Dub

You get an "A+" for effort in my book, though.

I really am feeling much better about my coffee, occasional liquor dranks and a cigar once every great while. Don't get me wrong........were there no employment ramifications for using marijuana........then I'd be having a hot tub installed next week on my back deck.

I freaking love the new single serving packs of flavored tuna and salmon. I keep my desk drawer at work filled with them. So many varieties are available now. No preparation needed....just grab a spoor or fork......open those bad boys up and have a meal. Great stuff.

Depending on the time of day......a cup of coffee with Splenda really helped cut out desires to snack. Staying well hydrated was crucial. Lots and lots of Water. It simply helps me feel good....then and even more now. Cut out sugary junk foods. That crap never satisfied my hunger, in fact it just made it come back worse in an hour. Hard cheeses and some almonds along with some Tobasco ht sauce and I could kill hunger for hours and hours. Be careful, though.....stuff is calorie dense. By the 100 calorie bags of nuts and the single serving cubes of cheese and carefully monitor your intake. Begin tracking your calorie intake....somewhere....somehow.....be it on myfitnesspal or simply on a note application on your cellphone. Track what you take in. Know the amounts.....OWN the amounts. Measure the amounts carefully. You can't fix what's broken if you don't closely examine it first. Get on a treadmill or elliptical.....punch in your weight and begin exercising daily. Watch the calorie burn amount that is reported by the machine. It's not the final say so......but seeing how long and how much work it takes to burn off a candy bar will sicken you. You'll begin to think in different terms. Seeing and feeling how hard it is to burn off that crap will increase your levels of discipline IMMEDIATELY and this is crucial. Losing weight, with or without weight loss surgery requires DISCIPLINE & EFFORT. Get to working on those right now and you'll breeze through the steps ahead of you.

Sounds good on your 4 month. I did mine recently.....seems like it was just last week.....yet my 6 month check in is next week. Dayum the time is going by swiftly. It is interesting to me how wide ranging the advice is from our surgeons. Mine really didn't push me to exercise....in fact he cautioned me to slow my roll. He continues to maintain that it's important, but not as important for weight loss as I came into this believing. He and I will agree to disagree here. I view exercise as vital in my future life for living at my goal weight. He was adamant about not eating salads. He said to instead just eat the meats and cheeses from them and avoid the dressings and not to waste valuable sleeve space on lettuce. Again....I agree to disagree with him as crunching on a salad with cold crispy vegetables is very satisfying and I love the flavors. I am very careful about dressing choices, though. He was not a fan of any fruits at the 4 month time, either. He just urged me to continue with Vitamin supplementation and adhere to proper timing of my Calcium chews, Iron, B-12 and multis. He was okay with my coffee enjoyment and the occasional vodka & diet cranberry. He was pleased with my Water intake. He just was emphatic about 3 meals a day and no Snacks. The meals are to be 1/2 sized and eaten over 30 mins. The meals are to be chicken, steak, fish and the like. No drink before or after eating for 30+ mins. Sorry to jump into your thread with this......I just always chuckle when I hear the differences in our surgeons advice.

In the past month I've taken on the airplane seat..........not a problem. Anytime & anywhere is my new motto. There hasn't been a restaurant booth that I've shied away from. All were very comfortable. In the months ahead I'll be doing the amusement park thing, too......and rollercoasters will be tried. Sitting shirtless at a poolside bar was done last week..........nobody shrieked.....I was relaxed and at ease. Bought a few t-shirts from random surf shops......and they fit just fine. Things are going well. So grateful for my sleeve.

I'll certainly do so. I'm hoping that one of the Navy SEAL recruiters will take note of my participation in said events. I'm really putting a lot of stock into them opening up a Geriatric Bariatric Division........damn.....I know I'd not last but a day or two......but it I would make it count. Just joking folks.....not trying to raise the hackles of active or former service members. They have nothing but my full respect. But, an old dude has to have hopes and dreams, no ?

No promises......but......but.....it's more than a thought..............it is a REALITY that may be well within your grasp. And don't think it's going to take forever for it to occur, either. The one thing that I wasn't really ready for were the paces of the bariatric process. The initial visits, seminars, webinars, insurance requirements, ancillary medical checkoffs, etc.....seemed to take forever to matriculate through. But then......once your ship makes port.......its a fast and wild ride from there. The benefits of your decision to have this surgery will overtake you quickly. Get ready to feel amazing..........

Heck yes.....and you look incredible doing it, too. That is great !!!! Now there is a thought......doing a 5K but not running. Okay...I'm exposing my ignorance here......didn't realize that was an option....seriously didn't realize that. You may have just perked up my interest in such events. My knees are shot and the trauma of running at my current weight wouldn't be good. Maybe after I knock down another 70+ pounds....we'll see....but walking a 5K event.....that's of interest now. I'm gonna look further into this. A buddy has been after me to do a Tough Mudder event with him in a local swamp. I told him, "Sure, bro.....no problem....just leave out the gators, the cold and all that running and jumping and I'll give it a go". The after party is where I think I'd really shine, though.......Everyone hoses down.....hits the showers and then goes on a pub crawl. This is the leg of the race that I think I can stand tall and turn in some good stats.

You are going to continue to feel that joy and happiness over your decision and your progress. I'm very happy for you. It is an awesome feeling to know....truly know....that all the tools that are needed to beat weight issues once and for all.....are now hardwired in.

