Paul11011

Presurgery I would use food as a stress reliever. Long day at work? Oh some ice cream will make that better. Now post Op I seem to be much more reactionary and little things really seem to get to me, especially when stressed. Anyone else notice this? Found any good quick stress relievers?

Way to go! I remember looking forward to being under 400 so I could use our eliptical. Now I'm zeroing in on my next goal of 350. Keep up the good work, I'll see you in the 200's soon.

1/2% milk for me. I really like GNC whey isolate 28. But no matter which Protein you choose one of these blender bottles is a must.My link

I am unable to add photos to my existing albums. I keep getting a pop up that says action failed. Any ideas?

Admittedly I'm not the 5 o'clock shadow kind of guy. Normal facial hair shaving for me has always been every third day typically. I have noticed since about 6 weeks post op, I've needed to shave every other day and really could go daily now. Anyone else seeing anything like this?

This process is definitely a mental battle. The sleeve or any WLS for that matter is only a tool to cause a physical limitation while we learn how to provide our bodies with the energy source it needs. Too many of us used food to fill other voids and to deal with emotional ups and downs. Without the food there it is a reality that we will feel those emotions more than we're previously used to. Instead of eating a piece of cake to help us get past the wife's most recent aggravating action, we're going to have to learn how to deal with these situations in other ways. We can do it though, we are MEN after all.

I'm 33, class of '96 and can't wait to be able to go into Learner and buy some of these fabulous 80's clothes. Yes, I'm an 80's girl at heart.

If you buy the clothes, you must have the big hair and tight rolled jeans....and post pictures to prove it.

32 for me.

Very cool! Congratulations.

After losing 60-70 lbs I noticed that I was waking up with an unbelievably dry mouth. I went into my sleep Dr and told him what was going on. He adjusted the pressure on the machine down. He explained that with the weight loss I no longer needed that higher pressure to get down my throat so I was instinctively opening my mouth, the air would rush out and dry out my mouth. I'm now at 109 lbs off and am starting to have the same dry mouth thing, might be time to get the pressure reduced some more.

Wow what a long story to summarize a point. Keep your Dr aware of the changes you're seeing. They may not require a complete sleep study and will likely have some ways to help you with the trouble you're experiencing. I would not recommend going off the CPAP without first consulting with the Dr to see if you can find a solution. I know I can not wait until I get to ditch that damn awful thing, but it needs to happen in a way that does not sacrifice health. Oh another thought, if you're not getting restful sleep, it could negatively affect your weight loss. Good luck.

Another vote for a GNC product, whey Isolate 28....strawberry. Blends well, tastes great.

http://www.gnc.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3235539

http://gnc.imageg.net/graphics/product_images/pGNC1-5123376_gnclabel_pdf.pdf

I was counting from initial consultation but i would be happy to Celebrate again in another 21 pounds!

Sounds reasonable to me. Looks like I get to announce membership too. Since initial consult on Nov. 23. 2010 as of March 21, 2011....108lbs gone. Congradulations by the way, sorry I did not say so earlier.

I lost 36 lbs on my pre-op diet.

Ok, fill me in on the century club. Are we going post op 100 or do we count from initial consultation?

My highest weight ever was 565 lbs. I was 530 when I started my pre-op diet for the surgery and 499 when I checked out of the hospital a day after my surgery.

I'm currently 432 lbs. That's AMAZING to me. Even still, the idea of that I still need to lose AT least 233 to get to my goal (at or just under 200lbs, or "onederland") can get pretty overwhelming sometimes.

I know how you feel. I'm down 108 since my initial consultation with the surgeon and 72 since surgery, but have another 150-160 before I get to where I think I want to be and that will still be considered obese (BMI of 33). At times it does seem daunting. I'm approaching it using mini-goals, for instance. When I lose another 25 it will be the smallest I've been in 4 years, another 40 after that will be be the smallest I've been as an adult. It's not about where we've been it's about where we're going. Best of luck to you.

