BigViffer

The average US female is 5'4". The average US female weighs 166.2lbs The average US female consumes 2.5 servings of alcohol a day The average US female sleeps 6 hours & 41 minutes a day. The average US female wears a size 16. The problem with averages is that they are so homogenized that they can no longer be applicable to the individual. Unless you meet all the average statistics spelled out prior to surgery, there is very little chance the average weight loss will be applicable to you as well. Weight loss is strictly a matter of diet. Fitness comes from exercise. So even if you are not able to work out like some, you will still lose the weight if you stick to the plan provided by your surgeon. Testing your limits or tolerances or experimenting with food and/or alcohol will hamper your progress and could lead to bad habits forming. Relax, stay the course, and remain vigilant!

Buying a house is exciting and completely time absorbing. Totally get it. Best of luck man!

It is not all for naught though, collagen is good for bones and joints!

Yes they have protein, but it is collagen. It does not count towards your daily protein goal. It does nothing for your muscle tissue. Just FYI.

Yo @BigTink2LilTink! Where you at?! How goes the lifts?

I found this picture on a Facebook flashback and thought it was a perfect reason to update my Before/After shots. No idea what I weighed, but it was a lot. Easily 330. As you can empathize, I didn't really step on a scale back then. This is from Fridays form check video I submit to my coach. I actually like the fact that my excess skin causes a "muffin top" above my belt. It's a constant reminder that no matter how much I train, there is nothing I can do about that skin. It's not going away unless I have plastic surgery. Makes it impossible for me to forget where I came from. This is a different angle I used to check my back angle on the dead lift. I chose this picture because even though I looked leaner last year at this time, I am far stronger. and I think I still look good enough. Even relaxed I look pretty fit. Every day that I lift there is a small part of me that wishes I could lift more, but I quickly remind myself that 2.5 years ago I couldn't lift my left leg or tie my shoe much less put 200lbs on my back or pick up 250lbs off the floor. Remember who you are and how far you've come to maintain your perspective!

I eat pork rinds and cracklins frequently. The fried aspect is not really a concern for me since the calories to serving is within allowed tolerances for me. I used to count the protein towards my daily goal, but after realizing that it is merely collagen protein, it doesn't really count. Collagen is the lowest quality protein out there. We use them frequently to "bread" chicken breast or fish fillets that we air fry.

Nope, it's still snake oil and should be avoided.

First off, that cabin is awesome. When I was a young boy, my dad tried to show me so much that I had absolutely zero interest in. Now that I am an adult I really wish I had paid more attention. Luckily he is still around and I can gain a small amount of his wisdom. But it feels as though I will still have missed out on so much. So good on you for having that experience to share with the grand kids. Secondly, yep.. PC correctness strikes again. I used the word r e t a r d in the definitive term; "delay or hold back in terms of progress" and it was replaced with "intellectually challenged" So the sentence read as follows: Ugh.

25K walk/jog and 50 mile bike? Honest question here, why do you need gastric surgery? What comorbidities do you have that the surgery will help with?

lol... uh-oh. You're going to be on the ****-list for pointing that out. I speak from experience:

There is no way that you will be able to consume enough protein/calories to build muscle mass this close to your surgery date. You'll be able to stave off atrophy, but not make any strength gains. My recommendation would be to continue making strides in your weightloss honeymoon phase. There will never be another time in your life where it flies off like it will the first year. Take advantage of that. Once you are further out and your daily calories are well north of 1,000 then you can try the weights again. Right now, your 600-700 calories is below your BMR which is why you are losing weight so quickly. For any sort of strength gain, you have to be at a caloric surplus. Hope that helps.

My replies that people are saying are rude, I see as at worse curt or abrupt. I didn't judge you until you played the part of victim in an imaginary bullying forum post. I do not plan out my response to be being positive nor negative, but factual. In regards to the collective wisdom, just wait a few weeks and read the posts that inevitably appear about eating pizza, tacos, or some other incredible food while they are supposed to be on liquids. You may rethink your stance on the matter. That person I have no interest in helping since they care so little for themselves. However, other new post op people may read the post so I will reply with information. Thank you for the compliments on my pictures. Yes I have done well, and it has been because I listened to my surgeon and not my body. I collected facts and knowledge, I did not accomplish anything with warm fuzzies from the forum. You say that new patients need help and advice, I believe that they need information and determination. I can provide the information from my experience, but that it all. Since I am one of the more successful members past two years still left on this site, there are questions that I can answer more accurately than someone that is less than a year out. I have never given anyone a tongue lashing. No one on here is worth my time to think of insults. At best, they'll get an eye roll. I'm sure many will see this post as yet another rude reply or me being mean. I truly do not intend for it to be that way. I am completely dispassionate about the issue. I merely replied because your response was well thought out and clearly communicated without being adversarial. I am sure we both want the same things, but we approach the same goal from very different directions. Good luck.

