Dub

Okay.....now I"m hooked on yet another Netflix find, Booze Traveler. Damn, what a cool gig that is. Sign me up for the New Orleans version....just not the voodoo aspects he engages in....I've already lived his Japan episode many moons ago.

Glad you are feeling better. I can only imagine what the restaurant workers have said about me over the years. They could tell stories about the damage they'd seen me engage in.....one burger at a time....

I'm still waiting for him to whup somebody's arse like he did in Roadhouse...... Sam Elliot's voice, and those legs Dub? not fair, not fair. I need the voice lessons........I'm rolling with a high pitched squeaky voice. I need to get some bass in it.......

6 months out last week. I had the same concerns.......but I just lace these jewels up and hit the gym and do some work. Nothing phenomal occurring but it at least I'm sparing some muscle during the losing. Was scared before that I'd have to cover it all up with tattoos or some such ploy. No fears now. Gonna keep getting lean and some minor muscle will emerge.

Maybe I'm just an unsympathetic arsehole.......seeing as I'm still rolling along with ample arse. I'll weight in later once I'm done losing. I be all about some metro-wear then. Until then I'll continue to LMMFAO.

Pretty sure I broke the world's record when I found out about the Soprano's and Game of Thrones......... Be right back.......working on my Sam Elliot voice........... Killer show, right ? Witty as hell interplay between the characters.

@@Dub - Hey, let the guys know that I think we found another judge to take @@bayougirlmrsc's place Thank you, brother, for awaring me of such critical developments. I'd not count Bayourgirl out just yet, though. Perhaps we should consider this more of a panel of judges.....

For me.....food is still important in the sense that it is something that is enjoyed by my family and certainly enjoy cooking & grilling for them. Meals are one of the precious few times that we are all in the same room together. I still enjoy certain flavors....but I don't care to eat most of what I make. Mostly, I've replaced food enjoyment with.....well....with life enjoyment. Being active....outgoing.....having fun while actually LIVING and enjoying the spring like I haven't in a long, long time. The gym is fun, but not an addiction. Traveling some....vacationing.....also powerfully fun. Getting interested in some old hobbies.....hunting and shooting. Revisiting things I've always enjoyed is nice.

So maybe that's why I haven't had anyone approach me and talk with me, I always have my headphones in. I can't stand to workout without music. As far as the creepers at the gym, I have dealt with one before. It makes it worse that I workout at night after I get off work, but I went and bought pepper spray. He was just being weird by walking too close behind me when I was using the cable weights, and then just staring at me while I was doing my seated rows. I was like why can't you just stare using the mirror like everyone else?!?! Or from farther away? lol Dipshyts don't possess the basic communication skills or courage to simply say hello and open up a conversation.....instead he creeps around. Some of the absolute weirdest folks I've encountered were at the two Gold's Gym I used to go to. My current gym seems to have a much smaller population of freaky types. Everyone just seems to be motivated to the nth degree and doing their thing. Total agreement about the music being a must-have as we get our work done. I'm an ironic sort, too....my iTunes is loaded with some vastly differing types of tunes. At home and in the car I'm a country-southern rock-classic rock kind of guy. In the gym.....it's metal and rap. Strange mix of iTunes. It's what I need to get me through the day, though. Love good music.

Things are really changing. Physical changes lead confidence growth. The attention is going to escalate. You have to have a plan for how to deal with it. One thing you can do in the meantime is to keep your earbuds in place and do your thing. They work like magic in that capacity. In all seriousness; that is not only rude, but it's f_cking creepy as hell. I'd have got up in his face to find out what his issue is. Good looking man/woman doesn't excuse it either. When I say I check someone out, it's a simple up and down look and then back to what I was doing. I don't go to the gym to make friends or pick up chicks. Of course, my wife would have my head if I tried to pick up women... LOL yes, rude, and creepy-but only because I knew he was watching. No ruder or creepier than the one who gets on the machine next to you every time you move and watch forever through the mirror or pretend they aren't watching. And he wasn't close enough to have me that worried to begin with. But yes, had he leaned against the wall right next to me or even approached me after his stalking session, I may have felt differently. There are some creepsters among the denizens of the gym. It can sometimes be a superficial place with superficial aspirations towards hitting girls up. Some are just there to work on themselves and get free from life's stresses for an hour or two. It should become easier in time to distinguish who is who.

Good for you, man.....good for you. The suns shines on every dogs arse at some point. That is excellent rate of loss.

No sir. The original question was obscure and left to our imaginations. I think we did good considering where this could have gone.........

We are required to wear one of several styles of company-logo shirts at work. One of the styles is a short sleeve polo made of the newer high-tech cool feeling fabrics....similar to say a Under Armour styled polo. Since my sleeve surgery I have gravitated towards this style of shirt. I have had to downsize them a few times since then, too. I ordered the next size down and received them about two weeks ago, before taking some time off for vacations. Began wearing them this first weekend back at work. First night I felt the new size may be fitting a bit snug...fast forward to the third night at work...last night. I get home from work this morning and happened to see myself in the mirror and was thinking that I must have worn the larger size that night. Pulled the shirt off and check the label......nope...it was the new smallest size. Bamsucka. Time to order some more in the next size down. Downward and downward...........

