ouroborous

Congratulations! You're looking and doing great! I can't weight to also leave the "obese" category for good. I've got a ways to go, however -- but I had more to lose, and I know I'll get there. Great work!

First, 32 fr bougie to 36 fr bougie is an almost imperceptible difference. Trust me; going from a 32 to a 36 didn't "sabotage" your weight loss. Second, the sensation of hunger is very different for everyone -- both pre-sleeve and post-sleeve. One thing that's really hit me is that I'm hungry a LOT these days, but I just don't eat that much. It's like I've learned to turn it off, or at least down. I have to remind myself to eat, and that's new! I'd recommend that you not worry about it too much. From what I've seen of the sleeve, you WILL lose weight (has there been a single person on here who's had the sleeve who hasn't lost a significant amount of weight?). It will surprise you the rate that it comes off... then plateaus... then comes off again. It will surprise you how much your relationship to food (and yes, you have a relationship to food) will change. Just focus on getting well right now -- follow the doctor's orders to the letter, sip Water whenever you can, walk as much as you can. Try to wean off of the pain meds, and really listen to the new sensations in your body. You will literally have to re-learn how to eat and drink all over again, but the payoff is worth it.

Anyone seen ANY research yet on the M&M (morbidity and mortality) numbers for plication? Also, I'd be interested in seeing EWL (excess weight loss) figures. I would be stunned if plication can approach the sleeve for EWL, since the ghrelin is still present (although it may not be as prevalent without fundus stretching; then again, the plication may also trigger essentially permanent ghrelin secretion; who knows?) and the ghrelin reduction of VSG is posited to be one of the primary mechanisms for EWL from VSG aside from the purely restrictive aspects. I'm sure that initial weight loss in plication is good, but then again it's also good in all WLS -- banding, DS, and so on. It's the long term maintenance that I'm concerned about; that's what drew me to VSG over, say, lap-band (aside from the foreign body issues): VSG has, hands-down, the best 5 year EWL maintenance statistics around. Very interested to see how plication will stack up, but I know that that data is simply not available. Calling plication a "super sleeve" without this kind of data seems to me to be at best misleading, and at worst downright deceptive. But, time will tell; hopefully all the plication patients thrive and do well. The only place I can see plication touching VSG is on the M&M figures, since there's no resection. But even that is hypothetical, as there are a lot of unanswered questions (what are the effects of all that "bundled" tissue long term? can the staples come undone? are there vascularization effects? &c &c)

I wouldn't worry about stretching, but it IS a concern, according to Dr. L. He said that particularly overeating can stretch the sleeve post-surgery. Apparently we're not as much at risk as people with an intact fundus are, but there's still some risk.

Congratulations, Jane! That's tremendous. How does it feel to realize you're no longer "obese" or even "overweight" anymore... just "normal weight?" That's gotta feel good; I can't wait (weight?)!

Swift, I just wanted to say that you're doing an amazing job. I think we have about the same build and are around the same age, and we're both male -- so I've kind of used you as my yardstick for what's possible. You're beating me by about 25 pounds at this point in your weight loss! That's amazing, and inspiring.

One thing that I wish was discussed more often in the media is that obesity is not -- and should not be -- a moral issue. By this I mean that we shouldn't treat fat people as "bad" and thin people as "good." Yet, I recently read a study (Perception: Skinny people aren't lazy but overweight people are) about how cultural perception is that fat people doing the same thing that thin people are doing are perceived as "lazy." Here's an interesting discussion of this point, coming from a libertarian angle; the idea is that it's YOUR body. If you want to wreck it through being obese, that's your business, just like if you choose to smoke or drink. There is a counter-argument that there are social network costs of being obese, but these hardly justify the shaming. We don't shame people as extensively for not wearing their seatbelts, and yet the costs to society for this behavior are also large. davidinman(.net) Obesity, Morality, and Shame My primary care doctor said to me (some years ago) that we'd all be better off once we learn to treat obesity as a medical issue, not a moral one. In other words, if you're very fat, you're not a "bad" (lazy, dirty, slothful) person, but rather potentially an unhealthy one. By doing this, we can stop shaming people who, let's face it, are already ashamed enough, and we can start actually treating the causes and effects of this illness.

