aroundhky

That's probably asking a lot of yourself just a week out. I was walking about a mile to a mile and a half at a time a week out and I thought that was doing pretty well. I had a very easy recovery from surgery and that's probably the biggest factor whether you can do this along with if your body is used to walking for distances. If you try this, please go at a comfortable pace and have a contingency plan in place if you can't finish....such as a partner to be able to give you a ride.

1-I'm guessing if you are on this board, then you've already tried several times with little or no success, especially as far as keeping it off. So like most everyone on here, including myself, we've been there, tried that. 2-Depends on so many factors like insurance, geographic location, etc. Hopefully you'll find the right fit. 3-Im sure there is probably someone that regrets it, but I sure don't. I wish I had it done 10 years ago....but I guess it wasn't really an option then as it is a fairly new procedure. I haven't seen any stats in regards to people who regret this, but just taking a stab at it, I would say at least 90% are satisfied with the surgery.

Congrats!!!

Sounds like your surgery has already been a success and with 124 pounds lost, that's a whole small person (gymnast, jockey or similar build).....so it seems you're doing really well!

I don't have any real insight other than to say that my weight loss started slowing down around the 4-5 month mark as well. When I evaluated it a little more, I noticed that my portion sizes were a good bit larger than at the 2-3 month mark, so I was eating more and getting in more calories. My Dr told me that the sleeve learns to "accommodate more food", not stretch, and he thinks mine started doing it a little sooner than the average sleever. I also noticed a little that I was getting stronger in the gym and was putting on muscle. And since my belt size was actually still getting a little smaller, I figured I had put on some muscle and had also lost some fat, which doesn't allow the scale to move down as much, but it's still a good thing. I'm not sure if this is anything similar to your case, just thought I would share.

Thanks for your honesty PdxMan! It's not always easy to do.

I was just speaking for myself and for no one else since you asked for each person's individual story. But in my case, it IS true in regards to food being the main contributor to me being overweight. I could "out eat" almost everyone I met and I ate with abandon almost every day. That said, I have seen people with snail-like metabolisms that really didn't eat all that much but were overweight. But that's not me and I'm just being honest and not claiming a reason that I know deep in my heart not to be true. I KNOW that food (and the amount of food) was my major cause for being overweight. So I can't really blame genetics or a slow metabolism even though I would like to. But you asked an honest question, so I gave an honest answer. This is a really good topic and not one that has been touched on many times in this forum, so I appreciate you starting it and getting the ball rolling with your own story.

I'm not going to give "excuses" but am listing some "obstacles" that I was not able to overcome for the 15+ years that I was way overweight. Or maybe these are "reasons", just don't want to use the term "excuses", because I want to take full responsibility for my shortcomings before the sleeve. 1-In the past, after SOME weight loss, I eventually would give into the tremendous, ravenous cravings that my body wanted when it thought it was starving and I wasn't able to stay the course. 2-When I did eventually "fall of the wagon" with one bad meal or extra portions, I wasn't able to see it as only that, just one slip up, and thus followed it up with more and more slip ups until I regained the weight back. 3-I didn't plan my meals in advance, so when I got hungry, I just ate and ate, and usually on bad (high fats, high simple carb) foods. 4-Exercise wasn't much of a problem, but I failed at eating to support my exercise or to fuel my exercise. I looked at food as completely having nothing to do with my exercise and I ate food for the taste or satisfaction of eating or how it made me feel. Now, I am much better at eating to fuel my body and exercise rather than just eating because I like to. The sleeve truly is a "tool" for me and helps remind me of what food is supposed to be for me. I'm not saying I don't eat for pleasure on a rare occasion, but it's very rare that I eat something that's really bad for me. And when I do, I am able to get back on the wagon and not spiral back into continuous pleasure eating. The sleeve has helped enlighten me more about nutrition and I feel more educated on how to eat properly in addition to it helping me control my portions.

I started doing VERY light lifting at the gym around 4-5 weeks. I'm talking so I light I couldn't really even feel the weight, just to get some form and stretching back. I did this for about two weeks, then gradually added back a little weight each week or so. But I had a pretty easy recovery from the surgery, so I would definitely go with your Drs advice.

Everyone is different and I hope your surgery and recovery go well. Mine went really well and I have no complaints and only stayed one night in hospital. I had my surgery on a Thursday, so I missed Thur and Fri, relaxed all that weekend (except for walking some about every other hour), and I went back to work that next Monday and worked half a day. Then the next day I went and worked full days from that day forward. So I missed 2 1/2 days of work. I could have taken more days, but I just gauged how I felt and went on that. I have a desk job now, so that helped me miss very little time from work.

