theoldmusicbox

i started out by following my NUT's guidelines adamantly. pre-op, she gave me guidelines and the best thing i found to help was a program called ADVOCARE. NO, i am not promoting that program. i never used the shakes or supplements, but the recipes used in it were really close to her guides, so, i used recipes from the advocare site. i also started walking everyday. i started slow. first, 1/4 mile 2x a day, then 1/2 mile, etc. etc till i started walking about 2 miles a day. i was able to lose 50 pounds between april 1 and june 5. i got my sleeve on june 5. after i finished the complete suckfest of the liquid diet and moved on to the other fazes, i started researching different ideas for food because i had gotten bored with the advocare recipes. thank God, i discovered a site called http://www.emilybites.com/ the recipes on her site are a heaven send. it is real food. Good food. and there is so much there that my family doesn't get bored. i also use http://bariatricfoodie.blogspot.com/ alot for ideas. anyway, after i healed up to the point that i could handle it, i started doing more exercise bike and moved on to cardio. now, my brother (who looks like a white vin diesel) designed a circuit training style workout for me. it takes 30 minutes 3 days a week. then on 1 day i do inclined treadmill for 30 min, and 1 day i do 30 min ex bike. i've been through 3 stalls now. a 1 week long, a 2 week long, and i just finished a 3 week stall. but, as long as we work for it, it will happen. i have to say that i owe a lot of my success to my wife and kids. they let me take over the kitchen and i only cook things that i am able to eat. my wife is happy because a) that means i do the grociery shopping and cooking, and ( since we are all being more active and eating better, she has lost 65 pounds just being my support. trust me. it takes work. but it can be done. we just needed a tool to help. finding food that is healthy and at the same time, does not suck, made all the difference in the world for me. that, and getting off of that stupid couch. you got this, you can do it too. and hey, if nothing else. i'm rooting for you! good luck

my dr told me that my goal was 'lofty'. i think that they base this on averages mixed in with the folks that think they will magically melt away without putting any effort into it. that, or they just say that so that when you do reach your goals, you feel like you are a rockstar, and they are your promoter! anyway, i told my dr that my goal was to be anywhere between 175 and 220. he said "that's kinda a lofty goal, but, with some hard work, you can do it". now, in order for me to be at that weight, that calls for a 150-198 pound loss. right now, i am 5 months post op, and have lost 140. 5 months, and 10 pounds away from my 'lofty' goal. so, yep, if you work for it, i say that 120 is definately doable. good luck

Also, if you haven't made one yet, I highly recommend coming to the monthly support groping meetings. The next one is nov 13 at mvh. 6:30-8:30. You can get first hand answers to any questions you may still have, and, we're a pretty fun group.

I got my sleeve from dr teel on june 5, 2012 at mvh. I have nothing but great things to say. Everyone involved was amazing. Good luck.

Actually, it's just like car ins. If you pay your premium today, then have an accident on the way home from dropping off the check, you are covered. Health ins is the same way. Once you have that card, you are covered. Good luck

You should be fully covered on the first day that you are insured by them. As soon as you get your card, have your surgeons office call them to get approval started, that should help you get all the limits/restrictions and copays figured out

My employer changes ins providers every couple of years. I think I was back with them for about 9-10 months when I did it

I used anthem. I had no waiting period. All I had to do was have my fam dr fill out a paper saying that I've tried several diets and write down several years of my weight gans/losses. Once I decided, the only waiting I had was the time it took to complete my visits to wls seminar, surgeon visit, NUT visit and psych eval. After that, we scheduled my surgery.

Emilybites.com check it out. Her 'cupcake meals are perfect!

i am currently 5 months post op. i have experienced 3 stalls. the first lasted 1 week, the second lasted 2 weeks, and the one that finally broke, lasted 3 stupid weeks. i have learned a few things about stalls. 1) we all experience them at some point 2) they suck 3) typically, when i stall, my body is doing other things. like. losing inches. (totally don't understand that one but, hey, i'll take it) 4) when it finally breaks, i start losing again, so, i've learned to trust the program to do what it should 5) they suck 6) they don't last forever and finally 7) they suck so, be of good cheer! this too shall pass! good luck

well, this is a major, life altering step that you are taking. if you didn't have some anxiety, i'd think that you were crazy. i think that we all have that pre surgery 'holy crap what the hell am i thinking' moment, followed shortly after by the 'holy crap, what the hell did i do to myself' moment at some point afterwards. but, i think probably that most of us end up with the 'holy crap, this is freakin awesome' moment/life once we get adjusted to our new lives. at least that has been my experience. good luck on your journey.

you sir, are a rockstar! i'm chasing on your heels buddy! see you at the finish line!

