gmanbat

Don't chuck him out just yet. If he is a gourmet chef he could come in handy when solid foods are back on the menu. I used to laugh at those pitiful portions on the food network chef competition shows. They look about right now.

SK8RMOM, You can get it all back, in fact you are well down the road to it. Your mind is set right. Remember the struggle you had when you were first sleeved, before and after. You went through the unpleasantness and maybe even the pain. You had the courage then, you still have it. In fact, you are wiser now and I say LESS likely to fail. Now you have a built in veteran to see the traps coming for you. You will not sweat the stalls. You know what to do, what not to do. I would guess your sleeve was not destroyed. It just needs some retraining. The previous posters have given good steering. Fight for yourself, your life, and your family. Load up your mental and emotional ammunition and win the war. Reading your post touched me, you are a worthy person. My prayers for you.

Wife and I both had WLS. In both the grocery purchase department and restaurant department life has taken a definite upturn. We can buy better groceries and much less of them. In the restaurant we can split almost anything and even have some for take home. We do not at all feel deprived. Equipped with a freezer, a microwave, proper storage bags and tupperware we are the masters of eating well on the cheap. That's fun for us.

Are you counting other fluids into your Water quota? They count. I also count the humidity in the air, I live in Florida. kidding

I am also looking at starting up tennis again. It was great exercise in the days before my fat escalation. Memory reminds me of ankle and knee problems during those days, no doubt due to my inordinate competitiveness. I suggest you take it easy, I know I will.

Prednisone puffed me up while I was getting cancer treatment. It was intended to alleviate the side effects of chemo. That coupled with Lupron anti-testosterone hormone treatment packed on the pounds. Anxiety, depression, yup. I feel your pain.

The only logical explanation to me is is this: fat is less, muscle is more. The fat takes up more space for it's weight. I lost inches many times while the scale remained the same. If not for the excess skin I would be in sizes I wore when I was a teenager.

I am afraid you are putting yourself into a box. You are trapped by your impossible standards. You want someone who wants you despite your attractive or unattractive body. The problem is this: you cannot get rid of your body without dying and you want someone without human nature. Humans have eyes that serve them by helping them judge their surroundings. From the time we are born we use our eyes to avoid danger and find things that please us. Men have sex drives. That drive is a part of who they are. When they look at a woman they are looking through the eyes of a sexual person. The more noble among us put that drive down the list of things that are important and allow love, affection, loyalty, kindness, and responsibility to take precedence. You could find a man without a sex drive. Would you want such a man? Not if you have a sex drive. Or you could do what many women do, find a man that is a good enough actor who can convince you that their affection for you is purely spiritual and emotional. Such men are often laden with hidden motives. When I desparage people for being superficial I train my critical gaze upon myself and review the many times that my eyes were mistaken about my judgement of people or rather my brain interpreted the information wrong. Ask yourself: Do I look at men and not see their bodies? Do I size them up in a way I wouldn't want to be sized up? I am not saying to quit looking for a guy that isn't a jerk. What I am saying is to allow yourself to be desired but not at the price of allowing your inner self to be overlooked. Find a guy who thinks with the head that sits on his shoulders, not the "other head." You want someone who can love you but allow that they do not have to be eunichs. Edit: again I put a lot of time into a reply but failed to see where it was posted, in the ladies section. If you want this deleted do so or tell me to. Sorry.

Wife and I bought a run down doublewide trailer in a nice trailer court here in Florida. She and our relatives have transformed it into a beautiful place. She has been working me like a guard on a chain gang. Floor fixing, painting, plumbing, cleaning, and we haven't even started on the outside yet. We get so busy doing things we lose track of just enjoying each other. We are taking time to have coffee in the morning and just talk, no newspaper, no computer. More hugging, too.

My kinda people.

http://www.livestrong.com/article/548667-what-are-the-benefits-of-drinking-dill-pickle-juice/ It's good for cramps, too. http://www.apple-cider-vinegar-benefits.com/vinegar-and-acid-reflux.html I think the vinegar in it fights reflux.

