johnlatte

Don't be a poo head. Get outside and put one foot in front of the other, rinse and repeat. Do I have to do everything around here?

It was funny. jeeze lighten up...some folks need to remove the stick from their hiney and eat a cookie every once in a while.....nobody's judging. There just seems to be the same flipping questions getting asked all the time. joatsaint, you left out the one about how soon after surgery can I start banging at the bar again.

YOLO brother, go get your drink on! For me, I've made the decision that if I can climb up on an operating table and let some Dr. cut my properly functioning stomach out, I could pass up the hooch for a while to make myself a healthier individual. I was a pretty big drinker which contributed to my almost 300 lbs. Just saying no, won't hurt me, but the alternative....who knows. Don't need it to have a good time, don't need the extra calories or the unpleasantries that come with it. Chances are it won't be a big deal, but then again, I'd rather just not. You see folks on the board knocking it back early so, like I said YOLO. Come back and tell us how you do!

pretty much everyone that has ever been sleeved.... The body is holding on to the fat really hard and it is adjusting to your decrease in calories. The sleeve won't be a magic path to weight loss in that respect. Simply reducing the amount of caloric consumption will actually cause the body to go into starvation mode and the scale won't move. This is pretty typical regardless of the method of weight loss (surgery, standard diet etc.). Stalls will happen, it is part of the process. To get things moving again, it sometimes actually takes an increase in caloric intake. Maybe 10-15%. Keep your Water and Protein intake high, and your carb intake low. Something like 2 to 1 if you need a reference. Keep the cardio going as well. The increase in calories, forces to body to burn the energy and not just hold on to it. Increasing the exercise causes the metabolism to increase and more energy gets burned. The key is not to get discouraged, but keep tinkering with the process until you find what works for you. Hang tough

I had to go to MG about 3 weeks after surgery for a meeting of my daughters XC team. I had the Grilled Shrimp ( I was supposed to be on purees). It was good and I chewed a long time. Ate about 4 of the 6 shrimps, it was good, and had no problems.

See it everyday I am there. Its amazing. I used to own a business that was across the parking lot from a gym and people would pull into the space at my front door to go to the gym. My customers were always complaining about having to walk across the parking lot just to get into my place.

Did it! Week 1 Day 1 repeat in the books. Wasn't bad at all, hardly hacked, but was ready to be done when I got off the treadmill. Just short of 2 miles. Even went and knocked out 25 more minutes on the elliptical trainer. Was just the boost I needed to get back at it hard. Scale has been flat for the last couple of weeks while taking Prednesone.

totally agree, I never had done bars or powders and try to limit my ready to drink protein drinks to about 3-4 a week. Everything else I get from real food.

Takes a little while, but between the head hunger and the residual grelin in your stomach, you will, at times feel a feeling of hunger. A ppi helps a lot (nexium, priolsec etc.) Make sure you clear it with your Dr. before you start taking anything though

Starting back tomorrow, tried a test run today and didn't hack too bad. I think I can do it.

my scale, my black and decker chopper and my crock pot are the things that get used now most in my kitchen.

Do the earbuds stay in when you are running? I have never found a pair that fit just right and will stay in once I get a good sweat going. I use a pair of phillips that have the over the ear clip. I like those, but would really rather go bluetooth if I could find some that would fit right.

I hit the gym (a lot), it helps me with my stress. I am a stress eater with a grazer overtone. I just find things to keep me moving and occupied. I try never to sit too long in one spot and I engage in a couple of other hobbies like coaching my kids sports, doing some volunteer work and fixing stuff around the house. I've also found that after the sleeve those gnawing cravings to eat, just don't materialize as much as before hand. One thing I do suggest, is get this out of your head as much as you can before hand. It can become that crutch that would significantly screw up your progress. You've made the first step by realizing that the issue is there, you just have to hang in there and avoid the situations the best you can that cause the triggers. Hang Tough!

Grace you do a great job on this board. There are just so many people here that just can't handle or accept what is the truth. Its hard to change ways that have become so ingrained that to them they see only see normal. Their view of "support" on this board and many others is some type of absolution. They want to be socially accepted for their failures without having to face the hard reality that they can't make the changes needed for success. From my time here, I've seen a lot of people that haven't reconciled their relationship with food and why they are the way they are. They come here and want easy-peasy, warm and fuzzy and if I screw up, well I'm still a great person. I think that you pulling back the covers and exposing this the way you do is what is needed on this board. This is serious stuff and you can't go through the process and not make significant lifestyle changes and expect to be successful. There seems to be a fair amount of mental preparation in this process that gets completely overlooked. I see that every day I visit here, with the questions about alcohol, eating a week after surgery and the general complaints about the pre-op diets ,people simply aren't ready or are unwilling to commit to the changes they need to be successful. Of course people will fail at this, mess up, eat what they shouldn't and so on, we all do, but coming here to gain absolution seems just asinine. Support comes in all sizes and forms. For those that get upset when they hear something that might be unpleasant, or isn't what they wanted to hear is equally foolish. I urge to you keep up the good work, you are doing a lot of good. I know that you might have to get the Kevlar socks out every now and again, but what you are doing is part of the whole process of support, the good the bad, the truth and the fluff. To the poster that wanted you go off can create your own rant group, well...If you do, I would be the first one to sign up. At least I can tell the difference from what is real and what isn't. Hang tough Grace!

