John.L

Hey guys! It's been about 8 months since my sleeve and I'm down 96 pounds from my pre-sleeve weight. The food is still a struggle sometimes, but thankfully the sleeve is a great tool at keeping me in-line. I love to eat and breaking the habit of wanting to gorge on something tasty is tough!
Anyways, I've just bought my first bicycle since my youth and as my first hard exercise since the sleeve, I rode almost 15 miles yesterday. I felt like such a boss and it was so much fun! I have some pretty major lower back issues, and running (or any other "bouncy" activity) makes my looseness bounce too which is very uncomfortable and unsightly, so cycling seemed like the perfect solution. I think picking up a new, fun, hard exercise will jump start the rest of my loss to get down to my goal weight. Speaking of which ... I don't even know what my goal should be! I originally put 225 in for my goal here, but I feel like I could lose more, but I don't know what my "ideal weight" should be. I've never been a healthy weight before. I'm 6' tall. If I could crack into the 1's that would be amazing, but I don't know if it's realistic with my body frame.

Wow! Great work! I hope I can get to that point too!

Hey guys! It's been about 8 months since my sleeve and I'm down 96 pounds from my pre-sleeve weight. The food is still a struggle sometimes, but thankfully the sleeve is a great tool at keeping me in-line. I love to eat and breaking the habit of wanting to gorge on something tasty is tough!
Anyways, I've just bought my first bicycle since my youth and as my first hard exercise since the sleeve, I rode almost 15 miles yesterday. I felt like such a boss and it was so much fun! I have some pretty major lower back issues, and running (or any other "bouncy" activity) makes my looseness bounce too which is very uncomfortable and unsightly, so cycling seemed like the perfect solution. I think picking up a new, fun, hard exercise will jump start the rest of my loss to get down to my goal weight. Speaking of which ... I don't even know what my goal should be! I originally put 225 in for my goal here, but I feel like I could lose more, but I don't know what my "ideal weight" should be. I've never been a healthy weight before. I'm 6' tall. If I could crack into the 1's that would be amazing, but I don't know if it's realistic with my body frame.

Looks like the high end of the ideal range for a 6' tall man is 180#. I think shooting for 199# seems like an achievable goal, why not try for it! Congrats on getting the bike. My hope is to one day bike commute to work, it's only a few miles from my house.

Warmest congratulations, but looks like you spent some good money on new clothes. You know you're gonna be too skinny for those clothes too soon enough. Ah well, you'll learn.
I made my first mental goal to cure my co-morbidities: sleep apnea, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and pre-diabetes. Those were all cured within a couple weeks after surgery. I just did a home study to verify sleep apnea is cured, but scheduled for results next Friday. But fingers-crossed I'm cured there too.
After my co-morbidities were cured (I was around 235 or so), I set a goal of a nice even 200. Well 199 to be in ONEderland.
Once I hit 200 my goal was not to go for some super low weight I couldn't possibly maintain, but to try and find that balance between eating and exercise so I could maintain a weight forever. If that weight was 200...cool. But the weight kept coming off.
I exercised a bit less and ate a bit more...trying to find a lifestyle that I could maintain long-term. And I think I've found my "landing weight." I may end up gaining a bit after a couple years due to eating more and I'm okay with that. I just didn't want to hit a "very low" weight, not be able to maintain it, and get frustrated when I gained back 30 lbs.
Point is...try and do what you can do long-term (aka forever) once you get closer to any goal weight you set (or don't set). Try and find a reasonable balance. The goal isn't to be skinny, but do be healthy, and maintain it!
But be sure an congratulate yourself and enjoy all the health benefits and non-scale victories along the way!
Best of luck!

Congratulations on doing so well. Don't worry about setting your weight goals too high, it is a process and if you feel you can do better, you can always set a new goal.
I'm 5' 11". My doctor told me to expect to hit and stay around 235. I passed that goal easily and then decided that 224 (my high school weight) was what I wanted. I hit that goal, then 220, then 215.... now I'm easily hovering around 205 - 209 without really trying. I've set a new goal of completing the C25K program and aiming to hit 199. So we'll see, I may not like the way I look at 199. :-P
It's all part of the adventure and your goals do not have to be carved in stone if they don't fit your lifestyle.
Keep Pimpin' That Sleeve!

