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If you're drinking really cold water, try room temperature. Sometimes very cold or very hot beverages don't feel good.

I use the basic FoodSaver model (http://www.amazon.com/FoodSaver-V2244-Vacuum-Sealing-System/dp/B0044XDA3S/), but I buy generic bags and they work great. These are the bags I order: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000QCI3J2/ http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DC4UPVU/

That's hilarious. My husband says much the same thing about my motorcycle: he had no idea it would make him so much easier to get along with. ????

Is this pretty effective for you? I definitely notice a difference. Biotin won't prevent hair loss, but it'll promote growth and regrowth. I haven't hit the typical hair loss window yet, but I started taking biotin right away to hedge my bets. Now, when I pull my hair into a ponytail at the gym, I see a little bitty halo of new hairs surrounding my face. They're too short for the ponytail, so very noticeable. I've been watching them come in and start to grow out over the past 6 weeks. While I've done everything possible to prevent hair loss (and there isn't much to be done), I can at least take comfort in all the new hair growing to take its place if needed. My nails are nice and strong too.

I bought fast-dissolve biotin from GNC and it's by far the tastiest and easiest medication that I take. I'm pretty sure it's this one. http://m.gnc.com/Healthy-Natural-Systems-TriSorb-Biotin-Delicious-Cherry-Flavor/product.jsp?productId=18437916

I had a few extremely literal dreams in the first couple of weeks in which was eating greasy and delicious hamburgers or pizzas. Those stopped once I was able to chew and eat a greater variety of actual foods. I still have cravings and urges, but the bad foods no longer haunt my dreams.

I'm only 2 months post-surgery, so it's a bit early to be making any grand pronouncements. But I can tell you pretty confidently that the hardest part (i.e., surgery, recovery, needing to learn to eat differently every 2 weeks or so, figuring out how/when to exercise, etc.) is behind me. And the hard part was SO EASY that my biggest regret is that I didn't do it years ago. I am happy all day every day. I love myself and my life. That's so unlike me that I don't recognize myself (metaphorically, although physically is changing so fast too...) I've already noticed a huge difference in my level of energy and mobility, and I know it's only going to get better from here. I've already lost 1/3 of my excess weight in this short time. I honestly never believed it was possible to change my life so much for the better, much less that it could happen so quickly. You wanted honest? You got it. So there you go.

I had to replace my Fitbit Flex bands several times as well. They do not stand up to constant wearing. Aftermarket bands are even worse, and it can be sometimes difficult to tell on places like Amazon if you're ordering a genuine OE replacement part or a knockoff. That's actually my biggest concern with the Charge HR, because the band is not replaceable (or at least, not easily). I've only had it for a couple of weeks, but am curious to see how it holds up.

I have a fitbit Charge HR, which just replaced my beloved fitbit Flex. I also have the fitbit Aria scale and I love how easily it integrates with everything else (including My Fitness Pal!). I don't know that I would have invested in it if I already had a smart scale, but it's so smooth and effortless that I love it. And it's completely aligned with my doctor's scale, so I always know in advance what I'm going to see at the next appt.

I sometimes struggle in the first 5 minutes or so after a meal and am sure that I'll never be able to wait 30 minutes to drink, but it almost always becomes easy after a few more minutes. If I eat something really spicy or drier than normal, I'll pop open a Greek yogurt and eat a couple of bites. Although completely satisfied with my meals, I don't often have the uncomfortable full feeling after eating - I eat the pre-measured quantity and am done - so there's almost always room for some yogurt in a pinch. And the moisture of the yogurt always does the job.

I've had my Charge HR for about 2.5 weeks, and have also had about 3 days of battery life per charge. I love everything about it except that.

I also cut out all caffeine about 10 days before surgery. Withdrawal was horrible, but there's no way I'd want to be dealing with that and with surgical recovery at the same time. Do yourself a favor and cut it out early. My nurse practitioner gave me the go-ahead to try coffee once I could routinely get in over 80 oz of Water per day. I've been at that for a couple of weeks, but didn't want to try it out during the work week in case things went badly. I am just shy of 8 weeks post-surgery and had my first cup of caffeinated coffee this morning. It was divine. I won't ever go back to my old level of coffee consumption, but it's great to know I can tolerate it.

