gmanbat

If you don't act like your frugal eating is a big thing they will lose interest. A person's worth is not measured by their ability to consume vast quantities, unless they are from Remulac.

I was suprised my first upchuck. Is that all there is? Nothing like my early wayward days of late night party aftermath, lingering long in violent upheavel at the porcelon throne.

That's a good point.

I tried to find backing for this on the internet because I would like to believe it but could not. Can you get your surgeon to site his sources without making him mad? Sometimes docs don't like to be questioned. I found this interesting post which tries to help guys who want their stomachs bigger, (competition eaters, etc.): There are a few methods to stretch your stomach and make your capacity larger (again, there is a point where you hit your genetic limit and I guess for most getting there isn't necessary) Water training, basically drink as much liquid as you possibly can as fast as you can till you are at the peak of vomiting or actual vomiting. I've done this on a number of occasions, it's painful and not fun at all, even if you’re a masochist like myself... The other way to stretch your stomach is to eat as much food as you can (if you wanna stay low calorie go with veggies, but eating tons of lettuce gets really boring and tires out your jaw) then top off with water. I've done this on a few occasions to, this is also very painful and not much fun. So to answer your question, yes, there are ways to stretch ones stomach, but like with body building we all have our genetic limits. I thought it was interesting in that we are told to hold off on the water 1/2 hour before and 1/2 hour after and take it in slowly. This guy is talking about cramming and topping off with water drunk fast to stretch it. I guess my NUT and doc had it right.

That is a good price for whey isolate unflavored. I paid $54. for NOW whey isolate, 5 pounds and thought that was a deal. $35. free shipping has it beat. Bookmarked that puppy! Thanks!

Like doggz109 I was talking to the anesthesiologist and he must have been bored with what I was saying because he put my lights out pretty quickly. It seemed I woke up immediately in the recovery room. I asked the nurse if it was a boy and a girl which I thought was funny but she obviously had heard that one a lot. She kept encouraging me to breathe more, they have you hooked up to some oxygen in the blood sensor. After a while they wheeled me up to my room where my wife was waiting and ready to baby me. The pain was not a factor, the drugs they have nowadays are far superior to what I experienced in my childhood operations. My recovery from apendicitus and tonsils in those days was much more distressing. They have a machine to measure your breathe strength that you are supposed to do regularly. It was a challenge to get the first few sips of Water down. I have quite overcome that at 2 months out. I have to consciously slow myself down now when I am thirsty. Taking the drainage tube out was weird but not painful. I hate catheters, I had one during cancer treatment. When it came out I must say it wasn't so bad. All in all, it was a piece of cake compared to what I've been through. When the surgeon came in I asked him if he found anything in the belly portion he dragged out of me, I'm missing some car keys. He said he had someone else do that, he didn't hear anything.

Ya, don't sweat the ovarian cancer, Vance. But seriously, one of the reasons I got the sleeve was to reduce the odds of a re-occurance of the prostate cancer that I have been treated for. I had heard that losing weight helps, this is the first time I saw it in writing.

....for every pound of fat lost, your body breaks down and reabsorbs 7 miles of vessels! Wow! That would explain my resting pulse going from 90 to 60 in 2 months!

I have been studying the relationship of testosterone levels with body fat percentage. I found this in a study: Previous studies have shown a well-established relationship between testosterone and body fat composition. For example, men with low testosterone levels are characterised by a high body fat percentage. However, despite this well documented link, the causal factors behind this relationship have remained unknown. In this study, the authors show the set of genes that control testosterone levels also control body fat, providing for the first time an underlying causal link to explain this relationship. I am pretty sure low testosterone contributes to higher levels of body fat but could the reverse be true? Could lowering our body fat percentages, like most of us are doing here, increase our testosterone levels? What caused me to start thinking about this is the embarrassing fact that my temper has been getting a bit surly lately. This is what happens to me when my test goes up, I remember from my bodybuilding days. I realize that there could be other reasons for my hot headedness. I have managed to keep it a secret from my family, I have confined my tantrums to the destruction of inanimate objects that don't cooperate while they are out of the house. Wow, that sounds insane! Aren't there any other guys out there that bust up annoying, non-functional stuff? :angry:

