BigViffer

@@matt1912 damn dude, those are some fantastic results! You were slightly bigger than I, but you don't seem to have the excess skin that I do. And no moobs? Congrats!

I just got back from the gym and my weekly weigh in. Down 5 lbs. I don't know if my stall has broken or if I have finally evacuated old stool like some reviewers have mentioned, but either way I'll take the victory.

Quick and minor update! Went to the gym and did my weekly weigh in. 222! I don't know if the stall is broken or if my regularity has helped, but it doesn't matter. The needle has moved and I'll take the success.

I know there are tons of threads on this site dedicated to poop, bowel movements, diarrhea, constipation, and all things crap related. But I wanted a thread where we men can discuss it. You want to make a joke? Go for it. Want to talk serious, I'm all for it. If you are a woman that wants to chime in for a female point of view, sorry - I posted it in the Guy's Room on purpose. I'm really wanting to make the Guy Room more active and also more relevant to just us men. I have always had "issues" when it comes to #2. I was hoping that the surgery would somehow magically cure everything, but alas it has not. But I believe I may have actually discovered something that helps me. Let me reiterate that. It helps me. It may not help anyone else, but I can now say with confidence that it has helped me. A little backstory. Since I was a teenager, I have always taken an inordinate amount of time to go #2. When I was finally done and I start finishing up, lo and behold round two would start. It was not unusual for me to spend 30-45 minutes on the toilet. I have always just accepted that was the way I was built since my dad is almost the same way. I thought it was because of our diets. But since surgery I can honestly say that I have never eaten healthier. Measured either by nutrition or by portions, this is as good as I can be about my diet. I have seen people on here talking about the Squatty Potty and thought it was stupid. I mean borderline ridiculous. But there comes a time when one will entertain the idea if they are desperate enough. So I started reading up on it. Reviews are overwhelmingly positive, but there are some that are decidedly "meh". I found a two pack on ebay for $35 delivered and I figured I might as well try it for that price. I also started using an app on my phone called "Everybody Poops!" to track how often and how long I go. I know, it sounds stupid, but my BM's have become so infrequent that I was becoming concerned. I had the app about a week before the Squatty Potty came. I figured that would be a good baseline to measure the effectiveness of the stool. The first couple times I used it, I felt clumsy and foolish. But I continued to use it since I paid good money for it. I can now use it properly and not feel like a moron. I was lucky if I went 3 times a week before, but now I am going about every other day, and a couple times I have gone twice in one day! At first, I did not think anything was really that different. I still took a long time in the bathroom and nothing was really any easier. But as I got better at positioning myself, so did the results. According to the app, I am down to about 15-20 minutes. I am also no longer straining on the toilet. I think the first couple tries I was just really constipated still. Now I getting to be pretty regular. And on top of that, what I am leaving behind is of much smaller volume than before. I believe that means that I am fully evacuating finally. I don't like to be graphic, but this is for everyone's benefit so I guess it will be OK. I am no longer leaving huge logs. These are longer but more narrow and tapered. I no longer have to use exorbitant amount of toilet paper either. But the best thing is the general feeling of "emptiness" that I have afterwards. Guys, I know we all like to joke about taking a crap and being manly about it. But if you are truly deep down concerned about it, I heartily recommend you try out the Squatty Potty. I am not affiliated nor am I being prompted by anyone to post this information. I'm just a guy who has had an issue with BM's for a long time and I believe this has helped me. If you have any questions, I'll do my best to answer them.

I find it funny that it has been over a month since I said I was going to post a picture after hitting my goal. This stall has lasted way too long. Hopefully it won't be much longer.

I don't add sweetners to much, but if I have it has been honey still in the honeycomb. If I were to use real sugar, I would go for the unrefined stuff.

