FocusOnMeNow

VitaminWater ZERO Rise Orange

Vitamin Water ZERO Squeezed Lemonade

Vitamin Water ZERO XXX Acai berry

VITAMIN WATER ZERO people - it has no carbs, it tastes great, it has Vitamins. You can get it at Walmart, Target, costco, and Amazon

There is no downside, except that your B12 might come back slightly elevated if you drink 4 or more 20oz drinks a day like I do. By that time you can switch out every other one with regular filtered or spring water.

Yes your stomach will definitely grow but do not rush it. You will lose most of your weight within the first six months and that is normal. I am 18 months out and now have to watch myself or 3 or so lbs will start to creep back on. For Breakfast I now have a vanilla Premier Protein in my coffee every morning AND either 2 whole hard boiled eggs OR 4 slices of bacon. Yesterday I even made myself a one egg omlette with veggies and goat cheese and also managed to fit down 2 slices of bacon. If your BMI hits 21 and you do not want to be that thin then just start adding Snacks every couple of hours. Believe me you will not waist away with a sleeve. You will not have ANY trouble gaining soon. Make the most of the first six months and enjoy your progress.

Vanity Fair 76380 and 76382 with lace

Google it

Amazon - search for it

Her Room - search for it

This is an awesome incredibly supportive full figure bra that holds the girls up with nice thick straps that do not slip OR dig in. I was wondering why my mom, who is 23 years older than me, and also lost about 150lbs after weight loss surgery had perkier taataas than me. It was the bra. I asked her where she got it. Also, seriously go to Nordstrom lingerie department in any major city and ask them to measure you too. You might be surprised at what you find.

You should definitely be able to pick one up for $20-30.

Vanity Fair Illumination bra is pretty good too.

Actually I started taking high quality Vitamins containing a LOT of highly absorbable Biotin and Iron about 2-3 months prior to my surgery. Right after my surgery my hair was the thickest it has ever been BUT at about the 3 month mark my hair also started thinning. I do NOT sell Vitamins and have no financial vested interest but I highly recommend Country Life Biotin in 5mg x2 per day or 10mg x1 per day. 10mg is the ABSOLUTE maximum that you should take in a day. You can get Country Life vitamins at Amazon, most Whole Foods, and online at Lucky Vitamin. I also take some Vitron C Iron supplement, which you can get at Walmart. It must be taken 2 hours before and after any Calcium intake (calcium interferes with the absorption of iron). How do I know that this all works? Besides my hair growing back, my eyebrows, upper lip, and leg hair are also growing like crazy. So there is a lot of extra tweezing waxing and shaving going on but boy oh boy is it worth it. It is perfectly normal for most folks to have Hair loss 3-9 months out. Even with the vitamins that is when my hair thinning was at its worst. Just remember that if your hair doesn't start growing back right away , that doesn't mean its not working. It takes 3 months for just about ANYTHING to have a real effect on your hair.

Good luck!

Also you can take up to 10mg or 10,000mg of Biotin a day once you are able to take pills without crushing them again. Also take some Iron 2 hours before or after anything else that contains Calcium. That and taking ALL of your other Vitamins really WILL help with the hair. It takes 3 months for the effects to show but believe me it works. We all had a little hair fall at 3-9 months out. Mine has come back.

@@krissyvsg

Hi! I was also 286 when I started this journey too! And I'm 168 now:-) And I'm also 46. Let's just say all my friends who were getting fillers and fat injections I still looked 10 years younger "naturally" (ie all that extra fat really plumped up those wrinkles). And I will admit that at first I did feel as if I aged 10 years in 10 months. But honestly, and I'm 17 months post-op now, its not so bad. I look pretty damn good for 46. I'm NOT getting carded anymore, which is a bummer, but honestly, I was 40 years old and still getting carded, c'mon?!? I have some friends my age who look better (and most have had at least MINOR work done) and some who look older than me. When I first started I felt like my stomach was deflating so much I would have a huge panny, and I do have a teensy one, but not worth a Tummy Tuck. Yes I look like I'm in my 40s, but guess what? I am in my 40s. Could we all use a little laser or filler here or there when we are in our 40s? I sure could, but its not in my budget right now. I'd rather spend it on a trainer or gym and get stronger:-)

I was self pay as well. Anesthesiologist and pathologist unfortunately have to be paid. First thing you should do is call their office, let them know that you are in fact self pay and that this cost was unexpected. What would they quote a self-pay patient? It is highly likely that they will give you a serious discount (possibly 25-50%). What you negotiated with your surgeon was HIS FEE and the hospital facility fee (which does NOT pay the doctors). Good luck.

I told anyone who would stand still long enough to listen. We are only as sick as the secrets we keep. Yes I used more discretion pre op but told my friends, family, my boss and a few very select co workers. Good luck to you all!

Dear Pre-Ops,

So I'm one year out and I can eat nearly anything I want, just not that much of it. I can eat a full slice of pizza (not making a habit of it though). Want to know what I really truly miss the most? salad and raw veggies. No lie I swear. There's a reason they call it "roughage". I can eat a few bites, but honestly I miss those big crunchy salads from the Whole Foods salad bar more than anything else. I jest you not. My mom had bypass and I asked her what she missed the most and she said pizza and cheesecake. So I had my "last supper" more than a month before surgery. I was kind of disgusted with myself and felt good about giving that stuff up. But honestly if I had to do it all over again I would pig out in salad and raw veggies (with Salad Dressing of course) until the cows come home.

