Fiddleman

I want to say how proud and happy of my wife ( phoenix79) making the decision to do VSG. All the benefits that come after being sleeved are worth it! Please Give her a warm welcome. We think the surgery will be in June, but have not set any date yet. Just starting out the pre op stuff.

The parent posts are all good. Also try pedialyte as a means to balance out the electrolytes. Saved me a trip to the ER when I had the flu not so long ago.

Some also say white wine goes down better than red wine (Iggychic, I think).

Thanks Nicole! We are going to grow even more in our shared VSG experiences.

Thanks, I am jealous of your sprints up the hill!

Glad you have found a good solution. Might work for others too.

Great! I love that fiber one cereal alone or mixed with other things ( have not had any since surgery, but will any day now). It has a good flavor and helps really well with the going issue. 57% DV fiber and low calorie. Yeah!

You will do absolutely great! You are such a good contribution to this site as well.

Frank-I want to let you know that this surgery truly does wonders. It really does work. I started out 360 pre op at my heaviest and 6 months later blood pressure has dropped from 154 / 110 to 100 / 70, my blood work is great, I stopped using the cpap shortly after surgery, food no longer controls me, I have dropped to my goal weight and can run for an hour and still have energy. And the list goes on. Who would have thought this would be possible? I would recommend this surgery to anyone.

Frank-I was so inspired after reading your story. You are gong to do great!

Oh so close. 1 lb!!! I think that is close enough to say you made it. After all, maybe the scale was having a bad day.

Yeah, not sure why fiber gummies do not help that much. I have experienced the same thing. Congrats on finding something that works for you. I know it can be a challenge. FiberOne is a good choice. Do you get it in the Cereal or the bars?

Here are my before and after pictures. Sorry the after picture got cut off a little at the bottom and top during upload. And my shirt is a little poofy in the front. [before] is me at 335 lb (not my heaviest at 365), 42 BMI and comfortable pant size 48 in Rome on vacation. [After] is me at 205 lb (not my lightest which will be 180 or so!!), 24 BMI and comfortable pant size 36 at home today. This last 6 months has been quite the journey in learning new ways to eat, to drink, to socialize, to exercise and to live life!! Let me know what you think and I hope it inspires some others.

I am in WA state near Everett in a small community called Lake Stevens. We have a Team Fitness very close and another another gym not much further ( both less than 10 min away). If I drive about 15-20 min, I can find LA fitness and 24 hour fitness. I have been a member of both in the past. I like LA fitness because of sheer size, number of machines, pool, sauna, etc, but the dues tend to be high and I usually always only see the gym rats there. No normal folks like myself. The 24 hour clubs tend to smell like locker rooms and are over crowded. For some reason, they tend not to maintain their machines as well. The Team fitness is nice because it is small, has a good set of high quality machines and typically has the normal people in it. However, they have a high enrollment fee and high month dues. I like that they interview everyone and keep the membership low. I have not joined any gym yet since surgery because I have two good Precor machines in my house to use. They are older ( off Craigslist), but have served me well. Both are commercial quality. treadmill is from 12 years ago and elliptical is from 15-20 years ago. They both do the basics very well, but tend not to have the bells and whistles you see on newer machines. Besides, i enjoy working out at home because it gives me less of an excuse to miss my workout. i have dumbbells of 2, 3, 5 10, 15, 20, 30, 50 lbs and use them occasionally, but have not committed to a program that leads to results. I think I like running too much and give less attention to the strength training. I have Bob Harper Inside and Out, but I think his easy workout is too easy and can only make it 20 minutes into his hour long workout. It is very challenging. Maybe I should just keep Bob as my trainer and keep at it. For some reason, I think that having a personal trainer (in person)would help me focus better and would not allow me to push stop on the DVD. I need to get to a point in my strength training where I am progressing from week to week, much like my running has progressed. For some reason, I have no problem kicking my own butt when running. It comes naturally.

Thanks for the info about certs. I never would have thought to "interview" the trainer in this way. I'll look around the link you sent today and see what I can find. I don't mind paying a little dough for a few months to finally get real about strength training.

Laura I think you will be just fine after a single mint, at least it wasn't 6, a whole row ( guilty of eating that many at once) or a whole box. They must put something magical in those Cookies because they sure are good! This weekend was "hard" for me because of a v-day party on Saturday ( we hosted) and a b-day party on Sunday. I did pretty good at the v-day party, but did have a small lemon drop rosemary drink my wife made. Didn't hit me, I was surprised after my last wine experience. Not too bad at the b-day party. My wife put a small fork of cake (a pinch) in front of my mouth so I decided to try it it was ok, but didn't feel like I wanted any. Let me tell you, it is hard to be a good eater when married to a generous woman Ike my wife that likes to host many social events with family! I manage to say no most of the time though. Hosting parties is part of her personality and I would not ask her to stop for a moment.

Oh fun.