Stevehud

Yes use a full scoop or full packet , i suggest the fruit flavors use Water and the sweets , i.e. chocolate, cookie, vanilla, with skim or 1% or almond milk , and i use a lot less Fluid as well. i use 6 ounces of water or milk per full scoop. using a 1/4 scoop or packet is very little Protein, it would only be 6 grams of protein which is very very small. Also using ice cubes in a blender with the mixes makes for an awesome shake consistency and cooling in the warm summer months.

a " bad asian" troll site is one that spams you with extremely poor quality goods under the guise of something else. It is widely known and as an IT person I deal with them every day. I dont know why you think that is somehow offensive, the word asian is the correct way to describe something or someone from asia. I assumed he was banned since you cannot even click on his account to view it. I assumed that meant he was no longer here. I said outside the country and non english speaker due to his use of really bad english, not just grammar or typing, but actual word choices. I use an email filter that filters spam based on word usages in my job, and that post came up with red flags as an advertisement post based on typical word usage. I love the way you continue to question everything I do, even though I do nothing but extol how wonderful an inspiration you have been to many people on here. Please stop decrying everything i do. If you have a problem with me personally, then say so and ignore me. Yeesh! Dramatic much? I found your words borderline slanderous and offensive. I would have said so if you were my BFF, my kid or (ding!! ding!! ding!!)some stranger I've never met on the internet. I find some of your statements quoted above absurd and quite objectionable and I won't apologize for saying so. In turn, if you find MY posts objectionable or offensive, feel free to block me. I pinky promise not to take it personally. Look, i think its great that you dont like me. I will take the high ground. The fact is i never insulted the person, especially as i do not believe there is an actual person there to insult. . Look at the evidence, this account lists a surgical date, and yet states they are against surgery. They are anti United States based on statements made, which is another clue they are outside the US. He has no picture, no profile information nor any of the other things that would denote someone coming here for the reason most of us do. You are unwilling to say someone is a troll or spammer based on how much internet industry experience?? Oh thats right, none. The fact that I am an IT professional who has to weed these posts out on a daily basis, evidently makes me racist. I think not. On a separate note, Being the valedictorian in my college class as a paralegal, i can say you have no idea what slander is. You bordered more on slander by implying that I am a racist towards asians. I do not mince words, and to say that there are thousands of bad asian marketing spam sites is not disparaging on people it is a simple fact. I think you need to look at yourself and ask one question, did you go after me because it was me? or because i told you that i use a very an industry common spam filter that identified the user as a non english using web spammer? The truth is the truth, whether you like it or not. Have a nice day, I will not let you nor anyone, derail my journey.

a " bad asian" troll site is one that spams you with extremely poor quality goods under the guise of something else. It is widely known and as an IT person I deal with them every day. I dont know why you think that is somehow offensive, the word asian is the correct way to describe something or someone from asia. I assumed he was banned since you cannot even click on his account to view it. I assumed that meant he was no longer here. I said outside the country and non english speaker due to his use of really bad english, not just grammar or typing, but actual word choices. I use an email filter that filters spam based on word usages in my job, and that post came up with red flags as an advertisement post based on typical word usage. I love the way you continue to question everything I do, even though I do nothing but extol how wonderful an inspiration you have been to many people on here. Please stop decrying everything i do. If you have a problem with me personally, then say so and ignore me.

Hello all, So the hospital where i had my surgery is having a transformations Night coming up in October. Now this is evidently a banquet slash event thing where past WLS patients are invited and if you accept you go up on stage, they show your before pics and you are the after pic. You get up talk about your journey etc, and there is giveaways and healthy Snacks or something to that effect. Has anyone else had their practice or hospital do this kind of thing? and did you go, did you enjoy it etc. I have accepted as I really want to spread the word where I can, kind of thing. I guess they have invited several potential WLS patients to come and hear us as well. Im going to wait to buy some decent clothes until the weekend before though. lol

