9 Month Post-Op (as of July 20 2012)

Current weight: 190
Weight lost in last month: 7 lbs
Total weight lost in 8 months: 130 lbs
Exercise: walking

 

It's been nine months and I feel great. I have recently seen old friends that have not seen me for years and most of them had no idea it was me when they saw me. My weight is one that I have not seen since I was about 12 years old.

 

In my walking I have even started doing a little jogging (down hills are easiest on my knees) and my endurance has really increased. I am walking 3 or 4 times a week and where I am living gives me a lot of good hills (like 8% grades) and beautiful scenery. My normal walk is just over 2 miles and very little of it is flat.

 

I am hoping that my weight loss is about done although when I fired up the blogger and realized I had lost another 7 pounds this month, I am not all together sure I am done yet and even now, (I am writing this on the 31st of July) I am down 2 more pounds.

 

There is not much more to tell you about the procedure or the results other than keeping you up to date on the weight numbers.

 

If you have any specific questions feel free to ask them in the comments and I will add the answers in the next blog.

 

I want to thank everyone for keeping up with this blog.

 

Life is a wild ride, enjoy it!

 

 

8 Months Post-Op

Current weight: 197
Weight lost in last month: 8 lbs
Total weight lost in 8 months: 123 lbs
Exercise: walking and golf

Well it has been eight months since the surgery and I am doing well. My loss has been off and on but I am still dropping weight. I reached my goal of 200# last week and started walking up the road to the restaurant where I work which is about 3/4 mile away but I have to walk up a nice big hill to get there. I am also back into playing golf and walking the course carrying my clubs.

I have become more of a grazer instead of eating meals since I can't eat more than a few bites at a time. I am trying to eat as much protein as I can but I tend to crave starches. I am actually able to eat most of a small 1/2 sandwich like egg or tuna salad but in all honesty I usually just don't feel like eating.

My excess skin issue does not seem to be too bad, at least not bad enough to pay thousands to remove it. and I have gone from a tight size 52 pants to a very comfortable and often loose size 38 and anything over a large shirt just hangs off of me. I will try to have some pics buy my next post.

Down side of the surgery is trying to remember my limits when something really tastes good and frequent diaria (sorry but it is what it is), and loosing some of the sensations of eating good tasting food, it just does not taste the same to me anymore.

The up side? Well it's hard to list all the benefits, clothes fitting, lots of energy and stamina, looking good, feeling good about how I look, increased flexibility, LOW food cost and  well, seeing a weight on the scale I have not seen since I was 13 years old.

I want to thank everyone for following my blog. I hope it has helped someone have the courage to do the same.

I have to go make some Clam Chowder for my friend and his family (I still love to cook) so until next month, take care and make each bite of your food count.

7 Months Post Op

Current Weight: 205lbs

Weight lost in the last month: 8lbs

Total Weight lost: 115lbs

Exercise: packing and moving to Northern  California

A lot has happened in the last month. After my trip to Lewiston CA last month I decided to make the move to work in a friends restaurant so I sold what I could and packed up mostly kitchen equipment to load what I could on a trailer that was too small to drag behind a Jeep that really had seen better days. The trip was a little over 800 miles and I managed to make it without incident other than some pain in my shoulder that just does not want to go away.

As for the weight, after being stable at 215 for nearly a month I started dropping weight again once I got back from vacation and managed to drop another 8 pounds this month. I am very happy with the progress and frankly don't want to lose much more weight  for fear of the excess skin being so bad I will have to have it removed. So far it is something I can live with.

The biggest draw back I have found so far is that what little ass I had before has completely been eliminated. I feel like I am sitting on two sharp posts. I had to run to Wally World again for another round of Jeans and shorts. This time I was down to a size 36 ( I miss typed in the last blog that I was down to a 32, I meant a 38) and I am solidly into a large shirt. I have donated or tossed enough clothes to cover a small 3rd world nation.

I am continuing to drink the protein shots mixed with a little 7-up or water and I am really trying to keep the meats (mostly chicken, fish and shrimp) as the majority of my intake. I can tell I have lost so much muscle it is ridiculous. I will surely have to start some kind of weight training to regain some of that.

Lewiston is a beautiful place in the mountains of Northern California. Everything is green and the weather (to me) is still cold in the morning but warms up nicely in the afternoons. My new exercise will include some hiking I am sure and I don't know how much good fishing will do me but I am really looking forward to visiting some of the half dozen or so lakes around here.

I will try to post mew photos by next month.

Live-Love-Laugh, better words where never spoken.

6 months Post Op

Current weight: 215lbs
Weight lost in the last month: 7lbs
Total weight lost: 105lbs
Exercise: I am finally back on the treadmill
 

Well a lot has happened in the last month. Just after my last post I pulled an Arty Johnson (Laugh In comedy show on his tricycle) and laid a motorcycle on my foot breaking it in two places. This has made exercising very difficult but in the last few days I have been able to get back on the treadmill and get things moving again.

