BigViffer

Hey, small world. My wife and her family are from Costa Rica! Welcome to the forum. In time, you will just learn to slow down eating. There isn't much you can do to get around that in the beginning. After a few months, you can start eating normal again, but you will run the risk of eating too much too quickly. Then comes the vomiting. Just do your best to eat as slowly as possible.

Man, I remember thinking this. Truth be told, I don't remember when it was that I could take a big slug off my water bottle. But I can say that now at 8 months I can drink almost like I used to. So I would venture to say that by at least 6 months you will be able to take a thirst quenching drink.

Protein bars have a warning saying that eating too much will have a laxative effect because of the sugar alcohols they use. If you are having the monster 30g protein bars, no more than 1 a day. If you are having the 10g ones, 3 max.

Just to mention this since I don't see it above, pay attention the sugar alcohols in whatever shakes you buy. Too much of those have a laxative effect. Ask me how I know...

Actually I think the forum does a good job of providing support for those that need it. But many people are posting things that really aren't about the surgery, they're more about their personal life. I realize that there will be some overlap, I'm just stating the obvious. When you deviate from the stated purpose of the forum, opinion comes into play more. And since opinions are like assholes (everyone has one), people frequently aren't going to agree. Add to that what has already been mentioned, they say they are needing support, but they are looking for validation, and now you have hurt feelings. Add to that no one can hear inflection or tone with typed responses, and people will always read comments in the worse possible way. Some people also just need the emotional high from posting drama. When you see a thread that doesn't appear to be supportive, go to the OP and look at their recent topics and post. I'd wager you will see a trend of attention seeking threads. Lastly, people can become jaded when others keep asking for help/support; receive support or help, but then turn around and do the same thing again and again. It can be frustrating to the "veterans".

I just wanted to revist this comment - I had celery with salsa this weekend. According to MyFitnessPal, 4 tortilla chips have 100 calories (approx). I had two stalks of celery and about a cup of salsa for less than 150 calories. The crunch was totally satisfying and there was no fat in the snack. I loved it! The only draw back was the lack of saltiness that compliments salsa so well. But honestly, I think I will live.

I was never a touchy/feely person before surgery, but I was at least apathetic of it when I saw it. I have noticed however that I am having a very real emotional response to things I read or hear in person. And it is disdain or outright aggression. I swear I want to slap the person who utters the words Journey or Chapter. You know the ones, "Beginning my journey!" Starting a new chapter of my life!" Ugh. And the crying. Oh god they never pass up a good opportunity to talk about how they cried about something. "I saw something I couldn't eat!" "Someone ate in front of me!" "Someone said I took the easy way out!" et cetera, et cetera... There will always be something you will not be able to eat. And someone will always be there to eat it right in front of you. We all know it was not the easy way out, so whoever said it you can ignore with impunity. Even though this topic is in the Guys Room and I put Guy Room in the topic title, I know the women will come in and read it. Calm down ladies please, I don't mean just the women. I repeat! It is not just women that do these things. There are men as well. This is not a journey nor a chapter. Those both have a beginning and an end. This isn't a TV show written to tug on the heartstrings about a character overcoming adversity with inspirational music coming to a crescendo at the moment of victory. This is a lifelong change in how we are going to live. Why romanticize it? It is what it is and trying to emulate the sappy crap you see on TV doesn't make it easier or harder. Post surgery life is what it is. It's not a contest to see who suffered the most and then leads the happiest life afterwards. During my research phase and conversations with my surgeon, I discovered that hormones are fat soluble and there will be heightened levels of hormones while we are losing weight. Maybe that explains why others are sappy or trying to describe their journeys or chapters or whatever they want to call it, but why am I not that way? So tell me guys, anyone else feel this way or is it just me? Is this my emotional response to hormonal dumping?

I don't trust the "protein" ice creams and specially formulated deserts. I just use Fage yogurt with Torani sugar free syrup for flavor and freeze it. More protein than these ice creams.

Nope, you're not alone in this. Hormones are getting dumped into your system. Case in point: http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/343777-guys-room-is-everyone-else-overly-emotional-or-am-i-just-an-ae/ Any of that sound familiar?

I recently read someones post that said they used celery to eat their salsa. I am far enough out now that I think I can eat celery. I need the crunch to go along with the salsa.

lol... Blerdgirl, I swear your post wasn't there when I submitted mine. I wasn't picking on your recipe!

Pfft, I don't think there is a bad one! I love salsa. But the tortilla chips are way too high in calories. So now I pick out 4 chips and use them like spoons to eat my salsa until they are soggy. Oh, I changed my mind... anytime someone puts fruit in a salsa there is a good chance that it will be nasty. Not 100%, but a good chance.

