joatsaint

LMAO... I really like the 2nd punch line, kinda gives the joke a M. Night Shyamalan twist. I'd totally give that trait away if I could. As for the cheese, I need it. Poop soup is my specialty. Here's one for you.... Did you hear about the constipated mathematician? . . . . . . . . . . . . He worked it out with a pencil. . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . A number 2 pencil. :D

I do quite a bit of Vlogging and tried my hand at blogging, here on Bariatricpal. The link to my blog is in my signature below as well as the link to my Vlog.

The gas pains eased up by the 5th or 6th day for me and were completely faded by day 9. I wasn't able to drink the liquid pain meds and did without.

You're problem reminds me of one Deputy Fife had. I don't know if you are a fan of the Andy Griffith Show, but on one episode, his deputy had to gain weigh to pass his physical. But despite his best efforts, he just couldn't the gain weight needed. But somehow, on the day of his physical, he managed to weigh just enough to pass. As he left the examination office, he opened his shirt and took off his neck chain that held his whistle. The chain was not your ordinary whistle chain, but a chain made of heavy links.

I was nervous/excited about the surgery and had my own freakout. Here's my story:

The one piece of advice I can give you is: You can tell people about your WLS surgery at any time, but you can never untell them. Take your time on deciding, there's no rush.

My hospital provided the abdominal support. I wore it 24/7 for the month post-op, I was kinda OCD about not disturbing my stitches. :-)

Usually, insurance companies require medical documentation of these problems persisting for at least six months. You need to check with your insurance company to find out the exact requirements. Once you have a list of their requirements, use them as a guideline to write your letter. If possible, rewrite each guideline, with an example of how you fit the requirement. If for example, one of the requirements is: Must have skin problems or rashes associated with excess skin. You could rewrite it as: For the past X months, I have to tuck the excess skin around my waist under my belt. This is resulting in pressure sores and itchy flaky skin on the underside of the skin fold.

Thanks for the reminder about Alex's books. I had intended to order them for a while, but kept forgetting. Just got the pdf version. Even though I'm 31 month's post op, I need to occasionally re-read and remind myself of the things I need to do to live the WLS lifestyle. :-)

You didn't say how close you are to your surgery date? But 2 things I would start doing right now, to make things easier. 1) Up your Protein to carbs ratio - shoot for 75% of your calories from lean protein sources - chicken, pork loin, turkey, 93% lean hamburger. And add more vegetables to your diet - broccoli, califlower, brussel sprouts.... you get the idea. :-) 2) Start a walking program. If you are like me, I had lots of pain in my feet and knees. I had to start gradually (as in, I started parking at the far end of the parking lot each time I went to the store or work) I started out walking 4 laps around the interior of my office each morning and worked my way up. Hope these tips help, Keep taking small important steps, they will all add up to bigger success. http://www.bariatricpal.com/blogs/entry/31216-nsv-2-you-best-step-off-b-hatch/

Top 10 NSV's (Non Surgical Victories) I had after Weight Loss Surgery 01) Being able to enjoy life without food being a major focus 02) Feeling good about myself 03) Becoming more active in the life 04) Being able to shop for clothes at ANY store 05) Crossing my legs 06) Walking down stairs and being able to see the steps in front me 07) Getting off medications 08) Fitting into an airplane seat, theater seat, or restaurant booth 09) Having more energy 10) Walking up stairs without being short of breath

Protein isolate is the preferred choice, it is more completely absorbed than protein concentrate. http://www.bariatricpal.com/blogs/entry/31531-whats-in-the-bowl-b-i-t-c-h-or-why-whey-protein-isolate/

I wouldn't eat sunflower seeds only because they are so small. It's very easy to swallow one whole. It might lodge in your staple line and cause irritation. I would suggest eating peanuts or pecans at this stage, since they require more chewing. Plus sunflower seeds are very high in calories. At 5 weeks, I was still on an 800 calorie diet. A small pack of sunflower seeds from a convenience store has about 280 calories - more than I was eating per meal.

I get sugar cravings on occasion, mainly after eating a high Protein, very low carb meal. I try to satisfy that craving by eating more protein, but it doesn't always work. If I have to have something sweet, I reach for something like a Quest bar or Oh Yeah Victroy bar. They both come in sweet flavors like: chocolate chip cookie dough, Cookies and cream, and a variety of fruit flavors. They are all high protein and "supposedly" low carb, the carbs mainly coming from a prebiotic Fiber that isn't supposed to be digestible. After eating dozens of both brands, I do know that: 1) Both brands satisfy my sweet tooth 2) Both brands do not cause my head hunger to flare up the way eating real sugar does. 3) Both brands do not seem to effect my ability to lose or maintain my weight. Hope this helps.

