The Greater Fool

What makes you think I'm offended? I was trying to convey that you made some good points for one of the surgeries you are considering and you actually seem to have made up your mind already. WLS is for life. I would always choose the option that has a better, long enough track record. I might miss out on the newest, bestest surgery ever, but I may also miss out on having a surgery that does longer term damage or longer term lackluster results. But more important than what the internet (that's me too) may think is the "bestest surgery eva!" is how will the effects of a particular WLS fit in with your needs, lifestyle, health issues and goals. We can't tell you that. I think you know your mind already. Good luck, Tek

Well, you've convinced me! If I ever have a revision surgery I know which one I'm having. You're the best! Good Luck, Tek

If we're unhappy with the way things are now we can either change or stay where we are. My life at times has gone out of balance to the extent that I have been profoundly unhappy. Where I felt I didn't have the time to do any aspect of my life well and felt I was letting everyone down that was counting on me. At such times, I worked to do just as I advocated you do: I made achievable changes to improve my lot then I evaluated where I was. These achievable changes could be new efficiencies, or eliminating low reward things, or rearranging scheduling, or off-loading or exchanging tasks with/to others, enlisting allies, establishing priorities, reframing how I feel about things, or any other tactic that seemed like it was achievable and would move me toward my goal. After the changes I then assess if these changes improved my lot enough, or did I need to change more and repeat the cycle until everything is in perfect balance. I'll let you know when that happens any day now. Good luck, Tek

OK, you're smart, you work it out. Why do you think your goals are your goals? Your medical team getting it's jollies at your expense, or do they believe they serve an honest purpose? What purpose might that be? [Snark not intended] Let's consider some facts: 60g of Protein is considered a healthy amount of protein for non-ops and post-ops alike. Same with minerals and vitamins that are often supplemented to ensure minimum values, op and non-op alike. Similarly for liquids, again for op and non-op alike. Missing these goals one day, or even a few, may not impact overall heath in the long-run. But missing them too frequently for too long may be a different story. So, knowing these facts you should be able to make your choice. Were it me, I wouldn't fret about the occasional lapse. But that's me. But, knowing these facts, when I'm ill I can't even force myself to eat for days or weeks at a time, which has caused problems to compound. It comes down to the habits you choose to build. Under normal circumstances I push myself to eat even when I don't feel like it as preparation for those times when I simply can't. Your mileage may vary. Good luck, Tek

I managed mine in just over 3 months. My insurance demanded a 6 months medically supervised diet, but I had that proven via two different paths of two different programs in the previous 12 months, so they had no gripe there. They also wanted 5 years of proven morbid obesity and and I had that proven medically and with pictures so again, they were beaten. All that remained were all the tests proving I could live through the procedure, which I managed quicker than usual, since I made frequent calls pestering for any appointment cancellations. When the doc's office submitted for approval Friday afternoon, I was surprised to learn I was already approved Monday morning. My surgery, originally scheduled for 4 weeks later was 2 weeks later. I suspect a lot has changed in the subsequent years. Good Luck, Tek

It's common for the Gall Bladder to go sour post-op, I'm not sure they know why. It often resulted in a second surgery removing the GB. My surgeon made it a practice just simply to remove it with Gastric Bypass. Knowing this I had a long talk with my surgeon that I didn't want my GB removed just because. I got him to promise that he would not remove it unless it definitely deserved to be 86'ed. As it turned out, he removed it because he said it was necessary. Knowing me, he had ready pictures of good GBs and my GB, and the reports on my GB. He had me dead to rights. I can't say I've noticed that it is missing. :shrug: Good Luck, Tek

