Geeewhy

Pre-op, chicken wings were probably my favorite food. But for some reason I can't eat them now, or dark meat chicken of any sort. All I taste is the fat and grease and they're just not good to me.

Hello 9/20'ers! We just had our 4 month "surgiversary" and I was wondering how everyone is doing? My loss rate has dropped a little, but I'm still averaging 3-4 lbs per week, so I'm ecstatic about that. Been doing a good bit of walking, and with as soon as I hit 150 lbs down, I am starting the "couch to 5k" regimen. Pretty excited about the future!! How's everyone else?

Yeah, I think we both ended up being lucky. Funny thing is I went with Dr. Webb in Jax as much for the NOVUS support as the recommendation of Dr. Webb, then they folded shop 2 months after my surgery! I can let you know about the Jacksonville Running Company after today, I'm going at lunch to check it out.

So longer-life, have you had a chance to check out any of those places? I'm getting ready to buy some shoes and was wondering if you had any feedback?

Very impressive! You look like a new person... but more importantly you look like you FEEL like a new person, and that's awesome!

I'm down 140+ lbs... and I'll just say there is a very noticeable difference.

I think you live in the Jacksonville area, right? THere are a couple different locations I know of in Jacksonville that do foot pressure and gait analysis to try and find the correct shoe. The first is Jacksonville Running Company (http://www.jacksonvillerunningcompany.com/Fit_Process.html) and the other is 1st Place Sports (http://1stplacesports.com/). I've not used either yet, but I plan on going to the Jacksonville Running Club in the next week or two, as I'm planning on start a "Couch to 5k" training regimen.

My experience is the same as yours. I've not been hungry since the morning of my surgery, and I literally have to set alarms to remind myself to eat or I forget. I'm a week shy of 4 months out.

I'm self-pay. I paid about $3 grand more than that here in Jacksonville, but I believe it is worth every cent, and I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

That's why I drink whiskey. Nothing more manly than a good strong whiskey drink while cooking meat over an open flame.

I'm about 3 1/2 months out and have just recently begun mixing back in a little alcohol. Went to a football game last week and tailgated, probably had 4 drinks. Like Wishes said, there's definitely a different feeling, so be careful how much and how fast you drink.

My surgeon impressed that on me over everything else, "Make sure you drink all your liquids"... said he's never lost anyone from not getting in all their protein.

Just don't get discouraged if you don't, because stalls do happen. I haven't had a one yet (knock on wood!), but I have had a couple weeks where I only lost 3 lbs... but then the next week I'll lose 9. And the inches are obvious. I love losing it fast, but honestly, as long as the trend is downward, I'm happy.

No, not quite! The first 23 was lost from my initial consult (May) to the beginning of my pre-op diet. So I lost a total of 45 prior to surgery. Since starting the pre-op on Sept 7, I've lost right at 100 lbs. My secret is pretty simple... you have to be REALLY fat before you start, hahaha. My BMI was very high, so I had an unfair advantage in the early stages. Still, moving at a pretty good clip!

38 lbs post-surgery. But I lost 22 the 2 weeks prior to surgery, so I probably lost a little bit of that "launch" you get.

Also, most of the staff that used to work for Novus in Jacksonville now work for Memorial, and I wouldn't hate to recommend them as well.

I was sleeved by Dr. Webb at St. Lukes Hospital. I can highly recommend Dr. Webb. Nothing but glowing reviews for the work he did and the the experience has been nothing short of excellent.

Without hesitation, yes. I'm a week shy of 3 months, but I'm down over 120 lbs overall. My quality of life has already changed so much and it only promises to get better. Life is turning back into what life is supposed to be... a game not viewed from the sidelines.

Unfortunately, I'm no help on the exercise front! I've really been slacking... in fact I probably haven't exercised 5 times since surgery, other than walking my dog twice per day. It's showing too... starting to get flabby, going to have to starting hitting the gym and toning, toning, toning. Looks like you're doing great! Keep it going!

Dang... I need to find a woman fresh off a sleeve!

Down a total of 114 lbs. 23 prior to the pre-op, 22 on pre-op, 69 since i was sleeved, 9/20/2011.

As long as you're conscious of what you're doing and are logging all of your food, I think you're doing exactly what you should be. No one will be uber strict for their entire life, and I think it's better to learn to live and function with normalcy (ie chips when you crave them) than to expect to deny yourself of them forever. You just have to take them into account.

I would have had no issue with online classes even the day after surgery. Like everyone else says, depends on the individual. I would say take the classes, and if you feel like you can't do the work, withdraw and get a refund.

Yesterday I celebrated my 2 month "Surgiversary", and today I reached a major milestone... since I started my journey, I am now down a total of 100.2 lbs. Still have a long way to go, but man, I feel great. I can sit in chairs and restaurant booths, I can drive my truck without the steering wheel rubbing my belly for luck. I can cross my legs, I can walk more than 20 steps without breaking into a sweat and huffing and puffing. I've lost 5 sizes in the pants I wear and I've punched so many holes in my belts there is now more hole than belt. If the journey of 1,000 miles begins with but a single step, I'm awfully glad I finally took that first step

Thanks everybody! Just trying to keep on keeping on!