JupiterinVirgo

Probably fungal. I use a topical cream for symptoms similar to yours.

Ive always been addicted to sweets. When I get a craving I have been having either a spoon of RAW local honey or a couple ounces of sweet potatoes. Cakes, Cookies and candy are no longer a part of my life.

Thank you. I'm three weeks in and constantly wonder if I'm losing weight. This post really encouraged me.

Black & Bleu Pastrami Sandwich Prep time - 8 minutes Cook time - 2 minutes
I've never been a huge fan of pastrami. On it's own it reminds me too much of an over-cured hotdog, even when I make my own from my goats. But put it on this particular sandwich - WATCH OUT. For the recipe below, I used the columbus brand pastrami from costco as I doubt most others here do their own charcuterie. Also, please note that this sandwich is quite large (from a post-op perspective), I rarely can even quite finish a half, but it's just as good the next day.
Ingredients:
Pastrami - 3 Slices
BariBread - 2 slices
Dill Pickle - 1
Reduced fat cheddar, shredded - 20 g
Chunky bleu cheese dressing - 1 Tbsp
Stone ground mustard - 2 tsp
Arugula (optional) - 1 small handful
Yellow onion, diced - 1/4 cup
Preparation:
Carmelize your onions over medium low heat - this is essential! Just be careful not to burn them
Decide which slice of your bread will be side A and which will be side B, we'll be building these open-faced and the order is important.
Slice A:
Slather on the mustard - use more if you like, it's calorie free (nearly)
Slice your pickle into even slices and arrange to cover as much of the bread as possible
Fold the pastrami slices in half and arrange on the pickles evenly
Slice B:
Spread the bleu cheese dressing on this side evenly
Spread the onions over the dressing evenly
Spread the cheese over the onions, be sure to cover all of the onions as this will help hold the sandwich together.
Low-broil both slices open-faced until the cheese is melted and lightly browned. Watch it closely as it burns easily.
Remove from the broiler, place the arugula, if desired, between the halves of the sandwich, put everything together, slice into quarters and enjoy! Just be sure to chew thoroughly.
Nutrition - remember, I only ever eat, at most, half of one of these at a time
Calories: 338
Carbs: 7 g
Fat: 21 g
Protein: 30 g
Sodium (ACK!): 1,027 mg

The one thing that helped me post op the most was a wedge pillow so I could go from lying down to sitting up with less pain.

Bariatric Bibim Bop Prep time - 5 minutes Cook time - 10-15 minutes
Alright, I know, Bibim Bob means mixed rice, so any true fan of Korean food, Korean or otherwise will probably want to shoot me for calling this bibim bop, but hey, I love Korean food and this ain't half bad for a bariatric modification. The trick here is to use a little rice vinegar in the 'rice' and then broil it before serving.
Ingredients (per serving)
Kale, spinach, bok choi, or other greens - 25 g
Gochujang (korean fermented pepper paste) - 1/2 Tbsp
Ground beef (or goat, or chicken, or pork) - 30 g
Egg - 1
Cauliflower - 50 g
Rice vinegar (unseasoned) - 1 tsp
Kimchee - 1.5 oz
Sesame oil - 1 tsp
Tamari or soy sauce - 2 tsp
Crushed garlic - 1/2 clove
Sesame seeds - 1 tsp
Stevia or other sweetener - just a sprinkle (optional)
Preparation:
'rice' the raw cauliflower in a food processor or cheese grater until rice-sized chunks form, mix with rice vinegar. DO NOT PUREE
Spread the cauliflower in a thin, even layer on a baking sheet, set aside - you'll want to broil this at the end but have it pre-riced
Add sesame oil to pan on med-low heat and saute garlic until not quite brown
Add greens and sesame seeds until wilted. Set aside.
Add ground beef, tamari, gochujang, and stevia to the pan used to cook greens. If you can't find any gochujang (usually found near the curry paste in asian grocers), you can use a black bean chili sauce - even fewer calories just not quite as tasty or authentic
Cook until beef is just done, set aside.
Now fry egg in the same pan, sunny-side up. You want it nearly raw, just cooked enough.
While egg is frying, broil cauliflower rice until brown and almost crispy but not burnt.
Add rice to bowl, top with beef, egg & greens. Stir and enjoy! For extra heat, add no-sugar-added sambal - but go easy. It packs a punch that may be hard to handle for casual-SE Asian cuisine eaters.
Nutrition:
Calories: 283 - but good luck finishing even 1 serving in a single meal - I usually split into two meals
Carbohydrates: 13 g
Fat: 10 g (use less oil, have less fat)
Protein: 13 g
Sodium: 555 mg

