Nikasio

Found this question fascinating, so I trolled the bodybuilding.com site, which appears to have plenty of topics from guys who had WLS.
The following is brief summary made up from several posts:
1. Quality Carbs before a workout AKA complex carbohydrates.
2. Bananas to keep you from cramping.
2. BCAA supplemented drink just before a workout.
3. Protein to repair muscle after a workout. Don't depend on just liquid proteins: fish, poultry, boiled eggs. The more complicated the food the more your body works digesting it.
4. Shock workouts by alternating whether you do cardio or weights first.
5. Continue to take a quality Bariatric supplement to prevent deficiencies.
From there it gets even more esoteric what people do to build mass.
Here is an inspiration story on how a formerly 370 Lbs castric bypass patient: http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/body-transformation-danny-figueredo-sliced-his-weight-in-half.html

Oh my god...men with body image issues <<insert evil laugh>>. Seriously, I have always had body image issues. What kept me from overreacting or feeling depressed about not liking what I see is that I had two female relatives with real eating disorders and body dysmorphia. It is a very serious issue that sadly leads to sufferers starving themselves to death. I say had because they have both died from cardiac complications from their eating disorder. So when ever I have the misfortune of looking in the mirror and not liking what I see, I remind myself to get over it and live my life as best I can. P.S. Though women seem to suffer more from eating disorders, men and women both suffer about equally from BDD Body Dysmorphic Disorder.

@@James Marusek Good advice regarding the antibiotics and Probiotics. I've been taking Ultimate Flora with 30 Billion live cultures per capsule. Having learned from the effects of antibiotics from a previous surgery it is a good idea to build up a healthy flora early on. The green poops are due to bile not being digested. Apparently green is one of the first colors of the digestive track. So hopefully things will slow down and brown will come back to town.
I too am lactose intolerant. Have been using products from powders?utm_source=BariatricPal&utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_campaign=CommentLink" target="_ad" data-id="1" >unjury, Bariatic Advantage, and Isopure since they are basically lactose free whey Isolate or Ion exchange. So far the Unjury shakes with skim milk in a Blender Bottle mix the easiest so I use this at work.
I have to use a small GNC blender for Bariatric Advantage. BA shakes seem to be thicker so I drink them more slowly. The thickness fills you up the most.
The Isopure low carb powders mix easily but aren't necessarily the best tasting to me. Whereas the ISOpure Zero Carb Protein drinks have 40 grams of Protein per 20oz, but don't give the same full feeling you get from 8oz of Unjury or Bariatric Advantage. The other disadvantage of the ISOpure glass bottles is that they break when being shipped. Used these for two weeks after surgery since they were Clear liquids and I measured out the liquid. The unflavored powdered is great for adding to chicken broth, but if you add it while the broth is still hot (~140F) you'll end up with something that looks like failed Matzo ball Soup.
The Lean Body shakes from Labrada Nutrition are supposedly lactose free, but go through me like regular milk. These plastic bottles survive regular shipping since they are plastic. In my opinion, they don't taste as good as the Unjury, Bariatric Advantage or ISOpure products. Lean Body has a strange chalky taste.
But I've digressed. From another obesity site, I found some postings that things should hopefully slow down when I switch to pureed foods.
Thank you.

Compression shorts under or on top. I would say under. Unless you fell like a peacock and want to attract some ladies, under your sweatpants will probably make your spouse less paranoid. Especially if you are making better progress than her. As for cosmetic surgery, male breast reduction for Gynecomastia or plastic surgery to remove excess skin can cause nerve damage to the nipples. So unless your moobs / flapjacks are really giving you a problem, you have to weigh the risks against the benefits.

I saw the price and asked the ladies about them. Their advice about possible nipple irritation is to use talcum powder. At 78 dollars a pop, the Spanx brand name is a bit pricey. I might as well wait until I get nearer my goal weight. By then my flapjacks will need them because the boys will be saggy instead of perky.

