Everything posted by abefroman329
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Dining with Friends
Because WLS IS like rehab. And you may just need new friends, which is exactly what happens to many people who quit drinking or taking drugs or deal with other addictions where their relationships are intertwined with the bad behaviors.
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Dining with Friends
So far I haven't eaten a meal with someone who didn't know. An old friend came to town when I was about a month out, and prior to surgery, we would've had lunch at a wings-and-beer type of place, but I figured I needed to explain why I wasn't interested in that. Fortunately he'd gotten stinky-drunk the night before and was gonna get stinky-drunk that night too, so it was a moot point. I guess there's always the old "I'm not that hungry" if you absolutely can't tell them. I wasn't going to tell anyone, but I decided to tell people, and no one has been unsupportive.
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Portioning cups question
Either stop eating well before you're full or wait till you're comfortable estimating portion size. Breakfast is an easy meal, one egg and one piece of toast. I've eaten out on numerous occasions and haven't had an issue.
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Beards
All of the hair they shaved off my torso in order to do the surgery also grew back slower than it used to [I used to see a cardiologist for EKGs and stress tests and they would shave off sections of chest hair for the leads].
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Beards
Yes. Same with the hair on the top of my head. My barber though it had been a much shorter time between haircuts than it had actually been. But I’d rather have that then lose my hair. Im also considering shaving off my beard over the summer, just to see what’s underneath.
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Breaking the 300 barrier
I’d dropped below 300 on a number of occasions between 2015 and 2017, so it wasn’t a huge deal. My lowest in the two years prior to surgery was 289. But on Sunday, I was below 250 for the first time since I was a sophomore in high school, and THAT was an achievement!
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Swimming shirts/wet suit
Ha - one major reason I got the surgery was watching videos of my brother taking my niece to swimming lessons and wondering what I would do when I had to be shirtless in front of fitter strangers for an hour or two every week. At present, all of my sagging skin would be covered by board shirts or swim trunks, and I wouldn’t even wear a t-shirt into the pool or hot tub at my heaviest (it gets waterlogged and it just looks ridiculous). The rash guard is a good idea, albeit one that came from women who descended on a Guys Room thread for the five billionth time. I bought a couple on Amazon yesterday and may try them out in the Bahamas next week.
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Portioning cups question
All you need are measuring cups. 1/4 cup is 2 oz and 1/2 cup is 4 oz. Much later, when you’re able to eat that much, 1 cup is 8 oz. All of this is volume, you need to also make sure your food weighs less than 4 oz.
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Portioning cups question
8 oz in a cup and you’re only supposed to have a half a cup of food to start, but my program’s dietitians have said you need to measure weight and volume, so you’ll also need a scale.
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Anyone stay on shakes for meal times longer than first couple weeks?
I do one a day, mainly because I don’t feel like bringing two shaker bottles to work. I should have a second one at home after work because I’m not meeting my protein goals without it. I also don’t drink any shakes on the weekend.
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Dumping syndrome
I have the nausea, the sweating, and the overwhelming tiredness, but not the vomiting or diarrhea. It’s always triggered by too many carbs and/or too much sugar. And it sucks because all you can do is wait for it to go away.
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Non Scale Victories
It took a long time for me to be happy with this, but it finally happened on Sunday night, when I watched my brother-in-law load up his dinner plate with chicken wings and I was happy I wasn't doing that any more.
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Less Restiction
Yeah, I wouldn't sweat it. Over the weekend I was panicking because I'd eaten 3 chicken tenders from Wendy's and didn't get sick. No burger, no fries, no Frosty, just the 3 chicken tenders with no sauce.
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TMI ... let's call this "things sit differently for a smaller man"
You can also ask him if they hang low, if they wobble to and fro, etc.
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Less Restiction
I notice less restriction, but still far more restriction than there was prior to surgery, but I'm not too worried. Yesterday I managed 5 sauceless boneless wings when I could barely manage 3 a few weeks ago. But before the surgery, I could take down 20 smothered in BBQ sauce along with 4 soft breadsticks. It's all relative.
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TMI ... let's call this "things sit differently for a smaller man"
I haven't noticed that, but I have noticed the following: 1) The whole kit and caboodle doesn't fit in my boxer briefs as well as it used to 2) The whole kit and caboodle doesn't get squished between my thighs any more
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Food funerals
I wouldn't recommend it. I think it's why dieting never worked for me. And if you're having VSG, there's probably not going to be anything you won't be able to tolerate in small does.
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High caloric intake
I used to weigh myself daily, but now I do it weekly. That way, I don’t feel like I’m stalling.
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High caloric intake
I’ve only been given protein goals, both my surgeon and my dietitian have said not to count calories. My food intake is so steady, I don’t really track any more, but I’m probably around 1200 calories a day.
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Wow! The cost of Surgery.
I had my surgery done so late in the year, I had already hit my out of pocket maximum, so it was free. Beat that!
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Pills after surgery
But the Flintstones are so fun to take!
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Anyone else start taking a TON of Fiber supplements post op?
Yes, 12 psyllium husk capsules a day and 8 Sennokot pulls a day. Any less and it’s a one-way ticket to Constipation City.
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Popcorn
I only eat it at the movies. It goes fine, provided I eat it one kernel at a time and stop when I’m full. I managed to eat three chicken tenders from Wendy’s for lunch. No BBQ sauce, though, I think the high sugar content makes me sick.
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Non Scale Victories
I have this suit I bought to go on a cruise in September that was a shade too tight then. Today I brought it in to have it taken in and the tailor said it’s too big on me to take in. “You lost a lot of weight?” he asked. “Yes, I lost a lot of weight” I responded.
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Flying after sleeve
Yes, there’s a chance you’ll be able to cross your legs while sitting in coach and there’s an even greater chance you won’t encroach on your seatmates’ space.