Recycled

First off you need to modify your thinking to a more positive one. Hold off deciding if it will work for you until you get more information. Go to a Seminar and speak to the source. Find out everything you can and then evaluate your reasons for wanting it and your determination and ability to make the needed changes in your life to have a successful outcome. It's a last resort, not a quick fix. Good luck.

As with all Protein drinks....."cheap" isn't part of the choices. However, I use the Isopure Zero carb drinks in the glass bottles (get them at GNC) which come in many flavors (some are doable, some are horrible) and are 40 grams of protein in 20 ounces. I use them when I go to the gym. That way I'm usually so thirsty, I don't mind the taste. Other times I just cut them 50% with Water. Pretty much the most bang for your buck when it comes to Protein Drinks.

Don't get too wrapped up in monthly weight loss goals. If you want a monthly target to strive for .......make it following your food and nutrition regimen and a rigid exercise program. The weight will come off on the schedule your body decides. And trust me.....if you adhere closely to your routines.....it will continue to come off, regardless of the many stalls along the way.

Funny thing is after surgery, the sleeve develops a mind of it's own. What you might have liked before, may no longer agree with you. So, be prepared for changes. As in unexpected and sometimes uncomfortable or even embarrassing changes. (ie: noises, smells, gas, and as you have experienced.....diarrhea, etc.) Try to relax and let time get you used to the changes. Some will be temporary and pass......others you will adjust too. If any serious symptoms persist, by all means check with you Doc. At eight months out, I'm used to most weird things going on with my bod. So again, try to relax and take note of the changes and adjust accordingly.

Baby steps. Limit you effort at this point to just trying to get him to go to a seminar. Say you are going to find out the facts and talk to others and want him to come with you just to keep you company. Say there is nothing to be self-conscious about, as it will be all obese people seeking options. Also get him to see a Cardiologist. At that weight and with age creeping up on him.... he is extremely vulnerable to a heart attack. (trust me, I know) I would also avoid the "do it for me" angle. A little too much like an ultimatum and doesn't feel like sincere or caring support. That includes the lazy swimmers too. Blame is not a good motivator. Tends to make a person defensive. Another suggestion is to see if he will read a few topics on here. Everyone here is or was in the same boat and will be very understanding and supportive in answering his questions and offering any advice. So, let's review.......check into some of the Surgeons in your area for seminars and nudge him to this forum. Hope it helps. Good luck.

Still being on liquids, full is not really what you're aiming for. Just stay hydrated. Now once you get to mush or soft and then solid food......things will be different. My method is to weigh or measure everything. I started at about 3.5 ounces or 1/2 cup and am now up to about 5 ounces or a cup at 8 months. I still eat too fast and the sleeve just doesn't register fullness until after I'm done eating. If I didn't weigh or measure, I would surely eat too much waiting for some indication and then it would be too late. (this has happened on a few occasions and is quite uncomfortable) Trust me.......weigh it or measure it closely. At least until you get used to your portion amounts.

I still get heartburn often, so I use quite a bit of Tums. I figure I get the the calcium benefit along with the re-flux relief.

I went in to my Orthopedic Surgeon's the other day for my annual checkup after having both of my knees replaced a little over a year ago. He almost feel over when he saw me and was quick to ask what motivated me to lose all the weight. I quickly answered that after getting a new lease on life with the surgery he performed and the knee implants he put in.....that I was not going to jeopardize them by remaining obese. He was so taken back by that.....it was like I gained a new best friend...... Just in case some of you didn't read this correctly.......this is a Surgeon....ya know the famous "one word", "don't know who you are" guys..... I got more of his attention after that......then he showed me all during the two surgeries amd multiple previous appointments. He beamed with a real live pleasant personality........checked me over thoroughly and sent me off with an encouraging "You look fantastic. -- Go figure.

You need to feel guilty.........but the guilt is not enough. That guilt needs to trigger a realization that there will be consequences from ignoring the guidelines and you will be the one that is going to suffer those consequences. That guilt is a warning. Make the best use of it and get back on track and stick to it. Of course it's an effort and sacrifice now, but you're going to be so grateful later and much stronger in your ability to maintain knowing you did it......Stick with it, you'll be fine.

I never actually considered the 5 week projection as relevant. It was based on repeating that particular day's diet and exercise every day for the next five weeks to obtain the projection. My diet and exercise changed every day and subsequently, so did the projection. Plus, my weight came off slowly and never in the amount indicated by the projections anyway.

No time like the present....... Start slow and ease into the workouts. You will improve rapidly......

