STLoser

Since you absolutely have to eat them (no other choices right now) I say cook the noodles until they are fully expanded (bordering on overcooked) to try to prevent them front expanding further in your stomach.

Also you won’t need very much to eat now, so how much of it you eat in a serving will be limited anyway. But as soon as you can shop again ask the good people of this forum and they will help you chose things that will stretch your budget.
(On a side note, I would love to see a thread created for an extremely tight budget - Bariatric style)
Good Luck ❤️

fantastic suggestions!
Also eggs are good (if you can handle them early out)

An option for a low cost, high Protein low fat meal during your rough patch can be canned tuna, chicken or salmon. I put the tuna and chicken with a teaspoon of mayo and 2 teaspoons of greek yogurt with some onions, celery etc. It is really satisfying as a meal, very high protein, and only about 150 calories.

You look young so you have that going for you but how long You have been overweight and genetics also play A role as well as how much weight you intend to lose. I am in my early 40’s and I have lost 66 pounds and so far I do not see any loose skin however I am still 6 pounds from the top of the normal range for my BMI. I have a feeling if I decided to adjust my goal And I did get much smaller I may have some. But I agree with others that You can’t prevent it if it’s going to happen and the only way to get rid of it is surgery. The good news is that if you have a lot, and can prove it is causing you issues you may be able to get insurance to pay to have it removed. There are plastic surgery forums where you Can ask about how that works. I was warned that I did not have enough weight to lose to have enough skin to qualify for insurance to pay before my surgery. I sorta guessed from that statement that the more you have to lose the better your chances are of insurance paying for plastics. Which makes sense I guess a bigger loss equals more excess skin.

I have finally returned to ONEderland!!! I have not been here since the year 2000! I am so happy that I have made it back, now on toward the next milestone...maybe size 14 or 160 pounds?
I am so grateful that this surgery has helped me get on a healthier path. It hasn't been perfect or easy, but it is working.
Wishing all a Happy New Year & successful weightloss or maintenance goals!😁

I'm 64 years old, 5'4' and have lost 65 pounds since surgery in October 2020 and 97 pounds from my highest weight in 2013. Not only do I have excess skin, but I have the added problem of aging skin. BUT...…I'm amazed at the power of exercise, toning and strength building. I have focused the past 8 months on building muscle and it has made a huge difference. Now when I flex my bicep, what I see is muscle with some extra skin, not the shaking, sagging skin that was there before. I do core workouts and have built abdominal muscles, that does a great job of replacing a lot of the area where fat used to reside. I have people ask me all the time "Where's all your excess skin?" It's there, but not nearly as noticeable because when people see me, they see a toned body. The nicest complement I've gotten in the last few months was from a grocery store manager who said "You looked like you could bench press a 100 lbs." I thanked him and walked out feeling on top of the world.

I went shopping with my sister a few days ago and tried on a lovely sparkly sweater in H&M. It was a size medium and looked all sorts of baggy on me so I didn’t end up buying it. I know mega oversized clothes are all the rage right now and that contributes to why it was too big but I’ll gladly take it anyway!!! 🥳😃

I'm a side sleeper, and my body used to be so wide that I needed 2 or 3 pillows to hold my head up high enough to align my neck with my spine. Now I just need one pillow!

I went bowling with my husband today and we did warmup and three games and I wasn’t tired at all. We used to do league and that wasn’t too bad because there are so many people between so you get to rest but when just he and I would go in the past I would get wiped out and sometimes had to let him finish my last game for me. Today I finished all three and could have done more.

Last year around Christmas, I found my perfect Christmas sweater. It is a fair aisle St. Louis Cardinals Christmas sweater. I'm a very big fan. It was on clearance for 15 bucks and an Xl. I was a 5x at my biggest and 3x when I bought it. When I showed it to my husband he said he couldn't picture me being small enough to wear it. It is more like a large or medium than and xl. I told him you wait. I will wear this next year at Christmas. Well, I DID wear it this year and he thought I looked hot! [emoji16]
It's probably dumb to some people but being a big baseball fan I was always sad I couldn't get the cute women's clothes they sell for fans. This is probably my favorite NSV!!

