Scribetoo Member

There's no hard and fast rule for it -- it's designed to be easily broken up into three groups of ten days.. but it's flexible enough so if you feel you need more time on one level or less time on another.. you can do it. Suggest start with a couple of days of Level 1.. gauge your comfort level.. move up if you feel like…

My surgeon didn't require me to do a liquid diet before surgery -- (yeah.. Fleet's instead.. so nasty).. and I know that the liquid diet helps reduce the size of your liver so it is easy for them to get around it once they get the instruments in there.. I know it TOTALLY sucks, though. I've done all-liquids for other…

Bacon is better WITH peanut butter! (and granny smith apples.. and alfalfa sprouts.. on toasted 15 grain bread... mmmm)

First of all, you DO sound completely overwhelmed. I also suffer from bouts of depression and severe anxiety. What I've had to do is prioritize what I "worry" about at any given time. You can't fix everything at once.. so you have to start at the top and work your way down.. like a giant knot in your shoelace. Pick one…

Congratulations!!! I know what a relief it is to finally get the thumbs up on your new life! So happy for you (BOTH of you who will soon be joining us on the losers bench)! :flowerforyou:

I had it explained to me this way: Fat Cells are storage cells. You don't LOSE fat cells.. you have the same amount today as you did yesterday.. but they SHRINK. That means everything they are storing is getting released back into your system. Fat Cells don't care what they store. They store everything. Nutrition, fluid…

I'm going to be perfectly honest with you -- if someone had offered to make me a cake just after I'd had my surgery, I would have been a little bothered by it. not that the thought isn't genuinely sweet and generous.. but there I was, going through this MAJOR SURGERY to get my weight under control.. and you want to give me…

ROFL!

I can't tell you how to do it but I had to stop "dieting" and start "allowing" myself to have the damn cookie! Cookies, cakes, bready delicious treats.. brownies.. whatever. I love them.. I used to not be able to even be in the same room with them.. it's not like that anymore. Here's how I do it: If I want a cookie, I will…

I like Broccoli steamed until it turns dark green but is still crunchy .. then I squeeze lemon juice on it and sprinkle a little sea salt.. YUM!! My favorite thing to do with cauliflower is to boil it then mash it like mashed potatoes.. add a little soymilk and a little butter.. salt and pepper.. YUM!! Also great with…

There are a lot of steps to be taken between "it may be" and what it is.. I understand the "living in a fog" kind of feeling. my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer earlier this year.. she's the first in our family to have any kind of cancer so the family basically went into complete shut down mode.. Thankfully, I found a…

I've had it since I was a kid -- turned out my femur bones grew twisted when I was a toddler and the cartilege in my knees was worn away from rubbing against my thigh bones at the wrong angle. My orthopedic surgeon told me I would have to have my knees replaced by the time I was 30.. I'm now 43 and I still have the same…

Everybody has already said all the things to be said but I notice one thing is missing.. No matter what surgery you have, this surgery is performed on your stomach. It doesn't fix your head. I guess I would say if you're having concerns about the long term success after WLS, there is no cure-all. You can gain weight back…

I don't know if that will ever go away for me.. I sometimes refer to the fat girl in my head.. she doesn't believe in the sincerity of compliments and can't imagine they would be directed at her genuinely.. but it's like you have to take a second.. take a breath.. just smile and say, "thank you." No further explanation is…

My preference is for Fage or Chobani 0% plain. I use it for kind of everything.. I'm a quarter Arabic and most of my "comfort foods" are dipped in plain yogurt so I'm always experimenting with it.. we even bought our own yogurt maker so we can make it at home, too.. Try these: add fresh strawberries (or ripe peaches or…

Duplicate post! sorry!:ohwell:

Beauty IS pain! lol It's not that bad and the pain doesn't last long enough to make you regret the results.

HAHAHA!! Awesome! I have a sample of that sitting on my counter right now!

I have always had sensitive skin but didn't have breakouts as a teenager -- only as an adult. Oily in the T-zone and a little dry everywhere else.. The only things I can use from the drugstore without much trouble (and that actually seem to help my skin) are Aveeno and Burt's Bees products. I love Burt's Bees cleansing…

You're so recently post-op i wouldn't worry too much about it just yet.. keep working towards your goal.. understanding that you may not be able to reach it on a regular basis for another couple of months.. Make sure you're following the basics.. no drinking during meals or 30 min/before or after.. make sure you're getting…

I don't think you're a failure at all!! I call those people who lose their weight super fast, super easy "superachievers" -- and it IS frustrating to see THEIR stories plastered all over our surgeon's websites as if they are the norm.. they aren't. There are more of us who didn't quite make it as far as expected on surgery…

They work pretty well and while they do make the area sticky, they also come with a little bottle of oil that you apply on a tissue or cotton ball after waxing and it removes all the stickiness and conditions the skin. I have a reaction to most wax products so I have to go have it done professionally with some special wax…

My drain was in for 10 days post-op.. it was removed at my first follow-up visit (and man was THAT a weird sensation!).. It was strange having something foreign that went from the inside of me to the outside of me.. kinda gross too.. but I was on short term disability for 6wks to have my surgery and recover so nobody…

My only advice is go, right now, and give your scale to a good friend or put it somewhere you won't see it for the next six months. Don't even keep it in your house. Only weigh when you see your Dr. for follow-ups. A word of warning, just about everybody wonders what they did to themselves sometime in the first few weeks…

Penzey's Spices has spice mixes (many that are salt free) that are AMAZING to add to meats and things when you're cooking. They give a ton of flavor and don't add significantly to your sodium levels because you don't need to use much of them to get good flavor. I recommend their blends called Arizona Dreamin, BBQ 3000 (any…

I bought a claret red satin strapless dress at White House/Black Market in a size 14. It. Is. GOR. JUS. I have never worn it. I bought it for a concert I was performing in and by the time the concert got here, I had ballooned out of it... I was bitterly disappointed.. so it's been quietly waiting in my closet for over a…

Just wanted to tell you that you are in my thoughts today -- it's your Big Day! Your New Birthday! Congratulations and welcome to the Loser's bench! :flowerforyou: Stef

Muscle is DENSER than fat and weighs the same but takes up less room. That could explain why you are smaller but weigh the same. Your insurance company should accept a body fat analysis done by your doctor (something you should probably have done since you are on a diuretic RX and if your body is changing as dramatically…

You're doing a great job!! Your dedication is inspiring! You'll find that as the days pass and you have your surgery and move into your new life, the struggles you had during this period are going to disappear completely into your memory.. or it'll feel like it was way easier and way shorter.. I call it "pain amnesia" --…

Here's the good news: It's not like a regular exercise class where everybody is lined up, embarrassingly, in front of a wall to wall, floor to ceiling mirror so you can be humiliated for the entire hour while you huff and puff trying to keep up with the size three wunderkind up front.. There are no mirrors. Unless somebody…