PdxMan

Yanik, you will be fine. The first few days are the most difficult, but once you find your groove, you will coast along just fine. Don't overthink it and don't give it more power than it deserves. Focus on then end goal. Prepare, but don't be overanxious about doing everthing ABSOLUTELY correct. Breathe.

Just tell them you can't drink because you had to have "junk" reduction surgery because the women complained too much.

Sorry, I haven't updated my blog in awhile as I have been battling injury. I should keep it updated, though, with what I am going through with my knee, which has now become a pinched nerve issue in my back ... I'll try to be a better blogger. Yeah, I was a woofer with my food and it is easy to fall back into the habit. I really have to make conscience efforts to chew well and slow down. Even 15 months post. If it is painful to drink while eating, IMO, that is a clear indicator you are not chewing enough. Food is trying to pass through your pyloric valve and it is not broken down enough causing pain. Gotta chew more or chew better, shall I say. I don't believe in the 6 month slow down. I believe it is all in the habits we adopt. The loss slows down for a lot of people at 6 months because, for the most part, they are able to eat anything comfortably and do. They make poor food choices and do not follow the guidelines as closely as needed for loss. I don't follow the rules to the letter, but I do keep pretty close to them. My restriction is still excellent and have no doubt that if I needed to drop another 20 pounds, I could easily do it by following the guidelines closer.

Frza, are you Portland Metro? http://www.foodcartsportland.com/2008/10/23/q-bbq/

Do you think he is completely aware of his actions and how you interpret them? This whole weight loss thing, how we see ourselves and how others see us is a pretty awesome thing. This is going to make contact with the very root of your relationship with food and your spouse. There may be some deeper things going on here that they may not even be aware of. Before you write him off as an insensitive a$$, perhaps there may be something else going on here with him and his own demons.

Boy, I hope I don't come across as a jerk here, but if you look at my before and after pictures, which one looks healthier? Which one is more appealing from a strictly physical point of view? Which one do you think my wife prefers? I don't want to come across as a saying obese people look "horrid", to quote Storm, but surely it can be appreciated that someone who has gone from morbidly obese or larger BMI to a healthier BMI is going to look healthier. Tell me how many people who look healthier don't look better? It's one of the reasons I did this, for sure. I don't know if I looked "horrid" before, but surely I know I look better.

Looks yummy. I had one of those turkey legs at Disneyland. Man, they are good. Just curious ... how much of that will you eat and how long will it take you to eat it?

Ladies, before y'all start telling the OP that he needs new friends, you have to remember that men and women communicate differently. This is the means by which a lot of men tell each other they care. The more cr@p they give, the more they actually care. What you are witnessing in the above dialog is actually a very healthy, albeit sophamoric conversation between caring friends. Llyod nailed the response.

Some people have more swelling than others. The more swelling you have, the less you are going to be able to take in. Count yourself lucky, but don't overdo it. Just get in what you are supposed to get in.

Well, I'm 99% sure your restriction has not increased. My restriction varies depending upon several things. The texture of what I am eating: For instance. A 3 oz piece of ground turkey is easier to eat than a 3 oz slice of turkey breast. As a matter of fact, I don't think I could eat anything else if I had a 3 oz slice of turkey breast. Point is, the ground turkey has already been a bit processed for me making it easier to chew and handle. The order in which I eat: Which makes sense to me as we stack food up against the pyloric valve. If I start off with salad, and then eat a meatball, I don't feel the same restriction as if I ate the meatball first. meat is going to take a bit more time to break down before passing through the pyloric valve, so it will back everything else up giving the feeling of more restriction. What I am eating: I can pack away a good amount of slider foods. Popcorn, salads ... even crackers are sliders for me, which I don't quite get. Seems the grains would expand in the stomach and cause restriction, but I can eat crackers. Oye. I digress. Bottom line is eating 3 oz of cottage cheese is not the same as eating 3 oz of Pasta. You WILL feel different amounts of restriction. Liquids: Whether drinking with the meal or if the dinner has liquids in it, this definately affects restriction. I have played around with this a lot to increase calories for exercise. I can eat almost double of the exact same foods when I drink with them. I can eat 8 oz of just about any Soup, no problem. Rate of consumption: If I take my time and chew well, I can eat more comfortably. When I go back to my old habits of chewing 5 times and shoveling another fork-full in, I have pain. I try to put my utencil down between each bite and chew really well. Not to mush like we had to do early out, but we have to remember what happened here. The stomach is the mechanical part of digestion. Think of it as the garbage disposer mashing up the food getting it ready to send down the pipes. Removing 85% of it has changed it from a 1 horsepower unit to an eighth horsepower unit. Help it out by chewing the food a little more than we did pre-op. My 2 cents on this. Experiment with what I have thrown out there and you may be able to find what works for you.

I would tell her: I THANK GOD everyday that I live in a world where I can have lasix surgery to improve my eyesight. (Permanent re-formation of cornea, can't be reversed) I have had a few teeth removed, several moles and a growth removed from my nether regions which was causing me issues. Don't want anything back. I have had friends have their tonsils, appendix, spleens, ovaries (and associated parts) removed when they aren't working for them anymore, and they are better for it. (Permanent removal of organs, don't want them back) I have also had 85% of my stomach removed so I can have a tool to restrict my intake and help me lead a healthier life and be there for my family and friends. I know God intended babies to come out the way they went in, but it is good to know these smart men and women are there to help with surgeries. I also know these same smart men and women do surgeries for vanity purposes, and I am glad God put them here to help those who feel they need it. What class of people do you think God would look down on more, those getting surgeries for vanity or those trying to improve the quality of their lives? My 2 cents

So, does your day to day work constitute exercise? Sure. Vaccuuming is exercise. Is it working out? No. So, on your off or half days, are you able to get your heart rate up to 75-85% of your target heart rate for at least half an hour? This is where you get seeing some direct benefits of exercise and working out for the purpose of burning calories. So, looking at your numbers and how far out you are, I think you are doing great. I've read tons of your posts and I think your head is in the right place, too. Are you meeting your goals?

