massindex

Happens to us all at one time or another. It's the way we rebound from that defines who we are. Seriously, every time you feel yourself reaching for something bad, drink as much water as you can (i prefer the MiO enhancers for flavoring). The stomach swells and the hunger goes. Also, I find that going to sleep instead of watching TV keeps me from reaching for those bad things. Lastly, throw the crap out. Get pi**ed of and just throw it away. Bad habits succumb to temptation when the objects we desire are too close. Good luck and just remember, you are the one that makes this successful. Not the sleeve.

Don't get down on yourself. Sometimes it helps to set goals you once thought we were possible to achieve. I started with a couple of goals, running a hal marathon and doing a triathlon. I've done two of each in the last 3 months. My next goals are to do a marathon and, once I get to 180, to jump out of an airplane. The exercise required keeps me motivated and is making me feel better each and every time I force myself to get up at 5:00 am to swim the 2 miles a day I need to reach my goal. I agree with IowaAndy and say keep the faith. Anything is possible in time.

That's why we are here. It'll feel like a stone until it dissolves.

Welcome to the first few weeks of VSG. Get familiar with Gas-X strips . They pump you full of gas for the surgery and it seems to always go to the left shoulder/side. It will pass, like the gas...

I've been there and done that. It's pretty straight forward. When you go out (or they bring in), let them know that you are having some blood work drawn in a few days for your annual checkup and your on a liquid diet until until then. They won't get to much into the privacy matters during the process. Most people are respectful of HIPAA laws.

You should be fine. S**t happens. But I agree with KellyL and make a call to the office just to make sure they are aware. Your stomach will probably dissolve it.

You need to try and stay away from these types of carbs, initially, and concentrate on the protein. Its going to be really important for the first 6 months. The cheats, like white foods such as rice, pasta, bread, etc, are not changes to your lifestyle. Remember, you are doing this because you want to take back control of your life. (and it does get better...)

I encourage everyone to contribute there thoughts and experiences here. We are unique in what we are doing and certainly taxing what our bodies are capabile of given our modifications. I haven't been training as much as I should because my work takes me on the road quite a bit. I'm probably averaging 30-40 miles per week on the bike (often stationary), 10-15 miles on runs ((often treadmill) and 4-5 miles on swims. My times aren't as good as PdxMan but he is an inspiration to keep going. I'm looking forward to a quick 5K I have in 10 days and a sprint triathlon a week after that. Hopefully, this exchange of info will help me some.

PdxMan, that is good stuff. What did your carbo loading meals consist of the days prior to the race? I think you are right on about us being in new territory, by the way. Congratulations!

I've been trolling around the other boards so I didn't know this was out here. I'm in Henderson (when not on the road) if anyone needs some assistance or just wants to talk. My wife is also a sleever.

I'd have to say a 10. I had surgery 53 weeks ago and I've lost 200+ lbs so I think that's a 10. It's pretty been what I expected.

Yeah, the 'negative' reenforcement we get from the sleeve helps us learn. Don't like that feeling.... :sad_smile:

Good for you. Walk away from the dark side of the force :wink1: Anyone who thinks this is easy, needs to walk a mile in our shoes. WLS is a tool, not the cure-all. There are plenty of people who have failed because they lacked discipline and desire. Ignorance breds hate and hostility and you don't need it.

You will be able to drink normally. I certainly can. I don't gulp anything, even now, but its very normal in any other sense. Just keep sipping and you'll find that your intake will steadily increase.

I understand the follow-up care issue, which would be true anywhere you went outside of your local proximity. No doctor can refuse you medical attention just because you had a procedure elsewhere. They can make up other reasons, such as they are not accepting new patients, however. I discussed having my surgery with my doctor before I went and he was all for it. He felt that the medical benefits far outweighed the risks and he said he would be there for me for post care if I needed it. In my case, I was strung out for 2 years by CIGNA before they decided one month prior to my surgery that they wouldn't cover it. I appealed it and it was denied. I had no other options and going to Mexico probably saved my life. I don't regret it and I think the people I met in Mexico were outstanding. However, given the choice, I would have had it here.

Something else to consider is what your deductible will be. I self-paid in Mexico because my insurance with the company I was working for did not cover it. My wife, on the other hand, was covered my policy when I changed jobs. We elected to have it here although the deductible was close to what I paid in Mexico. We had such a good experience in Mexico that is was difficult to convince my wife to have it done here and we had no waiting period in either place. I eventually convinced her that it made sense to have it here and avoid the travel. But that was the only reason we elected one over the other.

Just a note on the follow-up... I met with a sports nutritionist after PdxMan's comments. She pretty much confirmed what he had to say. She is going to work up some diet thoughts for me and my special needs. Let's see how this goes...

For everything that you've said you want to do, it sounds like it your legs will be the most important of your strength training, which is good. Your legs were probably stronger to begin with (it takes a lot to move us around at the weights we carried) and are less affected by the WLS. Upper body and core are the more difficult to maintain or strengthen from my view point. I could do single rep leg presses of 785 lbs before the surgery, or 1.83 times my weight. I can now do 400 lbs on single leg presses, or 1.94 times my weight.

We all know that the surgery is not a guaranteed way to lose weight. It's a tool in the process. Maybe men look at it differently than women but I know how many miles I ran, biked and swam and also sore I was on some days. I lost the weight, not because of the surgery but the assistance of the surgery. That's why I own it. I'm proud of what I lost and those around me are proud of it also. Every one of my lost +200 lbs involved some sacrafice.

Just for a different view, I pretty much tell them that I've lost over 200 lbs. I felt I needed to own it in order to accept my decision to change my lifestyle. Hiding it was something I did when I was overweight.

Forget about telling anyone else (but the people here) until the pounds really start to melt away. Then when they ask, you can tell them if you want. We are evangelists and we now own our lives.

I would do it again in a heartbeat! I retook control of my life instead of the food controlliing me. The limits the sleeve has placed on me forced me to make the lifestyle changes I needed, I'm SOOO much happier now. I just finished my second half-marathon with only 3 weeks turnaround and now I'm entering Sprint Triathlon season. There are so many things open to me now that I wouldn't have tried before. I'm like a kid in a candy store (pun intended). My wife saw what it did for me and she just had her sleeve done 2 weeks ago. We are going to be skinny together!

We're out here...just trying to get a word in occassionally

You know I got some good advice once on this board when the same thing happened to me. I was told to just say, which I did, "I'm trying to lose weight and nothing appeals to me right now. (Smiling) I just want to go with this as long as I can." Everyone laughed and we moved on. Several weeks later, the same thing happened again. I just said "I like the results so I'm sticking with what works (Smiling)." It no longer became an issue and now is a source of admiration.