JupiterinVirgo

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

So, I haven't felt very sexy in a while. Right before my surgery I had met somebody and had a short but extremely passionate relationship during the first few months of losing weight. Ever since, I have been focused on me. And this turned out to be wise, because I'm down 130 pounds and have traveled across the country in my RV, currently residing in beautiful Southern California. The first time in my life I've been able to out run anything: New York snow! As it turns out, SoCAL might be the place I have been looking for all my life. Culturally, it seems wonderful. I am meeting so many cool and interesting people! Even men! So, I'm under 200 pounds, getting attention from men, and considering stripping down and getting laid. And I'm scared to death! I feel so insecure about my body which is right now a work in progress. And I know that my hangups about my body are obviously not the same as the men who would like to have sex with me, but I want to feel confident and beautiful. I'm also so horny that I feel like a tiger pacing the cage LOL… I still have more weight to lose and intend to have plastic surgery on my belly and my breasts. I did not expect this to happen/finish for at least a year. And I have no intention of waiting that long before I enjoy some much needed pleasure. Sisters, what do you do to feel pretty and confident when your body is a work in progress? Brothers, perhaps you can share some insight as well from your perspective? Some men say that women worry way too much about some of this. Thank you in advance! 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 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

I was always a big meat eater before surgery. At my weight, not only did I need a lot of Protein just to stay upright, but I needed specifically animal Proteins. I remember one year I tried to go vegetarian and after a month or so I was nearly falling over just trying to walk across the parking lot. I felt as if I had become anemic. After surgery, I of course attempted to follow the bariatric gospel diet I was given to the letter. After a while of eating meet at almost every meal and eating at first, and getting very little else inside my body I started to feel quite sick and I knew that the diet they gave me was not away for my body to be healthy. I became less and less interested in eating meat. And sometimes, the thought of it made me nauseous. As my stomach healed, instead of meat I started eating high-end cheese, nuts, whole milk yogurts and limited actual meat consumption probably take 2 to 3 times a week tops. The weight fell off quickly, and I felt much better. I started using high-end, tasteless collagen protein to compensate, and keep hunger at bay. I cannot stress enough, that there is no one-size-fits-all healthy way to eat when it comes to bodies. It really truly depends on where your ancestors came from, your personal bodies specific needs. Sometimes it is hard for us to trust ourselves because we are taught to outsource authority, and because we feel like we must not know how to eat if we got to the point where we need the surgery. But I don't think that that's really the truth. I think the truth is that only you can know what your body needs from day-to-day minute to minute to be healthy. Guidelines are fine, but the final authority needs to rest with your body and it's intelligence. I'm a big fan of intuitive eating, which is the regular practice of tuning into the messages of your physical body. If my body wants me to give it meet. If my body wants nuts or fruits or greens that's what I give it. But I choose the best version: organic, less processed, more Whole Foods. And it has worked so far. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Congratulations on starting your new life! 2017 is a "one" year, which means new beginnings are highly supported! I know that the days right after surgery are pretty tough, and all the old fears are still there. I was terrified that it would work for everybody except me. I still struggle with fears that I won't make it all the way to go, or that I will gain weight. But the truth is, the surgery was a miracle of grace for me. I have a whole new life. My body is almost half the size it was a year ago. And even though I fall off the wagon occasionally, because the surgery is a permanent thing and my life is no longer a diet, it's just not that big a deal. I just try again. And in this way, I have lost 130 pounds with 30 more to go. You can do this! I'm so happy for you. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

You are so early out. Even though you can't see it, your stomach is still healing from serious wounds. If a product, especially one like premier which is full of chemicals makes you nauseous, you should listen to your body. Nausea with almost anything is fairly common at your stage, but I find even add a year out if I eat or drink something that has a lot of chemicals in it it still makes me sick to my stomach. The body is intelligent! A migraine means that those chemicals are so toxic to your specific body that it's a literally making you ill. Nausea is nothing compared to the allergic reaction from chemicals in so-called food. The coating in the mouth is usually related to the Protein shakes, the major chemical changes happening in your body as you process fat cells and all the toxins that are stored in them, and good old-fashioned ketosis. Constipation is also caused by painkillers, on digestible protein overkill, and just less movement. I nearly became impacted after surgery, and what worked for me was milk of magnesia and smooth move tea. I had three or four weeks out you're still really tired. And it's really important to make sure you have something with you so you can eat every few hours or you will get very weak to the point of almost not being able to drive home, let alone chase after a little child. Things will get better! Much better. Hang in there and take good care of yourself! And FYI, there are lots of good protein shakes options that are organic, Whole Food, and/or plant-based. I bet you're really sensitive to chemicals. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I follow that rule the first couple of months but I no longer follow it. It is not normal not to drink while eating. I have no problem with that at all. And I have been very successful since surgery which was a little over year ago. I don't believe in a one-size-fits-all type of plan when it comes to bodies or personalities. Do what works for you! There's always more than one way to get where you wish to go. I am the kind of person that does it her own way. I started out following the bariatric gospel on weight loss and started feeling quite ill. When I trusted my intuition and started eating what I knew my body wanted the weight dropped off quickly and I felt physically much much better. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App