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That is what it's all about right there !!!!!!

Very happy for you and proud of you. Outstanding results. Your story is very similar to my own. I get it. Feeling good is a powerful motivator for me to keep pushing and take it all the way. Congrats !!!!

I will not even begin to attempt to address the ways in which insurance companies can aggravate you to no end. My only advice regarding them is to contact the bariatric administrator employed by your insurance company.....review your case in detail with them and make sure that YOU are driving that bus. Don't assume your surgeon's staff has everything laid out for you. My only other pieces of advice are to relax and to begin losing today....don't wait until the surgery to lose weight.....begin getting it off right away. The goal is to lose weight.....not to wait around, right ? I promise you that the discipline you demonstrate now will be rewarded and will pave the way to very good initial results when you have your surgery.

I was just a couple cases of beer and a few pizzas away from hitting the 500 lb mark, bro. Shooting for 250 as a level daily weight. Surgery was less than 4 months ago and I'm well over halfway there. I know it's going to slow down a bit....but I'm thinking that the two year mark you stated is well within the realm of reality.

You and your white belly are still on my bad list, but I'll tell you that, if they don't have Starbucks, you'll know you're in no part of the world. No Starbucks will have to be my first sign that I've left the world as I know it. The different language should be my first indication.....but, just being honest here.....I don't do the English language justice on my even my best days....much less after rum and tequila........

Are you really going to leave it there? Do you always pitch and then turn away before seeing whether the pitch has been caught? Where are you going?!!! I'm no dentist, but.... Can't say. Won't say. I'm sorta in Her Majesty's Secret Service type of thing.......I could tell ya....but then I'd sworn to uphold the code.........007 stuff. Suffice to say it's gonna be a destination of sun, fun, Water, rum drinks and tequila shots while watching scantily clad beauty parade around and laugh at the pale big guy in the boots 'n swim trunks tipping his hat. Those boots and that cowboy hat may be the only possessions I retain as I may decide to never come back. Who needs or wants the pressures of a job.....and the day to day drama? Not me. I pity the fool who gets in my way. Boots, hat and a handful of Protein bars and I'm out. Lawd.....I hope they either have Starbucks or Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee in that part of the world...............gotta maintain my addictions.

Ah......getaway travel nightmares. I'll say this......It's all worth it once you get there on some vacations. I've got a leisure trip planned that would have me chewing through a chain link fence to get to.......bust through a rock wall and crush skulls to arrive at. In the words of the awesome Mr. T....."I pity the fool who try ta stop me....I'll bring them pain ".

Why would someone want to do this ? The loss/gain is what it is. Cheating the number by a pound or two on monthly weigh-ins won't help you.

I used to dread it.....but a friend really put things into perspective for me. Now.....not a worry. Gonna get the weight off and then address the excess skin with whatever plastics are needed and move on in life.

You can control yourself. In fact, you are the only one who can do so......and the most fundamental task is deciding what goes in your mouth. This deal is all about learning the right habits at the beginning stages when hunger isn't a part of it. Discipline established now is key to future progress.

Great news. Thanks. They really do make some excellent products. The Protein, low carb and high fiber content of the bars is a perfect meal for my desk drawer at work.

Oh yeah. I can better understand how it can happen now. I was in the local mall yesterday and saw a shirt that I had to have. I spent way more on it than I can remember ever doing before on a shirt.......knowing that it'll be too small in a short timeframe. Didn't even give it a second thought after trying it on.....straight to the cash register. This coming from a guy who has always hated shopping.

3.5 months out here: My surgeon has emphasized that my meals should be 1/2 cup in volume. Steak, chicken and fish are what he quotes as my best choices.

LOL. When I first read it I was simply not connecting the dots, either. But......I have accepted there are all sorts of strange things at play during this time frame for many of us. One thing that I've been hugely frustrated with is that I've had the critical eye on myself for so long that it now tends to focus on conditions around me or even worse, other people. For example......I've been making progress on myself and perhaps eased up a bit. Now I looked around and see the state of my garage and it pisses me off. HTF did it get so disorganized ? Who is the idiot who hasn't been putting stuff away properly ? Who is the fool with fat-man clothes still hanging in his closet and needs to be gone through? Why is that aggravating tree limb hanging down over the deck ? Well, that is the result of being not focused on stuff around me like I needed to....and not having the energy to address it due to back problems and recovering from the sleeve/hernia surgery while working 60 hrs / week. Stuff just gets a low priority or neglected altogether. I look around further still and see things that my wife doesn't do an it gets to me. I get aggravated. I accepted blame for it for a while due to me simply not being myself this last year or so and all things subpar are on me. Eventually, though, I shared my marital concerns with her. Not well received at first but I was respectful yet honest with what was said. Time will tell how things turn out. Time will tell. It will either work out.....or it will not. I will continue to give it my best shot, but I will not blindly hope for a miracle as I've done in the past. This seems like legit advice now that I've gone a few months down this road. I better understand the wisdom of this practice. Its a time to simply work on yourself and DO NOT make any changes. Divorce and career change have been tugging on me......tempting me more than I ever suspected. Married 23 years, same employer for 20......yet now I find myself open to big changes. Scary. Not acting immediately on either.....letting these ideas simmer. Nooooooooo !!!!!! No matter how mad I get......my MacBook will never become a projectile. Neva......eva.... Maybe we should all be prescribed medical weed or some such. Sure would up the attendance in the post-op support group meetings. "Okay now, everyone get their chairs in a circle.....puff, puff, pass........let's begin our meeting with recognizing new members after our opening blaze....." I really get that "Not my circus, not my clowns" statement. Well said. My patience as it pertains to myself is very, very limited. I want immediate progress in all areas of self. Unrealistic as hell and a source of frustration. Thus far, my patience for others is somewhat "normal" dare I use such a phrase. How's this for a oddball fantasy.......we all get to go live in a resort area for our surgery throughout our first year.....surrounded by other patients going through the exact same thing......no outside distractions....no worries.....just focused on the losing and getting our issues nailed down tight. Lol, right? Well, in reality we do have BP and the fine folks here. I agree fully with your statement that we are all family in a way.

