samnyc

Shoot...missed the opportunity to ask for Adamantium ones.

No issues here. I have salmon quite often.

It means that they are more likely to gain weight if they consume a higher amount of carbs.

Hey..it always feels good to be admired. It doesn't sound you are leading anyone on, so enjoy!

Beautiful pictures. Best of luck for the delivery. Hope all goes well.

I'm 11 months out. I do get hungry. Of course, nowhere close to what I used to get before the surgery and it can usually be satiated after eating 2-3 ounces. I do eat every 2-3 hours (still only eat around 1000-1200 calories a day). It just works better for me.

Looking good. Very nice pictures. Congratulations!!

I started at 498 and have lost over 200 lbs. I wish I had started at "only" 400 lbs. Would have been close to goal already. Ha Ha. There are a number of people on this board who started over 400 lbs and have been very successful in losing a lot of weight. Good luck!

Good for you brother and best of luck on the remainder of your journey. Your post did reinforce what I have said before in discussions, there is a time everyone makes their own decision to change. No one can really force you to do so.

My loss seems to have mirrored what your doctor said almost exactly.

Rocky > Freud Awesome!

You absolutely can shoot for a healthy BMI. There are a number of people who have achieved a healthy BMI and lost a lot of weight. Quite a few people have lost over 100 or 150lbs. I've lost over 200 lbs myself and am still going.

Good post. I just went through this. I spend 60 minutes at the gym every day and have been eating my regular healthy diet but I gained 3-4 pounds in a couple of days!! Stalls I deal with but I can't stand it when the weight goes up. It was incredibly frustrating and I got mad and eat some crappy unhealthy food and didn’t go the gym yesterday. Sigh....need to get back on track. I just need to shift my mental focus on something else and not obsess about my weight loss every day. It is immensely frustrating and I've never been known for my patience anyway.

I just wanted to add that it appears you are at a normal BMI and can probably go into maintenance mode so I wouldnt worry about having 1600 calories. I would think it would be ok as long as they are "healthy" 1600 calories. I doubt you will start gaining at that amount. I get hungry every 3 hours or so and so I have multiple smaller meals through the day (keeping the total around 1000 calories). I realized early on that 3 meal structure was not going to work for me. This is all not to say you shouldnt get the acidity issue figured out. Good luck with everything.

Congrats!

I'm a little over 10 months post op. I would say 3-4 hours for me.

Excellent post!! If I could vote for this post for the comment of the month or year, I would!! I agree with everything you said.

Very cool. Congratulations!! Some slowdown will happen but also keep in mind your body is now losing weight of a smaller base so look at the percentage of weight lost month over month, rather than just absolute numbers.

Awesome! Congratulations!!

I am at 10 months post op now and have a lost a little over 200 pounds. I thought this would be a good point to share some of my perspectives and experiences. I learnt a lot from other peoples experiences and hopefully someone will find mine helpful. Background: I had surgery on Nov 23 2010. I was at 498 pounds that day. I’m a little over 6’1” so my BMI was around 66. I was self pay and had no pre-op diet to speak of. Surgery: Surgery went well, had some pain and discomfort but nothing out of the ordinary. I got a high fever a week after the operation which was due to an infection and had to be readmitted for a couple of days to take stronger antibiotics. No issues afterwards. Recovery: This was the part I was least prepared for. I would say it took 4-6 weeks for things to be a bit normal. I was exhausted all the time and couldn’t sleep on my side (which is how I sleep). It was pretty tough that first week back at work. As time went by and I started eating solids things became easier. Diet: I followed my doctors recommendations through the liquid and mushy stages. I never really took protein shakes and tried to get all my calories and protein from “real food”. My doctor had recommended a balanced diet but I follow the low carb diet mainly. I do low carbs (20-30 carbs) for a few days and then ease up for a couple of days and have a sandwich or something. The carbs I do take on a daily basis come from fruits, usually watermelon (very refreshing if you are hitting the gym) or bananas (helps with the Vitamin D issue also). My meals are usually chicken or steak or shrimp / fish cooked in various ways. In the early days I used to have 2-3 main meals but it wasn’t working for me so I now eat every 2-3 hours. I keep my total to around 1000 calories/day. It works better for my energy levels. If some days I can’t do it then I’m ok and don’t feel any crazy hunger. My capacity has gone up marginally. I used to have a tough time eating 4oz but can eat up to 5oz relatively easier now. Coffee/Soda: I’ve been having Tea and Coffee from pretty early on. However instead of having 2-3 cups a day pre-op I have half a cup (if that) a day and haven’t had any issues. I have a diet coke maybe once a month and it’s been fine. If I feel the urge for something soda-like I have sparkling water. Exercise: I was bit late in ramping up the exercise component. I started walking a couple of miles a day (commute to the office, I’m in NYC so I can walk) about 4 months post op and became serious about the gym 2-3 months ago. I go 4-5 times for 60-90 minutes now. I don’t do anything too fancy, just the treadmill/elliptical/cross trainer for most of the time and sometimes the weights. I want to increase the weight training component. Medicines: I take a doctor prescribed daily multi-vitamin and a Vitamin D tablet weekly. My Vitamin D levels became very low after surgery. Hair Loss: I had thick wavy hair which has thinned out considerably almost to the point of a couple of bald spots. I haven’t taken anything for it but am thinking of trying out Biotin. I’m hoping this will reverse when I hit the maintenance stage. Skin: I definitely have significant sagging skin and see some kind of procedure in my future but I’ll wait and see how everything looks when I’m closer to goal. Speed of Weight Loss / Stalls: My rate of loss has obviously slowed down from a few months ago, which is to be expected. However, what is hard is spending crazy time at the gym and eating right and not losing (and even gaining) for a few days. The math simply doesn’t make sense. This can be very discouraging but you just have to steel yourself. I try to focus on how much healthier I am getting. For example, I can walk 3-4 miles without tiring, or how faster I can do a mile week over week. I also take my weight 2-3 times a day which probably doesn’t help but that’s just how I am and that’s not going to change. Summary: Overall it’s been an amazing 10 months. My quality of life is significantly better. My back pain and knee pain have disappeared. I don’t snore any more at all (this has been a pleasant surprise. I’m not sure why this has happened but my wife loves it.). There are probably a 100 more benefits I could list out. Of course, I get frustrated with the hair loss, sagging skin and erratic weight loss but then I remember I’ve lost 200 pounds and I’m on my way to losing another 100 and all is good with the world.

Thanks everyone! I appreciate the kind and encouraging words.

Awesome job! Congratulations!

I'm very interested in this question. My big hope is that I once I've lost 250 pounds, the last 50 pounds will come from my skin removal!! (Bit optimistic I know).

There's a good chance. I was not taking shots but my levels were a bit low (I forget the exact numbers, but they were low enough to have a discussion with the doctor). My levels were back to normal on my 3/4 month post op check up and have stayed good.

Ha Ha. That reminded me of when I was younger and my father would insist on dropping me off to school or other places on this old classic Enfield he had. I hated riding it in the back. However as I got into college it basically became my bike and I loved that thing. I rode it everywhere, however the minute you tried to go a bit fast the engine would start misfiring. That's part of the fun of owning a classic bike. I had a Ducati Monster 696 for a few years and it was awesome but parking in NYC was a pain and expensive so I got rid of the bike, which I regret doing. I am thinking of buying a new bike next year around spring time (also give me time to loose more weight). Got my eye on the Aprilia MANA 850.