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How is your blood pressure ? Closing in on the 3 week timeframe I was feeling like crap, too. Found out my blood pressure was running ultra low.

I see you are a pretty tall guy, too. Is that among the best Harleys for tall guys ? I've been kicking around some ideas.

Not much on the hunger thing here, either. 6.5 months out and I'm good in that department. The only time it gets anything remotely like hunger is if I had some chips or the like. It's like my body burns if off as fuel and then is asking for more of the same. If I eat Protein and fat.....that doesn't occur and I can go for indefinite periods without hunger. So, for me....staying way from sugar or things that easily convert to sugar...is the key for me.

Anytime I have an issue it is usually attributed to one of two things: eating too fast with bites.....and drinking Water too soon after eating. When I slow my roll.....good things happen.

I have always hated zombies as a concept and I have always hated scary movies. But somehow I LOVE the Walking Dead. I think it's because it really has so little to so with the zombies. I'm much more interested in PEOPLE trying to survive after the end of the world. That's what makes it so fascinating. People being put in impossible situations, having to make terrible choices, having to make new lives for themselves... so interesting and the show handles it so well. Well said !

Excellent point !!! You are so far ahead of the game right now.

Such a great show. I never in a million years thought I'd like it.....but was drawn in somewhere around the beginning of the second season. I haven't a clue as to who bought it as the hands of Neegan. There are clues and logic that lead to any of them.

I began the bariatric process last summer. I thought I remembered it being in June, but it was actually the beginning of July 2015. I weighed 478 pounds. On high blood pressure & cholesterol meds. Been suing a CPAP machine for 10 years prior. Had a herniated T-12 disc, spinal stenosis and severe advanced arthritis in both knees. I had the sleeve surgery in mid October 2015. Surgeon also repaired a large umbilical hernia at the same time (third surgical repair for the same issue). I weighed 422 lbs on the day of my surgery. Hospital stay was short....released the next day. Came home and recovered. Slept in a recliner for the first couple weeks. I highly suggest this, too. So easy to get in & out of....and very little stress on the abdomen. There have been absolutely zero complications from my sleeve surgery. The hernia repair is not doing well, but I was advised to think of it as a temporary repair that would have to be addressed as the abdominal muscles were no longer being pulled outwards by excess fat and gravity. I go back at the one year mark to see where I'm at with the hernia. I feel good....great on some days. The back is healing on it's own. Arthritis is more tolerable. Blood pressure meds are cut in half. I don't snore near as bad. I used to take 800 mg of Advil twice a day just to get around......now I go through most days without taking any. I exercise by walking and through some light weight training. I am limited in the movements I can make due to healing back and pending hernia stuff....but I get around the gym and do the stuff that feels good. I now, for the first time since high school, weigh under 300 lbs. I am closing in on my goal weight and have high confidence that I'll beat it and live at a lighter, more lean weight. I'm very happy with all aspects of the progress and can say without reservation that I would do the sleeve surgery again without a seconds thought. My surgeon has given me very simple yet effective instructions to follow and as long as I do so.....the scale number keeps getting smaller. I'm very grateful for this. My only regret is not doing this sooner. Much sooner. You are doing the right thing in doing your research and making sure you are getting the best from your surgeon and best nutritional advice upfront. The sleeve is very easy to live with and the weight loss is is going to happen for you.

Nope...not a revision. I went from the original stomach to the VSG stomach. I just know of the struggles that result from complications from banding. You two are going to do really well !!!

Being a cyborg would have some advantages.....no arthritis.....no need to wear reading glasses...... Human stuff.....It's a daily battle that faces all of us wls folks. I have to look at Snacks and such that belong to the rest of the family and reach past them to get to my packs of tuna and such. Every so often the desire to grab some of the chips n' salsa at the Mexican restaurants is powerful. I'll cave in and have a few. I know that full fledged margaritas have been the source of my stalls in the past. I've caved in a number of times and left the buns on cheeseburgers and sandwiches. It happens. We get knocked off the horse....and we get up, dust ourselves off and hop back on. Dig the spurs in and get yourself headed back in the right directions. You'll do it.....even though it's easier to not do it. Accountability is a beyotch sometimes....but self-accountability is sexy as hell. It's a source of power and energy.