You may have been able to fight off muscle loss. You may have been able to maintain and strengthen existing muscle fibers. But for substantial weight gain from increased muscle mass, there is just no way at 6 months out. I'm talking about lifting and causing muscle tissue to tear and split, then be repaired stronger than before. The only way to do that is with max lift reps and then lots of Protein. 6 months out, you should be at about 1300 calories, max. That is not a weight lifters diet. That is a weight loss diet. At best, the only thing at this stage anyone will be able to do is strengthen existing muscle. To gain muscle, he would need to take in about 1 gram of protein per pound. If the OP currently weighs 250, that would be 250 grams a day. Multiply that times 4 since there are 4 calories per gram of protein. 1,000 calories a day from just protein. Considering a steak is about 30% protein, he would have to eat 105 ounces of steak to hit that goal. So as I said before, focus on maintaining your muscle for now. Tone it up as best you can, but wait until at least a year out before trying to pack on the bulging muscles.

Not me. I'm one ugly mofo. But I am pretty damn charming. Sent from my phone, please forgive brevity and misspelling

That's an awfully broad stroke to paint men with. I have never liked skinny women personally. Atheletic maybe, but I like thicker or dare I say plump women. Most of my friends do as well, but not all. And those that do not like fuller figure women have something that they themselves are insecure about. So I believe they are using the "hot" woman as a way to hide their perceived shortcomings. Same thing with guys and sport cars. They assume that others will see him with a beautiful woman and think to themselves, "Man, that guy must really have his sh_t together to get a woman like that!" I find that I have almost always wanted someone that I enjoyed their company first, the looks second. So that is the type of woman I set out to attract. bellanloom stated that she is doing the online dating thing. If so, then that means that she has a profile on a service. The men that are reading it and contacting her must have something in common with her profile. Not saying her personally, but the persona she is projecting on a service. So I guess my advice to bella would be to change your profile to reflect the part of you that you want people to notice and attract the type of man you want. In a state as big as California, there must be someone who isn't "crazy" like your other thread nor a skinny chaser.

I really can't say how much muscle I have added, but I can say that they are more visible now than they were before. I was never competitive, but I was pretty dedicated weightlifter before my injuries started stacking up. My upper traps and my lats are the areas that I see the most improvement. I want to develop my lower traps and my glutes now though. Since I have lost so much weight, I literally have no @ss.

It's really difficult to build muscle while losing weight. You still need the same amount of protein as far as % of total calories. The problem is that you can only take in so many calories during this time. The best thing you can do for yourself is to go slow and look for strength and not size. Stamina & endurance are what you want to strive for at this stage. Once you are at maintenance, then you should be able to start adding muscle.

And modest. Don't forget modest.

I had one at the largest incision (where they actually pull the stomach out). It was about the size you are describing. They said that it would either be re-absorbed into the body or it would rupture and leak out dark dead blood. Literally the next day it popped and dribbled dark red ichor. While it was gross, it was not really a big deal. After the majority of it drained, I pressed around the edges to get the rest out and kept a bandage over it. The next time I went in for my appointment, they stuffed wadding in it that I had to change after each shower. My surgeon did not like it, but only from a perfectionist POV. The scar is a little wider than he wanted it to be because of the wadding, but it is by no means the largest of all my scars. At 8 months post surgery, it has already started fading and I expect it to be unnoticeable to a casual glance by 1 year.

dude, you totally forgot your duckface.

If you are talking about plain greek yogurt, it does take time to get used to it. I used to add peanut butter, or protein powder to mine. Then I started adding Torani syrup. Now I have started using it to replace mayo in my tuna salad. I use a little lemon pepper in the yogurt and mix 2 tablespoons with 4 oz tuna. I think it rocks!

You fool! A male only picture thread?! This forum can't repel testosterone of that magnitude! All the women are going to start creeping this thread looking for their daily dose of beefcake. I actually do like the idea of a Men's Picture thread. On the others it tends to turn into "Here is my new outfit and latest duckface pic" I am 2lbs away from my first goal. I will post my first picture here for that occasion!

What has been said is pretty much spot on - everyone is different. I only want to mention one thing that hasn't been said yet: Get right with your meds before going back. I work an office job as well, but I was still taking blood pressure medicine after surgery. I should not have been though. My BP was very low, not quite in the dangerous area, but low enough that I was a zombie and my work that first week was less than my best. People were coming up to me constantly asking if I was alright and checking up on me throughout the day. If you value your privacy and personal space as I do, then this is of course the last thing you want to deal with.

@@OKCPirate - that sounds pretty damned good to me! The only reason I ask for about the caffeine is for my wife. Thanks for the info!