Dub

Duke is an amazing place in every way. One of the top medical facilities in the world. You are sure to be in the best of care. I'm jealous.

Duke?

No....the pics are in chronological order. The last pic being the most current......back to the weight I was in the first pic. Not good. This pic was taken right about the time I decided to add WLS to my arsenal.

It's one of the few apps that runs really smooth for me. I'm having more trouble with this sight.

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I would sit on them if that ever happened. Seriously.....that would certainly provide us with an ironic setting to speak up. I'm fairly certain I'd go the sarcastic route, "Dessert ? Are you serious? Those people......wow. Eating dessert. Can you even imagine?...........what ever will they do next? Now that you mention it, Tuesday week ago.....get this.......We saw the pizza delivery truck pull up to their house........for real.......it was Pappa John's.......not even the diet pizza place, but Pappa Freakin' Johns. What about you guys? You and your wife appear to be the picture of health........What brand of chewing tobacco is that? Really? Does your wife chew, too? She looks like the Skoal type of gal............just a pinch 'then her cheek & gum.....hmmmm mmmmm sexy" From there it'd get crazy. My most aggressive weight loss attempt shaved a nice chunk off.....had me going from 6x down to 2x shirts. I never had this happen. I can honestly say that since middle school I have never heard anyone fat bash.

I am very sorry for the confusion and my over-opinionated comments. If I were 1/2 as knowledgeable as I think I am then I'd be chilling with The Chuckster.....and enjoying a life of supreme fitness and athletic zeal. Thanks for your kind words. 4+ months to go until surgery. We're all gonna make it.....with or without the guidance of our guru, The Chuckster. Let's do dis ting !!!!!

"You can't get mentally healthy until.. It's impossible for me to think in absolutes when it comes to my problems with weight. And before I get started.....my comments below pertain to me. I am not projecting them on anyone else. I am not trying to offend anyone or cause them to get butthurt. This is simply my take on my own experiences. I have no desire to beat around the bush and waste time. I'm here because I want results not excuses. Balls and strikes.....no bs. Okay, for me it never seems to be "all of one thing or another" in terms of problem sources or problem solutions. I will say it seems to be my best times have been when I've made slight improvements in one area and leveraged that success into efforts in other areas. My very best previous weight loss area came at time of poor mental-emotional health. It came during a very, very stressful time period. I felt intense stress on my job and unsurmountable strife in my marriage. I was struggling to meet anyone's needs, it seemed. I evaluated where I was and made the decision to GAIN CONTROL of some aspect of my life. I chose carbs & calories. I nailed this down even though things around were chaotic. Exercise began after those first few pounds of Water weight began dropping. It steamrolled into lots of weight coming off. The exercise had a therapeutic release of stress. The loose clothes led to new clothes which woke me up that things were better overall. Being smaller had the people around me acting pleased and happy. I had no idea how much this difference this would make in other's way of dealing with me. I kept after it and didn't really make any mental change or growth that was on par with the physical changes. Weight came back. It feels that this time, I'm doing small bits of both and that it's different. The structure of the bariatric program I'm in has been very beneficial. I'm not out there by myself to figure it all out. I know from experience that I can nail down the physical health but if I don't also solve the mental riddle then the surgery itself will not offer long lasting benefits. I am not overweight because of any physical issue. I am overweight because I did not control the most basic thing I have control over......what goes in my mouth. Fixing this is paramount. The physical benefits will be lifelong if I solve this mental part. If I don't.....then I've just had surgery.....spent $$$$$ that could have been used for my family.......only to wind up worse off than before.

Those posting results in here really make a positive impact with people like me....in the beginning stages when it seems we have so far to go. It is nice seeing the people on the other side and thriving. i've got some WLS appointments later this morning. I can't wait to show up for them. Each appointment made feels like I'm a little bit closer.

I used those same types of bikes, too. I think that my legs beat my beer gut like a punching bag. It's hard getting a comfortable fit sometimes at your height.

