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.

10 weeks post op

Weight: 263
Average calorie intake: Still not keeping track
Average exercise: using the treadmill from 15 to 30 minutes a day (3 to 3.5mph and 2 to 7% incline)
Weight loss in last 2 weeks: 7lbs
Total weight loss: 57lbs in 10 weeks

I hope everyone had a great Christmas. I had family in town and my present to them was 4 days of the best food I could prepare. Rack of lamb, a shrimp boil, duck, a chicken wrapped pork wellington and even biscuits and gravy.

Through all of it I was able to have my couple of bites and stop. I did finally reach the point of disappointment though, having all that great food on the table and totally unable to enjoy more made me just a little envious but knowing I was half way to my goal made things a LOT easier.

I don’t feel that sick to my stomach feeling as much these days and I have really learned to just have a couple of bites of something and not always try to eat my 4 ounces. I found that stringy meats are not good to eat, I made a beef brisket that just did not feel good after eating it but the rack of lamb was easy to eat. It helps to take small bites of medium rare meat and chew well.

I have also noticed that ice cream and sorbet goes down well. I made a cinnamon pumpkin pie ice cream to go with an apple crisp and it was a great treat. Fruit smoothies are easy to eat as well and God knows I can use the fiber. I also found that I can eat FiberPlus cereal for breakfast every day to get more fiber and even having milk with it does not hurt my stomach.

I have stepped up the exercise and started using the treadmill every day now and I can really feel the difference the weight loss has made. I am doing 15 to 30 minutes a day and even did some jogging. I usually do about 3.5mph and 3% incline but I get up to 7% and even make 5mph in a fast jog. I am confident that continued use will help get over these no loss days I tend to hit.

I also can see some of the saggy skin that I have been hoping would not show up. Under my arms, and around my chest and even my legs seem to be the worst places. I have bumped up my protein intake (I have been slacking there) and I hope it will help. Otherwise I may have to consider a frickin body lift after I lose another 50lbs.

To people considering the surgery, I can tell you that it is a great tool for me. I made the decision prior to my surgery that I would no longer live to eat and that food would just be something I USED to enjoy. I am very fortunate that I enjoy cooking for other reasons than eating. This is a life changing event: one that tests your patients as well as your will power. It often makes me feel like shit but I know I am headed in the right direction. The choice to have it done is your own and don’t do it for anyone else but yourself.

I hope to see everyone on the other side of 60lbs next week.