OKCPirate

I posted last year about how much fun it was to take some of my old shirts and letting the girl freind know, it was OK to just rip this off me if she wanted to. It turns out, that is something she has always wanted to do. So let the buttons fly on those you don't want to alter

Daveo you might want to check out the tips here http://theartofcharm.com/dating-tips/online-dating-advice-men/

Before investing in an online membership check and see what the web traffic is to the site. This is a numbers game and without traffic you will see many fake and inactive accounts. http://www.alexa.com/

@@smg - great list, do you have a problem with Stevia? That is my favorite sweetener by far. Rice => Quinoa Totally with you. If you have not looked into this complete protein grain, you really should (and while you are at it, look up Chia seeds). I'd add plain greek yogurt as a sub for sour cream. Also look at playing with spices. You can often get rid of the "I feel deprived" head hunger with the right spice (at least I can). Ginger is mandatory with every fish dish. Be very careful with all nuts. Very easy to go over calorie count. And Beans (the musical fruit) - I make my own refried beans (using black beans) using coconut oil and salsa. Lots of Protein, and flavor.

@@cseidman - I rent my own I self paid and found a very good NUT, at a great price because she didn't have to do any insurance paperwork.

Geez how much food porn can I see in one day?

@@KindaFamiliar - Just not worried about you. You are who you are and when you are not feeling in that F it all mood, you make some good observations, so I'm fine. Of course I just came back from Lotus Land (Southern California) so I am in a particularly mellow mood...hope everyone is digging my pouka shells.

Can you eat and drink while you ride? I have not done things at your distance, but long mountain hikes up to 14,000 feet are huge calorie siphons. I was doing Cliff Bars all the way up, but I'd do small bites nearly all the time.

@@sleeverv - Liza Maria Pompa Gonzalez? Please check again with her staff. She seems reputable based on a simple google search.

@@mlgok - I used to use genpro, but they changed the formulation, and it doesn't blend as well as it used to. I now use PipingRock.com's version. Dissolves well in everything and is tasteless except in plain Water, does well in coffee. But in your case, think about adding it in yogurt. I just looked back at my food diary and week 3 I was at 50-60g per day. I didn't really push up to 100+ per day until 2 months later. That is when I was increasing exercise and with new muscle, I noticed hair loss which increased my interest in increasing Protein.

@sleeverv-before you do, find out if you don't have another problem, or if this is just his standard protocol. BTW, who is your doctor?

This could be fun, we could do the research for someone who hasn't, and do cut and paste answers and store on the veterans forum. "Noob needs answer 3 please" I will take it upon myself to start making some suggestions for team leaders to put together stock responses: LipstickLady - snark, tattoos and piercings VSGAnne2014 - tough love Dub - Anything to do with grilling/smoking/all things meat Sharon1964 - all things poli It is a just a beginning, feel free to further hijack the thread Sharon1964

I'm with you. But I am seriously thinking about the Roman numerals of starting and goal weight, something small on the inside of my upper bicep. CCCV/CXC. Be nice to see for motivation at the gym. I'll let you all know it if I do it.

Not trying to be snarky, but isn't that what the VIP area is supposed to be about? If it isn't, it could be.

When your ex-wife (who used to openly mock me about getting the surgery)* says to a mutual friend, "dang if he had been that hot 5 years ago I would have never divorced him." That is a nice sideways compliment, but coming through this process I really realized just how toxic that relationship had gotten and how my health had declined. It has been a great journey getting back to healthy. And it is amazing how changing one area can lead to changes in another, I'm not perfect, but at least I'm on a better trajectory. *NOTE, I would have never told her, but we still have minor children, so I felt having elective surgery in Mexico was a good reason to let her know.

@@Alex Brecher - aww, stick it in your ear Alex... And that is an example of how something that seems funny to you can quickly go sideways. Nice post Alex and "Let's keep it classy here"

@@krazy kat - come on, we want to see a picture (you knew it was either going to be me or @@KindaFamiliar who was going to ask)

@@Jess3/25/16 - Good luck with this journey. If you have had addiction issues in the past, they don't go away because of the surgery. Congrats on getting off drugs. Sobriety was the first gift you gave yourself, WLS the second. It sounds as though you need some very personal guidance in this journey. The hormone dump threw me off my game for a while. It got better, but recently had a 'post-hormone dump' emotional issue which required treatment. It was not WLS related. So just because you had WLS, doesn't mean other issues can't pop up, they do.

That is a great rant [can I eat half a deer? he he he] But the other side to this is it does create fresh content which seems to help with search engine optimization, so they may be annoying redundant posts, but they also drive in new people who are interested in improving themselves. On another board I am on, the people are not particularly supportive and sometimes really vicious. I can usually spot the "trolls" but I have PM'd the ones who were rough in their response to me if they seemed to have a point. When it was no longer a public "who has the biggest attitude contest" they often have good points that have been helpful to me. Am I trying to be their "online buddy." NO. I am not here nor there on the internet for electronic friends but for information. Possibly I have developed tougher skin, or I just skim past the snark, but I really have been impressed with the supportive nature of this site. I have found it to be remarkably honest and very real sharing of struggles in relationships esp. with the changes that come from WLS, as well as the food and health discussions. But the encouragement keeps me coming back. I do love hearing about people's successes.

@@bdejong - That is going to the heart of several issues. The biggest problem I always had in these situations is my feelings got hurt and I didn't do a great job of hearing what her feelings were or making sure she was properly understood. I learned a great deal about how women think with this book: https://www.gottman.com/shop/the-mans-guide-to-women/ Gottman also has some great resources for couples on how to improve communications: https://www.gottman.com/shop/7-principles-for-making-marriage-work-revised-book/ If you notice the ladies are all saying...talk and LISTEN to her. (Hint, hint)

This weekend at Hunnington Beach in California...I realized I walked in deep sand for over an hour, no heavy breathing, no sinking to my knees. That was a first. I used to scan for the quickest way to shore line to get to the "firm" sand near the Water, and it was always a slog to get there. It's so nice to be normal.

This Ed? I think I want to see how that one came out.

I appreciate everyone who has taken the time to explain this. I suspected tats have a story but we don't often get a chance to find out. For the records...I have none and I'm not interested getting a permanent ID. But saw a bunch at a wediening this weekend and was curious