Dub

Dub, I do hope you are being safe! That can be a bad addiction if you're not careful! Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App I just said I was obsessed with it.......didn't say I was letting it ride...yet

My obsessins are a short list: coffee Sex Getting more healthy Sex Good nutrition Sex

They were over a ten year period. Three different failures. Gonna eventually do some core work and make my abs tight and strong.......after I get the current one repaired yet again......later this year. My abs suck.

You are gonna keep on kicking ass !!!!

I've really had great results with Quest Protein bars. Apple Pie is my favorite. 20 grams of protein and 17grams of Fiber (macros for some of their bars) works well for me as breakfast during my morning commute to work. I'm also a fan of the Quest Protein chips. I'll enjoy them with salsa or guacamole as a meal, too.

Beach season.....pool season.....shirtless season is coming soon. In fact, this time next week I'll be in Cozumel and have no plans of wearing much more than a bathing suit and flip flops during the days. If anyone inquires about the scars.....I'll roll with, "Was in a bar fight and lived". I don't have to disclose that it was an all-you-can-eat-buffet-bar and I lived. Seriously....I have recently noticed that the scars from last October's VSG & hernia repair have faded and the whole region has shrunk. A tan has helped, too. I've had two open umbilical hernia repairs and the scars were each 4" long and came together in an "L" below my navel. You can't even see them due to "beer gut shrinkage". The future plastic surgery will lop them off anyway. I know that scars are less of a concern for a guy........but scars on women is something that I have never taken exception to. They are just reminders of your life experiences and something that you went through and are stronger for it. They don't define you by any means. I think the feels about surgery concealment are more of a concern to patients in the very early days. After the results start showing up we all care less and less about the "secret" and just want to Celebrate for the results.

Ouch.....ouch.....that has to feel bad. You may have very much been counting on, in the back of your mind, her support and guidance throughout your own wls. I suspect that she is not pleased with her regained weight and has fallen back into some prior bad habits and feels bad about it. It is good for you to see now that many people.....even best friends........have their own personal demons in regard to being overweight and seldom allow themselves to think objectively about it beyond their own experiences. They struggle to grasp anything other than their own despair and frustration. Obesity. A monster that is out there.......waiting for you to slay it. You can have a wonderful blacksmith to forge your sword and make your armour....the best combat training.......and the best squires and steed. It is you, solely you.....that steps out on the field of battle to face this monster. You are the one that has to kill it. Once you see an opening....keep after it.....you'll gain ground and you'll lop it's head off. Be a good friend. Be her best friend......but know that it may lead to having compartmentalize or filter the types of feelings you share with her. Maybe you're enthusiasm and great results will inspire her. Know that she'll be rooting for you even if she's not capable of expressing it. She'll see your success and it'll stir things up inside her. Let it be her to open the dialogue on the matter.....or not open. You are going to be busy slaying that monster. Getting more active. Formal exercise. Embracing new ways of eating. Monitoring progress. Needing to shop for new clothes. Understand that you may go it alone.....or feel that way at times. It is what it is. It's you kicking the shyt outa the excess weight you want to lose. It's you figuring out how to live lean....now and forever. She'll come around.......maybe it'll take a long time for her to....maybe not. Either way, you've got this. Bamsucka !!!! Drop the mic........strut away and bow. Truth spoken. Or at least something that seems to occur a good bit. My grandfather had a saying, "Still Water runs deep.........swift water runs shallow". Applies to many situations in life. With wls i've found that many more positive comments and feels are expressed by my thinner friends & coworkers. They are very congratulatory and not usually wanting conversations on the matter.....just a hearty, "Hell yes, man.....you are doing well....keep it up". That's about it now. They don't want to know all the ins & outs......don't want to hear about the labor pain....they just compliment the baby. lol. Now......when my overweight friends and coworkers do take time to comment or approach me about the weight loss results......it's always tentative, very vague but builds in focus and desire for more information. I always take time.....or make and agreed upon future time......to fill them in on the good, bad & ugly of my own experiences. It is something that they've most likely considered...the wls........and losing weight is certainly something they desire to do at some level. I try to tap into this desire and how it's within their grasp as I explain how things unfolded for me thus far.....with so far to go....honestly there's another 100 lbs to go.

