esheldon76

Nope, but its because I just haven't remembered. Ha! Now that I've been reminded I think I'll go find a cheap one at Academy and see how I feel.

I plan to get some before and afters as soon as I can find some good clothes to wear to rock what I "now" got. HA!

I don't "need" one, but would like to make things look a little better upstairs from time to time. Might have to go with a cheap one just to see how things "could" be.

I like to run again, now that this weight is working its way off me, so I do that every other day or so. I need to add more to my routine, for some upper body work though.

Congrats!!! I just did my first 5K two weeks ago as well...used the Couch to 5K program...and finished in 32:09! Keep it up! I'm gonna work on the Bridge to 10K program now! I want to eventually run a marathon!

Started at 333, and am down to 240!!! Don't remember the last time I was down this far!!! And if that's not good enough news...I'm "too skinny" to shop at the Big & Tall stores now! Gotta find me the SKINNY & Tall stores now!

Saw these when shopping today. Spanx tops for men. Looks like a typical Under Armor compression shirt, but then I thought of the brand (Spanx) and remember my wife using some of those undies to help with the muffin top thing and started thinking. I'm down 95lbs (started 333, now 340-ish), and have a little bit of the muffin top myself, but also the man boobage is there a little. Something I think a "spanx" would be aimed at helping. If that's the case, does anyone know if one of these things are the same as the Under Armor compression shirts, or if you're familiar with Academy and their BCG line of clothes which has the same thing I think. Wouldn't mind having a couple for undershirts for work/etc, but would rather pay the generic (aka BCG brand) prices, than the crackhead "Spanx" prices. If the Spanx brand is magical and does a much better job, then I guess that justifies the price, and maybe I'd go that route, but all this just kind of made me think about it being an option rather than a joke after I got home and started thinking more about it. Thanks in advance for all your input.

E

I'm looking at doing this also, the next time it comes to Houston. Can't wait to try it! Gotta get working on my upper body.

You have to realize that even though you can't eat the meal that your husband and family eat now, you will be able to later.

Tonight I had a pretty nice chunk of steak, a 1/4 of a baked potato, and about 1/4 C of broccoli. I don't cook every night, but I do make a nice meal for him about 4 days a week. I like sitting with him, and even if my portions are about 1/4 the size of his, we eat the same thing and enjoy our time together.

Well said. Marriage isn't taken seriously any more. It's very tough. That's why the vows say "for better, or worse". I'm glad things are going better for you Randi. It's a journey for sure. My wife got the lap band about five years ago and it was very stressful for me, because she'd lose the weight by doing nothing, while I worked my tail off to lose 60 lbs. I was very angry towards her, and I felt probably like your husband in some ways. My wife wasn't very supportive of me and my efforts of changing my life, and our eating habits went in two different ways because the band wouldn't allow her to eat like I was trying with the healthier foods. Since then, we both gained all our weight back and I was at rock bottom. We heard about the sleeve, and I finally was convinced to do it. I've lost about 80 lbs so far and the shoe was on the other foot. I was feeling great while she was mad at me. Our relationship was never in danger, but we didn't realize that we weren't working on making sure we were okay with each other through it all, so it was more rough than it should have been. My wife just had her band converted to a sleeve last Thursday because she's seen my success, and I've worked at trying to be there for her, and we have been talking tons, since now we're both in the same boat. I can see how divorce rates are higher when one partner gets sleeved. I just hope and pray more people realize what we have learned sooner than later.

I would recommend taking all the prescribed medications for as long as it says. For the ones that are as needed, there's no shame in taking them until you can deal with the pain off of them. If you don't need to be off of them for a job or for safety reasons, they're there to help you. That being said, just take it easy post-op....get friendly with your neighborhood Redbox, and enjoy some lazy time before you truly begin your new life with the sleeve.

