no onions

Bench presses sitting with your back at a 30-45 degree incline.

Major moobs here, but then almost everything was major . Except that, darn.
I am almost 70# down and seeing shrinkage finally, the legs, back arms etc all reduced first but the great middle is finally going away. Weight loss is the biggest ingredient, but lots of focus on core development in aerobic swimming and intensive weights etc. is building more muscle.

Yeah I should clarify the point I failed to make - my food problems have to do with emotional eating not the food I was exposed to. My nutrition education as a kid was actually pretty good but food was and has always been how my mother shows love and comforts us. I only really noticed this because my sister is great with her kids on this level in that instead of offering a sad kid a cookie or a food treat of some kind she always says "do you need hugs?" or "do you want to talk about it?" or even "do you need space?" never ice-cream or pizza or a special meal. Food is fuel, love is love and comfort is comfort. And for me the sleeve is like installing breaks on my unhealthy coping mechanisms and forcing me to deal with them differently and hopefully more healthily.
Edited to add: Oh and rewards aren't food either - no sugar treat for a good grade. Rewards are "great job" or even a fun activity. She's a great role model for me in this.

Being from Texas, our household consisted of a lot of southern food and of course Tex-Mex was a staple. For those that do not know, Tex-Mex is a version of Mexican food that consists of a delicious flavors with full fat cheese, gravies, sour cream, and of course fluffy flour tortillas. As a family, we ate Mexican every Sunday afternoon after church as that was the thing to do in my town as well as at least one other time per week. With three kids all running in different directions, fast food happened at least once or twice a week for my mom's sanity. The rest of the time was southern food with full fat butter, cheese, delicious gravies, fried foods, bacon, and all other kinds of culinary sins that would scintillate the taste buds and add inches to your waist.
Am I surprised I ended up finishing high-school at 250lbs and then topped out 10 years later at just over 400? Not at all, because I didn't know anything about healthy eating until I took a Nutrition course my senior year. I saw all these people eating the same things as me and maintaining their trim figures and I always wondered how they did it, but I was pretty confident for being the 400lb guy in the room. After taking that Nutrition course and learning all about the macros and what our bodies need, I started really taking a look at making changes to myself.
Now I have been sleeved some years later and have very few regrets so far! I am 4 weeks out tomorrow, and have been stalled for about a week and a half after losing 30 lbs in the first 2.5 weeks. I'm keeping my Protein over 60G a day and net carbs under 30 which were my NUTs instructions, so hopefully we will break through this stall soon!

They should take the ads off of bariatricpal.com if the company is fishy.

I chose sleeve, because I didn't want the potential issues with nutrient malabsorption and I couldn't get over the fact that my intestines would be re-routed. In my mind, the sleeve seemed less invasive, though it's terribly invasive too. Lap Band was totally out in my mind based on a friend's experience with it.
I'm already prone to dumping in general because of gall bladder complications, so I don't need the added plus of anything else (bypass) to cause that.
Your success will be what you make it and not necessarily some statistic or anecdote. As someone mentioned, all of the surgeries are tools. You should do whatever you think is right for your health. My recommendation would be to make a list of pros and cons for each surgery and take as much educated advice from professionals and patient experiences as you can.
Good luck!

@@no onions canned potatoes .... sounds awful not to mention pureeing them.
BLAHHH !!!
Maybe we should talk to a cook at an Old Folks Home and some Seniors about the best tasting puree'd food. lol

I made some really yucky ones. I thought I could just puree a can of potatoes. They were like paste and totally gross. They are allowed on my plan, but if I try them again, I'm going with the instant kind suggested by @ShrinkingPeach

My opinion --
I'm not sure you're going to be able to alleviate their concerns. It doesn't hurt to try though (if you have the energy/patience for it). Though I already find "Health NUT" wildly out of step and possibly unswayable based on your own comments.
Just lay it all out there (don't mince words) and tell them to hold their questions until you are finished speaking. Tell them to hold any negative comments indefinitely. Have the conversation once, tell them their concerns are noted and their support is expected.
You don't have to rebut everything someone has to say. I'm sure you've had discussions with doctors, nutritionists, etc., and have come to your decision after much consideration.
Oh and sorry... But concern #3 - someone could stfu if that's what was actually said. RUDE.

