Rainbow_Warrior

A whoops moment, eh?

A bit negative there, SummerSet. In actual fact, my fitness improved massively over time. There was a range of positives albeit NOT long-lived ones. Week 1 - I could hold my breath underwater for 18 seconds and swim about 12 laps slowly in 14 minutes. Week 75 - I could hold my breath for 47 seconds underwater and swim 120 laps in 117 minutes. Week 1 - my belt was buckled at the third hole. Week 75 - my belt was buckled at the eleventh hole. I was down 2 or 3 slacks/jeans sizes depending on brand. I was down 3 shirt sizes (6XL to 3XL). In the initial stages I lost a lot of body mass but struggled to lose more later on. The NSVs were okay. I came from a BMI near 52 to the low 40s. Sadly, not long after, I yo-yoed back towards my old self ... as described elsewhere.

There's more than one way to skin the proverbial cat, Oompa Lumps. And there's more than one way to seek intimate pleasure. Nudge, nudge ...

The local indigenous people were considered vermin by the British military and the transported convicts. Unlike the white New Zealanders, we subjugated the indigenous people and usurped their traditional lands and never made a treaty. From 1770 to 1967, we considered all Aboriginal Australians non-human. A referendum in 1967 conferred the right of indigenous to be counted in the Census(es) every five years from 1971-on. In NZ, a Treaty in the 1920s established shared rights that the whites/British/Europeans could stay on with the blessing of the Maoris/Polynesians/NZ-indigenous. No Thanksgiving here in Australia as the poor black/brown Australians have nothing to give thanks for. A near-genocide took place here and resistors were shot and/or hung from trees and/or drowned. White Australians have a VERY black history here totalling 229-247 years. Scratch most white Australians and you will find a deep vein of active or dormant racism.

I have three siblings. I am eldest at 61. Sister #1 is 57; brother turns 56 two days after my op; sister #2 is 52. The elder three are all married; sister #2 has remained single all her life. Sister #2 is universally loved by all her nieces and nephews and her own children. Sister #2 and I are a great team. She was a tearaway teenager when i was in my late teens and early 20s and the other two were unmerciful to her and were both devout holier-than-thou christians. (Nothing wrong with christians, per se, but they don't have to drink five litres of self-righteous and eat three slices of judgmental every day!) I just listened and occasionally gave her a lift to LEGAL things she liked to do. As we've all aged, my mother has lamented "lack of togetherness" ... she's coming up to 84. Mother lived in sister #2's granny flat for the last five years but, just nine weeks ago, moved into sister #1's new home with sister #1 and her husband. (Sister #2 and her husband had a seven year separation which ended about 14-15 months ago.) n.b. My sisters live 3km (two miles) apart and I live almost exactly half-way between ... under 5 mins away from each. The brother lives, OTOH, lives 35 minutes away on the other side of the city from us. Sister #2 and I socialise and our kids communicate. Sister #1's kids communicate with their aunt and me and their cousins and their father but rarely their mother. (see a pattern here?) - - - Sister #1 comes to my house every three to four months and brings her list of grievances and suggestions, mostly grievances. (She also does this to sister #2 but even more regularly!!!) I wait until my sister (#1) and brother-in-law are at work or away from home before I call in to visit mum a few times (2 to 3) per week. I like my brother-in-law but I cringe in dealing with his wife, my own next-in-line sibling; she is a pitiful, whiney, judgemental pain-in-the-arse. - - - So, sister #2 knows the ins and outs of my life and me hers. She knows about my upcoming surgery. I think I have the makings of a TV drama to rival G.O.T. right here.

There's one very important person you need to have the frankest of conversations with ... NOW. You need to gauge his feelings and commitment. My wife and I have had this conversation a few times and we are enjoying that we are both getting lighter/healthier. Be very wary that you have had the sex-"tap" off for so long. Do something before the weekend is out!

Several of the weight resistance machines at the gym have helped. Just ask the "wandering" gym supervisor what he/she would recommend for you. Be frank. They are, generally, very helpful. (They want you to stay a reliable returning gym user.)

Thanks Doctor Adeyeri. There's a lot of great tips in that very recent post. I've taken a screenshot of the EIGHT TIPS part for personal reminder. (Actually SEVEN TIPS ... no #5 to see!) BTW, I have been great at #1, #2 and #3 for 1275 days in a row. Since I retired, I have been spot on with tip #7 ... my sleep now is nearly always in the range 7.75 to 9.25 hours daily plus a day nap of 50 to 90 minutes. (I'm almost 14 months retired from full-time work.) #8 is very new to me but I have a good 90 day history and will build! #4 has been hard ... switching from a Protein:Carbohydrate ratio of 1:2 to 4:3 is a very new thing. I have been phasing the change well over the last month and a half. (This very week is the first time I, the son and grandson of the district's finest bakers, have gone SIX days without so much as a slice of bread. I can't ever recall a time in my life I've previously gone longer than 30 hours without bread!) #6 has been tough. I like liquids (... espresso coffee, black tea, peppermint tea, tonic water and 5-10 beers per week) but water consumption has been in the back seat all my life. I'm drinking about a litre in three protein shakes plus about 2-4 tumblers of other water each day. Hey, what was the missing #5?

