feszyk

2 days shy of my eight month mark. 105 pounds lost. At 5'11 I am at 287 pounds. I have not lost any weight for nearly 3 months now. I was actively exercising until about three weeks ago, when I had an incident involving an external hemmoroid. Never had one before, but I am not sure what (if anything) there is to which I can attribute its arrival. It is not awful, but has managed to put me off exercising and now I am having some reluctance going back into it. Looking for tips on dealing with plateaus, specifically falling off the wagon and getting sloppy as the scale victories slow down. thanks

May 31rst. Down 46.

I have always been a fast eater. I am 35 days PO, and in my soft-foods stage. As I am moving away from pureed food I am finding it difficult to 'freestyle' with non-measures foods of varying density. The result is that I get the pinch associated w/ being full when I eat. Over the last week this has been happening alot. I am not gorging or anything like that, but I am having difficulty finding my 'full signal' and as a result I am finding it easier to fall-back to the foods I know like an OIKOs, Soup or string cheese, which is always 6 oz. and does not give me the pinch. My question is whether the pinch itself is the signal (mild, temporary discomfort) or if relying on the pinch could lead to me stretching out my stomach in the long term. I am at the beginning of it all, and I do not want to begin forming negative eating habits all over again. Anyone else come against this? Thanks

nearly a month out now. If I eat too much or too fast I burp a lot.

Actually I am a believer in the mainly vegetarian lifestyle. There is a book (The China Study)- and an ongoing study- that is a result of 20-year partnership of Cornell University, Oxford University, and the Chinese Academy of Preventive Medicine. They have 20 years of empirical data showing a huge cross-section of lifestyles in Taiwan and many rural areas. Dr. Colin Campbell headed it up from the Cornell side. They have documented clinical data that shows that a diet consisting of less than 10% of Protein coming from animal sources (most notably casein) can actually arrest development in cancer in lab rats. The people with the lowest incidences of cancer are the rural farmers who A) cannot afford huge amounts of animal protein and B ) move their bodies rather than drive their cars everyday. Even rural places impacted by China's terrible pollution problem have shown a notable avoidance from cancer. Joel Fuhrman is another guy crusading for a more 'nutrative' vegetarian lifestyle. He is more toward the vegan side and is definitely worth checking out, but his program is very strict. His eating method has allowed diabetics to come off of insulin within the first three weeks. IMHO I believe that the days of eating rich foods all of the time is over for me. I am OK with that, I had a good run . I think it's OK to have meat and cheese, as long as it is on a weekly or biweekly basis rather than a daily basis. I am post-op now, and still relying daily upon yogurt and cheese and eggs and whey powders, and I suspect I will continue to be as I lose over the next 18 months, but the long term plan is to steer towards plant-based protein sources and integrate them to get myself to that <=10% protein animal intake level.

Unknown. I am. Not sure if the turtleneck makes it more uncomfortable or not.

For me it was between 3 & 4 on that scale. IANAD, but I think its a temperature/pressure thing. The tube itself goes into you where it is 98.6 degrees and as it is withdrawn the warmer body temp is pulled through the cooler appendage (the gear runs slightly on the cooler side), and the amount of friction on the inside wall is increased which increases the sensation of that temp differential. Anyhow, I think the real discomfort is the fact that it is very different, and you are programmed to protect your equipment. Again, I would not worry about this. I know some folks have had issues, but I think they are in the minority.

I just had my surgery last thursday (5/31). I never had surgery b4, so this was a first for me. The catheter was a major worry, but I gotta tell you it was pretty easy. I got it out about 24 hours after I was returned to my room and spent another 24 hours before being discharged showing everyone how well I could pee. Taking it out was a bit uncomfortable, but its like 2 seconds. My nurse was very good and clearly knew what she was doing. Don't sweat this.

Highly recommend "Beyond The Refrigerator: Navigating Life After Weight-Loss Surgery" by Linda Ouellette it is one of three books I read, and for me it was the right mix of info and time (i.e. was not too long or too short). You can read it in a weekend without reading all weekend..

OK people. I am getting close to takeoff and I am passing my time reading posts and trying to set an expectation.. Maybe its also bc I am a week into pre op diet and have the peaking appetite, but I gotta get this question out, as I do not seem to be getting a specific answer in reading. Are you feeling hungry on your post op low caloric intake diet? I am not asking about being bored of fluids and wanting to chew, and I am not talking about smelling the neighbor's grill or the family's dinner. I mean hungry. Are you? Not asking for any guarantees, but it would be nice to hear about how genuine hunger is diminished and a sense of satiety is happening (or not happening) for some of you. Thanks /F