pat fitz

Idahospud. That is a great goal. And it is so fool when you can do it the 1st time I was able to. It was like wow. This is awesome. I can't wait for Feb 7th 2015. That is the day I will be marrying my wonderful fiancee. A little about us. She had her sleeve July 30th 2013. She has lost about 145 lbs. I had my surgery DEC 26th 2013. We met on this web site early Jan 2014. After meeting in person we started dating. I proposed to her Saturday sept 21st. I had my 9 month post op check up Friday sept26th. Both prrop and post op. I have lost a total of 245 lbs. 180 of it coming post op. I can't wait for tomorrow and everyday after. What an amazing new life we are embarking on!! Woop woop!! Everyone keep the faith. The days of doom and gloom are gone. Stay positive and you will achieve what ever you want!! Life is a journey not a destination. And like the late Jim Valvano said. Don't give up. Don't ever give up!!

Congrats Ken. You are doing great.I don't want to take away from your story. I will tell you about my fabulous journey you are just starting to enjoy. May 2013. Went to the Dr. For a physical. Weight. 488. BP190/120 sleep apnea. High cholesterol. Type 2 diabetes. Put on many meds. Etc. Was so ashamed of where I was. Started my 6 month insurance required program. June 15th 2013 joined the YMCA. Pool was and is my best friend. After 6 months of Dr. Visits. Psych eval. Was approved for surgery just after Thanksgiving. Got the last possible date for my surgery. Dec 26th. Merry Christmas to me.day of surgery. 423 lbs. I was ecstatic with 65 lbs. Lost. Could have been better. Surgical team was happy.fast forward today I weigh 253 lbs. Yes that is 235 lbs gone. 170 in less than 8 months. Last blood draw. A1C. 5.1 glucose average 87. Cholesterol 177. BP 126/60. No sleep apnea. Off all meds. Only have to take vitamins. Dr. Had an app. 3.3% chance of heart disease. Added 20 yrs to my life. Where I am going with this. I still use the pool almost every day. Walk 6 plus miles a day. I can't wait for sept 26th. 9 month check up. This is n amazing journey. Oh yeah. Meet the love of my life thru this website. She had the surgery July 2013. Has lost over 140 lbs. She is my rock. What a great support system. Ken you can reach for the stars. Keep up the great work. Don't ever give up. God bless!!

If you don't get the liver shrunk and they can't get their instruments on it to lift it. They will close you up and when you come out of recovery they will tell you they weren't able to do the sleeve. And it isn't free!! I lost 65 lb pre-op. And have lost another 170 lbs since surgery. Dec 26th 2013. Get in the pool. It will help you with weight loss in a hurry.

You need to not worry about percentages etc. Everybody is different. Your body may react differently than mine did or the next persons will. I had vertical sleeve done Dec 26th 2013. I have lost a total of 230 lbs. 65 oreop. 165 post op. Just over 6 months since surgery. Yes I am very motivated. I swim 45-60 minutes a day. Walk 3.5 miles every day I can. I also walk 2-4 miles during work. Lift weights if shoulders allow. It. Early morning I use resistance bands and AB rocket. I have no idea how much excess weight I have lost. Nor do I care how much more I may lose. Type 2 diabetes. Gone!! High cholesterol. Gone!! High BP. Gone!! Hypertension..Gone!! I haven't been on any meds for about 3 months. Only thing I take now is my vitamins!! I don't get all wrapped up with scale or percentages. What I get excited about. Having people see me and say OMG. You look great. Etc. Shirt size down from 6XL to 2XL. Pants down from 56 to 40. Yes I have excess skin that will have to be taken care of down the road. Again don't care right now about it.the benefits of the surgery is my health. My team says I have put 20 plus years back on my life!! I say don't worry about the weight loss. Excess skin. Etc. Look at the benefits. Oh yeah. I will be 47 years young end of July!! Good luck on your journey!! It us a great journey to be on!!

I am a huge advocate of swimming. The resistance is so much more in the pool. And is much easier on joints and body. I do an hour a day 5- tines a week. I do 80-100 pull ups on the diving block. I try to walk 3-4 miles a day. I do work in some weight lifting when time allows and shoulders aren't too sore. 6 months post op. I have lost 155 lbs. For a total of 220 lbs gone pre and post op. Every WLS program has different plans. I believe if your body can handle it do what is good for you.

Have you tried changing things up a bit? Different exercise. Different foods. Etc? That sometimes will kick start some movement. Plus don't live by the scale. As you exercise you will be putting on muscle. Muscle weighs more than fat so you may be losing inches but not much weight.

I had surgery DEC 26th 2013. I started on treadmill right out of surgery. 2 weeks later I was in the pool. 1 month out I was lifting light weights and whatever I could tolerate. About 2 months I was full throttle. I don't bike much. But still do hour a day in pool. Weight training and rowing as much as possible. I also walk a 3 miler as much as possible. I have lost a total of 191 lbs per and post op. Take it slow your body will tell you how much you can handle. Just had careful doing anything with abdominal workout. Good luck on your journey.

I was cleared for swimming 1 week after surgery. No lifting for a month. I was able to do treadmill 2 weeks after surgery. Definetly don't want to push it too soon and cause any damage inside or out. I was bummed at first. But glad I waited. I am 17 weeks post op. I have lost a total of 180 lbs. 65 pre-op. 115 post-op. Its all good!! Best if luck to you on your journey.