@@Alex Brecher oh how I hear your. I am only 5'6" and luckily my mom taught me to take hem, cause by the time I find something that fits me I have to either pay a tailor or special order it. So many of the loose fitting pants I have to buy end up looking like harem or balloon pants. Not a good look for short guys.

@@Italian Gal You are so right. Somehow the industry doesn't use plus size gals like Klyker, but would instead just put on the smallest size on a slightly meaty gal. The US industry should seriously consider doing what they are starting to do in the EU, self regulate to use bigger models that aren't size 0 or face the possibility of the government (e.g. Italy) passing a law that forces them to use common sense. Maybe then fewer teenage girls will develop terrible eating disorders from the constant bombardment of unrealistic body image. Sorry if I made this rant a little too serious.

It is reassuring that it wasn't just me that was experiencing this. It was like emotional "hot-flashes." One moment I am watching a good movie and the next moment I feel like I might need a tissue. As well, some people I normally ignore at work had me fantasizing about putting their heads through the wall.

Merell mocs are great for just slipping on and walking. I've bought these, but they were not as orthopedic insert friendly as I hoped.

Oh my god...men with body image issues <<insert evil laugh>>. Seriously, I have always had body image issues. What kept me from overreacting or feeling depressed about not liking what I see is that I had two female relatives with real eating disorders and body dysmorphia. It is a very serious issue that sadly leads to sufferers starving themselves to death. I say had because they have both died from cardiac complications from their eating disorder. So when ever I have the misfortune of looking in the mirror and not liking what I see, I remind myself to get over it and live my life as best I can. P.S. Though women seem to suffer more from eating disorders, men and women both suffer about equally from BDD Body Dysmorphic Disorder.

It is reassuring that it wasn't just me that was experiencing this. It was like emotional "hot-flashes." One moment I am watching a good movie and the next moment I feel like I might need a tissue. As well, some people I normally ignore at work had me fantasizing about putting their heads through the wall.

Hmmm... two posts have been removed from this thread. Babbs comment and my reply. Why were they removed? We weren't in a pissing contest.

Yeah, there seems a to be a lot of that here. I don't think you're an a-hole for making that observation. That's really why I don't go to the live support groups, because that's all there is there too. It just seemed like a pity party.

Dude its the testosterone that has you jacked up. It has been stored in your fat cells and as you lose weight it is coming out. Your body will eventually level out once you stop losing weight at a rapid pace.

I was never a touchy/feely person before surgery, but I was at least apathetic of it when I saw it. I have noticed however that I am having a very real emotional response to things I read or hear in person. And it is disdain or outright aggression.
I swear I want to slap the person who utters the words Journey or Chapter. You know the ones, "Beginning my journey!" Starting a new chapter of my life!"
Ugh.
And the crying. Oh god they never pass up a good opportunity to talk about how they cried about something.
"I saw something I couldn't eat!"
"Someone ate in front of me!"
"Someone said I took the easy way out!"
et cetera, et cetera...
There will always be something you will not be able to eat. And someone will always be there to eat it right in front of you. We all know it was not the easy way out, so whoever said it you can ignore with impunity. Even though this topic is in the Guys Room and I put Guy Room in the topic title, I know the women will come in and read it. Calm down ladies please, I don't mean just the women. I repeat! It is not just women that do these things. There are men as well.
This is not a journey nor a chapter. Those both have a beginning and an end. This isn't a TV show written to tug on the heartstrings about a character overcoming adversity with inspirational music coming to a crescendo at the moment of victory. This is a lifelong change in how we are going to live. Why romanticize it? It is what it is and trying to emulate the sappy crap you see on TV doesn't make it easier or harder. Post surgery life is what it is. It's not a contest to see who suffered the most and then leads the happiest life afterwards.
During my research phase and conversations with my surgeon, I discovered that hormones are fat soluble and there will be heightened levels of hormones while we are losing weight. Maybe that explains why others are sappy or trying to describe their journeys or chapters or whatever they want to call it, but why am I not that way?
So tell me guys, anyone else feel this way or is it just me? Is this my emotional response to hormonal dumping?

