OutsideMatchInside

The brain does not fully develop until 24. Normally I would caution againstcanyone uner 25 making serious life choices. In your case with your BMI, you have less than a 5% chance of losing on your own and keeping it off. Go for surgery if you can commit to the lifestyle changes.

That is a ridiculous amount. I am guessing you are in the Chicago area? Even if you are paying cash, they could give you the insurance rates. My surgery cost around 38K, at least that is what they billed, but the insurance rate that BCBSIL paid was just under 12K. If United was paying for your surgery, I doubt the negotiated rate would be 26K. I would not pay 26K out of pocket. Why not try Blossom Bariatrics in Vegas? There are places in STL that are more affordable. I think that cash pay is around 12K in STL at http://mynewselfbariatrics.com/ Why not try U of I. Also is Dr Mikhail the Dr that had the big lawsuit last year over a gastric bypass gone wrong?

if you are adding a few drops to a broth it shouldn't matter, especially if you are taking a acid medicine. Just try and a little and be careful. I think I had hot sauce on week 3.

There are so many options to eat items like that, that still go with your plan. If you have things around that satisfy your needs are still within plan, you are less likely to go off the wagon. Right now at 4 months, you cant tolerate much but at 6 months plus you will be fully healed and your sleeve won't control you like it does now. Work on solving this problem right now. Protein Brownies.. http://www.eatmeguiltfree.com/ Ice Cream http://www.halotop.com/ Cook real low carb deserts http://www.ibreatheimhungry.com/category/recipes/low-carb-dessert-recipes Set aside certain Protein drinks as "treats" You have to think of this as a lifestyle. That means having options around that fill needs but still match your plan. The good thing about the low carb versions is they cost a little more and require more effort, so you can't just pig out on them or access them easily. For me I find it takes so much time and effort to some times make something to satisfy a craving that by the time I am done cooking I don't even want it. Also think seriously about what @@Kindle said above.

http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/news/20130118/alcohol-sleep http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/arh25-2/101-109.htm I didn't believe it but I found it to be totally true. I fall asleep much easier in a completely dark room. Once I close my eyes I sleep very deeply, rarely dreaming that I can remember. I wake up naturally in 8-8.5 hours, fully refreshed. Like I said it is almost freakish for someone who has never slept well in their adult life.

@@needtorecover I have a friend with sleep apnea. They don't wake up, but they sound like they are dying over and over during the night. It is terrible to hear, and every time we go on vacation it keeps me up because they refuse to wear their cpap thing. So you can have it and it won't wake you up. Sleep is one of those things I fixed before surgery. Because of my work and the fact I have a pretty open schedule, I can pretty much work whenever I want as long as I meet my deadlines, I used to nap in the afternoons often. Once I stopped napping in the afternoons, went to bed at a decent hour, in a completely dark room, with no electronics in it, my sleep greatly improved. I sleep around 8 hours a night and it is a deep sleep, my eyes close and then they open. It is actually freakishly deep for someone that has never slept well at night before. I wake up and hit the floor ready to go. I am so relaxed and refreshed. Make sure you have the nicest most comfortable bed you afford, a dark quiet room, and don't drink before bed. My Dr told me years ago that drink to sleep, actually interrupted your sleep and I didn't believe him but since I gave up alcohol a few years ago, my sleep started improving. If you drink before bed, you never get into deep REM sleep.

at 3 weeks I was managing 500-600 calories a day. I walked 30 minutes a day and that was all I had energy for. Like other people asked, what are you eating exactly?

http://myscaraway.com/ Walmart, and Amazon

@@Proud2BMe I forgot to ask before but what was the context of this conversation? How did your WLS even come up? It sounds like this woman was a stranger.

So you are like 3 weeks out? It I common to stall at this point. The first 6 weeks are about healing, not weight loss.

Well everything at KFC is nasty. Properly prepared they really taste like nothing at all. Just tough Protein. Yes, they are chicken that doesn't taste like chicken.

Lee's chicken. They are delicious. Lots of places in the south sell chicken gizzard and liver. They are a good source of iron.

My doctor suggested vitamin e oil. I used that at first. All of mine are almost invisible. The one that is dark is dark because they cut right a cross a huge stretch mark. I am going to try bio oil it. Also I used silicon strips, they helped a lot. Not just with fading and healing but also protecting them from clothes and bra.

Her current weight is 291, which is higher than the start weight of most of the people posting in this thread. There is no way in hell 40g of Protein a day is enough for her. She is a month out, she should be working to increase calories not lower them. I seriously doubt she is anywhere around 1000 calories a day right now.

