The Greater Fool

You know how every Surgeon has their own plan, and even those plans can vary by patient? Well, Insurance is the same way. Every company has their own rules, but even within company there are a variety of plans and even individual employers can change the plans in many cases. Bottom line is call your insurance company, since that is from where the form came and get them to explain until you understand what they are saying. Good luck, Tek

At about 4am when I was doing one of my morning runs, a police car pulled up and stopped about 30 yards away, then turned on his lights and over his megaphone started sharing how proud he was of my losing weight so well, that he'd been watching me these months, and was personally invested in my success... At 4am. Over the megaphone. This went on for about a minute when the police academy on the street was starting their morning run, and over the megaphone he told them to congratulate me and shake my hand, so about 25 cadets ran over and did just that. At 4am. Over the megaphone. Thanks officers. Tek

This seems to be about 6 weeks of pureed, which is what my plan was 19 years ago. I would advocate being careful this early out. I didn't pay close enough attention and created some issues for myself which was embarrassing and stressful. As a result it took some time to get the self induced stress under control. It seems to me that the possible pureed-like foods available seems very much dependent on the type of restaurant(s) being entertained. It seems you should be able to manage something akin to mashed stuff. Ground meats would likely be available in a variety of cuisines. If worse comes to worse one could always feign a minor stomach ailment then have something earlier or later that fits into your program. Good luck, Tek

I give in to cravings. Not much and not frequently. For me, if I deny myself it becomes all I can think about. If I take a bite, it's good and it's over. Good luck, Tek

It was an adventure of agony and ecstasy into a new world of self discovery. I experienced the joy of victory and the agony of defeat. I laughed, I cried, it was a rollercoaster of emotions. The beginning seems to lose a lot of participants to the extent that many regret what they've done, but I was more focused on the drama of our protagonist pushing through adversity. Soon enough the new paradigm became normal, even boring. This does not mean the story is boring, however, as slowly but surely we see life changing. While the upbeat ending seemed inevitable it didn't even dent the emotional payoff of seeing our hero achieve things they didn't know they wanted. 5 Stars. Tek

If you have followed your plan well you have not failed. Heck, if you are lifeing as well as it seems then you are tremendously successful since lifeing is the name of the game. Oddly I think folks focus too much on a number on a scale. The important thing is following your plan, getting healthier, and feeling better. These are the true measures of success. High expectations and comparing ourselves to others is self-defeating. Even if we believe our expectations are reasonable we will sooner or later not meet them. There is always someone that loses more faster. Then we feel like failures when in reality we have no control over how much or quickly we lose weight. Good luck, Tek

Congratulations to the OP on overcoming the big 'C'. At 19 years post-op my restriction is the same was it was at about 6 months post-op. The restriction is still a very active part of my life. It was never even hinted that the restriction was temporary or not a long term part of my solution. Being a binge eater, if my restriction eased I would have returned to binge eating. It hasn't and I haven't. I don't know if I did or didn't do something right or wrong but I'm glad my surgery is still in full force and function. Perhaps I'm just lucky. Another aspect of restriction is that if one doesn't chew well, a chuck of food can get stuck which will result in pain and can compel retching until it is up and out. This is not as fun as it sounds. Chewing well enough was something I had to focus on for the first few months. I had an open surgery which means I was cut from stem to stern and opened up. I ended up with a drain because they couldn't reach something related to removing my gallbladder, bile ducts IIRC, and some 30 odd staples neither of which were the joys one would expect. The vast majority of people then and more so now have laparoscopic surgeries which involve 3 small holes and rarely a drain. Good luck, Tek

I eat until my appropriately portion-sized meal is complete or when I get the message that the next bite will be a mistake, whichever comes first. This is the rule I've followed since day one with the caveat that for the first 6 months I never completed my meal and learning when the next bite would be a mistake was less than fool-proof. Good luck, Tek

Never bought a scale post-op and the one I had pre-op was insufficient to the task for the first couple years post-op. Once I could weigh on the home scale I didn't, opting only to weigh at follow-ups and other medical appointments. One does not need a home scale to follow their plan. Good luck, Tek

I had 500 or so excess pounds. It took a bit over 3 years to get into a normal BMI. Good luck, Tek

I never chose a goal weight. At 1/4 ton overweight I would have killed to get within 100 pounds of an overweight BMI. Anything better was too far beyond reason in my mind. As it turns out I shot past a normal BMI before I managed to get back up. I had 16 pounds removed during my abdominoplasty. Good luck, Tek

There were days when in the first month or so that I ate a dozen or more SF Popsicles. I did them because early on I could barely eat or drink and the little bit of fluid and big flavor helped tremendously in many ways. They were lights on dark days. As I was able to eat and drink better the SF Popsicles fell out of my diet on their own. For the record my medical team suggested SF Popsicles for early on for the very reasons I used them. There is no way I didn't and don't take my surgery and plan seriously even now. I was a plan Nazi the first 3 years and slightly more flexible since. I lost my excess weight and have maintained it. SF drinks are a frequent element of my diet. I think artificial sugars are the gods' gift and have no issue consuming them when I want a sweet flavor. Everyone, interestingly, is different. If consuming artificial sweeteners causes you issues, go with me here, don't consume them. If anything causes you issues avoid them. If you don't have a problem, don't let anyone make it a problem. Good luck, Tek

