Momto9

That is an amazing transformation. Great job!

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I think as long as we're all posting in the forum, we don't need another specific group inside a group. I'm just saying. Our experiences really aren't that different from others just because the color of our skin.
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My starting weight was 294. I am now 116. I NEVER thought I would be a 39 year old mom that can wear a size 0. I didn't seek that out as a goal, it just happened. My doctor gave me the goal of 135-145. I hit the top end of the goal in 9 months. It took about 3 months to lose the other 10 pounds. I started training for my first half marathon in July of last year and got down to 121 then. Even though I stayed the same weight, during that time I went from a size 6 to a size 2. I lost more weight after stopping birth control.
With all that said....how you look after is based on so many different factors. I lost 178 pounds, but have minimal excess skin. I know others that have lost 80 pounds and have LOTS of excess skin. I give credit to my workout regime in part. You cannot just do cardio, you must do weight training.
The hair loss. I experienced that starting the 3rd month through about the 9th month. It was minimal though. I have PCOS and experienced much worse before the surgery. I have been committed to getting my Protein and taking my Vitamins.
I agree with the others. Looking a certain way is still healthier than being obese or morbidly obese in my case.

A thin, 'sunken in' looking face won't kill you. Being obese will.

When it comes to faces, it does seem like a lot of us go through phases where we look a little sunken and sickly, but it does seem to even out eventually. Age seems to have a lot to do with it. For younger people, the skin and plumpness seem to bounce back eventually in maintenance. For older people, they can end up with some sagging skin in their neck and jowls.
But I will say the same thing about this as I do to the people who fear hair loss and loose skin... no one ever died from it. People die every single day from obesity-related illnesses!

Congrats!! You look phenomenal. Sent from my SM-G935T using the BariatricPal App

Before and after! The best decision I ever take of my life.
Stats. 325 pounds Feb/16 Now 165 pounds Dec/16
Blessings.
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You look fabulous!! Congratulations.
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100 lbs, gone forever. I still have 5 months til the end of my 12 month loss grace period. Really looking forward to seeing how far my sleeve can help me go!
Happy Thanksgiving, all!
HW: 293
CW: 193
GW: 185
Sleeved 4/14/2016

Lmao. Everything is the same except the underwear. Those had to go!!!
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Thanks.
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I have never posted pictures on here because I never wanted to put out what I used to look like as I am no longer that person. I am a new person but have come to terms that I wouldn't be who I am today if I hadn't lived life as a larger person. I also know that when I started out looking at other people's pictures were such at motivation for me so I am hoping these will help someone in return. The picture of me at my largest was after I had my son. I had lost a significant amount of weight before my day of surgery which is the pic of me looking grumpy and in pain.      
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It's been 5 days of this liquid diet and I have already lost 6 pounds!!! I'm pretty happy about that. Since I'm so short (almost 5'2'') I can't really see it; but I can definitely feel it! People who are vertically challenged, such as myself, don't usually start seeing a difference until 20-30 pounds lost, lol. XD

This diet has actually been pretty easy. I don't know if it's because I've dieted before, and that I knew what to expect; or if maybe I just got lucky. I really expected to feel miserable since I've seen so many people struggle with it. The only thing I can complain about is the amount of times I've peed. Last night, between 12 am - 5 am, I counted 19 times that I got up to pee. It's driving me crazy. @_@

Definitely less overall - no eating out or soda. The whole family is eating better - but supplements and Protein do add up --- happy overall !!!
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less for sure - but the cost of supplements (including protein) offsets at least some of it

I don't know what prompted this message. I don't (can't) read all of the messages on this board, because there's just too many. But in what I have read, I haven't seen much that rises to the level of ugliness and disrespect held out here, especially from the "vets". I've seen a few personal clashes between vets spill over, but I would think things like that could be handled in private messages.



I fear that this message has and will continue to cost us some of our most experienced members on this board, ones who have been invaluable to me in my decision and preparing for my surgery. This saddens me, not only because I will miss their posts, but because I believe that the new people in the community will lose out.



