ouroborous

Hmm, I should look into that grill. There aren't NEARLY as many nice outdoor grilling days here in Seattle as I'd prefer!

I think that Tiffykins is right (as usual). This is a tool to help us make the right choices, not a magic silver bullet. Over the weekend, I let my stress and anxiety take over, and I grazed (also, my girlfriend brought home a Specialty Cookie for me... I love them, but that was probably a 1200 calorie chocolate chip cookie). I ate crackers and chips, and I gained a pound. Not huge, I can shrug it off and go back to being healthy this week. I've got a new goal, being under 250 by the end of summer. That's ambitious -- it'll require a 4 lbs a week loss -- but it's something to shoot for. And that's the ticket -- you have to realize that this is a lifestyle change. The sleeve will help us by restricting our food intake (without all of the complications of the lap band). The sleeve will help us by reducing our body hunger almost down to nothing. But we have to fight the head hunger. We have to keep active. We have to remember that even with the sleeve, we can go back into bad habits of inactivity and bad eating. There's just no magic silver bullet. We have to do the work. So, it's probably not a SATISFYING answer, but it's an answer: yes, you can definitely gain the weight back if you don't keep working at it. It's not the sleeve's fault (unlike with other surgeries, there's not a built-in rebound), but ultimately it's our fault if we do -- we have to cultivate new, good habits to replace the old ones, and we have to watch out for the old, bad habits taking over. At least, with the sleeve, I CAN lose weight. Before, it was just constantly an upward curve.

Yeah the sore throat is what convinced me to stay on the PPI's. I hope you ladies can find the balance between the risks of osteoporosis, and the risks of GERD/Barrett's/esophageal erosion.

Congratulations, Angie! Keep up the great work!

Thanks for the compliment (I just noticed this, so sorry for the delay). I have my fair share of baggage, just like everyone else. I think perfectionism is another trap we fall into, just like insecurity (of course, as a fat man, I always felt like I had to "settle" for whoever would want me; it's going to take a big adjustment to realize that I can -- and should -- be with the person I WANT to be with). But the bottom line is that there are a lot of things that aren't fair in life -- younger, healthier, slimmer people have more romantic opportunities. People reject us before they get to know the "real person" inside. Society tells us that we're lazy and slovenly because we're overweight. All of those things are based partly or fully upon a lie, and all of those things are unfair, and ultimately all of those things simply are what they are, and we have to deal with them. I think that what I, at least, am still learning, is how not to internalize these negative messages. I'm a good person, even if I'm heavy. I have desirable qualities even if not everyone can see them. And ultimately, just like everyone else, I have the right to at least try to be with the person I WANT to be with, not just whoever I think I can "get." BTW, I have to shake my head sometimes at how different male and female psychology is when it comes to dating -- reading Chancie's post about how men will smile and look at her, but not approach her, my instinctive response is, "well, why don't you go talk to THEM?" It's not 1950 anymore, women are actually allowed to pursue men they find attractive. I think that sometimes, women waiting for men to approach them is just a way of making sure they're interested before taking a chance, just like men not wanting to make the first move until they're sure the woman is interested. The end result, on both sides, is nothing -- no moves are made, no chances taken, no lessons learned. But hey, it's safe, right? I've learned the lesson for sure that it's not really better to be safe than sorry; usually, playing it "safe" will make you more sorry than just taking a chance and leaping out into the blue without a net. In fact, I can't think of a single time where I took a chance and, in the long term, regretted it. Every single time, even if the outcome wasn't what I thought I wanted, I at least learned something. On the other hand, I can think of hundreds of times where I decided to "play it safe" and truly, deeply regretted it -- often for the rest of my life.

The recovery time ranges from a few days to a couple of weeks, and is VERY individual. Note that you shouldn't be doing anything SUPER physically strenuous for a week or so, and you cannot lift more than a small amount (15 lbs or so) for as long as 4-6 weeks, so factor that in. Of course, talk to your doctor for exact guidelines, but honestly everyone's recovery differs. Age, complications, general healing speed, all of these play into it.

Thanks for posting this! Resistance training is SO important for EVERYONE. Especially for WLS patients, where muscle wasting and loose skin are such an issue. And ladies, please don't fall into the trap of believing that weight lifting and resistance training will make you big and bulky -- it will not. You don't have the testosterone for it; your body just doesn't work that way. What it will do, like Ryansgirl, is tone you, lift what needs to be lifted, and make you look all over tighter and more put together. EVERYONE should lift weights (if the doctor clears it). EVERYONE.

I'm hoping that most of the skin will pull back, eventually. But I'm also planning on hitting the gym, hard, to give that skin something besides fat to adhere to :wink0:

You're welcome. Enjoy! I'm planning on adding a Vitamin tracker sometime this week. I always forget which Vitamins I've taken and when, and some of my supplements have overlapping vitamins, and I don't want to OD on some fat soluble vitamins. Possibly a Water tracker, too. I'm not going to bother with a food/calorie tracker since there are a million great online tools for that.

...and I have been having trouble remembering when I can start/stop drinking and eating (let's see, I have to eat and drink every two hours max, but I can't eat less than 30 minutes after drinking, and I can't drink less than 15 minutes after eating, so...) It pops up and nags me when I forget, or when a feeding/drinking time has arrived!