Bari-Bread: Prep time - 10 minutes, Cook time - 20-30 minutes
Let's start with the basics. I'm sure many of us wish we could still have some sort of bread, even if only as a vehicle for meat, eggs, or cheese on our sandwiches. Despite their apparent simplicity, this riff on Paleo Oopsie Rolls have a great flavor reminiscent of potato bread and easily modifiable to meet most any palatte.
Ingredients:
1/8 tsp cream of tartar
1/8 tsp salt
3 egg whites
3 Tbsp lowfat cream cheese or neufchatel, room temparature
2 Tbsp Water
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 300F
Beat egg whites & cream of tartar until stiff peaks form
Blend Water, salt & cream cheese
Fold cream cheese mixture into egg whites gently
Spoon in 6 equal sized 'patties' on nonstick surface (parchment paper with NS spray or silpat)
Bake at 300F for 20-30 minutes depending upon elevation. Remove when browned but at about the texture of the tip of your nose.
Remove from baking sheet and allow to cool to room temperature
Store in refrigerator in an open ziploc
Nutrition per 'roll'
Calories: 25
Total fat: 1 g
Total Carbs: 1 g
Total Protein: 3 g
Cholesterol: 4 mg
Sodium: 99 mg
Potassium: 50 mg
Modifications:
Add dill or dehydrated onion for sandwich rolls
Add caraway for a rye-like flavor
Add sesame seeds on top for burgers
Add basil & oregano to use as a pizza crust
Add taragon for a chicken salad sandwich

Hello BariBrothers, BariSisters, BariFamilies, and general lovers of healthy, good food. My name is Smye and I live on a small farm in the Pacific Northwest.
During both pre and post op appointments with my nutritionist, I was horrified by the suggested things I could eat once I was back to 'regular foods.' The suggestions I was given were flavorless, full of preservatives & junk, and/or otherwise reminiscent of the american 'instafoods' that are, in my opinion, a huge part of the original problems. That said, I wanted to share some of the real, whole foods I've been enjoying lately without hurting my sleeve or deviating from the dietary guidelines provided to me by my NUT. I'm down 86 lb since I started this journey on Jan 22, 2015, and loving every meal as much as, or more than, pre-op.

I've spent the last 7 years accommodating good food to meet my partner's corn, dairy, and gluten allergies without losing any of the flavor or texture with 80% of all ingredients sourced from my own small farm, so it wasn't too big of a jump to make these recipes low carb, high Protein and delicious.

Over the next few weeks I'll be posting recipes like:

Bariatric BibimBop
Pho
Pastrami Sandwich
Madras curry with fried tofu
chicken tenders with sauce
Sushi - Philadelphia rolls in particular
Personal Pizzas
Smoked cherry-glazed chicken
Barbeque-smoked chicken
Ham and cheese omlette
Pickled duck eggs
Quiche
Ham, egg & cheese sandwiches
Bari-bread
Guacamole Cheeseburgers
And many more

There's no need for food to be tasteless, uninteresting, or questionable in it's contents. If there's something you'd like to see that's not here, please PM me and I'll do my best - I also make sure to try everything myself and feed it to my executive chef neighbor before I post it to ensure it's excellent!

Love the patches!

