male only It's done...although with last-minute changes

[OKCPirate 5,323]

@@PorkChopExpress - BTW, when I went to In-and-Out, you can get it as a lettus wrap (I only ate half and one of my daughter's fries). So it is possible, and it was a nice treat.

[defibvt 348]

I agree there is always healthier choices... We went to Braum's a while back, they were having their grill green chili chicken sandwich. I ordered it, without a bun (caused some confusion, but they got the point). Grilled chicken, a slice of cheese and topped with green chili, and I could only eat about 1/2 of it... It was a delicious meal, and I snuck an onion ring in as well.

[PorkChopExpress 820]

Thanksgiving was not bad, the food (what I could eat of it) was very good...my brother-in-law is handy with a smoker, and we had smoked turkey and pork loin. Had a little of each and it was excellent. A little bit of mashed potatoes, and I was done. I did feel good about it when everyone else was talking about being stuffed or having eaten too much, and I was feeling just fine...but at the same time, sitting in front of a giant spread did make me mentally wistful for the days where I could try some of everything. I had to be judicious this year and so I switched out the large plate for the "roll" plate, eyeballed my portion of meat and potato onto it, and that was that. A couple hours later, I had a tiny sliver of pumpkin pie, just because I like it so much and it's a Thanksgiving thing...but just enough to get three bites or so. Honestly, that was just fine...I got the taste and that was good enough.

Of course the subject of the surgery came up and how I'm able to eat like this now...I just joked that the surgery doesn't really allow you to do anything else! There's simply no room to overeat. But having lost about 73lbs now in the space of 2 1/2 months at last weigh-in yesterday...that's about all you need to say about the benefits of eating my little portion of food vs. gorging myself on everything at the Thanksgiving table.

Once again, it's a mental thing. Those old tendrils of my obese self and all his bad habits, sitting in front of that big Thanksgiving spread and saying, "I want to overeat, now." But I really didn't miss it. I might have had a little regret in not being able to try everything, but it was no big deal.

Hope everyone reading had a good Thanksgiving!

[PorkChopExpress 820]

The weight has been coming off, although I think I may be experiencing a little bit of a plateau right now, as I near the 300lb mark. I do think I'm probably retaining Water more than usual, because I'm not getting enough in every day. It's been hard to achieve. I've been driving deliveries for Amazon Flex, which is a little like the "on demand economy" jobs like Postmates and such. In Denver, they only have "dot com" orders, so I get a four hour block of time every day that they pay me a flat rate for, I go to the warehouse, load up my car and then head out to deliver packages. So I've been doing that while I look for work in my field (video editing). It's a bad time of the year to be looking for work though, so I'm glad I have this type of stuff I can do...and it's having the nice side effect of getting me a significant amount of exercise every day, which I need. But it does make things harder when it comes to getting my Water in, etc...

My stomach's capacity has been gradually increasing as time wears on. I'm up to around 2oz of meat or so per meal, as well as several Tbsp of carbs. I've been mixing the flavorless Protein with many things, to boost my Protein intake...and I enjoy beef Jerky on the road while I'm out driving. My protein has been pretty good, I think. The water's just the challenge...that, and making sure I get all of my Vitamins. Calcium has been the biggest challenge, since it has to be taken 3x a day.

Punching new holes in the belt is a good feeling...I'm a LONG way from where I started, on that thing. But I know that ultimately, I'm going to end up having to hike my pants up to my ACTUAL waist, which I've already done with my jeans. It feels really weird and a little uncomfortable...I've got no memory of ever having worn my pants that way. But the nice thing is that when I do that, and put on my belt, I'm on the same notch that I started on at 385...but around my belly button now, instead of down below my gut, with the back hanging down like I'm some kind of gangster rapper. That's a good feeling.

Life's thrown me a ton of curveballs over the past few years and it continues, but at least I feel good about how this process is going. It has had the interesting effect of causing me to be interested in pursuing activities that I'd have never considered before, because they weren't realistic...like snowboarding. I really want to learn how, next winter. The fact that my weight loss feels inevitable now has made that seem totally realistic, whereas before I'd have just had to say, "Maybe someday." There are actually a lot of things that my weight made impossible that I am looking forward to being able to do. Even just something as simple as driving Go-Karts. It doesn't feel like an "if" anymore, but a "when." That's a nice feeling.

[PorkChopExpress 820]

Had my first bout of dumping syndrome the other day...not something I want to repeat. I have been drinking the diet fresh-squeezed lemonade at Chik-Fil-A, which uses Splenda I believe. I took several drinks of one the other day and it didn't seem as tart as usual, so I started to suspect it wasn't diet, even though they pressed the diet tab on the lid. By the time I stopped, though, I'd apparently had too much sugar. A few hours later, I started feeling sluggish. Then my joints started to ache. Then my stomach started to hurt. Then I felt gassy. Then, before I knew it, I was rushing to the toilet to throw up. All in all the entire process lasted about six hours or so, and I wasn't back to normal until the following day. Just goes to show that you have to be REAL careful, when you order anything from a restaurant - don't let them give you regular!