I was going to say that I don't have any foods that are "must haves". I really really don't ever want to get hooked on a food again. But then I realized there is one food in my life that I refuse to give up. My must have food is Crystal Light lemonade. I wipe out the shelf when I catch it on sale at my grocery store. It's the one thing I have not tired of in more than 15 years. So I know if I buy 32 bags (each makes 8 gallons), it will get used up eventually. :-)

Not everyone has the inclination or time to upload photos and videos. I, myself, enjoy inspiring others to go for their goals. But I haven't shared any progress pics since I reached my goal. There's no visible changes to see. I am happy to share the photos I do have. Starting weight 375lbs Goal weight of 203 lbs

I was trying a "bite" of everything after 4 weeks and released to eat full foods. Unfortunately, a "bite" was the limit. Frankensleeve hated everything and I was stuck with refried Beans and turkey hamburger for months. But I'd try a bite of different foods as the opportunity arose, including steak. Steak was one of the harder foods to retrain Frankensleeve to eat. But hold off on trying popcorn or anything the might have little slivers that could get stuck in your staple line and irritate your stomach. It wasn't till 6 months that I tried popcorn.

My best guess is that IF you are going to eat there, the avocado toast is one of their "healthy" options, compared to the rest of McD's food. The owners of the site create articles like this as "click bait" - headlines that you can't resist clicking. The website is designed to drive traffic to their paid magazine - Eat This Not That. If you want to see the "masters" of click bait headlines, go to Yahoo's home page and scroll down to the articles. To paraphrase an old Lay's commercial, "Betcha can't click just one!" :-P Overall, I like the site, it's intent is to offer healthier alternatives and advice on living healthier. I just ignore stuff like the McD's article, since I don't eat there and it's not part of my lifestyle. I read what I need and trash the rest. :-)

Thanks for liking my sleeve's name. I named him that because he was a monster in the beginning! :-) I have run across a few other names I liked: Sleevie Nicks and Sleeven Tyler.

I can still remember being scared/excited pre-surgery. And I'm 31 months post-op. It kinda stuck with me! :-P

At 5 weeks post-op, I was still having trouble eating anything resembling a "full" food. I was living off of Cream of Mushroom Soup most days. When I did transition to full foods, I found Beans and finely ground turkey hamburger the most tolerable. I tried to make sure that I was following my doc's recommendation of 75% Protein to 25% carbs per meal. 80 grams of carbs/day is 240 calories. If you are following an 800 cal/day diet like I had, that leaves you 560 calories for protein and fat. That falls within my doctors guidelines of 75% protein/25% carbs. As long as your grains are "whole" grains, you shouldn't have any issues with carbs. When I think of bad carbs, I am referring to high glycemic carbs - foods that are easily converted to sugar by the body - Pasta, rice, processed foods and starches. Curious about Weight Loss Surgery? Wondering how to wade through all the WLS info out there? Nervous about the whole WLS experience? So was I, and having "been there done that!" We're here to help you succeed in your Weight Loss Surgery Adventure and answer many of the Most Frequently Asked Question from Pre-Op and Post-Op Weight Loss Surgery patients.

"You must be one year out to post or create topics here." Since your surgery date is listed as Nov 1999, and your join date is Nov 2012, it might be confusing the system. Try going into your profile and correcting the surgery date.

Don't feel guilty, unless you consistently fall off the plan. Then use that guilt to get back on track. A setback is just that, a setback, unless you let it become permanent. Don't ever beat yourself up, just learn from your experience and put that knowledge into action! :-) Curious about Weight Loss Surgery? Wondering how to wade through all the WLS info out there? Nervous about the whole WLS experience? So was I, and having "been there done that!" We're here to help you succeed in your Weight Loss Surgery Adventure and answer many of the Most Frequently Asked Question from Pre-Op and Post-Op Weight Loss Surgery patients.

I don't think it's ever too soon to plan against future weight gain. My eyes are still bigger than my stomach and it's an ingrained habit to monitor my intake. It's doesn't have to be a chore or hassle, it's just part of my life. The benefits of keeping tabs on my calories far outweigh the effort it takes to monitor my eating habits. “Once you understand that habits can change, you have the freedom and the responsibility to remake them. Once you understand that habits can be rebuilt, the power of habit becomes easier to grasp and the only option left is to get to work.” – Charles Duhigg