LoBMI VSGguy46

Had another great day today but dealt with a lot of gas this afternoon. But eating has been good (find myself both full and hungry) and exercise has been GREAT! Gained another pound of lean mass and lost another pound overall. Feeling stronger. One thing I've noticed is that I seem so much colder these days. True, the temps are dropping outside but I used to be fine with a light jacket and no gloves or scarf. Now I need many layers, gloves and a scarf to keep from shivering. But, hey, small price to pay! Sleeved on 10/18/2017 Male, 46, 5' 8" HW: 270, SW: 232, CW: 215, GW: 170

Yeah, I realize I am not most people and my doctor realizes that, too. People should not follow other people's examples but follow what your doctor orders. Depleting energy--calories are a measurement of energy. We don't lose weight unless we deplete calories/energy. We build muscle mass by breaking our muscles down and then our bodies build them stronger. I am both losing fat mass and gaining muscle mass. My doctor says this is excellent and I'm doing exactly what I need to be doing for me.

I was sleeved on 10/18/2017. Everything is going great. Started running one week post op. Running 5Ks now and doing dumbbell work outs. I've lost 16 pounds post-op. (I had lost 37 pounds pre-op.) Yesterday my endocrinologist took me off all diabetes meds and I'm off high blood pressure meds, too. Weight loss stalled around days 9-15 but is now creeping down again I'm eating around 1,500 calories a day. I've gained one pound of muscle mass. Eating a little ahead of my schedule but no issues at all. Can feel the restriction with the more solid foods. Have lost 6 inches in my pants size and am starting to buy new clothes. My confidence is up and I am happy. Enjoyed being with my wife last night and it felt sooo much better not having my big belly in the way! I will run a 5K race on Thanksgiving. Sleeved on 10/18/2017. Male, 46, 5' 8" HW: 270 SW: 232 CW: 216 GW: 170

Another important milestone happened yesterday. My endocrinologist took me off of all diabetes medications! Very happy about this!

Milestone! Today I weighed in at 216.4 lbs. My lowest weight when I lost weight 4 years ago was 216.5. So now I'm thinner than that and as thin as I've been since 1998 when I ran a marathon. Woohoo!! Day 21, Sleeved on 10/18/2017 Male, 46, 5' 8" HW: 270, SW: 232, CW: 216.4, GW: 170

Day 20 now. I'm doing well. I've ate some solid foods ahead of my plan, but I chewed them up VERY well before swallowing and I seem to be okay. But I am still going to do my best to stick to the plan in spite of these few lapses. My weight has started moving down again, very slowly. My exercise has been fantastic. Ran my 1.3 miles this morning at my fastest pace ever and even forgot for a while that I had had surgery. Did my dumbbell, sit-up and push-up workout after running. Felt great all day. I do feel restriction now with those solid foods. Don't feel a need to finish a plate full of food. But could snack on pudding and applesauce all day, if I wanted. Still trying to fight the sense of hunger, but winning the battle mostly. My clothes are all loose now. I will need to buy new clothes soon. Clothes I had saved because they were too small for me are now too big. Today the president of our org commented on my weight loss for the first time. He congratulated me. He, like everyone else, doesn't know I had surgery. However, I don't feel bad or dishonest like I thought I might. That is because I still feel I am earning all of this weight loss myself with my continued diet and exercise. The surgery just helps my body to cooperate. I definitely feel additional confidence coming on to a level I didn't have before. I'm not embarrassed by my body as much as I was. I feel like I look good, even though I realize I'm still fat. I never wanted my wife to take or post pictures of me online and now I am posting selfies quite often. Just happy with the results so far. I am blessed because I feel like I am doing well with the sleeve, no complications and good results. I'm down to only one Metformin pill per day and expect to come off that soon. My blood glucose numbers have been perfect. I find out my A1c numbers tomorrow. Off blood pressure meds and blood pressure is perfect. Plantar Faciitus is gone. I feel like my sleep apnea has gone away and don't need my CPAP machine like I did before. (But I will wait a few more months before doing another sleep study.) I don't know how long it will be until I no longer have fatty liver disease, but I pray that this day comes soon, after which I think I could declare: Clean Bill of Health! Sleeved on 10/18/2017 Male, 46, 5' 8" HW: 270, SW: 232, CW: 217, GW: 170.