BigViffer's Manly Bean Meal There are some cool sounding recipes here. But I want to kick it up a notch with something more manly. I made this after my surgery when I was wanting something a little more normal than what I was eating at the time. I made my own BBQ sauce since most bottled stuff has corn syrup in it. 2 bags dried Beans. - (I use Black & Pinto. IMPORTANT: BEANS WILL NEED TO BE SOAKED FOR AT LEAST 8 HOURS) 1 lbs. bacon - (NOT MAPLE OR SWEET! Peppered or smoked taste the best. I have also used smoked pulled pork shoulder butts with no sauce.) 1 Onion - (I don’t care what color. Just pick one. Yellow onions are the most pungent though.) 1 Bell Pepper - (Green, Red, Yellow… whatever sounds good to you) Jalapeno or Chipotle peppers - I like it spicy, so I added about 4, my frieds said it was too hot though. It's up to you. At least 4 cloves garlic. - Come on, add some more. You wuss. Big splash Apple Cider Vinegar - (OK, maybe ¼ cup) Real Molasses or Treacle. - This stuff is potent, so start off with only about 2 Fluid oz. You can always add more if necessary. ¼ cup tomato paste - Make sure you don't use your wife's tomoato paste concetrate that she already has plans for. It's also much stronger than regular tomato paste. Scoop of brown sugar. - This is another part that is to taste, maybe ¼ cup Yellow mustard - To taste. Noticing a trend yet? Salt & pepper if you want. - How much? You guessed it, to taste. Pick over beans to remove stones and the uglies. Soak in a bowl with just enough Water to cover the beans. Add the salt to the beans and water. Go to bed Wake up your wife so she can make her wonderful husband who loves her more than his motorcycle and truck combined some coffee. Drain the beans but keep the stock! Cook the bacon and save the grease. Season if you want because we all know that you make the best damned anything. You want the bacon to be crispy – not burned! This is the only time that crisp bacon should ever be made. It is a waste of bacon and an abomination against nature any other time. Roughly chop the bell peppers, onion, jalapeno peppers, and the garlic cloves. Add them to a little of the bacon grease and cook until the onions are translucent. Put drained beans into a very big crockpot. Add everything at the same time, cuz thats how a man cooks. (peppers, onions, garlic, all sauces, vinegar, all spices, etc...) Now add just enough of the stock back into the crockpot to cover the beans. Wait a fricken eternity for the damn things to cook while the aroma drives you insane. Put a towel under the drooling dogs mouth to avoid a slipping hazard in the kitchen. Drive the kids out of the house so you don't have to listen to them asking, "Is it done yet?!" Open and stir. Taste for testing the texture. Repeat the last step if necessary. This will literally take all day. Depending on your crockpot, I'd say 8-12 hours. If your crockpot is out of the kids reach, 8 hours. If they can reach it, they will keep opening it up wanting to see it. Once ready, you will be eating beans for a week. flatulence will take on a new meaning in your house. No one will be spared, no one is safe. You'll try to make jokes in the beginning, but it wonlt last long. Your wife will avoid you, your kids will fear you. Only the dog will stay by your side. Hoping you will drop some beans most likely. Then you and the dog will be a source of unrefined methane that brings shame to your household. But you won't care, because the beans are that damned good.

This is so out of left field it has me intrigued. I think I am going to give this a try. Thanks for posting this!

NO CAPITAL F?! YOU JUST MADE THE SHITLIST!

No need to to wait for summer, you are already rocking that thing! Congrats!

After talking with my surgeon, the #1 cause of dizziness for those not taking BP medicine is not enough fluids. Then through my own research, I saw that extended periods of time with too few calories can cause dizziness as well. If you are able, increase both your fluid and your calories with your surgeons permission and see how that helps.

I had my 9 month post-op appointment yesterday. Nothing special, just a routine follow-up. The only thing I wanted to talk to my surgeon about was the continuing saga of constipation and whether I should still be on a 1300 calorie goal. I was thinking that perhaps I should up it to 1500 to see if it helps with the current plateau I appear to be on. First thing he does when he comes into the room is break into a huge smile and shake my hand. He had me stand and turn around so that he can check me out. He had me lift my shirt so that he could see how much excess skin there might be and what my BMI might be before calculating anything. He then asked for my log printout that I always bring in with me. Here is where my surprise came. He called me one of his best success stories. Success? But I am not done yet. Am I? According to him, since my ribs are now visible as well as my xiphoid process (pointed bottom of the sternum) and that my knees touch when laying down, and just general visibility of muscle and joints that I am already pretty lean. There may be a layer of fat still attached to the inside of the skin, but not a lot of reserves. I pointed out that I still have a belly and he said that it mostly skin and of course with constipation I am a sticking out a little, but he is happy with where I am. I thought I still had 20-25 lbs to go. My original goal was 220, but I thought I would bottom out at 200 and maintain at 220. I am currently at 225. Don't get me wrong, it feels wonderful to be here from 330, I just didn't think I would have "finished" already. I asked if I could continue to try for the 200 lbs mark, and he said it was fine, but it would only be for personal satisfaction. Health wise, he was happy where I am now. He liked the muscle that I was able to maintain and wants to ensure that I do not sacrifice it for a number on a scale. I totally understand that. He then went on to praise my record keeping. Said not only did he wish more patients did it, he wished he was able to do it. I have logged every bite I have eaten since I started logging food. I didn't start it because I wanted to log it, I only started doing it so that I would know how close I was to my Protein goal. I have since come to appreciate the data aggregation and analysis that I can do with it. (kind of a nerd here). He also said that I should be consuming anywhere from 1200 - 2000 calories! Woah there chief, not ready for that just yet! But I think I will go ahead and change my goal to 1500 and see if that changes anything. I also think I am going to change my categories from: Breakfast lunch dinner... to time ranges: 06:00 - 12:00am 12:00 - 05:00 05:00 - 09:00 I think that would be a better way to track it. anyways, I wanted to put this information out there because I know some of the men are wanting more topics relevant to them. I have also attached part of my log in case anyone was curious as to what I do. This is only an example, I have several different analysis tabs going on.Paul MyFitPal 2015-11-19.pdf

Ah, then that must be it. I am hitting my targets via food only. That doesn't mean I should continue to do so, I thought it was just better to do it. But seeing how others results appear to be better than mine currently, I am going to look into it.