My therapist asked me why I get so worked up about My Big Fat Fabulous Life, and the Healthy at Every Size movement's message that extreme obesity can be healthy. The answer is that I get worked up because it's putting wrong information out there, and it can harm people. I was an ER nurse, and provided patient education to a wide cross section of our population, and in my experience only a very small percentage of people are educated and well-read enough to be able to tell what information they are exposed to in media, specifically the internet and social media, is incorrect. Heck, I saw a meme the other day that jokingly advised people to put sugar in their auto gas tanks to keep the gas from freezing. And a few days later, news reports about people actually doing so. So when people on TLC are advocating extreme obesity as a "healthy choice" I get upset because people will believe it.



Likewise, I worry when I see topics broached on this board and advice that can be very harmful to newbies who don't have the experience or knowledge to judge the validity of the advice. Advice like there is absolutely no health concerns with e-cigarettes, or that drinking alcohol shortly after post-op is fine, or that eating solid food while still in the liquids restriction immediately post-op is just fine. I don't have the experience that some others do here, being pre-op, but I am a registered nurse, and I know that some of this information is dangerous. Yet when vets here or medically trained people like myself say - IN VERY MODERATE WAYS - that these are not really great ideas, we get trounced upon, and called bullies. Yet if we don't speak up, there will be people who will believe what they are reading that is just patently wrong.



All I know is that some very straight talk from people who had been through it is what I needed, and what I found here. And some of those very same people are exiting stage left because they're tired of being called out for being "mean" and censured for that same straight talk. Bariatric surgery is a huge and permanent step, and if all we're doing is validating every opinion no matter how dangerous or ill-informed, then I fear for the same newbies that this message is trying to "protect". Instead of assuming people are coming to this board as rational adults capable of processing critical feedback, it seems that we're to assume they are all fragile souls who we can't say anything negative to. I don't find that a flattering or helpful assumption.



Just my spare change, take it or leave it. No offense intended, just my opinion, and all that jazz.

I am seriously puzzled on how one may be able to make sure that his/her every word is pleasing to every personality on this board without giving up his/her own personality in its entirety. Even then, words are often misconstrued because the reader is emotional/hangry/wants to hear something else/is from another country where words and phrases have different meaning than the person replying. It's also apparent that some people are ripe and ready to be offended because they don't like the person replying or were told that they should be offended when they weren't beforehand.
Perhaps instead of making a post like this, one that will only create MORE disharmony and dissension (and causing some of our most helpful people to leave), the offensive parties should be addressed directly. Posts like this **IN MY OPINION** are more harmful to the general sense of community because they justify AND INSPIRE unnecessary butt hurt and finger pointing.
Wow. I'm sad. It seems as if there is a trend of posts lately that are telling vets that their time here is done. I hear you loud and clear.
***Of course, this is just MY opinion and just a suggestion, not meant to offend anyone. It's just based on MY experiences as a forum moderator and board owner.***

I started the BariatricPal forums to create a safe place for everyone in the weight loss surgery community. It is for pre-op and post-op patients, for patients of all types of WLS, and for anyone who supports the WLS community. I want you to be able to come here for advice, encouragement, support, and information without worrying about being judged.
I have a zero-tolerance policy for rudeness, and you can see the guidelines in the Forum Rules.
Recently, there have been several instances of members being disrespectful or downright rude. Examples include:
Stating or implying that a poster is doomed to failure or not ready for WLS because he or she asked a certain question or is engaged in a certain behavior. Telling people that your way is the only way, and any other way means the member deserves WLS failure. Discriminating against “newbies,” such as letting a newbie know that you don’t think he or she will succeed, or asking only “vets” to reply to a certain thread. (Reminder: you can always choose not to follow the advice of someone you deem unqualified to give it). The vast majority of BariatricPal members do a phenomenal job making BariatricPal the warm, friendly community that I dreamed of when I started it. Thank you! Besides being sure to be polite and respectful, here are some additional ways to help.
If you see an offensive post, please consider the following.
You do not need to respond. Instead of giving a rude answer and escalating the situation, you can simply choose not to answer. You can report the post by clicking on the “Report” option under the post. A forum moderator will look into the situation and may delete the post or ban the member if the member continues to post inappropriately. You can send the member a private message explaining that you felt the post was inappropriate, and explaining why. In many cases, you may be surprised that the member did not even realize he or she was being rude. Please also think twice before you respond to any questions or other posts. It is possible that you could write a post that is genuinely meant to be helpful, but the person could accidentally interpret your post the wrong way. Try to remember that:
It is very difficult to communicate a specific tone in writing. You may write something that you think is helpful and understanding, while someone reading it might take it as bossy or judgmental. Emoticons such as smiley faces can help. You can also add a sentence to explain that you are only offering a suggestion or sharing your own experience and that you are not trying to judge the OP. The OP might be in a vulnerable situation. They may be panicking about a worrisome symptom. They may be in turmoil about whether to get WLS. They may be freaking out about a stall. When they’re upset, it’s easier for them to misinterpret your well-meaning post. Thank you for doing your best to keep the environment at BariatricPal positive, encouraging, and open. We all need a place to go for help and support, and I want the entire weight loss surgery to feel comfortable using BariatricPal for advice and encouragement.