I think I'm an oddball. So, I have always been a runner--until I got too overweight. I ran a marathon back in 1998. At the time I started training for that I was disgusted that my weight had increased to 205 lbs. Ha! Little did I know that in 2016 my weight would increase to 270. Well, long story short, I started exercising in preparation for the sleeve surgery starting in August. I got to where I ran a mile or so most days, and 6.55 miles on weekends. My pace increased steadily during this time. I ran a 5K race the Saturday before my surgery. I was sleeved on 10/18/2017. I asked my doctor when I could start exercising again. He said as soon as I feel comfortable. In the hospital they wanted us to walk 3 laps around the floor. I would always do 10. When I got home I was in pain from surgery, but it felt good to walk, so I spent my free time walking, and the weather was nice. The first three days I probably walked up to 10 miles a day. One week post op I decided to take a light jog, and I ran for one mile. My abdomen felt heavy, but didn't hurt. I took it slow. I met my surgeon later that day and told him I had run. He asked how it was and I told him just what I said above. He seemed encouraged by this. I started jogging every other day since then and my pace has steadily increased each time, and the heaviness has decreased. It has felt a little better each time I run. Ten days post-op I ran for 2 miles. I thought I would run for 3.1 miles, but started to tire and didn't push it. Then I kept up my 1.3 mile run per day (5 out of 7 days) since then until today, where I'm now on day 18 post op. Today I ran 3.28 miles, and I ran it almost at the same pace I ran my 5K race a few days before surgery. Felt really good, like I could have gone for longer. during week 2 post-op I decided I'd try some sit-ups. I did one very carefully and it didn't hurt at all. So, I have been doing 20 sit-ups per day since then, and 20 push-ups. Yesterday I increased the sit-ups to 40. Just last week I started alternating resistance band training and dumbbell workouts. Not a lot of reps--just a set of 10 or so, for about 5-6 different exercises. it has felt great! I have lost 13 lbs. since surgery, but the weight loss has slowed down considerably after the first week. I can easily eat 1,500 calories a day between my protein shakes, jello, pudding, applesauce and other allowed food. Today I ate some chopped pork rib meat, and it was delicious! I chewed it up very well and swallowed. No issues eating it. I feel like I could probably eat more if I wanted to, just not all at once. I don't feel my tastes have changed at all yet. So, I don't know if I'm an oddball or not. I feel that I am. I read how people can't hardly walk for a week or a month and that they can hardly get down 600 calories per day and I am wondering what that is like, because I'm not like that at all. I also wonder if this means I'll plateau and not lose as much, or what. I want to lose my fat weight, but I don't want to lose my muscle weight. Overall, I feel good, so I'm not too worried about it. But my experience seems so different from what I've read of most other people's.

The biggest thing I don't like is that notifications don't seem to work right. I'll get a push screen notification that somebody "liked" something but when I open the app there's no way to find out what it was. There are no notification highlight numbers like in Facebook or many other apps. I go to the menu in the upper right and find that there is an item listed there called "notifications" but when I click on it, it is always empty. I see a thumbs up under other people's posts that I can click to "like" something, but it won't show me who else has liked it. And, there is no such thumbs up symbol under my own posts at all to view who has liked the post. I'm fine without having to add "friends" like in most social networks as we are a unique community. However, it would be nice if users could have their own page or "wall" to post their stories, , their procedures, their stats and progress updates. You would think a bariatric surgery app would make it easy to do that and to track. It would be nice to go to other people's pages and just see that, if they choose to enter it. Or to see the macro stats of all users. I think the app administrators would do well to make some upgrades and invest in a re-design.

My son had a birthday party today and I actually ate three small pieces of pizza and part of one piece of ice cream cake. Of course, not at the same time. I'm only 2.5 weeks out of surgery and am surprised I could do this. I know I'm not supposed to, so I am worried that I will not be successful. The sleeve is a tool, they say, but I don't think it will be as big of a tool for me as I thought it would be. We'll see. But I realize that I will need to exercise self-control as much as I did before. Sleeved on 10/18/2017 Male, 46, 5'8" HW: 270, SW: 232, CW: 219, GW: 170

I've found myself cheating on the post-op diet, snacking on a little here and there that I'm not supposed to eat yet--crackers, chips, candy. My family have left these around the house after Halloween and have been too tempting for me. Need to clear them out. But I've chewed them until mush and swallowed. No pain or negative reactions in my gut. Kind of wish there were so it would be a deterrent.

I think a girl actually flirted with me today. That hasn't happened in a long time!

ບໍ່ເຕັມລ້ອຍແລ້ວ! Under 100 kg! Today is a milestone for me. I weighed in at 219.2 pounds. This means I am under 100 kilograms! I dipped under 100 kg once four years ago but I haven't really been in this territory since 1998 when I ran a marathon. Feel happy about this! My next short-term goal is to get under 216.5 pounds, which was the lowest weight I got to four years ago before putting it all back on, and then some. I actually had a couple pieces of candy last night during Halloween, which was a lot of fun for our family. Yesterday I also ran 1.3 miles then lifted weights. Felt good. I watched the video that someone mentioned above about not exercising after weight loss surgery, and while I think much of that is true for most people, I think I am a bit different since I have been running daily for months and have good muscle mass/strength. My doctor recommended this, too. I can get the calories down needed. I also had a lunch appointment for the first time since surgery yesterday. I was nervous about it since I haven't told anyone about getting sleeved. It went just fine. I ordered soup and finished half of it. Don't think the guy noticed anything strange as he already knows about my weight loss journey, just not the surgery. One more thing--my endocrinologist messaged me to decrease my Metformin dosage. So now I am only on one 500 mg pill per day for diabetes! Hope to get off that, too! Lab work today and appointment next week. Sleeved on 10/18/2017 Male, 46, 5'8" Day 14 HW: 270, SW: 232, CW: 219, GW: 170

Thank you, I will. Do you have a link for me?

