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I think I share pitfalls posted by everyone so far. Junk food, volume of junk food, timing of junk food and then float it all on gallons of beer and you pretty much have the recipe for disaster that I was following. Crazy lifestyle. I work long rotating shifts in a fast paced and stressful job. I let this single aspect of my life just about wreck my health. I didn't prepare meals like I should have. I almost never carried meals & Snacks in to work with me. Fast food on the way to & from work.......junk food from vending machines and the crapateria while there. Lots of diet sodas during the shift. Now.....I don't even take in cash with me. I bring in 100% of what I'll eat and it's much healthier and much more economical. I am blessed in that my job will allow me to walk for hours on end if I choose to. I'll be able to burn a ton of calories on the job. I also drank a lot of calories in beer. I'd work like crazy and then get a day off. That day would find me firing up the grill around mid day and popping a top. If one beer is good.....then an endless supply until bedtime is even better. Great music, relaxing and conjuring up a great meal. Son would get home from school and chow down and my wife would eat with him. I'd usually skip it and keep enjoying my brews. Late evenings......just before bedtime.....I'd want to eat leftovers and crash. So much bad with all this. Now...I'll be able to enjoy my days off so much different. Get up....have some coffee and then go hit the gym. Enjoy my tunes then while getting my elliptical and treadmill sessions in. I can still fire up the grill and cook up some tasty Protein......and break out the foodsaver on the leftovers for work lunches. I don't have and answer for the beer. I've avoided alcohol since last April while losing weight. I'll see what the future holds. I've seen some skinny margaritas that were low calorie.....basically a zero calorie mix + tequila or vodka. I'm not in any hurry to toss this back into the mix just yet, though.

Well........I went by the sleep Number store today. Great situation.....got there shortly after opening and had the run of the store and the salesperson. She was really helpful and answered all my questions......no hype. No BS. Straightforward. I was quite satisfied with the firmness that could be achieved. More than adequate. Backing off from 100 to 85 felt really good. The adjustable bases really made for an awesome set-up. The 'weightless' setting felt really good as did elevating the feet some. I need to decide if the adjustability is worth the additional $3,000 over the price of whichever set I zeroed in on. There is a 25 year warranty that is pro-rated after 2 years. I'm not really sure I understand what all the Sleep IQ does for you, but I didn't really get into discussion about it. I've got a few quotes to think about.......but the main thing is deciding how much it's worth to me to elevate the head & foot. If I go that route, it must be independently adjustable L&R, thus the $3,000 cost. That's a large expense. Thanks for all your ideas and information. The Radisson is the chain that has the Sleep Number beds. I may have to do a weekend at a Radisson and see how I like it............

You have to sift through things, but there are some great stories on here. There are a bunch of "when can I eat pizza" stuff.......but get past them and you'll see the positive stuff. It's a great site with some inspiring folks. Best wishes for you !!!

So far....just shy of 4 weeks past surgery.....my taste preferences haven't changed. Same Protein drinks that tasted good pre-op are the same ones I like now. Same flavorings I put in broth are still just like they were prior. The pre-op diet sucked.....BUT, there were a lot of benefits beyond the reason the surgeon emphasized (liver shrinking for safer surgery). I'd been losing weight all along throughout the months leading up to surgery as I simply wanted to get the weight OFF. I'm mentally done with being physically heavy and the issues that it created in my life. I didn't give a crap how the weight came off.....or when it came off. It seemed silly to wait until surgery to get it off. Losing weight was the goal....not waiting around to start losing weight. Anyway...the low calorie diet my NUT had me on was okay because it did offer me a calorie budget to spend how I wanted. I found that Proteins and fats would keep hunger at bay and focused my spending there each day. Weight loss went slow but steady. Hitting the pre-op diet of low carb Protein shakes really amplified the loss experienced. I think it's a great gut check to see if you are ready. You are about to have significant surgery....that can't be reversed......in order to lose weight. It will NOT work if your mind isn't fully engaged and embracing the process.....providing the discipline and committed to the effort. If you can't reach this point then maybe for time is needed......more counseling.....more focus to reach the point of 110% commitment. I've heard of some people going through the motions in the months leading up to surgery and then something happens as they are recovering.....a dedication for lack of a better term. They get behind the idea and they work through it successfully. Maybe that's what will happen with you. Nothing is easy about this process that I've seen. Folks calling it the easy way out are ignorant as hell.