Oatmeal is allowed on pre-op liquid phase ? That is a lot different than mine was. I was pretty much allowed 3-4 Premier (3 other approved varieties) shakes a day with a ton of Water or non-calorie drink. I gutted it out but I did kill the diet sodas & water. This phase certainly sucks.....no ifs ands or buts about it.....sucks outright. It passes quickly and then you are impressed with the weight loss you experienced during this phase and then onto the other side after surgery. Ironically, the same diet, when experienced on the other side, seems like a breeze. You can't believe you are there.....done.....so relieved to there. Gut check time is now. You are amping up your weight loss efforts and will see great results during this.....and roll into surgery already on a great rate of loss. Get yourself some water flavoring and make peace with drinking water. The Dasani grape flavored water is something I found that was really good.....give some of these flavored versions a try. It sucks. It seems to be necessary. It'll lead towards a safer surgery. You've got this.

Well said. I have found very similar results. Grateful for all the benefits that have come with this WLS

There is nothing about WLS that doesn't translate to good wood. It's an awesome side effect of the surgery. There is zero downside over traveling to new depths, opening doors even wider and visiting longer. It puts the happy in Happy Time. Not much more to say other than THANK YOU for this new superpower. I can't say I'll always use it for good and not for evil. Small scale evil.........

My next step will be umbilical repair surgery, hopefully I will not need to take off so much time. Any insight you can give me would be great. How bad was it? Did you simply have surgical repair or did they have to use mesh or exactly how did it go? Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App I've had umbilical hernias surgically repaired with open surgery two times prior. They used mesh the second time. Recovery was in the 4-5 week time before I returned to work. This past umbilical hernia repair was done as the same time as my VSG......and done using the same orthoscopic tools used for the VSG. Added a few minutes to the surgery and a couple more new holes. The post-op for the hernia repair & VSG was way less than the prior open hernia repairs. I was back at work in 3 weeks.

I am talking about the stomach (organ) not the exterior (waistline). To answer the other question re: 2 gallons of Water, yes I mix Chrystal Light in a half a gallon of water and carry it with me and have 4 of them a day = 2 gallons. But I've always been this way, even before I went on methyprednisone for 3.5 years which caused the weight gain to begin with. Please, I am just looking for input and not criticism. I suppose I feel I must hide this from my surgeon because I do not want to be a "bad patient." I do now see the flaws in my hiding this from my surgeon. I am good at asking for help and honestly taking seriously advise especially when there is a general consensus answer. Thank you for the nonjudgmental responses. No judgment......just was confused by your initial post. Hiding anything from your surgeon is a red flag and will get called out on here. Glad to know what you mean, now. I don't see the problem with sipping tons of water throughout each day....so long as it's not around meal times. I've been encouraged to do so. Crystal Light was always supported by my surgeon, too.

Bam !!!!! There ya go. Keep on killing it. Burn that stuff off and keep feeling great. You gonna luv the feeling.

I had VSG + umbilical hernia repair. Somewhere about 4-5 weeks out I began to feel much, much better with movement. I returned to work after 3 weeks. All of the post-op pain I felt was strictly from the hernia repair and not the VSG.

I am confused as to what you are saying? You had wls to lose weight. You are going to lose weight. Your skin will rebound and change in size as you change in size. It's a good and natural process. Many factors as to how much the skin will rebound. Lose the weight.....burn that shyt off......then evaluate the skin.....if it there is excess that doesn't rebound as much as you'd like.....schedule an appointment with a plastic surgeon and get that addressed. Lose the weight and stay in contact with your bariatric surgeon. Don't be a dumb azz and try to work around your wls or your program's guidelines.

