Dub

Huge respect for everyone for getting their swim on ! I wish there were an aquatics center nearby. I think that it'd be hugely therapeutic for me and certainly better for my joints than pounding them out on the treadmill or pavement. The river is very close.................but there are gators, snakes and a hyooge current when the dam lets out...........

Obviously many of us focus on the scale measurement as our barometer for reaching our goal. I was wondering if you had certain pieces of clothing from the past that were representative of your new goal weight. Scale tells me that I'm 80 lbs out from that point. 80 lbs. I'm not even sure I know what that looks like anymore. It's been a fast paced roller coaster since this bariatric bidness began for me last June.....and faster still since October's surgery. My post-op goal weight is to settle in somewhere in between what I weighed in high school junior and senior years. Surgeon agrees it's a reasonable weight to maintain. What will it look like ? It's been so long ago that I can't remember. Unfortunately I no longer have any of my old jeans from those days. Lol. They never made it through the 90's. Metallica, Iron Maiden & Ozzy concerts. Ripped and shredded to the point of no repair. Up until yesterday, I figured I'd just stay the course and find out when I get there. Was going through the closet yet again and pulling out stuff that didn't fit and getting it into the hands of someone who could use it. I ran across a relic. A perfect example of what being at goal will look like for me. I found my high school letterman's jacket. I tossed it aside for later consideration. This morning I saw it as I was getting my gym clothes on. Sitting there. Grabbed and took it into the kitchen where coffee was made ready. A trip back for a refill and I couldn't stand it anymore......I had to know........would this thing fit? More accurately, I suppose, the thought was ....how far off is it from fitting? i found out. I'll say this....there will come a day when it fits. Today is not that day......but soon. Soon it will. Well before my 30th class reunion later this year. LMAO at this old coat. It will be staying around....returning to the closet.......waiting for a few more months. Had some good laughs this morning over my coffee. Forgive my ramblings and my nostalgia. It's good to be reconnected with sources of great memories. See..... @@OKCPirate .....I told you I was a Viking before I became a Pirate. 10 lbs of sausage in a 5 lb casing........LMAO. Today is not that day......but I have the confidence in my sleeve that it will help me see that day. So dang grateful to be getting this weight off. So, please jump in and tell about your old clothes that are you new goal barometer......or maybe you have recently bought something new that you are looking forward to fitting in. Let's hear about it.

Welcome to sleeve life. It can be HIGHLY effective as well. It's all on what you do with the new WLS tool that matters......not so much on the specific tool itself.

Great question for a nutritionist in your program to answer. I'm coming up on five months and it looks like that type of food.......for me.....will be well after I reach and maintain my goal weight......maybe nearing the one year out timeframe. I simply don't have room in my meal size to get in anything but high Protein foods. Starches and similar carb loaded foods won't appear on my menu until much later. I enjoy oats, for sure. They'll be great for energy once I reach that point.

Hell yes !!! Very happy for you. You have already hit home run after home run and are about to do it again.

8 weeks to give it a test run. No issues. 12 weeks to enjoy occasionally on weekends. It's something that I can take or leave. Only time I really actually "want" it is if going out for a leisure meal....aka "date night" where relaxing and winding down is the order of the day. No longer drink beer and glad for that. Tremendous source of "hidden" calories right there. I'd never considered the amounts until they were no longer being consumed. Skinny margaritas or high grade sipping whisky on the rocks is what I'll have now and in much smaller quantities than before.

This !!!!! My last two trips to the grocery store have found me walking by those little minions pushing their wares.......Lawd......the pressure that the little sprites and their mom's can put on a guy whose just trying to grab a cart or basket and get in/out of the store. I wound up making donations but left the Cookies. Seemed to be an arrangement everyone was happy with. Did leave one of the Girl Scouts puzzled, though. I could hear her ask her mom, "Why doesn't he want to take the cookies ?". I didn't hear her reply.......I was busy putting safe distance between me and the Samoas & Thin Mints.

This IS amazing and so inspirational. I too find myself looking forward to being able to do more physically and not be as limited. I am already making a great deal of progress on the water. Looking forward to being able to do more on land. The Navy SEALS are made of the same grit, determination and resolve that you demonstrate. Don't be surprised if they come knocking on your door with some recruiting attempts. This.....^^^^^^^^ THIS ^^^^^^^^..........so much win going on in your life. OUTFREAKINGSTANDING. Posts like you's are what helped rope me down like a wayward calf and brought safely into this herd. A herd of lean, mean and vital free ranging beasts that have been like family. Living leaner and feeling better and getting further from old health concerns each and every day. So dang glad for this......as I was about to be eaten by wolves and gators. Keep on safely pushing past the old limits and know that nothing can hold you back.

Glad to hear you are staying somewhere safe and sound and surrounded by people who love you and will provide you with support. You'll always know their only agenda is ensure you are happy and safe. In this environment you can perhaps relax and think objectively and decide what the best courses of actions are to take. You Dad nailed it....great time to gather your resources and get things settled in your life. Great time to find yourself and make peace with her......before making any other relationship connections. Sometimes, if we are fortunate, we'll get times in our life that are highly conducive to reflection and taking inventory. it's what we do with what we find that makes all the difference. For me....this time came last April & May. It was a game changer and I am so very grateful for this quiet time. All the daily noise was silent. I was afforded weeks of silence.....weeks to think and look within. What I saw was very disturbing.....and powerfully motivating. So grateful for this opportunity. You are blessed to have this opportunity. Cherish your parents and know that they have your back.....as do each of us here. You are among friends.