I do that, too! I had to change it to the middle finger. I had an expensive watch which was given to me from my nephew and I couldn't wear it because it was too tight. Now it spins around on my wrist, I can put 3 fingers between the band and my wrist.

I do my research and buy online. I've experienced the same thing. I could buy at the gyms and health clubs..but the prices! I've found GNC kinda scammy .

Yes, the newly surfaced hip bones. I so loved their appearing. I hated my pot gut pushing my pants down. Now I can go belt less.

Ya, I forgot about the veins. I think of the many times nurses had a hard time getting them. Looks pretty easy now.

I've awakened in disappointment due to my happy dreams: flying, finding money, talking with my deceased father, saving people from a burning house, performing miracles. I've awakened with a feeling of relief after dreaming about tornadoes, nuclear war, being crushed in a collapsing house, appearing in high school in my underwear, forgetting my locker combination, falling from tall trees. My food dreams occasionally woke me up with cravings but were easily overcome after coffee engaged my full brain.

Very good observation!

Grrrrrr... She was too busy or something...call again on Monday or show up at the office. Be nice up to a point

Are you losing inches? It is a better indicator of FAT loss. During my year and a half of weight loss I stalled, went up, and went down so many times I got bored and quit paying attention to it. If you are an earthling the fat will come off if you do the core things: Water, Protein first, exercise, Fiber, rest, Vitamins. If you are not an earthling, welcome!

I am 64 and I am only saggy in the lower belly area. I had a big pot gut. I went from 340 to 212. I think my sagging is getting better. I am a year and a half out. I was in the hospital 2 days. I had a dream that I was besieged by a flock of bluebirds. They were quite annoying and would not leave me alone. I woke up and realized that my computer alarm program was going off, set to the "birds" setting. I want a "fawning super-model" setting.

I lost my eyebrows on chemo but they grew back. I did not lose them after the sleeve and my hair just got a bit thinner. But I am now 64 and my uncles were billiard balls, could be genetics.

http://www.doctoroz....ake?page=3#copy Dr. Oz, not a big time bodybuilder, but the article was interesting. The part that caught my eye: What are the actual results seen in research? The largest review of trials with HGH demonstrate that long-term use of growth hormone caused an average 2.3 kilogram (about 5 lbs) loss of weight, 2.6 kg (5.6 lbs) loss of fat, 1.4 kg (3 lbs) increase in lean body mass, and no consistent change in bone density. Patients feel generally better, as seen in quality of life scores. Sounds great. Shouldn’t everyone take it? There are significant potential side effects to HGH therapy. Known side effects include increased swelling, joint pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, insulin resistance and increased risk of diabetes. The potential effect of HGH to promote cancer growth remains controversial. People who purchase HGH illegally may be getting tainted or impure products, which are potentially dangerous. Seems a pretty big risk for a few pounds. At he end it tells who it is best for: Who should use human growth hormone? Human growth hormone is approved for children with HGH deficiency or who have diseases that cause short stature (such as Turner’s syndrome), and adult patients with proven HGH deficiency, muscle wasting due to HIV, or short-bowel syndrome. Abnormal foreheads? Permanent Klingon?

I hate to diverge from the crowd but my psych eval was unfair. I told the guy I was a hippy...in 1968 and 1969. I've been clean ever since. The insurance company turned me down for drug abuse and behavior problems. My angry surgeon sent off a nasty fax. I was approved..but after the first of the year and the new copay kicked in. You get the picture. The psych worked for the insurance company (but not officially.) My advice is do not volunteer a lot of information that they don't need to know. Some psychs are realistic and fair, some are just weeders for the insurance companies, (with probable kickbacks).

My prayers are with you.

At 3 days post op all sorts of discomforts make themselves known. All of these are mentioned in posts here frequently. As always, your docs are experts we are just far separated observers. Water drinking was very difficult for me for the first 2 weeks. I still feel like things stick in my throat at a year and a half out. I don't know what that is. When I get to a doc I will have him/her look at it. On the positive side I have lost oodles of fat, am as healthy as a race horse, and get pinched by my wife.