DavidOso

@@Thucydides, I use "Insta Slim Muscle T" It's a tank top. I have had issues with sleeves, too tight in the pit area. Ebay has them, not very expensive. I'm 6'0'' and the shirts come down to pelvic area. I suggest getting the same size as a dress shirt. I wear 2X dress shirts, so 2X. I do have a XL, it is VERY squishy on me now. Maybe in 20 more lbs. These are a bit of a bitch to get on but comfortable afterwards. I wear them to the gym too, so I'm not a loose skin version of Baywatch on the treadmill!

@@sgc, I too have the same problem. I often, but not always, wear a compression T (sleeveless). I am currently wearing XL stretchy shirts(polos, T shirts) but wear a 2X in a button up cotton dress shirt. I fit in a XL button up shirt AS LONG AS I STAND UP. Sit, and it pulls across my stomach- even with 240 lbs lost! Even as I lose my last 60 lbs, I think I will always have the same issue until plastics takes care of my extra middle. Having started with 5 X's, I am thrilled with just one X (0 X's will be even better). Keep up the good work.

@aggietop@sgc I don't know but does water help to flush the causes of gout out of your system? By losing so much weight, maybe the irritants are flooding into your system and causing flare ups??? An increase in daily water may help to wash away the gunk. Again don't know, just a thought.

I went in for my first colonoscopy ever and they saw I was in the approval stages for a sleeve. Yup...they had a camera going in both ends that day. Joy, oh joy. I had an umbilical hernia repaired 2 months ago. Everything went fine, surgeon glad I had lost so much weight, much less chance of recurrence, BUT have had a hard time getting back into my exercise routine post op. Still get some minor tugging with certain exercises, and haven't gotten back to lifting yet either. How long does the repair take to heal before there is no tugging? It is the laparoscopic sites, not the mesh that tugs. Muscles moving over scar tissue I'm told.

@@sgc, Just a quick update...had my one year yesterday, dietitian said that at 1 year I should bump my calories to 1000 per day with lean protein, non-starchy vegetables, and SMALL amounts of beans and whole grains. I also asked about my goal weight of 185 (set by my original surgeon), both the weight loss doctor and my new surgeon said right around 30 bmi. That puts my new goal at 215. I was hoping to make it to "one-derland", that might still happen with 10-20 lbs of skin removed with plastics...but that is still at least a year away. Keep up your hard work, the weight loss gates will open for you.

@@sgc, I'm 2 days shy of my one year "surgiversary" and am just now hitting the 850-950 calorie per day mark as per my nut. I might have a splurge day that gets me to 1200-1400 cal, but that is rare. From my experience, 1000 calories, less than a month post op, is kinda high. The 70 g protein seems about right, though. (A trick my nut taught me was one gram per inch...we are both 6 foot, 72 inches=72 grams. This should be the minimum per day, and will slowly increase over time.)At the year mark, I am between 80-100 g, averaging in the low 90's. At the 1 month mark I was averaging 675-750 cal per day and about 5-6 lbs a week. I think it was the six week mark that I started exercising. I started with water aerobics and just walking laps in the pool (harder than it sounds!). As always in these posts, your experience may differ and ALWAYS follow your surgeon's advice first. Good luck.

@@aggietop, I was losing 22-25 lbs a month up to month eight. Then I stalled, only losing 12. Month nine, SUPPER STALL, only losing 5. Since then I have been losing about 15 per month. This month is hard to tell, a 10 day vacation and a hernia repair (10 years old, thin enough to fix now) have really skewed my intake and ability to exercise. So far this month is a wash, no gain, but also no loss. I should be back to normal food regimen next week. Also hoping to be cleared to go back to aerobics next week, just without kicks and deep squats. Weights are out for 6 weeks, but everything else should be back to normal. Fingers crossed!

@@DavidBC, I too started in 5 x. My one year "surgiversary" is coming up later this month. I have gotten rid of 4, count 'em 4 of the X's in my clothes. Now an xl. Looking forward to just being an "L". I haven't been an L since college! I have lost 238 lbs so far and am really eyeing my goal. I am beginning to think my goal weight will be a post plastics weight. I will discuss this with my surgeon at the one year follow up. Great job on your loss, both the pounds and the "X"!

Broke into new territory today, only 99 lbs left to lose. YEE-F-ing-HAAA!!!

@@DavidBC great job. Please consider donating your big clothes to a thrift store, men's shelter, or see if your bariatric clinic has a clothing exchange--give them big, get some smaller items in exchange...great programs. Also, I have used ebay quite successfully to buy smaller clothes I will only be able to wear for three months (blazers, dress slacks, jackets). Keep up the good work.

@@aggietop Congrats! That first hundred is a HUGE MILESTONE. Keep up the good work.

@@blanch2daizzo most of us carry/carried a large % of our excess weight in our bellies. You have lost weight there, it's just not as noticeable. Your face, arms, chest, these areas you will probably notice loss first. But trust me, the belly is going too, it's just there is sooooo much more there than elsewhere. Keep up the good work! @@Ignatius congrats on the next piece of the puzzle. HOT TIP. Use the 6 months to get everything crossed off your "Hoops I Need To Jump Through" list. Otherwise the insurance can deny you until all the I's are dotted and the T's are crossed. I learned the hard way.

I started at 515, sleeved july 15 (laparoscopically by a robot!). I too had 4 weeks of liquid pre op, worst...time...ever... I felt like an addict going through withdrawl, oh wait, I was! Very fast recovery. I have only felt weak twice, too long a period of time in between eating, and not enough protein. I started water aerobics 3 months post op. At 6 months, Dr. said "out of the pool!" I do aerobics/Zumba 3x per week, Weights, jogging a lap in between sets 2x-3x per week. Am jogging/walking a 5 k May 1. Rode my bike for the first time in 20 years last sunday. FEEL GREAT, don't LOOK too bad either! In 8 lbs I will break into the 200's. Ye-F-ing-Ha. I still have 100 to go, but the task doesn't seem so daunting now. Good luck, and keep us posted as to your successes and challenges.