The thing is, I'm GLAD it happens. Even though this one wasn't my fault, it definitely reinforces the rules. You slip up, and you're going to pay for it.

I'm getting real close to the halfway point on my weight loss goal now...the 100lb mark is so close I can almost taste it. Feels really good.

[Ignatius 110]

Sorry you had such a rough day from someone else's mistake, but congrats on narrowing in on the halfway mark.

Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

[PorkChopExpress 820]

Happy New Year! I was hoping to hit the century mark in weight loss by the time the 1st hit, and I very nearly did it. I weighed in this morning at 288.8. I just needed another week in 2016 and I'd have done it! Still, I've erased about twenty years of weight gain in four months' time, thanks to this surgery. I have just over 100lbs left to lose, but it feels darn good to know it's GOING to come off. I feel good and I'm tremendously glad I made the decision to do it.

I had my blood pressure checked and it's still elevated, even with the weight loss. It does run in the family, so it looks like I may just need to take medicine at this point...but we'll see, as I continue to lose weight and then start getting into shape. I'm hoping I can eventually ditch the CPAP machine AND the HBP medication. Can't put the cart before the horse, though.

[BigJohn58 135]

Well, the surgeon had to make the decision to switch me from Roux-en-y to vertical sleeve gastrectomy, but the surgery was done successfully yesterday and I'm at home recouperating now. Still trying to get rid of the last of the very uncomfortable gas, but I feel okay. Not very interested in putting anything in my stomach right now, but I'm trying to get fluids and Protein shakes down...it's just VERY slow going. I get at most maybe 2oz done per hour right now. As the gas pain and general discomfort subside, I'm sure it'll get easier. Unfortunately, apparently the mesh that a prior surgeon used to repair an umbilical hernia was the wrong type, and resulted in my intestines scarring into the mesh such that he couldn't do anything without risking damage to my intestine, so he made the judgment call. I'm glad for that, I don't want complications if I can help it. It's just a bummer because that's what I've been feeding my brain with for over a year and I haven't really read up on VSG, though I imagine it's going to be much the same, behavior-wise.

Anyway, I'm glad to have it behind me and now I just want to make a full recovery and get on with this business of losing weight and getting fit.

On a side note, my pre-surgery weight was 351.2 - I lost over 35 pounds leading up to surgery. Not bad!

Glad everything went well your going to do great. How was your pain level right after surgery? And how long is or was your hospital stay. Happy New Year I hope we all lose weight and get healthy.

Sent from my Bat Phone using the BariatricPal App

[Dap73 40]

Happy New Year! I was hoping to hit the century mark in weight loss by the time the 1st hit, and I very nearly did it. I weighed in this morning at 288.8. I just needed another week in 2016 and I'd have done it! Still, I've erased about twenty years of weight gain in four months' time, thanks to this surgery. I have just over 100lbs left to lose, but it feels darn good to know it's GOING to come off. I feel good and I'm tremendously glad I made the decision to do it.

I had my blood pressure checked and it's still elevated, even with the weight loss. It does run in the family, so it looks like I may just need to take medicine at this point...but we'll see, as I continue to lose weight and then start getting into shape. I'm hoping I can eventually ditch the CPAP machine AND the HBP medication. Can't put the cart before the horse, though.

Awesome job Porkchop. I love reading your updates.

[defibvt 348]

@@PorkChopExpress Even 2 years out, I am still on a BP medication, but a lower dose and a MUCh cheaper drug... Good luck on your journey and may 2017 be full of many successes!

[bengaldude 27]

Yup. Unfortunately I wasn't able to give up the CPAP, had to get it adjusted down though.

[PorkChopExpress 820]

I was only in the hospital for an overnight stay. I spent a week in a hotel recovering with my mom, who visited from out of state to help me (she was a career outpatient nurse). So that helped my recovery a lot.

Glad everything went well your going to do great. How was your pain level right after surgery? And how long is or was your hospital stay. Happy New Year I hope we all lose weight and get healthy.


Sent from my Bat Phone using the BariatricPal App

[PorkChopExpress 820]

Yeah, it's possible I'll be stuck with the CPAP and blood pressure medication, which is a real bummer...I was hoping that my weight loss would enable me to get a better deal on my life insurance premium, but if I continue needing those two things, it may not come down a huge amount. I guess only time will tell.

[PorkChopExpress 820]

I've been in the habit of weighing on the weekend (either Saturday or Sunday), but I've been so eager to see myself cross over the 100lbs lost mark that I've been doing it every couple of days for the last week. The weight seemed to be totally unwilling to change! I was stuck at the same weight for a week and it seemed that my body just didn't want to give me the satisfaction. Until this morning!

I'm officially past the 100lb mark, and halfway to my weight loss goal. I'm wearing clothes right now that I was wearing at my high weight of 385 and they look gigantic on me. Feels real good. Now, to get the NEXT 100lbs off!

[defibvt 348]

@@PorkChopExpress Weigh to GO!!!!