DougNichols

Don't get married to the scale. Weigh in occasionally, or it gets frustrating when you lose a pound, gain one, lose one, etc. You'll be great!

I abolished my top 5 fears by going out and burying myself in situations I was scared of. During this time, I joined another 6 weeks weight loss challenge, and have dropped 34+ lbs and 18 inches. I won the challenge for a third time. Now wearing a 38 jean (from 54). I was also introduced to a lovely lady during this process, and we started dating. We have everything in common like thoughts, beliefs, ideas about religion and other stuff. After the first date, it was intense enough that she dropped the other 4 guys she was dating, and wanted to be my girlfriend. It's been 2 weeks now, and we spend pretty much all our spare time together. I'm fairly convinced this is my soul mate. Life is good.

I grab my own ass and say, "You like that don't you?"

You look sexy and amazing. Your husband is an idiot for seeing anyone else.

I lost 39lbs in 6 weeks during my weight loss challenge. The second place only lost 7. When I asked if I won, Lynn started laughing since I successfully drove out several people from the challenge. I passed on the money, and did not show up to the 'awards' meeting since I already got what I wanted. Since then I signed up for their third one, and will annihilate all competition in November/December too. I'm currently making a list of my top 5 fears. Things that absolutely scare the hell out of me. And then going out into these situations in the worst possible way until every fear is abolished, and I'm in complete control over them. I will not live in fear, in failure, in the chaos that I see most others face. November is devoted to conquering what controls me. I do not fail, nor relegate my power to a simple emotion. Your thoughts create your beliefs, which in turn create your reality. Control your thoughts, or live in misery as you helplessly watch them control you. Women are comfortable around me now, and do things they didn't before. And either really like me (a few weird stories, I mean REALLY like me) or actively avoid me dependent upon my state and their own internal perceptions of reality. I have not pursued dating again seriously, seems I have some issues to work out. I'll get to those after I finish abolishing all my fears (project November).

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Go get it girl! Walk the path to owning your life.