These are the types of answers you'd best get from your surgeon and nutritionist. They usually have very specific instructions to follow for your safety and the overall effectiveness of your new lifestyle. I'll simply throw out my opinions here.....and I'm not medically trained or all that savvy on this stuff....just a guy who's living happily with his sleeve, okay? I reserve the right to be wrong and to make my share of post op mistakes. 1) I was encouraged to begin walking two hours after coming to in the recovery room. Walking and then after one week give other types of cardio a try....then allowed to weight train after letting my simultaneous hernia repair heal properly. The sleeve was ready for weights way before my hernia repair was. 2a) You should be drinking shakes the day after your surgery, in my experience. They gave me an ounce an hour the first day. Four ounces an hour the second.....an upwards until I was getting three shakes a day in. I lived that way until after being cleared to advance to the next stages of eating. 2b) The guy you attempted to purchase protein powder from was a complete idiot. He should seek other employment. Some of the absolute worst broscience comes from the dudes who work at GNC. I think they must be trained special to be that stupid. Look around for low carbohydrate protein powders. There is a wide range of good options.....and bad options (avoid the stuff made for hard gainers....highly caloric). 3) Low carb protein shakes. 4) I think most of us report on having 75% to 85% of our stomachs removed. I don't know how much of a factor the exact percentages translate to in terms of weight loss. I do know that the lack of hunger and the restriction are motivators to not push the limits, but to eat the recommended volumes at each meal and no more than that. I highly encourage you to make a followup appointment with your surgeon and contact your nutritionist right away. Meet with them or call them....have them respond to your questions immediately so you can be safe and enjoy the benefits of the surgery you just had.

Zero complications. Very smooth process. Would do it all over again without hesitation. Weight loss has been steady and I'm grateful for it.

I've never given it much thought. I just dip the scoop in there and shake it a bit to level it off so I don't spill powder as I'm transferring it to my shaker bottle.

Hang in there. You are in the toughest times right now....yet you are day 8 with just a few more to go. Hang in there. Dig deep. Have you tried the

@@KindaFamiliar and @@Valentina you both had me cracking up. Good stuff. This made my aggravated hernia sting from laughing at. Thanks....good laugh here. You aren't kidding....those tables are ridiculously optimistic indeed. I can't see me....at 6'4" getting down to the weight listed on that chart (181 lbs - 207 lbs). That's another 100 lbs or so off my frame. I'd look like a skeleton. I say that....but that's what it would take for me to reach a 25 bmi. Maybe the chart is not so outlandish. I need to go break out the tape measure and see if I'm even still 6'4". I began the bariatric process last June. I was shocked to learn during that initial appointment that I was 6'4". I'd always been and inch taller. Oh well.......at least I'm normally tall enough to get the job done once I go horizontal...............

Well done !!! That is super.

Thanks @@VSGAnn2014 Your post rings true and spot on. I like how you've approached your enjoyment of it, too.

There is a great variety available to you, too. I don't worry much about food. I know that I can go to any restaurant and select something I like from their menu. I may not eat the sides, but the meats are almost all good to go for me. I prefer eating grilled, broiled or boiled meats....however, I'll occasionally have fried stuff. My taste preferences have changed a bit in that I don't really like the flavor of fried food so much now. I've become quite picky and demanding of my food, in fact. Prior to my sleeve surgery I can't remember ever going to a restaurant and being served something that I had to send back. Since the sleeve....I've sent back overcooked steaks and chicken. It's been a surprising turn of events, but one that I make no apologies over. When I order a filet mignon medium rare.....that's how I want it to arrive. Overcooked dry chicken??? No thanks. One thing that I've been enjoying recently are salad bars. I don't do much in the way of lettuce....but I love loading them down with eggs, some cheese and the other low sugar toppings, crunchy vegetables and small amounts of sunflower seeds.....and cottage cheese on the side (I used to detest cottage cheese....now, it's all good to me).

No adverse effects at all. Heck....it may have even been more healthy than what I do now by eating the Protein and supplementing with vitamins and Calcium. Those shakes had a lot of vitamins in them, too....certainly better numbers than just a piece of chicken or steak. My surgeon seemed to have no problems with me doing this, either. He did, however, encourage me to move on to soft solid foods at the four week point.....moist meats. I did so but it was a tentative effort. I chewed stuff so much that it may as well have been pureed. lol. I did so and was scared of if my stomach was healed enough to handle solid food...... I needed those extra weeks to get myself psyched up for it.

My surgeon made it really simple for me to understand. He's never mentioned calories or nutritional macro requirements. He has simply stressed on plan of attack that is simple and straightforward. It is this: each 3 meals per day of the correct size and take all your Vitamins, Calcium and Iron supplements. Avoid snacking. The proper meal size began at 1/4 cup in volume (steak, chicken, pork or fish) and was increased by him to 1/2 cup in size. During my 6 month appointment he said I should shoot for a full cup by the 12 month point. He also added that I could add fresh vegetables in small portions providing I'm eating the Protein first.

8 pages into the thread and I see no other responses from you. There has been a ton of great advice given here from everyone. You are only 3 weeks into this. All you are really expected to do at this point is sip Water and sip Protein shakes. Everything will fall into place really soon. You just have to hang tough another week or two.

This thread has brought some much appreciated laughs this morning !!!

Outstanding. You've done great. Excellent post, too. Have tons of fun and enjoy yourself.