Welcome back !!! Sounds like a great time was had. Congrats to you for training hardcore during your time there. This is my first week at work post-vacation. It has sucked royally, too. I want to be back on a beach..............

Supremacists and serial killers........pecka checks and metro acting dudes.........strange topics, indeed.

Interdasting...........very interdasting.............

Outstanding !!!!!!! Looking great and feeling great.......you can't make this stuff up. It's too good !!

That is awesome !!

I've been told time and time again by my surgeon that I should be targeting 3 meals, sometimes 4 if very high levels of exercise on that day......3 meals per day. 1/2 cup size in volume. Primarily Protein. Then supplement with our bariatric Vitamins. It's the size not the weight of our meals that he stresses to me. Among the frozen meals I see available, the Atkins meals are the ones that most closely fit my nutritional goals and yet even they aren't really a perfect match. The other brands may offer a low overall calorie total, but have a macronutrient breakdown that is way off of what I'm trying to do......sugar carbs and lower protein amounts. Another thing that my surgeon has been very firm on is that I should never finish any meal that I get in a restaurant or other place. Stick with the 1/2 cup size guideline and apply it there. He said to become comfortable with this.....get to-go boxes and have it for another meal. It certainly has been best for me when I follow his simple instructions. Almost any prolonged stall and setback has been easily identifiable as me not following instructions.

You get an "A+" for effort in my book, though.

I really am feeling much better about my coffee, occasional liquor dranks and a cigar once every great while. Don't get me wrong........were there no employment ramifications for using marijuana........then I'd be having a hot tub installed next week on my back deck.

I freaking love the new single serving packs of flavored tuna and salmon. I keep my desk drawer at work filled with them. So many varieties are available now. No preparation needed....just grab a spoor or fork......open those bad boys up and have a meal. Great stuff.

Depending on the time of day......a cup of coffee with Splenda really helped cut out desires to snack. Staying well hydrated was crucial. Lots and lots of Water. It simply helps me feel good....then and even more now. Cut out sugary junk foods. That crap never satisfied my hunger, in fact it just made it come back worse in an hour. Hard cheeses and some almonds along with some Tobasco ht sauce and I could kill hunger for hours and hours. Be careful, though.....stuff is calorie dense. By the 100 calorie bags of nuts and the single serving cubes of cheese and carefully monitor your intake. Begin tracking your calorie intake....somewhere....somehow.....be it on myfitnesspal or simply on a note application on your cellphone. Track what you take in. Know the amounts.....OWN the amounts. Measure the amounts carefully. You can't fix what's broken if you don't closely examine it first. Get on a treadmill or elliptical.....punch in your weight and begin exercising daily. Watch the calorie burn amount that is reported by the machine. It's not the final say so......but seeing how long and how much work it takes to burn off a candy bar will sicken you. You'll begin to think in different terms. Seeing and feeling how hard it is to burn off that crap will increase your levels of discipline IMMEDIATELY and this is crucial. Losing weight, with or without weight loss surgery requires DISCIPLINE & EFFORT. Get to working on those right now and you'll breeze through the steps ahead of you.

Sounds good on your 4 month. I did mine recently.....seems like it was just last week.....yet my 6 month check in is next week. Dayum the time is going by swiftly. It is interesting to me how wide ranging the advice is from our surgeons. Mine really didn't push me to exercise....in fact he cautioned me to slow my roll. He continues to maintain that it's important, but not as important for weight loss as I came into this believing. He and I will agree to disagree here. I view exercise as vital in my future life for living at my goal weight. He was adamant about not eating salads. He said to instead just eat the meats and cheeses from them and avoid the dressings and not to waste valuable sleeve space on lettuce. Again....I agree to disagree with him as crunching on a salad with cold crispy vegetables is very satisfying and I love the flavors. I am very careful about dressing choices, though. He was not a fan of any fruits at the 4 month time, either. He just urged me to continue with Vitamin supplementation and adhere to proper timing of my Calcium chews, Iron, B-12 and multis. He was okay with my coffee enjoyment and the occasional vodka & diet cranberry. He was pleased with my Water intake. He just was emphatic about 3 meals a day and no Snacks. The meals are to be 1/2 sized and eaten over 30 mins. The meals are to be chicken, steak, fish and the like. No drink before or after eating for 30+ mins. Sorry to jump into your thread with this......I just always chuckle when I hear the differences in our surgeons advice.

In the past month I've taken on the airplane seat..........not a problem. Anytime & anywhere is my new motto. There hasn't been a restaurant booth that I've shied away from. All were very comfortable. In the months ahead I'll be doing the amusement park thing, too......and rollercoasters will be tried. Sitting shirtless at a poolside bar was done last week..........nobody shrieked.....I was relaxed and at ease. Bought a few t-shirts from random surf shops......and they fit just fine. Things are going well. So grateful for my sleeve.