Was sleeved April 14 of this year, and have been doing a pretty good job of cutting out everything I can, focusing on Proteins, etc, and even starting to finally work out for the past six weeks (Couch to 5k - running), and have gone from 333 lbs starting, to 254 lbs! I initially thought 240 was a good number to shoot for, and it seems to be one I'm happy with looking towards hitting if I can. This has been crazy fast...much faster than I thought it would have happened. I know most guys lose weight faster than women, but this is ridiculous! Just wanted to share some positivity with people that would understand. Keep working on getting healthier, everyone! You can do it!!!

NEVER GIVE UP!!!

Everyone's different, but I felt fine after two days. And the worst I ever felt was about at a 2 or 3 and I'm a pain wimp. It's honestly not horrible at all. My wife had the sleeve a few days ago, and she's having some pain, but she had a lap band to sleeve conversion, and so she's dealing with other things as well. I say honestly to not worry about it. The IV was more pain with that first stick.

It's been almost four months since my surgery, and the only thing I really "hate" about it all is the ability to "not" gulp Water after working out. I'm just now starting to add working out back into my life and you have to be careful. Gulping hurts, and gulping ice water hurts alot more. I think when I originally wrote this post, I was just going through some typical emotions that most people go through. I was beginning to grieve the loss of my relationship to food. Now that I can eat anything I want (mostly) again, it makes things much easier. I can enjoy food again, but I just can't get much in. I have to be much more selective, focusing on Proteins first, then maybe a bite or two of something else. Thanksgiving will be tough, because I LOVE to try all the different foods, and this is really making me not even look forward to meals as much and focus more on the time between meals. I love that I don't get hungry, and instead am only eating because "it's time to eat", which makes it much easier to not slam food down, but instead make smarter choices easier to make. It's a little frustrating still to go out to eat with others and not be able to enjoy alot of food choices, because I do a lot of social eating with friends, but as my wife keeps telling me "Thin feels better than fat tastes". Keep your head up everyone! It was tough at first, but I think you'll all get through it!

Thank you all for your kind words and thoughts. It's been interesting to hear them. I never felt like I really regretted having the surgery, but was (and still am) struggling with some things. It's getting better now that I'm able to eat any food. I'm now in the process of learning to eat better and focus on more Protein. The Protein Shakes are rough to get in every day, but I'm trying. How's everyone else doing?

Used to play WoW a ton, but finally stopped before Cataclysm. All of my kids are finally in sports and activities, so I don't have any time, but I'm DYING to play Diablo III.

I had one for the 1st model and hated it. Best keyboard, yes, but just made the iPad super heavy and bulky. I can type pretty well with the onscreen keyboard, and so I've just gone with a thin cover on the back and a smart cover on the front of my 3rd gen.

Hang in there "esheldon"..... you'll be glad you had this done at some point and the regret will be long gone. It does suck early on with the mushy and liquid only stage, no other way to put it. But it's temporary and shall pass. When those cravings hit me early on and I couldn't eat those types of foods, it helped me to distract myself some and go for a walk, play with my kids, do chores, etc. Basically whatever may be fun and/or can help distract you from that food. Pulling for ya man!

Thanks man. I've lost 40 lbs exactly, but have stalled for four days. I'm eating foods I can smash with a fork and some others that are harder, but haven't had any beef or harder stuff yet. I still haven't gotten over the fact that I can't eat a whole burger and stuff like that. It's definitely a weird thing. I don't regret it, but sometimes it feels like a good dream and other times like a bad one.

I wouldn't say that I actually felt "regret" but I did question things early on. I found myself mentally at the same place I would typically get when trying to diet on my own. You get tired of the new routine and you want to go back to the comfort of your old habits. Fortunately' date=' the sleeve and the fear of messing up after surgery give most of us the push we needed to get past that phase and stick with it. As your stomach heals you'll begin to introduce a greater variety of flavors and textures and as you see the weight falling off consistently then you know it was the right decision.

