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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..........

Maybe just enjoy being you for a while. Enjoy time with your friends and family. Let it happen on its own. If you aren't excited about it......don't push it. Dating sure can bring on a lot of pressure and it can be hard to think objectively at times. Most everyone puts on a great front.....then you get to peak behind the curtain and see what's what. That can be more stressful. You'll reach a point where it will be natural.....and seem fun and you'll be enthused. That's the time to start getting back in the game.

Was sleeved on Oct 13. I don't eat out nearly as often as I used to......and that's a good thing. I've mainly been doing my own stuff around the house: http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/357500-9-weeks-out-and-loving-lifegrilling-my-back-out-this-weekend/ Some fast food stuff that I have tried and agreed with me came from: Taco Bell-side order of their various bean offerings. McDonald's: Breakfast biscuits w/o the biscuit part, grilled chicken sandwich w/o the bun, etc Wendy's: chili salad bars: everything but lettuce.....all the high Protein stuff. Mexican restaurant today: steak chimichanga.....ate the steak & some of the Beans w/ cheese sauce It's all about eating the protein first. The various flavors of pouched tuna has been outstanding. Perfect size and super convenient. Quest Protein Bars.....hard to beat: 21 grams of protein, 17 grams of fiber, 4 grams net carbs, normally less than 200 calories

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. Truth spoken there !!!! Can also do damage to the new stomach. Sure as heck don't want to do that.

I told my close family, close friends and my employees and boss. I felt that it was less than honest to try to hide the matter. Everybody has their reasonings for handling it the way they want. I'm just a low drama kind of guy. Coming up with cover stories and hiding the truth just wasn't something that I wanted to do. I had the surgery to improve my health and get quick relief from back pain. I don't need anything from anyone to help me with this. I'm not waiting for their approval nor does the occasional negative comment about WLS bother me in the least. I'm gonna keep losing and feel better every single day. The rest of that stuff is just Water off a ducks back.

There really isn't much help for that.........for now. Think of it as a time to allow your jaws to rest. You are gonna be chewing like its your job in the near future. You'll be chewing so much to eat so little that it'll make you laugh at times. Enjoy the break..........dem cheeks is about to be sore, sore, sore.

That is awesome !!!!!! You are doing great. Sorry about the fever Happy for you.

I stared with insurance paying the bill. That was the plan. Then they started pissing me off with delays and other shenanigans. I ultimately opted to self fund and use the same surgeon. Turned out to be an excellent decision that stepped up my timeline to surgery really swiftly vs having to wait at least another few months. I'd still be waiting for surgery, in fact, had I continued on with my insurance....it would have been late this month possibly.....but we are getting a new insurance carrier on Jan 1st. It was beginning to look like they were stalling on me to push it over to January. For all I know the new carrier may have played games, too.....and made me start over. Simply speculating here...... Anyway, had the surgery 10 weeks ago today and am so very relieved already. Do NOT automatically toss the idea of self-funding. Have the discussion with your surgeon's staff and see what their provisions are for such. You may be absolutely amazed at the reduced rates some of them offer to self-pay patients.

You look great. Feeling great feels......well......GREAT !!!!!

I thought that beef jerky was going to be the answer to my workdays. I could keep in in my pocket and rip off a piece an gnaw on it for my Protein. Was convenient and went down okay so long as chewed like crazy. I was around 6 weeks at that point. Bought ten bags from different manfs. The turkey jerky was horrid and went straight to the trash. Never touching that garbage again. Several varieties of beef jerky tasted wonderful. The problem with it was this........high sodium content. The high sodium screwed with my Water retention. Your mileage may very.

Awesome progress, sir. Awesome. Up until a week or so ago, I'd take pics using my iPhone. Then I'd open up the imgur app and upload them to my imgur account. I'd then copy the url link of the pic (all provide once you upload the pic to imgur) and paste in the thread. For some reason the iPhone app isn't letting me log in and I have to do so from my macbook instead. I simply access the imgur.com full site. It is very, very easy to set up the account and you'll get a lot of space for free. The paid upgrades are low cost and one time deals. There are other sites like photobucket.com and such.

Thank you sweetheart. Yea I hope so Lol Now my only issue is that something (dnt know if meds, sheets, hospital clothe, pillows, etc) gave me rash...they change all the pillows sheets, quilt, clothe, I took a shower with a cloth, and the nurse gave me benadryl which makes me sleepy. And the gas in my chest when I drink Water But it passes fast...auugh it kinda hurts :'( Sent from my LGLS660 using Tapatalk You are doing great. It'll get tremendously easier each day. A couple days after you get home you'll look at the pain meds and laugh because you'll no longer need them. Hang in there and be careful with your new self. You are going to feel great really, really soon.

You'll get no grief from me, woman !!!! I respect the hell outa what you've done. Now....if you've been bad and want me to spank you.......I'm totally down with that.

Thank you!! I appreciate the kind words. I have a long way to go, but I just might change my name if I lose enough weight. Awesome results, man. Truly awesome. Just think......you are just a month into this deal. Tremendous first month. As far as the name change thing goes......may I suggest Dirk Diggler. Mark Walberg's character name from Boogie Nights. You are gonna feel like a stud. I can't get over your clothing size difference in just ONE month. I know that feels great.