When my spouse and I were getting serious about walking Post-op and after a fair chunk of research, we chose New Balance. We found them very comfortable. My wife chooses them to this day. They are typically reasonably priced. After I established to myself that binge running was going to be a thing in my life, I eventually changed to Nike Free, which has much less support, but still more than you'd expect. It felt close to running barefoot. They aren't cheap, and now are harder to find. When I was doing 90+ mile weeks, I went through a pair about every 6 weeks. Even though I can't run any longer, I still buy Nike Free exclusively because they are so light. They last a lot longer now. Good luck, Tek

I guess Upper GI ex-rays with barium swallows are out of vogue. Here is my journal entry: Then the Upper GI; now this was not fun. I have never had one of these, so here is what happened: The Tech stands me in the proper position, tells me what is going to happen, and then fetches the Dr. The Dr. arrives, and I quickly drink some “fizzy powder” as instructed. “Don’t burp!” Then I drank the FIRST cup of Barium. The Barium was chalky, slightly lemon, and (unfortunately) a little chunky in places. I told myself it was a lemon shake… a chalky lemon shake… a warm chalky lemon shake... a warm chalky chunky lemon shake. The Dr. took a bunch of quick pictures… “Breath”… “Hold”… “Breath”… etc. Next, they set the table to horizontal (Oops, I burped while waiting, shhhh) then I lay on my stomach and had to drink the SECOND cup of warm Barium lemon shake through a straw. Then the THIRD. After that, they rolled me around and took pictures, and voila! It was done. It certainly wasn’t an ‘E-Ticket’ attraction, but I have been thru much worse. Good luck, Tek

Congratulations on your success. And grand success it is. I'd wager most folks here would have killed to lose 35 pound the first month. OK, here is what you're doing wrong: You're letting a stupid number on a scale mess with your emotions. Scales are the work of the devil and they lie, lie, lie. You are doing great, stalls are normal. Get rid of your scale. So celebrate doing great, then celebrate getting rid of the scale. Good luck, Tek

I understand being motivated by fear. I was going to die if I didn't change course. But living in a near fear is not the solution. The obvious course is to use fear to change but not live in fear as a result. You've changed. Don't let the fear continue to rule your life. I know of what you speak, and of what I speak. There are things you are doing that do not require your CONSTANT attention. Get rid of those things. Then evaluate. Then look at the next set of things that don't require your constant attention and get rid of them. Evaluate. Long before you realize you will have time to build an actual new life. Honest. Until you accept this you are a prisoner. Good luck, Tek ETA: Perhaps some professional help is called for. It can't hurt. ETA2: I saw your reply to Catwoman regarding bad shrinks. I can understand. Keep trying. When you give up it's all over, you're screwed any way you go. If you can't solve it yourself, which you should keep trying, then keep getting help... until you succeed. Failure is not an option, as much as it's said inappropriately. It's up to you.

It's not their fault. You seem to have all your excuses ready. Though, If I had to be honest, and I am, there is no way I could have followed through on the draconian diets of today. And I didn't have anyone cooking treats in front of me. Get some professional help before you create lasting problems. You can only benefit. Good luck, Tek

Insurance always getting in the way has always been a tactic. Unfortunately it works, as a certain number of people will give up at each obstacle. Congratulations on being one of those to traverse the gauntlet. Keep this same stick-to-itiveness in the gauntlet to come. Good luck, Tek

Starbucks Skinny Mocha = 15g sugar.

Actually if you have enough skin and enough issues, like back pain and/or rashes it becomes "reconstructive surgery" and is completely covered by many insurances. As it was with mine. My insurance was in Nevada, though I had by Abdominoplasty at UCLA because it was particularly challenging and not many surgeons were anxious to do it. Good luck, Tek

For the first couple years I bought special milk chocolate bars from around the world. There was even a Hershey's. Never ate a bite. Filled up our little freezer, until after a couple years my wife gave me an ultimatum... The chocolate had to go. It went. I still over buy at the grocery. Good luck, Tek

