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Hello All, You may have heard that superpowers are all the rage these days. It seems you cannot turn a corner without running into someone bitten by a spider or someone who possesses tremendous strength when angry even if they turn green. But I have a superpower of my own. I can resist my archenemy. "Food." During my 54 years here on Earth, I have not won many battles against "Food." I know many people that can defeat the powers of "Food" easily. They can resist "Food's" charm. They can limit "Food's" evil ways. I have envied them. However, this year is different for me. I have spent the last seven days locked in a battle with my nemesis and I have emerged victorious. Ring the freaking victory bell! Perhaps many of you can relate, this battle hasn't been just any "run of the mill" battle. This was the ultimate showdown of good versus evil which occurred during Christmas Week. Many of you probably already know the methods of my foe. Perhaps "Food" is your nemesis too. Hence, you are familiar with the trouble maker and the reign of terror that "Food" can bring. "Food" launched a furious attack against me with: Cheese Dips Crackers Pretzels Gourmet sliced cheeses topped with pepperoni Cheesy pizza loaded with toppings Homemade Christmas cookies Chocolate Fudge - like all mothers make Crispy bacon Cinnamon French Toast Fresh, warm bread But I countered with my new superpower...my VSG. This power was given to me on 12/15/21, just before the epic showdown. I was able to duck, dodge and perry my foe's attacks with some carefully timed protein and plenty of fluids. I am not going to say it was easy, because part of me wanted to succumb to temptation. But I adapted and overcame the demon. In the end, I stood tall and victorious. I hope that you, the people who truly understand this daily struggle, are able to emerge victorious also. The feeling is almost indescribable. My most sincere wishes of success, health and happiness to you. The struggle is real.

I got my surgery date for the sleeve for December 22, 2021 in Sebastian, Florida. Let's get through the pre stuff together.

New to the forum, here is readers digest of my story. I am a 47 year old Caucasian male. I am on my third career. One kid to graduate HS this year, one to graduate in 2 years. Married 21 years. And I'm pretty good at lying to myself. I always told myself I was really good at dealing with stress. Never recognized I was a stress eater the entire time. I spent 15 years in EMS right out of college, 3 as an EMT, 12 as a Paramedic in a high performing urban 911 system. Then I went into the labor union world for another 10 years, negotiating contracts and working in workplace disputes. Now I work in Medical Insurance as a teacher/trainer/adult education specialist, teaching others how to handle appeals and complaints. I have some unique abilities that helped lead to me being 364 lbs (6 foot tall) in December 2020. I remain fluent in the 7-11 diet. I can look at a hot dog on the roller and tell roughly how long it has been on it. I consumed up to 2 liters of soda per day for many years. My partners all used to smoke, but I watched my grandfather die of COPD from smoking as a kid and have never touched a tobacco product. So in essence, I replaced cheap ass convenience store food and soda for smoking during my EMS career. My metabolism changed around age 30 and I just couldn't keep the pounds off anymore. And, this is important... I DIDN'T CARE. I was pretty burned out, crispy as a medic. I got a job offer to move into the labor union world, negotiating contracts and representing other EMTs and Paramedics around the country. I moved my family (wife and 2 young kids) to another state to work for a startup labor union. I took it. And I stopped exercising as I tried to conquer a new career field. What they don't tell you about labor work is that it is also high stress work. I cut soda out during those years but drank a lot of sweet tea and despite what my doctor, family, and friends would say.... I DIDN'T CARE about my size. The union I worked for went through an old fashioned union labor coup. My life was threatened and people intentionally harmed me personally and professionally. At the same time, my wife was diagnosed with breast cancer. The union I worked for was absorbed by a big national union player. I signed on with the big national player because I needed the insurance for my wife. We weren't in a good place, survival mode. I spent the next few years traveling for the new labor union, in order to have the insurance to pay for my wife's cancer treatments. When my wife was well enough (she still is chronically ill, years later) to travel, I moved our family back to our home state of Oregon. The labor union I worked for (who had approved my move) promptly laid me off. So back into survival mode, I became a statistic. Middle aged man, laid off, starting a 3rd career. I was hired by a Medical Insurance Company that paid very little, but jobs were scarce and it was what I had. I took a second job at a local grocery store and worked 60-70 hours per week for a few years. There's no such thing as dietary control when you are working that much and are that tired, and frankly....I DIDN'T CARE about my size. Over a few years, my financial situation has improved and while we are not well off, I no longer work 2 jobs. My PCP asked me 3 years in a row to look into bariatric surgery. I finally looked into it, and this is important... I CHOSE TO TAKE THIS PATH. The choice is important. The surgery is just a step to get there. It was time for me to grow up. I'm 47 years old, Life is damn hard and I need to start taking care of myself... I already have several other medical conditions associated with middle age. I frankly still don't care what I look like physically, but I can see the road ahead and don't want to go down that path (obesity gets worse, diabetes, HTN, Stroke, High Cholesterol, Heart Disease). I did this to myself by not being disciplined. So to make this lifestyle change, I need to be as disciplined as possible. I was ready. I CHOSE. IT IS TIME TO GROW UP. December 2020 - 6' tall - 364lbs RNY Surgery December 2021 - 316lbs I am 4 days post surgery writing this today. And I worked my ass off to change my relationship to food. That's my story... For what it is worth. I finally decided to grow up.

Sounds good! Keep it up!

we were advised to avoid things like pasta and rice early out. In addition to what the other posters said, they also don't have much nutritional value. Our stomachs can only hold a limited amount of food, so we're encouraged to eat things that are nutritionally dense. I eat noodles and rice at 6.5 years out, but not very often and never very much of them. Maybe a half cup or so.

I did my surgery 13/12/2021, It’s post op day 6 now. Every time, I try to sleep, I get hiccups, nausea and stomach growling over the night so I try to sleep in semi sitting positioning. is there any recommendations for other comfortable positioning to sleep?!

good luck with your surgery. I have my surgery tomorrow also. praying all goes well.

I am not sure if I replied to this or a different one- my surgery is scheduled for December 14th!

Add me. Ablatus (in Palm Springs) Check out my vlog playlist on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNUyvSuQuzZETcJLYdyPrhqvF5XvuJHHv DuodenalSwitchMan(vlog on YT)

After 9 hours they finally gave me something to stop me from throwing up and for the headache. They said it was a really bad migraine and my stomach looked ok on the CT scan. I’m home now and slowly drinking as much as I can to get hydrated. There were so many people there with COVID. The ambulances just kept coming in and filled up all the available beds. They ended up treating me in a supply closet.