What else? Mainly that the eating is not about the food. Yes the better the food tastes pre op the harder it is to resist. But someone on one of these forums recommended to read Brene Brown's books: Gift of Imperfection, Daring Greatly, Rising Strong. I got the kindle and the audible versions and have listened to them in the car, on the airplane, wherever (so not having time to read is not an excuse). By participating in these forums, going to therapy, going to Overeaters anonymous, and listening to Brene I have somehow learned to "Let It Go". Let what go? My bitterness, anger, hatred for myself and others. By learning to accept and embrace my own imperfections and short comings I can also accept and forgive others who were not really there for me in the way that I needed or wanted them to be. We're all human, we're all doing the best we can. Some of us are ill-equipped to be the person we wanted to be but we all will do better once we know better AND have the tools we need. Although I probably had an even shorter fuse about months 6-11 post op, somehow I have managed to let it all go. Not just the 103 lbs I have lost (still slowly losing), but also all that bitterness, anger, and resentment that I have been carrying around for the past 46 years. That is just as if not more freeing as the weight loss. I truly feel lighter inside and out. I know that I will have to work at this every day so that as I hit life's little bumps I can continue to think and truly feel "oh well $h!t happens" instead of taking everything as a personal attack because I'm defective, I'm not worthy, etc. But I am committed to doing that. FRiends and family have recently commented how it's so much nicer to be around me now. It didn't happen overnight, but little by little. I just want to encourage you all to take good care of yourself, love yourself, embrace your faults warts and all, and find your own inner peace. Gratitude is a huge part of that!

Good luck on your journey!

I recommend forgoing hot dogs for a very long time. And even then I would only consider nitrate free. Hot dogs are severely processed food which is not ideal when you are eating so little. And they are not on ANY soft food list.

As for being unable to walk or stand for long periods of time...yes that is correct. We all were unable to walk or stand for long periods of time because we just had major surgery. Except for our occasional walks around the block, floor, our houses we were supposed to be resting a recuperating at a week out. I took two weeks off of work and still had trouble standing and walking for long periods for several weeks after that. Liquid Tylenol rest and hydration and adequate Protein intake should get rid of the cold sweats. If not please take your temperature because it could also mean you have a fever or an infection is brewing. But again many of us had cold sweats and weakness in the first week or so post op.

Try Vitamin Water Zero Rise Orange flavor (it is the only flavor with potassium). Try pacific Bone Broth and/or bone stock (available on Amazon and some whole foods) which both have about 10 times more Protein than regular chicken broth. And Isopure zero carb clear liquid drinks (the alpine punch aka koolaid flavor is the best). So if you are not drinking shakes, how many grams a day of protein are you getting? You still need to aim for roughly 70 grams of protein a day. And BTW why are you drinking chocolate coconut water that is loaded with sugar? Coconut water is good in that it has a LOT of potassium that you need, but at this stage you should not have more than maybe 4 oz unsweetened per day (otherwise too much sugar).

Sugary drinks are NOT allowed. Who told you that? Some diluted juice is allowed assuming that it would be in VERY limited quantities. Please do not add honey agave sugar corn Syrup molasses or any other sweetner to your drinks or food. In fact you should have thrown all of those things away prior to surgery. Please throw them away now. Please also go throw away anything with more than 5 grams of sugar per serving. Please do not buy these things again. Then go out and get yourself some truvia or some organic stevia packets and have a nice day. If tea burns then stop drinking tea.

9 weeks for me. I was counting down the days

At 11 months I poured a beer into a clear glass let the head evaporate and then drank it. It went down fine. For some reason soda did not go down as well. MAybe because the carbonation no beer is natural? Not sure?

Start taking extra Biotin TODAY and Iron if allowed (but my doc said NOT to take any iron the week before my surgery).

What are you taking for the nausea. Might I recommend zofran?

Pacific Bone Broth and/or bone stock. It comes in chicken or turkey. You can get it from whole foods or Amazon.< /p>

Yes I have one but I bough it several years ago. If I was on the market for anything now, I would just go for the Apple Watch (assuming that you have an iPhone)

If you are eating appropriate portions and taking your time, it is not that unusual.

Unsweetened almond milk or fair life milk should work. Fair life has extra Protein and no lactose[emoji4]

There are lots of reasons to remove the nail polish. Surgical nurses are not allowed to wear it either. So just remove it.

Caffeine is a diuretic and it absolutely will dehydrate you. Even when I was cleared for caffeine at 9 weeks my tummy didn't tolerate it very well. I could only do tea, not coffee, and even then had to dilute it with a vanilla Protein Shake.

I just brought my Vitamin Water zero with me wherever I went so I always had something to sip and to hold to keep my hands busy.

I couldn't sleep on my side for about 4 weeks. A binder might help. But I just had to deal with it and sleep on my back. It's only temporary. This too shall pass.