Dub

Atkins + cardio exercise + drink lots of Water. When doing Atkins....stay in a calorie deficit, too. Don't believe the bull that folks tell you that you don't have to count calories......because you must. Low carb calories deficit and drinking plenty of water will have that weight falling off you quickly........

Temporary state........I felt the same way initially. Now....unbelievable improvement....... Up at 4:00am yesterday. Worked a 14 hour day....walking a few miles on my job....hectic day....tech issues & staffing problems....fully engaged in troubleshooting and humping it the entire time. Lifted weights on my lunch break. Went to bed at 11:30pm. Woke up at 4:00am today, voluntarily....on my only day off over a span of seven 13-14 hour workdays. Felt ready to go into battle with ogres, orcs or dire wolves......ready to rock 'n roll shortly after stretching out my sore back. No combat to be had, thusly, a proper Breakfast for the family was cooked. Have a few projects to handle and then off to the gym for more weight training and 5 miles on the treadmill. I'll get home and toss something on the grill for our dinner later on. Today will be a glorious day off.....regardless the weather.....regardless of what comes up. 5 months ago.....pre-sleeve......I would have woken up and felt like one of the zombies from The Walking Dead. Hang in there.....everything...and I mean EVERYTHING will get better. Sometimes we just have to get out of our own way.

There are no sensitive subjects here among us......just the occasional overly sensitive, easily butthurt member. Just a dude's perspective, here.....due to prolonged back pain issues and other poor health stuff....the months leading up to my sleeve surgery were a drought of activity of any kind. Very unusual state for me. It was something that I never saw coming and when it hit......so did the near immediate motivation to get out from underneath controllable health issues once and for all....the decision to have wls was made. Abdominal hernia patch job done at time of sleeve. The desire to get busy and get my groove on was there a couple weeks after surgery....but the hernia wound kept me in check. About the time I hit the 6-8 week mark it was game-on....ready to rock 'n roll when the opportunity presented itself. For reasons other than surgery the opportunity has been a rare occasion, but I stand ready, willing and able. At 4.5 months.....I can say that it is on my mind about as much as it was when I was a teenager.

October 12, 2015: February 26, 2016:

Huge respect for everyone for getting their swim on ! I wish there were an aquatics center nearby. I think that it'd be hugely therapeutic for me and certainly better for my joints than pounding them out on the treadmill or pavement. The river is very close.................but there are gators, snakes and a hyooge current when the dam lets out...........

Welcome to sleeve life. It can be HIGHLY effective as well. It's all on what you do with the new WLS tool that matters......not so much on the specific tool itself.

Great question for a nutritionist in your program to answer. I'm coming up on five months and it looks like that type of food.......for me.....will be well after I reach and maintain my goal weight......maybe nearing the one year out timeframe. I simply don't have room in my meal size to get in anything but high Protein foods. Starches and similar carb loaded foods won't appear on my menu until much later. I enjoy oats, for sure. They'll be great for energy once I reach that point.

Hell yes !!! Very happy for you. You have already hit home run after home run and are about to do it again.

8 weeks to give it a test run. No issues. 12 weeks to enjoy occasionally on weekends. It's something that I can take or leave. Only time I really actually "want" it is if going out for a leisure meal....aka "date night" where relaxing and winding down is the order of the day. No longer drink beer and glad for that. Tremendous source of "hidden" calories right there. I'd never considered the amounts until they were no longer being consumed. Skinny margaritas or high grade sipping whisky on the rocks is what I'll have now and in much smaller quantities than before.

This !!!!! My last two trips to the grocery store have found me walking by those little minions pushing their wares.......Lawd......the pressure that the little sprites and their mom's can put on a guy whose just trying to grab a cart or basket and get in/out of the store. I wound up making donations but left the Cookies. Seemed to be an arrangement everyone was happy with. Did leave one of the Girl Scouts puzzled, though. I could hear her ask her mom, "Why doesn't he want to take the cookies ?". I didn't hear her reply.......I was busy putting safe distance between me and the Samoas & Thin Mints.

This IS amazing and so inspirational. I too find myself looking forward to being able to do more physically and not be as limited. I am already making a great deal of progress on the water. Looking forward to being able to do more on land. The Navy SEALS are made of the same grit, determination and resolve that you demonstrate. Don't be surprised if they come knocking on your door with some recruiting attempts. This.....^^^^^^^^ THIS ^^^^^^^^..........so much win going on in your life. OUTFREAKINGSTANDING. Posts like you's are what helped rope me down like a wayward calf and brought safely into this herd. A herd of lean, mean and vital free ranging beasts that have been like family. Living leaner and feeling better and getting further from old health concerns each and every day. So dang glad for this......as I was about to be eaten by wolves and gators. Keep on safely pushing past the old limits and know that nothing can hold you back.