It's not recommended, but I am mostly sure it won't mess you up. Might make you uncomfortable. There are better alternatives that will assist in the healing process and not compromise your surgical seam.

6 weeks out. Have no cravings.

I am sure that we all have those moments. This is a big challenge for a lot of people. Its good that you resisted, congratulations on your commitment to a healthier life!

I didn't have to do a super restrictive pre-op diet. Just liquids the day before. My surgeon said its "just going to piss you off." I really like my surgeon. He didn't seemed at all concerned about a liver issue.

Generally it is a processed food that does have a fair number of carbs. Depending on where you are in the process, the viscosity (the hardness) of the cereal can cause some irritation to the seam that has been created in your stomach. Your nutritionist will give you the best answer that works for you. I've tried really hard to stay away from processed foods, but understand your need for variety. You might ask about granola or muclex that are aren't processed and make a good alternative. Steel cut oats are also good if you are further out in the process.

The risks can come with anything. Being obese has its own set of risks right? You could just drop dead at anytime from any one of several reasons, stroke, heart attack etc. There are risks with any type of surgery. This is why it is extremely important to find a good doctor with a proven track record and follow their plan to the letter. Also, this process takes a certain mindset. WLS is only a tool, it isn't the magic option that so many people want. It takes work, it takes commitment and it takes guts to face some of things that have become comfortable in our lives. No, I will not tell you that it is easy, in fact it is tough at times. I didn't have any post op complications, but some do. Through the research that I have done, the risk of complications are reduced when you get yourself in as good of physical shape as you can, and incorporate all your caregivers (PCP, Nutritionists, Surgeon, PAs etc) into a single team. Ask all the questions you can to THEM. Don't be afraid of asking something stupid, after it is your life and your well being. A lot of people think that life ends because they can't sit down and chow down, that just simply isn't true. It does mean a significant lifestyle change, but that isn't as bad as you think. I wish that I had done this so many years ago. I was simply fooling myself that I could lose the weight the old fashioned way. I did a lot of times, but every single time the weight returned. I was killing myself with a fork and cup and one day I realized that this was the most stupid thing I could do. I've gotten a second chance at living and I am taking full advantage. Good Luck Hang Tough

All of these questions are better answered by your Dr. and you nutritionist. Every plan is different. It is hard to say what is "best". If you are on your pre-op diet, I would think that the Dr. didn't want you eating a meal but rather sticking with protein only. Adding strawberries adds fructose to your diet and that might be something to consider (additional calories). Premiers work for me, but others use a lot of other flavors and brands, generally the makeup of the shakes won't make a ton of difference unless you have some types of intolerance or are hard core vegan. Your Dr should also be telling you what vitamins you should be taking and when. Most common are B12, Multi and D. Some folks also need xtra Iron. But again, with board such as this one you are going to get a myriad of answers. My suggestion is get with your nutrtionists and or your surgeon and get something written down, both for your pre-op and your post-op. Make sure you ask lots of questions That way you will be ensured that you are on the right track.

Rebuilding my playlist....What are y'all listening to while on the run? Or working out? Right now I run to Thunder Struck - AC/DC Rock and Roll All Nite - Kiss Born To Run - Bruce Slow Ride - Foghat Ridn' the Storm out - REO Okay, I'll admit they are pretty old songs, but I like'em. So whadda ya got?

Starting over. Got through the first week, but have been battling pneumonia since mid January. Can't get a full run up, without hacking a lung. Everybody at the gym thinks I have e-boli. Getting better so going to try to start over. Wanted to run a 5k in March, but thinking about pushing into later in the spring.

This one, is a big bone of contention on this board. There's a couple of schools of thought. 1 is that alcohol should be avoided all together (empty calories, bad on the gut, goes to your head quicker), then there's a group that wants to do it (yolo, lifes a party, don't want to be the only one not having a good time etc). Personally for me, I was a big drinker. That's part of why I was almost 300 lbs. So...climbing up on an operating table and letting them cut out a perfectly good organ, changed my perspective to a large degree. For me, it was more about my ultimate goals and changing my lifestyle. That meant that some things just didn't make sense in my life. Alcohol is one of them along with fast foods, white carbs, sugar and a whole lot of other things. I'm not saying that I won't ever take a drink again, that would be foolish. But what I am saying is that until I reach the goals that I set when I started this process, I have to stand firm. I don't feel that I am missing anything, my life is full and I like sobriety quite well actually. If you do decide to drink, understand that you may feel quite uncomfortable and you might feel the effects of the alcohol quite a bit faster than you might have otherwise. Just make the choice that you feel that you can best live with and go!

Mine told me the same thing. I sip along as I need to. I can't understand how you can't drink a little bit to help get the food down. I've never felt hungry quicker so I think it is one of those things like the pre-op diets, that every Dr. does differently.