Folks.....I feel like an ass that folks may think that I believe that people who have WLS surgery are lazy. Please know that is not the case. Far from it. I'd probably knock somebody out if they called me lazy right now with the stuff I'm working through. I am only going through a small fraction of what others have detailed they are fighting through. I should have been more clear. Sometimes what I think I'm typing and what actually comes through are different things. The laptop is great. The pad is another beast entirely. It is a true blessing indeed. I'm scared of the future.......and my potential future mistakes. I am less scared, though, after deciding to get on with the WLS and do the things that support a healthy life.

Boss, I feel it right along with you. I'm going through those "getting started" pains and I learned the hard way to listen to your body and ensure that what you experience is simply soreness and not injury. It takes a while to get our tendons and muscles accustomed to our new movements and work load. It's easy to let enthusiasm fuel workouts beyond what our body is initially ready for. That being said.....you'll reach a point where your body is ready and does need the mind to push it harder. The tough part is learning what is soreness and what is injury. The last thing you want is to be sidelined due to injury. It can be maddening when you are revved up and motivated....but injured. Sucks outright. As far as finding the gear that's sturdy and safe.......I simply gave up. The gear was available, but my wallet wasn't large enough to bankroll it. The great news is that Gold's and Planet Fitness and other gyms were competing bigtime for memberships and offering $10 a month deals. I jumped on that. It was intimidating at first.....I was slipping in there at slow hours....and hiding in their dark cardio cinemas and grinding it out on treadmills and later on ellipticals. I eventually even started lifting weights and became hooked on that aspect. I should've used moderation and kept doing cardio, too. I tore my shoulder, wrist and added another hernia that ultimately needed surgery. I let myself get way out of shape again after this. Now I'm back. Right there with you, trying to get things krunk up again. Smarter this time. I"m a member of a great gym and I've sought the advice of the trainers on occasion. No more midnight solo lifting sessions in the 24 hr gym where I'd do damage. Now it's cardio and when I do resume weights it will be very cautiously and using the plate loaded equipment with safe ranges of motion designed into the machine. Be careful, man. Be your own best advocate.....coach yourself.......push yourself.....but please.....please do it safely so your plans don't get derailed. The last thing you want is to have to stop and heal for months. Keep that great momentum moving safely ahead.

I'm tipping my Protein shake bottle towards yours....Cheers, lady. I hope your procedure goes perfectly and you recover like a champ. I think the thing that we all want is for this to be the end of the up--down---up----down----up cycle of madness we find ourselves in. It's going to take our surgeon's work and our ongoing efforts and smarts to make our "after" photos the state we remain in.

Been working on weight loss these past three months. Still don't have a surgery date but I'm guessing it'll be in December or January. Was getting dressed this morning and noticed I'd just skipped a couple spots on the belt. That was a nice reminder that things are going okay.

Mine has been very helpful thus far. There really was a lot of basic stuff covered. Stuff that, like you said, was covered in school along the way. Basic stuff.......the very basic stuff that I've neglected or ignored all these many years. I'm looking forward to my next visit.

Guess what? You ARE the beautiful girl in the picture. You are just a wiser and battle tested version of her. You know how to get back there and you WILL do it. Thank you so much for sharing your wisdom and advice. I am better for hearing it.

I use imgur. You can take pics with your cellphone.....open the app......select the pics and have them saved into imgur. You copy the URL link for any given photo and paste it into your thread. Imgur can be accessed via your computer very easily, too.

I don't know what to say. I've yet to have my surgery, but I'm sure I'll have lots of conflicted feels leading up to it. I only know that I'm doing it to help me get to where I want to be......and to help me stay there for the rest of my life. I think that if I keep that in mind things will remain more clear. I hope that you are able to gain total clarity and get in touch with why you want to have the surgery and what you believe the benefits will be in your life. The night before any type of surgery is nerve-racking.....I assure you. i remember being antsy as hell the night before I had an ankle tendon repaired. I had an awesome surgeon and things were fairly textbook leading up to it. I was worked up for no reason whatsoever. Surgery is not something we have every day......and can get us weirded out.