I also took a trip to Northern California to visit some friends where I was offered a lead chefs job in a summer resort town. It was 800 miles one way and I rode my motorcycle so the weight loss really seemed to help somehow. I was not fatigued and I seem to have less wind resistance.

The weight loss was quite a shock for my old friends. They had not seen me in a few years and since I was now down to below my weight at my high school graduation, recognizing me was actually a problem. Even my best friend Dave here in Vegas almost past me right by when he was picking me up at the airport when I returned.

Now that I have made the decision to make the move to CA I am trying to see as many of my friends here in Vegas as I can and many of them ask the same questions: Am I happy and how big have the physiological impacts been?

Yes, I am happy with my weight loss. I feel good, my stamina and energy is high and I can’t tell you how good it feels to have gone from a tight size 52 paints to buying size 32 pants off the rack at Wal-Mart. The physiological impacts have been very difficult at times but I anticipated. I knew that taking something away (like eating) would make me angry and feel frustrated at times. I used to LIVE for the food I would cook. I have really had to embrace my love for cooking for other people’s pleasure.

While the nausea issues have subsided a little, I am very limited on serving sizes and if my food contains rice or a filler product it is half again. The other night I enjoyed 3 pieces out of an 8 piece sushi roll and just had to stop eating.

Because my weight loss has slowed down I think I am close to my final weight and if this is it, I am happy. I don’t even think the loose skin is an issue. I will continue to walk and be as active as possible and we will just see where the weight loss stops. If I had to guess I would say my final weight will be just around 200lbs and that will be a total of 120lbs lost. But I also think it will take another 3 to 4 months to reach that point.

As a final note, I have been congratulated on doing such a great job. What I tell them is that I really have not done anything except just a little walking. The Gastric Sleeve is the true hero. It was the ultimate tool that really gave me NO choice in the weight loss. This particular procedure was the best option for me. There is NO maintenance, unlike the Gastric Band and because I still have a functional (although much smaller) stomach the by-pass was not even an option for me.

I want to thank everyone for their support throughout this life changing process. I hope you know who you are and know that I love each and every one of you. You will always be an important part of my life.

5 months post op

5 months post op.
Current Weight: 222lbs
Total Weight Lost: 98lbs.
Exercise: I have just joined Las Vegas Health Club and planning on going 4 to 6 times a week.
Calorie Intake: still around 500 – 700 a day supplementing with protein drinks

I have gotten to the point of trying to update the blog monthly now and I have reached the 5 month mark. I am so close to making a major goal but I could not put off posting any longer. I am down 98 pounds, only 2 pounds from my 100 pound goal.

I am only 20 pounds from my final goal. I have joined a local health club in hopes of toning up some of the loss skin and regaining a little of the muscle lost in the last 5 months.

I still don’t like eating. I continue to feel nauseous after eating just a couple of bites of nearly anything. It sure keeps me from over eating. Thank God my love for cooking is satisfied by cooking for others.

I am celebrating the weight loss by buying some nice clothes from The Men’s Warehouse. I have to admit, the change is shocking!

Some of the misleading information I got before surgery or at least the things that affected me differently are as follows:

1) “Can’t drink carbonated drinks”. Well, high carbonation is definitely can’t be tolerated but a fountain diet coke or sprite seem to be fine and if you dilute a can of coke with some rum I have no problem with it.

2) “Hunger pains no longer exist”. no, I still get hungry occasionally but just a couple of bites of anything or even some water knocks it right out.

3) “The feel of Nausea will go away in 2 or 3 months”. It’s been 5 and I still feel like crap when I eat but at least that is the only time I feel that way.

Some of the expected things that have happened:

1) “The weight loss will make you feel better”. Yeap, I am feeling good.

2) “It will change your life”. That is for sure, I feel much better about myself.

3) “it will take care of some medical problems”. I am off all my meds for blood pressure and cholesterol
The true love of food is to eat to live, not live to eat and cook to please others.

4 months post op

Current weight: 239
Total weight lost: 81lb
Calories: no idea, somewhere around 600 to 700/day
Exercise: tread mill and kitchen work

Wow, where does the time go? Here is just a little update. The week before last I spent at the King of the Hammers Race in So. California. I managed to hike my ass off but the drinking I did made up for any weight I would have lost so that was a "0" week.

This week however I seem to be back on track and down to a weight I have not seen in about 24 years. I still have issues with the nausea as soon as I have ANYTHING to eat but it sure works to loose weight. I also am looking more like a wrinkly dog day by day. Small price to pay though.

I am able to play at least a couple hours of tennis without massive coronary pain and I managed to hike this dessert and trails without much problem at all last week.

Clothes are still an issue as well. I just bought a pair of jean a couple of weeks ago and worn them 4 times now and they seem too big. I am easily down to an XL from a 3X size and still dropping.

