gmanbat

I joined Jan. 13, 2012. Fascinating place. It's like an interactive two dimensional reality/game show... only everybody loses.

I went from envy of junk food eaters to disgust watching them stuff their pig faces, (that's the way I felt, not saying they WERE pigs). Things change as you lose the weight and reap the benefits. Your love for the new you replaces your love for mass quantities of belt strainers. Now when I watch volumes of chips and donuts go down necks I am quite indifferent. I have accepted the fact that I am an alien to the majority of my society. Nanu..Nanu..

At the pre-surgery informational get togethers we were told frightening gas stories by the folks there. It was quite a discussion about the lethal nature and abundance of the gas that comes after WLS. That being said, most of the talk referred to Gastric Bypass folks not Sleevers. There was talk of wearing charcoal-laced Depends to filter out the nose burners. My wife is quite productive in that department but mostly after eating sugar-free candy and even then it is not what I call overly pungent. I have never been put off by women's sweat, gas, burps, leg hair, underarm hair, etc.. Must be a Viking ancestor somewhere in my tree.

Oh, come on gals, can't you see the . < ? the period? _____________________________^ I do not feel qualified to answer being of the masculine persuasion.

I do not count calories but I have the utmost respect for those who do. I have counted calories and carbs and Fiber and Protein so much in my myriad past diets that I can pretty well tell what I have in front of me. If you are really tuned in to your eating and not distracted by TV, talk, movies, etc. there is a place that I call the "sweet spot". It starts when your belly warns you that you are closing in on the limit.....yellow light...time to slow down. It's 1 or 2 bites more time. Sometimes my mind says,"Aw..not yet...this stuff is too good!" If I keep on going the pleasantly full feeling turns to stuffed. If I still keep on going stuffed turns to miserable. Beyond that my belly gives me an instant replay in reverse of what I just ate. Your docs advise about eating slowly is the right advice. I would add eat thoughtfully. Keep your mind on what you are doing. Let your belly talk to you.

Been there. I've got 63 years versus 1 year of programming. My neurons are pretty well hard wired. I have to approach food with brain engaged or Mr. 63 takes over. My sleeve is a huge blessing and it did me a big favor. When I look in a mirror, walk up stairs, put on my pants, hug my wife, and a thousand other things I am reminded what a fat trap I escaped. It's not much of a burden, then, to pause before food and think it through.

Gas that won't come out causes me more pain than anything concerning the sleeve. GasX or Gavascon helps.

On the box look below. There is a paper clip and next to it is "Attach Files". Under that is "Choose Files". Click that button and find the pic on your computer. Click open, it will load up. Click "Add to Post" on the other side. Wherever you had the cusor on the message it will put the pic. Here comes my first car wreck: When you are doing replies you must use full editor.

She sat down with her sister and read the original post and all of your wonderful responses. You should have seen the look on both of their faces. You'd think they were reading a certified letter stating that they had been named as the primary recipients in the estate of a Saudi prince! Sometimes being human is not so bad! Thanks, folks!

Yup on that Fiddleman. Also my tight shoes are now loose, my watch hangs from my wrist, I put new holes in my belts and just gave up and bought new. Wierd the other day I wanted to wear a tie that was too short before. I had to cut a piece off of another tie and sew in on to the end. I had to remove the piece I had sewn on because it was way too long. My belly stuck out that much more!!

Do you measure yourself? Muscle takes up less space per pound than fat due to the molecules being closer together. As muscle increases more calories are burned which will get at the fat eventually. Your body infuses Water into muscles after strenuous exercise for healing which accounts for immediate weight increase. It eventually drains off. I have been stalled in the neighborhood of my goal weight for months. I have steadily stepped up my exercise program. I continue to lose fat as evidenced by how my clothes fit and how I look. Muscle cuts are emerging like rocks when the water level goes down. Do you really think you can eat small and correct, drink sufficiently, exercise more, and retain fat over the long run? If you are indeed one of our species that would be quite unlikely. You are quite ahead of where I was at your stage. I never sweated the slow drop. Goal weight was my destiny, my body had no choice.