EDIT: don't read if you don't want to read borderline self-aggrandizement. But if you like to hear about NSV's and how losing weight can make you feel better, read on... Well, I'm still losing relatively rapidly, so I didn't want to buy a LOT of clothes for fall, but since my old clothes are rapidly becoming tent-like, I needed some basics. I used to wear 2XLT (double-x large tall). The "T" was necessary because my gut would hang over the waistband of my jeans and the T-shirts weren't long enough to cover it (I'm only 6'1" so I don't really need super "tall man" clothes). I was thinking that maybe I could go down to a 2XL or maybe an XLT. Well, imagine my surprise to discover that XL fits me perfectly, and I actually might end up a snug "Large." I won't be any smaller than that because that's simply my build (shoulders and chest), and actually if I bulk up my muscles I may still need an XL, but I'm excited to essentially have lost two shirt sizes in three months. Also my jeans have dropped from a snug 48 inch waistband to a loose 44 moving towards a 42. By the end of the year, it's even odds that I'll be in 38's for the first time in a LONG time. My smallest adult size was 36 waist (which, again, is where you start to get limited not by fat but rather the muscle and bone of my hips and thighs). Lastly, my underwear have dropped from a snug XL to a form-fitting L, and may eventually get down to a medium. And I look good in them :biggrin2: I've always had fairly muscular thighs and glutes, and now that the fat is melting away, it's looking good down there. I feel like I'm bragging, but it's true -- I'm looking good in my biker briefs, and it's a nice change! Oh, I almost forgot. Instead of needing an 11 wide shoe, now I just need an 11. That isn't a huge morale builder or anything, but it DOES make finding shoes that fit much easier. My New Balance exercise shoes I just bought fit like a glove! All of this is tremendous for me. One downside is that the snugger fitting XL t-shirts actually touch my body. It's strange, but I think a lot of us heavier people are not used to clothes touching our bodies. Anyway, that shows where I definitely need to get back to the gym and keep my stomach and chest from sagging. Fortunately, I have excellent genetics and lots of determination, so I think I can pull everything back where it's supposed to be. So, I'm more determined than discouraged if I see that I'm not quite as ripped as I want to be. All in all, it's pretty exciting developments!

Well there won't be pics of more than my face for a few months since I'm still really shy about my tummy and so forth. But I will say that the changes are amazing and surprising. I was trying to figure out what was different about how my pants fit the other day, and I suddenly realized: I have hipbones. For a non-heavy person, this sounds like "duh," but you fellow travelers on this path probably completely understand how amazed I was to re-discover those bones!

From what I understand, plication doesn't have the ghrelin-reduction benefits of VSG. In short, it is stomach stapling (rebranded). It's probably marginally safer than VSG (although VSG is proving to be very, very safe), but I would wager that the long-term weight loss (3-5 plus years) won't be nearly as good without the suppression of the hunger hormone.

Dr. L told me that crunches weren't a concern, and actually were a good thing. I know this may be counterintuitive, but the fact is that crunches don't cause the "dangerous" kind of pressure on your stomach ("dangerous" is expansive -- making your stomach swell up). If anything, crunches do the opposite, squishing it down flatter. Of course, in the initial healing period, you shouldn't be doing ANY heavy lifting. But -- again, according to my surgeon -- once you're cleared to exercise, "core" exercises like this are actually beneficial.

Your arse hasn't fallen off, it's just that the old baggy clothes are now way too big and swallow it like a python eating a deer! I'm in the same boat. I wore Levi's 550 "Relaxed Fit" jeans, and now even though the waistband fits me, the butt and legs are incredibly baggy. So it's not just the size of the clothes, it's the cut that changes. I'm probably going to go try on some new "normal cut" (IE, not relaxed fit, aka not fat man jeans) jeans this weekend.

I've been losing about a pound a week or so, and I figured that I was just out of the "initial rush." But then, all of a sudden, I've lost 3 pounds per week for two weeks running. Without changing my diet or exercise habits or anything. It's so utterly weird how the body will hold on to weight for as long as possible before finally letting go and burning up the fat! Oh well, I'll enjoy the losses :thumbup: My next mini-goal is 250 pounds. Then, after that, my BIG goal is to reach a BMI of under 30, and finally be out of the "obese" category for good. But that will be a long way off! Patience is a virtue. An insanely rare, hard-to-practice one, but still...

I seriously wish people would worry less about fats and carbs and so forth and focus more on: Getting enough Water (this is, without a doubt, your number one concern, especially post-op) Getting your Vitamins (again, this is a safety concern) Getting enough Protein (this is a long-term concern) Eating the right total calories Exercise If you do all of those, I abso-frickin-lutely guarantee you'll lose weight. You know how I know this? Because if you're consuming 600-800 calories a day and burning 100-200 in exercise, you can't NOT lose weight. It may be slower than you'd prefer, but it WILL happen. The body can only live off of circulating blood sugar for so long before it starts to burn fat reserves -- which is what you want. So: Focus on HEALTH, not "should I eat that or not that." Once you've focused on health, the "what should I eat" sorts itself out naturally. Don't obsess too much about your weight. You WILL have stalls and you WON'T lose as fast as you think you should. This is normal. Enjoy the ride; you'll arrive at the destination soon enough. And if you focus on getting there in a sustainable, healthy, happy way, you'll be able to keep the weight off -- which is more important than losing it!

Anyone on here have any problems with dermatitis? I've been diagnosed with sebhorreic dermatitis. Basically, there are a few specific Patches of my skin that get REALLY dry and flaky once in a while (the top of my ear where it attaches to my head, the skin at the top of my eye sockets, and a couple other little tiny patches). It's not dry skin, according to my doctor, it's really an auto-immune situation where my body attacks my own skin. Right now, fortunately, it's not disfiguring (I'm not scarred or anything) and is still just confined to a few areas. From what I can tell, my skin is good when my body is happy, well fed and well rested (in fact, I can almost predict when I'll have good skin by when I have rough nights with my sleep apnea). One thing I'm hoping is that as I lose weight and get healthier, my dermatitis (which is embarrassing and unsightly) will calm down and not be such a problem. However, I know that surgery is a major stress on the body (hence the hair loss; fortunately I shave my head so that may not be as much of a problem!). I was wondering if anyone else deals with this issue, and what your experiences were post-surgery. Should I expect a MAJOR flare-up of itchy, dry, flaky skin? I can deal with it if it happens, but I'm hoping I won't have to...