Pretty good writing for the morning after! Yes, that gas gets some folks. I understand that they balloon up your chest and belly area to give them room. Sometimes the gas goes to a shoulder for some reason. I never had a problem with it but a lot of folks do. I had 2 surgeries close together; my gall bladder insisted on coming out 2 weeks before my sleeve surgery. Isn't that time displacement weird? I go to sleep and wake up, no sense of time passing. I always have something funny ready to say to the recovery room nurse. This time it was, "Was it a boy or a girl?"

I see this as my Spring time. Time to take off the big heavy coat and have fun in the sun. The coat does not come off quickly but it must and it will. There's an energetic guy under there and he will be free. You will meet your goal, Favoredone. It is your destiny. What you see in your mind will show up in your body.

I have several things that subdue the gushing. One is that my roux n Y wife draws most of the attention, her loss is more dramatic than mine. Another thing is that people remember me before I blimped so they just think the old Gman is back. Some of them didn't think I was very fat anyway. My resting pulse drop of 30 beats per minute testifies otherwise.

Update: My little wife has a way with the phone. She can mask her anger much better than I can. She called the insurance company today and explained the situation to them. Today we got a reasonable person on the line, thank God. They checked to see if the operation was originally approved and, of course, it was. Then they said they would just mail them the check. No hassle about correct codes, etc. My wife called the code illiterate anesthesia people and told them they will get a check within 2 weeks. They were satisfied, my thumbs are safe.

Also, remember muscle weighs more than fat for it's size. I have noticed that intense exercise sessions are normally followed by a weight gain. That's where the tape measure trumps the scale. Muscle takes up less space than fat. You could very well be gaining weight and losing fat at the same time. Some pro bodybuilders are pushing 300 pounds with 10% or less body fat.

That fussy little dude that resides somewhere in your system who decides when to give up the fat doesn't like famines, it seems. He gets tighter than Joan River's face. I'm with Ajbailey72, more small meals keeps the little jerk happy. Also, you said you take 3 pills, 3 times a day. Chewables are much easier to take, regular pills can bring on the pain early on.

I got a letter from the hospital anesthesia people today trying to bill me for $1600. They said the insurance company refused to pay. Last week I got a letter from the insurance company saying they were sending a letter to the anesthesia people wanting more paperwork before they pay. I don't know if the insurance company turned it down a second time or the anesthesia people just have not sent in more paperwork yet to get it approved. I tried to call the anesthesia people, all automated, no people to talk to. I will call the insurance company tomorrow, maybe they know what is going on. Tomorrow I have a follow-up with my surgeon, I will let him know what a mess the anesthesia people are and the insurance company, too. Maybe he can kick some butt and get this resolved. This is getting old.

Ouroborous, Thanks, very interesting. So you are saying taking an exercise to failure is the ticket. An old Nautilus principle is "one set done right", one set for each exercise done to failure. Any further sets were a waste, like hammering a nail after it is already in. How do you feel about multiple sets? I am concerned with the overall time involved in my workout time. In my experience a long, drawn out workout depletes me too much. I even seem to lower my immune system and get sick which derails the whole thing. That is why the heavy weight/low reps tactic appealed to me, although at this point heavy weights are out of the question anyway. I have a simple exerciser called a Bodyblade http://www.bodyblade.com/bodyblade-home/ It is quick and takes muscles to falure very quickly. It is used a lot in therapy and warm ups but I think it is a great main workout item. I do the bodyblade, knee bends, push-ups, I swing a kettlebell around a bit, and do a small workout on a Bowflex type machine. That's about all I can do right now but it is plenty, I think.

