gmanbat

"Perhaps you and Larry will join us for the consumption of mass quantities this weekend... will we ignite our new flame pit and char some mammal flesh for you..". Beldar Conehead It's nearly 7 months now since sleeving. I've lost over 100 pounds since embarking on this war on superfluous body composition. At first I mourned the loss of hours of mindless consumption. Nothing to do while watching TV but watch TV. No building the egos of the cooks in the family by gorging on mounds of their culinary belly-whompers. No more hazy stupor of gluttony's aftermath. But then the fruit of restraint began to manifest. Clothing became flattering. Energy arrived with a vengeance. Health developed rosy cheeks. My body seemed to be thanking my brain for stopping the tailspin that it was in. I began to look around, in restaurants and at home. My 10 bites were long over before the others were just getting started leaving me with nothing to do but watch. Knowing what I have demonstrated to myself, that a body just doesn't need that much food, I started to be revolted at the sight of mass consumption. And now, far from envying the volume vaulters, I struggle to not be disgusted. Some of these people are my loved ones who are having weight battles of their own. Perhaps I will reach a place of peace about the matter. As for now, I will just look away and in my mind find a happy place of little plates and tiny portions.

True that. Bodybuilders can be at 9% and below body fat but over 300 pounds and obese by the charts. Concentrating on exercise and getting healthy is the ticket at this point for me, despite the last 9 pounds I have to lose before my "goal weight". Frankly, I don't care if I ever get there. Build the muscles, strengthen the cardio-vascular system, eat good food, be healthy, enjoy life. The scale and the charts are guildlines not dictators. Don't let them wreck your peace.

Welcome!!!

I am 63. I knew getting the puff out of my face would allow the lines to show up. I pictured my face looking like a Rolling Stone: thin and raisin-like in texture. As it turned out it is not that bad. It also helps that my new energy and sense of well being makes me not give a rat's posterior about it. I'd rather be an obnoxious old-looking guy that doesn't know how to "act his age" than a young looking old guy that acts decrepit and feeble.

I ministered in the Bronx long ago. A kid from the church offered to show me Manhattan. He was a bicycle messenger and had lived there his entire life. I was fascinated at how he moved us around on the subway system. I also realized that I would be quite lost without him. He represented wisdom. He knew the trains. Life is like the subway system. Lots of trains show up. Take the wrong one and you waste time and engender frustration. Take the wise one and you get where you want to go. Many folks have made it possible for us to get on the right train. They supply us the wisdom. We have to supply the self-control to follow their advice. Impulse must take a back-seat to overall welfare.

Your coaster has just reached the pinnacle of the first hill. Don't undo your restraints, listen to the NUT and Doc, ...down you go! You'll hit more hills and valleys but the new you is waiting at the turnstyle.

No, not me.... ...except after a heavy sigh, coulda lost a bit of Water vapor weight there.

I am with you there, Gustavo. No more envious looks from pre-teen girls when they stare at my chest.

This time last year I could not get into the rides. Now I slip right in and can actually breathe!. That was one of my main goals as well. I am 9 pounds to target weight. I went from a tight XXXLT shirt to a large. My new goal is to crank up the exercise and bring out those long buried muscles. I want to look good on a beach without a shirt. I am not worried about the scars. Only the most knowledgeable will recognize them as operation scars. The rest will think I'm a street fighter. :ph34r:

Make up a 60 gram batch and drink part of it 4 different times in the day. I've done it before.

I have to agree. I am having a losing battle with mirrors.

Buffets can be a real bargain for sleevers if they allow you to fill up a take-home box. Wife and I can eat Chinese food for days after one short visit to the China Buffet.

"Perhaps you and Larry will join us for the consumption of mass quantities this weekend... will we ignite our new flame pit and char some mammal flesh for you..". Beldar Conehead It's nearly 7 months now since sleeving. I've lost over 100 pounds since embarking on this war on superfluous body composition. At first I mourned the loss of hours of mindless consumption. Nothing to do while watching TV but watch TV. No building the egos of the cooks in the family by gorging on mounds of their culinary belly-whompers. No more hazy stupor of gluttony's aftermath. But then the fruit of restraint began to manifest. Clothing became flattering. Energy arrived with a vengeance. Health developed rosy cheeks. My body seemed to be thanking my brain for stopping the tailspin that it was in. I began to look around, in restaurants and at home. My 10 bites were long over before the others were just getting started leaving me with nothing to do but watch. Knowing what I have demonstrated to myself, that a body just doesn't need that much food, I started to be revolted at the sight of mass consumption. And now, far from envying the volume vaulters, I struggle to not be disgusted. Some of these people are my loved ones who are having weight battles of their own. Perhaps I will reach a place of peace about the matter. As for now, I will just look away and in my mind find a happy place of little plates and tiny portions.

