BLERDgirl

Totally agree. I current have eggplant/dark purple dreds. I do much of what you do and I am also taking biotin. I was taking it presurgery as well. I am menopausal and since I color my locs I wanted the added supplemental support.

@Stevehud ​Please note the following post I have made in this thread. BLERDgirl, on 17 Jan 2015 - 22:00, said:

I tried it this morning in a cup of coffee. I could not taste the difference. The Isopure blended completely with no chalky or gritty taste/feel. I have a few more things I want to test it in, but overall I am pleasantly surprised with the Isopure unflavored. Perhaps I overlooked it, but in this particular thread I don't believe anyone has suggested they ignore the nutritionist. I've seen suggestions on how to work with the current nutritionist or request another if the OP doesn't feel the one she is working with is meeting her needs. Additionally no one is proclaiming to be a expert in nutrition, particularly on this thread. What I do see happening is a discussion on alternatives diets. Yes it is.

@@jessiquoi - I was allowed fruit even at my all liquid phase. My only concern with bananas are that they are high in sugar. I think a half a banana is probably okay. I personally hate bananas so that wouldn't work for me.

I wanted to share that because at first I was like, "what's a week?" Then I remembered how I felt when I was ready to have this surgery. I hope you get your date soon!

@@WL WARRIOR - I just got the Isopure unflavored and love it. I've had it in hot and cold beverages so far. I like that the only ingredient is whey isolates. Oddly enough I like the taste of ACV. I use Braggs organic. I used to put it in my Water bottle everyday. I haven't done so since surgery since I wasn't sure if it would upset my stomach.

@@c-love - here's a blog you may love. BGG2WL She had a post about her own weight loss journey where she described how she actually gained weight when she wanted to improve her strength and endurance. I find her very inspiring.

I am the queen of coupons and bargain shopping. I compare shop for everything.

@@c-love Nope, your body, your life. Don't chase numbers, chase good health. Can you maintain at this weight? Is this a healthy weight for your height? Are you within the normal range for what would be considered a healthy BMI? Talk to your doctor about these things and perhaps come up with a plan for a compromise.

Sounds like he did a variation of the procedure you were expecting. Since he can't guarantee anything until they actually go in and start working there isn't anything illegal with what he did. Of course he has to justify why he did the procedure the way he did, but it's not the same thing as a sort of bait and switch I'll do whatever surgery I want to type situation. Just ask him to explain what necessitated the change.

@@MisforMimi - My doctor hasn't set a goal weight either. He just said that most patient's lose between 50 - 60 %. I'm actually okay with that since it doesn't set me up to chase some number that I may or may not reach.

I have locs. I use coconut oil on my a hair after every shampoo. I think the theory is that because your hair is no longer dry and brittle it helps with breakage. Not sure if it will help with hair loss due to wls surgery.

Lane Bryant has a good line. I was very happy to see it was both comfortable and supportive. It also wasn't extremely pricey.

The $10,000 question. Try doing a search for protein or protein shakes. This question is asked nearly daily. There are several really good threads with tons of information.

I just remembered. When I was pre-op I had this disastrous sleep study. I didn't have it at the hospital where my sleeve was performed because the out of pocket expense would have been too high for me. I hated the center my study was performed at. I hated where it was located, it was in an area of the city that is all steep hills. Not something a fat person likes. Even the floors drove me crazy. They had this weird chevron pattern that triggered my BPPV (vertigo) so I always arrived out of breath and ready to pass out by the time I got to see the doctor. I am sure I presented as much sicker than I truly was. The sleep study was extremely uncomfortable because I had to sleep on my back. So I'm in an unfamilar bed, in a place that triggers my illness. Wearing a mask that put pressure on my sinuses. I have abnormal tonsils so I don't sleep on my back because my tonsils block my airway. I have to sleep with my mouth open because I have trigeminal neuralgia and my left nostril doesn't work. (Yes I'm in a mouth breather). I was miserable and left at 3am. That mask was starting to cause physical pain and I was dizzy and nauseous from that stupid floor. I had had enough! I asked the tech if she had gotten all the info she needed and went home. Anyway...... I had already been approved by my insurance. I had my surgery date and just needed to the study in order to go forward with it. I then got a call from the coordinator at my program. The director of the sleep center was trying to have me repeat the study because I didn't stay all night. I was seeing red! I called my sister and vented to her about the things I was going to do to that doctor if my surgery had to be postponed. (Thankfully it wasn't.) My point is, I get it! Once we decide to go through with this, the waiting game is not fun!

@@kelliep - Can you afford the out of pocket cost? Can you pay that in installments? As for complications, please keep in mind there are many of us who had zero complications. I have had a relatively pain-free and uneventful surgical course. I couldn't be happier.

@@Carriejess - I see you're in the UK. I just bought Isopure natural whey unflavored yesterday. It's simply whey isolate and nothing else. I tried it with diluted juice yesterday and added it to my coffee this morning. So far I am really pleased! I cannot taste the difference. I would recommend this to anyone looking to follow a clean bariatric diet. Stats are 110 cal, 26 gms Protein 0 fat, 0 carb, 0 sugar. I did a quick check and it appears that Amazon UK sells this.

@@Mrbig77 - Gotcha. I guess the best we can say is know that it can happen. Prepare to do whatever you can to prevent it and be prepared to deal with it if it does happen.

Do you keep a food log? Do you supplement with Protein shakes or bars? Are you getting in your Water? The good news is you will likely continue to lose. The bad news is stalls are fairly common. Your body needs a minute to re-calibrate and adjust to all the changes happening in a relatively short period of time. You can try putting the scale away and taking your measurements instead. Does your nutritionist want your to cut back on calories? I am 4 mths out and avg around 800 - 850 calories a day. I workout 4-5 days a week mostly in classes. Occasionally I have a day where I go higher because I'm hungry.

Talk to your nutritionist. They should be able to review with you what you will be eating and when. Everyone has a different experience because each program has a different protocol. Mine was 2 week stages. 2 weeks of All Liquids, 2 weeks of Purees, 2 weeks of Soft Foods and then regular food as tolerated. I eat probably 75% regular food now. I still do a shake in the morning but it's to get food in me before my morning workout and also to ensure I hit my protein goals.

YAY!

So you were sleeved in December. Are you ingesting anything other than Protein shakes yet? If not it may not be too unusual to only have a BM every few days. I was started on colace in the hospital. It worked for me. If you are concerned there is a virtual laundry list of things to try. Colace, ducolax, miralax, benefiber, prune juice, smooth move tea, Milk of Magnesia, Psyllium powder to name just a few. Talk to your doctor and see what he thinks.

I agree. call your doctor or get to the ER. You may have been drinking to fast and set off a sort of traumatic chain reaction or something could be going on. Either way, you should not go days without drinking enough to where you're at the point of dehydration. Please take care and keep us posted if you can.

@@Pac-woman - I'm not seeing defensive responses. I see post on both sides of the fence. I would think that's pretty normal in a back and forth conversation. I did post a response to a post of yours asking for clarification, but that's because I honestly couldn't tell who you were talking about.

@@Mrbig77 - Is excess skin a deal breaker for you? I've seen lose skin on men and women. It happens. The choice then becomes tuck it into a spanx or have surgery to remove it. I'm only 55lbs down and I can see area where it may be a problem. (my thighs) I'm okay with that. I haven't ruled out skin removal surgery. I'm just happy to be losing. In the meantime I'll do everything I can do tone and reduce the excess skin, but I'm not going to lose sleep over it.