Haven't noticed any pain in my left shoulder as before, but started to feel it a little toward the end of my 2 mile run today. Shaved another minute plus off my mile pace. Still haven't lost any weight since day 8. Today is Day 11. Some good news is that I'm off 2 of my 3 diabetes medicines and am off blood pressure meds. The last diabetes medicine in on is Metformin and I think I could probably stop that, too, because my numbers have been low. Have appointment with endricinologist next week. Sleeved on 10/18/2017, Day 11 Male, 46, 5'8" HW: 270, SW: 232, CW: 222, GW: 170

Today was a good day--no issues other than seeing some fruit and other food I wanted to eat. Felt thinner today--got a haircut and really noticed how much thinner my face is. Was smiling some looking in the mirror. Ears stick out a little more than before. Sleeved on 10/18/2017, Day 10. Male, 46, 5'8" HW: 270, SW: 232, CW: 221, GW: 170

Has your weight loss been consistent every day, or has it stopped and restarted?

My first two days were tough and I wondered if I had made a mistake. I did not get to my 64 oz goal. Day 3 was a little better and I focused on sipping all day to get to 64 oz and walking. I walked up to 10 miles. Then things started getting noticeably better each day. I started jogging on Day 7. Day 10 is here now and I can almost forget that I had the surgery. So, just breathe, sip and walk. Focus on that and you'll get through. Pray for you to feel better and happy!

Oh, I forgot: HW: 270, SW: 232, CW: 222, GW: 170, sleeved on 10/18/2017.

Going well, for the most part. Trying to follow all the instructions to a T and make the most of this opportunity. Miss food, miss chewing, and miss crunchy-salty food. My weight dropped pretty quickly for 8 days then yesterday didn't move, so I'm wondering about that. I'm also wondering about my sleeve size since I can put down more than a half-cup of soup easily, and if that will mean eventual weight gain. Probably thinking too much about that stuff. I'm exercising and that feels good. How about you?

Doubts... I know you're not supposed to look at the scale every day, but I have been. (Don't lecture me.) Today (day 9) was the first day I didn't lose weight. Most days it's been down more than a pound, but this morning my number actually went up a tick. Do we call this the Day 9 Stall? For the first time I feel the fear that I've already gone as far as I will. Also, I'm wondering if my surgeon made my sleeve too big. I can eat a whole can of soup (cream of chicken with one can's worth of water added) easily in one setting. Not feeling the restriction. Worried now that I'll never lose much beyond this.

I was sleeved on 10/18/2017, so just about a week ago. I've noticed some occasional pain in the tip of my left shoulder. Recently I've noticed that it mostly happens when I burp. Has anyone else had this symptom? What to do? How long before it goes away?

Exercise--I started jogging again on Day 7, one week after my surgery. Just a mile, and I took it very slowly. My pace was something like 13:42. My belly felt heavy inside upon each footfall, but not painful. My surgeon had told me that I could start running again as soon as I felt comfortable. I had my one-week follow up appointment later that morning and he seemed happy to hear I had jogged and asked how it went. I told him I took it slow but that my legs wanted to go faster. I jogged again yesterday and did my standard 1.3 mikes, which is two laps around my neighborhood. My pace increased to 12:19/mile and felt just a bit better. This morning I ran the 1.3 miles and felt better when I started out. I was surprised to see my pace jump to 10:50/mile. Very encouraged! My belly didn't feel as heavy, but could still feel it. (My pace before surgery was 8:30-9:00/mile.) When I got home after running today I thought I'd try sit-ups, like I had been doing before surgery. I was a bit scared because this meant scrunching my belly--where I had been cut and still have five incision wounds. I started slowly but was surprised after the first one how good it felt--almost normal! So I ripped off 20 and then did 20 push-ups. I could definitely feel the weight loss when I did the push-ups! I was so excited with how good those exercises felt, I went downstairs and did a number of resistance band exercises. Felt great. I'm excited now that 9 days out I feel I can do all of my normal exercises and more! Today's date: October 27, 2017 (Day 9) Sleeved on: 10/18/2017 HW: 270 SW: 232 CW: 222 GW: 170 Male, 46, 5'8"

Since I have no better place to do it, I will log my journey entries here from time to time like a blog post. I don't mean to annoy anyone, but it will help me keep a record of the different things I experience, and what times, before I forget.

How should I calculate what is my ideal weight? My surgeon dodges this question. I played football in high school at 165. I wasn't skinny then, but pretty decent. Can't imagine being thinner than that but if I were to go by the BMI chart I'd have to get down lower than 145. That's not going to happen! Would it be better to measure body fat percentage and then calculate what I'd be at 10%? My stats: Height: 5' 8" Age: 46 Sleeved on 10/18/2017 HW: 270 SW: 233 CW: 222 GW: 170??

How's it going for you now? You're a week ahead of me.