vikingbeast

Whole bunch of non-scale victories lately.
1. I am no longer morbidly obese because my BMI is under 40. Combined with the resolution of my comorbidities, I no longer qualify for surgery. 😁
2. My A1c is 5.1. A physician friend of mine said he hasn't seen anyone under 5.4 in a long time.
3. I needed to get into the bed of the ranch truck today and the tailgate was blocked off... so I went over the side using the (not small) tire. My balance is so much better!
4. I can do burpees like I'm on springs now, at least 10 in a row. Before I would do what are popularly known as "grief burpees" (look it up on Google Video search).
5. I got in trouble with my sleep doctor. It took me 6 weeks to get a video appointment and my CPAP (technically APAP) was choking me with all the air it was putting out. It's locked down, so I found the manual (in Russian), translated it, guessed the password, and reset the lower bound. I sleep better now (and my suspicion was correct, previous range was 10-20 cm H2O, now that I've lowered it, I average about 8 over a night).
6. I ran a mile for the first time ever in my entire life. It wasn't very fast (10:26) but it was a real mile and there was no walking or stopping.

I had almost exactly the same experience yesterday—I went to go buy a decent set of clothes (better than the ranch wear I'm normally in) and went for a sport coat, dress shirt, and decent non-denim trousers. I ended up in the "athletic fit" trousers and the "slim fit" shirt... my neck went from 22 with a collar spreader to 17.5, my jacket size from a 58/60 to a 48. It was bizarre to go try on trousers, need a smaller size, and then realize they didn't have any in stock, not because it was at the upper end of the range, but because it was the most common size.

I had almost exactly the same experience yesterday—I went to go buy a decent set of clothes (better than the ranch wear I'm normally in) and went for a sport coat, dress shirt, and decent non-denim trousers. I ended up in the "athletic fit" trousers and the "slim fit" shirt... my neck went from 22 with a collar spreader to 17.5, my jacket size from a 58/60 to a 48. It was bizarre to go try on trousers, need a smaller size, and then realize they didn't have any in stock, not because it was at the upper end of the range, but because it was the most common size.

I had almost exactly the same experience yesterday—I went to go buy a decent set of clothes (better than the ranch wear I'm normally in) and went for a sport coat, dress shirt, and decent non-denim trousers. I ended up in the "athletic fit" trousers and the "slim fit" shirt... my neck went from 22 with a collar spreader to 17.5, my jacket size from a 58/60 to a 48. It was bizarre to go try on trousers, need a smaller size, and then realize they didn't have any in stock, not because it was at the upper end of the range, but because it was the most common size.

I had almost exactly the same experience yesterday—I went to go buy a decent set of clothes (better than the ranch wear I'm normally in) and went for a sport coat, dress shirt, and decent non-denim trousers. I ended up in the "athletic fit" trousers and the "slim fit" shirt... my neck went from 22 with a collar spreader to 17.5, my jacket size from a 58/60 to a 48. It was bizarre to go try on trousers, need a smaller size, and then realize they didn't have any in stock, not because it was at the upper end of the range, but because it was the most common size.

I had almost exactly the same experience yesterday—I went to go buy a decent set of clothes (better than the ranch wear I'm normally in) and went for a sport coat, dress shirt, and decent non-denim trousers. I ended up in the "athletic fit" trousers and the "slim fit" shirt... my neck went from 22 with a collar spreader to 17.5, my jacket size from a 58/60 to a 48. It was bizarre to go try on trousers, need a smaller size, and then realize they didn't have any in stock, not because it was at the upper end of the range, but because it was the most common size.