Awesome

Try your local thrift stores. I pick up really nice stuff there as I shrink, for cheap.

so, here's the deal. I work with kids in my church and have for years. I started at 5'6" and 373 pounds. So far I've dropped 142 pounds and am down to 231. Today, after service there was a boy around 7 years old that I've known for most of his life. He was just staring at me, so I went over to talk to him. He got this great big smile and said "Dude, you used to be REALLY FAT, but now you're just a little bit fat"..... I don't know what was funnier. His completely honest heartfelt compliment, or the look of absolute mortification on the face of his older sister as she tried to correct his 'tact'. But, that totally made my whole day. Anybody else have a good, fun/awkward compliment story to share?

i had horrible, wake you up 2-3x a night, cotton mouth for about the first 3 weeks post op. just keep your water bottle close and make sure you get your fluids daily. it does get better. i promise.

i'm 5.5 months out, and i average between 800-1000 a day.

april 1 preop nut appointment weight - 373 and 5'6" tall june 5 surgery day weight - 325 today - 238 total loss - 135 pounds since april 1. went from size 56" waist jeans and 5-6x shirts to 38" jeans and 2x shirts. 65 pounds to goal. woohoo. and feeling great to boot. but i'm still only 5'6"

I've been using the chocolate peanut butter one. One scoop with 8 oz skim milk and a couple ice cubes in a blender. Unjury is the only powder that I think had a slightly better taste, but it is like $23 for 17 servings, the body fortress is like $15 for 24 servings, yep, good choice.

I was 5'6" and 373 pounds on April 1, this year. I was sleeved on June 5. I am currently 238. The list I put up was just a few of my non scale victories (nsv). I could go on and on. In 2009 I went through the entire 6 month pre op process, then, couldn't go through with it. Finally got back on track this year. My cardiologist said last week, that this surgery saved my life. He said I would have been dead or in open heart surgery in 5 years (I'm 37). There are risks, and not everyone has the wonderful, zero complication path that I was lucky enough to have. But, for me, I would do it over every day and twice on Sunday. It's normal to have pre surgery jitters. If they are bad enough, put it off til you're comfortable. But, don't waste years that you could be enjoying, over smal fears. I had 198 pounds to lose. After 5 months, I only have 65 more to lose. Hope this helps you.

Look forward to these things 1) a rough couple days after surgery. 2) an extremely sucky period of 2 weeks or so of liquid diet post op Now, for happy things You can look forward to 1) tying your shoes without holding your breath 2) sitting in a booth at a restaurant 3) people being able to hug you and grasp their own hands behind your back 4) not having to use the handicap potty in public restrooms 5) buying clothes at the thrift store every few weeks because your stupid pants keep falling off 6) getting off blood pressure meds 7) bein able to reach and wash all 2000 parts in the shower without the stupid loofa 8) actually feeling like you might possibly be attractive 9) not trying to be a perv, but SKINNY SEX is great. 10) being able to play/run with your(or someone else's) kids 11) much lower grocery bills! (my family's bi-weekly grocery bill went from $200 to $150) 12) getting to be a "cheap date". It's much cheaper to take m wife out now! 13) actually not hating exercise completely. You may not love it, but, at least you won't completely hate it. 14) roller coasters 15) not believing that you "fit" in that. Honestly, there is so much more, but, this is a good start for you. Good luck on your journey

i was able to "sing" after a couple of days, but it took about 2 weeks out before i could really belt out the harder louder longer notes. like barisaxilady said, work with the 'breathing thing" several times a day. it seemed to help me. good luck.

About 135 pounds since April 1. Surgery was June 5, 2012

Yes He is. Keep up the good work.

so, today, I had my post op cardiologist check up. He told me that this surgery saved my life! Also, he said I could cut both of my bp meds in half for the next 2 weeks, then QUIT TAKING THEM ALTOGETHER!!! woohoo! And he said to do a blood test Saturday, and if I checks out, I can drop the cholesterol meds too! I'm officially doin the happy dance. ( | ) ( / ) ( | ) ( \ ) ( | ) shake it with me! Only 4 months out, and off all my meds! Only thing left is the stupid cpap, and I've got a feeling that it'll be gone by the end of the year! Oh yeah, go sleeve, oh yeah! Sorry, but, this has been a great day!