DropWt4Life

Congratulations! You look great, and you are correct...A picture is worth a 1,000 words! Keep up the good work!

11/29 CW: 238.2 Finally broke that dreaded 239. Was stuck there for 2 weeks!

Welcome to the community!

I've taken phentermine in the past. It worked for me by suppressing my hunger, but I couldn't stay on it for more than a month at a time (per my doctor), because it has bad side effects. I would press my doctor about tapering off before surgery if I were you. I believe that the drug IS working for you, because you balloon up when you get off of it. However, you need to learn to be successful at weight loss without the use of stimulants. When I was on phentermine, I didn't have to make changes to my diet. I simply wasn't hungry, so I lost lots of weight. Once I got off, and the hunger returned, I ate more and more often. It was just a Band-Aid. Weight loss surgery can be the same if you don't make major changes in your diet and overall lifestyle. You must change your relationship with food, and learn good eating habits. if you don't learn these things now, you are going to add one more hurdle to achieving success long-term. I would think your doctor would be more concerned with you achieving success without the use of stimulants than achieving it faster with stimulants. If you have been taking them for a while, you are also going to possibly have to deal with withdrawal symptoms when you stop. I would rather deal with that now than a few months after surgery. I truly wish you the best of luck, and please don't take my comments negatively. I really want you to succeed long-term, and I am perplexed as to why your doctor would recommend something like this.

Sounds good! I have been drinking Coffee Mate Sugar Free Peppermint Mocha creamer off and on for the last few months with 5.5 oz. of Premier Protein Chocolate RTD. Pretty good stuff. I never thought of adding the fiber in there. That is a great tip!

Dr. Illan is an excellent choice. Inexpensive, but the best part is you will be completely taken care of. I went with him, because I couldn't find any past patients that had experienced major complications. It was a great decision. I spent two nights in the hospital, and 1 night in a nice hotel along with a companion. All was included. I was even visited at the hotel by a doctor the night before I left home. It was safe, and honestly I have never received better care in the states. I didn't ever have to ask for pain killers, nausea medicines or anything else, because the nurses were in my room to add the medications to my IV every few hours. I would go back in a heartbeat if I needed to. Do your due diligence, but just know you will definitely be in great hands if you go with Dr. Illan.

At Wingstop, I eat Original Hot wings (3 or 4) along with celery and carrots and no dips. At Whataburger, Chick Fila or Bill Miller BBQ, I have a plain salad. At Wendys, I will have a small chili with only onions (no cheese or sour cream). At Subway, I will have a chopped salad. I don't eat fast food anywhere else, although I will eat at sit-down restaurants. I will usually order some type of seafood and a seasonal veggie or salad at those places. About once per month, I might get two breakfast tacos with the family (bean and cheese, bacon and egg, potato and egg, etc.), and just eat the insides with a fork. So, I tend to eat out once per week, but I pretty much stay within my guidelines, log everything, and try to stay under 500 calories for the meal. I also usually hit the gym the next day to make up for it. I haven't had a burger yet since beef hasn't seemed to agree with me in the past, but a turkey burger does sound good though. Maybe I will give that a try.

I'm not a DS patient, but I experienced the same thing when I was in Ketosis. I could smell the breath of everyone around me. LOL. It was horrible. Once I started eating more carbs, it dissipated. Good luck!

Welcome to the community!

I haven't told anybody at work, because I felt that it was just none of their business. They know that I've always lived in the gym before surgery, so I just told them that I am not eating crap like I did before, and eating way smaller portions. All true. They saw me eat at our Thanksgiving luncheon, and asked if I was going to eat more. I told them that I didn't want to load up on carbs and sugar, so I'm just eating a little. Also true. Everyone has definitely noticed my weight loss, but I don't care. I can eat anything I want now. I can eat around my sleeve. It won't stop me from drinking soda, eating cookies, popcorn, chips, bread or tortillas. If I indulged in these things every day, I would most probably re-gain a lot of weight. It is becoming more about food choices for me. As I eat a celery stick with a teaspoon of organic fresh ground peanut butter while my co-workers are having their morning donut, they can just look at me as a person determined to be healthy instead of a wls patient that took the easy way out. As an aside, a manager at my work had gb a few years ago, and regained a lot of weight back. Everyone watches every single thing that she puts in her mouth, and criticizes her behind her back. However, they don't criticize their other co-workers that are eating what she is eating even though they are eating more of it. Just an example of the double standard that can occur when everybody knows your business. Just my two-cents.

Sorry I am late. 11/22 weight...239.6 I GAINED! Oh well. Hopefully, that number will go back down by Wednesday!

I was required to be on the full liquid diet for 1 week before surgery, and only clear liquids the day before surgery. I did 2 weeks instead of 1 anyway. if you feel that you should be doing a liquid diet, discuss it with your team. It certainly couldn't hurt as it would shrink your liver and help you to drop more weight than you would be able to achieve by eating food the week before surgery. Good luck!

I don't know what your specific plan calls for, so you should refer to your NUT on whether it is okay to be eating meat at this point. As far as having 4 servings of yogurt per day goes, it really depends on type of yogurt and the amount that you are consuming. I would try to eat the lowest sugar greek yogurt that you could find. I don't tend to eat it at all, because even the lowest sugar yogurt I can find has too much for my taste.

Buy yourself some chocolate sugar free jello pudding cups. Eat one when you have an urge for chocolate. I like strawberries with the chocolate sugar free jello pudding cups. I haven't had any in the past 4 months, but you've now got me craving them. Thanks a lot! LOL!