im hoping that people aren't making Protein shakes with Peanut Butter and bananas in the early stages of post surgery. That's a lot of sugar. Bananas are loaded with sugars and so is most peanut butter. I used to ( stopped last week) snack on all natural peanut butter with only peanuts and salt as the ingredients, the kind you have to stir before you use it to reincorporate the natural oils. but its an easy way to increase your carb and sugar load as well. Use this honeymoon period to your advantage, trust me once this slows down, your going to dream about being back in the honeymoon phase. Dont waste it. Also for Protein shake information, check out the video section of this site. I and others have posted a lot of taste test video for you to watch. I will be adding some more soon as syntax is sending me some specially made samples of the new , Naturals, line of protein mixes. For now my new favorite is 1 scoop of syntax latte Cappuccino, 6 ounces of skim milk, 1 teaspoon of PB2 chocolate, and 4 ice cubes, blend and enjoy. tastes like a peanut butter cup with a little coffee kicker. Its a wonderful shake on a warm day. Also the fuzzy navel with Water , some strawberries and pineapple is great but i limit that to only one day a week as a pre-workout due to the sugars in the fruit.

this was so obviously a sales pitch advertisement post. plain and simple. I really wish someone had just some out and said it instead of pussyfooting around that fact. People don't come to a WLS website, register and then tell you how they DIDNT have wls. that's like me going to the girls scouts forum and saying how much i love the YMCA??? its nonsensical. Add into the fact he was obviously not from the US or a native English speaker, and his posts all read like an advertisement for a bad Asian knock-off website. I believe Lipsticklady saw it and man of did, but speak up. We dont need these trolls on a site meant to help others. Good job in whomever banned him by the way.

quite Aesome! and you are so right, this is what its about. the fact that i can do a few miles on a treadmill and then walk through a mall a grocery store then a few other stores, all in a row, then go home and cut the grass, and not need an ambulance. its, well its empowering, there are not enough adjectives. Ill be blunt here, it used to take me like two days to get up the energy to have sex even. But now literally, went to the gym rode 10 miles on the bike, walked 2 miles on the treadmill as a cooldown, then went home and ...well you know. then took a shower and went to my guitar lesson, then went out and bought groceries then went and picked up a bunch of new underwear, ( love sales on good compression boxer types- Adidas reebok, and RBX are the best) then walked around the mall looking at clothes, and went home and well lets just say, she was trying on new pants.... and well. one thing led to another... but after that i wasnt dead. Pre surg not only would i not have been able to do that twice..but i sure wouldn't be able to do it and the gym and walk, and still breathe. It really is such a total life difference. I literally wanted to run outside naked ( no i wouldn't) and yell at the top of my lungs, " Hey i did it twice in one day and I m not dead! lol

So i will be blunt. The whole penis thing is beyond true. its amazing to see what i was actually packing without being buried in flab. My wife regularly is like, Holy shit! whats the hell. But here is the rub. Im 44 now my wife is 43. She has dropped 30+ pounds just being with me in this journey, im down 204 pounds pre surg 158 since surg. since i started at 408, that means im half the man i used to be...( get that song out of your head now, hah) Literally went from probably 3 inches erect to now showing 8 inches. yeah im happy with that lol Let me ask though, my libido now drives my wife nuts i literally want it every day and then some. and I have to ask has your sex drive increased drastically as well? Also maybe its working out or what but my staying power has gone up from like 4 to 5 minutes post surgery, to well heck im proud to do 20 minutes on average now. SO twofold has this happened to you, and how have you dealt with the increase in horniness. heck i wear compression type exercise undies now and regular gym type shorts, and its getting hard to hide this thing constantly... I admit its a great problem to have but sheesh. It also sucks to think ive missed out on so much by being fat for so long.

i own 1 spanx shirt, and several compression shirt, a few of the generic ones from china, which do work, getting sizes correct can be a guess. I also just yesterdy purchased at a local store 2 2packs of compression tees by RBX, very very reasonably priced im wearing one right now, much less of the "holy shit i cant wait to get this off" than with a spanx etc. those things are TIGHT. lol but sometimes you do really want that tightness.

bacon, turkey bacon yes of course and even regular bacon, its a staple for me. My Protein shake mix of course, and really good Peanut Butter, as in no ingredients but peanuts and some salt. ALthough im trying to kick peanut butter and havent had or bought any in a week because i was using it to snack on even when i wasnt needing a snack. ( yikes) lol and my coffeemate sugar free italian sweet cream coffee creamer. and sugar free Jello and sugar free pudding, and sugar free cool whip, those three helped me through the soft foods and liquids stages without making me punch a wall in frustration...lol

also as far as the study about metabolic syndrome and diet soda, it has been seriously questioned because they did not differentiate between the weights of patients. The premise is that people who drank a certain amount of diet soda daily had a much greater risk of metabolic syndrome. But they did not mention and one of the negatives of the stidy, was the weight of people drinking this soda. SO many of the research detractors have stated that more obese people drink diet soda because they are led to believe it will help with obesity. I wholeheartedly agree with this, the first thing most of us gave up is full sugar soda. SO the question then becomes is it that obese people have a higher risk of metabolic syndrome? or is it caused only by the sweetener in the diet soda. That was never narrowed down. This has been called a huge flaw in their questionnaire they used for their research.

