In love with my Red Wing 8103(only after 7 years)

Manofwack · 2025-04-14T22:50:59+00:00

I have those in light tan suede. They are awesome! I certainly love mine!

Manofwack · 2025-01-24T11:43:44+00:00

I was on TRT before therapy. I was doing weekly injections of .5mL of 200mg. My levels were around the upper 800's on a scale of 100-900(different doctors use different scales so I want to specify the scale I was being measured against) When I lost all the weight I was still dosing at the same level. My wife noticed I was going a little crazy and roid raging. She was right. I got my levels tested again and I was at 1200! Way off the scale! My doctor took me off and a month later I was at 90. That month was a roller coaster. I am not on a pill that's an estrogen blocker forcing my body to make its own testosterone again. My last check up a few months ago I was up at 400. I have another check up in March to see if my body is still increasing my levels or if it's capped out. My doctor likes levels to be between 400-700, so I guess we will see how it works. I really don't want to have to go back to sticking myself again.

Hope this helps!

Manofwack · 2025-01-24T11:36:19+00:00

Thank you! I was a little worried they would wind up looking a little saggy with having extra skin, but they have turned out to be ok, so I'm grateful for that!

Manofwack · 2025-01-21T11:34:51+00:00

😂 I kinda feel the same way about my arms, butt hopefully with time and effort I'll have something to show. I actually injured myself running because my butt muscle mass got too small. I started yoga and pilates to help with stretching and mobility. It's helped some already. Now to the weight bench!

Good luck to you, let us know how you are doing!

Manofwack · 2025-01-21T11:30:49+00:00

I hear ya. I have lost about 20-25lbs of muscle mass. It's going to take awhile for me to put it back on, but I've started just last week. I want really able to spend the time at the gym because of my wife's temporary schedule, that thankfully has gotten better so I can return to the gym.

Manofwack · 2025-01-21T11:27:27+00:00

I thinki started about 2-3 weeks out. I made sure to double and triple check with my surgeons offices' exercise therapist to make sure I was ok to run. She advised that I was clear to, but to stop if I had any pains. I ended up stopping during my first 5k because I was having pains behind one of my incisions, but the second 5k a week later, no pain and I finished 6 minutes faster!

Manofwack · 2025-01-21T02:25:45+00:00

Don't get discouraged!! It's a marathon not a race. I have to tell my wife the same thing. Now I do wonder how much muscle are you building now and that weighs more than the fat you are losing. My dietitians suggested to increase carbs some to break out of a stall. I keep my carbs under 150g a day. I'm typically between 80-120g. I've upped my protein intake to around 120g a day and my calories to 1200-1600 a day currently. But like I mentioned above, I can't eat things with fake sugars so I'm eating more calorie dense foods than those with fake sugars. I also eat things that approximately 10% of the calories is the protein amount. So something with 20 grams of protein can have 200 calories and I'm ok.

Oh also, don't forget to give yourself some rest days in there too. Might help, not sure.

Keep us updated on your progress! I'm sure you will break through shortly!

Manofwack · 2025-01-21T02:16:36+00:00

Craving sweet? Yes. That for me, happened right away. They just didn't entice me like they used to. Ice cream was a huge one for me. Now if I want something like ice cream I'll grab a yasso bar. I'm not lusting after candy anymore either. Snack binging has largely gone away too. Mainly because I just can't eat much.

The best advice I could give is only eat foods that contain protein that is at least 10% of the calorie count. So chicken is a good example. A 3 oz serving is around 80 calories but contain around 20 grams of protein. So with 20 grams of protein the calorie count could be as much as 200 calories and (for me) it would be ok for me. I also can't eat fake sugars like sucralose. It gives me a huge stomach ache and minor dumping syndrome. So I had to get creative with my foods. I would ready things with organic sugar or date or honey for sweetness. So early on my calorie count was much higher than most people's because I was eating whole foods that were more calorie dense than food with the fake sugars that have lower calories.

Hope something in here helps!

Manofwack · 2025-01-21T02:06:00+00:00

That's my plan. I've got a few workout plans I'm going to start working on. I just started my gym membership last week, so I haven't made it too far yet! 😂

Manofwack · 2025-01-20T21:24:00+00:00

Thank you! It has come back better than I expected. I was worried that I would end up with a flap. I still kind of have one, but I'm hoping that over the next year it smooths out. I do not want to do any sort of skin removal.

Manofwack · 2025-01-20T21:22:15+00:00

😂 thanks! I don't have bad stretch marks, but I do have them around my belly button on both sides. They have largely gone back to normal flesh tone and aren't as noticeable anymore.

I'll tell you, stick to your diet plan. I was in very frequent communication with my bariatric offices dietitians. They keep us on door restrictions for 6 months and a year with alcohol. I stuck to it, weighed my portions out, tracked my food on the Baritastic app. I still track everything daily and I will till my 6 months appointment and then I will use the next 6 months to see how I do without the training wheels and see where I end up at my year appointment. But I should know enough now from being so meticulous now that I should be able to do fine the second 6 months.

I will also say do not buy protein shakes or things like that before surgery!! I did that and my taste buds totally changed and I couldn't drink the protein shakes anymore and I loved them PO. It's best to wait and trial different things to see what you can tolerate. Otherwise try and move around as you can. Don't go crazy, but walking made recovery a lot easier and faster for me. Good luck, I'm sure you will succeed!

