laguerr13

That sounded dirty....... Joke thanks Surfergirl

I appreciate all the feedback, I guess the only negative is the juice thing, I think it's my go to for missing missing desserts and sweets, I don't like chocolate candy and I really have been faithful to my diet, but my energy level and bowel movements are in check since I have began drinking them, I'll have to take a closer look at it, especially since I never crave fresh fruit except grapes, I would be concerned about the timeline on my weight loss except I work out very hard at the gym, I do weight training, core, strength and recently mastered aerobic circuit training, which is why I will have to keep taking protein powder after I'm past this, I would be more concerned if I had been told by my PCP that I am deficient, but so far I've gotten high marks on my blood tests except my vitamin D and cholesterol that was "slightly elevated" these great answers will help me decide what to do, I did feel bad after the post that I failed to mention that on my past diets I lost significant amounts of weight in a short time, I think something like 60lbs in 3 months, I need to call my surgeon about this since maybe it is how my body works, the difference is I am not gaining it back this time....... Thank you all

@ Okcpirate, lol I already do that, I don't mind, I think it was hardest on vacation two weeks ago with my wife, we went to an awesome coastal town, Rockport Tx, and over the years I've learned to hit small hole in the wall restaurants that offer comparable meals for a fraction of fancy places, so I had to leave food behind, including Calamari which I hadn't had in over a year, and the Dos XX, and margaritas my wifey had over the course of our trip, I did wet my lips with the Dos XX, it was a tease

I share the same sentiments as others, Not doing it sooner!!!. If I ever question the reason, I just revert back to my prior and the feeling is very short lived, sometimes I regret not being able to finish a meal that is excellent, then I think about what got me here and how far I've come and it brings a peaceful feeling over me, the positives outweigh the negatives by a large margin, better sleep, not diabetic, clothes are cheaper, more energy and stamina, etc....... I've never cared for acceptance by others but it seems to be part of the new normal, if that doesn't help you listen to this, I'm 51yo, and I've caused damage and wear and tear to my body and some of it is not reversible, like my shattered left knee and permanent ACL damage, I also am never getting the time back that I lost, hope this helps.

On top of being called (@ 5:09 am) off today for the weekend, today is my 90 day follow up with my surgeon, I was sleeved on June 10th but had to postpone my 90 day by a month because of my surgeon's schedule, the last time he saw me I was at 315lbs, and said he wanted me at 300lbs by the next visit, well I'm at 280lbs and I'm doing awesome, my injury is fully healed and I was able to curl 90lbs on the circuit arm curl machine, so my New PB of 90 lb arm curl on the free weights is just around the corner........... Here's to a great follow up today!!!!!!!

I think everyone's normal is different depending on their reason for obesity and surgery, I ate too much because I never thought about it, after surgery I was almost never hungry for the first month or so, I now eat 3-5 oz per meal ( very healthy) but I have to remind myself to eat........... Hope this helps

Totally agree Jess, I was on vacation in a small town on the coastline with my wife last weekend to celebrate our anniversary and her birthday, I took a bite of her dessert on two occasions with no problems and not craving more, but not to be a hypocrite I was a little disappointed that she had a Dos XX the first nite, and a Margarita the second and the whole my mouth was watering, so I have things I absolutely will not go near, the worst being any kind of Energy Drink......

@ Skinnyrita : "Trollers" are people who don't really belong to this forum and disrupt it by posting sarcastic or ambiguous posts regarding how they lost hundreds of pounds without surgery or how much they regret having had it, basically those lonely for attention, even if it's negative, they also like to cause problems between peeps on here, in other words they get bored on FB and look to us to amuse themselves

I like to help others but I also am never intimidated into not saying what I want, my approach to my new self applies to me, as each one should be doing so to meet their individual needs, I indulge in sugar in my coffee and lemonade twice a week, and I cheat on my diet once a month, my rule is "go with it if you can use moderation or don't even think about it " the value of this forum is that you can get ideas from almost every spectrum of sex, age, race, and even location, I've learned some things no one had told me prior or even after surgery, I'd say we were safe in taking the things we can use from the information given and filtering out what would not work for us, I just got past my first stall and it didn't even phase me, after being on this forum I realized almost 98% of the peeps on here go through it, I went from 388 in January to 342 on my surgery day June 10th, and got stuck on 284 of awhile, I'm now at 281 and losing again, I didn't change a thing just remained focused and patient, the only negative for me on this forum is encountering "Trollers" from time to time, and I have buddies on here who tell me like it is and they don't sugar coat it, so it's bariatric friendly..... Lmao

That's not showing off..... It's YOWWWWWZAAAAA!!!!!! Congrats, your inspiring

If you have the "moderation" thingy under control you can indulge in little things like that, just back off if you start wanting to make chocolate shakes using massive amounts, I'm doing great except that I still never go near Energy Drinks, it will set me off.........

