CharlotteKat

My surgeon said that you can safely take Miralax daily before and after surgery. It is very gentle. Taking a daily stool softener also helps after surgery.

You might want to skip the Iron all together if you have already had gastric bypass surgery. I know this because my iron levels dropped a year after my surgery. This required me to have an iron infusion. My hematologist carefully explained that gastric bypass patients cannot absorb iron from supplements whether they are liquid, pill or chewable. It is impossible. Iron absorption occurs predominantly in the duodenum and upper jejunum. Our surgery bypasses the duodenum. You can see duodenum in this picture. All our food passes through our pouches. We no longer have access to the iron absorbing duodenum. http://bariatric.surgery.ucsf.edu/media/2234478/roux-en-y%20gastric%20bypass.jpg

I lost 112.4 lbs. from the day of surgery to the 6 month point. My loss is a bit on the high side according to my surgeon. I think that it may be because I am a vegetarian, I worked out daily and I kept my calories between 400-800 a day. I also faithfully tracked all my food and daily weigh in's on MyFitnessPal.

I really got tired of the overly sweet, milky shakes and had to find a solution. I also got sick of the flavored Protein powders that were cloyingly sweet. You may want to try using unflavored Protein Powder mixed with Water and Crystal Light. I've had really good success with Isopure Unflavored whey Protein. The Crystal Light completely masks the taste of the powder. My go to shakes are Cherry Pomegranate Crystal Light or their Lemonade plus unflavored protein powder. I use 2 packets of Crystal Light On-the-Go, 1 scoop of Isopure and about 20 oz. of water. Blending in frozen strawberries and blueberris is really tasty.

The clinical term for our kind of hair loss is telogen effluvium. Nioxin does not work and neither does minoxidil. Don't waste your money or believe anyone who is trying to sell you a product to make your hair grow. I had a hairdresser try to push me into buying some very expensive stuff. I said no after doing my research. Our low calorie diet is why we lose our hair. All you can do is make sure you get enough Protein and Biotin. When you return to a normal diet, hair will grow again.

Thanks for the info that pineapple might cause trouble. I suspected that it might since it is one of the sweetest fruits.

This is all great news! I am going to hit the grocery store today. I have really missed fresh pineapple.

I'm still scared of fruit after 1 year. I've had success with berries, but I am wondering what other fresh fruit is safe to eat. Which fruits seem safe?

hair loss is inevitable after surgery. The low calorie intake is why we all lose our hair initially. It is hard seeing the hair in the drain and on your hairbrush every time you take a shower. The good news is that it that it will definitely come back. (No amount of Protein or Biotin will stop it while you are losing weight.) Try to roll with it and know that it is only a temporary problem that will resolve.

I hit onderland at week 22 after my surgery. It seemed like a long 22 weeks, but now I realize that it was pretty fast. It's funny how time seems to move so slowly after surgery. It's only after you reach your goals that the time seems short.

Just in case the link in my previous post does not work. Here it is in plain text. http://bariatrictimes.com/wp-content/uploads/faria_table6_march13.jpg

My NUT didn't provide any advice on this either. I found a very helpful chart on Bariatric Times. It is from a research article called "Recommended Levels of Carbohydrate after Bariatric Surgery". It has the breakdown of everything you need to watch. http://bariatrictimes.com/wp-content/uploads/faria_table6_march13.jpg

Great topic! I would love to see what people have to say about this as well. I would also like to see the price range on this.

I tried a lot of Protein powders and found that unflavored is the most versatile. I really like Nature's Best Isopure Whey Protein Isolate. You can buy it online and at GNC and Vitamin Shoppe. If you are looking for a flavored protiein powder, Syntrax makes great stuff.

Don't sweat getting into the normal range. You will be so amazingly happy when you get there! It is the biggest gift you can give yourself!

Good luck with your liquid diet! You are on your way to a total transformation. Of all the things that I had to do before surgery, this was the hardest. It was a long 2 weeks. What helped me stay focused was seeing the actual gastric bypass surgery on YouTube. When you see them lift your liver up to get to your stomach, it becomes obvious why they want you to shrink your liver before surgery. If you feel brave enough to watch, here it is. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_-Rmk8Mfwk

A mile definitely counts!

Glad to hear that I'm not the only one who is looking older after losing weight. I guess all of that nice padding in my face was stretching out the wrinkles. Once it was gone, everything drooped. I'm happy about losing the weight, but not happy about getting the senior discount without asking when I'm not 55 yet. Has this happened to anyone else?

Everyone, this is my last post on this topic. I'm done. I initially tried to be helpful by pointing out that there is research to back up weighing daily. Most of my life, I had always heard to weigh weekly. Reading the research changed my mind on the topic. It is the reason that I began weighing daily more than a year ago. These researchers are on to something. I think they are correct about the benefits. I am still baffled by the people who get so upset about getting on the scale. I am also mystified by the people who say you have to do what works for you even if it means setting yourself up for failure. I posted the excerpts for the folks who needed solid evidence. That was obviously a mistake.

I love Goodwill! It has been a wonderful resource for inexpensive, quality clothes as I have gone down 10 full sizes. I have noticed that if you have multiple Goodwill's where you live, some are going to be better than others. If you're in a store, ask the clerks where they think the best stuff can be found. Some neighborhoods donate far nicer things than others. Veteran Goodwill shoppers know where these stores are. Some Goodwill's size their clothes on the racks. It just depends on the location. There are also some thrift stores like Value Village and Bargain Hunters that size their clothing.

What I have heard from clerks at Goodwill is that Tuesday is a good day to go. They receive so many donations over the weekend. It takes them time to get the stuff out on the floor.

Hi everyone! This is a great topic. There is a way to afford going through so many sizes so fast. Head to Goodwill, Salvation Army and any thrift store in your city. I used to think that there were no plus sizes in these stores and that the clothes were terrible. Boy, was I wrong! Shopping definitely takes some patience. You are going to need to dig through the racks, but I promise that there are hidden gems waiting for you. I have gone down 10 sizes since my surgery and these stores have been wonderful for finding quality, inexpensive clothes. I would say that 95% of the stuff in the thrift stores is not good enough to buy, but the 5% that is good is an amazing deal. You are looking at an average discount of 94% versus retail prices. This includes going to Walmart. I found a $400 Elie Tahari jacket in one thrift store and only paid $6 for it. It was brand new and still had tags on it. Have fun shopping!! The only thing that I have had to spend money on has been bras and underwear.

Ignore your scale at your own peril.

Diet Myth: Daily weigh-ins aren’t helpful for weight loss. Fact: Many people are told to weigh themselves on a weekly basis or use the fit of their pants to assess progress, perhaps because the number on the scale can have a negative psychological effect. The truth is that the more you weigh yourself, the lower your body weight is likely to be. This daily weighing effect has been studied in randomized trials. Time and time again, daily weigh-ins have shown to positively influence weight loss or lead to lower BMIs.

Concerning long term weight management, daily weighing does help. This is from the study, "Consistent self-monitoring of weight: a key component of successful weight loss maintenance" found on US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health website. Consistent self-weighing may help individuals maintain their successful weight loss by allowing them to catch weight gains before they escalate and make behavior changes to prevent additional weight gain. While change in self-weighing frequency is a marker for changes in other parameters of weight control, decreasing self-weighing frequency is also independently associated with greater weight gain.