LittleBill

No black eyed peas here. That is interesting. Three quarters of my family is from south of the Mason Dixon, with one quarter being PA German. But we never had black eyed peas any time that I can remember.

@@4MRB4PHOTO I've been in that situation too. Mrs. LittleBill, knowing my penchant for joking around, usually hits me up with a preemptive glare when she sees that type of situation developing.

That's what he said. I usually try to arrive around 1000, or if I have to go later, around 1300. I am usually in there with the geezers, although there always seem to be a few muscle heads no matter when I go in.

My genetic makeup is somewhat like Heinz 57 ketchup, but a significant portion of it is Pennsylvania German. As such, tonight we will be eating the traditional PA German dinner of "Seifleisch, grumbiere, un sauergraut fur esse". That translates into pork, mashed potatoes, and sauerkraut for dinner for you non Pennsylvania Germans. This being my first Bariatric New Year, there will be mostly pork loin on my plate, with a little bit of sauerkraut, and just a speck of mashed potatoes. It is a traditional meal for New Year's Day. It is steeped in superstition, but we ignore that and eat it because it tastes good. ???? It is also relatively easy to make, and pork loin is as lean as lean Protein can be. Mrs LittleBill has been roasting the pork with some salt and pepper, 350° until the meat reaches an internal temperature of 160°. Sauerkraut is easy. Dump it in a dish and zap it in the microwave. And if you need a recipe for mashed potatoes, you probably shouldn't be eating them anyway. Happy New Year to everyone, and may this be a good year for you.

I can see it now. I'll be working out, and the membership director will bring someone in so he can use me as inspiration to get in shape. He will point me out and say, "Do you want to end up looking like him!?!" I did do what you say though, when I joined. I asked when the best times were to arrive. I work for myself, so my schedule is flexible most days. Their slow time is from 1000-1400, so I just plan to arrive in that time frame. It usually works out pretty well.

Yikes! No emergency operations here, although I had my own chair in the ER for a while for being sewn up and such when I was a kid... I have a kidney stone sitting in a backwater of my kidney like a tiny time bomb just waiting to go off. I have known about it for a little over three years now. When they found it, it was classified as "small" at 6mm. That's a quarter inch in American lingo! So we just sit and wait. I hope it all comes out well for you (so to speak) and that the pain and misery is alleviated soon.

Once again, Alex, you have asked a question and I already posted about it, so I am just going to put the link here. http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/386458-resolutions-for-the-new-year/

Bill, You meant one of these from Friendly's, right? Uhh, yeah, that's right. Maybe I should go back in February then. When I joined, the membership guy told me if I injured myself I could "suspend" my membership until I was able to participate again. I could call in and tell them I injured my humerus and I'll be back when it gets better.

@@White Sale Oh yeah, did you watch that Arlo Guthrie video? It is old, but it is centered on pickles. The ending of the song is something you might find amusing, considering your OP.

@@White Sale

This is one of those things that falls into the "chews well" category.

They (with a capital T) told me that once I was on solid food, and able to get all my protein in, I could start trying a little bread. I've had a couple pieces, but it just isn't as good as it used to be, and it gets in the way of protein.

@@LipstickLady Premastication is a practice that has been around, probably since women have been having babies. As for giving it to the dog, my dog eagerly accepts the gristle from beef Jerky that I've chewed but won't swallow. Of course, he has been known to bury animals to tenderize them before digging them up again and eating them later on. Now that is something to get your stomach upset, and it does every time for him. But it doesn't stop him from doing it.

@@newimage2017 The biggest change I made was to cut back on Protein bars, and work harder on getting my protein from regular food. I do a lot of driving about the countryside right now for several reasons, and had gotten into the habit of eating Protein Bars while on the road. I switched back to regular food, packing things like beef Jerky, peanuts, etc, and that is when I noticed the resumption of weight loss. Of course, this is anecdotal. It has only happened once to me so far, so I cannot say with certainty this is anything more than a correlation.

