Richard Foor

Tickers are the little charts on the bottom of peoples posts that show there progress. They are only visible on the website not on the apps. TT is a tummy tuck.

I personally was never given any restrictions on types of cheese to eat. I do usually eat the low fat variations just because they are lower in calories but I do eat regular cheese sometimes to. Lately I have been eating a lot of the velveeta brand single cheese slices, they are just really creamy and good in my opinion.

Well the only suggestion I can think of is that that there are a couple brands of protein pancake mixes available. I have purchased them some before on bariatric choice and they are decent, the ones I tried were the proti diet brand. They also have protein cereals I have seen on the same site but haven't personally tried them. Good Luck.

Macman I was never able to exercise like this before either, but by starting slow and working my way up along with the fact that as I lost more weight it got easier everyday, And believe it or not as you exercise gets easier and you are more successful with it, it starts to feel good and makes you want to do it more. At least that is how it has been for me, but as with everything everyone is different. So the best advice I can give is to start by doing what you can handle and see what happens, and most important try to enjoy yourself. Good Luck.

The product that they are talking about is a little different then the cheap protein shots that are found all over the place anymore, these are using Actinase Protein Complex which is a hydrolyzed combination of whey isolate, casseine isolate, and collagen isolate. The information I have seen on actniase looks pretty good, but if anyone knows anything more about please share. Here are some links of what I have found. http://www.protica.com/ http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Versatility-of-Actinase-Protein-Complex&id=19019 I may have to try some of this just to see what it is like.

Everyone heals at the own rate and how healed you are will effect how much you can get in. It is very important to get your fluids and proteins in in order to get your body to effectively heal. You might want to try driving done warm or hot drinks as the warmth may reduce the internal swelling making it easier to get more in. Mostly don't let yourself get discouraged just keep getting as much as you can in and before you know it you'll be able to get the proper amounts. Good luck.

Very interesting I guess my reasoning for increasing my fluid intake weren't necessary after all, lol. But I can't argue with the results so I will continue to drink the amount I do.

I have to say that I did settle for the one person I was able to get any attention from even though she was not right for me. I wouldn't change any of it because I ended up with 2 children I love more then anything. But it was a hard relationship., especially since she ended up cheating on me a couple different times, which I stupidly forgave her for, just to have her do it again and leave me and the kids after 13 years. But now that I've lost the weight and gained self confidence I have finally been able to tell her to move along when she comes nosing around.

I agree with that you can count almost any liquid towardsyour daily fluid numbers but would add that I was told not to count coffee or tea in that count as they are natural diaretics and actually hurt your hydration not help it. For that matter I personally increased my daily water goal to 128 oz in order to make up for the amount of coffeei drink mousy days. Good luck. Also you can use other broths if you like something else better then chicken.

I'll jump in on this one, lol. A Man's "Toes" really do grow an inch with every 40 lbs. at least mine did.

Mine is soft pretzels, I work as a projectionist at a drive in movie in the summer for fun and we have soft pretzels in the concession stand and that is the one thing I can not stop myself from getting when i'm there. So I had to start on the days when I know I was working the drive ins I would eat less all day to leave room in my calorie numbers for that soft pretzel, and I just didn't worry about the carbs on those days. I think that if you try to deny yourself the things you crave the most you are doomed to fail so I find ways to incorporate them into my plan. Good Luck.

I agree with what appears to be the common consensus here that after the first couple months you will enjoy it again. I know that I personally enjoy cooking for my kids. Also I enjoy figuring out healthy versions of my favorite meals to cook for myself and the kids. Good Luck, enjoy the journey.

Height 5'5" Starting weight 379 Current Weight 226 Loss 153 Surgery Date 12/10/12 9 months ago

Funny thing when I saw the title of this thread I thought it was talking about something totally different, if you look at the title quickly it looks like it says faux-**** which I was really curious what that would be. lol.

Things like this do all go away with time, however I can't tell you exactly how long it will take as everyone is different. I personally think that for me that feeling went away at about 3 weeks out. Good Luck.

As with almost everything in this journey everyone has different results. For the most part from what I have read the younger folks tend to do better at not having so much lose skin, i'm jealous of that since believe me I have a lot of lose skin, but i'm ecstatic that that skin is no longer filled with fat so I guess it's a worth while trade off. Good Luck.

congratulations

My theory on all things in life is that it is not the mistakes we make that define us but the way we recover from those mistakes. I think it was a very strong step for you to post your mistake on the internet for all to see your mistakes and your dedication to do your best to fix it, especially knowing there will always be people who will try to judge you but your own opinion is the most important one. Sounds like you already know what you are doing wrong, now you just need to find the solution that works for you. Not everyone is created the same so the same solutions don't work for everyone. I will say that as you are getting further out you may need to consider increasing your daily calorie intake to find what makes you satisfied but continues your weight loss at the pace you are looking for. I personally recently increased my daily calories from around 900 to around 1200 and also doubled my daily protein from 70 to 140, as a result my weight loss actually sped up. It is also important to realize if you are exercising a lot you may actually need some carbohydrates, try finding the best quality carbs you can. No matter what try not to let yourself get discouraged, remember why you started your journey and use that same motivation to help get you back on track. Good Luck.