I'm starting to feel like a pic ho......but for so damn long I feared cameras. Here's a family pic taken 6 months ago followed by a pic taken this week. In case you can't tell who is who......I'm the one in the orange shirt....looking like The Great pumpkin or whatever. Fun stuff getting rid of this weight. Long way to go, but I can see getting there now. For so long I just couldn't grasp how.....how to get it off and fight every single day to keep it off. Now....it's feeling natural and attainable. So damn grateful.

In total agreement with the second opinion suggestions.

I've had a couple abdominal hernia repairs over the years and have experienced gas pains with one of those surgeries. Last October I had VSG & umbilical hernia repair done. I had absolutely ZERO gas pains from these. ZERO. The only pain I had was from the hernia repair. That was it.

The sternum thing sorta freaked me out when it began showing up, too. Dang thing is pronounced.......but it's just bone/cartilage that was always there....just now not as padded with fat.

I'm 47 and have lost around 170 with 70 or so more left to go before I feel I'm close to where I want to be. Severe advanced arthritis in both knees. Bone spur in left foot outer edge, surgically repaired tendons in right ankle, spinal stenosis and a few other ailments that nag me........all of which have been very much improved since losing this weight since last June. There are days that go by that I take nothing for pains......nothing. This is crazy when one considers how much Advil and other stuff I used to choke down every single day of my life. I can't wait to get the rest of this weight off and see how it feels then.

Nothing much I can't have if I so choose now at 6 months. If I were to lose my desire to lose weight.....I could entertain virtually any menu item from any restaurant.....however the quantities involved would be on a very limited scale. For instance....I probably couldn't finish a BicMac or such sandwich....no more than a slice or two of pizza......etc. My restriction would kick in and stop me from doing large quantities. I have no desire or any cravings to do such damage, though. I really just have the "want to" for the stuff I now really enjoy: fish, chicken, steak, pork, eggs and some greens & salads. After being away from sugary mess for a while I no longer give any interest to their direction. There was a time when Snickers bars held high sway over me. Now, I could walk past a sea of them and not have a desire to eat one. It is nice to only eat what is needed to sustain and fuel my body. It is super nice to not think more of food than what I should. It's something your body needs......but shouldn't be something that your mind craves. I'm so damn grateful for my sleeve. Nothing much I can't have if I so choose now at 6 months. If I were to lose my desire to lose weight.....I could entertain virtually any menu item from any restaurant.....however the quantities involved would be on a very limited scale. For instance....I probably couldn't finish a BicMac or such sandwich....no more than a slice or two of pizza......etc. My restriction would kick in and stop me from doing large quantities. I have no desire or any cravings to do such damage, though. I really just have the "want to" for the stuff I now really enjoy: fish, chicken, steak, pork, eggs and some greens & salads. After being away from sugary mess for a while I no longer give any interest to their direction. There was a time when Snickers bars held high sway over me. Now, I could walk past a sea of them and not have a desire to eat one. It is nice to only eat what is needed to sustain and fuel my body. It is super nice to not think more of food than what I should. It's something your body needs......but shouldn't be something that your mind craves. I'm so damn grateful for my sleeve.

Sleeve + umbilical hernia repair = 9 small incisions.

I learned a while back to request a preop sedative like Valium. Every surgeon I've asked this of granted my wish. I'd get one to take before leaving the house and one to take upon arrival . Sure makes it a much more pleasant and relaxing preop session.

Outstanding ! You are doing an unreal job already. Wow.

Not sure if I'd refer to them as "men". Now....if a dude had 1/2 his arse ripped off by a grizzly bear....then sure....go right ahead and roll with the padded gear......but outside of that.......hell, what do I know ? Funny damn post, OKC !!!!

Outstanding !!!!!

@@liposuction68 I sure did try their chicken soup powder as well. It was a welcome change when I was on the liquid only phase. My only gripe about it is that you can't get the Water really hot and eat it like I normally would with hot soup. Flavor was great, though. Premier Protein pre-made shakes are exactly what I stuck with post op....very thin and went down easy and 30grams per serving. Good stuff. I am looking forward to trying the banana flavor. I've heard it's quite good. The absolute worst tasting Protein Powder that I tried so far was Unjury's strawberry. It did not agree with me and one sip was all it took. Other folks here like it, though. It's the only powder I've had any objections to. Quest is not making several powders that I'd like to try soon, too. Chike makes some outstanding powder, too. Certainly one of my favorites brands for sure.

Clothes. What a total and complete change of feels about them for me as well. I hated clothes shopping in the past. Hated buying crap from Casual Male or any other big & tall store.....or bigger & taller. Now....it's so much easier. Any store has my pants or shirts in stock.....whether it's a clothing store, a sporting goods store or even Walmart. The new sizes are much, much cheaper than before, too. Levis, Dockers, Izod, Polo brands but at cheaper prices than I was paying at the no-brand b&t stores. I actually enjoyed the last shopping trip I went on. This may have been the first time in history that I can say this. Unforeseen NSV. You look great !!! It's gotta feel good to wear fitted clothes again and rock 'em like you are. Well done. Nooooooooooooo not the butt.........

probably air and cigarettes.....lol.

It worked just fine for me. I did not, however, try it in coffee. It mixed in well with everything else I tried it in.