SleeveSoon

I tried to beat laziness by incorporating activities and exercise into my daily routine. I have a chocolate Lab who really needs to be walked twice a day. I could just let him out in the fenced backyard, but we both need the walks. Part of my daily routine is now to go for walks in the morning and evening. He reminds me if I forget.

I also recently signed up for group fitness classes (Team Fitness) at the local gym and have three scheduled classes per week that I pay for. It's now part of my routine and I make time to make sure I attend these sessions. It's so much of a routine I even attended a class in the Phoenix area while I was traveling there earlier this week.

I was pretty happy with my surgeon (Christopher Boynton with Virtua Hospital Mount Holly NJ).

Its kind of funny that the medical professionals leave setting the goal weight to the patient. When I asked about my goal weight my surgeon gave some vague answer (i.e. everyone is different), his nurse practitioner ran some numbers and came up with a best guess of 220, my PCP said to shoot for a BMI of 30, and I thought I would like to be under 200 (at least for a period of time). I trust my PCP since I have been with him for a long time and my current goal is 209 (BMI of 30). When I hit that number I will see how I feel and if its realistic to continue to lose weight.

I am 4 months post op and walk my dog about 30 minutes daily and hit the gym about 6 days a week. At the gym I do the following:

- Small group fitness classes 3 days a week. I am a month into these classes and they are helpful in mixing things up a bit. The trainers come up with new exercises each session and have introduced me to some of the fitness "toys" (kettle bells, medicine balls, TRX, ropes).

- Cardio (rower, bike, elliptical)

- Weights (free weights)

In January I hope to add swimming to the mix.

Congratulations on getting the tickets. I had the opportunity to see Adele in 2009 and she was incredible. I volunteer at a local radio station and she performed at a Free At Noon concert with a sold out audience of only around 500.

I agree that a road trip across Texas requires Jerky.

I might visit my local Walmart to see what single serve options they carry. oatmeal sounds good. I don't usually buy single serve containers, but they make sense for this trip.

Almonds and string cheese are great suggestions for a road trip. The good news is that I can bring home anything I buy along the way.

I am trying to avoid truck stops and greasy food joints on my trip.

In a few weeks I am flying out to Phoenix to pick up an RV and then drive it back to the East Coast. I will only be bringing a small suitcase with me and the RV will be empty (no plates, cookware, or utensils). I am about 4 months post-op and was looking for some meal suggestions for this week long trip. The RV does have a refrigerator, hot Water, stove, and microwave. My plan at this point is to stop at a Walmart after picking up the RV to pick up supplies for the trip. Here is my partial list at this point:

- Ready made Protein drink (Premier Protein)

- Small frying pan

- Paper plates

- eggs

- Cooked grilled chicken

- Yogurt

- Lunchmeat (turkey)

- Bottled Water

Any suggestions for easy to prepare meals for this trip would be appreciated.

I eat a vegetable omelet most mornings. One egg, shredded cheese, black Beans, mushrooms, red peppers, spinach, Frank's hot sauce, and a chopped up Morningstar vegetarian "sausage".

My doctor's office did not specify a particular brand of Protein , they just said to make sure it was whey Protein isolate. I bought a variety of single serving packets and ended up buying powders?utm_source=BariatricPal&utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_campaign=CommentLink" target="_ad" data-id="1" >unjury chocolate Splendor based upon the flavor.

My son is a chef, but he didn't inherit any cooking skills from me. Here are some cooking tips from a fellow single guy:

- Crock Pot - Buy a basic (under $20) crock pot and make large meals that can be broken up into many portions. For example, I bought 3 pounds of boneless skinless chicken breasts this week and cooked them in the crock pot along with onions, peppers, mushrooms, chicken broth, and tomatoes. The chicken came out very tender. I portioned it out in 8 oz pyrex containers. Some went into the freezer and the rest went into the refrigerator.

- Microwave / Toaster Oven - I eat salmon several times a week. I buy frozen individually packaged wild salmon from costco and it can be cooked in about ten minutes. Preheat the toaster oven, microwave the frozen salmon for about 2 minutes and then broil the salmon for about 8 minutes. Leftovers can be used for lunch the next day.

- Blender - I use a blender to make Protein smoothies. powders?utm_source=BariatricPal&utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_campaign=CommentLink" target="_ad" data-id="1" >unjury Protein powder, frozen berries, unsweetened almond milk, flax seed, and ice.