That is interesting. For me, the weight loss also seems to accelerate or slow based on WHAT I eat, too. Meaning I can eat the same number of calories but lose at different rates based on what they are. Lean meats and fibrous stuff and minimizing carbs works best for me.

Don't ever let personal challenges or issues impact your way of eating. You eat to live. Get your nutrition in. Problems will come and go. Be your own advocate and stick to your eating plan regardless of what's going on. Doing otherwise is going to mean your weight progress is always held hostage to unplanned drama.

I feel nervous as heck! I'm at 730 first of the day. You will do great!!! Wish u luck and remembering that we Are all together in this is a great way to help calm the nerves! You guys are going to do great. Looking forward to seeing you on the other side of it........there is plenty of room on the Loser's Bench. Come on and take your spot !!!!!

Can these items be replaced with the warranty ????

The two surgeons I dealt with on my way to surgery made it clear that they would not do any type of "re-sleeve".

Sounds great. Glad you have that past you !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OUTSTANDING start !!!!!!!

I'm going to look into this and see if there are hotels in the area that have Sleep Number beds. Sure would be great to test drive one for a night. Thank you !!!! Things are going really well and I have no complaints whatsoever about my sleeve surgery experiences. Work is going okay.....glad I went back over a weekend and have been afforded the luxury of working 6-8 hour shifts vs 13+. I am very fortunate in so many ways. If things keep going the way they have been......by Summer 2016 I will feel like a new person entirely......20 years younger and healthy. Lord knows I'm ready for it. Going to see the sleeve surgeon tomorrow for my 4 week follow-up. Also seeing my primary doctor for a review of the blood pressure issues.

You've been through a lot. Sorry about the shoulder.....hopefully it will heal right on schedule. Painful stuff you've undergone. It's hard to lose weight while being sidelined but folks do it. Nothing easy about it but it is a simple process. You are right on about cutting out the carbs and upping the Water intake. Try to cut the sodium, too and you'll start flushing it out.

Karl.....only you know what it'll do to your quality of life. If enjoying a vodka drink with your wife on a date night enhances your relaxation and makes it easier to stick to the plan the rest of the week then so be it. If, however, the only thing better than one vodka on a date night is several on multiple weeknights then you have to decide. Our surgeons are our trusted advisors, however, we reserve the final vote for ourselves.

Cruel and inhumane torture those doughnuts & cupcakes are.

I'll bet you'll feel it once you are eating foods beyond the pureed stage. FWIW I'm 3.5 weeks and can drink 11oz Protein shakes in 2-3 mins and a 30oz glass of Water in 10 mins. I'm pretty certain the restriction will be noticed once I have some more solid sustenance. Relax....it's all good.

You've been through torn rotator cuff surgery and c-sections. You understand what pain feels like....bigtime. I think you just have the jitters because of the unknown aspects of this surgery. Understandable. In my case there isn't much noticeable restriction with liquids. I haven't reached actual foods yet, but I'm fully expecting the restriction to show up at this point. If you have prescribed anti-anxiety meds and feel the need to take them......go for it. Let yourself relax and recover peacefully. You got this.

We are going to get there. It'll kick start soon. I used to like drinking diet ginger ale pre-op. I'm scared to fool with it now due not wanting to mess around with carbonated stuff just yet.......but I will give it a shot at some point and see how I do just for experimentation purposes.

Certainly understandable. You are making a big change, ramping up towards surgery and engaging in new behaviors with the strict diet. It's on your mind morning, noon and night......even as you drift off to sleep.

Pure Protein tastes great and is loaded with fiber......pre-mixed or powder sold at Walmart.

Selected among the Center of Excellence practices in my area.

Grinning at your post. Reason I'm grinning is that you absolutely nailed how I've felt the last 3 days. My sleeve was done on the day prior to yours and the scale hasn't budged in the last 3 days for me. No worries. As long as you know for certain you are doing your part......then rock on. The weight loss will resume in due time. If, however, you know you are NOT doing your part.......then you also know what you have to do......get back on track and then rock on. No worries. Things are really simple for us at this point.....not many choices......narrow decision windows. Easy to follow plan with nothing much to figure out.

You'll know when you are truly ready. Until then.....there are tons of pills, plans and schemes to attempt and see how well you can do with them. When you are ready.....you'll know it.

Great thread. Excelllent post @@Radar I share those same rerets......why did I wait so long ???????????????????????????

I hear ya, dude. She was trying to pick you up. Gotta love the random attempts like that.