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Good choice on the sleeve. I've experienced zero complications so far and am very glad I went in this direction. Truth is that I discussed bands with the two top surgeons I was wanting to use. Both refused to perform band surgery and easily persuaded me to consider sleeve or bypass. As far as wanting the procedure being done elsewhere....I don't know what advice to offer. My initial thought is that if you are doing this for your health......then who cares where you have the surgery ???? You are doing this for your health. That is an easy assessment for me to make, however, because I don't work in the medical industry and furthermore I couldn't care less who knew about my choice to have surgery. If I worked in a hospital.....then would possibly go on to be treated by all my coworkers....it may give me pause to consider the awkwardness. Your health should win here......not vanity. Do it at the most qualified facility available to you staffed with the very best professionals you can find.

You look like you are twenty years younger !!!! Great job. You've done an outstanding job on ensuring many, many years grandparenting those perfect little twins.

The hunger is more than likely.....not hunger. If you were sleeved and are experiencing real hunger then you should be talking immediately to your surgeon about this. You have to take sips of Water......no real gulps or big swallows.........just carefully meter it down your throat......a trickle at a time. It gets easier.

Me too I'm so confused and not too sure >< oh you mean this one? Can I ask you something (/^\) do you know the protein powder smell .. that strong smell? dose this one have it (/^\) and it's only serviced as iced beverage? oh and the link I never saw this Bariatricpal products except for now after you guys post it they have Click on the site too!! I always mixed it with ice Water in a shaker bottle. No strong smell.....other than that of rich coffee. The mocha version is killer, too.

Amazing !!!!! Amazing !!!!! Amazing !!!!! Amazing !!!!!

Self paid. Done in my hometown by an excellent surgeon through a Center of Excellence accredited facility. ~$20K and that included complication insurance. Zero regrets other than wishing I'd done so sooner.

@@jane13 Getting coffe down the hatch......getting ready to head into work when I posted earlier. lunch break now. Some flavored tuna and smoked oysters. Not great, but what was stashed in my desk drawer.....forgot to bring some of yesterday's leftovers in. Yes, thanks, he was really happy and so was I. Best Christmas I've ever had in many ways.

I experienced that from the 3-5 week post-op times. It was attributed to low blood sugar, low blood pressure and off course......low calorie intake. It improved greatly once I cut my bp meds down and went over to real, chewable Protein.

Outstanding !!!! Merry Christmas

Have you tried going back on the pre-op liquid diet for a month to see what that does. Perhaps you'll be able to feel some restriction again afterwards.

I'm unsure of those that you posted. There were only 4 approved Protein powders & ready mix Protein shakes in my program's diet. One of those was Chike coffee Protein powder. They have two varieties. I'd mix a regular shake and then add this Chike Coffe Powder to it. It was awesome. I was able to make it through my post op liquid diet very easily with this wonderful tasting powder.

I've never given it much thought. I am probably missing out, but I sure don't need to be starting any new habits now, either. Busting my arse to get shed of the bad ones I already have...........

Merry Christmas all !!!!!

Way to go, man !!!!!! That's gotta feel great. Proud of ya. Missing that Reagan administration, too !!!!!!!!!

I always lose weight when I drink TQ. I'll loose the weight of whatever clothes I'm wearing !!!!!!!! Cactus juice is only good when you get the good stuff. Quality tequila is great. The cheap stuff is horrid. Stick with the high grade stuff and you'll be pleased.

That looks mighty tasty !!!!!

Thank you.......and thank you for your insight. I sometimes feel guilty about not being able to hit the gym before now......yet already losing that exact same amount of weight I lost in my most successful diet & gym push. Still hoping to get back there soon as it was a source of release that I needed. Taxing and tough.....leaving there feeling spent and a little sore was a feeling that I enjoyed. I'll get back there soon. Back is better....knees are gonna be if I have to hobble them with hammers. Work does burn a lot of calories for me......according to FitBit it burns about twice what I consume each day. Works for me. I'll spare you with progress pics until I can rock it like you did on the cookie pic. I'm guessing the one year mark is a good time for me.