Sent from my Pixel 5a using BariatricPal mobile app

Last year around Christmas, I found my perfect Christmas sweater. It is a fair aisle St. Louis Cardinals Christmas sweater. I'm a very big fan. It was on clearance for 15 bucks and an Xl. I was a 5x at my biggest and 3x when I bought it. When I showed it to my husband he said he couldn't picture me being small enough to wear it. It is more like a large or medium than and xl. I told him you wait. I will wear this next year at Christmas. Well, I DID wear it this year and he thought I looked hot! [emoji16]
It's probably dumb to some people but being a big baseball fan I was always sad I couldn't get the cute women's clothes they sell for fans. This is probably my favorite NSV!!

Sent from my Pixel 5a using BariatricPal mobile app

Yes! It is exciting! And the women's fit so much better than the men's!

Sent from my Pixel 5a using BariatricPal mobile app

I'm about 18 months out now, and I remember feeling the same way the first couple weeks after surgery. I kept asking why I did this to myself. I struggled to get the Protein Shakes down because I found them so disgusting and I felt weak all the time. After about a month the weakness got better. With trial and error I found Protein products I could tolerate. It's definitely overwhelming at first. Now at 18 months out and 190 pounds down I have to say it DEFINITELY gets better and I know it was the best decision I ever made. Hang in there!

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Emotions are complicated. (Duh! Tek)
When I was a 1/4 ton too heavy I constantly felt judged. Heck, I was judging me why shouldn't everyone? When kids and adults alike run into poles and walls because they were staring at me it's hard to pretend I'm not being judged, though sometimes it gave me a chuckle. I knew my friends and work acquaintances rarely said anything because, generally, they were kind people. I like kind people.
Family was harder. Love seems to allow the harshest of cruelties. After I started losing the weight they also became my biggest cheerleaders, even though they mucked it up sometimes as you describe. The road to hell is paved with good intentions. For me this is where the charity principle comes into play: Accept the good intentions even though the expression of them were poorly formed.
I want to say the feeling of being judged got better after losing weight, but for me, not so much. No one I know now knew me then. I know intellectually no one is judging me for my weight. But still my head image of me doesn't match the real me though with time it's getting closer, so I still have the emotions of big. I always feel judged about other things too so I think a lot of it may be the joy of being me.
Good luck,
Tek

For years your body has been holding itself in a certain way to compensate for your weight. Now you’re losing weight you will be standing & holding yourself differently & your centre of gravity is changing. Consequently you will be experiencing some muscle discomfort as your body relearns how to hold a smaller you. Back pain, hip & knee pain etc. are quite common. I had upper back pain because my bras were too big - no support. Bought new underwear & pain went.

My surgery is jut 13 days away and all of the hospitals within 150+ miles are full of COVID patients and turning away transfer patients. 88% of of those hospitalized with COVID were not vaccinated or not fully vaccinated. (I am vaccinated and have received the booster.)
My surgeon is reevaluating the schedule week by week.. As of today, my surgery is still on, but I recognize that it could get postponed.

I am going to lose my mind. I've waited all year for surgery. Not just bariatric, but 2 additional procedures that must be done to prevent further serious problems. They have cancelled and rescheduled my surgery 3 times already. Anyone in the US knows insurance starts over (usually) on Jan. 1, and now, one week away from surgery, they just called me to let me know they may cancel me again, just 16 days from year's end. I have not been able to get a job, go on vacays, see family, or Celebrate the holidays, all because I've been "on call" for this surgery. In fact, I was supposed to have a much lesser surgical procedure done elsewhere that could easily have been accomplished as far back as last summer, but this bari program doesn't commit to, and isn't accountable for, any obligations or schedule. This is ruining my entire life, and if they cancel again, I don't think I will be able to get it done. They've already charged over $40K in gross charges without one iota of actual health care to improve any medical condition whatsoever. It's all been unnecessary procedures, tests, appointments, etc. I'm wondering how other people can get health care at the drop of a hat, especially if they're in the hospital because they have not gotten a Covid vaccine, but the rest of us, who are personally paying the entire year thousands and thousands of dollars for insurance premiums and copays and coinsurance and deductibles in order to guarantee medical access, are denied. Spoiler: It's us idiots responsible enough to have insurance that are keeping the medical world afloat.
I'm just waiting for the class action lawsuits to start. If this isn't discrimination, I don't know what is. In the US, we literally have governors and mayors calling the shots as opposed to medical experts. It's all political. Since when in the free world do janky politicians decide who gets care and who does not? I am utterly disgusted.