I won't judge you......hoping you don't judge me. Granted, everyone's sleeve experience is limited to an army of one......themselves......I will tell you how I've proceeded as far as alcohol is concerned. I began last June with a bariatric surgeon affiliated with the area's largest hospital...a place that I'd had success with on prior orthopedic type surges to repair stuff I'd torn up being stupid. He was firmly against three things for his patients: never again smoking, never again having caffeine and never again drinking alcohol. I was with that program 3 months and then my insurance company played the ultimate trump card....they'd only fund wls if I went with a "center of excellence". So.....I swapped over to such a program. They are affiliated with a much smaller local hospital in town. A couple things happened upon switching over.....I discovered that my cost would actually be lower if I simply did 100% self pay (crazy scenario....long story) and I discovered that my new surgeon was uber experienced and had a high level of confidence and approached things.....life choices of his patients.....in a very realistic way. I told him during my two month check in that I wanted coffee. He said, "Sure...I drink two cups a day, why can't you?". I told him during my 4 month check in that I wanted occasional mixed drinks (with skinny mixers) and that I wasn't losing the weight just to live like a monk. He paused at that and gave me a sly grin. He acknowledged that life is best when lived fully. He was very direct about his concerns with drinking. He said that my sleeve would handle it....but could I ? Would I chose to drink responsibly ? Would a couple of drinks lose me up and pave to way towards a poor food choice ? Would I begin drinking beer again (highly caloric beers were my favorites before...go figure)? He then said, "I have a couple glasses of wine when I'm unwinding sometimes....why can't you?" I was glad to hear this and I weighed his advisements heavily. Wanting something....and then being told you can have it brought on some odd feels. It was like I really wanted to bust loose...but then once given the reins....I sorta dug in and shied away for a while. I do enjoy drinks on the weekends. Skinny mixed drinks. An ounce or two of premium vodka on the rocks topped off with a splash of diet 5 calorie Ocean Spray is the normal adult beverage. I'll order similar when I'm going out somewhere. I've found that the drinks do impact me harder than prior to surgery. I think a big part of that is simply due to not eating much of anything along with or after drinking. I keep a calorie tally in my head and I carve out calorie space for the alcohol calories. I don't want to let the occasional weekend enjoyment derail my weight loss. I'll only eat packs of tuna, hardboiled eggs or Protein powder shakes to get my protein on such days. I have learned to limit the frequency and that consecutive days of enjoyment are not well tolerated by my body. A couple of drinks on a Friday night....and then on Saturday night are it. I shut it down for the week then. I learned the limits of what I can tolerate on two recent vacations. One was a bar hopping me-only trip to a place known for fun nightlife. I was sorta proud of how I navigated the potential perils that week. I did okay. I was faced with many temptations, yet I picked and chose wisely. The most recent was a 7-day cruise taken with my wife a month ago. It didn't begin well for her....she was stressed out bigtime by a few delays the ship encountered at departure and a skipped port that resulted. I chose to have enough fun for the two of us that week. By mid week I was getting down with the flow of things onboard and having a bit too much fun. I shut it down for a couple days and killed it in the gym and hot tubs. I did have a big night towards the end.....and didn't fool with the stuff for quite some time after getting home. Again....your surgeon may have different instructions than mine did. I've seen firsthand how they lay down different ground rules. I had sleeve surgery to improve my life. Being able to enjoy some drinks.....in moderation....in social situations....isn't counter to me improving my life. My decisions and approach are not posted here as advice to anyone....simply to reply how I'm currently operating. I may change tactics one day....who knows? For now, though.....it's working. I'm down a good chunk of the weight I wanted to lose and can see reaching and even exceeding my goal. I've picked up some good habits along the way and feel I have a good plan for living lean. I wish you the best and encourage you to seek the advice from your surgeon. Know that they may give you a firm no as my first surgeon did. I get that. They are, after all, accustomed to dealing with people who don't demonstrate self control and discipline. Why the hell would they say, "Sure, have a drink". I get that. I'm grateful that my surgeon possessed extremely high levels of confidence in both his skills, his experience and in me. I'd sort of proven myself to him by the time we had the alcohol discussion. I'm quite sure this was a factor in his response. Had the discussion been had in the pre-op days.....he'd probably have been way more firm. It's all about your overall goals and what you are going to do to meet them. I wish you the best. Having a partner that is willing to slow down is a good thing. Perhaps you'll get him to join you in some other hobbies.....active hobbies.

I opted to stay on Protein drinks only for the first 4 weeks. I figured that doing so would allow my new stomach to heal. I also did not trust myself to open up the door and invite pureed stuff in. I knew that it wouldn't take much for me to skip yogurt and go to ice cream. Even now, at 6 months out....I can go on a liquid only diet for 2-3 days and come out of it really feeling my restriction. I'm grateful for my restriction, too. Knowing it's there in case I break down and cheat is comforting. For what it's worth.....it took me a bit over 2 months before I reached that "normal" state again.....the state where I'd allow myself to enjoy the flavors of stuff I'd cook or grill. I became a carnivore.......a T-Rex sized carnivore that took only tiny portions to fuel. You will certainly get there. It's coming. You are in the tough days of the sleeve experience, in my opinion. Everything will get very easy really soon. Hang in there and know that good changes are coming.