You are averaging 4 pounds weight loss per week over a 6 week period. That is phenomenal! Stop comparing yourself to others, it is pointless and frustrating. Everyone is different, focus on YOU!

My doc gave us a list of Vitamins. Flintstone chewable with Iron was at the top of the list. Centrum Silver chewable, store brand chewables like target, etc, and nature made chewable.
Way less expensive than what your doc is trying to get you to buy and has everything you need in it and more.
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LOL!
Calories in one cup of trail mix?
693.
There's your sign.

If you continue to eat that way... waiting for some food to digest then eating a little more, you are essentially "grazing", which is one of the ways WLS patients regain weight. You want to try to avoid that. Once you are all healed up, which you should be at 3 months out, you want to try to confine each "meal" or "snack" to about 20 minutes of eating. Then wait 30-40 minutes before drinking. Then don't eat again until your next scheduled meal or snack. At 3 months out, I was eating 5-6 meals/snacks per day. Trying to get about 10-20 grams of Protein in each time. I didn't have much room for vegetables, which is why I was diligent about taking all of my Vitamins and supplements.< /p>

If you blend it anything is probably going to be tolerated. The sugar free ice cream still might have too many calories to be a good choice, I think it's something like 70 calories for 2g of Protein per service. A yogurt smoothie might work well for you.
The tuna blend looks fine, keep an eye on the amount of mayo and relish you add since those are just extra calories.
Ricotta cheese and cottage cheese are also really good for the pureed stage. There's a recipe floating around for a ricotta bake which is basically a lasagna without noodles that I mostly lived off of during the pureed stage.

Tomorrow will be 7 weeks since my surgery, and I think I definitely made the right choice for me. Right now I'm down 50 pounds from my high weight (311), and 30 since surgery. 56 more pounds to go and I'll be at my long-term target of 205.
So far I've had two stalls - one of them lasted a week. Sometimes at restaurants I fill up faster than I'd like, but I'm getting used to leaving food on my plate. I'm tired of Protein Drinks too, but they are working out great for me despite the fact that I find them repulsive. Right now I'm sipping a Syntrax fuzzy navel flavored drink for Breakfast.
Anyway, I feel like I'm on track. Thanks for the forum.
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Glad to hear your surgery went well! Welcome to the loser's bench--it's a lot of fun over here!
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I only have the 2oz cups. They gave me 1oz cups in the hospital. Honestly, the warm Decaf herbal tea they offered me helped the most with my extremely sore throat after surgery. And then room temp water was good too. I only take a small sip of the 1 or 2oz cup, just enough to wet my tongue and allow a tiny bit to roll down the back of my throat. Now that I'm 4 days post-op, I just carry a plastic water bottle with me and take small sips from that. But I can tolerate the cold water now too. I have trouble figuring out exactly how much water I need to swallow my pain meds and protonix. Thats really the only time I feel uncomfortable. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using the BariatricPal App