At least this was my experience and what I have heard from others who have been successfull. I'm down 127 lbs in just under 6 months and now regret is not even in my vocabulary. Good luck![/quote']

So happy for you!!! Loved your wording of feeling like you're tired of the diet and want to go to back to the old comfort. Maybe that's what it all is. Thank you so much for replying!

I spent my first 6-7 weeks feeling like I was on the cusp of death. I couldn't eat. I couldn't drink. I couldn't stay out of the hospital. I regretted it with my whole heart and soul. I cried. I was so mad at what I had done to myself.

Now' date=' I am 13 weeks out and I don't even feel like I ever had surgery! I eat less. That's it. I can take 3-4 big gulps of Fluid, wait about 20-30 seconds, and take 3-4 more big gulps... and that's how I drink now. I can drink icy cold Water with no sweetners or flavorings in it.... it's heavenly! I never thought I would be to this place but I'm SO HAPPY I got the surgery! I've only lost around 47lbs so far... but that's an average of 3.6lbs each week. I NEVER could have done that myself![/quote']

So happy for you, Bedhead! I totally understand your earlier stage. I havent had ANY issues really besides just leaning how to live now, but it's been surreal in feeling like nothing really changed because I was back up and going after two days and haven't had any issues, so it's been a feeling of "did I really do it myself? It feels like a bad dream".

I'm with Jimmy. Heartburn sucks. I've found it a bit of a difficult adjustment psychologically despite all the reading and research done prior. Little things like lying a certain way in bed exacerbates reflux....having to eat mushies for what seems like a millenium...getting dizzy....being hypervigilant about fluids....it all takes getting used to. So many people say they love their sleeve. I don't - yet. I'm looking forward to the day when I do. It's normal to be "over" mushies. I felt the same way. It doesn't last long - it's easy to say that in hindsight.

I like the losing weight and know I needed it, but yeah, as EVERYONE said, you can't prepare for the mental side of things and I'm really going through it right now. Glad I've got all of you to talk me down from the proverbial ledge!

Only thing I regret is the heartburn lol... That ish is no joke.' date=' especially when it wakes you up out your sleep on hell nah lol[/quote']

How long are you out now? Only heartburn I get is for a few mins when I eat my liquids too fast. Maybe you need to get on some stuff to tone it down?

I am one week out. I can tell you that I miss food. There is nothing more that I want then some hot french fries. But there is no way I regret my decison. I'm looking forward to do day that I can look in the mirror and feel good about myself' date=' or I can climb a couple flights of stairs with out feeling like I'm going to die.[/quote']

I hear you. I'm mostly happy with my decision, but being a guy, I sort of feel like a failure and my macho side comes out and says "you didn't need this surgery, you could have done it yourself". I know that's true but this surgery will make SURE I get healthier! Ha! I just am getting frustrated at certain things. Some will be overcome, like the ability to have meat again in a few weeks, but others are forever changes like drinking Water after working out. I used to chug Water and now I physically can't and feel like how can I get water back in my system fast enough when I'm thirsty like that. Just lots of things getting me frustrated.

Im only on the mushy stage so I miss fods with crunch and texture.

Ahhhh, makes more sense. I totally hear you. I'm dying for texture and not broth or other liquids.

Nope' date=' no regrets. I get frustrated sometimes about the small amounts I can eat, but glad my sleeve is stopping me.

I'll be 5 weeks out tomorrow and eat everything now with the exception of raw vegetables.[/quote']

So how long before you started eating meat?

esheldon' date=' you have done quite well if you are only just now getting frustrated! But, just a few more days and that fish will taste great.

I am 2 months out, I would consider myself a slow loser. I have had many moments of being angry that I can't eat certain things, and I have eaten some things that I shouldn't (Cheetos), but I don't regret the surgery whatsoever. I feel like I have lost 100 pounds; I am rarely hungry; and when I do eat something I shouldn't it isn't a full-fledged binge.

It is so worth it all![/quote']

I can't wait to eat fish and I hate fish. Thanks for the reply!