I stop every morning ( 5 days a week) and have a medium iced ( or hot int he winter) dunkies Iced coffee, black, i take it to work and add some of the coffee mate sugar free italian sweet cream, its sugar free, diary free and it gives both creaminess and sweetness to my iced coffee i am sooo hooked on the stuff. I usually manage to drink about 3/4 of the medium from 8 am to say noon time. My nutritionist and surgeon are okay with this since i didn't start this until about 4.5 months post surgery. but that 4.5 months prior was tough with no coffee lol. Caffeine for me isnt an issue, My nut and surgeon are even okay with me using an sugar free b12 energy shot about 45 minutes before a workout if im feeling sluggish. As my surgeon put it, if it gets you into the gym easier, then im all for it. I try to limit them though as that much b12 probably isnt great for you, so no more the 2 or 3 in a 7 day period. and never more than 1 per day, and never on a non workout day, although thats only 1 day a week now since ive upped myself to 6 days a week workouts.

Good question, I have always said i wanted my tombstone to read, ...here lies Steve, he was truly a nice guy. But that is a copout, i think it was the fat guy trying to be liked so much regardless of whether or not i was nice to them perhaps. Now that I have discovered the other side of fat so to speak, I realized that life isnt just about being nice, thats just the easy way of saying , i didnt accomplish anything. Everyone dies, You have to live as well, before you die, so now i have all these goals, i take guitar lessons and I really want to be able to enjoy music in this new way, I have always been a singer, and with this new body I have to adapt to the changes, and i want to add my guitar playing into my repetoire. I am also building toward running a 5k, and I am really enjoying this journey.

I brought this subject up with m nutritionist, and he explained that many nutritionists do treat fat as stupid, due to the facts they see so many patients who literally have ZERO food knowledge, and its easier to take things at a very basic level if they cannot gauge the knowledge level of the person. For example, since in our opening interview they knew i knew a lot about measurements and being a paramedic, i knew a bit about the anatomy involved etc so we skipped the whole plastic foods bit. I think that is the hardest part, being able to gauge the level of knowledge that someone has or doesn't have, and acting appropriately to get the factual bits across to them. I think many nutritionists, just take the easy and safe way out and just go with the treat everyone as the lowest possible denominator type lessons. Thankfully in my case this didnt happen. I have had my previous nutritionist tell me stories before about people, like one woman, ( no she never gave names or anything, not that id have known anyone) but this woman just wasn,t losing any weight in her pre-surgery weight loss plan, when she inquired the person assured her she was on a liquid diet, finally she managed to get out of her, that she was drinking 3 to 5 Dunkin DOnuts mocha coolata's between Breakfast and lunch alone. , or the great story of the lady who stopped on the way home from her surgery t mcdonalds and wound up in the ER after tearing her sleeve eating mcnuggets, who stated she didnt know why she couldn't eat them, because its chicken. So it is sometimes true that people need to be shown everything, but certainly not everyone.

i have to chime in here. people keep saying bad things about artificial sweeteners. Id like everyone to know, its a persona choice for you. please do not act like there has ever been any medical evidence they are bad for you. Yes there are a few people here tha have food allergies to them. QUite understandable. But understand in no unequivocal terms, the facts do not bear out any links between artificial sweeteners and any sickness or disease. Not saccharin, not aspartame, NONE of them. Yes you can make the choice for you, thats your right, and I will fight anyone who says otherwise, but please stop with the ranting about artificial sweeteners. People here seem to be upset that a nutritionist advised , oh no! a drink or food with artificial sweeteners in it.. If you didn't take the responsibility to say, up front, that you refuse to use them, then who is to blame? Yes look in the mirror. Im sorry if this puts peoples panties in a bunch , but I am a little fed up with people taking a personal choice and espousing it like its some scientific fact. If you disagree and can find ANY real medical evidence of a study regarding artificial sweeteners, ( and please dont give me a dr oz tv show bull. the man is a quack ) Ill gladly change my mind, but there isnt, the american cancer society even has a wonderful series of pages devoted to this. http://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancercauses/othercarcinogens/athome/aspartame http://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/diet/artificial-sweeteners-fact-sheet just for some reference.