When you take 20 passes at the craps table and get snake-eyes every time you naturally fear doing it again even if you have loaded dice this time.

Help! Why can't I lose weight with exercise? By smoothie, a large oatmeal cookie, or a large red velvet fro-yo cancels out more than half of your hard work, whittling your calorie deficit down to less than 300. Tip: On workout days, stick to your usual healthy eating routine, or if you have the urge to splurge, create some balance—instead of tacking a cookie onto your sandwich order, ditch the bread and opt for a salad topped with lean Protein, to make room for those cookie carbs. recipes 2. Do focus on the benefits that indirectly affect your weight Even if exercising didn't burn a single calorie, it's still essential for good health, and a smart weight loss strategy. In addition to building muscle, numerous studies have shown that being active reduces stress, and improves sleep quality, two factors that strongly influence your metabolism. One study, which tracked over 60,000 non-obese women for 16 years, found that those who slept five hours or less per night had a 30 percent greater risk of packing on 30 pounds, compared to those who slept a solid seven hours each night. Another Yale study found that non-overweight women who are vulnerable to stress are more likely to carry excess belly fat. Tip: Rather than obsessing over the calorie reading while on the elliptical, visual yourself happily relaxed and sleeping soundly, two states that translate into a healthier (and thinner) you. food In addition to "I earned this" splurges, some research shows that exercise may trigger subconscious additional eating. In one study, moderately active women were divided into one of three groups. The first didn't exercise, while the other two burned 350 calories, working out at different intensities. Those who performed the high-intensity training ate more in the meal that followed the workout than both the low-intensity exercisers and the non-active group. Tip: If you think you may be unknowingly sneaking extra nibbles, especially after a workout that really got your heart rate up, track yourself. A recent Kaiser Permanente study involving over 1,600 people found that those who kept a food journal seven days a week lost twice as much weight over six months, compared to those who weren't regular recorders. Rather than self-policing, think of tracking your intake as simply a way of raising your awareness. Nearly every client I've ever asked to keep a food diary has found that it resulted in some big light bulb moments, such as suddenly realizing how many free samples or bites from their kids' plates they take, or how few veggies they actually eat. Health.com: The 25 Best Diet Tricks of All Time 4. Do make it recreational You may not think of lawn badminton as "exercise," but an hour of this activity burns 300 calories, four and a half times more than sitting. One of my clients was surprised that after a day of antiquing, her jeans fit looser, something she doesn't typically experience the day after her usual workout. Turns out, she had stood or walked for five hours straight, which resulted in burning more calories than her usual eight hours at a desk and one at the gym. Tip: Whether it's organizing a game of softball, playing catch with your kids, or going for a family bike ride, find ways to build more movement into each day. Researcher shows that people with dogs walk them a total of five and a half hours a week. By comparison, those without canine companions spend an average of one hour and 20 minutes exercising each week, and nearly half aren't active at all. 5. Don't decrease your activity the rest of the day French researchers recently found that after high intensity exercise sessions, obese teens compensated by decreasing their activity levels later in the day. Another in older adults found that while exercise improved heart health, it didn't result in burning more daily calories, due to a decrease in activity for the remainder of the day. Tip: If you're not sure if you may be offsetting your workouts with more rest, start a daily activity log. Much like a food diary, it will help you get to know your patterns. If you find that you're more likely to go to bed early, or get sucked into a TV trance on the days you work out, try to notice any patterns. Some workouts may leave you more energized than others, or maybe breaking up your routine into two shorter sessions is a better match for your body chemistry. Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/03/28/help-why-cant-lose-weight-with-exercise/print#ixzz2OqEgj35d

Ya, I used to watch them constantly. I skip over them now. Too much like an ex-con going back to look at his old cell in the joint.

