Dub

I took an Anker charger for my iPhone.....gave me three recharges....all I needed. Had some movies downloaded to my iPhone. Earbuds. Underwear and gym shorts. Slip on New Balance sneakers. Saline spray for nose. I brought a bunch of Gas-X but didn't use a single strip.

Ocean Spray Diet Cranberry (5 calories per serving) has been golden for me. Fought off a could last week with it and my regular Vitamins. Good luck to you. Ocean Spray Diet Cranberry (5 calories per serving) has been golden for me. Fought off a could last week with it and my regular vitamins. Good luck to you.

Mnnnnnn......mmmmnnnnn ! Very nice.

Somewhere around 7 weeks for me to feel like I was "Back". Now......at 17 weeks......I feel like I'm "Back....but better than ever". Stick with the plan and try to walk and exercise as much as you safely can. You'll be there in no time and realize the initial post-op blahs are simply temporary but the new life you evolve into is permanent and filled with AWESOME !!!!!

Great pics. You look sexy and happy.

I'll have to check in and see it. I've never been in it.

Here's hoping you don't catch the bug................go into isolation mode when possible.

Goals. Goals not met. Goals can be a real beyotch if you don't have some refinement and structure around them. At least that's the way it is for me. I certainly have an ultimate goal of where I want to be.....but I've set intermittent goals that feel freaking great when achieved. Not all of them are weight goals. Many are NSV's that I get a kick out of reaching. ....A piece of clothing that I want to fit in comfortably. ......An activity that I want to do without difficulty. ......Fitness goals. It is imperative that I have goals beyond the scale. My daily weigh-ins would drive me nuts if they were my only source of validation. One of the ones that I achieved yesterday.....hit me like a hammer and made me grin stupidly......was on the treadmill. Had my first morning off work after a 60 hr pressure cooker workweek. I hit the gym and busted off two hours on the treadmill. Even when I'd find that "right" music and turn up the speed and elevation.....I couldn't seem to get my heart rate up above the high 140's. Crazy. A month ago I couldn't keep it under 160. Soon....soon the knees will be ready to run and it's going to be ON !!!!!!

It's something that I'm guessing a lot of us sleevers can be prone to. In the pre-sleeve days, I was a big snacker. I'd snack when I was stressed out.....work stress being the worst......marital stress.......financial stress.......etc. Those Snacks were never anything healthy, either......just more sugary nails in my coffin. It was a fear of mine in having the sleeve vs bypass. I worried that the lack of dumping syndrome may find me snacking again on carb-laden garbage. I have a battle plan that has worked really well thus far and I do not have snacks nor want them. Frequent exercise. Mainly it's just walking and some weight training. Frequent as in every single day. Seeing the tiny amount of calories burned on the treadmill display or on my fitbit is enough to reinforce how damn hard it is to burn extra calories off.......so it makes the discipline to avoid eating them come very easily. Discipline is achieved and maintained. Junk food is gone from my life. The other aspect of frequent exercise is that I can feel it improving my response to stress. It is a tangible difference....huge improvement. Not sure what works for you.....but some time lifting......or hitting the heavy bag at the gym......or cranking the treadmill elevation up and faster while jamming to some hard driving music.......all that gets me where I need to be.

Great job on the 5K training. Great stuff.....the training.....the preparation......the discipline. At the 4 month point here, too. The hair loss part sucks outright. I'm seeing it every time I look in the mirror. I'm trusting and believing that it's gonna be temporary. If not, then.......I guess I'll be rocking the Mr. Clean look. That or maybe growing a skullet. Lol. Had me laughing at the radio activeness of the marks. My abs (or flabs as they currently are) look like I was in knife fight but survived. 3 hernia surgeries and 9 holes from the sleeve......plus the wrinkling of fat loss. Purty, I tell ya. Real purty. Oh well......eating my chicken, steak and seafood everyday and will deal with all the after effects once I reach the "after". Had a doctor's visit yesterday and my new doc said he'd help me out on documenting the excess skin and perhaps it'd help with insurance on the removal.....we'll see. If it even covers part of it........ Keep killing it on your training and enjoy the glow-in-the-dark aspects of your marks. Nuclear powered after sleeve ? Maybe that is what is happening with some of us, because we sure as hell aren't fueled by calories any more. We've become nuclear powered fat burning engines. Hands down winner over a sludge filled pizza & beer motor that is always backfiring and sputtering and won't go up hills.