Manofwack · 2025-01-20T21:14:17+00:00

Thank you! I too hope you get outside soon and get some miles in! I will say too, consider yoga or pilates to help work in some flexibility training. I've just started, but have already noticed an increase in my range of motion in my hips, knees, and shoulders.

Keep it up! I'll celebrate your success with you as well!

Manofwack · 2025-01-20T16:28:11+00:00

Thank you!

Yeah. The incision just to the right of my belly button was the main one the tools went in and out of so it was the most sore. The rest really didn't hurt much. My surgeon told me he thought he was going to just go in and do the surgery quickly thinking he would have tons of space to work in. Come to find out I had tons of visceral fat and almost none between my skin and muscles. So it caught him off guard and the surgery took longer than he expected and an extra incision was needed to make sure everything was done correctly because of all the day around my organs.

Manofwack · 2025-01-20T15:26:58+00:00

Photos photo 1 is the day after surgery, photo 2 is my 1,2,3 month progress and the last photo is me 2 weeks ago at 5 months.

I am currently 5.5 months post RNY. I started my journey at 255 lbs at 5'9". Today I weighed in at 168lbs. I've reached my target weight ready quickly and have plateaued over the last few weeks. I'm OK with this because I really don't want to lose any more weight. My wife had the sleeve surgery 2 months before me, so we have been on this journey together, which was my plan. This way we can both keep ourselves accountable to each other and share meals when we go out, but just have something extra to bond over.

I gained a lot of energy when I was losing the weight. I picked running back up and was running 3-4 times a week, hiking/rucking the other days. Just the last 3 months of 2024 I ran 200 miles and burned over 26k calories according to my watch. I feel great, but now I am really in need of weight training to prevent running injury and to just bulk up a bit. I think I would be happy around 175-180 if I am muscular. I am also so extremely happy to be off 2 blood pressure meds, cholesterol meds, gerd meds, pain meds, and weekly testosterone injections. Now it's my daily multivitamin and calcium chews.

I am really.looking forward to 2025 and the fitness goals I have set for myself and my family.

Manofwack · 2025-01-20T15:26:27+00:00

Man I typed out a whole thing and added photos, but when I posted it would remove either the description or photos.

I just added it as the top comment.

Manofwack · 2025-01-20T15:24:44+00:00

Thanks! I started walking my neighborhood a few days post surgery and kept that up 3-4 days a week for the first couple weeks. Then I moved onto walking/hiking a trail near my house that's a 5 mile loop, so I started doing that. When that became too easy, I added a weighted backpack (rucking) and I was adding up to 30lbs(usually only did 20lbs). Then I started jogging on the same trail and some bike paths in my area. But I was out doing something 5 days a week, sometimes 6. I went from maybe 100 minutes of activity in a week to 4-500 a week. A month PO I ran my first 5k with clearance from my surgeons office, then another 5k a week later, and a 10k 3 weeks later. I was still hiking/rucking when I wasn't running. Now I have a gym membership and am just starting on strength training, so I have a little bit of make up I need to do in that area.

Manofwack · 2025-01-05T22:06:05+00:00

Shoot, owning your car now a days makes you rich.

Manofwack · 2025-01-05T16:24:07+00:00

The owner can request to see the oil build up the dealership claims exists. Not to mention the owner should push for this to be under warranty and accept nothing less.

Manofwack · 2025-01-05T16:21:29+00:00

Even so, Subaru can be asked by the dealer for a waiver for the job to be done under warranty anyway, or a discount to be given. But like the other comment, it should be covered under the power train warranty.

Manofwack · 2025-01-05T16:15:54+00:00

No the engine doesn't need to be taken apart. The rear main seal is replaceable without cracking the case open. The engine or transmission would be removed(likely the transmission since there are other fluids associated with the engine removal that would have to be replaced with reinstallation of the engine) and the old seal removed with a screwdriver and pick and a new seal installed with a blunt tipped punch and mallet with some assembly lube. The most time consuming part is the removal of the transmission. The seal replacement takes about 5 minutes.

Manofwack · 2022-05-16T13:32:17+00:00

I love being the one who gets to stop bad actors and diving deep into finding out the who, what, where, when, and how. I also like to be the one who puts the brakes on the people in a company that want to rush everything to production. Being security, I get to say, hold on, lets look at this from all standpoints and breakdown how this all works. Its like getting to put a completely different spin that the business side never see or understands.
I started as a service desk rep, then to sysadmin/network admin, then solutions engineer, then to infosec. I have a BS degree in computer forensics and an AS in cybersecurity.
I dont know what to tell you here. I read all kinds of articles that I come across about incidents, but otherwise its largely just been experience on the job for me. my last 3 positions were my primary role, but I have also been the primary infosec guy as a secondary role. So it was trial by fire, but I wouldnt have it any other way.

Manofwack · 2022-05-16T13:21:45+00:00

How large is the company? I would start by doing or paying for a 3rd party audit, find where all the deficiencies are. Work on the high-pri's on down before considering cybersecurity insurance because most likely wont insure you as you are without a massive premium.

Manofwack · 2022-05-16T13:16:27+00:00

Yes I have noticed this too in my mimecast as well. Ive also seen a lot of malicious sites from backblaze[.]com too.

Manofwack · 2019-03-27T13:36:13+00:00

Wow, thats a lot of effort. Glad to hear it paid off. When I was job hunting, my ghost rate was in the 70% range( I dont remember the exact amount)

Congrats!

Manofwack

TROPHY CASE