One year through the trials of hell I started off at size 54 jeans and 6XL shirt. They were tight. I didn't wear them much because I mostly sat at the house, sans the occasional WalMart run to gather 10 2-liter Cokes for my many nights of playing World of Warcraft. Every Saturday night, I ordered an extra large Papa John's pizza with a large breadsticks and ate only that for all day Sunday watching football and playing video games. I had no girlfriend, no real friends, just the random online people I chatted with. And no computer vid cam because I never wanted anyone to see me. People on the internet are harsh, cruel and unyielding. My doctor had prescribed 3 blood pressure and 2 cholesterol medications. He told me basically that I was going to die if I kept my weight up. I was approaching 400lbs with no end in sight. Dieting had never worked for me, since I always gained the weight back. And bulletin boards were no help, since most of the people there gained it back too. I hadn't exercised in 4 years, what was I supposed to do? He recommended the sleeve, but it would take 6 months to get approved. I was too impatient for that, so I continued my binge. The solution it seemed was to get a girlfriend! I posted my profile online, hit up every girl on the sites and got several dates. Nobody wanted a second date however after they looked at my fatness, bad attitude and social irregularities. I became even more depressed, scored more terrible dates and spiraled into a cycle of self hatred. The movie "50 First Dates" is a comedy, however in real life it's not all that funny. I actually had one girl see me from a distance, get repulsed and leave on our first encounter. She was my 50th date, and had successfully crushed what little self esteem I had left. I went home and repeatedly hit myself in the head until I was almost unconscious. Here I am, a highly educated man abusing myself because of my miserable life. As I laid there hurting. I decided to change. I started the surgery approval process, and threw away every piece of fattening food in the house. The surgeon's office had these huge chairs geared for morbidly obese people like me. It was weird to know that many other people had been on this journey, but comforting at the same time. In only three months I'd be under his knife, so it was time to get busy. I joined a local gym who's owner was a pure b***h. She was mean to me, saying I was too fat for most of the machines. As I took my first step onto the elliptical, it started cracking. Maybe that wench was right, I WILL break her equipment! After ten minutes at level 1, I thought I would pass out. So I sat on the floor hyperventilating as she ran over and started yelling at me for being on the floor. I hated her. Fueled by hatred, frustration, with vivid memories of all the bad dates in my head and the gym owner's voice still ringing in my ear, I suffered through. The next day I did 10 minutes, then 20 and finally a full hour at level 1. I started on Atkins figuring I could lose a few pounds before surgery to get a healthy start. Then focusing my rage, I jacked the machine over the next few months to 3, 5, 7 and finally level 20 for a full hour. If you've never done level 20 on an elliptical, you can see your life flash before your eyes after a few minutes. Nobody else at the gym wanted any part of it as I poured sweat, breathed like a workhorse and suffered through. Not one person talked to me at the gym. Ever. Because if I wasn't near death when leaving, I didn't consider that a valid workout. Then came this happy HerbaLife guy named Lynn. He was very friendly, inviting me over to his weight loss challenge and encouraged me every few days. This was the first person in years that didn't look away, didn't ignore me and actually was fun to talk to. I dropped 13 lbs before this weight loss challenge began, and started my pre-op diet after few weeks in. And even had surgery on one of those Mondays so I missed that meeting. The VSG board said to walk after surgery so I did, even though it hurt like hell. I walked an hour the day of surgery, the day after and every day out of the hospital. My doctor said to not exercise for a month, but I didn't really care. I wanted the weight off. In my head, all I saw was that extra large pizza barely fitting into my refrigerator, the sickly smell of those breadsticks that weren't cooked properly half the time. So I married the treadmill and the elliptical in a ceremony of pain, sweat and anguish. I probably injured myself a couple of times during this process, but never reported it. I threw all my medications into the trash, drop kicking the empty bottles into the wall. And put my doctor's phone number on call blocking and didn't attend the follow-ups. It's me. And the gym. If we die together, so be it. After a couple months I had upped my exercise to 2 hours a day. When football was on, I'd watch a whole game from the treadmill for 3 hours. And then there was Lynn and his weight loss challenge. At the end of their 12 weeks, I had dropped 47 lbs + the 13 before for a grand total of 60lbs. I obliterated everyone. There was no second place. But in the process I had stumbled upon what fires me up - a challenge. Competing with other people, and being accountable made me lose faster, and keep it off. If you've ever attended one of these events, it's a huge Herbalife advertisement spam. But - the challenge aspect is what hooked me. I remember during this process the day that I stopped caring what people thought about me. It was a weird day, one where I decided to wear house shoes to workout. Working on my self-esteem, people skills and removing all the negativity from my life during this process freed me a lifelong burden. One where I constantly worried when someone didn't like me, or wouldn't make eye contact as I passed by. If you ever reach this point, your life will change dramatically. Society is filled with social pressure towards food. Every time I'm out with other people, we eat. But I drink an Atkins shake before I leave the house and normally don't eat anything. Other people try to shun you, ask why, etc. We had these little Herbalife pies in class the other day, and people were trying to guilt me into having a piece. Seriously? What a joke. I'm not hungry, and that little pie is a stumbling block towards my goal of LIVING MY LIFE THE WAY I WANT. As a populous, we've descended into food social pressure, so the other people can feel better about themselves by making you eat more. I signed up for another challenge, and am losing 7 lbs a week. I play Tetris on my phone during the videos, because I've seen them all before (sorry Lynn). At a social event last week, I had 3 women who were just fascinated by me and were all smiles and laughs. They actually liked me, which was strange from so many years ago. I've had several comment on my positive energy and great smile that I have all the time. NOT from losing weight alone, but working on fixing myself, my attitude, outlook on life, ridding myself of worry and fear. Sure the weight helps, but you can still be miserable while thin. The sleeve is not a panacea. I've gone from a 54 to 42 pants, soon to be at my goal weight. I'm off all medications. I shop at Old Navy instead of the fat store. I meditate an hour per day. I look in the mirror and see a sexy beast. Instead of the fat pig blood pressure velcro sleeve, I now can fit into the regular one. The doctor can find a vein in my arm now, instead of taking blood from my hand. And I'm under 300lbs for the first time since the 90's I feel fantastic all the time. Why? Because I'm living the life I want and deserve. Join me, find what FIRES YOU UP. Channel it into your diet and exercise, whatever it takes for you to reach your own personal goals and aspirations. Steve Jobs recently died at such a young age. Life is so short. If you get hit by a bus tomorrow, what will you see as your life passes before you? A miserable existence where other people AND FOOD control your happiness, or a life filled with self-love, joy and happiness? It's only food, guys. It was designed to keep you from being hungry for a few hours, not to reign control over your destiny. You are in control. Find your motivator. And live it. I saw a commercial for Papa John's pizza last weekend, and threw something at the tv. That vice is no longer a part of my journey.