I still go out to eat a couple times a week. I just eat responsibly now. I wouldn't change a thing.

What an insecure selfish prick move that was. So.......surgery to improve your health was all it took to run him off ????? He's got tons of issues that will take years that work through....... And if he is even man enough at some point to work through them. Have the surgery and improve every aspect of your life that you can. You'll find a real man who is unselfish and values you and your choices. If he's younger.......then all the better. Get revenge through getting healthy and living each day to the fullest.

There are most likely several folks in there who look amazing and are fit as hell.........but they weren't they way when they first started going. They were overweight and out of shape. They worked hard in the gym and hard on their food discipline and now look at them. Those are exactly the type of folks I need to be around and pick up on the positive energy found in good gyms. Think about it this way.......you start going.......work as hard as you safely can......stay on your new eating plan and begin to loose great amounts of weight........ You will be a legend in there in no time. Everyone has to start somewhere. Every time I go I see folks just like me.....out of shape trying to get better. I've never felt judged or slighted in the least, in fact, I get helpful tips and thumbs up from folks when I limp out of there......sweating......exhausted.......spent. Today is my first day off after a 60 hour workweek with 3-4 hours sleep each night. I slept in this morning....up at 5:00am.....showered, dressed in my gym clothes and chomping at the bit for my son to get ready for school so I can drop him off and get to my gym. The place simply draws me in and I miss it on long work days. It's the key for me to stay on track. Please don't fear the gym.......the folks there are great people. Understanding people.

Not much on the pain relief, I'm sorry. This was my third repair in the same area. I wish I had some great advice for you but clearly I'm challenged with this stuff as I keep getting them.

I'm just getting started with this deal at 4 months post-op. In the before pic in my profile taken the morning prior to the October 2015 surgery I was wearing a tight 6X t-shirt and 4X Under Armor pants. Last gym trip I made found me wearing a 3x shirt and 2x Under Armor pants.

Bamsucka !!!!!!! Fist bumping ya on that one.

It would appear that the strips lasted longer than the freaking umbilical hernia repair that was done along with my sleeve. I'm pissed about that. More surgery to look forward to later this year. Damn ! I think I peeled mine off in the shower after the first week.

You are rocking it. Awesome. Simply awesome. Who'd have ever thought that shopping for clothes could be so damn fun......even for an old geezer like me.

Can I post here even though I'm beyond my 30's ? How about if I feel like I'm once again in my 30's ? Had my 14 week visit recently. First thing my surgeon said was that he was very pleased with the weight loss and he drove that point home really hard. Then he switched gears and proceeded to beat my azz over portion size. Emphatically stating that I should only be eating 1/2 cup sized meals.....of Protein rich foods now. 1/2 cup. No more. He made a tremendous deal over this. 3 meals a day. 1/2 cup each. He said his reason for concern is that the habits we form now are crucial. He said that those who do not adhere to the plan and get these habits engrained in their daily life will not be successful. He's been spot on about everything else thus far. I've changed up and stick to this guideline now. I can "hear" the same concerns from your surgeon in that the initial months following the surgery are where we shed most of our weight and set ourselves up for the needed discipline required to live at our goal weight. Getting lean isn't going to happen through magic.....although the lack of hunger and the wonderful restriction are close to magical. We have to do our part and choose the right foods, cease the wrong foods, exercise and save the money we used to eat so we can buy new clothes all the freaking time. You can do this. Shift gears and get angry about it. Let the anger fuel your efforts to burn it off. We have no excuses. Those were taken away when we had our surgeries.

Thanks for the endorsement. I used to think a scale is a scale is a scale. Now, though, I think it would be highly beneficial for me to add one of those. The further I get with my Fitbit One, the more I see the way in which it could help me further. I don't wear watches at work, however, the One does well on my keychain in my pocket. I'd like to add their upcoming wristwatch model and an Aria, too. I think I can use the them in tandem. "One" during work hours and the wristwatch for everything else. Getting my sleep measures would be nice to see as I know I fail badly with this. The analysis from the scale would be very helpful, too as I close in on the final push to hit goal and then to maintain.

I would day Valentines Day. Was looking forward to the night time cardio. Wife decided to go visit her family that week, though. I'll get to play Mr Mom role that week. Get my workouts done in the gym as normal.

You look wonderful. Hard work and serious discipline demonstrated right there. Great respect for your dedication.

Nope. Still a 14-E

There is no doubt that you are onto something there !!!!

Pure Protein was what they gave me.