I chose sleeve, because I didn't want the potential issues with nutrient malabsorption and I couldn't get over the fact that my intestines would be re-routed. In my mind, the sleeve seemed less invasive, though it's terribly invasive too. Lap Band was totally out in my mind based on a friend's experience with it.
I'm already prone to dumping in general because of gall bladder complications, so I don't need the added plus of anything else (bypass) to cause that.
Your success will be what you make it and not necessarily some statistic or anecdote. As someone mentioned, all of the surgeries are tools. You should do whatever you think is right for your health. My recommendation would be to make a list of pros and cons for each surgery and take as much educated advice from professionals and patient experiences as you can.
Good luck!

These are all great - thanks everyone for the responses.
I had s pedicure and facial last Friday. I'm gong to keep that up periodically.

I do use a scale and found it especially useful in the early days post-op.
I still can't tell how much cheese I'm eating if I don't weigh it.
And while we're talking about measuring, one tablespoon of Peanut Butter is a helluva lot less than you think it is.

I didn't try any carbonation until about 9 months out. I had a couple of sips of diet soda and it almost killed me! It did not agree with my stomach at all. If I let it sit out a while and let it get a little flat I guess it would be okay. But not worth it to me. I'll stick to Water and iced tea

Yes and it hurts!
Especially if you can't burp fast enough.

So I started this at my highest weight ever of 337lbs. My ultimate goal is to be in the healthy BMI range and no longer need cpap (if I'm lucky). I think I need to set mini-goals on the way there.
What kinds of things have you all done?
My current weight is 289 lbs and I'm thinking the following --
1. First consecutive 4 weeks of going to the gym: live theater tickets. I love to go but the seats had become uncomfortable.
2. Hitting 237 lbs - I'm a gadget person and I really want an Apple Watch. Maybe tennis lessons?
3. Below 200 lbs - I'm thinking some kind of vacation. Maybe tropical and beachy?
In the past I might have used food as a motivator. That obviously doesn't work for me!

Hey @@judyoz - I started this topic in a forum called "rants and raves" to avoid calling any particular person out within the original thread. I didn't do it to be mean or nasty, just to vent.

These are all great - thanks everyone for the responses.
I had s pedicure and facial last Friday. I'm gong to keep that up periodically.

So I'm sure I'm going to have to do something similar with clothes because when I get into the normal range I'm going to destroy my wallet with one or two short trips to the Macy's designer section. I'm going to try to wait until my weight is stable though just so I can wear them for a while. I'm also really looking forward to being at a place where I can travel again - I LOOOOOVEEE traveling and as my diet still mostly consists of Protein drinks and other things that have gone through a blender I'm hesitant to even try for another few months.
I'm still really early days with this only having been sleeved 3 weeks ago, but for me my motivation hasn't ever been weight loss per se. I decided to do this after an uncle died. He had been overweight and had diabetes and heart problems and one day he had a ventral fibrillation and collapsed on his way to see friends. By the time he was resuscitated he had suffered massive cortical brain death from the lack of oxygen. It really affected me because I found myself identifying with him and seeing his death as my future. He was alone and unhappy and felt undeserving of love (though there were so many people who truly loved him). His health was poor but he had been unable to find the self love to do what was needed to get healthy.... He had left what he had to his nieces and nephews, not having children of his own, and I decided to use what he left me to not just get healthier but to deal with the emotional issues we had in common and find a way to be happy and like myself.
I'm not so much focused on the numbers at this point (though I totally check the scale regularly) because I know for me as I lose weight the attention I get will actually make me miserable and bring up issues and fears I wont want to deal with. Right now I'm bracing myself for that and looking into therapists who can help me with that.
So that's my goal and also my reward: Liking myself enough to take care of myself emotionally and physically as well as allowing myself to get close to others again so I can have a fuller more connected life that isn't ruled by fears from past traumas.
... okay how much of a downer was that!?! I'm going to add I'm totally going to the spa and getting pampered to within an inch of my life for every major milestone/20 lbs.

