Dub

My hardest habit to break........by far........is eating fast. I still struggle with that aspect.

1. How do you define long-term WLS success for yourself? Did I change the trajectory of my life ? Am I on more solid ground in 5, 10 or 20 years as a result ? Do I LIVE each day or do I just do what must be done to get by ? 2. What are your biggest challenges in becoming successful long-term -- or, if you're a veteran, what WLS challenges have you struggled with? I see my biggest challenge as becoming complacent and backsliding. In my case, for instance.......I carve out the body I want, the life I want........and become complacent........and lose discipline and focus......and drift back to old habits. The way that I'm safeguarding against that is to make these changes.....pattern the new me and the way I approach things as second nature and with fundamental lifestyle changes that I'll embrace for life. There will be no backsliding because the new methods and mannerisms are hardwired in and don't have to be reached for. 3. What advice do you have for those newer to WLS than you? Never forget, for a brief second, the reasons you had for having this WLS. Never forget your pains and struggles. Never. Ever. Keep them close through pics of those times with a few handwritten notes from you about your overall outlook at that moment. Own it. Now use that pain as fuel and burn it. Run on it every single day afterwards. You owe it to your self to always remember where you've been.........and celebrate where you aspire to be. Never forget. But never accept where you are. Keep striving for a better state.

@@Papa Jack Great news on your wife. Powerful results. You've peeked an interest with me. I have been reading and dusting up a bit on this. Interesting. I'm gonna try a 28 day challenge soon. I will be employing the use of some type blender/juicer/mixer as I don't see how I have enough stomach capacity to eat the amounts this diet suggests......but I could drink them in concentrated form.

Heck....my burr coffee grinder makes a ton of noise each morning. I'll add the sound of a Ninja and nobody will be the wiser.

it is good! very tasty but. I think probably not necessary to fiddle with milk quite so much. I usually have Fairlife regular & chocolate in the fridge because my son likes to drink them............and I've "heard" an ounce their chocolate makes for a mean cup of mocha coffee.

And now they sell milk, too. Fairlife is pretty good stuff.....almost hate to admit this.

Agree with above replies and had had similar experiences with flavors. Not sure about C, whatever that is. Flavor returns but I've found I'm much more picky about food. It's gotta be done right. I've never been someone who's been picky.....until now. I'm a harsh critic of my own grilling and even worse at restuarants. I want my six bites to be tasty. I don't care for sweets at all anymore. I also can't stand overly salty foods. It's like I can bite into something now and almost give you its ingredient list and nutritional content....lol. I'm glad for these flavor refinements and pleased that I have strong preferences for foods which are actually much more healthy than those I ate pre-sleeve. The new ways are better.

I haven't been a drinker of the "real" soft drinks in a decade or more. I switched over to "diet" coke and the like way back......and drank tons of it every week. Insane amounts of it. I had my last diet soda the day before my Oct 2015 sleeve surgery. My surgeon said I could now have them again if I so chose to. I don't. Perfectly happy without them. Water and coffee with the occasional tea are doing just fine. I can't believe how much money I spent on diet sodas. Unreal.

I have been assured that THAT had nothing to do with it! Uhh... I mean, no, why do you ask??? A dude was just wondering.......hoping said ER trip may have been self-induced. At least then it'd be clear as to what it was that sent you there and what to avoid..........or refine......so as it can be throttled back a bit........just a bit.......so you can enjoy yet not be harmed. On the real, though......I am always happy......yes happy........when I'm assured that injury was self-induced. That way I know what caused it......am sorta proud of it in a psychotic way.......and can adjust and slow my roll so it doesn't occur again.

Good grief, woman !!!! Glad you are okay. ER is no fun. Almost made a trip there Wednesday night, too. You haven't been doing anything overly acrobatic lately have you ?

Good job on the current losing and getting your mind focused on doing so.

You are really doing great. Only 6 months? Wow. Excellent.

Glad to see you back @@Wolfgirl78 You are gonna knock the weight down and do great.

All I can say is that at the 4 month mark...........my big arse was sliding his gut up under any and all bars that served char broiled oysters and Tito's vodka. Skewered shrimp were had then, too.

100%. Yes I do. It's all about resolving the comorbitities. High BP is being resolved.