Great attitude. You are going to keep on rocking it. The family.....even though they are wishing well and have great intensions......can be suffocating at times with their advice. My parents were the same way when I visited them at Thanksgiving. We laughed it off. I'll be seeing them next month and it'll be funny to see their reaction to the progress since last visit. As far as your husband's cousin's husband.......you were literally preached to. That is too funny. Good stuff, too. Getting right with God is always advised before going under. I'm sure he meant well......but why is it that some folks hear that you are having surgery and then feel compelled to tell you about all the morbid aspects and possibilities. Makes me wanna yell out at them...."Fool.....hush up........not trying to hear that noise right now !!!!!". Yes exactly! Obviously he was being very caring but I was already such a scaredy cat. He did not help!!! Also for family, the more you progress, the more intense they become. Mainly because they cannot believe it and they never want the amazing progress to go away! I only see my father on the weekends because he works in a different city and every time he sees me he gets more vocal! He is very happy to see me losing weight and in a way he is in disbelief because I have always failed at my dieting attempts and now he is finally seeing something long term. Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk Yup. I've seen that same thing from my friends and family. Over the past several years they've seen me burn off 120 lbs......only to regain it and more. I was sort of in their camp.....sharing their way of thinking for a while post-op, too. Recently, though.....I've learned to trust myself to use my sleeve powers for good not for evil. The further down the road I get the better my vision of future life gets. I now see how to use the sleeve and work it. I'm dialed in and enjoying food again, but enjoying it the right way. I see no reasons why I'll slip and "fall off the diet" because I'm now living normally and eating the way I'll eat until I"m an old fart sitting around a nursing home and asking everyone to speak up.......... I can travel anywhere and select off any menu and feed my carnivorous self........and do so from most kid's menu's, too.

You'll feel great. You are in the worst times.....the pre-op times. Ride it out....take on the liquid diet with vigor. Embrace it. Reap the rewards of the rapid weight loss that you'll see from the liquid diet. Have your surgery........wake up in the recovery room and take it all in. Be relieved. You're done. Finished. No more waiting . Once you get to your hospital room you'll start to regain even more of your senses. You'll notice that you aren't hurting....head is clearing up. You'll be thirsty. They'll probably bring you some ice chips. Glorious ice chips. Don't get pissed when you feel they are coming in your room really shortly after you arrived there to get you up and walking. They know what they are doing and you just have to trust & believe. Getting up every couple hours to walk is hugely beneficial to you in many ways. You may or may not be experiencing gas pains from the residual internal gas they use on any type of abdominal surgery with scope tools. I never had it. Some do. Some don't. Walking, though....is a sure way to reduce any of those pains and help get it worked out of your system. You'll be groggy and want to sleep but they'll be waking you up to get vitals, to talk and to get you walking. Go with it and know that you are on the road to feeling better. Take an extra pillow & a dose of pain meds for the trip home from the hospital. Hold it over your abdomen in the car ride home. It'll help a great deal as the car goes over bumps. Once home.....I avoided the bed. Laying flat just wasn't going to be comfortable.....getting up from bed was going to be a beast with my repaired hernia (the only source of pain.....none from the sleeve). My new recliner was.....and continues to be a great piece of furniture. Keep on your walking schedule. Don't let it slip. Don't even think about getting on a scale for those first two weeks. It's pointless. Your body is going to take on lots of fluids via the IV lines and there may be swelling from the surgery......all is normal and expected. Your body has gone through a lot of changes and may very well retain Fluid during this time........your weight is not trustworthy metric at this point. Just give it two weeks. It'll all get sorted out by then as you continue with the liquid diet. Enjoy the fact that hunger will most likely be gone from your life. Don't forget to take your Protein shakes on time and to have your supplements as instructed by the doctor. It can become very, very easy to forget to get your shakes in. Please.....do not stress about what can I eat.......what can I not eat........just stick through the first month and do exactly as your surgeon instructs. You'll be able to eat food you like in the near future.......only you'll simply want a bite or two and then you are done with it. I've found that my former love of pizza, Pasta and breads in general is gone. Way gone. Went out for Italian with my wife recently......at the meatballs and left the rest on the plate........cheeseburgers are awesome, however I don't want the buns.......pizza, I still love, but I just really want the toppings and cheese. These changes haven't been forced....they just came naturally. I truly don't care for candy anymore, either. It's like I've become a carnivore.....who takes his Vitamins. You are in the hardest part now.....it'll pass quickly. Trust me on this. I'm 10 weeks out from my VSG surgery on this very day and there has been nothing about it that I wouldn't gladly go through again. You'll do great. Relax and enjoy the ride.............

Man, that is super impressive. You gotta be loving the new body and feeling great. Well done. Hell yes !!!!!! 8%......you gotta be kidding me. That is some hardcore gym work, my friend. Much respect. Outstanding change. I agree....the decision to do wls was the best I've made, too.