I did not stall until after two months, and then I was in one spot for three weeks. It just broke for me this week, and I lost four pounds in four days.

Yeah, you're doing pretty well in the weight loss department. My surgery was the day before yours. As of today I am down 54 lbs since surgery day, 121 lbs overall since I started my pre-op program. Mrs. LittleBill has been following a food plan very close to my pre-op diet and doing her weight loss the old fashioned way, and has lost 35 lbs in the same amount of time. So yeah - you're doing great.

I don't want a pickle, I just wanna ride my motorcycle...

Hop on the board here for those slow times. There is almost always someone here to "talk you down" from eating that doughnut.

@@swimbikerun But...but... paying for a gym membership is DOING something! And then, there's a new bag to buy, and matching workout clothes, new sneakers, and of course, new ear buds, Water bottle, etc. why a person can lose substantial weight just by lightening their wallet! I look like some homeless person at the gym with my baggy old t shirts and cheap shorts and shoes. I did it exactly as you describe. I started out walking around my neighborhood, doing more back and forth on the property, and working my way up from the first day after surgery. It was a month before I was cleared to join the gym and start heavier workouts. It was another month before they cleared me to resume my work. I am back to pre-op lifting capacity now, and increasing my endurance every day now.

If I may wax serious for a moment. I am probably one of the most out of shape people there at the gym right now. I am working very hard at changing that. I started in a little over a month ago. I thought about waiting until the holidays were over, but I wanted to get started, and I did NOT want to be lumped in with the resolution crowd. This is my first experience with a gym post high school. I got my muscles the old fashioned way - with hard physical labor. For many years I worked my fat off by working harder and converting flab to muscle. As I grew older though, it all caught up with me, passed me, and left me in the dust. So now I go to the gym. I think it is a great solution for the long term. It is where people who are out of shape need to go. I also think that New Year's resolutions are a farce, an artificial construct foisted on us by calendar and culture. Today is the day to start making changes, regardless of what the date on the calendar is. I took that attitude when I started my WLS journey. I did not wait for a special date, or to be told by someone to start making changes. I started researching and started changing things in my life immediately. I am not looking forward to the next few weeks for several reasons. I do not like crowds. In fact, I detest them. I do not care for self important people, and I expect to see a lot of them shortly. I do my best to be considerate and respectful of others, but I do not see a lot of that in my fellow man (or woman). Yeah, they are out there, but selfish, inconsiderate people outnumber the rest by a vast amount. And those who are going to show up and expect to reverse years of bad behavior in days or weeks are usually among the worst.

For 2017, I make the following resolutions: To eat healthy food. To lose weight. To join a gym and exercise more. Wait... hold on a minute here... I'M ALREADY DOING THIS STUFF!!!!! :P Resolutions!?! We don't need no steenking resolutions!

It is not the surgery, it is the mindset. You have the tools, and you have already been successful, so you know what you need to do. The questions is, do you have the resolve to do it? You've already described the issue in your post. Yeah, it can be hard. It will be hard. And it is not a bad thing to be accountable to someone to help you along the way. But a different surgery will not change your mental attitude. There's where you need to focus your efforts.

^^^^^ This. Follow your plan. I was told to go completely decaf prior to surgery. So I did. Once I was post-op, they said it was fine to go back to caffeine coffee if I wanted. I drink a couple of cups in the morning, and often several cups of decaf throughout the day.

There are a couple of things going on here. One is the response you receive to your prayers, and two is how you interpret that response. God usually works in our lives through opened and closed doors. What might be no for now may not always be no. It might be "wait". Keep praying and let things take their course. The hardest part is being patient. You've mentioned you've been given many other blessings. Focus on those things for now and don't let this get you down. There may be things that need to happen about which you know nothing before the time is right.

@@jimmc77 Happy New Year to you too, Jim!