Dub

Well said. I've had very similar experiences as what you described.

Beef Jerky, Slim Jims and the occasional piece of cheese are my Snacks. Oscar Myer makes a P3 pack that has all nuts, cheese and ham/turkey/chicken pieces in them.....usually 11g-13g Protein and low carbs. I'll eat these as snacks or even as Breakfast on my drive to work.

Man, here. Guilty as charged. We say and do impulsive stuff. At least we don't pee on fire hydrants.....unless we are walking home from a bar and we pass one of those red beacons......and seeking relief seems like a great idea......until the cops show up right when relief is being had..... Not that I have any knowledge of said act. Seriously, though, don't take it too seriously. They are paying you a compliment in their own way. At least they aren't beating their chests and making ape calls while doing so. Being a fellow knuckle dragger myself.....I can honestly say that I see women make tremendous transformations here on BP....and the thought that comes to mind is...."Wow.....she is hot". There is no malice behind the thought....just an eyebrow raising reaction to a gal who has made great progress.

I looked into two programs when I began the bariatric process. Both were in local hospitals. Both had top notch surgeons. I abandoned my insurance once their bullcrap kept surfacing and delaying things. Both programs offered self-pay options for around $22,000. One program included an insurance that covered any complications for the first year in that pice. If I'd not had health insurance at all......I would have still done the insurance. It has, in 3 months, been quite remarkable. Getting off daily meds is going to happen. Some meds are gone already.....some are now at 1/2 dosage. This is at 3 months. Maybe by 6 months all that stuff will be gone for good. The price of those meds....w/o insurance....stings. I just felt that sting when getting a perception filled yesterday......deductible has started over and the cost is full force. Ouch.

I can relate @@VDB It isn't easy, but sometimes we just have to ensure they are safe and then be selfish and look after our own self interests....getting healthy and remaining focused on behaviors that support this.

Well done. The temptation gets easier to turn away from as you get back to eating nutritious foods that make you feel better. I believe your cravings will go towards health meats and such. I know I salivate when I see those packs of tuna & salmon and all the sweets in the store just don't register on me. I do suggest, however....that you do the following: Go to your local GNC or Academy Sports and buy a few bags of Quest Protein chips. Get all the flavors. Keep a bag or two in your car. If you are out running errands and getting a craving for something.....don't let those checkout items get in your head.....don't think about hitting a drive-thru for some junk food......instead, reach over and bust open that bag of Quest chips and enjoy them and know that you are getting 20 grams of protein and almost no junk carbs. Win-Win. Nicely done on the jeans. Now, let your mind wander a bit.....and think about your "dream jeans". You'll be rocking those in no time, too. Feels damn good to be on the winning side of the weight battle, doesn't it ? !!!!

Well done !!! I don't give a rip what my NUT & surgeon say.....exercise is very instrumental in weight loss. Don't get me wrong.....they certainly encourage it.....but they simply don't acknowledge the power of it. Early on in my pre-op process my surgeon gave me a smirk and shook his head when we'd discussed my past weight loss efforts. He even laughed when I told him the plan that I'd implemented. "So...how much did they get off you ?" he asked in a condescending manner. "Oh, doc.....about a 120 pounds in 8 months.....are you gonna tell me that exercise isn't effective now?". He altered his position a bit after that.....less smirking and condescending. I agreed with him that the calories I was burning in the gym may not equate to more than 3-4 candy bars at a time......but what it was doing was: 1) Putting me in an environment filled with motivation.....everyone around me was humping it and working hard 2) I ALWAYS punch in my weight on the treadmill & elliptical and carefully watch the calorie burn that is calculated. Seeing this is powerful because it does get through my thick skull as to how hard it is to burn those beers and pizza off. It helps later in the day to maintain kitchen discipline. I'll not graze on Snacks or junk food because of my gym time. 3) Weight training......became addictive. Unfortunately, my enthusiasm was greater than my abilities and injuries occurred right when I was making strides.....surgeries to repair said injuries ended my lifting fun for too long. But the muscle building work does wonders to up the metabolism and help with overall calorie burn. That is great that you are getting in your exercise. It'll pay off hugely and supports your efforts. Me, too. Waiting on a release from my surgeon to say my abdominal hernia is good to go and I"m gonna be lifting again. I bought a FitBit One that lives on my keychain. I don't always have my keys with me....but I'm now finally getting my 10,000 steps every day at work. Feels freaking great to be much more mobile. Started going back to the gym on my day's off work for cardio. Wow....that is super. You are going at it hard and must be feeling the benefits already. Well done ! So far, I'm either walking at work or treadmill on my gym visits. I'll be working back to the elliptical in a couple weeks. That is an incredible cardio machine and in many ways is more comfortable on my Sasquatch-like frame that the treadmills. I'm hoping the daily glucosamine & chondroitin doses kick in soon and help these knees. Gotta kill another cup of coffee and go to the gym this morning and do some work, myself. Get my day-off work kicked off well.

6-7 days for my first, too. Every 2-3 days for the next......then it slowly started getting back to "near-normal". A lot of changes are taking place in your body......especially while on the liquid diet. Every aspect of your physical state will begin improving very soon at a nice rate. You'll start to regain your pre-op energy shortly down the road.....and then your energy level will surpass prior levels. I equate it to running on household flashlight batteries pre-op.....now at just shy of 3 months I feel like I have massive car battery in my chest.

I order some celery and use that to dip into the salsa & guacamole. chips have never been my friend....especially now.

Outstanding !!!!!!!!! That had to feel great !!!!

