BarrySue

Love Fairlife! It's not just lactose free, but they also filter out much of the sugar as well, making it a relatively low carb milk. After surgery, fairlife was the ONLY thing I could tolerate without vomiting for nearly a month (without it, I would've been stuck in the hospital). I loved that I could use diet hot cocoa mix for mornings, and then mix sugar free strawberry syrup with it when I wanted dessert. It's expensive, but I could always find them on sale for BOGO or 1-2 dollars off when I looked around. Walmart/Target and discount chains also carry them here in Florida, and Publix has promotions often.

Traveling and disruption of routine can make the body do zany things, and you'd be surprised how easy it is for the body to go "Hey! Wouldn't it be cool to hang onto a few lbs of weight just in case?" Stress, even the good kind, will make your body do annoying things. I gained 4 lbs during an x-mas trip to Vegas, even though I stayed under 1k calories per day (though I did eat some candy). Within 10 days, it was gone along with another 4 lbs. Three weeks after, I'm down 15 lbs from my initial post-Vegas bump.

Your body is not a precise mathematical formula that calculates and measures your calories. It is a complex series of chemical reactions that vary wildly (and day to day) due to hormones, genetics, activity level, menstruation, age, gender, and a host of other factors. You will not lose weight in neat, exact increments, and often the journey isn't a steep slope, more ups and downs. Don't stress, don't lose sleep, your body will not defy science and operate on stubbornness alone (there is no one incapable of starving themselves to death). Eventually, you will lose weight so long as you stick to the plan. Remember that fat is not the only thing coming and going in your body. There are a lot of other materials being shuffled around, reassembled, hung onto and manufactured (Yep, your body can manufacture just about anything). If you're stuck, assess your plan (are you doing the recommended water/protein amounts?), chuck the bad stuff (eating too many carbs? Cheating, even if in small amounts? Eating one big meal instead of splitting things up?), and switch up your exercise routine (or start if you haven't).

For those of us who started at a higher weight, it takes longer. I am an apple shape, and my clothing size didn't change for the first 80 lbs. Now, I lose a size every time I drop 10-15 lbs. Don't worry, you'll soon be approaching territory when things will start to change more dramatically. I still feel heavy and not much different, even though the change is becoming more dramatic now. I hold up smaller clothes and go "ugh, this is impossibly small and won't fit," but then it does with room to spare. It's like our brains still have the same sense of spatial awareness and can't comprehend the shrinking space out bodies occupy. Hang in there, it'll get better and the results will finally start to show in a way you can see.

Loaded up my plate at Christmas dinner so as not to feel awkward, figuring I could toss it later. But then all the dishes were collected and I kept being asked if the food was okay/was I still hungry/why did I not eat. Ah, holidays

It depends. They are easy to load up, taste good, and go down easy, so they are inherently dangerous and there is no good reason to have them unless your doc recommends it. I had severe GI issues about two months out and lost the ability to tolerate almost any foods, so I lived on PB crackers per doctor's orders (they didn't care what I ate, so long as I ate something. It was the only solid food I could tolerate for a while). Now, 2-3x per week I have a pack of Peanut Butter honey crackers, and those get to be my carbs for the day (24g carbs but 7g protein). It's too easy to slide into bad habits with them, so why bother for your first few months? You've worked hard to get this far. Screw crackers, you don't need them.

Orlando, FL. The seedy underbelly of Mickey Mouse-ville.

Other than that terrible Texans hat (hey, no one is perfect ), you're doing amazing! Keep on truckin'!

They are awful, they are normal, and they do pass. You'll get past this hump, OP! Hang in there.

Look up the user BLERDgirl (you can use the search function). She is a vegetarian with strong vegan leanings, and she is making incredible progress on her weight goal.

I just buckled my seat on a plane for the first time in 13 years. It was so amazing and I wish I could scream out loud when it happened (although my fellow passengers on the flight would be very confused/awkward).