Am I the only person who's made a profile of what they would like in a mate? It started as a joke, while doing profiles of what we were looking for in job candidates in some new positions we were creating. And then I thought about it, talked to my therapist who suggested the book Mapping the Terrain of the Heart (very great book BTW).
So while you might think the average guys profile would be about hair and breasts, it's mostly about communication styles. How supportive, where we should work together and apart, how much time I need to myself, how much time I want to be together etc.
And then I made a list of values I hold sacred, and values I am negotiable on.
The value of this is:
1) I gave myself permission to be happy and hold out for a person I need
2) I have a standard that I can refer to as I get to know a person and see if this is someone I can commit to long term.
I look at dating as a fun process of completing this search. And I do have a bunch of fun on this Quest. This was not an easy list, it actually took me over a year to put it together, but writing it down and not having muddled impressions was a valuable exercise.

I'm very early in the process, at three weeks post op and have not stepped on the scale since two weeks prior to surgery, but I want to print this out for the long haul. Thank you so much for this well organized, common sense summary!

As you may have noticed, I respond to a lot of posts with Embrace the Stall!
http://BariatricPal.com/index.php?/topic/351046-Embrace-the-Stall
I got tired of responding to the same posts multiple times a day and so wrote one long post with the information I have gathered and what works for me and others as it relates to stalls.
I don't see the need for educating people about stalls to lessen anytime soon, but I would like to hear from YOU some of the good things that happened while you were in a stall.
I'll start.
I am grateful that during my last stall, I: dropped a bathing suit size; increased my lap swimming to 1 hour, several times a week and have gotten faster and stronger; am able to get in and out of my car more easily; and no longer need a seatbelt extender.
How about you?

It seems that at least 50% of the posts on BariatriPal are bemoaning a stall. Daily, and sometimes hourly, I am reading about how someone ONLY lost x number of pounds and now the scale hasn't moved in ___ [fill in the blank] days/months, etc. Oh no, they write, I am a failure/unique/my surgery didn't work/life is not fair, ... Why am I in a stall?
I know I am exaggerating but I think you get the idea.
Guess what? STALLS are a NORMAL part of the PROCESS of losing weight. If you want to lose weight, you will stall. Not just once, but over and over. And, guess what? A stall is where your body actually does the hard work of becoming smaller. It takes a lot of work and energy to dismantle a structure that has been holding up, in some cases, hundreds of pounds.
For those who think they have to DO something to somehow "break a stall" (in my opinion, you do not break a stall, you just ride them out), here is my response:
What can you do to "break" a stall?
1) STAY OFF THE SCALE
Relax and stay off the scale if it bothers you so much. Weigh no more than once a week, or even less often. Weighing only at your doctor's appointments early in the process is a good strategy if your mood and self-worth are dictated by the numbers on the scale.
2) PICK UP A TAPE MEASURE
In addition to using the numbers on the scale to measure your progress, take your measurements. Inches lost are also a great way to see physical progress when the scale isn't moving. Most people see the biggest physical changes in their body when the scale seems stuck.
3) TRACK YOUR Protein AND Water AND MEET OR EXCEED YOUR PROTEIN AND WATER GOAL EVERY DAY
As long as you are getting in all your protein and water and following your NUT and surgeon's instructions, you are doing what you are supposed to do.
If you aren't getting in all your protein and water, then increasing your protein and water is something you can do (and should be doing anyway whether or not you are in a stall).
4) EXERCISE
If you aren't exercising, then you can exercise (and should be whether or not you are in a stall). You can start slowly by walking or even moving more around the house. Exercising will help you feel better, tone your skin and build fat-burning muscle.
5) MAKE AN APPOINTMENT WITH YOUR NUT
If you are unsure or unclear about what you are supposed to be, or should not be eating, then make an appointment with your NUT (which you should be doing whether or not you are in a stall).
6) REASSESS AND REEVALUATE
About the only good result I see that comes from complaining about a stall is when you take an honest look at what you are doing and realign with the program recommended by your NUT and surgeon. Have you started eating more outside of your plan? Are you restricting calories? Are you eating enough carbs and protein for your exercise? Are you taking your Vitamins? Are you eating often enough? Are you eating slowly with protein first? Sometimes, all you need to DO is go back to basics.
7) JOURNAL
One of the biggest things I have noticed from the various posts is how anxious and out-of-control some people feel when they notice a stall. Journaling can help you gain some perspective and deal with some of the emotional turmoil.
-- Write about how you are feeling about the stall and your weight loss, and surgery in general.
-- Write about why you had the surgery in the first place.
-- Write about what life was like before surgery.
-- Write about what you hope and dream about accomplishing in the future.
-- Write about your fears.
-- Write about your NSVs.
-- Make a gratitude list.
-- Make a bucket list.
-- Write a letter to your old self; write a letter to your new self.
Just write.
8) SEEK HELP
Stalls are when too many people seem to revert to old, counterproductive dieting behaviors (restricting calories, over exercising, bingeing, etc.). If this is you, then another thing you can DO is to talk to a counselor or therapist or consider joining a bariatric support group or a twelve-step group like Overeater's Anonymous.
The discomfort of being in a stall can also drive people to develop new, unhealthy coping habits or even transfer addictions. This is where you want to marshall all the resources you have available to you and use them.
The last, and most important thing you can DO is:
9) EMBRACE THE STALL
Stalls are a normal and natural part of the process.
Our bodies are complex systems and not simple machines.
Stalls go hand-in-hand with weight loss.
If you had Weight Loss Surgery, then you probably want to lose a significant amount of weight. So, get ready to embrace the many stalls you will experience as your body is transformed. It will be worth it.