my nuts, ive had 3 because one went on sabbatical hen came back then left for a triathlon etc, but they have been very supportive and offering me alternatives i never thought of, in Vitamins, shakes etc, and they also talk to the surgeon to get any scripts i need for Vitamin d etc. The nut i have now is great he is a triathlon trainer, for several olympic athletes, and he is behind me in the couch to 5k app, helping me get ready for my first 5k which is still a few months away. Ive enjoyed them thoroughly. The key i feel is not to just sit there passively but to ask questions write them down before you go in, so you dont forget things, and tell them what you are having problems with.

SO, I hope i do not offend anyone's sensibilities, but a few people I know and help with this journey, have asked about this and it kind of clicked for me, especially recently. Now since many many threads have talked about dealing with constipation etc, this is far from that. What I have noticed is that during a stall i will got 3 to 5 days without a BM. But when i am losing constantly, I have much more regular BM's Now obviously the joke " i took so big i poop i felt lighter" etc. seem to hold true to a degree. ( no i have never weighed before and after) But i most certainly do notice that sustained weight loss seems to coincide with being..regular , shall we say. So am I strange in this regard? ( just in this regard, I know I am strange overall, thank you) What have your experiences been?

the other thing is in your workout type. for you instead of walking 8 miles or more, just go to 1 mile on an elliptical. it actually gets your heart rate up more and is a great cardio exercise. ( you dont yto use the elliptical per se, but changing the type of exercise rather than the distance. And at those distances a half hour on the elliptical is much stronger of a burn than a 8 mile walk. I hope i made this understandable, i do tend to babble sometimes. oh and not being healthy on 400 calories? do you not understand how this process works? I am assuming you did some research before getting into this? This process basically puts you in starvation mode for awhile. that's quite healthy for an obese person. that's what we do. That's a big part of how this works. and no its not bad for your organs, we supplement everything with Vitamins, Calcium, minerals Proteins etc.

from what I have read, it has the same possible dangers as lap band, i.e. adherence, lasts a certain length of time, is a foreign body in the body etc. other than that. Its relatively new and of course it can be removed.

i bought my first pair of pants since my weight loss started, at a goodwill 3 days ago. a nice pair of basic black dress pants, just in case. Size 36 waist. i havent worn a 36 since the 8th grade. I have to go away for business in september. and trust me i own just this one pair of pants everything else i own is either shorts or some exercise wear. Thankfully my work is ultra casual so at work it doesnt matter , but when i go away we have to dress a bit. sigh. lol budgetary concerns are the biggest however.

for me it was garlic and onions, cooking either one brought back lots of happy Italian family food memories and that made the liquid phase that much harder.

ive had two septoplasties. where they realign the septum and try to open the space by removing tissue. Both failed within two weeks of surgery. Now there isnt enough tissue left to reconstruct, if i wanted to fix it again they would have to put in an implant . which isnt going to happen.

South of Boston in Weymouth here. Had mine done at St E's loved it. a whole staff nurses and all specially trained for WLS patients. was easy peasy surgically.

for me its the opposite, i have more energy now than ever. i have learned though if i don't keep my Proteins high my energy will suffer, also i use some carbs ( from all natural Peanut Butter mostly) pre workout to really pick me up. I use a locally made peanut butter with just one ingredient. peanuts. yes you have to stir it up. but man it helps.

yup ive been doing the 2-3 pound bounce, it just happens. Try going back to what works for you , increase your Fluid intake decrease your food intake. try swapping out a Protein shake for 1 of your meals, etc. Changing up your routine is a great way to bring you back on track. For me i changed from 6 to 7 miles on the bike to a 2 mile fast paced walk. and im adding some circuit training in this week as well. so change things up a bit. itll happen, also watch your sugars and carbs. try to get them down to minimal amounts. You Can do this!