Amen to that! Sadly, some people who have 'serious history' doing this to family and loved ones don't notice until the boot is on the other foot. - - - Mind you, what I call COMPLACENT COMMERCIAL OBSERVATION is bad too. "And what is that?" I hear you ask. COMPLACENT COMMERCIAL OBSERVATION is when three family doctors in the space of 35 to 40 years treat each ailment/illness/injury related to obesity (or morbid obesity) as single episodes. I wish that Doctor K back in 1980 had just said, "I know you've told me you've been to Weight Watchers and that you play a lot of sport but are not able to maintain a normal weight. Would you like me to monitor your weight and involve other health care services? Reality is, RainbowWarrior, that 105kg is very bad place for you to be when you really should be seventy-five to seventy-eight kilograms." Doctor K and two other GPs (and a couple of locums) failed to say anything like this at all while I was in their surgeries. It was an older Chinese-born GP filling in one Saturday morning about 2013 who said to me (while he had my history up on the screen), "90% of your health care issues would go away if you lost that 90 or so extra kilograms you're carrying everywhere." Were my doctors too complacent to tell me the truth as I may have been a long line of regular $$ to them? Mmmm. Maybe I'm overly suspicious. In the last couple of years, I found a doctor who listened better, reflected better and invited me to do regular swimming at the same pool he and the practice doctors go.

I know this pain of up and down. The graph is Dec 1981 to now ... red line is my "ideal" weight (75kg/164lb)). For most of the last 30 years I have been about double this. Best wishes to your decision.

No. I am polite, even cordial ... an attentive listener. I focus on his advice and support. He can do a job I need. He's a refined version of my plumber, my lawn maintenance man, my electrician, etc. I want him to be well-trained, dexterous and to do his job well. In return, I'll pay him the gap fee and authorise the health insurance pay off.

I was 174.6 kg on the day of my first interview with the surgeon and dietitian. I set my goal at 74.6kg for two reasons: (A) it's exactly 100 kilograms to lose. In Australia, we measure weight/mass in kilograms. So, all my "percentage lost" and "percentage to go" calculations will be super easy to see/calculate. (B) 74.6kg is also over BMI 24 and below BMI 25 ... very convenient number!

I was doing the same thing in reverse just days ago. i.e. What would I (a morbidly obese 61 year old male Australian) say to my 15 year old (or 18 year old) self given temporary use of a time machine? My four top answers would be: 1. Don't eat factory-generated breakfast cereals or any added sugars or sweeteners. 2. Moderate portion sizes are best and "seconds" should be a rare thing NOT your normal thing. 3. Soft drinks or carbonated drinks are unnecessary ... including all diet varieties. 4. Alcohol, especially beer, does not have to be central to social life or "winding down". - - - While I cannot guarantee that these four pillars will stop my adult overweight, I'm sure that I would not have reached 191.8kg (423 pounds OR 30.25 stones). Five of my grandchildren had a dad that was 208kg (458 pounds) in January 2015 and is now 99kg (218 pounds) today following diet shakes for six months then Gastric Sleeving in late July 2015. In fact, it's his success that finally prompted me to go for Gastric Sleeve surgery myself. He and my daughter do not want any of their five kids to repeat his life or mine. They operate under my first three advice points for their kids. My daughter and the youngest grandchild in that family are Coeliac as well. So food and eating and drinking sensibly are at the core of their daily life.

It's NOT mandatory that people agree with your choice. It's clearly you that has made the decision and has almost all the options for the future under your supervision and control. Utilise ALL the support you need. For your own benefit (from others' hindsight), be VERY SELECTIVE in who you tell or even WHEN you tell them. Keep away from people with known negative outlooks on WLS as they will be NO help to you. You should know by now which of your family, friends and work colleagues (if any) should be "in the know". Think before you speak/share.

Looks delightful and delicious. Enjoy.

Very good article. Thanks for sharing, njgal. I hope he's doing well now that some extra years have passed.

By increasing your crowd size above "one", you could sell tickets and potentially have a treasure chest of $$$ to fund new smaller sized clothing. <GRIN>

The best people will, ultimately, admire your honesty should you wish to speak frankly.

Surely, I hope, just one random 'nutter'. In all my ten days here, I have seen a troll operating/posting in two forums but everyone dismisses him, fobs him off and tells him to pull his head in. He's said nothing in response to me AS YET ... but should he crap me off, I'll just use the "BLOCK USER" feature.

A great point. And, in the extreme of being under an unfair or unwarranted attack, there is the choice to BLOCK a user that you find distasteful. I'm sure celticNgal will see that available choice soon ... I noticed it after about five days.

I'm glad you're personally focused. I'm impressed that you are ready to sidestep meanness and negatives. Stay on track. Respond to the people who are (helpfully) pushing you towards your goals. Ignore the small-minded and ignorant ... most of all, stay out of any forums where they predominate! Cheers.

I'm at a loss to know what you're referring to, celticNgel. I have posted my story. I have responded to other people's weight loss news. People have responded to me by offering me hope, advice or words of applause. Of about 180 responses in ten days, only ONE has been negative. Maybe, I'm guessing, you have entered the wrong forums.

Congratulations. Nice start. Time to update your current weight/mass, eh?

Climate change is real. Fifteen of the warmest years on record have occurred in the period 1999-2016. Our nearly 300 years of industrialisation has had a huge fast impact on the planet. I know that reporting is fast in our modern 24 hour news cycle but there really do seem to be many more extreme weather events and natural disasters these days.

Relative lack of stomach space means less room to absorb burp pressure?