TheBearguy8

I'm gonna be blunt. I've lost 55 pounds, and I swear I'm bigger in "The Good Place" than I was ever, even in college. We are talking multiple inches. I'm an exhibitionist so the temptation to share the before and afters with you must be resisted, but suffice to say, after the joy of looking down and seeing it again . . . the second joy of the reactions. . . well . . .let's just say my username isn't a dream anymore, it's real.

Finally, some experience I can relate to and comment intelligently about. Surgery day: 250 Pre-Op prep: 255 Max weight 2 years earlier: 280 Years jammed up at 250 with daily exercise, spin classes and Zumba: THREE!! 7 months after surgery?: 195 Experience?: It's been a BREEZE like this guy said. I have felt guilty expressing this due to sympathy for so many others. There is so much FEAR and TERROR expressed in SO MANY places. I was PETRIFIED going to Mexico more for the surgery than even going to Tijuana! Physical side effects so far: Nausea ALARM (that's what I call it) to "STOP EATING YOU DUMMY". Best thing ever. Burping. Hilarious. Great at parties. Farting? Not so much fun at parties. What gave me an advantage: I had been a dancer, and competitive and physically active in my 20's after being a fat kid. Mid life crisis issues at 40 set some changes in to motion, but no matter what dietary changes I made . . dropped all sugary sodas gradually, massive carb cutbacks, cutting out of top trigger foods, pizza, chinese . . .it all helped, but 250 was where I thought life would settle. Then came spin classes, zumba, weight lifting - 240 was fun, but crept back to 250 gradually. AFTER surgery - all those lifestyle things HELPED as the psychological hunger and inability to overeat just changed. Combine the surgery with lifestyle changes? I'm living a joyful life, literally and metaphorically dancing through every day. . . looking 10 years younger . . . wearing tight clothes . . . and getting a lot of dates and interest that lead me to believe I might not die alone fat and surrounded by my cats eating me after all. Things people say that were NOT TRUE FOR ME: - you will never have carbonated drinks ever again - you will never enjoy eating again - it's "not a magic bullet". (It was for me) - you will always get gassy and uncomfortable and live with it - you will forever need to be taking a lot of supplements and vitamins/shots - you will get debilitating heartburn and physical pains - you will risk ripping your staples out and bleeding to death if you eat too much. - you will have to get used to vomiting from time to time, and it's painful and dangerous to do so. (twice for me, and only when I mixed bourbon with too many sugar free popsicles! I deserved it! It was just bad that it happened while sleeping - that's dangerous) - you will never enjoy any alcoholic drinks ever again - you will die in Mexico and they will never find your body - you will be so constipated it will affect you all the time - you will go through periods of regret (not so far anyway) Some true ones: - drinking enough water is hard. It tastes awful, and I never liked it in the first place. - protein, protein, protein FIRST. Then the fun stuff, if you even want it anymore after the protein. - Tastes change. sometimes in some bizarre ways that even change month to month. - Remember to eat and keep the food log any way you can more so that you stay in balance, and don't get out of whack in areas like sodium and other things easily overlooked. - Use your URINE as a constant CHECK on your own health. LOOK AT IT. Sometimes pee in urine specific container and check the color carefully. When it gets darker, really dark, or even into a neon type bright green/yellow - evaluate what you are doing carefully and make changes. - The surgery is NOT what it was in it's early years and configurations of bypass and lap band. Sleeve was the way for me, and it all makes sense after the fact now. My mother had this surgery in 1992 and has led a miserable life physically, although she got thinner, it came with much substitute misery. Have fun! It's the best decision I ever made! I would do it over and over again, and I tell everyone I can to not be afraid.

Lose It makes it so easy.

Thanks for sharing.....same experiences here, and it's good to read yours. So many fears not happened

"THIS TOO SHALL PASS" Necessary evil, only heard of one case via rumor that it continued a long time.