Hey guys! It's been about 8 months since my sleeve and I'm down 96 pounds from my pre-sleeve weight. The food is still a struggle sometimes, but thankfully the sleeve is a great tool at keeping me in-line. I love to eat and breaking the habit of wanting to gorge on something tasty is tough!
Anyways, I've just bought my first bicycle since my youth and as my first hard exercise since the sleeve, I rode almost 15 miles yesterday. I felt like such a boss and it was so much fun! I have some pretty major lower back issues, and running (or any other "bouncy" activity) makes my looseness bounce too which is very uncomfortable and unsightly, so cycling seemed like the perfect solution. I think picking up a new, fun, hard exercise will jump start the rest of my loss to get down to my goal weight. Speaking of which ... I don't even know what my goal should be! I originally put 225 in for my goal here, but I feel like I could lose more, but I don't know what my "ideal weight" should be. I've never been a healthy weight before. I'm 6' tall. If I could crack into the 1's that would be amazing, but I don't know if it's realistic with my body frame.

Hey guys! It's been about 8 months since my sleeve and I'm down 96 pounds from my pre-sleeve weight. The food is still a struggle sometimes, but thankfully the sleeve is a great tool at keeping me in-line. I love to eat and breaking the habit of wanting to gorge on something tasty is tough!
Anyways, I've just bought my first bicycle since my youth and as my first hard exercise since the sleeve, I rode almost 15 miles yesterday. I felt like such a boss and it was so much fun! I have some pretty major lower back issues, and running (or any other "bouncy" activity) makes my looseness bounce too which is very uncomfortable and unsightly, so cycling seemed like the perfect solution. I think picking up a new, fun, hard exercise will jump start the rest of my loss to get down to my goal weight. Speaking of which ... I don't even know what my goal should be! I originally put 225 in for my goal here, but I feel like I could lose more, but I don't know what my "ideal weight" should be. I've never been a healthy weight before. I'm 6' tall. If I could crack into the 1's that would be amazing, but I don't know if it's realistic with my body frame.

Hey guys! It's been about 8 months since my sleeve and I'm down 96 pounds from my pre-sleeve weight. The food is still a struggle sometimes, but thankfully the sleeve is a great tool at keeping me in-line. I love to eat and breaking the habit of wanting to gorge on something tasty is tough!
Anyways, I've just bought my first bicycle since my youth and as my first hard exercise since the sleeve, I rode almost 15 miles yesterday. I felt like such a boss and it was so much fun! I have some pretty major lower back issues, and running (or any other "bouncy" activity) makes my looseness bounce too which is very uncomfortable and unsightly, so cycling seemed like the perfect solution. I think picking up a new, fun, hard exercise will jump start the rest of my loss to get down to my goal weight. Speaking of which ... I don't even know what my goal should be! I originally put 225 in for my goal here, but I feel like I could lose more, but I don't know what my "ideal weight" should be. I've never been a healthy weight before. I'm 6' tall. If I could crack into the 1's that would be amazing, but I don't know if it's realistic with my body frame.

It's been a little while since I've visited the forums, but I wanted to check back and share some success! My surgery was July 31, at 350 lb, and as of today I'm at 292, which puts me at a BMI of 39.6, under the 40 cutoff for morbid obesity! I'm so excited! The last week I've bought some new clothes and it feels good to throw the old ones away, although I'm keeping a few for some before/after stuff. I'm right on the border of being able to shop at more "normal" clothing stores, and I can't wait. I'm eating pretty much everything now, nothing hurts at all and I feel as normal as I can, but if I try to cheat or eat too much, my body punishes me, and I like that. My old habits can't come back. My wife loves that we can share meals now because it helps her to eat less too. My 4-year old even out-eats me! It's really great. I'm so glad I made this choice to get the surgery. Even self-paying it at just under $20,000, I feel like it was the best investment I've made in myself. My next goal is to get a total of 100 lb down by the end of the year. I'll be ramping up the activity to help with that, and my caloric intake has been fine I think. Anyways, I'm typing this right before bed, and shortly after the period of time where I take my nightly sleep meds, including Ambien, so how it feels like I;m kind of all over the place. So I guess I'll end it with that. Good to see you all again!

It's been a little while since I've visited the forums, but I wanted to check back and share some success! My surgery was July 31, at 350 lb, and as of today I'm at 292, which puts me at a BMI of 39.6, under the 40 cutoff for morbid obesity! I'm so excited! The last week I've bought some new clothes and it feels good to throw the old ones away, although I'm keeping a few for some before/after stuff. I'm right on the border of being able to shop at more "normal" clothing stores, and I can't wait. I'm eating pretty much everything now, nothing hurts at all and I feel as normal as I can, but if I try to cheat or eat too much, my body punishes me, and I like that. My old habits can't come back. My wife loves that we can share meals now because it helps her to eat less too. My 4-year old even out-eats me! It's really great. I'm so glad I made this choice to get the surgery. Even self-paying it at just under $20,000, I feel like it was the best investment I've made in myself. My next goal is to get a total of 100 lb down by the end of the year. I'll be ramping up the activity to help with that, and my caloric intake has been fine I think. Anyways, I'm typing this right before bed, and shortly after the period of time where I take my nightly sleep meds, including Ambien, so how it feels like I;m kind of all over the place. So I guess I'll end it with that. Good to see you all again!