You can have too few calories. If you do not have enough calories your body will go into conservation mode because it thinks it's starving and you will not lose weight. That is one of the primary reasons people go into stalls. I know it seems counterintuitive, but you must have calories in order to lose weight. I do think that your machines are off on the amount of calories you're burning.

"The most effective way to lose weight is to consume fewer calories than you expend, creating a calorie deficit. But if your calorie intake dips too low, says Lummus, your body could go into starvation mode. "Your body will start to store fat because it thinks it is not going to get anything," says Lummus. "You will be at a point where your body is kind of at a standstill." Lummus says that when your body goes into starvation mode, your metabolism slows to a crawl, burning calories as slowly as possible to conserve its energy stores. This is why people who cut their calories too much may reach a plateau and stop losing weight. "

http://www.everydayhealth.com/weight/fewer-calories-stalls-metabolism.aspx

How did I miss this? I am here, living in Grandville and also sleeved by GHP!

Well Howdy neighbor (Jenison here). Have you been to the Monday night surgical peer support group at GHP? IF not, why not? Monday 5-6pm, great group!

Calorieking.com is a great resource.

http://www.calorieking.com/foods/calories-in-beverages-smoothies-strawberry-banana_f-ZmlkPTE3ODQ0NQ.html

(?) Nutrition Facts Calories 330(1379 kJ)% Daily Value 1 Total Fat1g 2% Sat. Fat0.5g 3% Trans Fat0g Cholesterol5mg 2% Sodium55mg 2% Total Carbs.77g 26% Dietary Fiber4g 16% Sugars70g Protein3g

What! 2 weeks? We were doing it on the gurney in the recovery room....LOL. Official paperwork I received at discharge and they were not gender specific, said 2-3 weeks as comfort allowed.

Is it safe to assume you are a male..lol

EWWWW! Let's hope. LOL

Yep, they will take care of shaving in pre-op.

I was a former college football player, and I got sleeved after a player I know had bypass two years ago. He's in the best physical shape of his life, and hits the gym all the time. We were the same weight at surgery time so I'm hoping for the same results. I'm still two weeks out from being able to hit a weight room again.

We could both dunk at 300 lbs (at 18 and 20 years old), and now he's 30 and 195 and not only can he dunk again, he can show up 18-19 year olds with his ability to jump.

In short..., you can have the muscle mass you want to have, and be as athletic as you want to be.

Thanks for sharing that. I've been back on the weights for about 3 weeks now and am seeing improvements. I was initially discouraged because my weights were down so far from where I used to be lifting. I then realized it had been a good 4 years since I did any serious lifting and I'm no spring chicken any more, gonna be 40 in October. I look forward to seeing how you progress as you get back to the weights. Good luck!

Funny story, I actually live in FL, I am going to have it done here, Hopefully by summer I'll have approval and be set to go! Thanks so much!

Hopefully all goes well wednesday, that's when I'll find out if they approve it

Uhhhgg, first the jobs, then the people, now even our insurance is leaving this state.

Good luck.

I do not have BCBS but I know some of the others in my WLS peer support group do and they have been able to get the sleeve. I believe BCBS started covering the sleeve as a stand alone procedure in Nov 2010. Where are you going for surgery? Good luck.

Well, the biggest issue is that I receive lots of financial aid and we have a small group of very vocal and very rich students who are very anti-financial aid because they don't think anyone could ever possibly not have their parents pay for everything when they are 25. I mean, someone actually bragged at a birthday party that they don't own "a single item of clothing under $500." If one of them found out I went to Mexico and paid out of pocket (with credit, mind you), they'd never leave me alone.

What!? 25 year olds are not entitled to have everything paid for by Mommy and Daddy? LOL. Yes I see where that could be a difficult situation. It's too bad because I bet you would appreciate the opportunity to be honest with them and tell them how successful you've been.