AmMatthew

How you going to spend that 300 bucks? Wish someone would have made that bet with me. It's money in the bank. You should stop thinking about food, that's the whole point of the surgery.

First off, this is normal at your time. Second, it's not like you can go backwards. The great thing about the sleeve is that it can't be reverse. I'm about 2.5 years out. I can eat about half a panini slowly now, even the bread. And save the rest for later. It takes time to learn how your sleeve works, but after just a few months, you won't really notice it. And after a couple of years like me, your new eating arrangement will seem normal, and you won't be able to understand how regular folks eat such absurd portions and meals. This way is way better, it just takes some time. Keep your head up!

Of course. Why couldn't you? You are like 2 months out. Be careful. I threw up my only time 'cuz of shrimps. But cheviche is great for the sleeve.

Don't doubt it. Crossfit rocks. I'm not sure what I'm thankful more, my sleeve or crossfit. I'm 2.5 years out, and I'm in better shape than I have been for almost 15 years. He'll probably struggle. I know that I'd have struggled at 5 months out. But for 29 bucks it will be good motivation to keep going. I wish that I had returned to weights earlier. I'm 38, and I do the full crossfit routine, pull ups, handstand pushups, box jumps. Honestly, I basically have forgotten how fat I was; before I started crossfit, I was starting to slide back to a little bit soft. Now, while I'm not with a full six pack, crossfit and the limited intake from my sleeve means I don't think about what I eat ever, nor do I worry about the pants not fitting. It's a relief.

Just go do it. In a few months you will be feeling so better about yourself. I'm married, but my guess is that your outlook on dating will change CONSIDERABLY. And for the better. I think that when we are heavy, we often tolerate less than ideal situations because we feel lucky just to have found someone. I can be blunter if you like.

What is/was your losing plan: My doctor wasn't very good about giving us complex plans. As an academic type, I would have appreciated that, but oh well. He wanted 50% of excess weight by 4 months. How far out from surgery you are what percentage have you lost? Almost 5 months out now, wow! I can't believe it. Time has flown. I have lost 69 pounds. It's hard for me to evaluate my percentage lost, because I don't feel like I have a clear idea of my final goal. Weight charts NEVER worked for me, even when I was a collegiate wrestler (where we did body-fat analyses). And now that I'm five months out, I recognize that my entire shape and muscle profile has changed. So, it's hard to say. I wear size 35 pants now, weighing 232 pounds. Assuming 20 pounds per pant size, that would put me at a size 31 at my supposed goal of 190 (which seems a bit ridiculous). But if we assume a goal of 190, then I'm 62% of excess weight lost. Month 3 and 4 were 10 pounds per month, Month 5 is like 6. If we assume this downward trend of weight loss, I should make goal in a total of 18 months. How many times a day are you eating? When I feel like it. I would say about 4 times a day, but I don't really think about it. Sometimes if I ate late the night before I don't eat until noon or later. And they aren't ever really meals. It's more of a little taste here and there. What is the amount of normal food (non liquid) you are now able to get down? It's getting to be a bit more, I guess, but at about the 4.5 month stage I really figured out where my limits were and stopped getting the pains. I surprised myself by eating most of two chicken legs the other night, and I can eat about 1.5 pieces of thin crust pizza if I throw most of the crust away. I can eat a whole package of soda crackers. And if I really try I can eat two scoops of ice cream, but it makes me feel lousy. The biggest change is that I cannot handle spicy foods well, and I used to love spicy foods. Obviously, slider foods slide better. What kind of supplements are you taking? Types and Brands I hardly ever take my Vitamin, and I should probably get back on the acid blocker. Pill free. I don't do Protein shakes either. How much protein are you supposed to be getting and how much are you actually getting in daily and what are your sources of protein (brands of shakes etc), Probably less than 65 grams. I try to eat higher in protein than a normal person. But I don't think about it much. I did this surgery to have to stop obsessing over food. I DON'T count calories. God forbid I ever have to again. How much Water you are actually getting down each day. Tons, lots. A bottle with me at all times. Makes a huge difference. Often it is crystal light or ice tea, but at least 2 liters a day. What is your exercise routine, type of exercise, and how often. Not enough. I should have started sooner. At 4 months I joined a gym, and that was eye-opening. For the guys out there, I used to bench 235 for 10 reps...now I struggled with getting 185 up 10 times. On all my weight routines I'm down between 35 and 50% of where I was. But I don't tire as easily, and the cardio is easier. I'm hoping that it comes back more quickly. I'm more active normally in my life though, taking the stairs rather than the elevator, running the stairs rather than struggling up them, going to the beach more, etc. That probably helps out with the caloric budget. How is your energy level? Better. It was pretty lousy at ~ 300 lb. Moving was tiring and I was probably suffering from sleep disorders. I feel pretty great now. I feel about 10 years younger. Testosterone levels must be substantially higher. That can be a two edged sword.

