laguerr13

It was challenging for me at first, I got ill the first few times after I was back on solids, but I quickly learned to listen to my stomach and not my head for awhile and by the 4th day I felt great after I ate, I can now use bothy head and stomach to distinguish between thirst and hunger, I also cannot go past 4oz of food, 3 months out and I can safely cheat once a month without wanting more than that, I do get weird cravings, last week it was Oysters and Tang, this week it has been grilled sausage and homemade Lemonade, so I guess I am weird......

Hey guys, I know it sounds hard at first but the more you follow the program, the more easier it becomes I started this journey in January after I went through a bout of severe depression over my mom passing the previous year in December, I was at 388lbs by December 2014, I had researched the options and surgery for two years prior, and in January this year I was at 360lbs, on June 10th my day of surgery I was at 346lbs, now almost 3 months out I am at 294lbs!!!!!!, the plus is that after they removed the lower part of my stomach was that I now at this point have to remind myself to eat at times, I am rarely hungry, and do more than 60oz of fluids per day, I have also become very addicted to the Gym, working out at least 3x per week for an hour and a half to two hours, my apnea is gone, my vitals are at 124/78, 78P, and i am no longer pre diabetic, the down sides are that I have dehydrated twice, I have reflux sometimes, and alot of people think it was easy, since my wife is in school full time and works, we are on a tight budget, so I also learned to shop wisely and look for options to dietician recommendations, I purchase my protein through The Vitamin Shoppe, I buy the 5lb chocolate powder for $49.00, and I buy fusion vitamins online for 24.00, the snack bars and ISO drinks are great if you can afford them, but you can substitute with 1oz potions of jerky, cashews, and cheese, as for drinks I hate soda now and easily get by with water, G2, MIO, and the cheaper Walmart brands of water enhancers, also tea, and decaf coffee on the weekends, when you begin to see and feel the difference it will carry you over and start a wonderful momentum, don't get discouraged, even thin people are unhappy and make mistakes at times, and follow these 3 basic rules 1. Don't dehydrate, it is painful and since we can't drink fast it lingers longer. 2. Don't make the scale rule your emotions, I weigh myself once every one or two weeks only. 3. We are all shedding bad habits and relearning, so just like a baby you will fall, but at that age no one tells you you can't get up, so if you fall GET UP!!!!!! Good luck I hope this helps, message me whenever you want, I vowed to pay it forward for the rest of my life, and welcome LOSERS!!!!!

I'm gonna watch some SpongeBob now, it makes more sense to me

I think it's more about how insurances like to manipulate that word, I work in the medical field and one of our biggest things for patients is "Informed consent" meaning that every aspect of ANY procedure even a simple X-Ray is understood, and since all patients that have full capacity to decide things on their own( except in emergency situations) even cancer treatment is elective, we have the right to refuse any treatment, but then it becomes more of a moral dilemma, insurances don't care about that especially now that we have to carry it, here in Texas before mandatory car insurance laws, I was 19yrs old and paid $45.00 for full coverage, and after the law was changed I paid $98.00 for the same coverage after awhile, there needs to be changes and people need to advocate against these ridiculous insurances who by the way create a major enterprise along with hospital systems that charge over $80,000 for a two night stay, He who has the gold gets the cure, if you have straw you just get to live a little longer.......

@ sineadorebellion : we live in San Antonio but are wanting to relocate in the next few years to Rockport or Corpus Christi, and BTW I like Empire Records too.....lol

Yes but not all symptoms occur in everyone, you gotta remember even though it's a relatively easy and safe surgery it is major and parts of your innards and stomach were manipulated, and alot of times the anesthesia causes more problems for people than the surgery itself

It's the stringent miser insurance companies that cause this, you have to have co-morbidity issues to say it is necessary, hopefully in the next few years the government will be willing to more tightly regulate what insurance companies pay for, I was already told that my "excess skin" surgery would be considered "Elective" if I have no issues with it, so they are basically telling me to try to have discomfort and infections first....... Oh the irony

It was gas for me from the anesthesia which can linger, I got better by walking and got some Gas X, reflux is reoccurring now from time to time so I take Prilosec, make sure you call your Dr. First before taking advise, we are all different

@ imsoglad56: see that's why I want a dehydrator, I can even get exotic meats here in Texas and make my own jerky, I used to pay up to $15.00 a lb for it sometimes, I'd rather invest in a dehydrator and make my own, my wife got me a professional Hawaiian ice machine on Amazon last year, it paid for itself by the end of last summer, now I substitute "MIO" or Walmart brand water enhancers, and still get my sno cone fix, thanks for sharing that.......

@ wantingabetterlife: nice seeing you on here, motivating is only 50%, where's yours???? I'm behind you in this, so make me smile and send a pic of your new gym card as soon as you get it!!!!!!!!