(same reply posted on your other other similar thread) Howdy Will. Man, we share some stats. October 13, 2015 was also my surgery date. So grateful for it, too, because there was a fear that I'd have to wait until later in the year....or beyond for insurance approval. I was able to cut through all the delays and so happy for this. Anyway....you've lost a solid chunk and will surely lose more. I think that we are put in the drivers seat with WLS and can steer the vehicle wherever we choose to go. On the date of surgery I weighed 422. A couple of things that have really been key for me: I never stopped taking Vitamins. I routinely use Protein shakes as Meal Replacements. I do not eat "stuff I want in smaller portions". I stick to Proteins.....and mainly those with low carbohydrate content (not breaded or slathered with sugary sauces). I've found that I now have more "cravings" for salmon, chicken, fish, steak and etc than I ever had for Snickers bars and ice cream. The thing that I seem to be struggling with is getting consistent on formal exercise. Back pain issues reoccur and I have to be careful when and how I push it. In the process of getting another round of PT & spine injections to address this now. I do walk way more on my job and in general life than before wls. My sleeve tolerates my daily coffee really well thus far. It also tolerates a few adult drinks on weekends. Anytime I've had slower periods of loss.....or even a gain of a couple pounds.....I have been able to pinpoint my exact behaviors that led to it. This has given me great confidence for controlling my weight for the rest of my life. I have adopted the behaviors of dietary intake monitoring....calories, types of calories, ensuring I get the macros I'm targeting.....frequent weigh ins......corrective dietary actions from doing so.......portion control......parking very far from any entrance and hoofing it, etc. You are in the driver's seat, my friend. Your sleeve can offer restriction to slow your roll on your prior eating amounts.....surely it does this. It can, however, do so much more. Hopefully you are free of hunger now and can take full advantage of this to simply feed your body what it needs......not what your old cravings conjure up. You got this, Will.

Howdy Will. Man, we share some stats. October 13, 2015 was also my surgery date. So grateful for it, too, because there was a fear that I'd have to wait until later in the year....or beyond for insurance approval. I was able to cut through all the delays and so happy for this. Anyway....you've lost a solid chunk and will surely lose more. I think that we are put in the drivers seat with WLS and can steer the vehicle wherever we choose to go. On the date of surgery I weighed 422. A couple of things that have really been key for me: I never stopped taking Vitamins. I routinely use Protein shakes as Meal Replacements. I do not eat "stuff I want in smaller portions". I stick to Proteins.....and mainly those with low carbohydrate content (not breaded or slathered with sugary sauces). I've found that I now have more "cravings" for salmon, chicken, fish, steak and etc than I ever had for Snickers bars and ice cream. The thing that I seem to be struggling with is getting consistent on formal exercise. Back pain issues reoccur and I have to be careful when and how I push it. In the process of getting another round of PT & spine injections to address this now. I do walk way more on my job and in general life than before wls. My sleeve tolerates my daily coffee really well thus far. It also tolerates a few adult drinks on weekends. Anytime I've had slower periods of loss.....or even a gain of a couple pounds.....I have been able to pinpoint my exact behaviors that led to it. This has given me great confidence for controlling my weight for the rest of my life. I have adopted the behaviors of dietary intake monitoring....calories, types of calories, ensuring I get the macros I'm targeting.....frequent weigh ins......corrective dietary actions from doing so.......portion control......parking very far from any entrance and hoofing it, etc. You are in the driver's seat, my friend. Your sleeve can offer restriction to slow your roll on your prior eating amounts.....surely it does this. It can, however, do so much more. Hopefully you are free of hunger now and can take full advantage of this to simply feed your body what it needs......not what your old cravings conjure up. You got this, Will.

Sorry about the negative comments you are receiving. Unsure why that happens. Anyway, I couldn't remember the weights my first month so I went and checked the weigh in history.....looks like I was 422 on day of surgery and 387 a month out. First couple months were my best losing months for sure. Rate of loss slowed down afterwards.

Do you have pets????? Go to the nearest pet store......hoist up two of their largest bags of dog food and walk around the store with it. There ya go. That's 100lbs on hoof. Feels damn good to get rid of it. You'll never want it back....PROMISE !!!!

Damn, woman.......many ways to feel normal other than face planting. Don't do that shyt anymore, hear me ! I get you, though. Enjoying the feels of normalicy.. Hope all is well and nothing is amiss.

I know what ya mean. There is simply no comparison to the old self vs the new self. Feels pretty damn good doesn't it ?

I have had times where it took nothing to reach that feeling. Currently I can eat two pouches of flavored tuna in a 15 minute period. I know....I know....too dang fast, but that is lunch. Done and cafe is shut down....timer started and Water is had 35 mins later. Recently I would have one pack and that was it.....done......no desire to eat another. I have no idea what to attribute this change to.....but I have learned to listen to my body and roll with it.

Well done, boss. Very well done. You are killing it !!!!

Much respect !!!!! Keep on lighting the way ahead for us all.

Well done. It's a good feeling isn't it ? !!!!