BLERDgirl

@@Beanthere - That's why I got the Isopure unflavored naked whey. I can add that to broth and get protein without constantly drinking sickly sweet shakes.

@ - so what? Then you tell her after the fact. This way you don't have her nagging you before and you can be in a better head space pre-surgery.

Plus or minus a few points is not anything to be overly concerned about unless you have other accompanying symptoms. It could just be your body adjusting to your recent surgery.

I would encourage you to go back to the bari office. They know your history, we don't. You can try going back to basic; food journal, protein first, then veg. The food journal will help you see exactly what you are eating and how much. Especially if you are honest with yourself. From there you can develop a plan of action.

@@Peace Love & Sleeve - That's terrific! Are you feeling any better?

Not sure if you are familiar with the search feature, but this has all been discussed at length HERE.

I think all exercise is good. Anything that gets the heart rate up and pumping. Variety is also great because it challenges your muscles and also keep you from being bored. I'm actually considering taking a Muay Thai class that just opened up in my area. I need to see the ortho and get clearance but I may give it a go. Also yoga and pilates are both good toning workouts.

@@hillgirly - HA! I got in the pool with my JawboneUP24 this morning and leaped out so fast when I realized that I had it on that the instructor thought I was ill! Fortunately it's Water resistant so it survived.

I think for some people, especially those of us who were long time fatties there is a bit of body dysmorphia that can occur. We identified for a very long time with the fat person we were. For still others there is the constant battle to be "good enough". It may go away on it's own as you settle into maintenance and living life as a thinner person.

As many have posted a lot of factors play into excess skin. How much you lose, age, and even genetics all play a part. You can try and alleviate some of that with exercise and weight lifting. Some people also use creams and lotions to try and helps with the elasticity of the skin. Still others use compression garments. I think much like whether or not you will experience hair loss, it's a crap shoot. You can be as proactive as possible but there''s no guarantee as to whether any of it will work.

@@PinkPhishes - I'm sorry. I was tired & cranky and completely misread the tone of your post.

Pretty sure my preferences and reason for disliking it were listed in my post. I didn't say it did't work, merely that it didn't meet my needs.

I'm doing all of these things (well not the grassfed beef) and I still feel like a bug is trying to catch me. For the past month I have at least one day of the week where I'm just beat. I'm sneezing like crazy and occasionally have a runny nose. It's like my body is trying to fight off a bug and it just keeps attacking.

I've tried a few activity trackers. The Misfit shine was the one I liked the least. I sent it back after one day. I've tried: JawboneUP24* Vivosmart Polar Loop Misfit Shine In a perfect world I'd love something that combined the features of JawboneUP24 with the battery life and Water resistance of the Polar Loop. I like that both have various fitness level settings and send reminders and suggestions. It's nice to have trackers that sync up with your phone, and sites like Myfitnesspal, but I also like the ability to look at my activity at at glance on the device itself. I'd love to give the Fitbit a try to see how it stacks up against these, but I know I'd only end up returning it because it's not water proof. * I won the JawboneUP 24 in a contest.

YAY!! Welcome to the loser's bench! Keep taking those sips.

@@JerseyJules - I admire your commitment to health. With or without surgical assistance I hope that is the goal for everyone on this forum. I hope this continues to work for you. Thanks for the update.

@@Heather Morales - You should still be able to see or call the doctor for follow up. My f/u appointments were included in my surgical fee. Double check your old policy. That said. What are you eating and drinking? Are you getting in at least 60 gms of Protein and 64 ounces of fluids a day? Are you exercising? Your thyroid issues may play a part in slowing your weight loss, however not eating enough or not eating the right things can put you into starvation mode and impede your weight loss.

Isopure Unflavored. You can add it to the yogurt and the soups you like. It won't change the flavor at all.

@@joatsaint HA! Thankfully I'm not that sensitive. I also don't do them every single trip to the market. You think these are bad, you should see the makeup hauls people post.

Prior to WLS I was the same way. I aimed for 50gms of Protein and actually loss weight at that amount. Of course being a vegetarian it's the first question everybody asks you. I use to use it as my breakfast/pre gym drink. I use it as supplement now because of the sleeve requirements. I too do a morning shake. Sometimes I just add it to my morning coffee. After that I eat regular food for the rest of the day.

Just realized I have done this once or twice, but it was in the context of showing folks how much I could buy at the produce market with $30. I was having conversations about how to eat un processed foods on a budget.

I've use protein powder for years well before WLS. I prefer to have a protein shake before my morning workout. Other than that I get my protein from food.

I have one of those spiral slicers. You can pick them up for about $15 at Walgreens or Kamrt types stores. Another Pasta alternatives is shirataki noodles. I buy them from Whole Foods. They are extremely low cal. Just remember to rinse before cooking.

I never had reflux issue before WLS and initially had no problems post-op. I was put on prescription strength 20 mg of omeprazole for 90 days post op. Once I started incorporating regular food back in I had to increase that to 40 and we're doing another 90 day run. So far as long as I take it I have no problems with it. Perhaps you need a higher dosage because of your prior history. I also had to play around with the time of day I took it. I finally figured out I would get acid in the early evenings so taking it around 2 -3 ish worked for me.

@@BeagleLover - some program a contract with suppliers and as part of the program requirements pts buy their Protein drinks and/or Vitamins & supplements directly from the doctors office