DougNichols

I lost 39lbs in 6 weeks during my weight loss challenge. The second place only lost 7. When I asked if I won, Lynn started laughing since I successfully drove out several people from the challenge. I passed on the money, and did not show up to the 'awards' meeting since I already got what I wanted. Since then I signed up for their third one, and will annihilate all competition in November/December too. I'm currently making a list of my top 5 fears. Things that absolutely scare the hell out of me. And then going out into these situations in the worst possible way until every fear is abolished, and I'm in complete control over them. I will not live in fear, in failure, in the chaos that I see most others face. November is devoted to conquering what controls me. I do not fail, nor relegate my power to a simple emotion. Your thoughts create your beliefs, which in turn create your reality. Control your thoughts, or live in misery as you helplessly watch them control you. Women are comfortable around me now, and do things they didn't before. And either really like me (a few weird stories, I mean REALLY like me) or actively avoid me dependent upon my state and their own internal perceptions of reality. I have not pursued dating again seriously, seems I have some issues to work out. I'll get to those after I finish abolishing all my fears (project November).

Pics:

Go get it girl! Walk the path to owning your life.

Here you are, in great detail: http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/13287-step-by-step-guide-to-the-vsg-experience/

My EGD (stomach scan, where they put you under) was TWO THOUSAND DOLLARS. More than what I paid for surgery. I got like 7 different bills for that crap, a lab, the ana, the doctor, the hospital, the NURSE even billed me. Ridiculous.

Couple cans of chili (50 cents each) Some tuna salad pre-made at grocery store Some cottage cheese Some Protein shakes (on sale at Amazon) I'm all set!

The nurses seemed obsessed with determining how my "package" looked. So every time they'd reach for the drain, they'd try to take a peek under the blanket for no reason (even though it was sitting on top). My advice to him: Take some boxer underwear! More advice: Exercise aerobics like you're entering a triathlon! Nobody on the floor but me was walking, and I walked A LOT. My recovery time was exceptional, and I was working out within a week of leaving. Before going in (even the day before), exercise like 4x weekly, 1-2 hour HARD aerobics. It will greatly increase recovery time, and reduce pain afterwards. Just my experience.

I wear my fat clothes until I lose all my weight. Saves a ton of money, and it fits in with the "baggy style".

You in Dallas? I love bigger girls.

Mix it with the cottage cheese! (kidding)

Way too many carbs.

A little extra caution never hurts.

I'm never hungry. And the thought of eating food is gross, but I need food to support my workout habit.

WALK! You won't want to, cause it hurts. But WALK anyway. It will dramatically speed up your recovery time. WALK!

It hurts for a few minutes until they hook up the drugs. Then it hurts to roll over for a week. After 2 weeks I was back in the gym, doing elliptical machine on lvl 10 for an hour. Now after 4 weeks I'm doing lvl 18 for an hour (which is EXTREMELY difficult) with no ill effects. They said no weights yet, but I'll PROBABLY be doing my usual 900lb leg presses after 6-8 weeks.

Eating one scrambled egg after surgery fills you up for 5 hours ... Eating two, and you're in the bathroom throwing up from too much food.

I was the only person on my floor (of sleevers) that walked. It hurts. It's hard. Do it anyway. I did a total of like 70 laps during a 24-hour period, once you start doing it, this becomes MUCH easier the 2nd, then 3rd, then 4th time. Etc. My recovery time was VERY FAST - and I firmly believe it was the walking.

His guidelines say low fat soups and such. You'll receive a complete list of what you can eat in the white binder Anne gives you. I survived on the organic soups from the grocery store that come in a cardboard box, very yummy and filling. You can only eat about 1/2 cup before you're epic full, although I got to 3/4 cup before mushies started. The guidelines were: - low fat - can easily fit through a strainer You need to be careful about the number of carbs your soups have. Theoretically you could grab some high fat, high cal, high carb soups from Chili's, and never lose any weight. Click on my food link below to see exactly what I ate during the Soup stages. I lost 1lb a day, so I was moderately successful.

I pointed this out to her during my "class" where she showed us all the slides with the head nurse in the room. She was making updates to it then, so probably hasn't implemented the changes. Follow Dr. Nick's binder, and ignore the nutritionist instructions. He preaches 3 weeks liquid, 3 weeks mushies. And the document you receive from the nurse when leaving the hospital says clear liquids for 48 hours. I went to Baylor, 5th floor If you goto Baylor, there's a "family dining area" that contains a refrigerator and microwave. Great place to store your leftover broth from when the kitchen closes at 7pm for later that night. Also a good reason to WALK so you can have a couple sips at 11pm, etc.

Yep I had Dr. Nick - he rocks. Make sure you WALK as often as humanly possible in the hospital. I was the only person walking on the whole floor (which is dedicated to weight loss surgery people), and my recovery time was amazingly fast. You can read my whole story here: http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/13287-step-by-step-guide-to-the-vsg-experience/

48 hours Clear liquids 3 weeks full liquids 3 weeks mushies Solids You should have received a large white binder from the nurse, and had to sign for it. It includes all this information.

Two things: - DON'T TRY TO GO PAST YOUR OUNCE LIMIT. You're just waiting to fail, if you're constantly stuffing more into your mouth every time you can. There's no reason to test the waters. So don't. I know this 300lb lady who drinks sodas and eats junk food all day after gastric bypass. Because she acclimated her body to it. Of course you can too, if you really want to. But then again, do you want to be 200lb overweight? - Wait until you eat a piece of chicken, and it feels like you swallowed glass. You won't be able to consume any more of that for a while.

Her lessons learned: - Avoid slider foods. They will cause you to constantly struggle with your weight. Even occasionally, these are the devil. - Never try to see if you can eat more than you did last week, or last month, or even last year. There's no reason to stuff more food in your mouth, just to see if "it stretched". Eat the same small amounts for the remainder of your life. Why even test those waters - JUST DON'T GO THERE. EVER. - Don't let other people choose your menu. You are in control of your food. If the rest of the family is pigging down on chips and high calorie dips, don't get wrapped up in that and think you need to partake in this crap diet as well. That's all. I thought it was some sagely advice.

Since Vegas is built on HUGE buffets - anyone know sleeve-friendly places to eat? I would hate to pay $15 for a buffet, then eat like 3 bites of food. My hotel won't have a frig, so can't store leftovers. thanks!

I'm migrating into mushies phase, but it hurts pretty badly when hitting my stomach. It gurgles for a good HOUR trying to recover, and it feels like I ate some glass shards. Is this normal? If so, how long does it take the body to adjust to mushies? I ate some tuna salad and low fat cottage cheese (about 1/2 a cup total between the two). I drank no Water 30 before/after, and I'm taking my PPI (Nexium) right on schedule 2x per day (8am and 7pm). thanks!