So, I asked the nutritionist today whether I should be shooting for 600-800 gross calories (total eaten, period) or net calories (total eaten minus calories burned in exercise). The answer? Net calories. She said that it's ridiculous to believe that a 6'1 man can live on 800 calories a day if he's burning 400 in exercise. That's effectively asking my body to live on 400 calories a day; no wonder I was feeling woozy and nauseous and not well. Now that I'm eating about 1000 calories per day (and burning 200-300 on average), I'm feeling much, much better (and still losing about a pound a day!) So good to have definitive answers to these things

Both hypoglycemia and anemia can cause feelings of cold. Worth checking that you're getting enough calories/carbs, and enough iron.

Hah! No, I'm going to try to slide through my midlife crisis with a bit more style...

Do you actually burp? If so, it's just gas, and you're probably getting in a little air with your water. Try to sip slower and tinier sips (I know, it can be pretty ridiculous how tiny your portions get, but it gets better, I promise).

Lis, did you ever find out anything about the Carafate (sucralfate)?

I am not going into details. It's just that certain... male reproductive functions require a fair amount of Fluid to... conclude successfully. And I am not Sneaky McSneakerton -- is this the gals only forum, or just focused on gal things? :001_tongue: You ladies make appearances on the man forum (although we don't chat much over there, we just grunt and grill things), so all's fair in love and war and bulletin boards.

Your dating doesn't have to center around religion (or lack thereof). Go to poetry readings, book signings, and concerts. Go to wine tastings and museum openings. Go to the beach and play pick-up volleyball. There are so many things you can do where you'll meet other singles, that you don't ever have to focus on the religious aspect.

Just tell him that you had stomach surgery a while back, and you're under doctor's orders to eat very small portion sizes. That's the truth, and it should get him off your back. You can assure him that you're perfectly healthy on small portions, given that you're probably eating more frequently, and that you're being careful with your Vitamins and Water. And thank him for his concern :sad0:

You STILL may not be getting enough carbs. There's a lot of debate (apparently even among doctors) about carb restriction post-sleeve. I'll tell you what my nutritionist said, but of course you should always check with your own doctor. YOU NEED CARBS. If you look at your food, you may find that you're eating almost entirely Protein, or that your carbs are spread WAAAAAY out. Without carbs, you won't be able to maintain enough blood sugar to be healthy. Some symptoms of hypoglycemia can include: Nausea -- doesn't this suck? You're not eating enough, so your body makes you... feel like not eating anything at all! Mental confusion -- you read this same sentence how many times? Sluggishness -- it's literally hard to pick up your feet when walking Fatigue (sleepiness) at odd times/hours Irritability -- I WANT SOME BREAD, DAMMIT! Chills -- I don't get this, but I get... Flushes -- isn't it weird that the same cause (hypoglycemia) can cause you to feel both hot AND cold? Ick. Generally icky. My nutritionist gave me a few recommendations: Quit counting carbs. She said I'd still lose PLENTY of weight on 80-100 g of carbs/day, as long as the carbs are good carbs -- whole grains, fruits, vegetables, you know the drill. Try to incorporate some carbs with your protein. Apparently digesting carbs and protein together slows down the digestion of the carbs and prevents your blood sugar from spiking and then crashing. When in doubt, pure apple juice (for clear liquids) is a good "instant pick-me-up" (and, if you feel better 30 minutes after having some apple juice, you can be pretty sure it was low carbs!). On full liquids, apparently skim milk is God's Gift to Food, since it contains both protein AND carbs, and is good for both a quick burst of energy as well as a long-term source of fuel.

The endorphin high when you're really pushing yourself is just amazing... It's like drugs. Well, it IS drugs -- your body's natural drugs.

Here you go: http://www.tcanham.com/downloads/sleevetimer.zip Download, open it, and run setup.exe. Oh, I should mention: this is Windows only. The installer may require you to download and install the .Net Framework 3.5 from Microsoft, but this is fairly painless and you really should have it anyway If you like it and feel generous, you can drop a buck or two via PayPal at prothe113@yahoo.com (I only use that email for spam and PayPal, so don't bother emailing me there :sad0:)

This is a very good idea -- although we men are visual creatures, confidence matters too. Just like for women with men, with men there's nothing more annoying than a woman who's always talking down on herself, always insecure, and clearly not comfortable in her skin. So even if you can't make your looks "perfect" (and let's face it, who can... besides, "perfect" is very subjective) if you're confident and happy and FEEL sexy, that will be a HUGE draw. I've been VERY attracted to larger women in the past (including my girlfriend) because they were confident, happy creatures. So it's not ALL visual.

Howdy, neighbor! Don't worry, they'll shave you at the OR. I woke up smooth as a baby's bottom...

It's true, gender makes a difference. Also every doctor/nut. seems to give different advice. I'm just glad that my nutritionist didn't care about carbs. One less thing to monitor, for me at least!

We take the generic Omeprazole (Prilosec, IIRC) you can buy in bulk from costco, and it's ridiculously cheap. I recommend it