It's been a little while since I've visited the forums, but I wanted to check back and share some success! My surgery was July 31, at 350 lb, and as of today I'm at 292, which puts me at a BMI of 39.6, under the 40 cutoff for morbid obesity! I'm so excited! The last week I've bought some new clothes and it feels good to throw the old ones away, although I'm keeping a few for some before/after stuff. I'm right on the border of being able to shop at more "normal" clothing stores, and I can't wait. I'm eating pretty much everything now, nothing hurts at all and I feel as normal as I can, but if I try to cheat or eat too much, my body punishes me, and I like that. My old habits can't come back. My wife loves that we can share meals now because it helps her to eat less too. My 4-year old even out-eats me! It's really great. I'm so glad I made this choice to get the surgery. Even self-paying it at just under $20,000, I feel like it was the best investment I've made in myself. My next goal is to get a total of 100 lb down by the end of the year. I'll be ramping up the activity to help with that, and my caloric intake has been fine I think. Anyways, I'm typing this right before bed, and shortly after the period of time where I take my nightly sleep meds, including Ambien, so how it feels like I;m kind of all over the place. So I guess I'll end it with that. Good to see you all again!

It's been a little while since I've visited the forums, but I wanted to check back and share some success! My surgery was July 31, at 350 lb, and as of today I'm at 292, which puts me at a BMI of 39.6, under the 40 cutoff for morbid obesity! I'm so excited! The last week I've bought some new clothes and it feels good to throw the old ones away, although I'm keeping a few for some before/after stuff. I'm right on the border of being able to shop at more "normal" clothing stores, and I can't wait. I'm eating pretty much everything now, nothing hurts at all and I feel as normal as I can, but if I try to cheat or eat too much, my body punishes me, and I like that. My old habits can't come back. My wife loves that we can share meals now because it helps her to eat less too. My 4-year old even out-eats me! It's really great. I'm so glad I made this choice to get the surgery. Even self-paying it at just under $20,000, I feel like it was the best investment I've made in myself. My next goal is to get a total of 100 lb down by the end of the year. I'll be ramping up the activity to help with that, and my caloric intake has been fine I think. Anyways, I'm typing this right before bed, and shortly after the period of time where I take my nightly sleep meds, including Ambien, so how it feels like I;m kind of all over the place. So I guess I'll end it with that. Good to see you all again!

Well, luckily for me the pain has all but disappeared now that I'm 10 days out. I read a lot of stories on here about people having minor pain, or even nothing but a little soreness, so I wondered if something was wrong. I haven't had to take the pain or nausea medicine in 4 days now.
I've not been able to find a Protein Shake that I could tolerate yet, and I've been through probably 7 or 8 different ones now. I've also tried a few "real people" foods and have had good success. I started with some Tomato basil Soup, then some egg whites with milk, blended chili, oatmeal, egg whites with cheese, and most recently I've survived some ground beef with taco seasoning and cheese. This is finally allowing me to hit my Protein targets, and thankfully I have tolerated it all perfectly well! I have a lot more energy and I can feel the "fullness" trigger and identify it. This was my biggest concern post-op was if I'd be able to stop myself from eating too much of something. I think something that helped is that we got these little bowls that can only hold about 4 ounces of food, and that's what I measure into them. It's hard to not just hoover an entire plate of my favorite things, but i'm learning to slow down, fully chew and try to enjoy each bite without thinking about the next one. I can make it take about 15 minutes to eat it all which seems to be a sweet spot for avoiding the "ate too fast" pain and still feeling full after it. I'm finally feeling more like a normal person and I've lost about 30 pounds so far. I'll update again later but I thought I would share my post-op progress with anyone looking for someone else's perspective!

Well, luckily for me the pain has all but disappeared now that I'm 10 days out. I read a lot of stories on here about people having minor pain, or even nothing but a little soreness, so I wondered if something was wrong. I haven't had to take the pain or nausea medicine in 4 days now.
I've not been able to find a Protein Shake that I could tolerate yet, and I've been through probably 7 or 8 different ones now. I've also tried a few "real people" foods and have had good success. I started with some Tomato basil Soup, then some egg whites with milk, blended chili, oatmeal, egg whites with cheese, and most recently I've survived some ground beef with taco seasoning and cheese. This is finally allowing me to hit my Protein targets, and thankfully I have tolerated it all perfectly well! I have a lot more energy and I can feel the "fullness" trigger and identify it. This was my biggest concern post-op was if I'd be able to stop myself from eating too much of something. I think something that helped is that we got these little bowls that can only hold about 4 ounces of food, and that's what I measure into them. It's hard to not just hoover an entire plate of my favorite things, but i'm learning to slow down, fully chew and try to enjoy each bite without thinking about the next one. I can make it take about 15 minutes to eat it all which seems to be a sweet spot for avoiding the "ate too fast" pain and still feeling full after it. I'm finally feeling more like a normal person and I've lost about 30 pounds so far. I'll update again later but I thought I would share my post-op progress with anyone looking for someone else's perspective!