I want to reply, I've actually tried more than once. More than thrice. It just ends up being negative. But, since I hate seeing threads get no response, here I am trying again... Have you used similar, far less expensive all-in-ones such as Instant Pot? If not, for 1/10 the price of Thermomix you can see if you will use such a product enough to justify a $2,000 price. Once you're sure it's your money. Do your research. I've opted not to get into the problems with MLMs. My opinion is not good and I work in the industry. This is where past response attempts went off the rails. Good luck, Tek

What you may need to bring on vacation depends on your eating plan and how firmly you intend to stick to it. If you do protein drinks and intend to stick with them then you'll need to bring protein drinks. Obviously, anything you just must have that may not be available on vacation you need to bring. Or your can adjust by eating foods on the vacation that still allow you to achieve your protein and calorie goals. Or, you can just ****-it all because you're on vacation. Personally, I'm somewhere between the last two options on vacation, depending on the meal. My plan since puree has been easy to follow no matter where I am with no special potions, lotions, or concoctions. As for drinking, you have similar options. Be careful, though. At this point you're eating very little, so alcohol can hit harder. Many sleeve folks are also generally affected by alcohol faster and harder so be very careful. If you're going to drink do it in a safe place initially so you can get a handle on the new paradigm for you. Also, transfer addiction is a hazard, so again, be aware and careful. Again personally, I don't recall drinking until more than a year out, on vacation. I don't drink normally but ****-it all, I'm on vacation. Once people understand your vacation, goals, and plan, they can offer a ton of tips. The requirements for a backpacking trip would be different than a 5 star resort. Enjoy your vacation. Tek

An accomplishment you will be proud of the rest of your life. Congratulations! Tek

Get in touch with a Pain Management Doctor. There are a lot of things they can do for chronic pain. If you hear "suck it up" it's time to get a new medical team. Good luck, Tek

First, there is no amount of weight one "should" lose by now. Everyone is different. If you are on plan you are doing great. Focus on your plan not on your scale. Get rid of your scale, it will make like much easier. On to plan. Again, each of our plans are different. Some are better or worse but it's probably more important to learn the discipline of following a plan than the particulars of the plan. By 3 months I was at my "forever" plan, which was 3 meals per day consisting of 3oz protein, 1oz veggies. I can't always manage the whole meal. If I can't get past one or two bites I may try again in an hour or so. I dump on sugar and fats, so I learned pretty quickly to avoid those. Otherwise I could eat anything. Some foods, like most snack foods, anything potato, I could eat easily and in volume. For the first two or three years I avoided such foods completely until I could master moderation, which for me was a new concept. Surgery doesn't deal with 100% of our issues. What goes into our mouths is still a choice. @liveaboard15 I've commented before that your pictured food would be a perfect meal and it looks delicious. The great aspect of them is that even if one is eating the chicken (as an example) for 4 or 5 meals in a row, adding and changing the sauce can still create quite a variety of flavors. BBQ, Asian, Italian, Italian, Curry... Yum. Good luck, Tek

Thinner Times seems to have gone to a happier place not of this world. It seems the Forums are closed, there is a Facebook group that appears to have a last post of 5 years ago. Welcome to this forum which does seem to still exist with fair to midland activity levels. Good luck, Tek

It's been years now since anyone ran into a wall, a pole, or even other people because they were staring at me. Social distancing was normal for me back then, as in a crowd the area around me would just organically be people free. Now I have to deal with crowds like everyone else. People used to be very concerned that I might want to sit on their fragile chairs. Every chair was fragile back then. No chair worries anymore, people must have stronger chairs now. Don't get me started on eating in public. I shoulda sold tickets. I guess folks might be right, it was probably how I carried myself. After all, there was a lot of myself to carry. Good luck, Tek

Relationship changed: [Because of WLS?] No; For Better or worse: [Because of WLS bow chica bow bow?] Yes; Good luck, Tek

Joint issues are why I approached it as a short term challenge rather than a long term solution. It turned out I was able to do more running than I expected for longer than I expected. But ultimately I couldn't sustain running as long as I wish I could and still wish I could. We each are forced to live our own lives, after all. Good luck, Tek

Congratulations! Much like you, I was not one who enjoyed running. I decided to do a program amazingly similar to C25K just to challenge myself, I had no intention of continuing. As it turned out I enjoyed running. I used the time and repetitive motions to meditate and focus on what the day was going to be about. From a weight loss perspective my weight just kept consistently dropping until I passed a completely unexpected normal BMI. Good luck, Tek

Congratulations! Enjoy your 'doo. Good luck, Tek

Congratulations! Those x00 milestones are rewarding in themselves. Good luck, Tek

I guess the easiest for me was the new eating plan. My favorite part of every meal is the protein, so "protein first" was easy. The food volume change was also quite easy as I filled up ridiculously quick, still do. Even dumping, which is devastating to some post-ops taught me rather quickly that sugar and fats were not safe as "every so often" foods. Good luck, Tek