(I am not Jewish, but have Jewish family and have been immersed in Passover for decades.)
It would depend how far out from surgery you are and how strict your particular observance is.
If you follow a rabbi who insists on five kezeitim during seder, you might have a lot of trouble fitting it in. But Halachic observance does take second place to medical reality, which is why the very sick (or those who would become very sick) are not allowed to do ta'anit on Yom Kippur or Tisha b'Av.
At six months out, I would be able to eat five kezeitim, but not much else. I am not sure I would be able to eat an entire Hillel sandwich, for example, not with maror and karpas and extra charoset and all the rest of it. If I drank arba kosot, I'd be drunk off my tuchus.
But if you are willing to abide by the Halachic spirit if not the strict letter of the law, you could use a thimble-sized glass for the arba kosot, you could eat a small Hillel sandwich and a total of two kezeitim during Seder and have room for bites of other things depending on your tradition (Ashkenazim would have things like beitzah and gefilte fish).
You should have a serious discussion with your rabbi about it, because your interpretation and mine are probably quite different, and it's your observance, not mine.
Explanation for those who are scratching their heads at the random Hebrew sprinkled in these posts:
The OP wants to know how a religiously observant (frum) Jewish person who had had a sleeve surgery would manage to do the required eating of the unleavened bread (matzah) during the Passover seder. Some rabbis say that Jewish law (Halacha) requires that every person eat five pieces of matzah during Seder, each one being about 26 square cm or 4 square inches (kezeit). Some require two kezeitim. Some have different requirements depending on what the matzah is made out (you have to eat more if it's made from oats and wheat, less if it's all wheat). And some don't have any minimum amount required. There are also other things required—dipping herbs into salty Water (karpas), eating bitter herbs (maror, usually horseradish), making a sandwich out of matzah and fruit compote (charoset, called a Hillel sandwich), eggs (beitzah), etc., and you must drink four cups of wine (arba kosot), though they can be very small. Ta'anit means fasting, which happens twice a year for Jewish people, on Yom Kippur and Tisha b'Av holidays.

(I am not Jewish, but have Jewish family and have been immersed in Passover for decades.)
It would depend how far out from surgery you are and how strict your particular observance is.
If you follow a rabbi who insists on five kezeitim during seder, you might have a lot of trouble fitting it in. But Halachic observance does take second place to medical reality, which is why the very sick (or those who would become very sick) are not allowed to do ta'anit on Yom Kippur or Tisha b'Av.
At six months out, I would be able to eat five kezeitim, but not much else. I am not sure I would be able to eat an entire Hillel sandwich, for example, not with maror and karpas and extra charoset and all the rest of it. If I drank arba kosot, I'd be drunk off my tuchus.
But if you are willing to abide by the Halachic spirit if not the strict letter of the law, you could use a thimble-sized glass for the arba kosot, you could eat a small Hillel sandwich and a total of two kezeitim during Seder and have room for bites of other things depending on your tradition (Ashkenazim would have things like beitzah and gefilte fish).
You should have a serious discussion with your rabbi about it, because your interpretation and mine are probably quite different, and it's your observance, not mine.
Explanation for those who are scratching their heads at the random Hebrew sprinkled in these posts:
The OP wants to know how a religiously observant (frum) Jewish person who had had a sleeve surgery would manage to do the required eating of the unleavened bread (matzah) during the Passover seder. Some rabbis say that Jewish law (Halacha) requires that every person eat five pieces of matzah during Seder, each one being about 26 square cm or 4 square inches (kezeit). Some require two kezeitim. Some have different requirements depending on what the matzah is made out (you have to eat more if it's made from oats and wheat, less if it's all wheat). And some don't have any minimum amount required. There are also other things required—dipping herbs into salty Water (karpas), eating bitter herbs (maror, usually horseradish), making a sandwich out of matzah and fruit compote (charoset, called a Hillel sandwich), eggs (beitzah), etc., and you must drink four cups of wine (arba kosot), though they can be very small. Ta'anit means fasting, which happens twice a year for Jewish people, on Yom Kippur and Tisha b'Av holidays.

So I had bought a variety pack of Premier Protein shakes and decided I was going to drink them.

The cafe latte flavor was AH MAY ZING.
The Cookies and cream flavor tasted like bagged popcorn. I got it down, but ewh.
The banana cream flavor tasted like sick and I poured it straight down the drain.

Yes. Right away. Everything tastes extra salty and everything with sucralose tastes like an oil refinery. I switched from Protein2O to Isopure which is better.

My family had salmon one night and it smelled absolutely disgusting. They had burgers another night which smelled good but it was so weird to feel my brain go, “Huh. Burgers. Nah.”

