keithf

Consider it an automatic exercise coach? :rolleyes2: That, or motivation to take up SCUBA. Seriously, though... I wish they could have told me more than the day before that I had to check in at 5-fricken-20-A-M. Let's be realistic: I will be out of surgery and awake, awaiting discharge by the time I normally awaken. Guess it's an early night for me. 2 hours of liquid diet to go.

I'm with everyone else here. These people are *not* medical professionals, aren't they? They have no access to your medical records, right? Tell them to bugger off and leave your poor, concerned husband alone. Then take him to visit your doctor, and let him have a heart-to-heart talk about what constitutes "healthy", with someone who knows what they're talking about.

It's a mechanical device. Shifting your body can change how it levers against the spring or the sensor, and that can make all the difference. It could also be catching on something internal or external -- is there a bathmat? a countertop? a wall? This is part of why they'd *like* you to check only weekly. I admit I check most days, but I usually only record once or twice a week unless I'm noticing a slow-down or nearing a milestone (like now, in both cases). I have a nice spreadsheet modelling an idealized weight loss, and I'm checking against that just to see how good it is. Seeing the fluctuations against the whole trend should be good at keeping perspective. :thumbdown:

You need to calm down. Nobody was putting down anybody's age here; but there *is* something to be said after being involved in long-term successful relationships(say, 10 years+): One thing I noticed in college was that the friends of mine who were dating, even over the course of years, had an all-or-nothing mindset. They indulged in hyper-romanticized notions of how relationships worked out in the practical sense. This is something fairly well-described over the centuries, actually. Shakespeare wrote some of his best works on it. Invariably, they broke up with much pain, angst and (the worst, IMHO) drama. Invariably, at least one party would be so self-righteously traumatized that *obviously* I was expected to sever all ties to the other party. [Yeah, right -- if you enter my house, and Satan is there, you either leave, or say, "Why Mr Beelzebub! How delightful to see you are well! How's tricks?". I alone choose what company I keep.] Of the relationships that lasted, though, there was always the blind eye when it came to attraction. That is, the parties involved don't feel threatened by talk -- they know, at some level, that it's a complex play that works itself out, and can often serve useful purposes: reduced stress, inspired late-night acrobatics, the cheering-up of someone who could use some flirting. To be sure, one of the most stable "couples" I know is actually a triad. So while I agree with you that what "rules" are broken is entirely up to the specific players involved, it's just as true that flirting or outright lust after a 3rd (or 4th) party is hardly in itself cause for alarm. What (if anything) arises because of the situation, of course, may well be, depending on the nature of the relationship in question. Monogamy is something of a rarity in this world. The human norm is only that way because of historical quirks that managed to spread themselves into our legal system. It's perfectly natural to discover your sweetheart's eyes undressing something walking down the street, and more often than not you'll find them turned right back at you with a wicked glint in them. I'd go so far as to consider it a warning sign of an unhealthy relationship if eyes *didn't* wander. Of course, if I find myself surprised at more than 3 occupants in my bed when I crawl into it -- two of them being cats -- I expect a full explanation. But then, I also know I'll never have that situation. And so, as regards the OP's situation, I think the only healthy response is as suggested by others: talk to the other party. Discuss your response to the situation in its unexplained state. Accept the response, and gauge whether you trust it. If you don't, you have a decision to make. If you do, no harm done -- maybe a warning about how best to care and feed for your hurt feelings. No need for drama or suspicion, nor need to live as or with a lie. If one likes flirting innocently, but the other is very bothered by it, then affair or not it's not a healthy relationship, and maybe they'd make better friends instead.

For what it's worth, calculate how much money you *won't* be spending on other foods. I estimate my pre-op diet is saving us about $600/mo. Which is good, considering we have home improvement projects in addition to the Keith improvement project.

