gmanbat

I used to have an exercise in which I would carry around a couple of 40 pound weights. It really worked my shoulders and legs. I carried the equivalent of that for years in fat so I thought my thighs would show it. Their stork-like appearance shows the error in my thinking. Being 63 and less endowed with testosterone I may have a struggle to attain Mr. Olympia size. No problem, like most men I have the power to exaggerate what I see in the mirror.

I heard "you're not that big" from a lot of people, even nurses. I am tall and the death-dealing globules were spread out and hid under clothing as long as it was loose. Of course, I didn't have the time or inclination to school them on what price I was paying for my "not that big" body. You know the list: tiredness, heavy breathing (not related to romance ), knee pain, insomnia, apnea, high blood pressure, diabetes, etc. etc. People watch TV shows where 660 pound people are laying in hospital rooms and think that is the definition of too big. We know what fat is. We know how to dump it for good.

These reactions we get as sleevers are an amatuer psychologist's dream. It seems to be a human foible to define ourselves by our perceived relative position in relation to those around us. For example: you have a friend who was always the thinner one. She was comfortable and happy to be the better of you two in her own mind. Now you attack your fat with high aggression and she sees her self-definition threatened. Rather than be happy for you out of pure friendship her instinct of self preservation kicks in she lashes out to either discourage you or out of sheer agony that she has to take a new look at herself and blames you. You know, we are who we are regardless of those around us and what they think. What they think only has a bearing on our welfare if we let it. What we think is paramount.

Hi, Frank!!!!! I am glad you are making progress! I was 330 as well, down to 242 now about 5 months out, goal is 220. It's gonna be good !!!!!!

Too much, too fast is what does it for me. Eating late at night will do it too, waking me up. I would imagine that bulimia would be easier with the sleeve because it is easier to vomit. Not a good thing at all. Might not be the problem but I hope she gets some pro help anyway.

The " " pretty well sums it up. Just add her to the weight you are going to lose.

My prayers are with you.

When your clothes start going into Goodwill bags and your energy returns like a long lost cherished friend you will understand that the price paid now is a small one. The feeling I have is that I have beat the crap out of a long time bully who stole my lunch money and shoved my head in a toilet every day. Overeating and being overweight were the bane of my existence. The dictator is dead! Viva la revolution!!!

Being a child of the 60's I was still enjoying the morphine when the surgeon came in to see me and tell me I could go home. He looked quite puzzled when I asked him if he had found my missing car keys in that stomach he dragged out. He just said he had someone else drag it out and that he hadn't heard anything. He left pretty quickly after that for some reason.

Wow, that is not pretty! Now I REALLY don't miss it!

It seems when I vacation, I lose weight. My last trip to Florida netted me a 6 pound loss in 13 days. When scratching my cranium trying to deduce the reason for this phenomena I came to this conclusion: *more activity *less snacking When I am home I have access to the fridge and take advantage of that opportunity almost mindlessly. I also spend more time on the computer sitting on my stationary derriere. Rather than spend major dollars going on stacked up vacations I believe I will pay more attention to snapping myself out of the "Zombie snacker" mode and move like I'm animate.

I feel your pain, Kathy. See my thread: http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/40231-vacationing-key-to-weight-loss/ The mind is the key to the body. It's like driving a car for a long distance. Don't go to sleep. Slap yourself if you have to but stay awake. You and I have demonstrated we can thrive without constant, unneeded material going down our necks. Life is more than endless chewing. We need to engage our brains and bodies in new and challenging pursuits.

I think that is one step up from chewing stuff and spitting it out like I did. It took a lot of will power for you not to chew it. Liquids are for but a season. This too shall pass. The crunch shall return!

Good for you, Lulu! You're a delightful person! It hits me that you will do great, you just have the personality and thoughtfulness to get through it and succeed. Your son will get a gift soon: a more energetic mom. Get ready for going down and going up at the same time: weight going down, life going up! What a ride it is!!!

We went to Florida recently. My November 2011 Roux N Y wife went on a cruise, I waited for her to get done and looked for a house for our upcoming move there. My brother-in-law raved about the improvement in my wife's appearance. He looked at her before pictures, praised her for her tenacity and bravery, and generally lauded her to the high heavens. I have lost more weight since my Jan. 16, 2012 sleeving but although this was known I got hardly a mention. Am I bitter? Naaa! I am super glad for her and not a bit jealous. She eats the attention up, it just makes me squirmy. She is welcome to it. I feel a bit strange when hugging her. You know the feeling when you are walking upstairs in the dark and don't count the steps correctly and think you have one more step when you don't? Your foot reaches out into nothing then comes down on the landing. Kind of jolting. I hug her and my arms just keep on going through the area that used to stop them. It is not unpleasant but hard to get used to. I almost feel like I'm being unfaithful.