I took several boxes of Gas-X strips and never used them. lol The three things that I were the most valuable to me in my hospital stay: 1) my iPhone 2) a remote battery that's good for three recharges of my iPhone. Saved me from reaching for a wall plug. 3) berry flavored chapstick that my wife bought me in the hospital's pharmacy the first afternoon. I never use the stuff but for some reason it was clutch that first night and next day.

Called my doc's office this morning. I almost passed out last night. My blood pressure bottomed out lower than anytime I've ever seen.....crazy low....scary low. Pulse was pounding. Cold sweat. Dizzy. Scared the crap outa me. Doc will cut my bp meds in half.....again. New script should be called in by now for me to pick it up on the way to the gym.

Absolutely awesome !!!!!! You are doing great and looking amazing.

It's the suck part of the deal.....the pre-op diet. Your's is very liberal compared to most. Space out your eats and stay ultra hydrated in between meals. Stay occupied on many tasks and don't sit and think about food. You are getting some good practice at flexing your new discipline-muscle. We've all been there and made it through it. It gets super easy later on after surgery. Super easy.

@@Sharon1964 that is awesome. I'll bet you were laughing yer butt off over not being recognized. Cool stuff. @@treblecutie23 looking great. Know that if you are rocking those at work......the guys on the job are getting nothing done. Had an interesting day yesterday. Good gym session in the late morning.....good grub at my favorite local spot......and then home to see my son off for the first day on his new job. He's finishing his junior year of high school this week and has done really well. Started driving this year....supercool girlfriend and now he's gonna be working for the summer. Cool little wing joint (best teriyaki wings I've ever had......need to duplicate their sauce one day). He was peeved when I took his hat. lol. The weight related NSV aspect of this was that I'm wearing a new 2XL shirt in the pics. Took it out of the package and put it on. No pre-stretching of torso section as I used to do in the old days........pretty dang cool when I consider the fact that I was wearing 6XL shirts 7 months ago. Pretty dang cool.

LMAO. Good stuff.

Absolutely insanely amazing. You have blown us all away with your achievements. Amazing. You look great !!!

Duke's or Blue Plate are my mayo of choices. I'm not a huge mayo user, though. I tend to op instead for either French's plain yellow or a nice course spicy brown mustard, though. Love either with my Breakfast sausages.

All sorts of weird feels hit me during the 6 weeks I spent in the liquid diet pre & post-op. I can say without reservation that all of the negative thoughts went away soon after I was able to resume eating high quality foods again. The cravings came back in a way. Instead of lusting after junk food.....my thoughts would be on steak, tuna, chicken, salmon and other fish. That's the stuff I crave. Also bacon & eggs are foods I look forward to. You are in the toughest phase right now.

I'm not disagreeing with anything you are saying here.....but it's just not the same for everyone. I do not feel four times the effect of alcohol now with my sleeve. Nope. I simply don't. You see a benefit in wls group meetings.......I absolutely do not. I had my sleeve surgery in October 2015. I've lost a big chunk of the unwanted weight and I've been enjoying weekend drinks per most of this timeframe. Most of the days where I know I'll be having drinks later are days where I can be found in the gym making room for the drinks. I'll do extra work on the treadmill in preparation. The drinks I choose have low calorie mixers.....same strategy as food choices in many aspects. If a person hasn't lost weight post op then I'd submit they have other bad bad choices than just alcohol. I'll bet they aren't very active and they are grazing in addition to making poor food choices. It's all about balancing wants, needs and committing to good behaviors. The strategies and methods may be similar but everyone's situation is unique to them. At the end of the day we have to be accountable to ourselves and not some group that sits around and preaches from a book of "you must do these". That would be hell for me. It is very reminiscent of the group sessions held by one of the nutritionists at my bariatric center. She's a former wls patient, too. She preaches and preaches.......yet clearly struggles with her current weight. I often wonder if some of those group members meet for pizza later on after their meetings. They post frequently on the center's patient forum.....yet never discuss good progress or show anything that resembles active living. I went to one of their support meetings early on after my surgery. OMG the whining and complaining that took place in there. The support I saw was support for feeling miserable and continuing with the things that made us all fat to start with. There was very little discussion about kicking into gear and going after the desired life. Being the new guy in the room....I was quiet and took it all in. First and last time I'll ever go to one of those group meetings. Last time I'll deal with that nutritionist, either. Sorry....can't sit through that noise. I'd rather take the advice and fit it into my life as I construct a plan that works for me.