Counting chewing isn't a rule, it's a tactic. The 'rule' is chew thoroughly. Some folks aren't used to chewing thoroughly, so 25.3 to 32.1 chews is a tactic to learn to chew thoroughly. Our stomachs now have a pretty narrow opening so you don't want chunks of food clogging it. Trust me. Of course, getting food stuck is another way to teach us to chew thoroughly. 24.7 chews is less painful. Good luck, Tek

Welcome to the forums and congratulations on your successes to date. I have the secret to never seeing a stall. Get rid of the scale. You don't need it to succeed. Look what it did to your emotions, the pain, angst, and frustration of a stupid number. Without the scale you will never be tempted to 'change things up' to get the number to move. Good luck, Tek

First, congratulations on your successes. It was a huge change to your life choosing Gastric Bypass and making the commitment to 'do it right.' Perhaps it's time for another dramatic change in your life. @Recidivist said most of what I was going to suggest. Weight control does not need to be the center of your life. There are zillions of people that maintain a healthy lifestyle without making it the only thing in their life. You can do it to. The issue is you can't just decide not to focus on healthy living. Focusing on NOT doing something still makes it the center of your life. If nothing else changes healthy living will fill your life again. No, you need to fill your life with something else. Work doesn't seem to be it. What is it? This will get you away from where you are quicker that anything else. You are capable. Pretty is skin deep. Beauty is to the bone. Good luck, Tek

Trust yourself. No one has walked in your shoes but you. You are the one that will have to follow through on your decisions. Everyone has an opinion and most are crap. I can tell you my opinion: This was the best decision I ever made. Well, perhaps second next to my spouse. I know WLS helped my back and knee issues, enough to allow me to run for a couple years and accomplish things that I never thought I could. My blood pressure was an issue but no longer. Were these things worth having a life changing surgery? For me no doubt about it. But I also had about 1/4 ton of excess weight. Do I think you should have surgery? My opinion is next to worthless as I don't have to live with my opinion for you. Here you will generally find cheerleaders for WLS. The people that would tell you not to have WLS aren't really around here anymore. Good luck, Tek

This is what is wrong with scales. Everything you are adjusting for the scale is healthy for you the way you are doing them. Ignore the scales and continue doing what you are doing. Good luck, Tek

Ultimately, this is why Baskin makes 31 flavors. Good luck, Tek

I weighed only at my monthly follow-ups mostly, well completely, because I was too large for home scales. I never saw a stall. As a result I never felt angst about a stall. I was never tempted to change my plan to "get things moving." I had no choice but trust my plan. As a matter of fact, one of my pre-op goals was being able to weigh on a home scale. When I achieved this I weighed myself every day, a few times a day, mostly because I could. I realized if I didn't stop eventually I would drive myself crazy(ier), so I went back to only weighing at follow-ups, then later only at medical appointments. Now it's mostly at my annual physical. There are more important things in life than a number on a scale. Good luck, Tek

Amazing! This is definitely going to be tough to improve on. Beautiful sunrise pic. Congratulations again. Tek

Whenever I get sick my appetite falls through the floor, I lose it completely. It makes it very difficult to want to eat, let alone eat. Which throws every other health initiative out of whack. It can take weeks to recover from a 24 hour flu or cold. I've learned to force myself to eat but the best it does is reduce a 2 week issue to a 10 day issue. So, yeah, the 'crud' as I call it feeds on itself, making a minor issue a longer term problem. I always write it up to the joy of being Tek. I hope you have stronger will or character or whatever. Good luck, Tek

If edibles make the feeling go away to where you can actually over eat, I'm thinking you're stressing over eating which is mucking up your eating which spawns stress over eating. I had a similar issue when I had a couple bad experiences eating out. For a year after I stressed over eating out which caused the exact problems I was stressing about. Something of a circular problem. I actually still actively avoid eating in public even though I haven't really had a problem that often. Still when I eat out I have to focus on what I'm doing so that I don't create a problem for myself. Can't you do a smaller portion of edible to take the edge off but not get totally high? Good luck, Tek