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I'm day 5 post op. Haven't started the official workouts yet. I'm still in the germaphobe stage and want these 9 new holes to heal up before I touch anything in the gym. I've been walking around the house....in the driveway......up & down stairs a couple times a day. Hernia still bothering me when standing up, but no complaints. When I do begin the gym work it will initially be limited to walking inclines on the treadmill. After a couple months I'll add the elliptical machine (depending on how knees and back are doing). Hopefully at month 5-6 I'll add weight training, too. I will not be doing free weights, but using plate loaded machines. I have a bad shoulder and other issues and want the restricted range of motion that the machines offer. Looking forward to the changes. I doubt I'll be in beach-shape by this Summer, but I will enjoy some long walks down the beach with a shirt on. I'm really looking forward to the weight coming off and the joints feeling better and better.

Awesome. You were in the best of care at Duke. That is well worth any delay and aggravation with having to change over. If I still lived in NC there is no doubt that I would have pursued going to Duke for my surgery. The place is unbelievable in every way. Top Notch. Sounds like you are doing very well and there is no reason for you to not continue along this path toward you goal. Great job.

I think I made my surgeon feel good when he came to my room for follow-up visits the day off and day after surgery. I was having such minimal pain from the sleeve that I had to question him on it. He pulled my crazy looking hospital gown up (no dude should have to wear one of these contraptions) and showed me my gut and the 9 fresh holes in it. "Yes.....I did, in fact perform your sleeve surgery", he said with a smile. I'm on day 5 now and it's easy to get my 3 shakes down along with several 24 oz glasses of ice Water. I've reached the hydration point where my urine is almost clear. I plan on staying this hydrated, too. I did get a full feeling today. I was having a Protein shake that is thicker than the other brands I use. I must have been too swift on a couple back to back swallows and it was like, "Whoooooaaaahhhhhh boy......slow down." Felt cold in my esophagus. What are in your min-meals 4 days after surgery ?

We all gripe about the pre-op diet but honestly it's a healthy move. The Protein is a good healthy amount. The low carbs get us into ketosis. The focus on uping our Water intake help to flush out toxins and get us nicely hydrated for surgery. The other benefit is that if we didn't have this pre-op diet, many of us would be stuffing our gullets at Golden Corral and other places with garbage we don't need to have. I know I would have, at least. Best wishes @@mlp1435 , You are getting mighty close to game day.

Excellent ! How did it go ????

This is great news. I'll be logging some frequent flier miles !!!!

Thank, Boss. Very relieved and glad to be here. I'm going to push hard and make the very best of this opportunity. No excuses, no BS and no slacking off.

I need to get some new gym clothes. Shirts, long gym pants, shorts, etc. Casual Male has a nearby store, but the prices are insane. Was hoping to find a more affordable online source.

Well......you've thought it through and made your decision. You seem to be committed to the process and have a great support staff. I think you'll be successful and want have to dance around saying the word "obese" ever again. You'll kick butt and feel twenty years younger by your next birthday, I'll bet.

Yes ma'am. He can still lose weight just like people do all the time. Eat healthy, stay active, stay hydrated and get proper sleep. Hopefully he'll make what ever adjustments he needs to once the band comes out. No more junk food, etc. Maybe you could motivate him by going to the gym together. You'll get him plugged into a healthier lifestyle, at least. It sure is easier when you have common health goals. You've got a great attitude about this and hopefully he'll appreciated that and listen to your concerns.

Did your doctor specify why you needed to slow down ? That would be critical information. If there is no safety reasons and you like what you are doing, then why stop? You may be losing quicker than they expected due to your high activity level in the gym. It's great to hear that you are enjoying your new self so well. If the juice (sugar water) is your only vice.....well.....so be it. It's not like you are drinking it daily. I'll bet your NUT would get off your case, though, if you did like the folks above suggested and just took in fruit vs juice. Fun times.

Dude.....you have kicked ass. Outstanding results. Thank you for posting your experience. That is some serious inspiration, right there. What an amazing story......you went from sneaking fast food to crossfit. How freaking cool is that !!! I wonder what that opinionated loudmouth coworker has to say now.

Mine is whatever size my surgeon chose to use. I trusted him to do his job and did not ask for stupid customizations.

That is really awesome. Swimming is tremendous in terms of what it does for your body without damaging joints. You couldn't pick a better form of exercise. Outstanding. I wish there was an aqua center near my house. My local gym has been toying with the idea. They have the real estate to add one. I've got my fingers crossed........ Proud of you. Swimming is perfect.

Well......you just slid into home plate and scored a grand slam homer !!!! You have arrived. You've been going full bore ahead and now comes a tricky part......getting dialed in on maintenance. You have truly kicked ass and changed your life. Now it's time to slow the descent and hover. I suspect that will involve a lot of trial and error....getting dialed in. It is inspiring to see someone achieve what you have achieved. Seeing you stabilize and stay there will be really impressive, too. Amazing progress. Looking forward to seeing your strategy and future success.

