TheGamer

When your work shift starts at 11:30 am and you don't wake up until 10:30, yes, yes they do!

That's a good article.

I've seen them, to be sure. I've seen advertisements for a lot of things, some of which aren't referable in polite company. Putting the blame only on restaurants or only on commercials negates the fact that ultimately, they aren't tying you to a chair and forcing you to order and eat. I'm not saying that it's not difficult to live surrounded by the very things we're addicted to, but that goes for any addiction. Being surrounded by smokers when I was quitting made me a generally unpleasant person when I couldn't get away from the habit I was trying to kick. The reason I'm standing so firmly on this is because I've not noticed a single thing regarding personal responsibility for the choices made when it comes to our health. These things exist, yes, but it isn't McDonald's fault I'm fat. It's the fact that I liked to eat a 20 piece McNugget Breakfast.

Heck, with sugar, salt, and fat you really don't need much else to activate the reward center in the brain. We're too tied to our evolutionary history for it not to be that way.

You're telling me you had no idea the things you were eating weren't healthy? A picture doesn't make you fat. A description does not make you fat. All the commercials in the world will not make me go somewhere I don't want to go and eat something I don't want to eat. I take responsibility for the fact that I ate and ate and ate until I was nearly 400 pounds. Comparing cigarettes, which aren't needed in any way (though there are days I miss them!) and contain upwards of 4,000 chemicals each, to food, which is required if you'd like to continue living, is a false analogy. And yes, if I saw them put the whole stick of butter in it, I would eat it. I have eaten it. Hell, I've cooked things that I put a whole stick of butter (and more) in. I make some amazing fudge and it took more than a stick of butter per batch. At the time I found it to be absolutely delicious. Now that I've not had much sugar in a long time, it'd probably set my teeth on edge.

Actually caffeine in low to moderate amounts doesn't have a diuretic effect It's only at high doses that it becomes an issue.

I know that given the data available I will most likely either not reach or not stay at the goal my surgeon wants, which is 150. My personal goal is 180, though I would be content in the low 200s as well. I think that as long as some of the weight loss is sustainable long term, I will be happy. It won't ever be easy, though.

One of the things I do miss the most is my former Sunday lunch ritual at the Chinese buffet. They had such good tea.

It will disappear over time. Give it a few months and you won't even notice it.

Major formatting issues with this post make it kind of unreadable. Suggest removing the HTML and just doing a straight text post.

TV and radio commercials don't make us fat. Failing to stop putting unhealthy foods in excess quantities in our mouths make us fat. If no commercials made you not fat, I would have been skinny because I don't watch television or listen to radio. I did, however, eat just about anything and everything whenever I wanted. Commercials didn't do that, I did.

Had the norovirus earlier this month, a little more than 3 months out. Three days with no eating. Fluid intake was about 20-30 oz a day. It was probably the worst thing I could have had happen, sickness wise. Took me two weeks to get over it and then another week before I was back to eating heavy (read: not soup) food. No damage to the sleeve, though. Just seemed that the sleeve made my recovery time much longer than it would have been otherwise.

Compared to the size 32s I was wearing, 24's are twiggy

This has been my stall month. I've had the worst luck with my non-sleeve related health this month and so I've been unable to eat and exercise like I want. I think, though, it's forced me to change my perspective on how I view my weight loss. Stalls are part of the process and I need to be okay with that. I've lost a lot since my surgery - 100 pounds. That averages out to about 25 pounds a month, which is, when I look back at it, kind of insane. But this month has been a struggle to do anything because of other issues and I've had to adapt that in to how I view both myself and the weight loss process. If I do what I'm supposed to, the weight will come off. The stall will eventually go away. It's cliche, but I think I finally do more than just lip service the marathon vs race thing.

You'll be able to go back to sleeping as you like once you heal up. I spent my first two weeks in a recliner, personally, because being flat in the bed made it harder to get up and the acid reflux was icky. Pillows are great for support, though, once you start sleeping more normally. I am a side/stomach sleeper and used a pillow for support and it made all the difference

Nobody does this as the easy way out. If you think that taking out most of your stomach is the easy way out, you need a better perspective on what's easy You'll be able to eat again and you'll adapt to restriction just like everyone else. Are there times when you'll miss being able to go pig out at the Chinese buffet all afternoon? Well, that might just be me, but we've all got a complicated relationship with food. The sleeve gave me the ability to deal with those issues in a better way. This surgery changed my relationship with food, forcibly for the better. Just go over the things you're going to gain by doing this and reassure yourself that no matter what decision you make, you're acting in your own best interest.

I had a bout with the norovirus earlier this month. I was a little more than three months out and while I was only sick for a week, it took me another two weeks to recover completely. The sleeve is not sickness friendly

I used Better Than Bouillon paste. Out of all the kinds I tried, it tasted the best.

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Yeah, that seems awfully long for a pre-op diet. I'm curious what the reasoning behind it is. I'd second the gum thing. I lived on different flavors (the apple pie one is really good!) during my liquid, and I'm really NOT a gum person. I wonder if he'd allow you to have at least something (like broccoli or other low carb vegetable) to eat.

I'd imagine that the 30 minute time window allows the liquid to clear the digestive system before you eat.

Yes, we all should do it, though it doesn't always work that way. The window varies, but 30 minutes before and after is the norm. Drinking while you eat helps the food move out of the stomach faster, which means that you can eat more than intended. It's one of the ways you can self sabotage.

I am, and always will be, a fat person. I've never known anything else. Even if I change physically, I haven't changed mentally. It's how I self identify. I will always have to fight against my body's natural inclination, which is to be overweight. You know, though, it doesn't worry me. I was happy fat. I was okay with myself. Now that I'm losing weight, I'm okay with that too, even if I don't recognize the person in the pictures I take now. She is, in many ways, a stranger to me. I am the same person I've always been, even if my body changes. I think, above all else, what's best for me is to just be okay with whatever happens. If being fat was the worst thing that ever happened in my life, I've had an exceptionally blessed life.

"Best tasting" is going to be so subjective. What tastes good pre-op and what tastes good post-op are two different beasts. Even over time what I've been able to tolerate in my shakes has changed drastically. Some things, like nectar of any flavor, have always tasted disgusting to me. Other things, like Total Lean, tasted great until about a month ago when they were suddenly sickeningly sweet. Get samples of as much as you can before you go dumping a ton of money in to buying up powders and shakes. Try a little of everything to see what works for you. All the feedback in the world will mean nothing if it tastes like crap to you.