One thing I have noticed here, probably because I haven't thoroughly looked around, is the lack of Fiber being mentioned as a possible stall un-stopper. Our Protein centered diets can easily be lacking in enough fiber to keep our eliminatory system from working properly. The longer it stays in there, the more calories absorbed. < (this is just a guess). Many talk of constipation which is common after an operation. But after a month or two out don't we need to consider our fiber intake? I got a box of prunes and a box of Fiber One. I try to eat 2 prunes a day. I sometimes eat a small bowl of Fiber One and drink Water at the same time. I know you are supposed to wait 1/2 hour after eating to drink but I make an exception for Fiber One, it needs the water to do it's job. Any pros and cons on what I said?

The"pig out today for tomorrrow we starve" philosophy was a standard fixture in my former failed dieting attempts. I had to get into the right frame of mind about food. The seriousness of the operation caused me to think hard about my thinking. I realized that food could be either my servant or my executioner. Pigging out is surrendering to it's power. I saw that I had to quit overeating like I did smoking, develop a hatred for it. Being fat kicked my butt daily for many years like a relentless bully. It robbed my happiness and was working on killing me. It stole time from my family and made me reach far less than my potential. Overeating is my mortal enemy, I most certainly do not want to entertain him "just one more time". Eating small is the same as eating big only not destructive. Same taste, just less of it. It looks like your mind is setting right on this. Good for you!

We order from Celebrate: https://www.celebratevitamins.com/shop.html We have always recieved our order the next day, no shipping charges. We order: 1-Celebrate Multivitamin Chewable (Mandarin Orange) - 90 Day supply (3 bottles) $36.95 2 a day 9-Calcet Creamy Bites (chocolate Fudge) boxes- 30 Count each-- $116.91 3 a day We pay no shipping because the order is over $100. My wife is Roux N Y and her labs were perfect last week after nearly 6 months out. Mine are too.

I had to buy a sport coat, shirt, and new tie today. I already got a great deal on awesome pants at Goodwill and went to match them at Elder-Beermans. I wanted to put off expensive clothes buying until my goal was reached but circumstances dictated otherwise. I purposely bought the pants a bit small and decided to do the same at Elder-Beermans. I found a great coat, shirt and tie there. Not too tight but just tight enough to give me some more time with them before they outgrow me. I must say I am looking good. It has been a long time since I had trouble resisting vanity. Glad to have a reason to battle again.

I always go to Goodwill to see what they have. I lucked out on some really good quality pants there. Sometimes things there still have the store tags on them. When I fail to find what I need I go the regular stores. I like high quality clothing but I like not paying much for it too.

I was carrying in a 34 pound box of cat litter, which doing used to make me huff and puff for 10 minutes afterward. My wife said, " You have lost more than 2 of those!" If I get to goal will I be able to jump around like I'm on the moon?

Really good responses, sleevers. I went back to emotional eating yesterday when my emotionally immature ex-son-in-law was verbally abusing my sweet 10 year old granddaughter. The clash between my protective instincts which would like too....you know, and rational common sense is like continents colliding. I am an emotional man, more so as I age. After a 1 pound drop earlier in the day I gained 2 back today. I recognize what I did. I am back to my senses. I think the trick is to stop it early before it becomes a trend.

Sissies! Triple expresso straight! Some Spenda if you just can't take it!

I weigh myself every day against the advice of docs and nurses. I don't sweat the jumps in weight as long as they are not huge. I am curious about my losing curve and it seems pretty stable going (from original weight),down a pound, up 1-2 pounds, down 1-2 pounds, going under original weight, up 1-2 pounds, down 1-2 pounds, going under again. Kind of like the path of a really tired bumble bee, up a little, down a little more, up a little, down a little more. He'll hit the ground eventually. Ya gotta look at the big picture. I average about 1/2 pound loss a day, a lot more the first 3 weeks but still on course.

**Gman scratches his head** That seems like a nice weight loss to me. But then again, I don't have degree in medicine and insensitivity. I think he must have gone to the same pre-med school as my Urologist, Dr. Doom.