(I am not Jewish, but have Jewish family and have been immersed in Passover for decades.)
It would depend how far out from surgery you are and how strict your particular observance is.
If you follow a rabbi who insists on five kezeitim during seder, you might have a lot of trouble fitting it in. But Halachic observance does take second place to medical reality, which is why the very sick (or those who would become very sick) are not allowed to do ta'anit on Yom Kippur or Tisha b'Av.
At six months out, I would be able to eat five kezeitim, but not much else. I am not sure I would be able to eat an entire Hillel sandwich, for example, not with maror and karpas and extra charoset and all the rest of it. If I drank arba kosot, I'd be drunk off my tuchus.
But if you are willing to abide by the Halachic spirit if not the strict letter of the law, you could use a thimble-sized glass for the arba kosot, you could eat a small Hillel sandwich and a total of two kezeitim during Seder and have room for bites of other things depending on your tradition (Ashkenazim would have things like beitzah and gefilte fish).
You should have a serious discussion with your rabbi about it, because your interpretation and mine are probably quite different, and it's your observance, not mine.
Explanation for those who are scratching their heads at the random Hebrew sprinkled in these posts:
The OP wants to know how a religiously observant (frum) Jewish person who had had a sleeve surgery would manage to do the required eating of the unleavened bread (matzah) during the Passover seder. Some rabbis say that Jewish law (Halacha) requires that every person eat five pieces of matzah during Seder, each one being about 26 square cm or 4 square inches (kezeit). Some require two kezeitim. Some have different requirements depending on what the matzah is made out (you have to eat more if it's made from oats and wheat, less if it's all wheat). And some don't have any minimum amount required. There are also other things required—dipping herbs into salty Water (karpas), eating bitter herbs (maror, usually horseradish), making a sandwich out of matzah and fruit compote (charoset, called a Hillel sandwich), eggs (beitzah), etc., and you must drink four cups of wine (arba kosot), though they can be very small. Ta'anit means fasting, which happens twice a year for Jewish people, on Yom Kippur and Tisha b'Av holidays.

I had almost exactly the same experience yesterday—I went to go buy a decent set of clothes (better than the ranch wear I'm normally in) and went for a sport coat, dress shirt, and decent non-denim trousers. I ended up in the "athletic fit" trousers and the "slim fit" shirt... my neck went from 22 with a collar spreader to 17.5, my jacket size from a 58/60 to a 48. It was bizarre to go try on trousers, need a smaller size, and then realize they didn't have any in stock, not because it was at the upper end of the range, but because it was the most common size.

I had almost exactly the same experience yesterday—I went to go buy a decent set of clothes (better than the ranch wear I'm normally in) and went for a sport coat, dress shirt, and decent non-denim trousers. I ended up in the "athletic fit" trousers and the "slim fit" shirt... my neck went from 22 with a collar spreader to 17.5, my jacket size from a 58/60 to a 48. It was bizarre to go try on trousers, need a smaller size, and then realize they didn't have any in stock, not because it was at the upper end of the range, but because it was the most common size.

I had almost exactly the same experience yesterday—I went to go buy a decent set of clothes (better than the ranch wear I'm normally in) and went for a sport coat, dress shirt, and decent non-denim trousers. I ended up in the "athletic fit" trousers and the "slim fit" shirt... my neck went from 22 with a collar spreader to 17.5, my jacket size from a 58/60 to a 48. It was bizarre to go try on trousers, need a smaller size, and then realize they didn't have any in stock, not because it was at the upper end of the range, but because it was the most common size.

After losing nearly 100 pounds and slowing down the weight loss I felt it was time to purchase a suit just in case the need arises where I need one. The Salesperson took me over to the "modern fit" area and tried on a jacket. He then took that off and brought me over to the "slim fit" area and tried on jackets there. The slim fit fit me perfectly. I went from a 52 Regular, Executive Fit to a 42 short, Slim fit. And the pants went from a 50 waist to a 36 waist. When I was checking out he saw I had purchased a suit about 18 months ago and asked who I bought those suits for since they were so large...it felt really good to answer him that I lost the weight but even better feeling to be in a slim fitting suit.

I'm such a control freak (I'm a project manager!)... I actually discovered the hidden place on my insurer's website where I could track it. I actually knew about the approval before my clinic did 🤣

I had a very quick turnaround from CIGNA. Three days from submission to approval on the first attempt—but I had a BMI when I started of well above 50, and multiple co-morbidities.
But here is the thing—CIGNA is both a traditional health insurance company, and also administers health plans for companies that self-pay their insurance. If you got CIGNA from an ACA exchange or if you work for a small or medium sized company, chances are you have the traditional health insurance. If you work for a large corporation, chances are they're just administering what your company has decided to pay for.
You can tell which one you have by looking at the phone number on the back of your card. If it's different than 800-997-1654, or if it says "CIGNA's dedicated line for <company>", you are dealing with your employer, which is actually a bit easier. You can go to your company's benefits department and ask them to make an exception. If they are willing, they will overrule CIGNA's denial.
Also, the CIGNA follow-up nurses are amazing. Got me connected to all manner of things I needed. She followed up for two months after surgery and then rang off.

