Fiddleman

Go for a model that says unlimited weight ( basically 500 lb). The motor will be really high quality and not break on you.

Go for a model that says unlimited weight ( basically 500 lb). The motor will be really high quality and not break on you.

I ran my 5k today after taking a week off from the flu in 30 minutes (2 min faster then average). I do have to say i got the faint feeling for the last few minutes with ears ringing and lightheaded ( not usual). I have started a new vitamin program called mega man powered endurance vitapak program and boy does it give you a great sustained energy feeling all day. The first 20 minutes were great where I was averaging 9:40 minute mile and felt the extra energy from vitamins. Then I started feeling less energy and dropped to10:00 minute mile. I cannot wait for my energy squares to arrive from nuts.com (Thanks for suggestion BTB) because the vitapak program says it releases carb energy and so far my carbs are only what can be found in my protein based meat products. Somewhere between 10-30 carbs daily, at higher end if I have soy milk with my protein shake.

My wife was originally planning on having WLS (specifically VSG) after watching my successful recovery with relatively minor complications and successful weight loss. She was going to wait 6 months after my post op to see how things are progressing for me before making a decision to attend a WLS consulatation. Regardless, her latest decision is to not have WLS for a couple reasons. 1. Slimes and throwing up: She didn't like all the slimes and throwing up I went through when adjusting to the solids phase. It was mainly my fault because I am a fast eater and it took me a while to learn to "hear" the full signals. I had to learn how much to eat, how fast to eat and what types of food my sleeve an tolerate over time. Regardless, she didn't like seeing me in the bathroom so much after eating. I am better now, but still have issues with eating stringy things like roast bean or string green Beans in addition to fatty meats. Truely, it feels like dumping syndrome. I do try to explain to her that not everyone slimes and throws up and most of the time, it was my fault. 2. Auto-immune disease: She has at least 1 auto-immune disease. The one that she has requires an infusion of remicade every 6 weeks. This is one expensive infusion. It is called Ankylosing Spondylitis. You can follow the link for more details. It is basically an auto-immune disesase that attacks all the joints and there is no cure. When we talked to the surgeon during one of my pre-op visits, he said that people with auto-immune diseases might have more complications, but did not go into the details. She might also have PCOS. We do not know yet and will find out soon. This is where I could really use some advise from others. She has about 150 lb to lose as we both ended up in the same weight range at our heaviest earlier this year. Maybe it is because of life stresses? Who knows. The fact is that her extra weight may be contributing to other complications like high blood pressure, pregnancy issues, lack of desire to be outdoors like walking and hiking and on and on. There are plenty of reasons here alone that would make sense for her to consider it. She has tried manu diets (as I have), but has never lost more than 10-20 lbs on them. Atkins, weight watchers, etc. I've had fairly good results from the diets because I am very focused when something needs to be done, but then I lose my focus and the weight comes back. Hence, WLS was the only tool left for me in order to stop the up and down of weight gain and weight loss. She used to be "thin" (size 12) in high school, so I am pretty sure she remembers what that is like. She was a pretty hot girl in her younger days. In college she was slightly overweight, but still very hot and sexy (we got married then). We both put on a lot of weight in the last 12 years of our marriage. I don't hold the weight against her (never have), but I would like her to be healthy to avoid future weight-related complications. The weight does not cause her to be unhappy about her life (mainly family is what makes her happy). She is usually in a positive mood and certainly brings happiness and well-being to my life. I would like her to consider WLS because it is life-changing and truely opens up a lot of opportunities that did not exist before. However, I don't want to push her into something she is against. Any thoughts?

I think 600 a day is fine in the early months, but really hard to maintain after month 3 or so, especially if you are exercising. Maybe some can do it, but not me. I just focus on eating 5-6 mini meals a day to keep my metabolism in a happy state. As you can see in my post above, I average 1000 calories a day and am still losing.

No, actually. I could not "go" normally until day 3 after surgery. All that anesthesia and pain med put my ability to just stand over the toilet to sleep. The nurse had no choice to put on in me by day 2 after all that IV fluid. I gained about 20 lb in the hospital from the liquids after 5 days being there.

In addition to other posts above, you may also want to look for water retention as a cause for weight gain. If so, review the sodium levels in you food choices. You are eating a fair amount of food for your time out from surgery. I remember only eating shakes for a month after surgery (2-3 ounces every hour). Once I got solids, it was tough to get more than an ounce of protein like pork, chicken or beef. Salmon was easier. I ended up only having 300-600 calories a day until month 3.

Month 1: 350-500 calories Month 2: 450-600 calories Month 3: 500-800 calories Current: 900-1200 calories I give ranges because I haver never tracked calories. After month 2, I stopped tracking Protein grams and ate based upon habits formed.