It's been very easy for me. The surgeon did a great job.....the medical care at the hospital was excellent and the simultaneous hernia repair wasn't so bad. Each step of the healing and way of eating has had unique challenges but they've gone very smoothly. I have zero complaints and zero fears about the future. The liquid diet pre-post op (6weeks for me) was very instrumental in my establishing a new way of interacting with food. If needed in the future, I'll jump back on that liquid diet in a skinny minute !!!! I've really gained confidence now as I've resumed grilling and cooking again for the family and have no problems with temptations.....not interested in carbohydrate heavy food. I'll cook it for others, but I have no desire for it. meats and some Fiber filled carbs with occasional cheeses or nuts are my staples......along with on occasional Quest bar or shake. I do admit to weighing frequently. I'm not recommending that folks do that......I'm just stupid that way......I've got to see that number every day. I don't let slight upward fluctuations freak me out.....but they do motivate me to stay on point. The absolute singular regret I have is not doing this years ago.

LoL. I sorta wondered if my surgeon has done anything the first couple weeks. Once I ate solid food......I knew he'd done his job. Two bites and was DONE !!!!!

Augusta, Georgia. Sleeved in mid October, 2015

Awesome. Things are working out well for you

Myfitnesspal helped me a lot during the preop stage. Now, I don't track my calories with an app because it's simply too easy to do from memory. Meals are small and easy to track. I'm do like my FitBit One....keep it on my keychain.

Close.......NE Georgia here

I use it in my coffee, but that's about it. I agree, though, it's an excellent product.

@@destiny_77 I had an abdominal hernia repair done at the same time as my sleeve. The hernia was the only source of pain and soreness. The sleeve felt fine from the recovery room to right now. It took a couple of days to get the surgical meds flushed outa my system. Stuff had me drowsy and lethargic. It took over a week to get most of the surgery related inflammation flushed out, too. Somewhere around week 3 I started to have issues with low blood pressure. It was low for the first time in my adult life. Low because of the fast weight loss that sped up on the pre-op & post-op liquid diet. The doc cut my blood pressure meds way down and those odd feels were done and I was instantly good to go. The really good feeling showed up around week 8-9. I think the weight loss had reached a point where my back and knees were getting good relief and I was seeing the benefits to the surgery. Improved vascularity, happy state of mind and overall relief knowing that 2016 was going to be the best year I've seen finally set in. The pre-op periods sucks. The first month afterwards is hum-drum.......everybody gets sick of the liquid life. Somewhere shortly after that, though, normal sleeve life takes over and the improvements become evident and grow from there. Hang in there and stick with your program. You'll be so far past the "no fun" part of the deal really soon..............

1100 ft of elevation gain would've fount me deader'n'hell. Much respect !!! Flatlander, here. Thankfully flatlander.

I'm telling you right now.....right here......that would be a blast for me. One funny aspect to the event.........it would be more of a meal of appetizers due to our low food intake. Works for me.....already got a menu in mind. All appetizers. Also some skinny B.L.D.'s (big liquor dranks for those who partake........don't worry....there will be strong coffee brewing when the sun comes up). How ironic....a meal for bariatric friends that I could go all out on. I'm so down with this. Be right back......busting out a few walls and doing some sheetrock work to add more sleeping space and getting day passes at my gym for everyone 'cause ya'll are some active folks who I have to keep busy while I fire up dem coals. Just kidding....I'd hire somebody that can actually BBQ & cook and leave me outa of it......I'll tend the bar and enjoy every minute of it !!!!!!!!!!!!!

From early on in the liquid pre-op diet, I was able to get 100% of my desire for sweets in my Calcium citrate chews. Bariatric Advantage Chewy bites 500's. chocolate Chocolate-Peanut Butter Caramel assorted fruit flavors, too.....which I now prefer. I"m not into the sweets much anymore. I can't speak highly enough about this product. Excellent. I really looked forward to my 3/day+ Calorie free Jello is another. coffee is with Splenda & Fairlife milk or Fairlife chocolate milk is another source of great flavors that tides me over nicely.

My honest advice.......do whatever you have to do to get your surgery.......get healed up.....get active walking..........then walk far away from that dude. Leave him in your wake and focus on yourself and your daughter. Involve the police as needed and set your course for a better situation. What a prick !

@@sbg224 you are doing great. Just looked at your stats on left of your post......current BMI of 34.9 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This done and then a total knee replacement just recently. Amazing......sleeve & knee replacement in the same year? Awesome strategy. You are gonna feel like The 6 Million Dollar Woman once that knee heals up. My stats are on the left of my post, too. They pretty much tell the story. Life is good. 2015 was a year that has closed out well and 2016 is looking like it'll be off to a great start.

Salmon is great on the grill. Run it at 350.....rub some olive oil all over it.......lightly hit it with a mixture of sea salt & fresh ground pepper. After a few minutes then brush on a glaze. Frank's Red Hot Sweet Chili Sauce is perfect. (It's not hot) Now if you really want to cook something tasty an easy........try some Ahi tuna on the stove top. Superfast......super tasty and loaded with great Protein that we all need.

Schedules are tough....but at least they are easier to manage as the health continues to improve. I work 12 hour rotating shifts and used to feel dead on my feet after work....stumble into bed and done. Rinse & repeat daily. That was just working the normal schedule. Now, I find myself doing all sorts of stuff after work and my days off are much more packed with active living. The gym time has finally come for me and the energy I got from yesterday's session has me amped up and feeling better today. I'll have to find a way to make it work. Gym time on work days is going to be tough.....but I'll figure out a way.