JonathanS

I am in the same boat as you. I'm up 10 lbs from my lowest weight. I was just a few pounds away from goal and felt a bit defeated. My skin didn't snap back as well as I wanted. I looked in the mirror and still felt fat. I started falling back into old habits of emotional eating, carbs before Protein, not tracking, eating out far too much. I know how to get the weight off, I lost over 160 of those pounds so 10 should be a breeze ... right? Ha! I have started taking my lunch to work again, tracking my micros, eating protein first and increased the days I'm going to the gym. The hardest part for me has been the hunger. But the hunger isn't from my restriction decreasing, it is from the amount of carbs I was consuming. I have already noticed a large difference in the hunger from cleaning up my diet. I am down 4lbs and can feel the difference already. I'm debating on adjusting my goal weight even lower and going for plastics ... but I will cross that bridge when I get to it.

Exactly!

I was sleeved by Dr. Smith almost 2 years ago. Fantastic surgeon, staff, and facilities. He gave me the best foundation to succeed in changing my life. He was the only surgeon I had a consultation with. I knew right away he was the best choice for me. I think meeting them and their staff is the most important step. Good luck!

Spanx = life saver!

It is a group fitness class that my gym offers called Les Mills BodyPump. It is a low weight / high rep class. You are really able to tailor the class to your level of fitness based on the weight you use. There are a lot of gyms that offer it. It has really helped my thighs, arms, and chest. Now I am working towards more bulk so I have switched to a routine called 5x5. Pump really helped me build a good base for 5x5 as all of the routines in 5x5 are in pump.

How far along in the process are you? Each process can be very different but I had multiple appointments and classes with the surgeon and then had to meet clearances (pulmonary, cardiovascular, mental health). It took a few months to coordinate all the appointments. If you are self pay then I understand the process can be much faster.

@@Mrs.RRn, have you tried the BodyPump class? It is based more on low weight / high rep so if your looking for bulk then it may not be for you. I enjoyed the class just to gain muscle in the right areas for form so I didn't hurt myself starting off lifting.

Is it possible to change the number of posts that are displayed in a thread page? The new site loads a little slower for me and reading through a thread that has 20+ pages can take a bit of time. I couldn't find an option to change how many posts make up a page. Thanks!

Welcome to the community! These forums are a great source of knowledge and support for your upcoming journey. The search tool at the top right is very powerful! The next 6 months are going to fly by. I was actually thankful for that time as it allowed me to get all of my preop work done and learn as much as I could. Good luck!

Water retention is very normal post-op as they pump you full of IV liquids. Give it some time. Just keep telling yourself, "water & protein". The lbs will be flying off before you know it! Some say to stay off the scale but I can't give advice that I wouldn't follow.

Hope your surgery went well!

It depends on where I'm going but I tend to order mostly good proteins without any sides or drink. As long as you focus on a lean protein first and fill up on it you will be fine. Avoid all the container foods (wraps, bread, buns). Order a chicken salad and eat just the chicken with no dressing (or lite). Avoid fried go for grilled. I have found that I can get a high protein meal from almost anywhere as long as you look for it.

You are looking great man! I'm down from 368 to 217 @ 7 months but things seem to have slowed down a lot for me. I'm trying to mix things up at the gym but have been in a two week stall. I'm debating on a personal trainer to really mix things up. Would you mind sharing what your doing?

- maybe give it some time?

Congratulations! Keep up the great work!

Wow, beautiful! Such an awesome transformation!

Good to hear everything went well Chris. Each day will get better and better from here on out. Good luck!

Good luck today! Well wishes & a speedy recovery. Remember, don't be a hero - the pain pump is there for a reason!

10 mg of melatonin was and is my friend!

*sits down and once again is thankful he is a man* I hope things "even" out for you.

Here is what mine look like. I get to have my staples removed tomorrow, how freaking exciting! I also have one more on my left side that is the smallest of all of them. *Warning: This image may contain the naked stomach of a morbidly obese man. Viewer discretion is advised.*

I checked in a PATT and went up to the staging area very quickly. This was a small area that was walled on 3 sides with a pull back curtain. I then took off my clothing and put on the gown and got on the bed. I stayed there for about an hour watching TV, meeting with anesthesia, and seeing my surgeon. As soon as I talked to anesthesia a nurse came in and gave me some medicine that she said would help me relax. Needless to say she was right. I was loving life! I can't tell you how much time passed between then as I really didn't have a sense of it. A nurse came in and said it was time to go. I said my goodbyes and away we went. I was rolled into the OR and asked to hop on the table. I laid back and everyone was very calming. I got to meet my surgical assistant for the first time. They attached the arm rests to the table which made me feel better. They also laid these wonderfully warm blankets on top of me. I then remember him saying that it was time to go to sleep and placing the mask over my face. It was maybe a 3 second count before I was out. I then remember waking up and my stomach hurting. As soon as I started to wake up the nurse put the pain pump switch in my hand and told me to press it if I needed it. I was pressing the heck outta that thing. I remember the tones. 1 tone for meds, 2 if it wasn't time yet. I however had that nice reaction to the anesthesia and was severely nauseated. I constantly told my nurse that I was going to throw up. Of course this wasn't true as there was absolutely nothing in my stomach. They tried a few different medicines on me until we settled on phenergan. This really helped and just made me sleep. I was told that I was in post op for 3 hours before being sent to my room. I honestly didn't feel it was that length of time but I was very out of it. Be prepared that the first few hours after are nothing fun. However, I think if I wouldn't have had the reaction that I would have been able to walk and move around within 2 hours as everyone says. I was not hitting the pain pump after the first 12. My pain level always stayed under 5. Good luck and well wishes on a speedy recovery!

Good luck!

Gail, Here are my instructions from my center: 3/4 - 1 cup of food per meal. Meals should never be more than 1 cup. You will need to eat about 5 times a day or every 3 hours. 600 - 800 Calories The goal is at least 60 grams of Protein per day for females, under 5'6". 70 grams per day for females 5'6" - 5'9" & all males 5'6" & under. 80 grams/day for females 5'10" & above and males 5'7"-6'0". 90 grams per day for males 6'1" & above. Protein supplements should be high in protein, but low in calories. At least 12g of protein per 100 calories. Hope this helps!