to experience it but easy or even easier, no way. Not for me. I have had to fight for every single pound lost. I don't get dumping syndrome and could pretty much eat anything I wanted. I also have a degenerative spine and psoriatic arthritis which makes working out so very difficult. Yet I know I have to get up and get moving every single day. My life revolves around making good eating choices, getting all my Water and Protein in. If I don't do these things I stall sometimes for as long as a whole month. I have to be so on purpose about what I eat which impacts my family as well. It is not simple or easy to make the decision that I don't want to cook today. That means I have to figure out where we are going to eat because my food plan is the most restrictive. My family is extraordinarily accommodating but they can't make food decisions for me and if I let them, they would make the wrong choices and I would stall again. Maybe it's different for me but I find this very very hard work. It is worth it every time I step on the scale and it goes in the right direction. Or every time I try on a smaller size and it actually fits. Or every time I cross my legs or sit cross legged on the floor. All worth it but so very difficult to do, at least for me. I have lost hundreds of pounds over my 52 years. I usually have no problem losing, it is keeping it off that never works. I am bound and determined to never let that happen again. I suspect that will be the hardest part of my journey yet. I thank god I have this tool to help me but I know that it will not ever be easy for me.

Jenifer, I am praying for you both! God Bless you.

I definately have them most pronounced are my upper arms. For some reason I ended up with my grandmothers arms. When I gained weight it collected there along with my stomach and legs. Now that I have lost 119lbs I seen to have lost a lot all over but my legs seem to have gotten the thinnest the fastest. Yes, it has left me with lots of sagging skin everywhere. I call it the sharpei look. Or the mudslide. LOL! I went into this knowing that would happen and sometime after reaching my goal and stabilizing I will likely have some plastics to help me feel better about the real problem areas. My arms seem to be the most stubborn place of all regardless of what I do. I can wear a large or a 12 on my bottom half. That would be much smaller but the stomach skin holds me back. If I lost my tummy skin I would likely fit into a size 8 on the bottom. On top I am still wearing an xl mostly because my arms are still too big for a smaller size. I can fit in a large in some cases but it is tight on my arms. At the end of the day, I am thrilled with how I look right now and mostly how much better I feel. I can do things I have not been able to do for many years. The weirdest feeling for me is how much I actually care about my appearance. When I weighed 315, I really truly could have cared less about how I looked in clothes and hated shopping. I would buy things that hid my body. Now I just want to show off how great I look, loose skin and all!

Ugh! I totally feel your pain as well! I had a terrible food day yesterday. Not so much the sweets but way too many carbs for me. It started out great but yesterday afternoon I just felt like munching and nothing I tried satisfied it for me. The worst part was, I wasn't even hungry, just simply giving in to head hunger. The most frustrating thing was I had a rough night, unable to fall asleep and stay asleep. I found myself starving at 1am not knowing if I could wait to get up to have a shake in the am. That never happens to me so I am sure I was paying for all the carbs I ate. I was so disappointed in myself for giving in like this. I have been struggling with terrible back pain lately and not able to get moving and a little bummed about it. I think it had a lot to do with that. I am usually a very positive person and the bummed feeling really got to me. I feel like I gave up on myself for a day. I know this, today is a brand new day. I get to start again and today I will not let it get the best of me. I have been up since 6am and I am focused on getting my Water this morning to ward off hunger. It is working! I can forgive myself for a bad day and simply move forward!

Some people are more prone to hair loss during rapid weight loss than others. Biotin does not stop your hair from falling out it simply helps with Regrowth. It is the rapid weight loss that causes it. Yes, both the shock of surgery and not get your Protein in daily can make it worse. I happen to have had massive hair loss and got my protein in from the very first week. I have also been taking biotin since the very beginning. My hair started coming out within 2 months and progressively got worse. by the six month mark my hair had thinned to about 1/3 of its normal volume. I cut it short in a cute bob and was expecting it to stop falling out. At 9 months post op it was still coming out at the same rate and I really started freaking out. When I saw my surgeon he told me there is no set time it will stop. He said when your weight loss slows down and finally stops your hair loss will do the same. It is from rapid weight loss for the most part. I am now 11 months post op and it has slowed down. By the way, I have had regrowth happening since month 4. Also the texture of my hair changed as well. It is very corse and more curly than it was. The good news is your hair will thin, not come out in Patches. At first I was freaking out about it because I had fabulous hair but honestly once I changed my style I started feeling way more confident about my appearance. At the same time I was losing hair I was losing fat and getting healthy. Sometime along the journey I just became ok with it. Not everyone has this happen and again, I followed the plan and got all my protein in since the beginning and my labs have been excellent.

Welcome and good luck on your upcoming revision surgery! I personally think the pre op diet is the hardest part but after the 3rd day I didn't even care anymore. Really good salty chicken broth is what carried me through. I remember feeling so excited the days leading up to my surgery. When I would get those little butterflies I would mostly do other things to take my mind off of it. What worked the best to relax me was to take a hot sudsy bath while I put my favorite music on and spent a good 30 minutes practicing deep breathing excercises. It would literally calm me down in minutes. I also spent as much time as I could reading. Good luck to you! I am sure you will do well!

I was on a 10 day luiquid only diet. The life saver for me was really excellent chicken broth. I sipped it like crazy and it got rid of the taste from the all the cloyingly sweet protein shakes.

This is what I am talking about!!! Woot woot! Congratulations!