qianmij

You look fantastic! #Batwingsunite

You give me hope - I’m full-blown losing hair for 2 months now and it doesn’t feel like an end in sight.

It has been 7 months, and 2 days since my WLS.
I finally hit my GOAL when weighing in this morning. I have never been this small in my adult life.
It is such a great feeling, knowing that everything I worked for up to this point has been worth it.
My ONLY regret is that I didn't do this 10 years ago.
I have lost 81 lbs., went from a size 20 jeans, now in a size 6, (I posted a few days ago that I was a size 8, but my new jeans were actually too big, and I had to get a size 6).
I am sooooooo happy!!! 😄😄😄😄😄

My daughter came home today and she told me I should try on some of her dresses from her college formal days. Never, ever, ever did I expect them to fit. I feel pretty good after I looked at these photos. Of course, I've got the whole "bat wings" going on, but I'm not going to stress over the details. Just wanted to share my joy of the moment!

it definitely gets much harder - and slower - the closer you get to goal. I made it - but those last 20 lbs were a BEAR to get off! I probably lost like 2 lbs a month - and hit many stalls. Every time it happened, I'd think "well, this must be it", and then two or three weeks later, I'd drop another pound.
the best advice i can give is just keep sticking to your program, and know that it'll take quite awhile to get those last few pounds off. If your body truly has stopped, you can always lower your calories a bit - or increase your exercise.

those last 20 lbs or so can be a BEAR to get off. It took me FOREVER to get them off. You might have to drop your calories and/or step up on your exercise to get the scale moving again, but it'll probably be slow regardless...
I can lose weight on 900-1500 calories. But we're all different and our calorie ranges can vary widely. I'm 5" taller than you, so that's one factor - and there may be others. It's really an individual thing. Your dietitian may be right in that you may have to drop back down to 800-1000 kcal/day, unfortunately..

I’m 168 and I’m 5’5” in a size 8 and size small tops. If I worked out I could be in a size 6.

You can’t stop it unfortunately. Your natural Hair loss cycle has been accelerated as a result of the shock to your body (surgery, reduced calories, change of diet, etc.).
As what usually happens as you shed hair new hair is growing. It’s just your new hair is growing at it’s usual rate & it’s not as noticeable as the loss.
It will slow & revert to your usual rate of loss usually after about 3 months +/-. It’s just hard to see those clumps of hair. Best advice is not to stress too much about it if you can. Stress will only make it worse.
Some people will say Biotin or other supplements helped but they don’t. The hair that is shedding is already dead. (All the exposed hair on your head is dead.) The supplements may only help your new growth.
A lot of us cut our hair so the new growth didn’t have as long to grow to be even with the rest of our hair.
You may notice a change in texture too which is from the anaesthetic. You have to wait for that to grow out.

Employed the patience of God. And waited. All you can do.

Had my 6 month follow up today with the nutritionist, and surgeon (it will be 6 months tomorrow). They were both extremely happy with my success. I was told that I have done exceptionally well thus far, and to keep up the good work. I have lost 76 lbs., and 77% of my body fat!! All my labs came back good, except I am anemic, but have always been. So now I have to take the bariatric Vitamins with 45 mg of Iron. I was told to do was to add in some exercise, just light stuff with the tension bands. Only 15 minutes, 3 days a week, then slowly work my way up. I have fibro, so I have to be careful or I will be in too much pain to do anything at all. I am so happy! My journey is far from over, but I am well on my way to being a healthy, productive, active person. My only regret, if any, is that I wish I had this done 10 yrs. ago.

Sliced meat (eg chicken lunch eat), boiled egg, mixed raw nuts, grapes, Babybel cheeses, Mason jar salads with sugar-free / fat-free dressing and if desperately running out the door late, a Protein Bar. (not all in the same lunch heheh)

Sent from my SM-G930F using BariatricPal mobile app

You're frustrated, offended and angry because people don't take what you write as gospel but call you out on your unscientific and unproven statements.
Claiming you're not frustrated, offended and angry? Well, you don't give the impression that you're not.

Elimination of emotional eating is very possible. Has nothing to do with wet dreams. Thanks. Since I don't get hungry, I only deal with emotional eating. At the end of the day, it's a choice. Either I emotionally eat or I don't. No spell involved. I'm in control. I'm dealing with the underlying reasons why I feel the need to emotionally eat. And as I deal with that, I say no now. I drink more water/fluids.

It's about the type of calories. Not all calories have the same energy or benefit our bodies the same way. That's what I meant by that, which is pretty self-explanatory. chips don't give the same amount of energy as Protein does. And depending on the protein, you can intake less calories eating protein than you would eating chips. More energy. Less calories.