I'm very happy you found another option, OP (I wish I had gone to Mexico and saved a bundle). I've thought about a gofundme account for future plastics, but ultimately decided against it for the following reasons: 1. I am ultimately responsible for the damage done to my body (weight is the luxury tax we pay on getting to eat whatever and however we want). 2. There are so many gofundme people out there needing money for limb prosthetics, death of family members, natural catastrophes, and terrible accidents over which they had ZERO responsibility and control. 3. I could still ask my friends/family to contribute money in lieu of gifts for x-mas, birthdays, etc. 4. Doing it because "it's a free country" despite the implications it has for my character, integrity, and personal responsibility is not okay with me. Good luck on your journey, OP. Hope to see you on the other side post-op!

Morbid obesity increases the likelihood of gallstones/gallbladder problems. Extreme weight loss increases the likelihood of gallstones/gallbladder problems. Combine the two, and you have a high rate of gallbladder failure or complications within the first year of surgery. Removing the gallbladder pre-emptively is common practice, and can reduce the risk of additional surgeries and other problems.

I did self pay for around 15k here in Orlando, Florida. However, knowing what I know now about the safety, reliability, and high patient satisfaction of folks heading to Mexico, I'd go there if I could do it all over again (and save the extra money to put toward plastic surgery to remove loose skin).

At your weight, yes, you will have lots of loose skin. So do I. It's a luxury tax we pay for being able to eat whatever we want over the course of our lives.

No, no, and no. Read all the pseudoscience and quack natural theories you want, no legitimate science will ever link dairy and stalls. Not only is dairy okay (if you are lactose intolerant, you can get lactose filtered milk, and yogurt/cheese go through fermentation that can reduce lactose reaction), but it's a GREAT way to get both calcium and protein without the carbs.

No lie, pre-op, I could eat an entire pizza (and frequently did). When I didn't do that, I'd order 2-3 meals at a time from restaurants or fast food joints and eat it ALL. Six months out, I can now comfortably eat 90% of one pizza slice. How times have changed!

No one is entitled to your private health information or personal decisions. Feel no guilt, tell no one who you wouldn't trust with your life (and even then know something will likely slip). When people know you had surgery, they treat it like an invitation to ask personal questions and frankly make inappropriate or stupid comments that make me want to kill them.

Answer: It depends. (anyone who tells you otherwise is lying) It all depends on your level of activity, total caloric intake, Protein intake, hydration level, individual metabolism, and frankly, a whole lot of "I'm your body and I'll lose more when I damn well please." Don't get discouraged. The 3 week stall is a rite of passage. You're one of us now.

Great job! I'm sitting at 103 lbs lost 5 months and 29 days out, but I started at over 350 lbs (so I have a loooong way to go yet). You look great!

BMI started at 60, down to 43 now at six months post-op.

I didn't realize how integral food was to my comfort and happiness until I stopped. I still tried to eat bad foods after my surgery, but one bite in I'd gag. I'd walk around the grocery store and touch/handle/be drawn to everything I couldn't have, and just having it in my cart was like a security blanket. Sometimes I'd buy stuff knowing I couldn't eat it, I just wanted to HAVE it. Then I'd put it back before checking out, or throw it out/offer it to a roomie when I got home. Much of what I buy even now, I take a few bites and then casually throw the rest away. I think purchasing food/meals/snacks just makes me feel normal. Is that weird?

I've lost 101 lbs now, and much of it is from my face, shoulders, back, upper torso area. I never had a butt (tragic white girl syndrome), but everything around my waist has gotten smaller at a MUCH slower weight. I'm just an apple shape, so I'm learning to deal with it.

I also had a couple lumps in my two largest incisions where the skin simply didn't lay flat. But I'm nearly six months out and it's smooth again.

You need to call your doc ASAP, but all of those laxatives/stool softeners won't be effective UNLESS YOU GET TONS OF HYDRATION. Drink drink drink water.