Superken...Sorry you are going through this. This is my biggest fear, and I don't know yet how to think about it. It is easy to tell you to get back to basics, but I'm sure you already know that. It is harder said than done. I am at 239, and am already finding that I have to fight for each pound of weight loss. I lift weights as well, and have seen my calorie intake increase from just under 1,000 to 1,100 to 1.200 calories on some days. I am still eating according to plan, but can eat more than I used to, hence an increase in calories. I don't often eat protein first in my meals, since that is just not what I am accustomed to. I will try that. Maybe that would work for you as well. I know a lot about muscle building, and will say that your body needs more calories when in muscle building mode. It is just hard to put on muscle with a large calorie deficit, and your body will naturally crave more calories when you are working out hard. You've just got to get out in front of it. Rely on those protein shakes right after workouts, and load up on veggies at every turn. Those are the lowest calorie foods, and you can literally eat as much as you want. If you eat 4-5 ounces of lean protein and even 2 cups of steamed spinach or broccoli, you are going to still be way lower in calories than if you ate 4-5 ounces of protein and a cup of macaroni and cheese. I am sure you probably aren't eating that, but it is just an example. Yes, log your food for a week or two without changes. Then, go back and analyze it and see where you can make changes. Good luck to you, bro. I hope you are able to get back on track. I am rooting for you.

Agreeneyedwolf...Sorry that you are going through this. I know divorce is hard. You've got a tough road ahead. However, you've got to start taking care of YOU. Your soon-to-be-ex isn't worried about you...Neither are his parents. The whole household situation sounds really toxic right now. Only you can tell when the right time is to tell your son, but I hope you do it sooner rather than later. Your health and mental well-being is going to be decimated if something doesn't give. You know how you need to eat to be successful. You are successful already. It is just hard to focus on your eating when you have other pressing issues in front of you. You are an angel. I would not be as nice as you. I would be an a-dub to the in-laws, and it would be deuces. I just couldn't stay in that environment. Nothing could keep me from my daughter, but I just couldn't stay. I hope you find peace in your life, and are able to get back to living life for YOU. You deserve happiness, and I hope you find it in the near future.

Unfortunately, bad nights happen. I try to follow up a bad night with at least 7-10 good nights (and days). That should keep the trajectory of your weight loss going downward. As to eating foods that may jeopardize your sleeve, please try to limit that. This is a very short transition in your overall journey. A few weeks of being strict with your eating can mean the difference between being hospitalized or not. It just isn't worth it. In a month or two, you will most probably be able to eat anything you want within moderation. Get the good habits started now, and treat those other things like a relative in another state...A treat once you finally see them, but not a part of your day to day life. I really do wish you the best of luck.

Congratulations! Glad you are doing well!

Many insurance plans that cover wls require a bmi of 40 or 35 with other co-morbidities. If you have good health, you may not qualify unless you gain another 25 pounds. I had my surgery done in Mexico, where a bmi of 35 is not an issue. The cost was $4,600 plus $450 airfare for myself and a companion. My insurance deductible was $7,000, and max out of pocket was $8,500, so I saved a few thousand going there. Also, I didn't have to endure a year of jumping through hoops. I am glad for that. If your insurance won't cover the surgery, maybe you could start saving today for a cash pay surgery in the future. There are surgery centers in the US that will do the surgery for around 10K. That is a lot of money, but not compared to what we spend for a used car that we plan to keep for 4-5 years at the most. Good luck!

STOP! Okay, I said something. Really, most of us tend to push boundaries or maybe try new things before we probably should. It doesn't help knowing that everybody's plan is different. Although I followed my plan to a tee, it bothered me that others could eat things that I had to wait weeks to eat. I stuck to it though, because I didn't want something like a staple line leak to be something that I caused on my own. If you are cheating, you need to remember why you started this journey. Instead of beating yourself down, learn from it, and implement a strategy to help yourself succeed. The examples that have been listed already are a good start. Make sure that you are planning in advance. That is very important. There is nothing worse than getting to work only to discover that you have nothing healthy to eat. When you see those donuts in the staff lounge, you will be super tempted to have one. Plan your meals and snacks in advance. Take them with you to work or to an event if you will be away for a long time. Keep the meals and snacks coming every 2-3 hours so that you don't get hungry. Use today as a restart. You can do it.

There is conflicting research about this. I have read the positives and negatives of working out first thing in the morning or late in the day. I think we really don't know which is truly more beneficial. Many studies show that a fresh morning workout before a meal has been known to burn fat since there have been no carbs consumed. Other studies say that in addition to fat, the body will break down muscle as a way to hold onto its fat stores. There is so much conflicting research out there, that when to workout should be about convenience instead. If you can maintain a routine better in the morning, then do that. If not, workout when you can. I normally workout at noon each day, and again in the evening a few days per week. My evening workouts are sometimes hindered by a need to get something done. Volleyball games, and/or practice kills my schedule. Also, sometimes, I just want to spend time with my daughter while she is home and awake. If she asks to watch a movie with me, I am not going to say no so that I can get to the gym. That is why the noon workouts work for me. I NEVER deviate from them, and evening workouts are just icing on the cake. If I have time, and just want to get another workout in, I do it.

Congratulations! You look great!

Bragg Organic Raw Apple Cider Vinegar with the Mother.

I wish that I had known that my taste buds would change. I threw out tons of protein, soups, broth, etc, because I just couldn't stand them after surgery. Don't get me wrong, I read this in multiple posts, but didn't think that it would apply to me. My advice...Don't buy too much of anything before surgery, because you might just despise it afterward.

CW: 239 GW: 230 Thanks for taking over!