Been a while since I checked in. A friend of mine said, "You know, if you do a French tuck*, you can show off those belt buckles of yours. You're slim enough now."
I am not convinced this is the style for me (feels like I wasn't paying attention after pulling my pants up and accidentally buttoned them around my shirt), but damn if it didn't feel nice to actually be able to do it. So here I am, another almost 40 lbs. down, 39 to go. Three quarters of the way to goal.

* French tuck - you tuck in the front but not the back. I know no French people who do this, but maybe it's named after Tan France instead of France France.

Meal 1 (0530) (51 cal 6C 2F 2.3P)
Espresso with 5 g brown sugar and 2 oz steamed milk
Meal 2 (0745) (164 cal 4C 10.6F 13.3P)
1 slice chard and spinach crustless quiche
Meal 3 (1000) (164 cal 4C 10.6F 13.3P)
1 slice chard and spinach crustless quiche (liked it so much I ate it twice)
Meal 4 (1400) (309 cal 11C 14.7F 32.8P)
2 beef kofte (meatballs) and 1/2 cup puréed pinto Beans
Meal 5 (1800) (327.2 cal 52.2C 3.3F 20.3P)
1 serving chicken tinga
1/2 cup puréed pinto beans
60 g steamed green beans
Persian melon
Meal 6 (2030) (130 cal 24C 3F 2P)
1 serving Maria biscuits
TOTAL 1310 cal 105.1C 54.8F 97.4P - exactly within my macros per my nutritionist. I am just short of 10 weeks post-op. (Note, before someone jumps in about how that's SO MANY CALORIES—I burn at least 1000 calories a day just in exercise and physical work which I need to do, so it has to get fueled. When I was eating much less, I had no energy and no strength to do things like move hay bales. And I am still in the honeymoon of losing 4-5 lbs. a week.)

I had a two-day athletic seminar this weekend with a bunch of people I've never met. We were asked to tell our story, so I told my story about struggling with weight loss, getting WLS, and trying to maintain strength through the weight loss. Afterwards a few of the participants said, "I would never have guessed you were heavy before. You could never tell now."
Like a (refreshing) splash of cold Water because I of course remember myself as the fat kid.

Been a while since I checked in. A friend of mine said, "You know, if you do a French tuck*, you can show off those belt buckles of yours. You're slim enough now."
I am not convinced this is the style for me (feels like I wasn't paying attention after pulling my pants up and accidentally buttoned them around my shirt), but damn if it didn't feel nice to actually be able to do it. So here I am, another almost 40 lbs. down, 39 to go. Three quarters of the way to goal.

* French tuck - you tuck in the front but not the back. I know no French people who do this, but maybe it's named after Tan France instead of France France.

I accidentally mooned the public on a major road while running yesterday because I sized down but my track pants didn't. Oops.

I had a two-day athletic seminar this weekend with a bunch of people I've never met. We were asked to tell our story, so I told my story about struggling with weight loss, getting WLS, and trying to maintain strength through the weight loss. Afterwards a few of the participants said, "I would never have guessed you were heavy before. You could never tell now."
Like a (refreshing) splash of cold Water because I of course remember myself as the fat kid.

I accidentally mooned the public on a major road while running yesterday because I sized down but my track pants didn't. Oops.

I also am six months (almost) out and have some of the same feelings. Slider foods—ones that you can eat a lot of without feeling the restriction—are real. So what I do is I tell myself if I still want it in two hours, I can have a little bit. Then I put a portion in a bowl or on a plate and only eat that. No taking the entire container or package out of the kitchen!
Carbs are NOT the enemy. Your body needs carbs for energy, and the more active you are, the more carbs you need.
Fat is NOT the enemy. Your body needs fats for hormone balance, especially for people who are AFAB.
I finally went to a nutrition program where I have a coach who helps me once a week. I plan my meals and sometimes things happen and I go off the rails—but just for a meal or maybe a day. Then it's right back on the horse.
I am still losing about 1 pound a week, and I'm around 15-25 pounds from my ultimate goal (how much exactly will depend on the results of next Wednesday's DEXA scan, since my goal is sub-20 body fat percentage, not a scale number). It might take me six months or more to lose it, and that's okay. The longer it takes, the more eating the 'right' way feels normal.
For reference, I'm only a little taller than you but significantly heavier. I am extremely active (workouts, running, coaching, working outdoors) and I am losing a pound a week on about 1700-1800 cals a day, split pretty evenly among Protein, fat, and carbs—about 140P, 160C, and 60F. Every body is different.
Just rein in those habits now.