most of us lose our sense of hunger after surgery, but for the vast majority, it comes back sometime during the first year. Mine came roaring back at five months out - and believe me, things got a lot more challenging then. It was so easy to lose weight those first five months when I was never hungry and didn't give a flip about food.
enjoy it while it lasts - and take full advantage of it. Yes - it's very common - and almost always temporary. It'll never be easier in your life to lose weight, so milk it for all it's worth!
P.S. I should add that you do need to make sure you're eating enough to meet your nutritional needs -

I know exactly what you mean. We are football fans and I had to buy the mens jerseys cause the cute womens ones didn’t fit anymore. I am excited to be able to wear them again.

Im a 34 year male, I have told everyone I know, as it has been a topic of mine since i was 28, and I was supposed to get it for the last 6 years. But i regret telling some, as they say its automatic . Implying there is no work to be done on my side of the court. It has been hard and only 3 weeks post op, I'm hungry a lot, but sticking to it.

Yes! It is exciting! And the women's fit so much better than the men's!

Sent from my Pixel 5a using BariatricPal mobile app

I use to have badly cracked and dry heels, I looked at them today which was also easier and only 1 small crack remains, Yay!! I can also comfortably reach my toes to cut and paint my nails,and it wont be long before i can tidy up my bikini line myself !!!!

Last year around Christmas, I found my perfect Christmas sweater. It is a fair aisle St. Louis Cardinals Christmas sweater. I'm a very big fan. It was on clearance for 15 bucks and an Xl. I was a 5x at my biggest and 3x when I bought it. When I showed it to my husband he said he couldn't picture me being small enough to wear it. It is more like a large or medium than and xl. I told him you wait. I will wear this next year at Christmas. Well, I DID wear it this year and he thought I looked hot! [emoji16]
It's probably dumb to some people but being a big baseball fan I was always sad I couldn't get the cute women's clothes they sell for fans. This is probably my favorite NSV!!

Sent from my Pixel 5a using BariatricPal mobile app

Last year around Christmas, I found my perfect Christmas sweater. It is a fair aisle St. Louis Cardinals Christmas sweater. I'm a very big fan. It was on clearance for 15 bucks and an Xl. I was a 5x at my biggest and 3x when I bought it. When I showed it to my husband he said he couldn't picture me being small enough to wear it. It is more like a large or medium than and xl. I told him you wait. I will wear this next year at Christmas. Well, I DID wear it this year and he thought I looked hot! [emoji16]
It's probably dumb to some people but being a big baseball fan I was always sad I couldn't get the cute women's clothes they sell for fans. This is probably my favorite NSV!!

Sent from my Pixel 5a using BariatricPal mobile app

Last year around Christmas, I found my perfect Christmas sweater. It is a fair aisle St. Louis Cardinals Christmas sweater. I'm a very big fan. It was on clearance for 15 bucks and an Xl. I was a 5x at my biggest and 3x when I bought it. When I showed it to my husband he said he couldn't picture me being small enough to wear it. It is more like a large or medium than and xl. I told him you wait. I will wear this next year at Christmas. Well, I DID wear it this year and he thought I looked hot! [emoji16]
It's probably dumb to some people but being a big baseball fan I was always sad I couldn't get the cute women's clothes they sell for fans. This is probably my favorite NSV!!

Sent from my Pixel 5a using BariatricPal mobile app