I try not to buy processed or canned food if at all possible. I stick mostly to fresh and frozen foods including salmon, shrimp, chicken, eggs, mushrooms, peppers, spinach, sweet potatoes, greek yogurt, and berries.

My regular group of friends and family always ends up with a house party with tons of food and drinks. I'm Trying to venture out a little away from my old lifestyle.

I was sleeved 3 months ago and understand your intention to make lifestyle changes. Prior to surgery I had a number of hobbies/interests that kept me pretty busy, but unfortunately many of these hobbies involved food and drinks. I have been able to make modifications to some of these hobbies in order to continue with the hobby while keeping with my weight loss program. For example, I continue to ride my motorcycle, but the focus has shifted from RTE's (Ride To Eat's) to touring, and attending live concerts has changed from including drinks to me volunteering (ushering and front door) and drinking Water

I've discontinued some activities (beer festivals) and added some others (joined a new gym). Clearly there is a period of adjustment needed to make sure we are on track.

I attend monthly support meetings held at the hospital's wellness center sponsored by the bariatric group. There is an information session for people considering surgery from 6-7pm (attended by one of the bariatric surgeons). That is followed by the support group meeting from 7-8pm. The monthly support group meetings have a theme and sometimes there are guest speakers. Some of the guest speakers included a bariatric psychologist and a trainer from the medical integration program.

The meetings are attended by about 40 people and I will continue to attend until I no longer find them useful.

I would agree that if a bariatric patient didn't know how much Water and Protein they needed after surgery (basic info), they didn't put enough effort into obtaining/retaining this information.

However, there is plenty of blame to go around for not getting more complicated bariatric nutrition information. Here is my list:

- Bariatric Surgeon - Deferred almost all nutrition questions to the Registered Dietician (RD) in his practice.

- Primary Care Physician - Encouraged me to follow the recommendations of the RD in the Bariatric practice.

- Endocrinologist - Encouraged me to follow the recommendations of the RD in his practice.

- RD associated with Endocrinologist - Tried to talk me out of WLS and insisted that if I just followed her plan I could successfully lose weight.

- RD with Bariatric Practice - Met with her twice, once before and once about a week after surgery. The first time we met she would only discuss the pre-op diet. When we met after surgery she handed me some sheets of paper with the diet stages, showed me a plate with rubber food, and asked if I had any questions (while looking at her watch). She left the practice soon after that meeting.

- Nurse with Bariatric Practice - Met with her about a month after my surgery. Showed me plate with rubber food and gave me same handouts the RD gave me 3 weeks earlier.

- Bariatric Center of Excellence - The handouts at a pre-surgery information session were the most helpful that I had received to date and included sample menus and shopping lists. The person presenting the information didn't add much value and stuck to the powerpoint presentation.

Some of the most helpful sources of nutrition information have been this website, monthly support groups sponsored by my hospital's bariatric practice, and discussions with people who have had the surgery before me.

... I'm worried about how my body will do with not having as much fuel to draw from since, you know, tiny stomach and what not. Anyone have any advice in this department?

For two months prior to my sleeve I lifted weights on a regular basis. For 4 weeks after surgery I was instructed not to lift more than 10 lbs and restricted my workouts to cardio (walking and stationary bike). I started lifting weights again 5 weeks after surgery, but with much lighter weights than before surgery. My goal now is to tone muscles and to avoid muscle loss while eating 1,200 calories per day. I bring a Protein shake to the gym and drink it after working out.

I recently started a small group fitness program (3 days per week) that focuses on strength one day, cardio another day, and trainers choice the 3rd day. I have been exposed to new things (kettle bells, medicine balls, circuit training) in this program. Mixing things up and adding swimming is working for me. I would like to add cardio kickboxing some time in the future.

I am almost 3 months post-op (sleeve) and have been surprised with the lack of specific information about exercise after this type of surgery. My surgeon said that I could/should do cardio (except swimming) immediately after surgery, but not to lift anything heavier than 10 pounds for 4 weeks. After 4 weeks he cleared me for all types of exercise and recommended a "medical integration" program offered by the gym affiliated with the hospital. The trainers from the medical integration program set up a program for me (including weights) that I have been following for the past 7 weeks. The program ends this week and they will compare where I am now (weight, fitness level, measurements (neck, thighs, chest), and strength) with my assessment results from two months ago.

You will for sure be able to play basketball again (probably 4 weeks after surgery).