I really wish I could understand this judgement of your peers. We're all in the same boat. We're either awaiting surgery or have had surgery as tool to aid us in making life-long changes. We've all been called lazy or worse by someone at some point because we chose to use this tool. I thought we were here to support each other, not shame each other. I was not trying to be judgmental of anyone having WLS. Not at all. I was looking at what he posted and thinking that of everything he said he did.....if he's held it together for 4 years......was that he corrected his thoughts as well as his actions. He also put forth tremendous effort (or stated he did). My statement was that most folks here do the same things and are successful.......however there are some that seem to be lazy.....not wanting to expend the effort.....and waiting for a miracle. I'm sorry, but I don't know what else to call it. Some of the folks say it about themselves. They don't hurt....they just don't like exercise. "I just want to lose the weight and not worry about going to a gym" (recent post) They don't like the diets the nutritionist puts them on and are posting about eating pizza instead. As I stated....this is some......not most. Surely you've seen these type of posts. Not lazy that they've decided to have WLS. Lazy that they don't utilize the help we are being offered by our teams of nutritionists, phycological help, exercise training before and after the WLS. Lazy that they seem to only want the surgery and that's it. Hopefully the bariatric staff is able to hold off and help them further before surgery. I've seen a few posts like this on here. To use your boat analogy.......we all are in the same boat in the sense we are either waiting for surgery or living after surgery.....all in the same boat, yes........most of us are eager to grab a paddle and row as hard as we are able while some of us are not.

@@Jerr_Bear , you are a better man than me. I'd have thrown that mofo down in the driveway and driven over it. I can see me right now with a talking scale.......I step up on it and it speaks, "One at a time please". Aww.....hell no ! It'd been destroyed ASAP.

Maybe I'm just a jerk......but his reasons for drinking don't matter to me. The facts are what matter to me: He was driving insanely through a neighborhood, after drinking, lost control of his vehicle and crashed into lady's home.......a lady that had to dive for cover and was almost taken out by him. This lapse of judgement is not something that I'd allow in a surgeon. Could I forgive the fool? Perhaps. Would I ever want to associate with him or allow him to operate on me? Absolutely not. Like I said.....maybe I'm just a jerk.

Damn. Just damn. I'm usually a wordy hombre.......but find myself at a loss at the moment. All I can say is that if I ever had any doubts......they are gone now. You have fired up my passion for this process. I'm ready to join you with my own before and after pics......not the before-during-before-during fad pics I've got now. Before: During: And a couple of months ago: You have provided fuel that motivates me tremendously. THANK YOU !!!!!!!! I'm really looking forward to comparing Christmas card pics from this year (near time of surgery) to those of next year. Looking forward to it in a way that only you fine folks can understand.

Forgiving crowd around here. He could have easily killed the woman watering her lawn.....or any number of people on that day. Killed. Ended the woman's life...... There is no way in hell that I'd alloy a fool like that to operate on me. No way whatsoever. That type of lapse of judgment is simply not acceptable from someone who will be operating on you. Good call, OP.

Just saw your video. I can only imagine that it's tough when you've gone through everything only to see the scale show numbers you don't like. One thing all the veterans around here say is that that there will be periods when the scale doesn't move like we want....but progress is still taking place. Take a look at @@Queen P photos. Amazing !!!!! Those Atkin products give me fits, too. The sugar alcohol inside don't agree with me. I've found that when I use Atkins shakes and bars that my weight loss slows down. They tend to have more overall calories than other types/brands. Best of luck to you. Hang in there. You'll be leading the way for the rest of us in a couple weeks. Hope the drain is now out and you are more comfortable.

Ouch. Did they also limit how many breathes of air you could have, too ? 20 grams ????? @@choosehope asked if it was a typo. I agree. That'd be something to confirm with your medical folks this morning. I'm not far enough along in the process to have discussed the pre-op liquid detail with my program folks yet, but 20 grams total sounds harsh. 20 grams per meal sounds more realistic, but again.....I'm ignorant at this stage of the game.