Exercise is a big one. It helps to keep stress levels down and watching the calories that you burn on a treadmill, for example....really is a great reminder as to how hard it is to burn off those candy bars and extra beers. This Bariatric Pal community is another big one. There is so much insight, support and understanding expressed by the members here.

Sure have. It's easy to do. I had some beef Jerky early this morning.....240 calories & 36 grams of Protein. I've been running around and hadn't had a chance to get back to where my tuna is and there's nothing but a junk food vending machine anywhere near me (at work at the moment). I'll just grab a shake later when I get home. That'll get me up over 60+ grams protein for the day. I'll do better tomorrow.

A recliner or comfortable place to sleep in a reclined position. Comfortable clothes and some good walking shoes to burn up the road with. Other than that, just a good supply of ready mix shakes.

Use a shot glass or two........

I was the same.

I started on grilled wings at 8 weeks No problems

Gone through that ? The sense of overwhelming relief ? Sure have ! I felt that way leading up to surgery.....and immediately post-op and quite often since then. It is truly a gift. There are times when you may get aggravated with the liquid diet before/after the surgery. Don't worry, though.....it passes. Even at the worst moments I've experienced since surgery....I am very grateful.

@@Sharon1964 nailed it with her list. It's nice for folks to make positive comments....it's simply when the questions start that things tend to get uncomfortable. Not always, though....some questions come from folks that you are dead level honest with and it feels good to discuss things with them. For instance, I was at work last Friday, talking things over with a new coworker helping her get a gameplan together to deal with an issue. We were standing in her work area. Another coworker that I've known for 17 years was walking up from a good distance away with a cup of coffee in hand, shaking his head. "Howdy, man.....how are things?", I ask and shake his hand. "You tell me, he says......how are you doing.....and I know you are gonna say 'great' because you look like you feel 'great'. You have really slimmed down.", he replied. Good stuff. I guess I don't "see" my physical changes like other's do. I feel them though. Feel them bigtime. I had the surgery to hopefully address a back problem that had me shutdown and struggling mightily. It's eased up significantly and allowed me to get more active.....reconnect with my gym time......given me mobility.....and yes, it still hurts like a beyotch at times......but not all the time.....just when I push too hard.....and I'm pushing, too. This whole post-op experience for me is based on the improved feels. It's nice when folks get that and compliment on this. It shows they understand the magnitude of my gratitude and relief. Only those close to me really could be in a position to understand this......those folks and my friends here, of course. There are those who compliment but do so in weird ways....such as @@CowgirlJane experienced......loud compliments that get the attention of others in attendance. It then focuses a group on you. I tend to give them a big smile and simply assure them that I feel much, much better. Back is mending and that type of stuff. If they persist and want details I just go with, "made my health my number one priority" or something along those lines. If they persist further....then I end it with....."don't want to bore everyone with this right now....but if you want to discuss further we could chat over a cup of coffee sometime". This happened two weeks ago. Turns out she was truly interested in the details. We did chat later and overtime I attempted to steer the convo to other areas, she dug in further. She now knows all and it didn't send her running away. "Good for you.....now what's next ?", was how she replied after full disclosure. I could only give her a grin, shoulder shrug and a "who know's ?". We wrapped up my chapter and got on to her story. I was glad that I didn't just blow off her loud initial public compliment days earlier. All of us have so many ironic aspects to our post-op lives. The relief I feel is so overwhelming, though, that I feel a strong obligation to take the awkward social moments and turn them into ways to explain the benefits of wls as I have experienced them. I steer them to the bariatric center I used and hope that their lives.....or someone they hold influence over lives will be changed for the better. When the dust clears and I am at goal.....excess weight gone.....perhaps the excess skin gone......I'd like to speak publicly at the local bariatric support groups. Knowing that there are vast numbers of folks out there tormented with the discussion to have wls and what life will be like after........I'd love to ease their fears and at least hopefully help give them the good, bad and ugly about wls as I've known it up to that point. Handling the "give me details" compliment folks is truly a task that doesn't come easy, but it is getting easier.

Yup. I do have a new addiction. It's a powerful one, too. It causes me to constantly check my iPhone and to ensure that it's always charged and ready for action.

Stress can be a monster. A real living and breathing monster. The only way that I can effectively find to beat it down is to face the sources head on. If it's a weight related stress.....then do things that support weight loss. If it's job related then I put in extra focus, go in on my off days and get caught up or even ahead if possible. It's impossible to work longer on the days that I'm there. Regular workday is 13-14 hours. Law of diminshing returns comes into play really late in the day. I'm not making much headway when I'm running out of gas. If the stress is marraige related then I have honest and candid converstaions with my wife and accept the outcome. Sometimes it is simply best for me to level with her and "tell it like it is". I recently did this and am glad to be unburdened with that stressor. She heard what I had to say and is still mulling it over. Whatever the outcome....I know I was respectful yet honest. Big boy underwear ?........yup....hitch 'em up or simply go commando.

Began the bariatric program in June 2015 at 478 lbs. Surgery was on October 13, 2015. Was 422 lbs on date of surgery. Weight this morning, January 30, 2016 was 342 lbs.