I'm sorry but when you're losing weight, your body is not hungry. You're losing weight because your body is using the energy and calories you take in and getting rid of what you don't need. Nine times out of ten, you are NOT actually hungry. It's head hunger. Weight loss surgery gives us all a chance to relearn our bodies and the difference between actual hunger and head hunger, between what our bodies need and what our brains crave. The truth is that our head does indeed play tricks on us, if we let it. We don't need 1000 calories to survive. It's not about calories, it's about energy, eating the food that actually fuels us, and knowing the difference.
Now some of us don't actually get hungry but we deal with head hunger, which has nothing to do with nourishing our bodies. It's to fill the chemical need of our brains. That's the truth. Get the necessary Protein. Get the fluids. Understand we need less "calories" than we think. Don't count calories. Count nutrients. Be victorious!!

My gastric bypass was two years ago yesterday, and I'm happy to report that things are going well. I gained about ten pounds during maintenance, and in retrospect I think that my low weight of 132 was too thin. (I never dreamed two years ago that I would be saying those words!).
I feel like I am eating "normally," though in smaller quantities and without most of the junk I ate when I was obese. I still avoid sugar, carbs and fat, but I've gotten a bit more relaxed about indulging from time to time. I celebrated my two-year anniversary with a huge piece of cake washed down with an ice-cold Coke. (Just kidding--I ate my usual diet!)
I'm attaching a photo taken this morning to show what I look like these days. I think it's useful for those of you just starting this journey to get a glimpse of what life can be on the other side, particularly in maintenance.

Check into Subway Protein bowls.

I’ve just resigned to the fact that I’m only going once every three or four days. It’s killed my quiet reading time.

I delivered 2 large rocks.....just about killed me! DAMN!! It was bad fellas...ROUGH I tell ya!

I’m going to echo Deb. When I hit my first stall, I upped my Water intake. Immediately broke the stall. These days, Water wins over Protein for me. If I hit my Protein goal, it’s great, but if I don’t oh well. But I definitely got my water in. 174 lbs and I get at least 80oz of water a day.

I'm currently a 36B. I was a 36 D or DD before plastic surgery (well, that was after I rolled them up and stuffed them in my bra - I needed the extra space for the rolled-up numbers). I can't remember what I was before I lost the weight. Huge, though.

I have gone from a 44D to a 36C. Maybe that is why hubby keeps asking me about halter tops....LOL

I was a 2 liter or more a day diet coke drinker and I don't like coffee either. A few months before surgery I had stopped drinking Diet Coke it was so hard. But aspartame did alot of weird things to my digestion and I felt so much better when I stopped. Now I like hint water which is fruit infused water no calories available on Amazon, I like raspberry, blackberry, peach. Green apple has a kick and I do not like the watermelon. After surgery diluting the apple or can grape juice is nice. Squeezing lemon in the water is good. Also drinking the chicken broth is satisfying as a drink. I had a couple of rootbeers before surgery but that won't be happening again.

"It seems US doctors in general deal in absolutes, if you will, and European ones try another strategy. I mean, we're on 1,400 cals from the start, and you have to see if you can get UP to it. That's different from most US plans, too." I think this is a fascinating point! My doctor was a US doctor, but with a TREMENDOUSLY different approach than most of what I was reading here.
I was encouraged to eat 1200 calories per day...just weeks out from surgery and am part of a study that is assessing longterm regain. So far, the studies are showing more regain 3-5 years down the road for folks who were more severely calorie restricted for a longer time initially. The idea is that this might be due to resetting the metabolism at too low a caloric set point, and that those who return to more normal caloric levels sooner have a more robust metabolism reset. I have no idea what's true, or if there is enough data yet, or how much is individual based....but I'm glad I can eat pretty normally (lots of unrefined carbs, occasional treats, potatoes, bread, a can of diet soda here and there) and not regain. I do have to watch my calories a little bit. But I maintain really well at 1400-1600/day, so rarely feel deprived.
Bigger things MY doctor stressed: eat dietary Fiber with your carbs, avoid refined sugar/flour. eat fermented foods and fiber to feed good gut bugs. get 60g of protien a day, but try to get half from plants (beans, oats, nuts, tofu, mushrooms, potatoes, etc). avoid animal fats, pick olive oil, grape seed, canola, etc. eat lots of diversity of vegetables and fruits. Exercise daily for life. VERY different advice. There's no single answer on this stuff....which is why it's fun to share experiences.
A lot of folks here will get ornery when you share an experience that is against the "rules" they were taught or is completely different from their experience. How dare we provide such a "bad" example to those starting out? How dare we endanger them by saying things are ok that their doctor said are HORRIBLE?
Here's a reality: It's not our job here to make anyone's choices. We each make our own. We're each adults. And another reality....all doctors don't recommend the same things. All doctors don't make the same "rules". I like when people are honest and share their true experiences. All of them. Even the ones I personally disapprove of. We all have our own truth. It's up to us to figure out what works best for us individually. And it's up to us to listen to our doctors, do the research, and make the most informed decisions we can.
It's gonna look different for each of us, folks. Seriously. And that's ok:)

She had the sleeve, not the bypass, so she wouldn't necessarily be sick from the candy. It's still a really bad idea though and a form of self-sabotage.