Was supposed to go for three months. By my third visit I was the only guy there. It was the opposite of a sausage fest. The only time I spoke I was jumped for making one bad joke about wanting the 85% of my stomach to make Haggis. Besides it having been an out-of-date reference to the 1986 Christopher Lambert / Sean Connery movie Highlander, it was somehow taken as an offensive remark about women eating their placenta. I had to research that leap of logic to even find out that some women do actually freeze and eat their placenta.
On the positive side, I did learn that vertical stripes make you look slimmer and when it is the best time to by off-season clothes at Lane Bryant...which come to think about it I seem to have forgotten though I am still a human clothes rack when shopping with ladies.

I am a thrifty person. Over 20 years ago, I bought a nice suit, an expensive suit, for $5 at a big and tall men's store on their last day of business. It was 6 sizes too small and there was no way I would ever fit into it, but I figured hey, for 5 bucks, I can store it in case I ever lost a bunch of weight. I kept it all these years and this morning, with almost 70# gone, dusted it off and tried it on, it fit! In a twist of fashion fate, it is of a style that had gone out of fashion, but now is back in fashion, looks right in style. Woo-hoo!

@@gowalking Good to hear that your joint replacement surgery was successful. I am at the point where I have to decide whether to replace a knee or a hip first. My orthopedist has done thousands of both and he keeps telling me that I have a high tolerance for pain, because he has had to do hip replacements on better looking joints than mine. Sooner or later, I will have to break down and go for it.

@@Nikasio, I was only weeks or months away from being wheelchair bound due to joint degeration when I got banded. FF to weight loss and bi-lateral hip replacement and today, I can do almost anything any able bodied person can do. It was a long and painful process to get here, but I walked all over my neighborhood yesterday...up and down stairs as well and didn't have any issues.
For me, this is nothing short of a miracle. Here's to hoping you get your miracle as well.

She may not be a good example for a diet. I heard of a video that she starred in where she stuffed too much in her mouth.
(Sorry, I digressed ).

If that is the sole secret, then I am a WLS Prepper. I purchased buckets of Protein powder that I like and a freezer full of fish, pork, and chicken. Decided not to buy steak since some people complained about having problems with steak. But from recent posts, that varies from person to person.

Ok, looking for the dumbest, silliest, craziest weight loss program you ever tried?
Mine was the Arnold Schwarzenegger diet. I saw it in a newspaper one day. Here was the diet -- (at the time Arnold was the President's Exercise Guru) -- Everytime there was a food decision to make, such as carrots or doughnuts, you just thought "What would Arnold do?". Of course, Arnold would have the carrots. I thought this was silly, but started trying it. Sure enough, a week later, down 5 pounds, then 10 the next week. My wife was pretending I was Arnold as well, but that is another story. Finally, after about three weeks, I said to the Arnold question -- "Well, screw Arnold"!! And that was that.

Thanks Nikasio, disconnect is an interesting way of phrasing it I definitely agree I'm 3 months out and this resonates big time. I'm never really satisfied with a meal I think it's a psychological adjustment IMHO because I'm not really hungry when I eat I'm not really satisfied with a meal almost a little depressing no?

I don't like to hurl. I have only had a hangover twice in 64 years. First time, thought maybe it was a cosmic accident so gave it one more try, that was it. With WLS, I had to try to push the pouch capacity. Yep, threw up. Not once more in 5 weeks. I have learned to chew, small tiny bites, and small portions because I am a shameless wuss --- don't like pain, don't like to throw up.

I'm suffering that head stomach battle right now.. I'm 3 weeks post op, and have been managing well, but then fall into that trap mentioned earlier about portion size and my brain overriding the stomach signals. And I paid for that by throwing up a couple times. So now, went and bought a lotta small bowls and children's fork and spoons to work at controlling portion size and speed of eating. We'll see if this helps..