I'm gradually consuming more calories every day since working out - even too many - but no one agrees on what number I should be hitting. I was mostly 1200 calories, more than anyone I've read about in early stages, but now I'm at 1800, and I think that's too many - and some night eating of low sugar fudgsicles and no sugar italian ice is pushing the number. They obviously melt on the way down, and don't cause a restricted/full feeling. I have cut the number I consume in half compared to before surgery. I know it's not nutrition. It's keeping me sane. Honestly those calories on Orange juice was why I gave up juices orange/grape/cranberry for over 10 years before surgery. I'm not convinced I'm over doing it. I'm the teacher - not the student in the class - I'm actually not on the bike nearly 1/3 the class in spinning, boot camp training involves nothing for the coach but blowing a whistle (yea a short demo), and zumba I gotta dance, I get it. We need to do some cardio. I hate gym cardio, love dancing and spinning. BUT I must thank you for taking this time to answer, it's "food for thought" [see what I did there], and I will take the advice seriously. Obviously I have to consider something as obvious as what you said - that I was not considering before.

Easy there trigger. That's a lot of absolutes and assumptions out there, and although caution is always advised, testing with any new thing to consume is always good. "Sabotage your entire surgery?" Where the hell do you get your information? I notice you didn't say HOW it was supposed to accomplish this ""SABOTAGE!"". Don't fear-monger. You also make an assumption about calories. True for some choices, but not all. I drink a bourbon on the rocks (top shelf Knob Creek) maybe twice a week since week 7. Do your research on bourbon, scotch, and tequila. (I'm not going there for a long while) I started with ONE TINY SIP. waited a full hour for my staples to magically and hysterically melt, violent vomiting, a new addiction to alcohol, and a trip to the ER. None of that happened. Not even nausea. Nicely the bourbon lasts longer. Strangely, my favorite brand Dewars has completely changed taste in my mouth, and I have to go way high quality for a smooth taste experience. Avoid absolutes that come from YOUR medical, NUT, and doctor choices.

Thanks everyone! Today I am dizzy all day in different degrees. My attempt to experiment with a variety of food and drink leading to 2,500 calorie day. Ugh. Previously 1650 was my max and I set my "Lose It" app to 1,500 a day as a goal. 90g protein

Sleeved 5/11/17. Having one of the best recovery experiences I've read anywhere. Obviously very lucky. I am a fitness instructor at a major health club chain, so 265-275 was even psychology more at work than every day life. Highest weight 275 Pre-op week 255 Surgery day 248 Today 218.6 A few days ago 216 after many days of Zumba and spinning. Woke up yesterday at 5am and barely made it to the bathroom to pee from dizziness, stumbled many times. Woke up at 8am to teach 2 classes (normal breakfast) and barely made it through, was about to pass out any minute, taught the class mostly verbal, not moving much. Dipping or turning my head triggers it to get worse. Returned, took a 2 hour nap, woke up completely normal. The rest of the day I functioned back to normal working. Protein drink again, which I had stopped due to extreme expense. Woke up this morning at 5am, pattern started over again, so I'm here for help. The basics: - my urine is unchanged in color, but generally darker all the time, still normal color. - getting 90g of protein a day, chicken,eggs, salmon, refried beans - taking vitamins recommended in these forums - not able to eat fruits much, or vegetables - maybe a little low on liquids, tap water has too much chlorine and tastes so bad I lean on G2, which saved me post surgery, and is the easiest to drink. - after a workout Orange juice goes down easy and really helps. A little worried over here. I can't lie in bed mornings waiting for it to pass. I can't find a pattern, just looking for someone else's similar experience. I don't want to go to the emergency room when I feel better after a few hours. Big Co-pay. Thanks guys

Kill two birds with one stone. Enjoy sugar free chocolates, peppermint patties, or sugar free Reese's mini cups, or low sugar FUDGSICLES, all of these have ingredients that will "move things along"

one question . . . you said "tummy let you know when it was full" - I am interpreting that to mean what I am experiencing, which is a warning nausea similar to what would could happen to me say at Thanksgiving long after I already ate way too much and had light nausea and regret. Nausea tells me to STOP. Appetite is a different drive and feeling. Can you elaborate? Our starting weights are similar - although females and males have very different experiences on these boards.

Yup 30 pounds, that damn "groin fat pouch" is starting to recede, l can see it, its bigger, firmer and I am horny ALL the time while I am doing cardio every day as a gym coach while I am losing.

Be careful setting absolute goals, I started at 255 after max of 275. May 11 surgery. 7 weeks now, 221 today. Go easy on yourself