Pabst

I used to be a "set the AC to 63" and a pretty reliable bed warmer. Post surgery I'm always complaining the heat isn't high enough and I tend to melt my wife out of the passengers side in car rides (I'll have he heat up and she will crack a window). Cold never seemed to bother me before and now in far more sensitive to it. Hands and feet are quick to become ice sickles.

Blue Bell, PA

I find Premier Protein to be the best tasting and Slim Fast Mocha to be the worst. If you have a costco membership you can get an 18 pack for $20 (limit 2). This is around 1/3 of what you'd pay buying them most other places.

I can only speak for myself, but hopefully this is helpful. If you have struggled with losing weight and particularly keeping it off, this can be the tool you need to not only achieve success but to maintain it. Complications can happen, but a lot of times they don't. Also... You CAN mess this up. Don't think it's impossible to sabotage your post op. You can still eat ice cream and drink milk shakes and all manner of high calorie foods in post op and even though you have a smaller stomach you can still gain weight and stretch out your stomach. It's a tool you have to learn to work with and in the beginning phases it is no doubt tough... But you will find that if you work with the tool, it's a lot harder to fail. The weight loss also isn't easier... In a lot of ways it's harder. I like this analogy. Traditional Weight loss is preparing yourself for boot camp and when you finally walk in the door you have the option to leave whenever you want and quit. Bariatric Sleeve surgery is going directly to boot camp and you aren't aloud to leave. Either way, boot camp is hard and it will kick your butt... But the end goal is to get fit and make you healthier. People like you and I will fail if we are given an option to... That's why Bariatric becomes an attractive option. You won't regret not being hungry all the time. You won't regret not being winded and stiff and sore all the time. You won't regret buying clothing at normal stores. You won't regret fitting in places better... Cars, airplanes and showers. You might miss drinking soda or beer... But it will pass because all the new things you can now do will distract you. Hopefully this is helpful.

I'm really liking what I'm seeing with the Fitbit Blaze. $199, has a heart rate monitor, uses your phones GPS (saving you money as getting a watch with its own gps adds like $50+ to the price tag). It looks nice to boot. Comes out in March. Might wait for it... Debating.

Apple Watch I'm afraid is out of my price range. If I was willing to spend that kind of money I might be looking at a Garmin Fenix 3.

Maybe I missed that sale. $399 retail for the basic watch unless I go refurbished and those are $319.

I had the exact opposite effect. I couldn't pass anything without extreme pain and tearing without taking 6 Colace and Fiber gummies twice a day.

So now that I'm beyond my 1 month check point... The Doc says to focus more on heart rate and less on endurance cardio (more short jogs and less hour strolls). That being said I have been looking to get a decent wrist HR monitor (watch band wearable). I'd love to hear your recommendations if you have some first hand experiences. I've looked into these already, so if you have any personal testimony of these are good buys let me know: Garmin Vivosmart HR Fitbit Charge HR Fitbit Surge Fitbit Blaze (2016 release) -I am an iPhone user. -App works well with iPhone -App had good data and features -Doesn't have syncing issues -I don't want anything that doesn't have a HR monitor built into the watch (not interested in linkable chest straps and want not) -I'm open to any reputable manufacture I didn't look into yet (Samsung, Polar... Exc.) -Not interested in any bargain clone types that often get sold on Groupon or late night shopping networks. -GPS is a plus -Something less than $350 US Thanks in advance for your input!

Had 1 month check up (sleeved 12/18). Down 28lbs Finally out of the weight restriction period and I can eat far more normal foods. Doc said to focus more on keeping heart rate at 120 for 20 mins as the 30-60 min normal walks are becoming less and less "Cardio" work outs and more just normal thins skinny people so without thinking. I'm in the market for a HR monitor. Also this opens up to do some weight training and I'm excited to start out small and work my way up. I have some 15 and 20lb dumbbells I can dig up out of the closet.

I was 425 when I attended my first seminar. I was 375 the day of my surgery. I'm 347 today 1 month after surgery.

I have Aetna and they require 90 days of a nutritionist guided dietary advise. It was 3 nutritionist visits. They didn't require (for me) any particular weight loss goal, but they wouldn't tolerate any weight loss gain during the 90 days. So if you say weighed 300lbs at the beginning, anything more than 300 meant you failed. What I can say is... If you don't think you can lose any weight under the guidance of a nutritionist over a 90 day period of time... Surgery and the changes that come after it might overwhelm you. The 90 days with the nutritionist is a walk in the park compared to the first month after surgery. Something to think about.

Post op they recommend no alcohol for a year and a lot of doctors won't even operate on you unless you quit smoking because it can complicate and slow down the healing process. If you are pre-op, I would strongly consider this as an opportunity to quit the use marijuana since you can't use it for a while and find something else to fill that gap for a while. You might find a much healthier option (and depending on where you live... More legal option). Remember, the whole reason people get weight loss surgery is to aid them in making drastic lifestyle changes to better their health. In the grand scheme of things, the recreational use of marijuana and an alcoholic beverage is peanuts compared to the changes in food consumption you will be undergoing. I know it's just advice and ultimately it's your decision to make... But there are lots of ways to relieve stress after a long hard week. Maybe go for a spa visit or something along those lines. Who couldn't go for a good face massage!

If you are following the program and finding the time to exercise... You might just need to go to the bathroom. Same thing happened to me early on and I had realized I hadn't gone in 3 or more days. Being on a Protein heavy diet every day can really back you up. Might be worth getting Fiber gummies and a regular dosage of Colace to your diet and you mint find your not so bad off. The weight loss defiantly starts to slow down... But a consistent 2-4lbs a week is significant when you put it into the perspective of months.

So after my Surgery I lost the desire to bite my fingernails (after doing it for close to 30 years). Anyone else experience this phenomenon?