Alright, I decided to post a couple of NSV's that go through the warped mind of a paramedic, hopefully you all hearing how us warped individuals that save lives everyday think won't frighten anyone, lol. Most recent one was the other day I respond on a lift assist the classic I've fallen and can't get up, get to the house and as frequently is the case all the doors are locked, the patient is in the house and yells for us to break down the door, now I have been running on the ambulance for 23 yrs and am currently a Supervisor so don't do as much direct field work as I used to, so it's probably been at least 10 yrs since the last time I broke down a door and for the last couple years I usually call for fire department or let the police do it because I didn't have the energy and or strength to break them in anymore, but this time I figure all this time in the gym i'll just go ahead and do it. So I hit the door with my shoulder and bust right through, actually almost fell going through because it was so much easier then in the past, afterwards I look and had actually split the door jam down the middle. The 20 something kid that was my partner that day looks at me and says nice job, and then laughs and says but you don't need to look so happy about busting down someone's door. On another recent shift got dispatched for an unconscious person in a vehicle, get to the scene and the fire department already busted the car window and got the doors open, but there all standing there looking at the patient trying to figure out how they should get him out of the vehicle. In the past I usually have just stood back and told the firemen how to extricate the patient, but this time I walk right up reach in grab the patient under the arms and tell my partner to grab the legs and pull the guy out and then realize I forgot to make sure the litter was ready first so now i'm stuck just holding this patient in the air while the fireman get the litter set. The rescue coats we wear for protection at vehicle accidents and fires are very expensive, in excess of like 500 dollars for just the coat and they have to fit right or they actually go from being protective to being dangerous, but due to the cost it never goes well when you tell the manager that you outgrew your rescue coat and you need a new one, if your lucky the timing works out that they can find someone else it will fit that needs one but obviously the bigger you are the less likely of that. Well anyhow the other day I take my Rescue coat into the manager's office and say I have to turn this back in because I can't wear it anymore, it's a size 4x and I now need a size large, the manager looks at me and says good job, go ahead a call and order yourself a brand new one. And of course the strangest thing a paramedic thinks and I believe this one is true of many other medical professionals is that paramedics are constantly looking at peoples veins, it is actually almost subconscious, can't be helped, when your trained to start right away looking for a good IV access point right away so you can get it established quickly you just start looking at peoples veins in everyday situations. Yes that means if you know any paramedics and have spent anytime with them even just talking they probably already have identified most of your major arm and neck veins and determined wear they would like to stick needles in you. Anyhow it's funny as I keep losing weight I keep finding myself staring at my own arm veins constantly thinking how easy it would be to start several large bore IV's on myself. OK, that's all for now, hope you can all get some enjoyment out of my disturbed thinking.

I had used those a lot in the early post op phases because they tasted good and were quick and easy. I do believe they help you with the carb cravings, but I believe that if you are getting enough protein in in any form it helps with that. I understand some people think they are to low in protein value but you have to remember they are low in calorie also, I always try to look at the protein to calorie ratio if you are getting more the 1 gram of protein per 10 calories in something it's pretty decent in my opinion. Since these are 17 grams in 110 calories that around 1.5 grams per 10 calories so not so bad when you look at it that way. Good Luck.

Well I have to say I agree with almost all of these that were listed myself, and would like to say that as you get further along and close to goal these things that used to annoy you are some of the most enjoyable things because of just how amazing it feels to be on the better end of it. I now love to shop for clothes because I can find clothes that fit cheap anywhere I find that I walk around with my head held high and have a ton more self confidence then I every did. I love running into people I haven't seen in a long time to see how they react to how different I am now and whether or not they even recognize me. It is great to know when you go to a restaurant you can sit anywhere you want and not worry about being very uncomfortable. And it is so wonderful to have all kinds of energy and know you can do whatever you want without having to stop to take a nap every couple of hours. I thought it would be good for all you preops and early post ops to hear how good you can feel about these previously bad experiences when you get further out. So stay motivated and enjoy the journey, the results are worth every bit of the work.

My advice is as others have said you can't let what others are thinking stop you from bettering yourself, those who think mean thoughts are definitely not worthy of the time it takes to think about them. All that being said I also understand how hard it is to take that advice, I remember thinking the same thing everytime I tried to go to the gym in the pre sleeve days and how I let it sabotage me from doing what I new I needed to. So, when it was time to start at the gym after surgery I actually went to the health styles gym which is a hospital based gym, it was much easier because I new that the majority of the people there were either working on weight loss like me or were there for therapy for some sort of medical problem, therefore I new no one was judging me. Unfortunately, now that I am getting closer to goal and fitter, I find myself thinking I need to change to a different gym so that the new people at the health styles gym don't look at me and think i'm judging them. Anyhow, Good Luck and remember the most important opinion is your own.

I started walking the day after surgery and gradually increased the distance I wear a fitbit and try for 10000 steps a day. I started going to the gym after 3 weeks started with just cargo mostly stationary bike I worked up to 30 minutes on the bike 3 or 4 times a week. At 1 month out I started strength training stayed light and have worked my way up to about 45 minutes of strength. So at this point I go to the gym 3 or 4 days a week and do 20 to 30 minutes of cardio then I walk about 3 laps around the track which is a quarter mile,then I start on the weight machines and do 3 to 4 different machines then do another 3 laps around the track, then another 3 machines and another 3 laps then another 3 or 4 machine followed by another 3 laps and then on the scale and done.

The Body Fortress Super Advanced Whey protein are 30 grams and only 150 calories. They are available at Walmart for like $15 for a 2 lb tube(27 servings) and come in several good flavors, I personally like the chocolate peanutbutter.

I believe that exercise has been very important in my success, I go to the gym at least 3 days a week usualy 4 or 5, when there I do 30 minutes of cardio and 45 minutes of strength training. Building muscle is essential to burning fat.