I'm 4.5 months out and usually can't finish two eggs, and that's fried (which for me are easier than scrambled). Let' along with a whole piece of toast...and that's a lot more than I was able to eat at 3 weeks. It seems that you two are going to need to be more vigilant about stopping early. The restriction is more like a stick that hits you (and sometimes quite hard) if you over do it. And restriction comes most from Proteins that are harder to process (rather than tortilla chips, etc. that "slide" down in). But the surgery is not just restrictive, so use all the tools, and perhaps supplement will power for what is apparently less restriction than most of us. BTW, I'm not sure that these bougie sizes are necessarily as standardized as we'd like. The bougie, as I understand, is like a template or a mold, but I imagine that there is a lot of play in the surgeons' hands that is involved. It's not like the bougie stays inside you.

Dawn: It's funny how you and I were sleeved nearly the same day, and go through so many similar things at the same time. I'm about 9 days into a stall where I fluctuate losing and gaining the same pound. I weigh myself daily, religiously, at the same time. I disagree with not weighing daily. I wrestled in college, and if I didn't weigh daily, I would have never made weight. My weight-gains always coincided with a lack of wanting to see the proof on the scale. The scale provides accountability. I think its more how you react to the information, then the fact that you gather the information. About the stall, I feel great too, and I've STILL (sadly) have not started a regular work out routine. And I must admit that this week I had a LOT of work, so it was more hours with my butt in the chair, than other weeks where I've been traveling, having to walk a lot in the field, etc. So perhaps behavior (i.e. diet and [lack of] exercise) have something to do with the stall, but alternatively, it might be a bit of our bodies playing catchup. I know that relative to 3 weeks ago, I'm thinner, because I can only wear a pair of 35 inch pants that were a bit tight just 3 weeks ago. So, I have to cut myself some slack. At the same time, I'm about 25 pounds from being somewhere where I'd be comfortable stopping and maintaining. So, let's hope that we break out of this rut soon. I'm starting a gym tomorrow, so we'll see if that helps! Matt

No soda is about the only rule that I'm pretty hard core about. I tried a sip once, and didn't like it. Ironically, beer, slowly and rum and cokes, again slowly, are ok. Funny. I don't want to go back to my habit of non-stop diet sodas. But I am on a non-stop crystal light drip, so is there really a difference???? Not sure.

I thought that slider foods were like chips, carbs that aren't doughy....

Seems early. I'd say wait. But you can always try a bit. My guess is that you don't finish one coin, let alone a roll. Rice and bread are the hardest things I've found.

I think that this Protein powder stuff is way over-rated. I remember someone on here saying that their nutritionist wanted them to EAT not DRINK their calories and protein. Makes sense to me. There's never been an adequate definition of "working the sleeve" but part of my definition is filling it with actual food so that I feel full. So, after 45 days or so out, I dropped Protein Powder completely. And I've come to learn that the easiest protein is fish and seafood (tilapia is relatively cheap, I love shrimp too). Seafood is soft, and goes down much easier than chicken. I "supplement" the seafood with yogurt and peanuts and cheese. By eating your protein, I think that you re-establish a healthy eating pattern that you might not have with a bunch of powders, bars, etc. I've lost muscle, of course, but I've lost a ton of fat too. And I'm guessing that a lot of my muscle was marbled like the best angus beef. The important question is: am I weak and lethargic? Quite the opposite, actually.

You won't probably want it....way too sweet. (But in case you do, no....it's pure carbs, and sugars at that...not protein). You'll want a pure Protein powder post-op.

So, shamefully, you don't need to exercise to lose weight with the sleeve. And, I don't like saying this here, but I think that it is true that men have a much easier time losing than women. I think that our metabolism doesn't take as much of a hitch, many of us bug guys have some considerable muscle mass under the fat...and that keeps burning as we lose. So, yea, the surgery sucks, but try not to think about it. Hopefully, his docs and team will make it like mine did.....inevitable, like death row or something. There were times that it hurt like nobody's business....but it's really, really, really hard at only 100 days out to remember that. So, it's a pretty short-term sacrifice as you well know. Walk a ton. You'll probably find that he's more of a whimp about it than you we're (at least that's what I figured relative to my wife's C-section). I slept in the guest bedroom the first couple of nights home so that I could prop myself the right way (I can't remember now what the right way was, but there was one). The drain catches on things, and that sucks. I'd say cotton shorts are an alternative to boxers. The biggest and baggiest clothes that he has. He'll be out of them in a couple of weeks, but will appreciate not have anything pinching right post-op. Maybe he'll find that once down 50 or so pounds that he's got more interest in working out. I also find that now down 60 lbs. I'm more active...taking the stairs, taking the long way, than I used to be since I'd always be out of breath and sweaty.