Super proud of you, bro. Amazing.

Every single time I look at this thread I get pumped up and enthused all over again. Amazing progress evidenced. A lot of smiling faces in here. Gotta love it !!!!!!!!

Thanks for your generous reply and fantastic advice. I'm looking forward to waking up after the op and knowing everything went well...and starting my new life! It's gonna go well. Really well. Keep us updated and stay active on here. It sure was a lot easier for me having folks here to bounce ideas and discoveries off of.

Just seeing this thread. Was a Stephen King fan.....sorta lost touch with his work shortly after reading Thinner. Not sure why exactly....just kind of lost interest. Very interested in your expertness here, though. I'm early on in the process and can easily, very easily get thrown off track by sugar, carbs and junk food. I'm interested seeing how it gets once I"m much further out. I'm actually encouraged by this thread, though.....hoping I have similar experiences later on. For what it's worth........you look super. Seriously super. The cookie baking pic shows you looking great. You've gotta be mighty pleased with your progress. You've done really well. Living like the hombre in Thinner right now......how would you describe your activity level ? If you are exercising frequently and an overall active person I'm betting your metabolism is elevated and you've become a calorie burning machine. I really feel that is the key for me, too. The losing is always improved when I maintain high activity. Again, amazing progress and looking forward to seeing the further experiences that come.

First off.....I see this is your first post. Welcome. Hang around, please.....keep posting. You're 9 months out and have probably been through so much that would help the rest of us newbies. You stated that you are still losing. GREAT !!!! You are still in the driver's seat and in control. I goofed as well. My weight had been fairly well decreasing until the "holiday meal season" at work. My work department and all the other adjacent departments have been catering in holiday meals and/or doing cover dish type stuff. It's been amounted to three weeks of caloric side dishes, Desserts, etc. etc. Talk about getting off my game.......sheeesh. I've grazed on stuff just like you described...."this and that......and that and this....." for a couple weeks at work. The carbs and high sodium stuff really do throw me off track quickly. I was able to get back on track and fired up the metabolism this past week and posted a new low weight this weekend. I did it by purging out the evil carbs. I went back to the basics.....tons of Water, Protein shakes and grilled protein.........and a lot of walking. It wasn't a full blown BEAST-mode effort or anything.....just a low-carb, solid protein food base with activity amped up a bit. Back to the losing. I'm doing some grilling and cooking on Christmas day. Most of the sides will find me avoiding them......except a batch of black-eyed peas that I"ll make. I can't resist those. A small serving or two and I'll be done. I'll hit the turkey and ham much harder, though. I'll also get my walking in that day, too. The holidays are tough, tough time to lose weight but it's seriously possible if you are strict on the days & times that you are on your own. Grazing and socializing within a group setting is an easy scenario to lose that discipline, but what's the harm....you gotta enjoy the experience, too. Hard not to sample stuff when a friend has made their "best" dish and is asking you to try it. Just a week or two more of the celebrating and then on to lean living, right ????? Again, welcome and please stick around and keep posting. You could really help a lot of us.

Great feeling right there !!!!!!!!! Well done. Truth right there ^^^^^^^^^^ That's Ms. ISG, to you! I dun goofed again. It's tough when English isn't my primary language. Many goofs. Still trying to figure out what my primary language actually is ? Is Southernese a language ?

Awesome !!! Happy Birthday.

That is a good point to! But I guess it's natural to miss the things you can't do It's very natural. Very understandable. I was the same way. Your life is about to change and your menu items with be tremendous in scope. Just hang in there a while longer.......just a little while longer. It'll get much, much better. You have the rest of your longer & leaner life to chew your back out. You are just in that phase where your new stomach needs to heal and mend. My calcium citrate chews were really nice during that period. Gave me something to look forward to chomping on. Bariatric Advantage Chewy Bites. The fruit flavors are like eating Starburst candy.....no kidding. Hang in there.....you are going to profit mightily from being patient now. Are these something I can find in the uk I have oral sprays for my multivitamins the chewable ones i found did not contain zinc so found a liquid solution instead? Sorry.....I'm not certain what is available to you over there..........