Breakfast: eggs (, cheese, veggies, mango salsa, chicken sausage) or Protein shakes with chia Snack: a Protein shake Lunch: chicken patty or chicken meatballs ( from Costco), seaweed salad. Sometimes left overs from a previous dinner. Snack: a chicken hotdog (about 3 oz and from Costco), seaweed wafers Dinner: lots of different " cooking light" recipes. Most revolve around chicken or shrimp, seafood salad, veggies (sautéed, grilled, steamed). My wife does her bet to help me out with dinner and does a great job. When I go out I try to evaluate menu options and pick something low in fat, carbs and calories. I do mess up on occasion but because something that looked really healthy was not! I do not eat processed, fruit or bread foods nor do I eat sweets or pastries. Seem to be ok without them and do not even think about it nor do I miss them. I get most of my core nutritional needs from a handful of different pills in the morning ( Calcium chew throughout the day). Overall I am happy with both progress and energy that this type of eating gives me after 6 months ( been eating this way from month 2). I am close to goal and am about 6.5 months out. My total loss is about 175 lb ( start 360 lb, current : 183 lb). This includes a month of weight loss before surgery. My wife has also found eating the same foods for dinner, but in larger portions, is helping her lose weight. She no longer eats the same amount (very little in fact) of bread. I can usually eat 4 oz of a protein and 1 oz of veggie. More than that and I am sliming. Not worth it. I drink 100+ ounces Water a day. Protein ends up being 120-150 grams a day. I also run 3-5 miles every other day, lift every other day and follow an intense workout with my morning shake to help recovery for next run. I love my weekly starbucks grande skinny lattee. I am definitely a coffee advocate(both my dr and NUT allow it). Hope this helps.

First time I have read that a surgeon confirmed a stretch of the sleeve here on VST. For the record books!

I have thought about this a lot since being post op sleeve. While the sleeve has worked well for me (5-10 lbs from new goal), what is to say those band to sleeve revisions are not going to fail? Back when the band was very popular, it was deemed THE weight loss solution for fighting obesity. I have also adopted a new lifestyle of health and fitness. This question also hits close to home because I have seen my sister in law gain back all the lost weight since she was banded a few years back. she has been talking about a revision, and while i sing praises about the sleeve, i still wonder if it is right for her. Would sleeve surgery get the same bad perception as the band when the next WLS solutions comes along if enough people " fail"? There will be better and easier WLS solutions in the future given the ongoing epidemic with obesity around the world. And I am not talking about that surgical tube that pumps food out of the stomach after eating. That is gross. What are your thoughts?

How much different are these symptoms? For two days now, I have been bedridden with absolutely terrible full body aches, unable to drink water, unable to eat, diarrhea, throwing up, 101.5 temp, not able to move faster then little baby steps. I got really dehydrated this morning and passed out on my way to the bathroom. This feels like first couple days after surgery, but even worse. It could be the flu or leak because I believe symptoms are the same. About 6 months out.

Sorry to report again, bit I felt I needed advice from the forum. Today. I felt pretty good on rising and decided to start back at work today. Very little is different from yesterday, but instead of relaxing with the family I am working at my home desk. No exercise today or last week and have eaten, drunk the same as yesterday. No flu meds today, but I did take my Vitamins and prescripts at 6am this morning. Around 1 pm (a little less then an hour ago), I started feeling really spacy, light headed, ears ringing loud, and focus is wanning quickly. My temperature has risen and I am getting slight chills and perspiration breaking out everywhere from neck lymph node are to forehead to chest to legs to feet. My vision is getting a little wonky also. One weired thing I noticed, and only because I am now anal about how my body feels , is that after I drank my shake this morning the cold sensation went below the usual area where I feel hot and cold in my stomach and intestines. I am not sure what to think about that following my description of afternoon episode. Should I pay attention to this or is the flu trying a last stand?

My surgical doctor also said something similar; specifically, he said it is best to wait until after 6 months post op and it is always recommended to take a PPI with the NSAID of choice to prevent ulcers. This is exactly what I did in January 2013 by having my PCP start me back on a daily ER NSAID prescription med for dealing with non-sleeve inflammation issue I have in my foot and back. These conditions were present before I had the sleeve surgery in July 2012. Always check with your doctor and understand the risks.

That actually sounds like a very scary thing to be doing with your incision. Glad it worked out for you though.

Way to go!

From your past posts, i know you tend to eat a higher carb count (100+ grams if I recall correctly). You might consider eating a low carb diet (20-30 grams), increasing the perceived effort of your work outs or increasing the quality and quantity of your Protein absorption with better Protein shakes. Try all of these, some of these or just one of these for 1 week (or longer). See if it makes a difference. For low carb diet, consider eating as organic and clean as possible. Treat all food as fuel for your body. For increasing the perceived effort of your workouts, Try HIIT cardio and strength training. HIIT can really be done with any cardio activity from rowing, to running, to using an elliptical, to walking. If a workout does not feel hard, it is not hard. Pump up your intensity for alternating intervals with recovery. This will lead to great results if done a 1-2 times a week. These suggestions may be just what you need in terms of results you can measure ( and not just with the scale). If you like the results, then you might consider adjusting your current plan, making tweaks where necessary. If you do not like the results, then you can re-evaluate at that time. Try it out and see if it works for you. You can measure success in so many ways other than the scale. Hope this helps!

You bet!

Excellent suggestion for us to try also. The sound so good and full of energy. Would it matter if we ate these after the first 3 miles or not? Sort of like how long distance runners eat their gels at certain points in a race to refuel.