I went through the same trepidations. The balance sheet of gains and losses tipped toward getting the operation. 2 months out I do not regret my decision. Those things that I thought I would be devastated without were not that important after all. The gains of losing, so well expressed by the previous posters, far compensated me for any deprivation. I can still enjoy eating, having a dinner with the wife, etc.. The difference is the volume, not the taste. Think about it, once the food has cleared your mouth it doesn't give you any more tasting pleasure it just makes your belly full. I get that now, just sooner. So I eat slow and savor the flavor.

I checked out Vitamix before I got the Ninja. Just couldn't justify the $449.. Paid $159. for the Ninja set. Vitamix is great, go for it if you have the money. I suggest you read reviews on both.

Absolutely! My roux n y wife got a strange indirect complement in church the other day. This lady which we have been sitting behind for years said hi to me then stared at Debbie for a long time. I had a feeling she was wondering why I came to church with a strange lady. To preempt any possible rumors we talked to her after church and verified that my woman was indeed my wife. :wub:

Good posts! I have had diverticulitus a number of times before the surgery so fiber has been on my mind. Benefiber Flax seeds Brocolli Beans Prunes all good. Here is something I swiped from a prune website but applies to any good fiber food: The insoluble fiber in prunes binds Water inside your intestines, creating larger, softer stools that move easily through your bowels. This effect can prevent and treat constipation, helping you avoid chronic disorders such as diverticulosis, diverticulitis and hemorrhoids. The soluble fiber from the fruit combines with bile acids in the intestines, forming a gel that's passed in your stools. Your liver pulls cholesterol from its stores to make more bile acids, and then absorbs excess cholesterol from your blood to rebuild its cholesterol stores. The net effect is a reduction in your blood cholesterol level that lowers your risk of developing coronary heart disease, stroke, heart attack or heart failure. Read more: http://www.livestron.../#ixzz1p8Hazz6k

One thing I have noticed here, probably because I haven't thoroughly looked around, is the lack of Fiber being mentioned as a possible stall un-stopper. Our Protein centered diets can easily be lacking in enough fiber to keep our eliminatory system from working properly. The longer it stays in there, the more calories absorbed. < (this is just a guess). Many talk of constipation which is common after an operation. But after a month or two out don't we need to consider our fiber intake? I got a box of prunes and a box of Fiber One. I try to eat 2 prunes a day. I sometimes eat a small bowl of Fiber One and drink Water at the same time. I know you are supposed to wait 1/2 hour after eating to drink but I make an exception for Fiber One, it needs the water to do it's job. Any pros and cons on what I said?

When I stall I tell myself I can't fail. Proper diet+exercise+water= fat loss. It is a scientific impossibility to fail! If I do those 3 things in proper proportions I WILL reach my goal!!!! Anyway, I sure hope so.

I gurgle after I drink Water. I just hit myself hard in the gut and say shut up. Kidding. Exercise after surgery is a tricky thing. You don't feel like doing it but if you don't do it you will feel less like doing it and get on a downward spiral of weakness and stalling. I guess you have to be a nasty drill sergeant and kick your own butt into activity.

2 months out and my roux n Y wife and I have been doing the Chinese lunch buffet take-out thing. For 6.50 we get a box and a Soup bowl with a cover and fill them up with the soup, veggies, and tasty chunky chicken stuff from the buffet. We can make a lot of meals out of one visit. When we get it home it is a challenge to just get the small amount we need out at a time. One time of bringing hot and sour soup back up pretty well cured me of over-eating. We get green Beans, broccoli, onions, peppers, mushrooms, carrots, etc. all tasty. I go easy on the fried rice even though it sits well in Da Bouncer, (my sleeve). The only worry we have about it is the sugar used in some of the meat concoctions like General Tso's. I think it is insignificant, wife thinks it isn't. What do you think? Any of you other sleevers do something similar?