So I started this at my highest weight ever of 337lbs. My ultimate goal is to be in the healthy BMI range and no longer need cpap (if I'm lucky). I think I need to set mini-goals on the way there.
What kinds of things have you all done?
My current weight is 289 lbs and I'm thinking the following --
1. First consecutive 4 weeks of going to the gym: live theater tickets. I love to go but the seats had become uncomfortable.
2. Hitting 237 lbs - I'm a gadget person and I really want an Apple Watch. Maybe tennis lessons?
3. Below 200 lbs - I'm thinking some kind of vacation. Maybe tropical and beachy?
In the past I might have used food as a motivator. That obviously doesn't work for me!

I'm not sure how I managed to find the topic, but someone was recently lamenting (the loss of) and questioning his/her ability to drink at college parties (at the ripe ol' age of 20 something). The question was posed in possibly the most immature way.
Ever just want to shake people and/or give them a virtual kick in the ass? My initial thought was, really? Grow the F up and get your priorities straight.
The OP sort-of (iffy) redeemed the question later in the thread, but still.
Anyway, I'm not linking to the thread and/or mentioning names, but for the love of whatever, think before you post something. The OP is lucky people didn't go off on her - I know some of you rant & ravers were in the thread and showed major restraint.

So I started this at my highest weight ever of 337lbs. My ultimate goal is to be in the healthy BMI range and no longer need cpap (if I'm lucky). I think I need to set mini-goals on the way there.
What kinds of things have you all done?
My current weight is 289 lbs and I'm thinking the following --
1. First consecutive 4 weeks of going to the gym: live theater tickets. I love to go but the seats had become uncomfortable.
2. Hitting 237 lbs - I'm a gadget person and I really want an Apple Watch. Maybe tennis lessons?
3. Below 200 lbs - I'm thinking some kind of vacation. Maybe tropical and beachy?
In the past I might have used food as a motivator. That obviously doesn't work for me!

So I started this at my highest weight ever of 337lbs. My ultimate goal is to be in the healthy BMI range and no longer need cpap (if I'm lucky). I think I need to set mini-goals on the way there.
What kinds of things have you all done?
My current weight is 289 lbs and I'm thinking the following --
1. First consecutive 4 weeks of going to the gym: live theater tickets. I love to go but the seats had become uncomfortable.
2. Hitting 237 lbs - I'm a gadget person and I really want an Apple Watch. Maybe tennis lessons?
3. Below 200 lbs - I'm thinking some kind of vacation. Maybe tropical and beachy?
In the past I might have used food as a motivator. That obviously doesn't work for me!

I have a couple -
1. Fewer slip-on shoes. It had reached the point where I specifically looked for shoes I wouldn't have to bend over and tie.
2. Clipping toenails - my abdomen would frequently cramp from the necessary positioning. * I did get a pedicure on Friday because my wounds won't let me quite bend enough yet.
3. Towels that will wrap around your waist (without being bath sheets).
4. Burning any and all "comfort stretch" waisted pants that are in my closet. You know -- the kind with the "hidden" extra inches. Actually, I will happily donate any clothing.
5. Reduced sweating - hopefully. I'm hoping I don't need to sit under the ceiling fan every morning after I get ready for work, just to cool-down before heading to the car.
6. Removing myself from the big and tall catalogs, mailing lists and rewards programs.
7. Really just looking forward to feeling better overall! :-)

It's very odd -- my incisions (or areas very near) them have all been more painful feeling. I thought it was just one area yesterday, but it's really all them today. I'm calling my Dr tomorrow, just to be more certain.
Hopefully it means we are all healing up!

So I started this at my highest weight ever of 337lbs. My ultimate goal is to be in the healthy BMI range and no longer need cpap (if I'm lucky). I think I need to set mini-goals on the way there.
What kinds of things have you all done?
My current weight is 289 lbs and I'm thinking the following --
1. First consecutive 4 weeks of going to the gym: live theater tickets. I love to go but the seats had become uncomfortable.
2. Hitting 237 lbs - I'm a gadget person and I really want an Apple Watch. Maybe tennis lessons?
3. Below 200 lbs - I'm thinking some kind of vacation. Maybe tropical and beachy?
In the past I might have used food as a motivator. That obviously doesn't work for me!