BrantS1976

Go Hawks! I grew up in Northern California and it has been fun to see how everyone supports the team and is so excited. Fans in California were a bit spoiled and jaded with many of the local teams having won multiple championships.

Glad to hear you are doing well and the pain wasn't too bad.

Awesome. So who is your favorite Darren, Dick York or Dick Sargent? Great show. I think I saw almost every episode in reruns when I was a kid and my grandmother used to watch me.

What am I gonna do without sushi!! Find a good sushi place that makes good rolls with a thin layer of rice. Leave the end pieces for friends you go eat sushi with as those have a lot more rice on the ends. At least that is what I have done when I give in to my sushi craving. As a side benefit with a much smaller stomach, the check is a lot smaller when the wife and I go have sushi.

Not sure how that works, but guessing since the band is an approved medical device, that it probably part of it. I also wanted to clarify, I just had an appointment the other day and what I signed up for, they are referring to as "an investigational study." It's overseen by an independent review board. I think this is how they are currently handling plication (without the band) as weight loss surgery in the US at this point.

Is Optifast sweetened with Splenda (aka sucralose)? I know that is a side effect for many people with that particular sweetener. They alter the sugar molecule so your body doesn't recognize it, but it can cause some digestive issues. You're past the first few days, which was the hardest part for me. Just keep your eyes on the prize and the big day will be here before you know it.

Ten years, wow! It does encourage me. You are so right about people talking no matter what size you are. I felt like an open wound before surgery. Everything hurt my feelings. Since surgery I've gains so much confidence and so proud that I'm finally taking care of myself. So very true Barbarah. I was worried what others would think before taking this step, but got over that fear quickly as the weight started coming off and I felt increasingly confident. People can talk if they want. I no longer care. I decided to put my health and being around for my family first. They can talk about that all they want as far as I'm concerned.

Looking great!

Forty one pounds is awesome! Great job and keep up the good work. Give yourself credit and realize it takes time. I had surgery in October as well. I am so glad I did it and am experiencing some of the things you mentioned (clothes fitting better, feeling better, and people noticing) and it is an awesome feeling. Be proud of yourself!

I love this topic. Honestly if it hadn't been for my stupid pride, and for being a fool and thinking WLS was cheating and I should be able to manage my own weight, I would have done this sooner and been a lot happier. Having my son changed my point of view. Now I don't care who knows that I had WLS to lose the weight. Everyone I have told has been really supportive. If anyone did want to call me a cheater they would find two things; first, I don't care because it is about being happy, healthy and being here for my family. Secondly, said person would probably be seeing a lot less of me as I don't have time for other people's negativity anymore. Part of my journey has been getting past worrying about what other people think, because the honest truth in hindsight is that my assumptions about what people thought or would think were generally wrong.

A bit surprised to see crackers and pretzels as authorized post-op diet foods as even several months in, it is still being suggested I avoid as many carbs as possible. It is funny because you get conflicting info even from people in the same office. While the nurse supervising my program says avoid as many carbs as you can, the dietitian suggest a few in moderation.

Congrats, the NSVs are as good, and sometimes better than just watching the numbers on the scale drop!

Tara, I am sure I will be able to get a summary of the published results. It would definitely be interesting to see where my numbers stack up with the average, high and low. Based on what the program coordinator has said about my weight loss it seems like I am at least above average. Hopefully I can stay on course and keep it up. For those who wanted to know more about the plication, here is a link to the fact sheet about the surgery from my surgeons website: http://www.nwwls.com/uploads/pdf/fact-shlgcp_patientfactsheet_dsl10_0245_3_pfs.pdf

I have Lapband with plication and thought it was past clinical trial stage even though it's still "new". Was wondering if you would share some "rules" for having plication as all I've pretty much been given are Lapband rules. Thanks! Tara, most surgeons still aren't doing the plication and mine is part of an investigational study, which is how they do it as of right now. As far as rules I was given, they pretty much just give you the lapband rules. I was told this is because both are restrictive procedures that don't remove part of the stomach.

My wedding ring now falls off my finger. Unfortunately since it is tungsten carbide it can't be resized. It wasn't very expensive. Since it was only a couple years ago I should probably see if I can find the seller on eBay and buy the same ring in a couple smaller sizes.

Georgia, Plication, or more accurately the Laprascopic Greater Curvature Plication, is a procedure where they fold the stomach in on itself and suture it to create the restriction. The current procedure is to fold in, suture, fold in, and suture again. It had been used for years in Europe, Iran, and other countries, is practiced in Mexico, and is available under clinical trials here in the USA, which is how I had the surgery.

Despite the fact that I shaved 50 pounds off my actual weight on my current license, I am now under my listed weight of 375. I wonder how long before I start getting that weird look wondering if I'm trying to pull something using a different license.

Good luck today!

1200 calories and 100gr Protein and 125gr of carbs is what they want me to have, I just think it was a little much because I am not use to consuming so much in a day. I was on a similar amount of protein, but was asked to keep my calories at just under 900 per day.

No need to apologize for ranting Misty. We are all here to support each other. I went through a divorce several years back, and it was very hard. Like you we had delayed it for several years. In the end I wish I hadn't waited. I'm not going to pretend I know exactly what you are going through as we did not have kids, which made the process much easier, but I have to say you are a brave woman to do what is best for yourself in moving on from the relationship and undergoing WLS all at once. I'm not sure I could've done that.

Sounds like whenever you feel ready must be the surgeon's universal answer because I was told the same thing. Was told not to carry around our then 9 month old son for a week, but sex as okay as soon as I felt up to it. Not sure the wife was buying off on both of those time frames. LOL

That's my hope too. Just remind him that for every 35 pounds he lose about an inch of penis length reappears. I was originally skeptical, but after losing almost 70 pounds, that estimate is pretty much spot on, not to mention the fact that everything just works better too. My only regret is that I didn't get my surgery done sooner.

Thanks Brant! And 19 lbs! That's awesome! Did you exercise frequently? Or was that from diet alone? I exercise after work that's why I ask. And honestly, that's dead on how it feels for the most part right now. So it's nice to hear that there's a light in a few days haha. I exercised about three times a week and walked and took the stairs when I could to add some extra exercise and calories burned. You will get there, and it does get easier after the first couple days. Honestly those first couple days were the hardest part of my entire journey (other than the emotional wrangling in my own head as I finally convinced myself that I could and should have WLS).

Around day two or three I was briefly a wreck, felt like I couldn't think straight or concentrate. Then a funny thing happened, my body adapted. From there it was smooth sailing and I lost 19 pounds in the two weeks prior to surgery.

My pre-op diet was 3-4 shakes per day and one lean cuisine type meal. The number of shakes I consumed determined how many calories the lean cuisine meal could be.