Mine is my collar bones, I keep thinking someone could just tear them out, and actually seeing definition in my muscles through what fat is left, I feel like I'm wearing a costume of a fat guy, but I'm buff inside..........lol sort of

I haven't posted for a couple of weeks because of work and vacation, but here is an update, back at the gym going hard after my recent shoulder injury, my stall is over, now at 281lbs from 388lbs, started buying a few clothes, down from 7x to 3x and soon to be a 2x, so far I have helped one person get started on their journey, and soon a second one, my sleep is great and I cheated a couple of times while on vacation, with lemonade, calamari, and some Mexican food, but kept my portions small, hope everyone is ok, I'm excited I'm still on track......

Try to stick with anything chocolate, Vitamin Shoppe has some great ones, and you can get a 5lb tub for $49.99, I finished mine and have to to my old strawberry powder I ordered from online and it is horrible, unfortunately since I workout with weight training I have to take it, try these tricks if you have chocolate, substitute Silk for water, try to add some decaf coffee instant packets ( my favorite with 1 packet Splenda, protein powder and non dairy creamer in a blender with ice) or 2 small squirts of chocolate syrup, also if you use water it is preferable to use very cold filtered water, tap makes it taste worse.....

I have never had a self image problem or been insecure at any time in life except when I used to tell people that I enjoyed working out, then they wanted to see, so last night I posted this for my friends, my wife said "Woe" when I was shirtless this weekend and had to lift some stuff to help her, she said "damn your looking good" tee hee, at 388lbs I couldn't see any of this, but now at 283lbs and going to the gym religiously since my surgery on June 10th.......... I see it and I'm happy, more pics in 4 months

I'm trying thank you

I gotta wait for one of my biggest inspirations "Elode" to comment or I will be incomplete????????????????????????

@Blerdgirl: so it's not a bad idea to keep your biggest clothing??? Someone said I should have a goodbye party and burn it, but I keep thinking that if I can go back from time to time it will keep me grounded

I thought I would be embarrassed initially by comments on my weight loss, but it's actually awesome, I plan to keep the old scrubs and go to them whenever I lose my mind set, and I've kept all my promises, I even talked one of my wife's friends into having it, as I found out last night, she is going with my surgeon and I promised to be there to her Til after a few months out of surgery, ironically I wanted to keep my humility by giving and plan to continue in doing so........

Your honesty is refreshing, hopefully no one on here bashes you for it, I think your doing awesome, I allow myself one cheat day a month, and fortunately I'm not a big sweets fanatic, but my sin is Energy Drinks, I keep wanting them, they are carbonated and full of Caffeine, I haven't tried one because I'll get hooked again, but maybe I can get that under control to have it as a treat every few months, once again congratulations!!!!!!! My wife is South African and says it is hard to find proper fish and chips here...... Guess she's not alone lol

I try to use things like silk as a treat to my shakes, I love things like Premier but they are way overpriced for me, so I use a vitamin shoppe brand, same thing fraction of the cost, I use water in my shakes and milk 2% or silk twice a week, if you like coffee and chocolate try this, 1or 2 scoops chocolate protein 1 packet folgers instant decaf 1/4 cup Silk 1/3 cup water 2 tablespoons French vanilla liquid creamer And ice Pour in shaker bottle or preferably a blender and serve immediately , makes a great frappacino

@ Darkplaces: I guess it proves that we are all different no matter what and what is comfortable for a 150lb person may not be ideal for one that is meant to be 200lbs, I'm happy my doctor understood that, he wanted 150 -160lbs as my goal, u said I could already feel my collarbones and I didn't want to look slender( my preference, I prefer a little bulk on me) we decided at 190-194lbs would be ideal, now at a stall at 284, but happy since u started in January at 388lbs, I'm gonna get there just gotta keep focused

I wish all posts could b light hearted and positive as yours was, some people take themselves way too serious , which is ironic if they remembered what they've been through......

Congrats, I've had symptoms and I'm going through a stall right now, but I would do it again in a second, why???? Because of many reasons, but the latest besides being able to get in a booth at any restaurant??? I went to buy new scrubs for work this week and got emotional, the girl asked me what size and I said 3x (I was a 7x), because I've lost a lot of weight, and i asked to let me try a 4x just in case, she gave me several 3x and refused to give me a 4x, then she said "you are a 2x, why are you getting 3x ?", I responded I probably was a 2x but didn't want to be disappointed, I bought all 3 scrubs(3x) they were loose, and the girl giggled And said "next time you come in if you buy the 2x I'll give you a discount ", so it's great that you had a smooth recovery, and remember you will have greater moments than that, way to go "Looser" keep it up !!!!!

It gets way easier, I went from hunger to getting frequent stomach aches, to having to remember to eat now, it's very surreal, you know it's you, but can't grasp how it happens, my wife used to say "I hate stopping to eat" I understand that now, I was sleeved on June 10th and the only liquid I could tolerate and craved was tomato soup, I never feel deprived and my cravings are healthy ones like shrimp, oysters, cheese etc. I also am strong enough to only cheat once a month, and that's easy cause after 3 months out I only take in 4-5oz at a time, your doing great, don't get discouraged, ironically some of those things like chicken nuggets may not be even wanted after you heal, I hate McDonald's, the smell, taste, my senses seemed to been tweaked after my surgery and I can even tell if meat is sour, and oil is old, apparently I'm not alone in this according to other veterans....... YOU GOT THIS!!!!!