Ugh, another sensitive newbie getting ruffled feathers when someone with a little experience replies to their poorly thought out post. First off, this forum is for discussion. You posted some points and I posted some counter points. I may have done so bluntly but I did not do so negatively. If your information is correct and you had surgery on 7/10, you are pretty new to the experience of living with the sleeve and you've only been on this forum for a very short while. You have a higher opinion than I do about the collective wisdom of people. We have members here who literally stopped on the way home from the hospital and grabbed fast food to eat. Since I have been a member here there have been many people sent back to the hospital for advancing their diet because they were listening to their bodies and not to the surgeon. The chewing and spitting out is not a joke, it happens all the time on here and has led to eating disorders. I wasn't judging you, but I am starting to do so. I think you are naive and inexperienced but have good intentions. You ask me not to ruin a friendly sharing site, I ask you not to ruin a valuable resource of information. If you think my posts are negative, there are tools available to you to block my posts.

lol, I did NOT type that. I used the word R E T A R D the healing process. As in "delay or hold back in terms of progress, development, or accomplishment." You know... the F U C K I N G definition of the word. Jesus, I hate the PC over compensation of this forum.

Woah... this is just chocked full of bad advice. It's your life so you can do what you want, but please don't encourage people to advance their diet before their surgeon tells them to do so. Chewing food and spitting it out is just training for an eating disorder. Not to mention that it triggers the stomach to start producing more stomach acid that could lead to heart burn, or worse case scenario complicate and/or intellectually challenged the healing process. "Listening to your body" is a popular phrase on here but it is bad advice. Listening to our bodies made many of us fat and lazy. If this is forever, the best thing to do is follow the plan to the letter to establish good habits.

Supreme protein bars are available at most gas stations. They are also meal replacement bars, high in carbs as well as protein.

Yeah, that's just practicing an eating disorder. Really bad idea. As for "harm", chewing triggers the release of digestive juices which in turn increases the acid levels in your newly sleeved stomach. It could slow the healing process or just cause heartburn. But the more important issue really is the formation of an eating disorder and negative habit.

Apologies, I thought you were recently post op because of the nature of the question. I made the assumption you were in the rapid weight loss phase. If you are 16 months out, do what works for you. You're healed and you have already established your eating habits.

While you may not be super active, you are healing after major surgery. The higher protein recommendation holds true in your case. The 40 grams of protein would be for a sedentary average woman, not a fresh bariatric patient. Always give your surgeon more credit than a guy on the internet!

Protein goals are set at lean mass, not total body mass. A sedentary adult would only require 40 grams for female and 60 grams for male as an average. Up that another 20-ish for a somewhat active adult. For muscle gain, at least 100 grams. For serious muscle mass gains, 1 gram per pound of lean mass. As you lose weight, your lean mass will hopefully stay the same (no hypotrophy). Better yet would be mass gain (hypertrophy). So to answer your question, no your protein requirement does not lessen as you lose weight.

My tastes have changed drastically post op, even 2 years later. Some foods I have hated for as long as I can remember don't seem to bother me anymore. Foods that I have loved my entire life make me sick or uncomfortable. And some foods that were "meh" before are now my favorites. Pretty much any bread, white potato, or rice leaves me either uncomfortable or sick. lol, my all time favorite breakfast used to be biscuits and sausage gravy. It was even my "last meal" before surgery. I tried it once post op and it was just nasty. Just felt like coagulated fat and clumpy carbs. Green beans have been a 20+ year hated vegetable. Now I can eat them without gagging. Peanut butter I have hated for 15 years is now one of my go-to's. Eggs may be my favorite food now, they are just so damned versatile!