JupiterinVirgo

Seems like it would be worth buying. Obviously, the future is unknowable, but based on what is known: US healthcare system will destroy you financially if anything unexpected happens, and catastrophic medical coverage abroad is under a grand. Seems like a no-brainer. Good luck!

"A woman who cuts her hair is about to change her life."

From the beginning, I got rid of my scale. Right after my surgery, I only weighed in at the surgeons office which I visited several times in the first six months after surgery. Since then, I did not buy a scale, and I have weighed myself according to opportunity to do so. I had my initial surgery in November 2015. I'm down 150 pounds. I believe that not having a scale at my disposal really helped my mental health and kept my weight loss on track, because instead of obsessing about numbers I was paying attention to what I was actually doing not what my gravitational pull is. And it's working. I have now surpassed my stretchiest stretch goal and I'm going for the blue ribbon! Don't let the scale mess with your head. Best of luck.

The Nutra bullet is a great product for the money. Around the $99 range, you can make all kinds of good for you green drinks and fruit smoothies with protein. I highly recommend it. The magic bullet is really more for things like mixed alcoholic beverages.

Most popular Protein supplements have almost no real food! They are full of chemicals and for many people those chemicals trigger serious symptoms and health conditions that go unrecognized. Try something organic like "Phood." I also have found the collagen protein to work well for me. I have purchased in the past from Dr. Axe website. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

What are ridiculous requirement. Insurance companies have a lot of nerve. There are many states in which it is perfectly legal to smoke marijuana, and quite frankly in my humble opinion outlawing the existence of an herb is by itself insanity. Using this to prevent people with real health issues from addressing them borders on criminal by itself. Sorry you're going through this. Move to California! LOL Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

If you need to sweeten your tea, you might be better off using raw honey mixed with cinnamon. Raw honey is honey that they don't cook all of the natural nutrients out of and turn into sugar syrup. Immediately following my surgery I used this to heal the inside of my stomach and I still do when my stomach is agitated. That said, I almost always use Stevia as a sweetener and less my body needs raw honey because sugar spikes are bad. Lol... Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Any surgery comes with health risks. So does being morbidly obese. I think most of us were pretty scared as surgery came closer. I know I was! And while complications are most certainly possible, if you Peruse through the site you'll see that most people didn't have any or very minimal. Every body is different. Starting weight, previously existing health conditions, genetics and other factors come into play. Focus on a successful outcome instead of looking for cases in which there was some kind of failure or destruction. While those do happen, they are in a minority of cases. And P.S. reality TV has very little to do with reality. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I have the sleeve. I chose the sleeve because it is less invasive, and it alters less of your anatomy with similar results. I have not heard good things about the bypass. I have heard that it is difficult to stay healthy after the bypass, and that that should be a last resort. Sleeve has worked fantastically for me. Even though we all know that a surgical procedure is permanent, at about 14 months out I am realizing that my anatomy really has changed forever. Sometimes I feel frustrated by it. But at the end of the day, the surgery saved my life. That said, I am really really happy I did not choose the bypass instead, but only you know what's right for you. Good luck! Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

What an amazing transformation! I wish I had gotten my surgery sooner! Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

The statistical average of weight loss for bariatric patients is about 80 pounds in six months. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Thank you all so much for your compassionate, interesting, and brilliant comments and suggestions. It's definitely time to go shopping LOL… Like I needed an excuse! Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

This is not about being smart. This is about being human. What you have accomplished already, is amazing! Not only are you beautiful, but despite what charts and graphs may say, it might be possible that this is the weight your body needs and wants to be until further notice. Is this such a bad thing? I am not saying that you couldn't scrape a couple more pounds off if you worked harder and gave up your sweet so whatever you feel is holding you back, but my point is not whether there is more weight that can be lost or should be, but considering the possibility that you are actually in maintenance already. When all is said and done, only you need to live with what you choose. Personally I find you very inspiring. You look stunning! Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

My butt is so bony it hurts to sit on a hard chair, and I have lost a great deal of volume in my breasts, there is not an inch of pinchable fat on my hips, but my stomach is heavy and hanging in causing me a lot of pain in my joints on my hips. I probably have about 30 more pounds to lose and 29 of them are in my belly! Lol Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Loss of appetite and hunger seems normal to me at three months out. I remember that early after my surgery, eating was a task I had to complete and nothing more. I didn't have normal hunger signals anymore, and I found eating to be a chore. It was no longer something I found pleasure in; in fact, I knew I would experience discomfort every time so I came to care less and less for eating in general. My appetite returned later in my process, but I lost a ton of weight while I was busy being disgusted by food. My point however is that probably it is nothing to worry about. Just complete your meals like a task that has to be done instead of following a desire to eat. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

When I was probably your age I felt the same. I had lost like 80 lbs and was self conscious. I used to like to wear pretty bustier type lingerie, held the boobs up and covered my belly....at some point no one care about it all. Have fun, so happy to hear you are enjoying life. How I miss those days Thank you for your compassionate response! I do like that look LOL Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I have the same problem as you original poster! Also, my sleeve surgery enabled me to follow my dream of moving into an RV and traveling all over the country, and an RV is no place for leftovers LOL… The refrigerator and freezer are small and the kitchen is tiny. This has been a problem. I recently decided to go back to basics, which for me are primarily: yogurt, cheese, nuts, fruits, veggies and meat 2 to 3 times a week. Feeling better already! Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

