Fiddleman

Most of my adult life has been without friends. It is not that I am anti social, but I have spent most of my adult life climbing the career ladder. This has paid off literally and my wife and I are living very comfortably. Still I don't have any friends that are meaningful. I have casual friends at work, but my best friend is my wife ( we have both been obese most of marriage, but my weight has gone up and down a couple times). We do everything together except physical activities which I really miss sharing with someone. She supports my ambitions to be active, but does not seem to want to make life changing decisions herself in this area. She was going to have the sleeve like me, but then changed her mind after reading about complications, getting sick, etc. My brother has helped fill this void by hiking with me over the years, but there is so much more I want to go out and experience ( caving, rock climbing, technical climbing, etc) and it would be great to have friends I could share the adventures with. Now that I have lost over 50% of my excess weight 3.5 months in and 110 lbs down, 40 to go), I want to get out there and do more active things. I used to be an avid hiker 15-20 years ago, so am thinking about joining a hiking meet up or two. I am also a musician and used to busk for fun with musician friends many years ago when I was in college. I miss doing that. In the last 10 years, I think being obese has really stopped me from bonding with people outside of family because of negative societal stigma towards heavy folks and fear of rejection. Sorry to spell it out like this, but people can be unconscionably cruel in the manner they reject you based on appearances. That is the way of societal evolution here in America and as much as I hate it, there is little I can do about it. It makes for a lonely existence at times. I don't have to be this way any longer now that my confidence is rising and I am shaping a more socially acceptable appearance. However, it has been so long since i have had any real friends outside of family that I am still a little reluctant to put myself out there. I have forgotten what it is like to have good friends outside of family. I think once i get closer to goal new people I meet through social situations will accept me at first sight rather than automatically rejecting me like I have some kind of disease they will catch (figuratively speaking of course). I am looking forward to new friends and new experiences in my new existence as a post sleeve success. Even though this response is long, I hope there are others who benefit from reading it and may be sharing similar thoughts.

Check out syntax nectar and matrix products. I have found them to be tasty mix well in water (. Or milk) and offer a high amount of protein ( 23 grams plus 7-8 more for milk). Syntax offers a lot of different favors; find one that works for you. I like the sweet versions like chocolate truffle and double cookie and vanilla crime and...

The sugar free G2 with all the electrolytes might help. I have always heard that coconut water helps for rapid hydration. Hope you feel better soon.

Yes, this happens to me. I think it is expected based upon how the body works to replenish glycogen levels.

No, I can't say a stress test ever came up as a requirement by insurance. It seems a little dangerous considering those who consider the surgery typically are BMI 35+ with comorbidities or have a BMI greater than 40. I fall into the latter classification pre sleeve. That is just my opinion on it.

My doctor said the highest risk for a leak is in the first 6 weeks. However, I have seen some posts on the site that indicate a leak can occur later out. It would be best if those who got leaks could weigh in on this question.

I went to a family party on Friday where several in my family were celebrating my sister-in-law's birthday. Her husband is very lean and works out regularly to maintain it. When I came through the door, he said "wow, you are really leaning out" that means a lot to me hearing it from a gym rat like him. Needless to say, I made it through the party with only eating a 3 oz salmon for dinner. There was also cake, ice cream, Cheetos, big donuts, etc. the good thing is that I was not phased at all by the food.

Thanks for the information. I was just curious about it.

Awesome NSV. Now you have to sing the hip bone is connected to the...

You might find it helpful to eat/drink your shakes, soups and other liquids in 2 oz quantities every hour. This allows you to eat something every hour and turbo charges your healing and metabolism. This is a recommendation from my NUT and helped me during first few weeks. Even today, I follow a similar pattern and eat 3 oz of protein solid every 3 hours. It works out really well and I only occasionally get hungry. Hunger usually comes on if I miss a 3hour meal like 3 pm because I took an afternoon nap on a weekend. Other then that, no issues with hunger, ever.

Thank you all for your encouragement and kind words.

Sleeved 7-2-2012 and am down 110 lb. I feel great! I have about 45 lb to go. Lost 8 lb this past week.

Why do you say the risks are any different for those with BMI over 40? I think you have to be over 40 BMI or over 35 with comorbidities for insurance to approve it (i was both). I am just trying to make sure I understand your statement. I also don't understand why certain people get this surgery who only have like 40 lb to lose? I always thought the bariatric surgery was a last ditch effort to prolong life when all other approaches have failed.

I got it from my hospital store where they sell food for bariatric patients, but you can probably find the tomato soup and other yummy Soups on mybariatricpantry.com or amazon. I am surprised at how much sleeve friendly stuff I can find on Amazon and it is usually less expensive. If you are a prime member, it gets even better because you get your order in 2 days with free shipping.

I think everyone struggles with this until they figure out chewing and eating slow prevents discomfort. I never really caught on to the eating slow part and suffered through what you are experiencing. However, by the 3rd month, my sleeve was a little more forgiving and puts up with my fast eating better now. I never over eat though because I always measure the food savings to 3 oz size. Good luck!

You might try having 2oz of shake every hour for as many hours you are awake. This worked really well for me during the firt 3 weeks post op. I also mixed it up a little by having the BA protein tomato soup with lobster bouillon. It is high in protein and super yummy because it is like lobster bisque and perfectly fine during liquids stage. The 2 oz on a schedule ma it impossible to be short on daily protein intake. If you are awake on average 12 hours. That will give you 24 oz of protein which is equivalent to 3 8 oz normal servings. If you assume a normal 8 oz shake has 23 grams protein from powder and 8 grams from milk/ soy, then you average 93 grams protein a day. Right on target and the levee can handle the incremental 2oz serving sizes a lot better than a 8 oz serving size in the first few weeks post op.

I get around 10-20 carb a day because I focus on eating as clean and pure protein as possible. This is probably different from most folks who are post-op more then 1 month. I will be correcting the ratios as I get closer the end of weight loss.

I am eating 700-900 calories a day, but do not really count them nor do I count carbs or fat. I do focus on counting protein and try and hit about 125 gram a day. Weight loss has stabilized at around 4-5 lb a week, a little less than during month 1 and 2. I am currently at 3.5 months. I have not really been exercising since 2nd month.

Yes it sounds like trapped gas. Happens to everyone and takes 2-3 weeks to subside. Walking will certainly help you out in getting rid of it faster.