Great, thanks for the info Mark!

Mark.....since I try to limit my sugars some, I've heard there is a type of creatine that still absorbs well without needing as much sugar or simple carbs to go with it. Do you know of a creatine that I can take that will be effective without a lot of simple carbs?

Hope you break that stall soon!

I think that should be fine. But it is good to be cautious early on due to the fact that your stomach is still healing and it's hard, if not impossible, to get the full feeling that soon after surgery.

5 weeks?? Ouch!!

If you do plan on taking them, maybe check with your Dr to make sure there are no negative interactions with your sleeve. Better safe than sorry.

I haven't. I'm not sure "fat burners" really burn fat anyway, I'm guessing not or we wouldn't be on here. Why do you take them for your workout...for energy perhaps? The one or two times a month I just can't get going or feel like going to the gym, I will have a little caffeine to get my butt in gear, but that's really rare that it happens. That may be similar to you taking the fat burners, however, some coffee or other caffeine is a little cheaper.

No problem and wish you the best!

Hey thanks for the props "PdxMan"! "Matthew"....what you've heard about me is true....I do lift. Lifting has pretty much always been an addiction for me. But do I lift sensibly? Probably not. I have two huge scars on my arms (torn biceps) and some scars on my left shoulder (impingement/bone spurs) to prove my lack of sensibility. Since sleeve surgery however, I've been a LITTLE more wise about the lifting, especially in the few months immediately following my VSG. With all that's going on in your lower torso from your surgery, you really want to make sure to ease back into it and err on the side of caution. You'll want those abs to heal back and with almost all compound lifts, you'll use those abs, at least for support. As far as starting out, I went for the very low weight, low reps option the first two weeks back in the gym. Then I stuck with the low weight and increased my reps for another 2-3 weeks or so. At that point, I gradually increased the weight with low reps, then added in higher reps a few weeks later going to failure for the first time. I'll tell you that I was VERY weak and going to failure at that point was what I used to warm up with. It can be very humbling, but just progress slowly, be patient and make sure you get your technique/form back down. Like you'll hear on this board a lot in regards to weight loss...."It's not a sprint, it's a marathon"...or something to that affect. It's better to get to your former strength late, than not make it at all due to injury. I was deadlifting around 450 pounds about a month before my sleeve surgery. Around 5+ months after surgery, I was back to that same deadlift and have since then passed my old max. So it can be done, but with our limited calories, it takes some well-timed meals (complex carbs w/high protein), and being ever-mindful of our eating and training. I also do cardio 1-2 times a week. A lot of it depends on your lifting goals I guess, but I'll be glad to give you more details on my experience if you wish. I'd also like some feedback and tips as you progress through getting your strength back. I'd be interested in hearing what works for you or what doesn't. Take care and look forward to hearing back from you!

'Ivonne'... don't forget about some well-timed slow digesting carbs to go with your lean protein after your lifting sessions. My carbs of choice are broccoli, brown rice, sweet potatoes, oats and quinoa.

Well said "gmanbat"!!

I've just told a few of my friends, the closest ones and they were all good with it and happy for me, especially when I told them that it caused me to stop taking all of my medications. One guy even asked for a good bit of information on the surgery due to his mother's present interest in bariatric surgery. I gave him a lot of information and referred my Dr to her and last I heard, she was following through a little more seriously and starting the road to getting the sleeve herself. Nothing but positive reactions on my end. But maybe it's a little different with guys.......who knows.

Do we need to fill you in on what kind of activities lead to pregnancy or tell you what causes it so that you will know from this point forward? Hmmm....shotgun wedding in the near future? Seriously, congrats and you will love being a parent!!! Wishing you and your fiance the best and that your pregnancy goes well!!!

It sounds like all of your lifts took a hit strength-wise, which is natural. As you've continued lifting, the strength came back in other lifts, but not the bench? Any shoulder issues now that maybe you didn't have before? I'm clueless "tattoo". Maybe hang in there and keep doing them and perhaps it will just come back slower than the other lifts. I hardly bench press, and when I do, it's usually just with dumbbells and not the bar, so I'm at a loss as to why it's dropped off so much and stayed down. Hopefully it will bounce back....good luck!

Have you pretty much maintained your other lifts? If so, and it's just bench that's down, that's a little weird. How much weight have you lost so far?