J San

I use powdered proteins and use a blender or bullet to make them. I also add ice and sometimes bananas and/or spinach. Blending it removes any chance of there being a gritty taste and the ice makes it feel like a milkshake. Good luck on your weight loss.

I had mentioned to my nephew that I wanted to smoke a while ago pre surgery. He gave me i guess about half a blunt and kept urging me to try it but by this point I was doing the 2 week diet and did not know what to expect so didn't chance it. I finally tried it about 3 weeks ago, week 4 post and it was great. No paranoia just a great feeling relaxing high and no munchies whatsoever. I have no idea what type it was but would happily smoke more. I only smoked a bit at a time and it lasted me 3 nights. Smoked late at night just in case it had a bad effect on me, I could just go to bed.

Glad to hear your good now and on the road to recovery. At least you didn't have the same boring results as the rest of us. Best of luck on your recovery!!!

Glad you are home and doing well. So much easier to relax and be comfortable when you in your own environment.

You look wonderful, CONGRATS on your success!!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!

I had read this article pre surgery and thought it was good but of course wasn't there yet. Just stumbled across it again and I find it very helpful in a motivational way. I've read some of the guys other articles on his experience and they are really good. http://www.jeremycschofield.com/fitness-bariatric-surgery/ He mentions an exercise tracking app called JEFIT . Has or does anyone use this? If so how is it? I just downloaded it and am going to mess around with it in a bit.

I had read this article pre surgery and thought it was good but of course wasn't there yet. Just stumbled across it again and I find it very helpful in a motivational way. I've read some of the guys other articles on his experience and they are really good. http://www.jeremycschofield.com/fitness-bariatric-surgery/ He mentions an exercise tracking app called JEFIT . Has or does anyone use this? If so how is it? I just downloaded it and am going to mess around with it in a bit.

Congrats man. You literally look like a different person in all 3 of those pics. If it wasn't for the smile I'd try and call BS. Great job on your success man.

Not good to hear. That sucks. Really sorry you have to endure this. Hope it subsides soon. Good Luck!!

What is a pain block? and who gave it to you? I've been diagnosed with arthritis throughout my spine(by my PCP) as well as herniated and bulging discs (by a chiropractor). I've been to physical therapy (pre MRI so they were clueless on what to do for me, swear they made it worse) and finally had an MRI done after seeing a back surgeon. Prior to seeing the report being done by the tech at the MRI office he was pointing out specific areas that looked to be issues. As soon as he got the report his story changed and apparently the tech did not see any issues so miraculously neither did the surgeon at this point. I asked how this was possible if I'm having all this pain. He said it's common in people that are overweight. There was nothing he could do to help me and to go see a physical therapist. Funny thing is, the first question from both the surgeons and the MRI receptionists was if I had been in an accident or did I have a work related injury. Not what are your issues or how can we help you. I went to see a chiropractor about something he offered called "disc decompression therapy" and after about 30 minutes of viewing my MRI pointing out all of my issues and giving me his whole sales pitch he tells me that unfortunately no insurance covers the process so I would have to pay almost 5 grand out of pocket. This has been ongoing for the last 3 years with no results. I am hoping that this surgery and weight loss helps out in some way. It has to a point with my lower back but I still have major pain in my mid back just below my shoulder blades. Standing, reaching and leaning forward triggers it. If I'm carrying something or have weight in my back pack while on my walks it seems to prolong the amount of time before the pain kicks in. My sister suggested I go see a neurosurgeon or neurologist, I forget which but I'll find out and probably try that next. Sorry for the LONG response @Green1 but I'm hoping that someone may have had similar issues and can share what was done to relieve them. Hopefully it will benefit anyone experiencing this.

I was sent home with liquid tylenol with codeine which I didn't need for any pain associated with surgery. As far as my other meds I just swallowed them. No crushing or opening. I had to do them one at a time at first but we were told that if the pill was smaller than the size of your pinkie nail bed it was fine to swallow. Hope you feel better real soon. Congrats on your surgery!!

Congrats @clsumrall , seems like your doing pretty good. Hope all goes smooth from here.

That's great, I was just scrolling up and down on that pic and read this. Too funny!! Seriously @sillykitty how do you survive on that small amount of food? It all looks delicious, I think I got a bag of nuts on the last plane I was on.

Oh wait, I have to add the 2 pounds less I weighed in at today. Which puts me at a 40lb loss in exactly 7 weeks today.

My program said I should be getting 500-800 calories on phase III which was week 3. That's the only time I have heard or read anything about calorie intake from my program. I just focus on water and protein like they keep stressing and I eat what I can comfortably. There was one day in week 5 where I hit 745 calories but there was also one day I only hit 317 calories. I track my calories but don't worry about them that much.

I averaged around 500 for week 5.

I wasn't calling you or anyone out. My apologies if it came across that way. I am just curious if there is a definition for us? Hell I call it a stall when I drop only ounces over one night (only to myself now of course).

Here is a link to the one I mentioned in my above post. https://nutracelle.com/collections/nutracelle-products/products/natural-nutralean-prebiotic-protein-for-baking It is really expensive though. But if your only using it for cooking it might last and be worth the price? There are also flavored powders, I guess for baking desserts.

Used to ride sport bikes and hated the feeling of my belly on the tank as I started gaining weight. I stopped riding because of my son's being born. Had to sell the bike to help with bills. Never did stop gaining weight though. Would love to get back into it. It's been about 15 years. Would probably make a move to sport tourer or cruiser now though.

I use Body Fortress Isolate powder. Pick it up at WalMart for just under 20 bucks for a two lb container. It does foam but goes away pretty quickly when shaken. Only problem with shaking Isolate powder is it does not dissolve as much as if you used a blender or bullet. I asked how to avoid this or make it happen less a while back on here and someone suggested adding icecubes. I have found in my blender it doesn't help at all but does make the shake more like a slushy which I like a lot. I drink them foamy anyway and have since right after surgery and have no issues. I was never told it would be an issue by my team so I just said F' it. I was never told anything about using sippy cups either. Never even heard of it?

Sorry your having a hard recovery. That really sucks. The protein waters are great suggestion, I personally use Protein2O which are great. A lot of people suggest different temperature beverages. Hope this doesn't last long for you. Good luck!!!!

Lucky thing I joined this site.

Cut back on carbs as much as possible. If you can cut them out entirely. Eat a lot of protein. At this point you don't have to limit yourself like after surgery so don't worry about consuming a lot of it (protein). It's supposed to keep you full for longer so that will help. Eat veggies and some fruit. I say some fruit because you want to keep your sugar intake at a lower level as well. When you meet with your NUT they'll give you guidelines for the program you'll be on. Good luck to you and enjoy the journey.

I would love to scuba again. It's been at least 10-11 years since I last went. Another thing that is really general is just going places with the family. I have avoided every family event, party, family trip etc for years now because I don't feel comfortable with the way I look and feel. So many more things...

Keep doing what your doing but completely cut out carbs. You can do it for 15 days, it might be tough but think of the reason and stay strong. Use sugar free icepops and sugar free jello to curb your appetite if you get really hungry and LOTS of water. If you need help or encouragement just ask here and you'll get it for sure. Good luck you got this!!