billho

I got a 7 oz steak on Sunday and worked on it over two days and didn't finish it completely. It was fine in small bites, but it would have been painful to eat it all at once.

Yes, it is hard work, but I'm so glad I did this. I haven't been this size since college (nearly 30 years ago) and I feel like I am a new person. I won't speak for David_L, but the hard work for me is not wasting the opportunity to lose the weight and develop habits that will stick with me for a long time. And, I don't want my old bad habits to come back. I haven't implemented weight training, but I am walking and jogging a lot and I can't afford to let things derail my progress. I have about 15 pounds to go before I feel like I have achieved my goal. Speaking of... it is time to get in a few miles.

to clarify, pre-surgery, I'd drink diet coke all day. Now, the few times I do, I only have a few sips at a time and usually let it go flat and take a long time with one can. I can't drink it like water or Gatorade Zero, as the carbonation makes it uncomfortable.

It's funny- I used to drink Propel every day before surgery, but now don't care for it. Same for Powerade Zero. They just don't appeal to me like they used to. I do, however, drink Gatorade Zero all day long. Usually, have two or three bottles a day (the small ones). Not really a fan of plain water, but I'll drink it if no G-0 is available. I'll have Diet Coke a few times a week, but it doesn't have the same appeal that it used to. Plus, my doctor told me to avoid it.

yep. It's been a long time since jeans were comfortable.

I took off four days for the surgery, one night in the hospital, and a few days recovery. I went right back to work (I sit at a desk in my basement and talk over Microsoft Teams right now), mainly because I didn't want there to be any questions about why I was taking time off. In hindsight, I wish I had taken a little more time to rest because I was super tired for a week or so and it was really tough to focus during that time. I did it, but I'm not sure how effective I was.

I had forgotten how comfortable jeans are when they don't have a big gut pushing them down all the time.

I tend to hang on to clothes way too long so as my sizes have gone down from XXXL to XXL to XL over the past 6 months until recently, I could find things to wear. However, I am now wearing L shirts and I haven't been this size since college, so I have had to go out and buy a whole new wardrobe. The good thing with the pandemic lockdown is that I can wear sweats every day and only clothes to work out in and maybe a few pairs of jeans to go out in public with. I'm not buying expensive stuff though- Walmart and Costco are fine for now. I'll save the more expensive things for later when my size is stabilized. To answer your earlier question- I have kept a few of my fat clothes, gotten rid of a bunch of them, and will probably throw the rest out after I have proven that I can keep the weight off. Maybe I'll do another purge of the closet this weekend. It feels good to move past that long chapter in my life.

One-derland!

I didn't have any issues with throwing up after surgery. I am four months out now and do occasionally after eating too much or too fast, which is entirely under my control or I know the cause. I think the first time I threw out was when I tried to eat hamburger earlier than I was supposed to. Everyone is different, but the nice thing about the sleeve is that it gives you immediate feedback when you need to make a change in what you're doing. You'll learn to recognize that feeling and stop eating before it becomes a problem.

I had to get some new clothes this week. My XL shirts and 36 pants are too baggy, so found some 34 jeans and L t-shirts and hoodie on sale. I'm pretty happy about it since I started at XXXL shirts and 44 pants only 7 months ago. Still hovering just above 200 lbs, but that should break any day now.

I've had some beer maybe twice in four months. Because I drink so slowly now, on both occasions, I had a few sips and by the time I came back to it, it was warm and unappealing. That's OK- I prefer my regular Gatorade Zero anyway.

I was worried about this- I felt like I was being pulled in multiple directions. My doctor was fine with scheduling the surgery at a BMI of 40, but my psych wanted to see me follow the plan for a month and lose some weight first, which would put me below 40 BMI. In the end, I decided to go ahead and follow the program and lose some weight (I dropped 36 lbs before surgery) and they approved me anyway. I was worried for nothing. I think they used my weight at the beginning to get approval.