I thought it was a medical term for the longest time. Out of fear of looking stupid, I just never asked what it meant! When I saw it being used by people who had bands or bypass I knew it was something other than sleeve related. My wife looked over my shoulder one time and deduced it right away. I like to think I am so smart, but she puts me in my place without even trying!

Man, I can hit 100 grams of Protein a day sometimes, but not all the time or routinely like many of you guys seem to be able to do. OKCPitate, I think I will take a gander at your MFP just to see what I am doing differently. I had my 9 month follow-up appointment yesterday. It went well I am glad to report, but there was a suprise as well. Nothing major, just unexpected. I am going to start another thread on that in a bit. Doesn't pertain to this discussion and I like to keep my threads relatively clean.

It's not a form of OCD in my opinion. I grew up poor. My mom could make leftovers last a week. Nothing was wasted. We also had the "clean plate club". I'm sure that many other people here had something similar. Didn't matter if you liked it or not, that's what there was to eat. We were praised as children to finish our food and "clean our plate" with the slice of bread at the end. Now that I am older and not poor, you would think that I could break that habit. Nope. I didn't get this far by being a wasteful person. Unfortunately, I did get fat by not being the wasteful person. Here is what we are doing in my house now. We are only cooking a very little bit. If they are still hungry afterwards, they can make something for themselves. Turns out, if they have to work for it they aren't that interested in it! Maybe try that for your boyfriend and their kids.

A word on salads - in a pinch or every once in a while regular lettuce salads are OK. But if you need a salad more often (like me) learn to like kale. Nutritionally dense, especially compared to iceberg lettuce. Also, salad dressings are very high in calories that don't really bring much to the table for us. If you are at a place with a salad bar, just get the "goodies" instead of the lettuce. Broccoli, peas, eggs, cheese, etc...

@@BigTink2LilTink - see? That is exactly the type of information I am looking for. Were you told to your calories up at that level by your nutritionist or surgeon? I have an appontment today with my surgeon and this is something I will be asking him.

Oh man, how could I have forgot to mention this?! I was a zombie the first two weeks after my surgery because of my BP meds. That was a huge help when I was told to stop taking them. Good job pointing this out!

Congrats on the milestone! I had to chuckle though, your Non-Scale Victory was the scale reading 1XX! It doesn't matter what kind of victory it is, claim whatever victories you can!

Time. That is really the only thing you can do. I would advise against drinking coffee/caffeine just yet. I realize it will be tempting for that moring boost, but it will upset your stomach so soon after surgery.

I'm thinking for me it was the one month mark. It wasn't much, just a nibble at a time though. My wife used a lot of cauliflower to make "rice" and she also used it to make a pizza crust mixed with cheese. By 2 months, I think I was able to actually eat all of those veggies normally; albeit slowly.

@@dlappjr Damn man, 80lbs in 3 months?! Yeah, I'd say you are due for a stall. Your body is going to be doing some major adjusting and redistributing resources. I think you'll find your measures shrinking at this time. At that time frame, my stalls were broken with increased fluids and Fiber. Staying regular was and continues to be a struggle for me. Once I got back to regular, I was back to 2-3 lbs a week loss. If you don't already, learn to love prunes, figs, and dried apricots. I can lose 2 lbs in a day once things are moving again.

Ladies – I posted this here in the Guy’s Room because your caloric intake is not relevant to the question, but please feel free to read the thread. Gentlemen - I’m currently coming out of a stall that lasted about 3 weeks, but for the life of me I do not know what I did to break the stall. I tried increasing calories, decreasing them, drinking more and of course just waiting it out. I finally had 3 really good BM’s, so I think I am getting back to regular too. During this latest stall, of course I went online a read tons of articles, used the online calculators, yada yada yada… they all say I should be at 1700-2500 calories to lose weight safely. Obviously they are not for those of us who have had surgery. My nutritionist is worthless and is only there to sell products. I have always come better prepared than she does to our appointments. And our appointments always end with her saying, “What do you think you should be doing?” Ugh. Here is my relevant info. Surgery weight was 330 and I am down to 225. My calorie target is 1300 calories and 64 oz Fluid a day. Most days I come in under that caloric intake, but there are a few days that I go over. Out of the last 169 days, I have gone over that target 27 times according to my records. I work out on average 4 days a week. 30 minutes cardio and at least that much in the weight room working only one muscle group in a session. If you have similar stats and habits, would you mind sharing your daily caloric goal?

You should send her a picture of some pants that you just bought and say, "I bet you wish you could wear these". I think that would be pretty funny.