It depend on what stages in the game people are. I'm firmly in the "weight loss" stage. I'm allowed 3-4 meals with each being 1/2 cup in volume. It's almost impossible for me to hit my Protein goals in these meals if I don't fill those 1/2 cups with protein rich foods. Right now, by design, there is no room for anything else. Surgeon has me planning for 1 cup sized meals when I'm a year out or so.....and am in the "maintenance" stage. Then I'll have room to add some healthy carbs back into the menu. There are differences in many of our plans. I tend to stick with what my surgeon instructs because he is the one who performed my endoscopy, sleeve surgery and has the most acute knowledge of my capabilities. The NUTs in my program always seemed vague when I'd ask them for their plans.....now I see the aren't being vague. They are being very specific and their simple guidelines follow his plan to the letter. It's very simple for me right now. Simple is good. I tended to complicate eating way too much before......thus the weight struggles (losses & bigger gains) over the years. It's amazing how much better life is when food is eaten as sustenance not comfort. It can still be tasty and each bite savory, it just doesn't have to provide any other solution other than to give me fuel to supplement the on board fat supply that I'm also burning. Once the body fat fuel is gone......then I'll have to eat more to maintain. Until then.....ketosis is my friend. Best wishes. You'll get dialed in on what works for you. Stay in contact with your surgeon and NUTs. Don't drift away from them.

Ah......the wild ride of that first week. Remember it well, but I like your descriptions better that my own memories. You've got me laughing here. Good stuff. You are going to do great....and you'll not need the pain med much longer, I'm guessing. So.....no more nightmarish scenes playing out in your sleep. Looking forward to seeing your progress.....it a sure thing, too. Enjoy the losing and enjoy the laughs and discoveries along the way.

My starting BMI was 58. Zero complications, either.

4-5 hours a night here.

It's not that most of us really eat more protein than before........it's simply that we do away with the other stuff and leave the protein.

It's going to go really well !!!

Quest bars

I sure did during pre-op. It made it all taste better.

My main form of exercise is walking. Treadmills & outside. I'm able to walk a great deal at work, too. I've also resumed weight training. Low weight-high rep count and working around bum shoulder and failing recent hernia repair. Approaching the five month mark soon, too. I'm going to add the elliptical machine on my next gym visit Monday. It gives me a better calorie burn in a shorter duration than the treadmill walking.

YES !! I distinctly remember having leg cramps in my calves for 2-3 days after getting home from the hospital. I kept walking and ensuring that I was getting in my Water and what I could of my Protein. It passed and never returned. Weird phenomenon.

5 weeks. I can't remember how large my meal sizes were supposed to be then. My surgeon has me eating 1/2 cup meal sizes now at 4 months. At 5 weeks I was one week off liquids and eating soft foods like flakey white fish or tuna. I can remember taking it extremely slowly......as in taking 5 mins just to get the equivalent of a forkful chewed and down. It does get easier, I assure you. I detest the feeling of ever getting full. It is a 20 minute period of discomfort that I hope to avoid. Sizing up my meal prior to eating helps me to avoid this.....along with eating very slowly.

I really wish I could go back and have an conversation with my 19 self. So many points that I'd drive home........ The primary point would be to embrace fitness and establish it as a core principle in your life. I was in pretty awesome shape at 19 and probably would have listened.....and stayed on track. I would let the young version know how bad not staying fit will hurt later in life......how it can hinder opportunities and take you down dark roads. I would urge him to always be true to himself and his health first and foremost and to employ any tool available to him towards this lifelong goal. If the sleeve was such a tool....then so be it.

Back in 2011 I was on my biggest health advances as an adult up to that point. I'd dieted and lost 120 lbs and was killing it in the gym. Ankle surgery & hernia surgery halted the gym....and I didn't return. I did, however, return to poor eating habits and piled on a heap of weight.....as in all the weight I lost plus a heap more. Well.....sleeve surgery has been a true lifesaver. I resumed my gym work recently and it feels really good. I recently went through all my clothes and sorted them out....keeping only those that fit. Interesting to find quite a bit of gym wear. Among them were a pair of black 2X UA pants and a 3X snug fitting Nike t-shirt. They were a bit too small to wear back then in 2011.....but I was hoping to reach the point where they would be okay. Wore them both yesterday to the gym. Feels pretty good to be getting into smaller clothes. Looking forward to the day when these become too big.

Understood.....however, you've not used one prior, either, right ? There is nothing about the surgery that will increase your need for CPAP...in fact, it may decrease the need for a CPAP. Your hospital bed will be able to be positioned so your head is elevated.....good position....comfortable position.....I suggest you do the same at home with head elevated. This position seems to reduce the snoring for many people, too. It is immensely more comfortable as your abdomen heals, too. Your surgery is going to go really smooth and you'll see great results very quickly. Who knows....you may fall out of the "moderate" category fairly quickly........

Absolutely amazing !!!! You have hit a grand slam home run and are doing great. Very inspiring to my 4 month self. Thank you for that.

Looking at the percentage stats here......damn !!!! You have to learn to accept compliments, praise and sheer wonder. You have to. It's going to happen time and time again so you'd best learn a move that will get you past if quickly if you so choose. Try something like, "Thank you so much.....I appreciated that......I am feeling so much better.......how are you doing ?". The quicker you can get folks talking about themselves.....the easier it will be. You've kicked ass !!!!!!!