I totally agree, non-compliance pre-surgery does not mean failure post sleeve, but, IMO, it is an indication of food and perhaps even food choices. What are you eating now to satiate your hunger? I know for me, it was meaningless carbs ... crackers, Cookies. But they made me feel good and satisfied my hunger ... for the moment. A on hour later, "Why am I hungry again?" And away I'd go with more poor choices. For me, I had my Come To Jesus moment pre-surgery where I knew I was killing myself with these behaviors. I treated this as my last chance to be at a healthy weight and be there for my kids. As is pointed in many threads, the sleeve is a tool to help you eat less. That is it. It is nothing more. There are some side benefits for many people. Some folks who don't have acid issues post-op, find they don't really have any hunger in the few months post op. I am one of those. I had to set reminders to eat for the first 6 weeks as I would be at work, look up at the clock and it would be 4:00 and I hadn't had lunch, yet. Never even thought about it, which, for me, it just mind blowing. As my surgeon explained, the body will develop new ways of telling me it is hungry and that is true. Instead of my stomach feeling hungry like it did before, my body just feels nutritionally short. When I am with people and they ask, "Hey, are you hungry? Want to grab lunch?" I say that I'm starving, or yes, I'm hungry, without going into the bigger explaination that, "Really, I'm not, but my body could use some nutrition." But, there are those who do still struggle with hunger post-op. I don't know if it is the acid. Perhaps it is an early return to the habit of eating comfort food and now that is how they respond and the cycle continues, even though they are truly not hungry. Head hunger or the like. I don't know as I fell on the other side of the fence and cannot see over. Good luck to you and I do wish you the success you are looking for.

Mine started going at the 6 month mark. I thought I was all clear. Getting in excess of recommended Protein, taking Biotin, Calcium, multi-vitamin, had my calories up to about 1,500. Nope It didn't come out in clumps. It was a thinning thing. Wash my hair and my hands were fuzzy. My hair was always very short, but thick enough you couldn't really see my scalp. When seeing the scalp was obvious, I set the shaver to #1 and buzzed it off. Never saw another hair after that. It's all back now, so, it all worked out.

Hello, I'm 15 months out and loving my sleeve. Pre-op testing, for me, included blood work, EKG and psych test. I have heard of others having their stomach scoped, but that would entail more than a 2 hour appt, I believe I do have a cup or two of coffee at work, with cream, and I drink water throughout the day. Fizzy drinks, well, I have a few sips of root beer occasionally, but they are so sweet and make my burping ridiculous. Yes, once your swelling goes down, you will be able to drink normally. You will not be able to chug, by any means, if you do that now. Good luck and keep on reading and asking questions

I stopped taking it about a month after my hair started falling out. I figured, "What's the point?" For me, that was around the 7 month mark.

Why don't you want to do a 2nd? If not enough equity, I understand, but a second or even better, a line of credit: You will find no other loan cheaper You only have to pay the interest portion if you need some extra cash one month You get to deduct the interest on your taxes After you have it paid off, you always have that available Sweet deal, to me

Over Blubel, this is not fair ... you are taking Butter's quote out of context. ** Edit ** Looks like Overthewhingers changed their name to Blubel

Just curious ... have you read the entire thread? Namely, my response to the post you quoted or the several other responses to that post? True, and his math is a little off. If he were to go through and count all the likes on the opposition posts, it would be a landslide. But, as I mention in one of my posts, we're not here for a p!$$ing contest, but to help the community.

What is your pre-op diet? Here is thread I replied to today that describes mine. Perhaps this may help?

You're going to think I am a big scary bad person, I'm sure, but I'm not. Think about this ... This is about shrinking your liver so the surgeon has a nice little liver to move around so they can tear out 85% of your stomach. They have told you they feel they can do their best job if it is shrunk. They don't want to nick it during the procedure. I don't think you want them to nick it either. If they get in there and discover your liver is larger than they are comfortable with, they have three options. Convert to an open surgery Cancel the surgery Throw caution to the wind and hope for the best and do it laproscopically So, you do what you feel is best, but your inability to follow the pre-op diet for a few days is an indication of your relationship with food. The sleeve is not going to change that. You may want to schedule some appointments to address food issues. Sorry, mean part over. I just want you to be successful and reach the goals you have set for yourself. Good luck and let us know how you are doing.

27 pounds never coming back. Nice!

Love them babybell cheeses and the string cheese. I also do the Trader Joe's jerkey. Any and all varieties. Big fan of the RTD Premier Protein shakes, costco, Sams.

Here

Actually, from the bold part above, I qualified it. I trust you have re-read my posts perhaps from a less defensive position? And you have gone back and edited some of your posts to soften them up, and not that you probably really care, but I appreciate that, thanks. As I have said, I just want to share my experience and help those researching this life altering choice. Thanks for sharing yours, Neil. This is what makes this community great. We are a family, all disfunctions included!