Geoff, Had to do a double take on your surgery date. It looks like 10/2013. I assume you mean 10/13/2014. As the others have said. First off, follow your surgeons guidelines. That being said, I have been going to the gym and doing cardio and complete weight regimens since 6 weeks PO. And I'm sure that without the workouts, this whole sleeve thing would not be working for me. Some cautions. - I had a unbilical hernia repair during my sleeve and subsequently avoided any strenuous stomach type exercises for a few months. And when doing workouts, keep the hydration up. Another point to keep in mind is to be able to build any muscle during the process and certainly avoid losing any while losing fat weight, you must get in your Protein. I do whatever is necessary to get in at least 100 grams of protein a day. At six months my weight loss has slowed alot, but my workouts have not. As I get stronger, I am able to do more and even with the low calorie diet, I need to maintain the workouts in order to keep losing weight to reach my goal. The process has convinced me that even when I reach my goal, exercise will be the only way of maintaining my weight and avoiding any weight gain. Good luck with your surgery. Keep us posted with your progress. FYI - Check into "My Fitness Pal". Makes it easy to keep track of your diet, your workouts and your weight goals.

GNC.

Honeymoon pretty much was done by 6 months.....Now I gotta work at it much more aggressively to reach my goal.

Hey......did you think you'd come into the man room and whine........????? There's no whining in the man's room. Forget everything all the girls are saying........and "man up". No, really, just try to think of it like.......damn.....everybody else did this....So say...."I got this!!!" And do it. Much Popsicles, go somewhere so you don't sit around thinking about food. Drink anything you can get your hands on. Chew gum. Chew ice. Trust me.....it'll get easier the more days you're into it........You'll make it.

I've never been a runner and in the past when I lost large amounts of weight, the body shrunk in a basically uniform and even manner. While the stomach was always the last to go.....it eventually did get back to being flat and minus the love handles or spare tire. Well.....things are different now..... Wow, what time and age and a lifetime of obesity abuse has done to the ole bod. Now I have bad knees, clogged arteries and have suffered a heart attack from obesity......My Cardiologist insists my top priority is a lot of cardio- exercises.....(.mostly treadmill or jogging). While I still hate running, I mostly do the treadmill...... Either fast walking, uphill or really slow jogging. (I have knee replacements now, so jogging is more difficult) What I have found it great. The constant treadmill several times a week, has resulted in consistent losses but the results aren't exactly what I wanted. My legs are actually getting skinny. (never happened before) When at the gym, I do workouts on the rest of the body with weights as well, but the rest of the body changes are much slower. I am definitely getting stronger but the body shape is taking forever and may not end up with the shape I am hoping for. Lots of loose empty, saggy skin this time around, which makes clothes fit poorly. I've never been an advocate of Plastic surgery to enhance appearances but this is frustrating. I can grab big globs of empty gut and tell if it was just removed, pants would fit better and shirts wouldn't have a bulge around the waist. Talk about luv handles.......(more like a bicycle tire.) I constantly do curls to the point of exhaustion and while the max weights is increasing and the fat is disappearing........ hanging floppy empty sacs are appearing under the bicep. Seems I'm gonna have to win the lottery to afford the entire body re sculpturing that is going to be needed. But still all this doesn't remove the constant smile from my face though. The weight is gone, I feel much, much better. And the energy is there to actually do the exercises needed to continue to lose and stay healthy. So I'll stay at it and strive to see if I can defy nature and tighten up what is hidden under my clothes. In the meantime, I guess I'll keep buying lottery tickets and avoid the beach..........(besides, now there is that sun exposure and skin cancer thingy anyway)

Don't fret it. Occasionally I jack up the metabolism by raising my calories a bunch. (800 to 1500). Kinda fools the bod when it gets used to the low calorie diet. It is kinda weird cause to do that it seems I am eating constantly all day long. Usually it will kickstart a weight loss after a long stall, so you could say that's a good thing. Just don't make it a habit.

Great job. I can honestly say.....I know exactly how you feel...... .

Can't believe I managed to lose 100 pounds so far. Gotta say though.....it's gettin tougher, slower and the stalls are getting longer. But with a hundred gone forever, I'll never give up or go back. Next milestone. ........goal.

Typical guy <-------- I quickly read the title and my guy mind quickly saw.... ."got laid 1st day back from surgery" ..................... I was all ready to high five ya........... Talk about awkward.... Maybe this will be one of those " a door closes and a window opens" things..... Best of luck...

Sure.......

Mine was a huge Capital "O" .....now it's a little squiggly "o".

Baby bottom smooth. No seriously....just the belly. And it's gonna itch like hell for a couple of weeks. Definitely get some Benadryl cream.

Had to look up what a Tardis actually is........However, I think you actually missed one point about time travel........If you travel in time to the future to - as you put it - skip ahead after the surgery......then you have to consider that you wouldn't have actually gone thru the time and effort to actually heal from the surgery or lose any weight....... .So you'd only be in the future at the same weight and person that you are now..... See..........ya just can't escape it......ya gotta live it....and experience the journey and the change. Good luck, you'll do just fine.

That's kinda the beauty of weight loss. The more you lose the more energy you get back. Avoid the coffee and drinks and kick-start things at the gym. You'll thank yourself for it........