Hey everyone, my name is Travis. This is my first post here and the beginning of what I hope to be a very fulfilling and powerful journey to a healthier body. I guess I'll start by talking about the root of the problem and why I have decided to do this. I am currently 25, will be 26 in October, and currently sitting at 330 pounds. I have always been larger ever since I can remember and it has always been something that has been a part of my life. Thankfully I do not have any kind of health problems from my weight yet. My joints, cholesterol, and blood pressure are all fine. Obesity does not run in my family, my parents are average and my sister is a varsity cheerleader and a flyer at that. I also wouldn't say that I'm sedentary. Even at my size I play full court basketball, can run a mile, and I am an avid kayak fisherman. It's almost been like I have had these chains around me slowing me down my entire life, and quite frankly I'm tired of it. That is why I am counting down the days to my surgery date, September 13th, 2013. I simply cannot wait to start my new life. My surgeon is Dr. Jaime Ponce in Chattanooga, TN. He seems to be a very knowledgeable and kind doctor with pretty good bedside manner. Haha he managed to handle my mother's 1,000 questions and concerns very well during our pre-op meeting last month. So anyways this is me, I look forward to posting here more and speaking with all of you!

Well I have done one week with the protein diet so far. It has been way more difficult then I could have imagined. I did great for 3 days then I flubbed twice, wasn't proud of that. I'm going to do my best to go clean for the next 7 days. Holy crap my surgery is in a week!

Hello!! I'm pretty new here too but one thing I have learned is to come here as often as I can and read various posts!! Everyone is great and its a great support system! Some have already gone through it and some are going through it with you, but there's always someone there to help you! Hang in there! You can do this!

Alright I've lost 6 pounds on the pre-op diet. Between working out and running just drinking shakes and liquid is pretty damn difficult but I'm doing my best with it. Only 5 days until my surgery and I'm pretty scared now. Its going to be a huge life changing experience and it is right around the corner!

That's 6 pounds you won't have to lose post op!! I'm not losing a ton but I'm happy with whatever. My new philosophy is as long as its going down I don't care the number.

Just wanted to drop by and say good luck with everything tomorrow. I'm SURE you'll be just fine. Cheers to a speedy recovery too! (I'm cheersing clear liquids, don't worry!) Keep us posted!

Good luck tomorrow, Travis! Good vibes & healing thoughts are coming your way!

Hey dude!! Good luck to you tomorrow. I'm loving your energy! Nice to see other people in their 20's here (I'm 20) and I'm glad that us younger folks have such a great opportunity to change our lives before we waste any of them! Props to you for being active. I feel the same way about getting all of this stuff taken care of before it starts to affect health and mobility. Wishing you the best of luck tomorrow!! Check in whenever you are able to.

Thanks everyone! Yeah I'll check in when I can. I'll have my phone on me but who knows how loopy I may be when I wake up.

I'm doing ok. This gas pain suck. Ive been up and walking but hurting too. Ill keep everyone posted.

This gas pain suck. Ive been up and walking but hurting too.

Ellijay

WooHoo

You did it!!!!

sorry about your gas issues

You are doing the right thing by walking, and then walking, and walking some more

that will help alot

sorry you are in some discomfort

since you JUST had WLS, you hopefully/should start to feel improvement hour by hour - then definitely each day will be better

you have a lot to "take in" - new rules,

drinking, moderation, eating slowly, chewing thoroughly

many new things all NEWBIES have to remember - but it will be worth it

Water, WATER, WATER and then more water - all the water rules are very, very important

right after surgery, for a few days, water is more important than Protein

get as much water as you can (taking small sips) - if you have no problems with the shakes, thats great

but if you are having "issues" drinking the shakes, getting your protein in - don't worry

can't tell you enough that water is the most important thing

you don't want to get dehydrated (it happened to me )

then you have to go back to the hospital for IV's

i can see the determination and strength in your eyes

follow your NUT's direct instructions - always, but basically........

don't eat for about 1/2 an hour before you eat a meal

never drink while you eat

don't drink for about 45-60 minutes after you eat

then start over and drink all day, at least 64 oz

you, and everyone else hopefullly/probably knows this - but worth repeating

you are on your way to a healthier, happier, longer life!!!!

good luck youngun

speedy recovery

i'm raising a "prtoein" shake to your health

kathy

UPDATE

Well as of right now I am 5 days post-op. Wow did I ever feel great today. I had so much energy it was crazy. Literally I cannot remember the last time I felt that good and no it wasn't my meds haha. All my gas pain is gone now and I only have some tenderness in my abdomen. I can't really lean back yet but that is to be expected considering I had a large part of my organ removed 5 days ago. Oh, and I have lost 12 pounds already, which is incredible. So as I type this I am 318 pounds, which is very exciting. I definitely still like food though, so I'm going to have to watch what I eat when I have no restrictions. My stomach was an Iron kettle before surgery, nothing ever made it hurt, and so far it has been an iron tea-pot up to this point. Nothing I have consumed has had any problem going down at all. I had egg drop Soup today that was pretty darn eggy and it went down without any problems. I also had a small class of sweet tea just to see how I would handle caffeine and it was fine. I tried out some pineapple/orange juice at lunch to see out citric acid would go down, and it was fine as well. So in closing at this point I could not be happier with my decision. I have very little pain and my stomach doesn't seem to mind being sleeved. I still get hungry but I don't immediately obsess over finding the largest amount of food possible to gorge myself with. I was at a cookout today and was perfectly content eating my eggdrop soup while my buddies were mowing down burgers and hotdogs. I seriously hope things continue in this manner because I couldn't be happier right now.

WOW!!! It sounds like you're having a great experience so far. I sincerely hope that it stays that way for you!! Thanks for checking in. Keep up the good work!!

Here is my 3 week update.

Everything is going great. I still have a lot of energy and am getting around just like I used to.....actually better now that I have dropped 20 pounds. Everything I have eaten goes down just fine, I get my Protein in without any problem. The only thing I struggle with is liquids, I just forget sometimes and have a hard time drinking enough. I cannot wait until next week when I can get back to working out and playing sports. I already can move around so much better then I used to.

I do have a question though. I lost 12 pounds I think my first week, then 7 my 2nd week, and I only lost a pound my third week. Im only getting 400-600 calories a day and I'm walking about 2 miles. This slow in my weight loss is disturbing. Is it a stall? Can you stall this early? Do I just need to chill out? Thanks for any input!

Here is my 3 week update.

I do have a question though. I lost 12 pounds I think my first week, then 7 my 2nd week, and I only lost a pound my third week. Im only getting 400-600 calories a day and I'm walking about 2 miles. This slow in my weight loss is disturbing. Is it a stall? Can you stall this early? Do I just need to chill out? Thanks for any input!

Elli..

If you read around the boards, the "dreaded" 3 week stall seems to be a reality for many. All the advice, I've seen thus far on the topic is... take it easy, keep doing what you're doing, stick to the program and your body will eventually start releasing the weight again. It's an adjustment period and the body needs to adapt.

You're doing great though... I can't wait to be on the sleeved side of things!!

Elli..

If you read around the boards, the "dreaded" 3 week stall seems to be a reality for many. All the advice, I've seen thus far on the topic is... take it easy, keep doing what you're doing, stick to the program and your body will eventually start releasing the weight again. It's an adjustment period and the body needs to adapt.

You're doing great though... I can't wait to be on the sleeved side of things!!

Thanks! For some reason I thought the 3 week stall was a stall that lasted 3 weeks. So people normally stall at the 3 week mark?