Here you are, in great detail: http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/13287-step-by-step-guide-to-the-vsg-experience/

My EGD (stomach scan, where they put you under) was TWO THOUSAND DOLLARS. More than what I paid for surgery. I got like 7 different bills for that crap, a lab, the ana, the doctor, the hospital, the NURSE even billed me. Ridiculous.

The nurses seemed obsessed with determining how my "package" looked. So every time they'd reach for the drain, they'd try to take a peek under the blanket for no reason (even though it was sitting on top). My advice to him: Take some boxer underwear! More advice: Exercise aerobics like you're entering a triathlon! Nobody on the floor but me was walking, and I walked A LOT. My recovery time was exceptional, and I was working out within a week of leaving. Before going in (even the day before), exercise like 4x weekly, 1-2 hour HARD aerobics. It will greatly increase recovery time, and reduce pain afterwards. Just my experience.

I wear my fat clothes until I lose all my weight. Saves a ton of money, and it fits in with the "baggy style".

Mix it with the cottage cheese! (kidding)

Way too many carbs.

Couple cans of chili (50 cents each) Some tuna salad pre-made at grocery store Some cottage cheese Some Protein shakes (on sale at Amazon) I'm all set!

A little extra caution never hurts.

I'm never hungry. And the thought of eating food is gross, but I need food to support my workout habit.

WALK! You won't want to, cause it hurts. But WALK anyway. It will dramatically speed up your recovery time. WALK!

It hurts for a few minutes until they hook up the drugs. Then it hurts to roll over for a week. After 2 weeks I was back in the gym, doing elliptical machine on lvl 10 for an hour. Now after 4 weeks I'm doing lvl 18 for an hour (which is EXTREMELY difficult) with no ill effects. They said no weights yet, but I'll PROBABLY be doing my usual 900lb leg presses after 6-8 weeks.

Eating one scrambled egg after surgery fills you up for 5 hours ... Eating two, and you're in the bathroom throwing up from too much food.

I was the only person on my floor (of sleevers) that walked. It hurts. It's hard. Do it anyway. I did a total of like 70 laps during a 24-hour period, once you start doing it, this becomes MUCH easier the 2nd, then 3rd, then 4th time. Etc. My recovery time was VERY FAST - and I firmly believe it was the walking.

His guidelines say low fat soups and such. You'll receive a complete list of what you can eat in the white binder Anne gives you. I survived on the organic soups from the grocery store that come in a cardboard box, very yummy and filling. You can only eat about 1/2 cup before you're epic full, although I got to 3/4 cup before mushies started. The guidelines were: - low fat - can easily fit through a strainer You need to be careful about the number of carbs your soups have. Theoretically you could grab some high fat, high cal, high carb soups from Chili's, and never lose any weight. Click on my food link below to see exactly what I ate during the Soup stages. I lost 1lb a day, so I was moderately successful.

I pointed this out to her during my "class" where she showed us all the slides with the head nurse in the room. She was making updates to it then, so probably hasn't implemented the changes. Follow Dr. Nick's binder, and ignore the nutritionist instructions. He preaches 3 weeks liquid, 3 weeks mushies. And the document you receive from the nurse when leaving the hospital says clear liquids for 48 hours. I went to Baylor, 5th floor If you goto Baylor, there's a "family dining area" that contains a refrigerator and microwave. Great place to store your leftover broth from when the kitchen closes at 7pm for later that night. Also a good reason to WALK so you can have a couple sips at 11pm, etc.

Yep I had Dr. Nick - he rocks. Make sure you WALK as often as humanly possible in the hospital. I was the only person walking on the whole floor (which is dedicated to weight loss surgery people), and my recovery time was amazingly fast. You can read my whole story here: http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/13287-step-by-step-guide-to-the-vsg-experience/