Yes, but rarely and I can't drink very much at a time- the carbonation doesn't sit well in my tiny stomach. When I do decide to drink a Diet Coke, which is maybe once a week, I let it sit for a while and go flat first. Even then, I only have a few sips and go slowly. It's probably a good idea to avoid it altogether.

Rhonda, I am in Winston-Salem, so not too far from you. Where are you finding Fairlife shakes? I have been looking and haven't seen them anywhere. My local Food Lion has Fairlife milk, but not the shakes. I like Premier Protein shakes. There's a sale on them right now at Costco, so they aren't too much. I think it is $17.99 for a case of 18 (normally a few dollars more). The Caffe Latte flavor is my favorite, but also like some of the others.

From the male perspective- if he is "the one", it shouldn't matter to him either way. He will appreciate you, and likely think it's cool to see how far you've come since you mentioned that he knows about your WLS. He's probably just as nervous about it as you are and will just be happy to get that far with you. Relax, it will be fine. At that moment, he's likely just trying to think about baseball to avoid being too excited. And on the remote chance that he does have a problem with your "squish", he's a jerk. Run away and be thankful you dodged a bullet.

My doctor said no coffee after surgery, but when I went back for my follow up, he didn't seem to mind that much if I was drinking it or not. I think it only mattered to him right after surgery. So I drink it now but in moderation.

The stall is broken and I'm losing a little bit every few days. Today, I passed a new milestone- At 201.8 lbs, I have a BMI of 29.9, which according to the CDC, I am not Obese anymore- just Overweight. Next... is to get under 200. Hopefully, I'll be able to post about that soon!

I didn't drink coffee for a while but after a few months, I started a daily routine of getting a large cup, where about 2/3 can be filled up with my Keurig coffee and the rest of the room I pour in my Premier Protein shake. The Cafe Latte flavor is perfect, but sometimes I mix it up with chocolate or vanilla. It takes me a while to finish it and that's all the coffee I drink in a day. The rest of the day, I usually drink Gatorade Zero.

My surgery was on 9/21. Starting weight was 284, lost 38 before surgery, now 204, so 80 lbs down. I haven't been this light for over 20 years. I have been working on the last 10 for two months, but it is slowly coming off. I do a lot of walking/jogging (average about 11,000 steps a day) and I try to break it up into one long one each day, with 5 more short ones spread over the rest of the day. I haven't done any weight lifting, but I know I need to. I eat mostly what I want, and focus on high protein/low carbs, but much lower portion sizes than I used to. I need to work on snacking, which I do too much of. My life has changed with my new size- I learned how to ride a motorcycle and got my license. Also, I joined my local volunteer fire department and am going through some training. I also can do so many things with ease now that used to be very difficult.

sorry for derailing this thread, but when I took that picture, I didn't realize how wrinkly my head was. I have loose skin everywhere, including I guess the top of my head.

This is me, 4 months postop... but I was bald before surgery.

actually, I forgot something- they give you a $55 credit to get a fitness tracker, whether or not you choose the Apple program. So they end up paying you $32 if you do the required walking. Not a bad deal. Of course, if you can't do the program, you have to pay back the money plus the service charge, so you'll need to make sure that you can do it.

Do you have United Healthcare? I recently discovered a plan through them called "United Healthcare Motion" where they will send you an Apple Watch SE for $23 (for a $300+ watch) and in return, you have to pay off the balance over 6 months by walking three times a week. There are fitness goals of F: Fitness- walk 500 steps 6 times a day I: Intensity- walk 3,000 steps in 30 minutes T: Tenacity- walk 10,000 steps throughout the day I got my watch right after Christmas and have had no problem with the "I" and the "T" and just had to make a few adjustments to my normal routine fit in the "F" portion. I'd encourage you to check it out if you happen to have United Healthcare your plan includes this benefit and want a new watch for almost nothing. https://unitedhealthcaremotion.com/