I am also very concerned about hair loss, but from all my conversations with the surgical team and my hairdresser, I've learned that you can do all the right things and still lose hair. For most people, even those who lose a lot of hair, it's much less noticeable to others than to yourself. You can stack the deck in your favor by getting all your Protein in every day, but even then sometimes you'll still lose. Some people don't lose any hair, some people lose a lot. Thank goodness, it's temporary. It starts about 4 months post-surgery and generally ends a few months later. While there isn't much you can do to prevent losing hair, there are things you can do to promote hair growth and regrowth. I take 10,000mcg of Biotin every day, and have since a week after surgery. I'm two months post-surgery now, and I have tons of tiny new hairs that surround my head like a halo when I pull my hair back into a pony. So I know I'm getting lots of new growth from Biotin (and my nails are great too!), which gives me a lot of comfort about the amount that may fall out. As for Spanx, they can definitely help hold lose skin in place and smooth things out under your clothes, but they won't prevent the loose skin from developing. The best thing for that is lots of exercise, especially weight training, but it's possible you'll still have loose skin leftover and you'll need to decide if you're okay with it or have it removed via plastics. Good luck!

I look at it very differently. I think you did great. An inch of pizza is not a pound of pizza. A tiny piece of dark chocolate is not a mountain of gooey fudgy brownie frostedness. It's important to know where your boundaries are for dumping so that you don't cross them inadvertently, but if you can tolerate a little bit of fat and a little bit of sugar so be it. One inch of pizza once a month will not ruin your weight loss journey. Life is all about moderation.

Here's the book that the other user recommended: http://www.amazon.com/Eating-Well-After-Weight-Surgery-ebook/dp/B001D1Z7UI/ I also recommend anything by Dave Fouts. He's a WLS patient himself and found his "calling" as a bariatric chef afterwards. Some of the titles are: http://www.amazon.com/Recipes-Weight-Surgery-Success-Step--ebook/dp/B0056H2PIM/ http://www.amazon.com/Weight-Loss-Surgery-Cookbook-Dummies/dp/0470640189/ Good luck!

The app is My Fitness Pal and it's fantastic. There are at least a couple of permanent discussion threads on the site for people who use the app to find new buddies to share info with. Do a quick search and you should find them pretty easily. I'm there under the same name as here, so feel free to look me up and ask to connect!

I stayed one night. Surgery started at 1pm on a Tuesday and I was home in bed by 7pm Wednesday. That's the standard operating procedure at the Center of Excellence unit I worked with.

Yes @@onmywaytobeingfound, I am shocked at the difference in my overall happiness already. I started a new job right after surgery (same company, just came back from surgery into anew role), and the combination of these two things has made a night-and-day difference in my mood every single day. In fact, I was chiding my husband for his negativity on something recently. I realized later that he may actually be the same as ever, but that it's maybe ME that has suddenly turned into Pollyanna unable to have negative thoughts. 2015 so far has been just amazing.

@@onmywaytobeingfound, you look fantastic! What an amazing transformation in just 8 weeks!

My team also recommends Flintstones Complete. I don't love the taste, but at least I'm not paying an arm and a leg for the privilege.

At my 2-week checkup the nurse asked my how my emotions were doing. I was thrilled with this question as I had become much more emotional all of a sudden and didn't know why. She said something about fat being stored alongside estrogen, and the hormones being released as the fat shrank, or something like that. Anyway, the bottom line was to expect a bit of emotionality for the next little while until my weight loss slows down.

I am about 6.5 weeks post-surgery, and I also rarely feel full. Or at least, not "full" in the same way I used to. I'd say that I am satisfied with what I eat, though I mostly just measure out a portion of food and eat what I have in front of me. I feel slightly curious about how much I could eat constrained, but I guess I'd rather not know. I started with about 1/4 to 1/3 cup of food and am now roughly double that.

I had surgery on 1/6. I took 6 weeks off for recovery, and was back at work last Monday. Things are going amazingly well. No complications, no dumping, no vomiting, no nothing. I work out 5-6 days per week, and actually look forward to the gym. The hardest thing so far is the head hunger. I had some success last week navigating serious food temptations at work, but I was prepared for them and kept my hands to myself. But I fantasize about bad foods all the time and I occasionally put things in the grocery cart that I know are bad choices. So far, I have always come to my senses and put them back, but the fantasies of bad foods rear their heads every few days. I am mostly satisfied with my weight loss so far - it's certainly more than I've ever lost through other means - but I am so anxious to have it GONE that it's hard to be patient. I see some of my surgery buddies and those after me that have lost more than me, and it's hard not to be envious even though I know we're all on our own journey. One thing I did to help with this is to start using an iPhone app called "Everyday". The idea is to take a selfie of your face every day, and turn it into a timelapse video. I started about a month before surgery, and I don't take one every day by any stretch so I don't know that the movie will ever look like anything interesting. But I look at photos of my face on surgery day vs. today and I am shocked and thrilled to find angles where before there was only roundness. So there's that.