You will be able to lift weights again, but the amount of Protein and calories you consume will impact muscle gain. I am currently consuming around 120 grams of Protein and 1,200 calories per day, lift weights 3 times per week, and am probably just maintaining muscle (while losing fat).

I have an older Polar heart rate monitor with a chest strap. I am now looking for a heart rate monitor without a chest strap. I am considering a Garmin Forerunner 225 with a wrist-based heart rate sensor, but I am not not sure if I want to spend $250 for it, or if I would use the GPS feature.

I had normal fasting levels after about a week after surgery.

I was taken off all 4 of my diabetic meds after a week.

Diagnosed 14 years ago.

I no longer need to test blood sugars daily - weekly is ok. I have a follow up appointment with Endo in 6 months.

Congratulations! Last week I donated my unused Lantus SoloStar and Victoza after getting the all clear from my Endocrinologist. My A1C was 6.0 without any diabetic medication since early September. The sleeve worked for me as promised.

I use MyFitnessPal (MFP) to track food and my daily caloric goal is 1,300 calories with 120 grams of Protein. Lately I have been averaging around 1,200 calories per day with at least 120 grams of Protein. I have had a few stalls and honestly I have no idea what caused the stalls, or what brought me back to losing weight. I usually just focus what I have control over - protein first, drink Water, and exercise.

I have increased exercise since October (my surgery was 9/1). My current schedule includes a daily 1/2 hour dog walk and daily trips to the gym alternating cardio (rower/elliptical/bike) for an hour one day and weights (mostly free weights) for an hour the next day. I am going to reduce the frequency of lifting weights to every third day and add a day of swimming to mix things up a bit.

I really like your advice about matching the type of surgery to the kind of overeater you are. I remember going through the decision process and much of the information was purely medical (i.e. description of "plumbing" changes and likely outcomes). The VSG is working for me as a former large volume overeater.

• If you're pre-opp and thinking about the surgery, consider what kind of overeater you are. If you just have a huge appetite and eat portions that are too large at meal (a bottomless pit), then this surgery will help you a lot. I used to be like this and now a big meal is a half piece of chicken and a half cup of veg or starch. Seriously. HOWEVER, if you eat reasonable meals but then snack on junk all day long, I don't think VSG is very effective. I can eat whole bags of dorritos, large portions of ice cream and drink whatever, i.e. slider foods. VSG just doesn't help with this stuff and it's easy to snack all day long and pack on the pounds.

BTW further note as you lose weight your needs in footwear will change. When I was at my heaviest I needed a shoe called THE BEAST from Brooks. Now I wear lighter weight Asics.

I currently have two pairs of The Beast from Brooks. What model of Asics did you buy?

Did you have to do a sleep study? Or did he review your memory card from your machine or anything?

I have the same question about getting off the machine. I went to my sleep doctor two months after my surgery, he read the memory card, and said that I should continue to use my bi-pap. He said that in three months (Jan 2016) when I was closer to goal weight he would order a sleep study to determine if I could discontinue use of the bi-pap.

I was sleeved on 9/1. This is what I had for breakfast this morning. I exercise every day and average 1,200 calories per day.

Breakfast Calories Carbs Fat Protein Sodium Sugar Milk - Milk 1%, 1 Fluid ounce 21 2 0 2 24 2 Tazo - Organic Chai Tea, 1 tea bags 0 0 0 0 0 0 P g Tips - Decaf Tea, 1 cup 14 1 1 1 0 1 kirkland - Shredded Cheddar cheese, 1 Fluid ounce 41 0 3 3 68 0 Mushrooms - Raw, 2 medium 8 1 0 1 1 1 Oil - Olive, 0.25 tsp 10 0 1 0 0 0 Extra large eggs - Egg, 1 egg 80 1 6 7 75 0 Peppers, sweet, red, raw, 0.25 cup, chopped 12 2 0 0 1 2 Jack's - Cantina Style Salsa (Costco), 1 ounce 5 2 0 0 142 1 Generic - Organic Baby Spinach, 1 Cups 10 2 0 1 0 1 Goya - Black Beans, Canned, 0.18 Cup (122g) 70 13 0 5 88 0 Homemade - chicken Breast (Grilled), 2 oz 93 0 2 18 48 0 Add food 364 25 14 37 447 7

I have a 3 year old 95 pound chocolate lab "puppy". I arranged for some help in walking him after my surgery. He doesn't jump up on people, but he does pull when being walked.