I do cardio, and legs, but my big thing is weights, I'm trying to go bigger all the time, I don't like the "thin look" at all, I still want to be big, but not in an unhealthy way, I used to arm curl 95lbs, and I was back up to 60lbs when this happened, but I am still motivated, I guess this is just the way it feels when you get addicted to the Gym Rat Life..... Lol

Beef or turkey jerky is actually and awesome snack to have, I'm gonna try to get a dehydrator this next year and make my own since I love spicy, I on a tight budget so I buy my snacks bulk and divide them with a kitchen scale my wife bought me at Walmart, very simple: large package of jerky, cashews, and baby bel cheese, use scale to divide into 1oz portions, then you can alternate your snacks between the 3, when you look at the price on those protein snack packs you realize how much you save, I also use good small freezer bags

So I've been faithful about what I have had to do after my surgery and I am down from 388lbs to 294lbs, and I'm ahead of my schedule, but I can't go back to the gym for at least 2 weeks, u injured my left shoulder at work Monday, I stretched my ligaments, I thought I could handle this but I've become very sad and grumpy that I can't go to the gym, now I understand why my fanatic gym rat friends used to get so upset when they missed the gym, and when I do go I have to start slow and light again, AAAAAARRRRGGGGGGHHHH!!!!!!!!! #hatesedatenofun

@@tjstark : see support doesn't always come from those close to you, it comes from the heart, hit me up sometime for some snappy comebacks, I have no filter so I'm very good

People for the most part whom act like that are unhappy with the short comings in their life, whether family or friends, your Job right now is to focus on your goals and future, when you do get to shed all the weight, they will focus on other things like you "taking the easy way" and asking if your "sick", I've been very lucky up until now, I lost over 94lbs, most of it since my surgery on June 10th, now I've gotten hurt at work and I can't go to the gym for two weeks, I'm unhappy about the gym thing since I'm very addicted to working out, but I remain unfazed and focused, and plan to start over as soon as I am allowed, BTW: the hardest thing I ever did next to this was years ago when I turned my back on negative family and friends, it hurt me, but in the long run I have very inspiring family and friends that surround me now...... Good luck, you got this!!!!

We see that all the time at my work, it's called self medicating, but things like marijuana and even alcohol can not only be among other things, gateway drugs, but also mask true underlying issues, and eventually lead to a severe drop in mood, and even suicide, it's like putting a bandaid on a deep wound, and it's very hard because patients will swear up and down that they do better on it, it's hard to get it into their heads that it is a matter of time.........

Lol I'm outta the gym for two weeks, I just hurt my shoulder at work, I'm motivated to my own MRI if this workman's comp thing turns sour.......

Sent you a motivation thingy, hope it helps

Nothing to suck up, I promise only. Handful of people at the gym have no insecurities,partly bodybuilders and cross fit addicts, but if you go to the right gym, you can and will be comfortable right away, I don't know where your from but I go to Freedom Fitness and they have separate areas for males and females, I'm actually very proud to go since people notice my weight loss and muscle gain, I have a hot wife so people know I'm not there to pick up anyone, you will be ok, it's about you not others!!!!!!!! I know you can do this, I can do anything after the gastric surgery, that was the hardest.

@ wanting a better life : look for a trainer on your own then pay them for a couple of sessions, learn to utilize all the machines and techniques by watching others, the gym looks intimidating but a lot of people there are very nice and willing to help, go for a low key gym, ask friends, don't go to a "pick up" gym you'll be unhappy, I'm very polite and mind my own business except once when I got tired of watching this kid take selfies and kept telling me to wait, so I kicked his water bottle across the floor....... #theperilsoftestosteroneandweightloss lol

MzAlice: I had the opportunity to go back to the gym 5 days after my surgery but with restrictions of treadmill and light circuit training for no more than 45 min, then on my third week follow up I got the green light to go all out, I'm back at 3x per week from 1hr30min - 2hrs and I lift heavy, but u need to ask your surgeon first, we are not qualified to tell you and we are all built different, good luck!!!

I take Celebrex for arthritis, my wife had severe bouts of FM when we met, we got it under control for a long time, now that she has gained weight and not lost very much I notice more frequent flare ups but with rest and meds it's still manageable, I think there is a definite correlation between weight, activity and FM, she recently got a part time job and has lost some weight and the flare ups are subsiding, but still takes meds.....

Try to get some crushed ice, I was told 64-75oz per day, and the first week I hit maybe 45oz, but it will get a lot better, I would rely on my stomach more than what I'm told, I wouldn't like to hurt myself, colder the water or drinks the better for me, almost 3 months post op and I get 70-90oz now.....hang in there

Or there are several web sites that offer both bariatric and carb friendly choices, one of my two biggest were Carl Jr's offers alternative specialty cheeseburgers wrapped in lettuce instead of bread, and Panda Express has several offerings......

I have decaf on the weekends because caffeine is a gateway drug for me that leads to energy drinks again lmao