I don't have a cycle, it got stolen when I was a kid, but I get grumpy. Not because of food, my cat ticks me off! The bum has to stay in our bedroom but if we close the door so I don't get kept awake by my granddaughter's nocturnal sugar glyders in their stupid wheel, Tigger sctratches on the door to get out. If I close the door after he is out he will scratch the door to get back in. So the door stays open and light sleeper me stares into the darkness. Ok, that's not such a big deal. Sorry for the over-dramatics. Hunger comes around at times, it must be sorted out. Head, real, whatever, it is still hunger. In my case it was MUCH less than before the operation, no doubt because off the reduced ghrelin. The operation gives us a boost but our wills are still in play.

I am not a doctor but I can encourage you to take their advise. Ride it out. No need to scold you about the mistake, you are doing that yourself as I have to myself for the times I have messed up. One essential skill that comes with successful sleeving is concentration. I have trouble with distractions: TV, conversations, movies, etc. can dull my senses and trick me into eating wrong. I have to purposefully force myself to think about what I am doing. It becomes a habit if you do it long enough.

That looks great! Where do you live to get tuna like that?

Is that fish?

You look soooo good! I anticipated that my wife would be shopping more when she got to goal, she lost 110 pounds. What I didn't anticipate is that I would get the shopping bug for her. When I am in Macy's without her I find myself in the women's section looking for size 4s. I seem to want to dress her up. What is happening to me?

We might have jumped on the caboose but we are still on the train! Folks our age have to be extremely careful to do as the docs say but we know that. We have lost the illusion of immortality that plagues the youth. I know it when my below the speed limit careful driving causes the chronologically challenged to blast around me with faces distorted in anger. We have less time left but seem to want to go slower to get where we're going.

There are quite a number of indicators in your post that you will be successful. Many here have been through this without support from family and friends but still came out on top. You are blessed to have husband on board. It also appears that you have researched this out and that you are willing to learn and do what it takes emotionally and mentally to conquer the weight. Prayer was a huge factor for me as well. Many of these forum sub-sections have stickies: threads that are on top. In those threads is a wealth of information. Questions can also be researched using the search box at the top using key words. Certainly not least is the fact that you can ask any question here whether it has been covered before or not. There are veterans and near veterans who are used to the same questions and are more than willing to answer them. We all had those questions when we started. Don't be afraid to vent your feelings. This is an emotional journey. I can't say everyone here is empathetic but I can say the vast majority are. Welcome, welcome, welcome!!!

My wife and I, ( I am 64, she is 62), have been discussing not seeing very many older folks who are morbidly obese like we WERE. Outside of dying off early you could also factor in that they may not be getting out of the house much. We all know the debilitating nature of the things that obesity brings on. Here is some stats I copied: Mortality Rate - Obese Patients The majority of studies show an increase in mortality rate associated with obesity (body mass index > 30). Obese individuals have a 50-100 percent increased risk of death from all causes, compared with normal-weight individuals (body mass index 20–25). Most of the increased risk is due to cardiovascular causes. Life Expectancy and Obesity Life expectancy of a moderately obese person could be shortened by 2 to 5 years. White men between 20 and 30 years old with a body mass index > 45 could shorten their life expectancy by 13 years. White women in the same category could lose up to 8 years of life. Young African American men with a body mass index > 45 could lose up to 20 years of life; African American women, up to 5. Obesity Mortality Risk Study A study of more than 1 million adults in the United States (457,785 men and 588,369 women), investigated the relation between body mass index and the risk of death from all causes, cancer, and cardiovascular disease. In people who had never smoked, the lowest point of the mortality curve occurred at a body mass index of 23.5 to 24.9 in men and 22.0 to 23.4 in women. Above those points, the relative risk of death increased linearly with increased body mass indices in both men and women.

Those big bms are quite a relief. I have had diverticulitis a number of times pre-surgery so I know how constipation can wreck your life. I constantly felt like I had to go and could not. Trying to get in enough liquids and when you can, fiber bearing foods or benefiber can help immensely.

Hi and welcome! Mine was 41, just over the line. I also had comorbidities: diabetes, high blood pressure, sleep apnea. Do you have anything like that? Comorbidities cause the BMI not to matter so much.

Way to "go"!