I had a three month post-op blood draw, and the doc said I'm in excellent health. All signs of my fatty liver have disappeared; the doc said my liver looks like the liver of a 20 year old (again what he mentioned after my surgery; I'm starting to think he has some weird liver fetish!). My kidneys are in excellent shape. My HDL/LDL are still a TINY bit off, but my overall cholesterol number (158) is excellent and improving, and my triglycerides are great. All the other numbers were excellent, which is a great improvement over the beginning of all the obesity co-morbidities that I was showing. And one real bonus, in three months, my total testosterone has gone from 352 (borderline low, reference is 350-850, I think) to 575. This is due to removing fat, which converts (aromatizes, technically) testosterone (good for men) to estrogen (bad for men). Thumbnail guess is that by the time I hit my target weight, my testosterone should be around 650-700, which will put me in the high range (although not dangerously or riskily so). This is excellent since men's testosterone starts decreasing in their 40's, leading to osteoporosis, heart problems, and depression. Stacking the deck by starting high is a good thing. Also the added "oomph" that higher testosterone will give to building and maintaining muscle mass is a good thing, and one thing that I've noticed already is that sex drive is way, way up (which may necessitate changes in my relationship, but all in all I'd rather be healthy!) So, all things considered, very positive stuff!

Well I'm not exactly going to keep you updated. Let's just say that I'm very pleased with the results, and leave it at that. Fellow XY chromosome folks: this alone is reason to lose the lard!

My nutritionist said 600-800, but she also said to adjust for exercise. Be honest about the calories you're burning (if you're burning 100 calories and pretend you're burning 300, that won't work), but still, she said to adjust for calories burned. So when I'm being a good boy and working out hard every day, I'm usually eating about 1000-1100 calories.

Honestly, I'm kinda turned off to booze since the surgery. I really can't drink enough to get much of a buzz (from a volume perspective). I can't drink much beer at all. And I find that the after effects are much stronger -- 2 or 3 drinks and even though I don't get very intoxicated, the next day I feel hung over. It's to the point where it doesn't really seem worth it. I guess that's for the best, health-wise, but still it's a little sad to say goodbye to all the fun crazy times...

Thanks! Anyone else notice that it feels hard to be honest about your achievements? On some levels I'm really proud of myself and excited to feel good and look good for the first time in... well, ever. But on some levels, I feel like I'm bragging! I wonder how many of us deal with this same issue. I wonder, does "self confidence" just mean being honest and unashamed of your strengths? I wouldn't know since I've never been terribly self-confident. But I have a feeling that that may be changing!

First, I reached a minor milestone today -- I broke the 270 lbs barrier. 269.6, but still, I'll take it! Second, I've really started noticing that people are treating me differently. All of my life -- literally -- I've been heavy. I've sort of resigned myself to being the "fat friend;" I'm treated as comic relief by the men, and as the platonic "shoulder to cry on" by the ladies. It may not be cruel, and it's probably not always intentional, but basically I was never taken seriously as a man. If there's one phrase I would use to describe how people treated me, it would be "non-threatening" -- not that I want to be threatening, but I want men to realize that yes, I'm a man too. And I really want that from the ladies -- even if I'm not going to act upon it, it's SUPER hard on the self-esteem to be treated as an essentially asexual "buddy" by women that you're attracted to. That is changing. I'm noting real changes in how people react to me. Men seem to take me more seriously now, listening carefully to what I have to say before talking (or talking over me). And women, well that's a pleasant surprise. I was out working on my motorcycle in the garage the other day and a neighbor stopped by to explain why her car was parked in front of our house. After a moment some part of my brain was thinking "why is this explanation, which should be taking all of 5 seconds, going on so long?" And then I noticed that she was smiling at me and adjusting her hair. Finally, she said "hi, I'm so-and-so" (we hadn't met) and then surprisingly, gave me a hug. I thought nothing of it and went about my business, but it was tickling at the back of my brain. Finally, about 70 miles out on my ride, it hit me: she was flirting with me. Now, she was an attractive younger lady -- the kind I would never think was "in my league." I'm not shopping around -- I have a girlfriend -- but still, it was pleasant and surprising to realize that an attractive woman possibly 15 years my junior was really trying hard to flirt with me. So yeah, people are really treating me differently. I have to say... I like it :thumbup1:

Without going into too much detail, now that I'm about 3 months and 60 lbs out, I'll just quote from Blazing Saddles: it's twoo! Oh, it's twoo, it's twoo!

Actually, since my post, I've had a glass of beer at a company event, and as long as I drank it really slow and burped almost every sip, it was fine.