Sleeve was done Thursday, just checking back in! I'm down a total of 21 pounds in the last 7 days (from liquid diet start time to now). I don't expect that rate to continue, but it is nice to see a jump start for encouragement. The pain I had post-op was very significant and I'm still taking the liquid painkiller medicine a few times a day, but it is much less than it was before. I've still not found a way to hit the Protein target. I got some Gatorade G-series Protein Drinks that are 16 oz and 15g of protein, and they don't taste great but don't make me gag. I'm going to check out some other options again at the store tomorrow and see if I can find anything better. My wife made some Tomato basil Soup tonight that I had about 1/4 cup of and it was amazing! I couldn't decide if it was satisfying my pizza or spaghetti craving, but either way it really hit the spot. I'm looking forward to being able to eat something tangible like eggs, but I feel like the nausea finally leaving me is starting a "light at the end of the tunnel" towards the next phase.

Sleeve was done Thursday, just checking back in! I'm down a total of 21 pounds in the last 7 days (from liquid diet start time to now). I don't expect that rate to continue, but it is nice to see a jump start for encouragement. The pain I had post-op was very significant and I'm still taking the liquid painkiller medicine a few times a day, but it is much less than it was before. I've still not found a way to hit the Protein target. I got some Gatorade G-series Protein Drinks that are 16 oz and 15g of protein, and they don't taste great but don't make me gag. I'm going to check out some other options again at the store tomorrow and see if I can find anything better. My wife made some Tomato basil Soup tonight that I had about 1/4 cup of and it was amazing! I couldn't decide if it was satisfying my pizza or spaghetti craving, but either way it really hit the spot. I'm looking forward to being able to eat something tangible like eggs, but I feel like the nausea finally leaving me is starting a "light at the end of the tunnel" towards the next phase.

What's your goal? I don't mean a weight goal, but your overall goal? Do you want to lose weight? Get healthy? Lower obesity related health risks?
You created a throw away user name. You said you wanted no encouragement. You've said "I can't" to some very solid advice above. Most importantly, you don't want to go to the doctor who can answer your questions far better than anyone here and who can give you much better advice to get you to where you want to be.
To answer your initial question. The stretchy part of your stomach was cut out leaving the muscle. Your capacity will increase over time, but your max should be 8oz or so at a sitting. The cottage cheese test above will answer that.
liquids only for a few days will help you feel the restriction better as well as get you back into low carbs, high Protein. It's not meant to be forever, but a way to help you get back on track. I am going to do it once a month or so, just to keep my head in the game. It's not fun, but it's not impossible either.
It sounds as if you are grazing. Are you eating because you are hungry or because you can? If you are hungry, my guess is you aren't eating the right foods. If it's because you CAN, you are choosing to fail yourself. It's time for you to be honest with YOU for YOUR benefit.
Good luck to you!

The post-op pain is rough, not gonna lie. The gas apparently is really a big source of pain for me. Thankfully the pain meds help some. I am so thirsty! My throat and mouth are completely raw. How did everyone else fare on their sleeve?

Checked in now, just waiting to go in for op! Very nervous!

The post-op pain is rough, not gonna lie. The gas apparently is really a big source of pain for me. Thankfully the pain meds help some. I am so thirsty! My throat and mouth are completely raw. How did everyone else fare on their sleeve?

Best of luck! Mine is on Thursday ... I can't wait!

Mine is tomorrow too! Check in at 7:15 AM (yuck). Good luck to everyone!

Mine is tomorrow too! Check in at 7:15 AM (yuck). Good luck to everyone!

Have been away on a mini vacation for a few days and didn't think or worry about the process while gone. Came back home yesterday and the first thing I did this morning was call the doctor's office and talk to the coordinator to see how things were progressing. You said, "I have your approval!!" I was NOT expecting those words out of her mouth. There had been some delays in getting stuff into their office and I didn't even know they had received it, much less sent it to insurance. I'm an emotional wreck right now!! I'm scheduled for August 13 and have to go back to work on the 18. She said I should be fine since I'll be in in-service meetings and sitting at my desk most of the time. I sure hope she's right.
I know my dear sweet dad in heaven had a hand in this happening for me, as well as the Lord above.