All the fill can do is adjust how quickly you can load up on solids. It doesn't force you to choose solids, nor does it force you to choose appropriate solids. Do you have anyone there to hold you accountable? Perhaps you should empty your house of inappropriate food, restock it with the good stuff, and only eat from your own pantry for a while? Something to remove the temptation for pizza, ice cream, and the like. If the kids don't like it... tough. :grouphug: (Insert scenes from "Gremlins")

I agree... as WLS surgery patients, the last thing any of us needs is a chaser or, worse, a feeder. If he's either, I'd consider this a change for the better, even if it doesn't feel it at the moment. If he simply discovered he couldn't cope with the adjustments he has to make in continuing his life with you, he should talk to a therapist about how he views his role in a long-term relationship. But whatever personality changes you may undergo through all this, your health is the most important factor -- not his comfort.

Keep things in perspective. Look for longer-term trends. If you're like most people I know, you're supposed to be drinking 64oz or more of Water each day. That's *4* pounds minimum. Were you potentially mildly dehydrated? Also keep in mind what the other poster said -- you're probably putting on muscle. Muscle is not light. Two years ago, I had more than 200# of lean mass on my body, and I was lighter than when you started. If you've plateaued, you can always talk with your surgeon -- perhaps you're at the weight you should actually be? They can measure what your composition is, rather than rely on that BS BMI figure. If you continue to trend upward, definitely talk with your surgeon. But, overall, I wouldn't fret until then.

Part of the purpose of a pre-op diet would be to reduce the size of the liver so that it's easier to work around your stomach. I suppose if your liver were known to be not-over-large, you *could* skip a pre-op diet. The other purpose would be to start getting you into the sort of habits you'll need post-op in order to succeed. Even if you're not prescribed such a diet, I'd probably recommend one in principle.

10 weeks of pre-op nutritional counselling, and restricted to 1200-2000 cals/day, plus exercise (currently at 45min/day). A couple Protein shakes, some lean cuisines, and some 5 servings of veg. Keeps me pretty full, actually, and I estimate I *had* been doing a good 3400+ before. Lost about 30# in the past 5 weeks, though 8# of that was .. not fat. :thumbup: 3 more weeks to go, though the loss is getting a little slower than it was earlier.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_fat_percentage The first time I had it done (when I was about 9), was hydrostatically. I put on swim trunks, and was lowered into a giant tank of Water and had to expell all the air from my lungs. The skin calipers are the "can you pinch an inch" test. Whee. What I've had mostly is bioelectric impedance. In that, they attach a couple electrodes across your body and measure how much your body acts like a resistor -- fat vs non-fat have different resistances. That's what those Tanita scales you can buy for home do. You can refine the measurement by providing additional information about the shape of the body. I don't think it's likely to be as accurate at a hydrostatic tank, but it's definitely better than calipers, and probably good enough to determine where a true healthy weight is. And it certainly is more widely applicable than either BMI (all men must be within this density range) or pure weight (all men must weigh 170# no matter how tall or muscular). Of course, these are all tools. My surgeon, I think, doesn't really care. He seems to have the attitude that the body will know when it's happy about its balance of lean vs fat. If, with exercise and healthy eating habits, my body decides that 20% body fat is exactly what it wants (or, conversely, 7%), instead of the 10-15% I might want it to have, who wins in that fight? :blushing:

The last time my body lean body mass was measured, about 2 years ago, it was 215#. I'm 5'10: you do the math and discover what BMI I would have with zero fat on my body. BMI is a useless measurement for me. Weight, also, is questionable since lean body mass can vary with or without weight gain or loss. I certainly can lose weight by consuming muscle mass instead of fat mass (and if I do, someone stop me). I'm hoping, once I get around 240-250, to have my lean body mass updated, and use that to decide when I should be working on the transition to maintainance.

This would be Overlake Hospital in Bellevue, WA. Group Health has a facility on the same campus, and uses it for their bariatric program. My surgery's 30 June. I just had my pre-op visit/Q&A/exam with the surgeon (Bock), who says it'll probably work out well for me (which is good, since I already paid for the required nutritional support program). I've already met the other requirements, including the weight loss so, as he puts it, anything I take off between now and then is gravy (an amusing way to put it -- I don't know if that was intended).