Anyone ever done the,"get on lightly" maneuver? My theory is that if you step on heavily, the scale will record a higher weight. So I get on like "grasshopper" walking on rice paper. Is it a definition of insanity to know you are deluding yourself but you do it anyway?

My weight is like a ball bouncing down a stairway: it hits a step and goes up but eventually goes down, gravity and momentum see to that. I am eating the volume and quality of food for a guy at my goal weight or below. I am exercising and drinking Water. Slimmed-down deliciosity is my inescapable destiny. The scale can't stop me.

Check these out, gals. http://www.skinnysongs.com/lyrics.html

63 here and kicking up my heels! I sleeved on Jan.14, lost 71 pounds since then, 101 pounds altogether. 63 is the new 40 but I haven't been this svelt since I was in my 20's. Better start planning what to do with all the new energy! I moved to Florida and got a platinum pass for me, wife, daughter, and granddaughters for the theme and Water parks . Yeehaw!

http://easyhealthoptions.com/alternative-medicine/caffeines-bodily-influence/ Interesting article on the positive effects of caffeine, coffee and tea.

You could have gone for extreme liposuction. They go in and remover every bit of fat from your body. Of course, the shock kills you but you do lose the weight and look better except for the skin. Seriously, it won't happen in the now, you know that. You need to gain as well as lose. You lose weight but have to gain wisdom. Wisdom about how to treat yourself. You need to endow yourself with a great big chunk of patience. When you look in the mirror, see someone you love and are rooting for. Be your own cheerleader, be squarely on your own side. What other people think and say only affects you if you let it. What you think and say about you is what matters. Being thin will not make you happy. I know lots of skinny sad sacks. Happiness comes from within, being at peace with yourself, and from the heart of God.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19774754 CONCLUSION: The most ecologically valid of the published studies offers no support for the suggestion that consumption of caffeine-containing beverages as part of a normal lifestyle leads to Fluid loss in excess of the volume ingested or is associated with poor hydration status. Therefore, there would appear to be no clear basis for refraining from caffeine containing drinks in situations where fluid balance might be compromised. My conclusion: coffee doesn't add any Water but doesn't dehydrate either. Don't depend on caffeine drinks for your fluid supply, drink water and other de-cafs.

http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/15451-ghrelin-and-memory-learning/

Body weight loss is a mysterious thing. The tape measure is a more reliable gauge. It seems like scale is the last thing to get the picture. One thing is certain. If you drink and eat right and get exercise when you can, the fat will come off. I have been at many plateaus since Jan.16,2012. I now have only 9 pounds to goal weight, just broke into single digits this morning. 101 pounds lost altogether. The body takes it's time adjusting, you have to have patience with it. There were a number of times that I was getting smaller but the scale didn't go down. You just laid a bundle of change on your body. It will need some time to assimilate everything. The body is a very complex mechanism. Sometimes it seems maddening and illogical but even so, I couldn't live without mine.

All is not lost. I would give the surgeon a call and see what exactly you are supposed to be doing and don't let them hang up until you've written it all down and it is clear to you. You deserve to be certain. I am surprised you don't have that information clearly spelled out to you in instruction sheets already. This is not really hard due to the very few things you are allowed to eat at this point. The supplementation is important. I doubt that you have done any damage to yourself. Take heart!

My brother-in-law takes every opportunity to tell folks my story when we are out together, especially in buffets where he is explaining to the food workers why a big guy like me takes such small portions. He starts with,"His stomach is the size of a small banana!" You would have to know my brother-in-law,... heart of gold. I think he is really proud of the courage I exhibited by going through with it.

When people give me a put-down wrapped in a compliment I give them one back: "Thank you for noticing! Yes, I have lost a lot of weight and during the process I have discovered a lot of new, emotionally mature and understanding friends".