Fiddleman

Thanks for the recommendation. My wife is adding to the queue now.

Danyelle, that is really inspirational. Thanks for sharing with us. You set a good example for all of us that are blossoming into new active lifestyles post op.

Lake Stevens, WA. This small town is about 5 minutes east of Everett and about 45 minutes north of Seattle by car.

I watched a dr. OZ recording yesterday where he explained that hypothyroid leads people to have a box shape body type as opposed to apple or pear body shape. He said the best way to combat hypothyroidism is to eat food with iodine and selenium such as sardines and seaweed. He also explained what apple and pear shape body types can eat to lose the stored fat around stomach and thighs, respectively. It was an interesting show. He did not, however, explain how one knows they have hypothyroidism other than having a box body shape. What are some other ways you can find out if you have thyroid issues?

Agree. I was just trying to stick my toe into the big pharms versus natural approach without stirring up too many emotions I know it is a hot topic. My only point is that good nutrition and exercise will take your health a long ways and if you need prescriptions, by all means, get them. I would not want someone to jeopardize their health by not getting the prescriptions they need (myself included).

Here I am sitting in my snow recliner at my destination point for today looking out on Lake Wenatchee. I came from around the state park down at the end of the lake and am up on Pole Ridge. Nason Ridge is straight across, about a 20 mile hike from one end to the other ( all day). I did the beginning 3 miles of that 2 days ago (see post above). I am not sure if the picture attached as the app said it crashed each time trying to attach it to this post from camera. About 6 miles from state park to Pole Ridge here I am at. Partly sunny today with 7 feet snow on ground and a couple feet in the trees.

You will also find after sleeve you do not need bp medicine any longer. Some of it is genetics, some of it is hypertension from stress, some of it is the extra weight on your heart function and some of it is just food. My blood pressure was like 154 over 95 when I started bp medicine. Once my nutrition changed and my weight started dropping I was off bp meds by 3 rd week and down to 118 / 78 by 2 months. Good nutrition as in low sugar and low fat goes a long ways to eliminating health issues that prescription meds only treat (not cure). This includes many mental behaviors as well that are treated with SSRIs. Don't jump on me as this is only my opinion and I have also read it a few places from natural approaches to good health. I encourage everyone to aim for good health and well being before asking for prescriptions because the side effects from a lot of prescriptions are worse then the symptoms being treated. Prescriptions are also a multi multi multi billion dollar industry. Follow the money and you will find the truth behind many things... Now if you have a really severe illness (cancer, ms, etc) or pain (the sleeve surgery!!), by all means, treat it with prescriptions. What do others think?

So close! You can touch it.

Personally I think that is a little bedtime story they like to tell patients to make sure they follow pre sleeve diet and it makes the surgery easier. I do not think they would look at your liver and go "yep, she/he ate a whopper with extra cheese. We better sew'em back up." That just seems implausible. My surgeon team said the same thing and, no, I did not cheat. Doctor said I had the best pre sleeve liver he has ever seen. Just saying....

Yes, you are stronger. You can do it!!

It was awesome. I especially enjoyed the serenity and peace found in the winter wonderland. The snow absorbed all sounds. I am going out again today for another snowshoe hike and am going to try and double the distance. Ski poles really help, especially when going down steep parts of the trail or navigating around and over fallen trees.

My NUT basically said to eat low carb ( like Atkins) for about 2 weeks and then all liquids the day before surgery. It was kind of nice to eat this way not only in preparation for the surgery ( shrink the liver), but also as a bridge to eating habits post op.

I am glad it works for you. Not so much for me and not sure why. Perhaps an expert can chime in.

You are welcome

Today I decided to try a 5 hour energy like product (tired). I used to have these energy shots pre-sleeve. Not a good idea. Soon after it went down I was getting stabbing pains in my left side ( where my stomach is?). This lasted for about 5 minutes. I also got a big niacin flush, more powerful then anything that happened pre-sleeve. I got pretty wired for several hours. There was not anything unusual about the energy shot, just the usual 16k % b12. Just letting others know it was not a good experience and I won't be doing that again...

Thank you!

Looking good at only 6 weeks!

We only got Protein and Water targets plus guidelines on food choices during the different post op phases. For me, I wish we were given more specifics. However, I made due and educated myself as time went on with help from family members and posts in this forum. My goal was simple: just find something that works for me, is not overly complicated and is something I can stick to until weight loss phase is done. After weight loss phase, I think I am going to eat a Mediterranean style diet. With that said, my calorie intake was 400-500 until about 6 weeks. Following 6 weeks to 5 months, my calories were between 600 and 800 calories. After 5 months, my calories have been between 700 and 1100. I eat every 3 hours and try to consume 3-5 ounces of protein, eating veggies where I can. I only track protein grams daily, but not obsessively. After several months you get a good intuition about grams and ounces when eating the same foods all the time. Otherwise, labels, measuring cups and food scale really helps to be accurate. Hope this helps.

Thank you. I am also inspired by so many others that post on this forum. We are all stronger and more successful by supporting each other.

Thanks for your perspective. It is very informational and meaningful. I think most folks are just trying to help others by telling anecdotes or experiences and not intentionally trying to mislead others with misinformation. Maybe every post should be precluded with a disclaimer as to raise the awareness that any information is given only for the purpose of being helpful and it is not to be interpreted as medical fact, etc. I think most folks are wise enough to know this without a disclaimer and that they are responsible for discernment of all information they are exposed to.