If the surgeon put it around her neck it'd solve two problems at once. :wub:

Kinda solves the whole throw-the-wiimote-through-the-tv problem. Of course, it introduces punch-your-tv and roundhouse-the-toddler. The added freedom for control would probably make for more effective exercise software as well. I can't wait for Richard Simmons to sponsor a title. I think it'd be right up his alley :frown: I love my xboxen, but I've already ordered my better half that we'll be acquiring this thing should it hit the shelves.

Dang.. Makes me look forward to my local hospital. They've actually dedicated a wing for WLS patients: single rooms (except a couple reserved for couples going through surgery together), suitable furnishings. I can't speak on the food yet, but I'm expecting it to be appropriate. But as for this idea of "priviledge" obesity.. in what sense is it any sort of honor? I'd have been hard-pressed to not call that nurse a fat cow to her face. It would have been ironic and cruel, but sometimes people need to get slapped into doing the right thing.

It's probably best not to confuse "no fill" with "no restriction" or "no weight loss". Some folks need more, some need less, and sometimes the band itself is sufficient to achieve the desired effect. As for me, I've lost 30# in the past month, and I'm still a month pre-op. I'm already preparing myself for the possibility of that rate increasing dramatically if my body continues to respond well. Then again, I could also hit a plateau. We'll see. Either way, I haven't weighed this little in over a year.

By now we're all familiar with Dance Dance Revolution and the Wii Fit software. Here's a video worth watching. Xbox.com | Project Natal Of course, I don't think I'd install this in my bedroom. It could get.. complicated.

Having done this sort of thing in the past, there is a big difference between locating *a* gene, finding *all* the genes it interacts with (it's rarely if ever just a single gene you ever deal with), and successfully turning a set of genes off. Imagine, if you will, a panel with four billion switches. A few million of these actually differ from person to person. You don't know where these useful switches are, though you can, with effort, find out. You don't necessarily know which switches are wired to which other switches without, again, a great deal of effort. You don't really know even then what the overall effects of flipping them will do. In the simple cases, involving re-engineering e.coli, for example, there is a high failure rate. Failure often means death of the organism. Recall the one young man about 10 years ago who underwent gene therapy? Unfortunate, that, but it demonstrates how much we value a human life over that of a bacterial colony, or seed corn. That was the state of genetics when I was involved in it about 6 years ago. About the only thing that seems to have changed since then is the speed at which they locate new switches. I think it'd be safer to estimate on the order of 50 years before we can achieve halfway "safe" genetic therapies for, well, anything. However, locating such genes enables us to detect early whether a child might have a tendency toward obesity, and under what conditions the child is vulnerable.

What's grand is the fact that my belt and waistband aren't digging into my overhang nearly as much as they used to. I can wear shirts untucked without having to peel the the pants (quite painfully) from my waste when sitting at my desk. That alone is worth the surgery.

Still on my 2-month pre-op diet.. Lost about 25# so far, and another month to go. The pants gave me the compliment. They were new about the time I started. They fell off of me, fully buttoned/zipped this weekend. It amused.

I saw a special about a month ago, hosted by Alan Alda, covering new WLS techniques. One under research was a pacemaker for hunger. Basically, it manages to turn hunger on and off according to a schedule. It doesn't do anything for gorgers, but does help for grazers, as I recall.

Not scientific.. I just watch Alton Brown, and he's full of good tricks. For the record, steak's not my weak point. Mashed potatoes and creamed corn are. (disclaimer, I *did* get my BS in physics & astronomy, but I don't get my income from either)

I was considering strategies for steak, if I encountered problems chewing it enough. Steaks are usually cut such that the fibers run up/down, so that you cut in between them. But if you were to shave the other direction, through the fibers, it might make it easier to chew it sufficiently to pass. For this reason, too, I've been considering investing in a deli slicer.

I'm surprised you can do the croissant. Most folks I've seen aren't able to do breads. Or are you doing a lettuce wrap? We calculated this weekend that the pre-op diet alone as saved us about $600 in our food budget this past month, between not eating at the company cafeteria and other places. I expect that figure to improve substantially once I shift from about 1700 cal/day to < 700 (I'll guess it'll shift by another $300). The extra money will probably go toward a new grill. Our last one turned into a forge one evening. The temperature gauge was maxed out, so we know it reached at least 700F by the time we noticed it.