I plan on having blood work done soon to make sure all my numbers are ok and I will post results.

Working the kitchen is definitely a problem in that I can hardly stand to taste some of the food and I am already full by the time the food is finished. It is very frustrating when you manage to make a great meal and you are literally done in 2 bites.

Here is to eating off of other people's plate.

14 Weeks Post Op

Weight 246
Average calorie intake still around 5 – 600 per day
Exercise: now working the bar 4 to 5 days a week and occasionally walking and tennis
Weight loss in the last 2 ½ weeks: 12lbs
Total weight loss: 74lbs in 14 ½ weeks

Sorry for missing out on the last two weeks of posting. A lot has been happening. Week 12 was a bust, I lost nothing and caught a cold. The following week I got back on track and I still seem to be dropping the weight.

I am doing a lot more working at the bar as of last week and that comes in handy as I was
laid off from my drafting job last Friday. The bar keeps me hopping and it is a pretty good 8 hour workout.

I am still having the sick to my stomach feeling when I eat and I really hate it but it sure does keep me from over eating. I also find myself unable to drink the protein drinks anymore. The taste just turns my stomach. Fish seems to be the protein I tolerate best, and fruit smoothies go down easy and I will likely try to add some protein to those instead of the drinks.

Note of interest, I have dropped from a pants size 52 to a 44in. I am really looking forward to shopping anywhere right off the rack. In most cases I am down to an XL size in shirts and sweats.

Other than living on 2 or 3 bites of food at a time, I really have not had much in the way of limitations. The Doctors office said I would not be able to drink any carbonated drinks but I found that when mixed with rum or vodka the carbonation has little effect. They also recommended not having alcohol but I still seem to be dropping weight at a satisfying rate so I think I am ok with it.

I do seem to be experiencing some of the baggy skin issues but I don’t look like a Sharpe dog yet but another 40lbs might change that. Wow, another 40lbs and I will be knocking on a door I have not seen since I was 14 years old.

I will be off doing a lot of hiking next week during a photo shoot so I will post up when
I get back in a week or so. Until then, “Eat to live, don’t live to Eat”.

12 weeks post op

Weight: 258
Average
calorie intake: below 600 per day
Average
exercise: treadmill 15 to 30 min per day and a general workout 20 min 3 times a
week or tennis
Weight loss
in the last week: 0 lbs
Total weight
lost: 62lbs in 12 weeks

Nothing lost
this week folks; I have held a pound either side of 258 for the whole week. I
have started playing tennis again and still using the treadmill so I am
guessing my body is just getting used to the increased activity.

Other than
the queasiness is still around there is not much more to report for this week.

Have a great
week everyone. I will try to give you more next week.

11 weeks post op

Weight: 258
Average calorie intake: below 600 per day
Average exercise: treadmill 15 to 30 min per day and a general workout 20 min 3 times a week
Weight loss in the last week: 5lbs
Total weight lost: 62lbs in 11 weeks

The holidays are behind us and I hope everyone had a great New Year’s Eve. Mine was spend working the bar Saturday night till midnight and then back at 8am Sunday morning so I stayed busy but still had a good time.

I did take the time to clean out the refrigerator from the holidays, wow there was a lot of food left over. Unfortunately, I have been feeling queasy again, yesterday was the worst in a long time. EVERYTHING I ate made me feel bad and I just stayed feeling bad. During these times slushy drinks tend to be the best thing I can take in, and melted cheese and starchy things seem to be the worst.

I have been doing some reflection and find myself just not liking food much anymore. Yes I can have anything I want in small quantities I just find myself NOT wanting anything except maybe coffee and ice water. This is really taking a tool on my desire to cook. I really have to focus on my desire to please others with my food instead of any gratification the food itself would bring me personally.

I can really feel the weight though, I already feel skinny although I know I am not even close to that yet. My clothing options are now limited to newly purchased sweat pants and t-shirts. Even my jackets that were once on the tight side are just hanging bags over my shoulders. Luckily, my beautiful daughters (who have just turned 21 TODAY) bought me a hoody and had “Big Sexy” printed on it for Christmas and it was smaller than anything else I had so it still (for now) fits.

I have kicked up my exercising in the last week and it really feels good. I am hoping to minimize the skin bagginess and tone those old muscles. I am using the treadmill at a minimum of 3mph and 3% slope and going to a 4mph jog or increasing to 7% slope for heart rate and I am usually doing 20 to 30 minutes now daily. I have also started using the gym at the apartments. I am using the universal gym trying to work mostly upper body with reps instead of heavier weights. All I want to do is tone not build mass. I am also using the sauna, it may not be doing much but it feels great.

Playing sports is next. A friend of mine wants to start playing tennis and I am already itching to get back on the golf course. My plan is to do one or the other at least each Saturday.

It is time for me to get serious about this people. My new year’s resolution is to become fit not just lose weight.

Thanks for following my progress.