Butterthebean

I did 4 miles hiking in the national forest today in my vibrams and I really enjoyed it. No problems at all. Gonna try some light jogging in them tomorrow on the track.

We're you running half marathons before surgery?

Raven, you've done great and you look great. Congrats.

Most surgeons want their patients to stick to walking for the first few weeks. Mine said I could resume cycling and the elliptical at 4 weeks but no weight lifting (nothing heavier than a gallon of milk) for 6 weeks.

I enjoy salads, and I guess I'm lucky because I haven't found anything my sleeve doesn't like, except that second piece of pecan pie on Thanksgiving day.

I also agree, MFP is the best way to keep yourself honest. Put your food in BEFORE you eat it. I've done that and once I saw the official damage, I've realized I didn't really need that particular chunk of chocolate cake.

I say go and have fun. Take some protein powder and a shaker bottle. You may not eat perfectly for those few days, but you won't be able to gorge yourself. Then come home and resume your current eating life.

Yeah, I think this is much ado about nothing. Not likely to happen to anyone here. If it does, by the time you get there your ability to eat will have increased. Also, changing what you eat will help. There are healthy calorie dense foods that you could easily add into your diet to stop losing weight. Plus, how much weight is too much? Do some people want to hang on to some of their fat because they don't want to look too saggy? I'd rather be healthy.

Google it. But basically it's a tool to help post sleevers who have stalled or developed bad eating habits. Its kinda like a reduced post op eating plan. 2 days liquids, 1 day mushies, 1 day soft foods. It's function (in my eyes) is to help break a pattern of bad eating habits while shrinking the sleeve to give back some of that early restriction that gradually goes away over time. I broke a good stall using it.

It is what it is. Everybody is different, and many people are surrounded by negativity and backstabbers, not to mention there is a big stigma about "taking the easy way out." I feel fortunate that I have lived my life in such a way that I am surrounded by people who would not dare say a negative thing to me about this. What they say behind my back....I don't care. My friends have the right to believe however they choose. I haven't heard a single negative thing. I encourage people to share their WLS experience with others who are struggling with weight loss. A friend shared his experience with me, and that is what prompted me to take this path. Without his openness, I would still be 400 pounds. Now, whenever anyone asks me about my weightloss (and they WILL ask) I tell them about the surgery. It's liberating. But not everyone is in the position to be this open, and that's understandable. Each of us should be as open as we are comfortable being.

I tried the pouch test. The good thing about it is there is no calorie limit. You can drink/eat as much as you want. You do not have to be hungry. But yes, you do have to plan ahead so you always know where your next meal is coming from. For me, it was just like the preop diet in that sense, except easier because my food issues were much more under control.

Perhaps you need more calories, not less. Everybody is different. The calorie total one person needs is not necessarily what you need. But if you're active and working out daily and putting your body into an extreme calorie deficit, it will hinder our weightloss. Every time I've upped my calories I've lost weight. It usually takes me about 5 days or so at an increased calorie level to see the weight loss begin.

Those are the reasons, but I've found none of them to be true personally. I think it's one of those rules they throw out there because they are trying to idiot proof our recovery. They know somewhere, someone is going to suck too much air through a straw and perforate their sleeve. Once your sleeve is healed, no amount of straw drinking is going to do anything but make you belch.

Those overalls rock. But how do you know you're not gaining muscle? If you haven't been exercising at all, then simply starting an aggressive walking program will cause you to gain muscle. Your body adapts to the stress you put it through. If you suddenly start demanding it workout everyday, it will adapt by growing the muscles it needs to do the job, as long as you're taking in enough Protein to do so. You may be adding more muscle than you know. You look great by the way.

Way to go.

I have bought a bunch of clothes cheap on eBay. Way more selection than any second hand store, especially if you still need bigger sizes. I just bought 5 nice but slightly used shirts for $20. I've been giving all my too big stuff to the V.A.

One of the best bars, nutritionally speaking. To make them taste better, microwave them for 20 seconds or leave them in the car for a few hours, cause straight out of the box at room temp they are like eating chocolate covered rubber. Once softened up they aren't bad at all. Plus, I'm not looking for a Protein bar that taste like a Snickers. I'm just looking for something that will sustain me and give me some nutrients.

Do you eat any roughage? Very filling and sustaining, and super low cal. I wrap a piece of turkey or cheese in a giant piece of lettuce and I'm full on less than 75 calories.

Caffeine, like any stimulant, will give you a surge followed by the inevitable down swing. So yes, in that sense, it can leave you sluggish after the affects wear off.