gmanbat

I love it!! I used to buy shirts that fit me..until their first washing. My wife who is quick to lavish praise on me is also swift in pointing out my faults "for my own good." My shrunken shirts would invariably inch their way up my rotund belly exposing its grandeur. It was one of Deb's favorite points of criticism and one of my most dreaded. Now I buy shirts to fit me as before but count on their shrinkage to cover my own. I told Deb her complaint set list is getting shorter. Then, oddly, she complimented me. "You've always been a good provider."

Welcome!!!! So glad things are going better for you! :)

I like my 7+ scars. Street cred.

I dare not eat jerky any more. I was working over a particularly tough piece when it pulled out my front crown. I was at Cocoa Beach at the time and nearly lost it in the Atlantic Ocean. I brought it back and a dentist glued it back in. Sorry about the face, here, I'm always working for laughs out of my granddaughters.

My brother-in-law, who is a preacher, was on his way to a meeting. The rain was coming down in buckets. His car abruptly just quite running and it rolled to a stop in the middle of the road. It would not re-start and he was worried about getting rear-ended. After about 10 minutes it started again and he drove on. In a few minutes he was in the next town. It had just been leveled by a tornado.

Coffee is the most important substance in liquid form next to blood.

That thought crossed my mind then. 8 months later I am 3 pounds from goal. The biggest fear was that I would be fainting from starving. Didn't happen, I'm stronger than I have been in 35 years. Your fear has a formidable opponent named science. It is not absolutely impossible that you would not lose weight but it is more impossible than Nancy Pelosi changing to Republican.

Just tell them what you did and then say, " I REALLY wanted to win!" You'll be the Micheal Jordon of competitiveness.

High Intensity Interval Training http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/wotw40.htm Maximum effort follow by low effort, repeat, repeat, etc. It has benefits over endless slogging and jogging but needs a good warm up for sure.

Like COnative I believe in high intensity interval training. It worked for me in the past before the cancer and the weight gain. I look forward to bringing it back in some time in the future. I have found that working out too long takes too much out of me. I am trying to get it all done within 1 hour. HIIT works well with that goal. I used to do heavy duty bodybuilding. I am nearly 64 now and am not concerned with bulk which is impossible anyway at my age and testosterone level. My goal is optimal body fat level and health. I already have defeated high blood pressure, diabetes, and sleep apnea. Studies indicate that a fit, slim body can better ward off the return of prostate cancer. It is worth the effort.

This is not what you are looking for but I will share my exercise plan. I work out with a body blade at least once a week. 3 times a week I walk and jog for 1/2 hour with a kettle bell, I just moved up to 20 pounds. It is amazing how many variations you can do with it as you are walking or jogging along. the weight swinging around makes your body compensate to get balance which flexes additional muscles. After my 3 days a week with the kettle bell I do 2 sets of push-ups as many as I can and 2 sets of knee bends holding the 20 pound kettle bell, again, as many as I can. I also bicycle with my granddaughter when she calls on me. I follow up with a whey and glutamate shake with some real sugar in it within 1/2 hour after the workout to cause recovery in the muscles. On workout days I have a shake with whey and glutamate before bed, no sugar. This routine is really working for me. I always have my mind on changing it around, though, so I don't get too comfortable with it.

Prayers for you!

Way to go, LaceyB!!!

They are hard to count, they have faded quite a bit. I had 2 separate laproscopic operations close together. First one for gall bladder removal, second for sleeving. I think I have 7 small ones and one big horizontal one right above the naval. It kind of looks a Joan Crawford eyebrow.

Wow, I saw your topic and felt a flood of ironic feeling, I just reached 3 pounds away from goal this morning! For maintenance I would say just keep doing what you are doing. If you continue to lose and don't want to, just eat more meals, not bigger ones. Keep up the good nutrition, exercise and Water, though. By the way, you look fabulous!

Peoples is peoples. No is buildings. Is tomatoes, huh? Is peoples, is dancing, is music, is potatoes. So, peoples is peoples. Okay? Pete from Muppets Take Manhattan I think people like to keep track of changes and may be sharing your progress in a nice way, like checking their cell phone to find the score at an important football game . I am not put off when people ask that but I understand that not everyone is like me. Peoples is peoples.

Eggs are known to be oppositional/defiant. I eat them every day now but early on they came back like an unsigned check.

I copied and saved that list. Should be a sticky. I'll be re-posting it for future questioners.

Frozen chicken and turkey meatballs are a quick and nutritious way to get the protein in. Throw a few in a bowl, put a paper towel over it, a couple minutes in the microwave, there ya go.

Bubba: Anyway, like I was sayin', shrimp is the fruit of the sea. You can barbecue it, boil it, broil it, bake it, saute it. There's uh, shrimp-kabobs, shrimp creole, shrimp gumbo. Pan fried, deep fried, stir-fried. There's pineapple shrimp, lemon shrimp, coconut shrimp, pepper shrimp, shrimp soup, shrimp stew, shrimp salad, shrimp and potatoes, shrimp burger, shrimp sandwich, and bariatric shrimp. That- that's about it.

Some guys can actually change their thinking. It helps if he thinks it is his idea. If you can work around the ego it can happen. I was dead set against my wife's operation and had air-tight objections. Then I went to a support group to solidify my views by debunking all that was said. When I left I was planning my sleeving to the shock of my wife. A man changing his mind is a miracle but miracles do happen.

WOW! What a difference in 7 weeks!!! Good work!!!

I like what you said about a small bite taking care of a craving, Jeni. That's what I call paying attention to your body! When we crave, what do we really want? Is it a taste in our mouth or the feeling in our stomach? Our taste buds offer us a wide variety of perceptions. Our stomach feels just about the same no matter what we put into it; it's either full or not full or somewhere in between. It has little ability to distinguish. The taste is the craving and one taste slowly savored equals many tastes gobbled down to our detriment. It's not the volume of food we are after, it's the satisfaction of senses stimulated and entertained.

You are flameproof, Brian. We have a large fire brigade ready to put out any flames and prosecute the arsonists. I had the same thought before my sleeving. My surgeon also tried to talk me into the gastric bypass that my wife got. He felt I had more chance of success with it. I knew I had the moxie to see it through to my goal weight. I still have 7 pounds to go but I'm in the best shape that I have ever been since I was a bodybuilder. That small amount that I can eat has not been as bad as I had envisioned. The times you cited are ideal times to finish things and if you stuck by those rates of eating and drinking you would do well but I most assuredly do not eat and drink that slowly. I slow myself down by consious effort and it is better when I do but I don't go that slow. I have changed from a fast chugger and eater to one that tries to savor his intake. I like the previous posts. All experiences vary, you'll find the sweet spot. Your attitude toward food and it's relationship to your life is as big a tool as the sleeve.