I'm not telling you to ignore your Dr but... You have less fat to muscle right now. It doesn't make sense to lower your Protein, you are trying to keep the muscle you have and hopefully add some. Also as a larger person, you have more muscle mass than most people just from carry that weight around, you probably need more protein than most people, like in the 100g per day range. You calculate your protein needs based on your lean muscle mass, not your total weight. Your body doesn't absorb much more than 20 grams of protein at a time. So all these doctors that think people can get all their protein in 3 meals are making like harder on their patients. My Dr even told me not to over do it on protein at one time. Your body will just waste it. Most people need to eat 4-5 times a day to meet their protein needs. Eating planned and measured meals to meet your protein goals is not grazing. Which is what most doctors are trying to discourage by say no Snacks. I have a protein shake most days, just to save on calories and to prevent me from skipping Breakfast. I just don't feel like eating in the morning most days, so a protein shake is perfect. I don't have to have a protein shake, I can eat enough to meet my protein goals but I like having a protein shake. It is something I did for years before surgery so I don't see a need to change. The only thing about protein shakes is you want to make sure you are drinking the right kind, low carb, 5g of less of sugar, and at least 20g or protein. As long as you are drinking a high quality shake, there shouldn't be an issue.

You should have told her to "f off", you didn't have gastric bypass, malnutrition isn't a real worry. I have a friend that is just mystified that I don't look sickly after losing "so much weight, so fast". Well it wasn't really that fast, and I eat every day, all day. I always took Vitamins before surgery and I still take them. Even with less food than most people I still get more nutrients than most people. People still think weight loss surgery is like it was 10-15 years ago. It is so different now, because of technology and information being readily available. Also online ordering supplies. Think of all the people that come here that had little nutritional guidance from their program, but people are able to help them. In the past those people would have just struggled alone. Like @@AvaFern said the reason I chose this surgery was because there is over 100 years of data that you can live with little to no stomach and be perfectly normal. Once your intestines get messed up, it is just a long slow death. I'm not the type to say that people are jealous because I think that is a lazy response to usually complicated situations, but I think there is some jealous in WLS. There are a lot of people who desperately want surgery, and can't afford it/their insurance doesn't cover it, it is not available for them. Some of the posts I see here people who want to be approved changed my opinion on how bad people want surgery and how hard some people have to work to make it happen. I think there are some fat people that worry, they will be left in a super minority, as surgery becomes more mainstream, available and socially acceptable. They are being crowded out. Most minority groups go through these kinds of growing pains, but since access to medical care, has so many socio-economic factors, and how you look affects your earning potential and other social aspects, this is just a huge powder keg, we haven't even got to the real tipping point yet, wait 5 more years.

When I was obese I wouldn't have felt the same way you did. I feel like all humans are equal and I just as much right to space as other people. I didn't feel like I had to apologize for existing. Other people don't apologize for ruining my shopping experience by talking loudly or not controlling their children or standing in line the whole time not even getting their form of payment out. I really hate all these sweeping statements that people make about all obese people like they speak for all obese people. Everyone doesn't have the same feelings and even in the same experiences people don't take the same lessons from them. The other sweeping statement about fat people that I see all the time on here is that people got fat, because they put themselves last or they take care of other people. I got fat totally indulging my every whim, because I felt entitled to it, not because I put other people first.

I thought the lemon tea was awful. Caribbean Cooler is still the best one. I plan on sipping it all summer and pretending I am on a beach.

@@Munstersfan207 Ashley Stewart Jeans. They have a lot of stretch and are designed for curvy women. The 5 pocket jeans are normally 32.50 but if you sign up for emails they have sales all the time. Cello jeans are cheap. I got a pair at Ross for $19.99, they are usually around $30 at most stores. If you shop at macys' and you have coupons. You can sometimes get $70 jeans for $10-20 when they are on sale and you use coupons. I have good luck with American Rag and Rocks and Indigo. Also try the skinny jeans at Forever21 plus. And Charoltte Russe plus sizes. I have better luck with curvy skinny juniors plus than with normal plus sizes right now. My waist is really small, and my hips and butt are not. You are going to have to go to the stores and try everything on though. I find my size varies a lot from brand to brand and even sometimes from the fit. Also try high waist skinnys, I have good luck with those. Also Jeggings work. I hate jeggings beause of the fake front pockets but they fit great and make your butt look great.

Keep losing he will get over it. Even if you tried to stop right now, you will probably keep losing anyway, at 7 months you still can't eat enough unless you eat all day to drop yourself into maintenance.

Start bringing a protein shake now. It will help you get used to protein shakes. Help you learn to resist, and later if you start losing fast, people will assume it is because of your new lifestyle because it is.

My out of pocket maximum for the year was 1500, that plan doesn't exist anymore, lol. I didn't pay anything for surgery. I spent all the money on pre-op cardio testing. By the time surgery rolled around, I was maxed out.

Advancing your diet and increasing your calories is the best way to get big loses. You don't lose a lot in the beginning because you have shocked your system. When you can take in more calories, you lose more fast. The first 6 weeks for me, were very little weight loss, as soon as I could eat more after 6 weeks BAM rapid weight loss.

@@rachdotjpg Like other people said, hiccups mean full for a lot of people. I got them early on when I was trying to see how much I could eat past 2oz, as I was getting to the points I was supposed to eat more. Try just eating 2 ounces at a time, more frequently and see if that stops the hiccups. As long as you are measuring and eating proper portions to meet your Protein goals, eating more small meals is not grazing.

You do not lose weight every single day even if you are not in a stall. You might stay the same weight for days then suddenly drop. Also the amount of fluids and waste in your body vary fromday to day.