Well......turns out that my need for big&tall gym clothes has gone away. I was able to have my surgery several months sooner than I anticipated when I started this thread. I'm very fortunate with this. My current gear is sufficient to see me through until I drop off a few sizes and back into regular sized gear. The Under Armour pants are cut long enough to meet the "tall" demand. Looking forward to the months ahead. A couple weeks before surgery I went into Casual Male XL to get some cargo pants. When I was leaving the salesperson tried to get me to sign up for all sorts of future rewards stuff. I kindly thanked them but declined. I didn't go into details with them, but that may very well have been my last time walking into that store. Very cool feeling.

I'm still in my first week post-op and have found this is the most unpleasant aspect of the surgery thus far. I'm fortunate that I don't have to take many meds, just 4. They are all tablets. I simply chew them up and swallow down with some Water. The taste is horrible, but some sips of water and then brushing my teeth right after knocks out the bad taste. Is it fun ? Heck no ! Is it a big deal ? Nope, not if I don't dwell on it and delay. Just chomp 'em up and wash 'em down. A few seconds of yuck that is over with really soon. Again, I realize that I'm lucky by only having four pills and lucky they are tablets. Were they caplets, then I'd dismantle them and get the powder out. I'd actually considering going to a local compounding pharmacy and see if they could do liquid emulsions on my pills, however, the "chomp 'n swallow" method is working just fine. I'm still in my first week post-op and have found this is the most unpleasant aspect of the surgery thus far. I'm fortunate that I don't have to take many meds, just 4. They are all tablets. I simply chew them up and swallow down with some water. The taste is horrible, but some sips of water and then brushing my teeth right after knocks out the bad taste. Is it fun ? Heck no ! Is it a big deal ? Nope, not if I don't dwell on it and delay. Just chomp 'em up and wash 'em down. A few seconds of yuck that is over with really soon. Again, I realize that I'm lucky by only having four pills and lucky they are tablets. Were they caplets, then I'd dismantle them and get the powder out. I'd actually considering going to a local compounding pharmacy and see if they could do liquid emulsions on my pills, however, the "chomp 'n swallow" method is working just fine.

I didn't have any that last 6 weeks, but I did leading up to that point. Oikos Triple Zero Greek Yogurt is the ticket. Every flavor of it is excellent. High Protein content, too. Excellent product.

Still in the that first week after surgery here. I have had 3 incidents where I've had hiccups. Each time was when I was drinking Water and each time just was 2-3. Thankfully they weren't really deep....just 2-3 shallow hiccups and they went away. Weird because I can't remember the last time I've had hiccups prior to this.

That is super cool. I'll have to order some. I have no desire whatsoever to add junk like mashed potatoes back into my diet until I reach my goal. Empty calories. Thank you.

Get your metabolism up. It's not quite as easy as flipping a switch......but not too difficult sometimes, either. Cut out sugary junk food. That stuff makes you feel lethargic and promotes cravings for more of the same junk a few hours later. Break this cycle and you'll find significant energy boost. Live off meats, fish, fowl with fresh or steamed vegetables. Get your activity level up. Walk, walk, walk. Stay very hydrated with Water....not diet soft drinks. Being well hydrated has a great effect on your body. Fight through the first few days as you get adapted to not having the sugar, starch and junk. You'll feel weird, but by the end of the week you will sustain a better feeling. By doing this you are giving your body what it was designed to have....not all that processed crap that most of us crave and binge on.

The cool thing about feeding the family is that there are so many tasty meals in the freezer aisles. Most are so easy that even a caveman like me can cook them. It sure would be nice for you to not have to be the main family chef during this time......at least not every day. Some days you could simply turn it over and take the day off. Good luck to you. Looks like you have a little while leading up to your surgery. That can be a great time. Hopefully you are in good health and can be getting frequent walking in and working on things leading up to your surgery date. Best wishes.

@@Jangy03253 & @@wannaBthinsoon Great way to find a workaround to this problem. That is awesome. Cruel to have someone smoking around you, though. GRRRRRRRRR. ​I was lucky that I was the only smoker at home. So very much easier to stop. I'd have struggled if my wife had of been firing up when I was struggling to quit. You both are doing great.

There seems to be a range of acceptance among the programs discussed here. I've had recent experience with two local bariatric programs. The surgeon in each was clear that there was to be zero use of nicotine in any form. Cigarettes, cigars, smokeless chewing tobacco, e-cigs, gum, etc. They both were really firm on this when they covered with the classes. It came across really harsh, actually. Zero tolerance. As a former smoker I knew how stern those proclamations must have been to the smokers in the room. In both classes, someone raised there hand and asked when they could resume smoking after the surgery. The responses they received were harsh. It pretty much shutdown any future discussion about the subject. After going through the pre-op stuff......and now healing up post-op........I can say that everything went really easily. If I'd have had to deal with quitting smoking at this same time I would have been a grumpy bastard. The pre-op liquid diet while not having a cigarette..........whooooooeeeeeee, I'd have been one mean sob. So grateful that I could stop things in stages. The smokes went away 15 years ago.......the booze has been gone since April. Changing eating habits has been much easier than the rest that led up to it. You have my respect and sympathy trying to work through this stipulation.