I've been bouncing between 164 and 165 for the better part of a month now after steady weight loss since the dreaded stall for weeks 3-5. I knew for the 3-5 stall, I just had to play the waiting game because it's a result of introducing non-liquids back into your body.
I was researching on here what other people have done as far as nutrition and exercise changes and saw someone suggested to go back to a liquid diet for 2-3 days just to reset the body. So, considering that was a relatively easy solution I could try first without changing up my exercise routine and such, I gave it a shot. I stuck to Protein Shakes (RTD and recipes), having a little Soup here and there to give me a little of the salty flavor I was craving so I didn't stray to snacking on junk food.< /p>
After three days of the liquid diet, no only did I get down to 163.4, but then after a day of eating normal solids again, I dropped to 162.8! So I lost 2.2 lbs in 3 days after NOTHING for a month!
I'm sure that it won't work for everybody, but it might be worth a shot to try before you go revamping your whole exercise routine (or throw your scale against a wall). Let me know if this has worked for you!

Women's sizes make no sense and vary widely based on marketing.

Amazing. And I can honestly say, as a total stranger who has never seen your image before, that your weight loss is visibly observable. And the timeline?? Incredible!

First of all I want to commend your bravery for posting this very real, and probably very common, fear out there, good for you. Also, there is a thread in the lounge that I started called "attention, I thought that's what I wanted", it addresses some of your fears.
Perhaps I'm an odd duck but, when I was a kid "popular" meant nothing to me. I simply didn't understand that you were *supposed* to want to hang out with people because they were "popular". This concept puzzled me - why would I want to hang out with someone if they weren't my friend? Why was I supposed to want something because someone else wanted it? This was highly illogical to me. I wanted french fries because I liked french fries, not because somebody I didn't know wanted french fries.
the point of my random story is that I apply the same principles to men now. Why would I want someone who doesn't want me? The men who didn't want me when I was obese - it is beside the point of whether or not they would want me now, because fat or thin, I would never want to be with someone that shallow. And it goes in reverse too, there really are men out there who are derogatory to thin women and will only date fat - again, here is a person that is categorizing people based on appearances and not substance and why on earth would I want to be with a person like that?
Now, lets forget the boys for a moment, I was deeply unhappy in my my body mind and heart over the state of my body, I was miserable. I felt trapped, like I was drowning in a sea of fat and couldn't participate in the things I love most about a physical life. How could I expect someone to love me, when I didn't love myself? So, I hold no grudge or animosity toward the hypothetical man who may find this current shell attractive, but who wouldn't have found the other one attractive. THAT is not who I am, THIS is, and I don't want to get obsessed with spilled milk.
Good luck and welcome!

