gmanbat

Get ready for the strange feeling when your skeletal structure begins to surface. Also, when you walk or run and the normal "wall" is missing and you keep right on going. I remember being quite skinny when I was a young teen, embarrassed by my exposed bones. We have now reunited and a wiser me is grateful for their appearance.

My Ninja Kitchen System is a winner! It would make a great Bass-O-Matic!

I like your thinking, Juanita!

Don't worry about it being cheating. I looked up the guy that made the rule that weight loss surgery was "the easy way out" and beat the crap out of him. You won't be hearing from him again.

Hi Ciara! Welcome!!!

I am in "total war" against the stubborn last 7 pounds before goal. I do a bodyblade, knee-bends with a kettle bell, and push-ups 3 times a week and walking or biking an hour 2-3 times week. I live in a hilly subdivision so the walking and biking is quite a work-out. I do water aerobics in the pool occasionally. I follow up my workouts with unflavored whey powder, splenda, and milk. I do on-the-knees push ups, even at this far out from surgery,( 8 months). I am taking it easy on my belly which hurts when I put pressure on it. I don't do crunches for the same reason. My shoulders and arms are showing major signs of ripped-ness but my stomach looks like a deflated balloon. I am hoping it will tighten up as I continue my crusade against excess me.

Welcome!!

Hi and welcome!!! My journey started with my wife talking about the weight loss surgery some gals at work had and how well they were doing. That rolled off my back. Then she said she wanted to look into it for herself. That got my attention. I offered the "like putting a gun up to your head" argument along with the "just discipline yourself" gambit. I begrudgingly went to a support group where the surgeon spoke. Not only was I reassured about her Roux N Y operation I started thinking about sleeving myself which shocked my wife. I am stubborn but not an idiot. My statistics are below. I made the right decision, so did she.

To tell or not to tell, both are OK. Everyone is different, do what helps you. I tell occasionally because I'm ornery and want to see how ignorant or smart people are. I like to see them squirm as they struggle with their own issues and try to transfer them to me. It is quite a remote possibility that they could tell me anything about the operation that I haven't already researched. The negative feedback is normally biased, hearsay horse-hockey, like the "news" from MSM. Sometimes I find an intelligent, emotionally mature person and have a decent conversation about the operation. I truly don't care if they approve or not so any negativity does me no harm.

Being a guy I tried to put myself in his shoes. I also love my wife and have never been embarrassed by her even at her highest weight. She has always returned that support to me except when my shirt hiked up over my formerly big belly and my rolls were exposed out the bottom. When anyone is the least bit rude to my wife, my grey back gorilla surfaces and then my wife has the task of holding me back. I'm afraid I would put my job in jeopardy if my boss ran her mouth at my wife. I do not suffer tyrants gracefully. That being said, perhaps you guys are more civilized than I. I think your husband will be so proud of you that nothing said by Ms. LaLanne will phase him.

http://www.drugstore.com/now-sports-whey-protein-isolate-powder-unflavored/qxp320135?catid=181811 I get Now Sports unflavored in a 5 pound jar. Tastes ok to me but I'm easy to please.

It looks like you have a good man there. He sounds like a tough guy in a good way. He'll hang in there. Many ladies here have horror stories of non-supportive husbands. I was non-supportive until I went to a WLS support meeting and then I became so supportive that I jumped in with her. I told her, "If you're going down, baby, I'm going down with you!" I had already decided the sleeve was right for me but I figured I might as well milk the situation and make myself look like Romeo.

Great nsv! My "what th...?" moment came when I felt a lump in my chest. My first reaction was "Oh, no, what now?!" Then it dawned on me that it was the end of my sternum. I hadn't felt that from the outside for a very long time.

"I know...right?" skrrrrrkkkkkkkzzz.....fingernails on the blackboard!

It takes folks a while to get used to the new you. People, being the selfish, lazy slugs that they are, would rather do anything than adjust their thinking. So they attempt to adjust you regardless of how you feel or the improvement to your health. Next time they offer their bologna ask them nicely, "How much over my doctor recommended weight would be good for you?"

My daughter is a webmaster. I know how challenging it can be. These ads actually are pretty good. The ads pay the bills. I have Road Runner Lightning from Bright House in Florida. Loads pretty fast for me but dial-ups would have a hard time, I'm sure. I think the bare-belly flash ad on the right slows the page down the most but it probably brings good money in.

Saw your profile pictures. My reaction: Congratulations!!!!!!

If you keep up with the right eating and drinking and exercise when you can your excess weight is a gonner. It's a matter of science and fact. Think of your yourself as the landlord, the fat as bums that want to stay in your house without contributing anything but trouble. You've put up with them for quite a while but now you've served them their sleeve eviction notice. Being bums, they don't want to leave. They take their time. But go they will, it is their destiny and your triumph. Give your body time, be good to yourself. Be happy, you are going in the right direction.

My doctor, Dr. Peter Lalor, one of the best there is, will not do the operation on anyone who has not quit smoking, He tests them, he will call it off. He has dealt with complications from smoking after surgery, even death. I empathize with the struggle it is to quit. Been there. Whatever smoking adds to your life, it takes much more away. From a website on bariatric surgery: Before gastric sleeve resection or any bariatric surgery, you must quit smoking, as smoking increases the risk for infections, pneumonia, blood clots, slow healing and other life-threatening complications after surgery. Ideally, you should permanently quit smoking, but even if you don't you must quit for at least one month before and one month after bariatric surgery. Edit: I spoke to a surgical nurse who works exclusively with a bariatric surgeon. She is adamant that smoking is out citing ulcers and bleeding problems as common consequences.

I am able to eat too much as well. That hasn't changed. What has changed is that the sleeve has given me the power to eat the right amount without overpowering cravings oppressing me into submission to overeating. If I don't heed the sleeve's warnings I defeat myself. The brain must stay engaged. Reminds me of a story of a rich guy from another country who came to America and bought an expensive motor home to see the USA. He got it out on the road, engaged the cruise control, and went back to microwave a snack. Crash. It is helpful but not automatic.

Some people have class, some need a class:Basic Humanity 101 Don't waste your time or emotional resources on bottom feeders and concern about what they say and do. Enjoy your life with those who have the intelligence and maturity to accept, appreciate and enjoy you.

Good for you! Sanity is worth fighting for. I think many of us stray outside the fences of fanatical weight loss orthodoxy. I know that I will take a bite of just about anything to assure myself that I am not in a straight-jacket. The difference now is that I do not keep biting, I savor the bite and go on with my life without slamming destructive quantities. I do not want to lose my losing.

http://www.livestron...ining-sorbitol/ Here is a link to the foods containing and the side effects of sorbital. I eat these foods occasionally but in very limited quantities. My Roux N Y wife likes sugar-free chocolate and I cringe when she eats it because I know what's coming later. I would try to stop her but that would be bad for MY health. :ph34r:

Some sugar free candies make you gassier than a drunk politician.

I will join the chorus thus far. 40 pounds does not a failure make. Lose it, you can do it. Back to basics: protein, water, vitamins, exercise, train your brain.