10 or 12 is my current goal. I cannot even imagine being a size 4. I think my bones alone are bigger than that! But maybe not! And you look amazing!! But I myself, cannot fathom it. I started out at a size 28/30. Currently a 16. And to be honest with you, I can totally live with this. But I wouldn't mind getting down to a 10/12. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Adding calories is super easy even with a lot of restriction. Go for things with high fats like nuts, and sugars, like raisins. For someone with a condition bordering on being underweight you can probably even go get a GOoey high end organic treat from Whole Foods and get 500 cal just from that. If you had a need for the surgery at one time, then you know how to put weight back on. I would also consider doing everything I can to increase my nutritional intake-less focus on calories and more focus on organic vegetables and fruits. Just intuition based notions I have. It's amazing to me that anyone who is overweight enough to need bariatric surgery can actually get too thin. This is definitely not been an issue for me, and I can't imagine what you must be going through from one extreme to the other. You can do this! Just ask your body what she needs. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

This is a long-term journey, so the diet mentality doesn't work in terms of permanent success. The most important thing I have found when I can't control my hunger, or I have an uncontrollable urge to stuff everything I can into my mouth, it always seems to come down to nutrition. When my body is getting all the Vitamins, minerals and hydration that it needs I have no problem, but when my body need something specific to balance itself it will compel me to eat until it gets enough nutrition out of whatever I'm meeting to do whatever job it needs done. Down 130 pounds with 30 more to go. I don't get upset about it when I fall off the wagon. I just use my next opportunity i.e. the next meal to do better. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I come from a family of nurses although I myself am in a different field. They told me that these issues/symptoms was a blood pressure issue and that I should drink salty chicken broth when I feel lightheaded while standing up or something. My symptoms not as severe as yours, but figured I would pass out on more than one occasion just from standing up Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

You go to the store and shop like you can eat. Then throw half your groceries away a week later. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I have noticed something I never noticed before. That in our culture, it's OK to be overweight but only to a certain extent. As a woman, it seems to me that I am not allowed to be over 200 pounds without serious social consequences. Once I got under 200 strangers started to be nicer to me. I feel disgusted by this realization. I don't want to be loved for my body, or distained for it. I am so much more than my body, and I am coming to a level of success with my weight loss that is bringing me up against a very deep psychological pain, that was not dealt with fully, or even that I was aware of it until now. Due to severe trauma over a number of years around sexuality, I realize that I have been hiding my sensual personality. Growing up and seeing menace predators caused me to try to hide from them: under a lot of weight. Now that I am becoming visible, a part of me wants to stop losing weight. It scares me to think that I could fall for somebody who says they love me but really it's my body they prefer. That is, that same individual would not even give me the time of day at my previous weight. I feel disheartened by this. I am a widow and I have been single a long time. I don't date much, and I don't intend to change that. I am only making this post with the hopes that I will discover that I'm not the only one who feels this way. I worked very hard on myself as a person for many years and I am finally becoming somebody that I like. Losing the weight has been great, but I'm a little bit afraid of losing anymore even though I'm still in the high 100s. My current body type is still way outside our cultural norm, and I am realizing that that has been a big part of the point of being overweight to begin with. Has anyone who has reached her goal moved through these feelings that if you become too pretty, too thin, it's dangerous? Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I have to say, some of your stories and comments have deeply touched me. Some of you have so much compassion and understanding, and I thank you for showing up here and being willing to talk about this difficult subject. Living in a rape culture is scary. Being a woman, sometimes feels scary. I have been working through my sexual trauma for many years, with psychotherapists, intensive trauma recovery, shamans, and healers of all kinds. I am a strong believer in doing our best to confront process and heal our most painful wounds. As a counselor, there's one thing that I do know: the things that disfigure us psychically and emotionally, never cease to exist. That is, all we can do is make them an integrated part of who we are. There is a before and then after when it comes to certain kinds of life events. Somethings, you can never be the same again. This is not necessarily a bad thing. But it hurts like a mofo. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

For those of you following my posts, you know that after I got the surgery and lost some weight I moved into an RV and have been living a life of richness and wonder that would not have been possible that my former weight. You might also know, that from the beginning I was very stand off fish about treating my surgical procedure like a diet I would be on for the rest of my life, because diets have never helped me to lose weight and keep it off. My policy right after surgery was that I only weighed in at my surgeons office. This was my policy because I knew that if I kept the scale in my home I would drive myself crazy and it would be a torturous experience. I saw my surgeon for six months after my weight loss surgery. Then I moved into my RV and drove away. As most of you probably know, scales need to be pretty much kept in one place and need to be on an absolutely level surface to be accurate. This is not feasible in the RV, and so I do not own a scale. If I am someplace where there's a scale available I will usually hop on, so once every couple of months or so I check my weight. I am over a year out of surgery, down 130 pounds, and my weight loss has slowed even though my physical activity has risen. This is not a problem for me. I am now at a weight I can live with and it's fine with me if it takes a little longer to get all the way to goal. Yesterday, I walked 6 miles, some of which I did at the mall. I walked into a store, and discovered that I was down to a size 16, and I thought I was in 18/20. This was a delightful non-scale victory. I found some clothes that make me look beautiful and flatter the figure that I have now. And, that was the first time I walked 6 miles in one day which was a victory by itself! I think everybody on these forums, even those of you who sometimes get mad at me for the things that I post LOL… This form has been so helpful and it has been so wonderful to have a place to come and talk about this journey with people who understand what it's like. I would love it if you would post your non-scale victories on this thread. Because this isnt about me. This is about all of us, getting healthy, finding ways to be happy, living with who and what we live with and not letting it stop us from having a good life. Not being rolled and owned by the scale or any other set of numbers. Making our humanity, our happiness, our priority. Thank you friends! Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App