Glad to hear you are staying somewhere safe and sound and surrounded by people who love you and will provide you with support. You'll always know their only agenda is ensure you are happy and safe. In this environment you can perhaps relax and think objectively and decide what the best courses of actions are to take. You Dad nailed it....great time to gather your resources and get things settled in your life. Great time to find yourself and make peace with her......before making any other relationship connections. Sometimes, if we are fortunate, we'll get times in our life that are highly conducive to reflection and taking inventory. it's what we do with what we find that makes all the difference. For me....this time came last April & May. It was a game changer and I am so very grateful for this quiet time. All the daily noise was silent. I was afforded weeks of silence.....weeks to think and look within. What I saw was very disturbing.....and powerfully motivating. So grateful for this opportunity. You are blessed to have this opportunity. Cherish your parents and know that they have your back.....as do each of us here. You are among friends.

It depend on what stages in the game people are. I'm firmly in the "weight loss" stage. I'm allowed 3-4 meals with each being 1/2 cup in volume. It's almost impossible for me to hit my Protein goals in these meals if I don't fill those 1/2 cups with protein rich foods. Right now, by design, there is no room for anything else. Surgeon has me planning for 1 cup sized meals when I'm a year out or so.....and am in the "maintenance" stage. Then I'll have room to add some healthy carbs back into the menu. There are differences in many of our plans. I tend to stick with what my surgeon instructs because he is the one who performed my endoscopy, sleeve surgery and has the most acute knowledge of my capabilities. The NUTs in my program always seemed vague when I'd ask them for their plans.....now I see the aren't being vague. They are being very specific and their simple guidelines follow his plan to the letter. It's very simple for me right now. Simple is good. I tended to complicate eating way too much before......thus the weight struggles (losses & bigger gains) over the years. It's amazing how much better life is when food is eaten as sustenance not comfort. It can still be tasty and each bite savory, it just doesn't have to provide any other solution other than to give me fuel to supplement the on board fat supply that I'm also burning. Once the body fat fuel is gone......then I'll have to eat more to maintain. Until then.....ketosis is my friend. Best wishes. You'll get dialed in on what works for you. Stay in contact with your surgeon and NUTs. Don't drift away from them.

Ah......the wild ride of that first week. Remember it well, but I like your descriptions better that my own memories. You've got me laughing here. Good stuff. You are going to do great....and you'll not need the pain med much longer, I'm guessing. So.....no more nightmarish scenes playing out in your sleep. Looking forward to seeing your progress.....it a sure thing, too. Enjoy the losing and enjoy the laughs and discoveries along the way.

My starting BMI was 58. Zero complications, either.

4-5 hours a night here.

It's not that most of us really eat more protein than before........it's simply that we do away with the other stuff and leave the protein.

It's going to go really well !!!

Quest bars

I sure did during pre-op. It made it all taste better.

My main form of exercise is walking. Treadmills & outside. I'm able to walk a great deal at work, too. I've also resumed weight training. Low weight-high rep count and working around bum shoulder and failing recent hernia repair. Approaching the five month mark soon, too. I'm going to add the elliptical machine on my next gym visit Monday. It gives me a better calorie burn in a shorter duration than the treadmill walking.

YES !! I distinctly remember having leg cramps in my calves for 2-3 days after getting home from the hospital. I kept walking and ensuring that I was getting in my Water and what I could of my Protein. It passed and never returned. Weird phenomenon.

5 weeks. I can't remember how large my meal sizes were supposed to be then. My surgeon has me eating 1/2 cup meal sizes now at 4 months. At 5 weeks I was one week off liquids and eating soft foods like flakey white fish or tuna. I can remember taking it extremely slowly......as in taking 5 mins just to get the equivalent of a forkful chewed and down. It does get easier, I assure you. I detest the feeling of ever getting full. It is a 20 minute period of discomfort that I hope to avoid. Sizing up my meal prior to eating helps me to avoid this.....along with eating very slowly.

I really wish I could go back and have an conversation with my 19 self. So many points that I'd drive home........ The primary point would be to embrace fitness and establish it as a core principle in your life. I was in pretty awesome shape at 19 and probably would have listened.....and stayed on track. I would let the young version know how bad not staying fit will hurt later in life......how it can hinder opportunities and take you down dark roads. I would urge him to always be true to himself and his health first and foremost and to employ any tool available to him towards this lifelong goal. If the sleeve was such a tool....then so be it.

Back in 2011 I was on my biggest health advances as an adult up to that point. I'd dieted and lost 120 lbs and was killing it in the gym. Ankle surgery & hernia surgery halted the gym....and I didn't return. I did, however, return to poor eating habits and piled on a heap of weight.....as in all the weight I lost plus a heap more. Well.....sleeve surgery has been a true lifesaver. I resumed my gym work recently and it feels really good. I recently went through all my clothes and sorted them out....keeping only those that fit. Interesting to find quite a bit of gym wear. Among them were a pair of black 2X UA pants and a 3X snug fitting Nike t-shirt. They were a bit too small to wear back then in 2011.....but I was hoping to reach the point where they would be okay. Wore them both yesterday to the gym. Feels pretty good to be getting into smaller clothes. Looking forward to the day when these become too big.