Just wanted to say, I've discussed this in therapy before. Not just here.
I first looked into weight loss surgery in 2010. I needed it then too! At the time, I looked at the bypass. Thank goodness I didn't end up getting it because I feel the sleeve is better. Beside the whole dumping issue and the malnutrition issue, another big reason I opted not to have the surgery was because I was single and afraid to date again at a normal weight.
Let me explain more. Fast forward to now, I am now in a relationship of over 2 years with my best friend of 7 years. We live together. Neither of us want children and I'm ambivalent about marriage but he wants to stay with me for life. He wanted to be with me when I weighed almost 240 at the time, and he was this 120 lb, thin, multi talented musician who could had good looking girls vying to date him, but he chose me. Now, at almost 290 lb, I am fully ready, mentally and otherwise, for surgery. I do not think if I were single, I could do this.
I guess my worries are/were that I am disgusted with the idea of dating someone who wouldn't give me the time day now at my current weight. I know my boyfriend loves me now and will love me when I am lighter. He is not superficial. I fear if I get this surgery and were single or became single, I could never really date in confidence because I think any and all guys who give me attention at a lighter weight would have never looked my way at a heavier weight. I can't put into words how much it bothers me.
I want to know that the person I'm with will love me at any size, in any condition, as I would them.
I'm very thankful for my boyfriend and his love and his support. I have faith in our relationship but I do dread it not working on the because I don't know if I ever could trust anyone else to love me for me.
Anyone else feel the same way?
Sent from my DROID RAZR using VST

Naked whey, Phood, and Dr Axe collagen Protein powders all seem healthier options.

Well. I don't mind answering that at all.
My only son was 18 when he was murdered 3 years ago. My life has been unbelievable since then. I endured two separate trials to convict the two thugs who shot him in the head thinking they were going to rob him.
I have adopted 4 kids in the past 5 years. I have been under a psychiatrists care since my son died and I take 4 medications daily just to function and keep my sanity.
I go to counseling every week and a support group for bereaved parents every month without fail.
My husband and I have 10 children total with 16, 6, 6 and 5 still at home.
I have just been steadily gaining since his death and I wanted to do something about it. My bloodwork kept getting worse and worse every 6 months.
I scheduled the lap band but as I went through the process my psychiatrist wanted me to make sure that I would be able to take my medication without fail. I had to maintain my mental stability. I also talked with my OB and my pcp, and we all agreed that sleeve would be safer to continue my meds.
When they did the EDG, I did have a large hernia and there were ulcers all over my stomach. So surgery removed many of those.
I consider it a drastic step, but it is a tool I am using to make my life better. And if I can reach my goal and be all the mom I can be for the next 13 plus years for the little ones at home, then I'm trying to do it all right.
Isn't it better that I made an informed decision with commitment and conviction to get my health and well being under control before I was what ... What weight would you like to see before surgery is justified to you?
I am still calling this my win!!!

I'm 20 months out, and have been at my goal for a few months now.
BEFORE

AFTER (Actually, I lost about 5 more pounds after the "after" photo was taken.) :-)

I'm on the left, daughter on the right.

WOW!!
I hope you all know that you all look so great! I know how hard it is to see how you look when you lose large amounts of weight, but COME ON!!! Each one of you should stop and give yourselves a BIG pat on the back. That is CRAZY. You don't even look like the same people.
HOW FEAKING AWESOME!!!
Kelly

Just want to validate how you feel-it took me a good long time to warm up to Protein supplements. The good news is that my surgeon says at 6 months post op, I'm ok to get all my protein from my food.
What I really cannot stand is the artificial sweetener in the powders! So, people are going to probably crucify me for saying this-but I put a tiny pinch of real sugar in mine and then I'm able to drink a whole one and it isn't torture. I figure the protein outweighs the harm that a literal pinky finger sized amount of sugar will do! Good luck

I have now worked my way up to a vigorous walk everyday for about 35 min. The only thing I have to complain about is not having very good walking shoes.
I am now 190 lbs and have been wearing Birkenstock's for far too many years and my foot has spread to a wide size at the toes. Does anyone have any recommendations for a shoe that I won't have to mortgage my home for?