Joining the YMCA or any place that has a pool. Get in and swim. I joined the YMCA June 2013. Did my 6 months of Dr.appts. and all the other requirements my insurance wanted. I did an hour a day in the pool. So much easier on the joints etc. Plus it is a great resistance workout.the day of surgery Dec 26th. I lost 65 lbs. This Thursday will be 16 weeks post op. I have lost another 110 lbs. I still do 45-60 minutes in pool everyday. Then lift for about 20 minutes. Upper body 1 day. Lower body next day. Now that weather is getting better. I walk 3- 6 miles per day. Generally in weekends. This also wrapped around a 55 hr plus work week. The energy will come but you need to do what your team says. I haven't wavered from vitamins etc. I have tried a few foods that didn't go well. Won't do those again. Water water water. I drink over 100 Oz's a day. I am now off all preop meds. Only thing I take are vitamins. BP in check. Cholesterol in check. Type 2 diabetes. Gone. My team gave me a tool and I am using this tool to its fullest potential.

Hey Wisconsin girl. Do what your team tells you. I had my sleeve installed. Lol!! Dec 26th 2013. In nennah. I was up walking as soon as I came to in my room. Walk walk walk. It will help with the gas they fill you up with. As soon as you can start sipping water do it. The first couple weeks can be tough but it gets better every day. I liked warm liquids at first. Now everything has to be ice cold. Walk as much as possible and stay after it. Today I walked 6 miles. Did an hour in the pool. And a leg workout . I have lost a total of 170 lbs. 105 of that post op in just over 14 weeks. 1 month after surgery. I was taken off all meds except 1 BP med that I am confident will be gone soon. Take your vitamins. Drink your water. Protein always 1st. Exercise. You will do fine.

My insurance requirements were 6 months Dr. Visits. Psych eval. Amongst other things. My boss was the only person who knew. When I got my approval just after thanksgiving and got my surgery date. Day after Christmas. (Merry Christmas to me). I told my family the week of Christmas. Plus a lot of coworkers had found out. I am totally fine telling anyone. I workout at the local YMCA. So people have really noticed. Some ask others just compliment me. I lost 65lbs pre-op and as of yesterday. 14 weeks post-op. I have lost another 105 lbs. Total of 170 fine. I share it with many people. I am going to do an interview with YMCA and local newspaper. I also told surgeons I am willing to come their seminars to tell my story. I feel if I can help 1 person even look at the potential to get headed in the direction of better health. It is all worth it. I believe in sharing this journey with whoever wants to listen. I live the you took the easy way out. Then I go into education mode and explain what I had to do pre-op and what I have to do for the rest of my life. I love seeing their jaw drop when they realize just how much it takes. The look is priceless and my NSV for the day.

What a shame. My family,friends, coworker's have been such a huge support to me. Like the others said. This is all about you!! I am just short of 14 weeks post-op. I lost 65 lbs pre-op and have lost 105 lbs post. Find yourself a good network of supporters. They will help you through this wonderful journey. This website is a great place for lots of support.

I just had my 3 month post-op check up. I have lost a total of 160 lbs. 65 pre-op and 95 post op. I do between 40-60 minutes in the pool everyday. Then go lift upper body 1 day. Lower body next day. Back and forth. The weight has slowed a bit. But clothes are bigger so I am losing inches. Plus I gained 7 lbs of muscle mass so it balances it self. My big concern was losing muscle mass and bone density. My team was amazed with the gain I had in muscle mass. If you put in the effort you will reap the benefits. It all takes time. Good luck on your journey..

I live in Wisconsin so I have to wait until the snow and cold is gone. That may be June this year. Lol. I had my sleeve DEC 26th. I would have been ready a cpl weeks post.

I always get sick after surgery. Between the shot they gave me and the patch they put on while prepping for surgery. I had no problems. Patch was on for 2 days. Took off when released from hospital.

Chris; great job. I was just at the surgeons office yesterday. I am at a total of 125 lbs lost. 65 pre-op . 60 lbs lost in 5 weeks post-op. Just amazing what can happen with this VSG. I am following the plan as my team has set out for me. Swimming. Lifting weights. Protein. Water. Exercise!! Everyone keep up the great work.

I am a firm believer in doing pool work. I spend an hour a day in the pool. Most of it walking as fast as possible. So much easier on joints. Surgeon says best exercise you can do. Like everyone says drink water water water. Plus I don't weigh myself very often. Scale can give us bad thoughts when it doesn't tell us what we want or hope it will say. I haven't weighed myself in 2 plus weeks. But I know I have lost a nice amount since. Just by how my clothes are fitting. Stay positive and best of luck on your journey.

Good luck to all of you having surgery tomorrow. Tate777 like you I had a fear of getting sick. I am actually allergic to anesthesia so the team did some things to help. Gave me a shot before and after plus some liquid stuff. Don't know what it was or do I care. It worked. No problem coming out of surgery. Only close call was day after surgery when they did leak test. Luckily after drinking barium I turned and it went down. You will be fine. Follow your teams plan. Greatest thing I have done for health and well being.

I was back to work 5 days after. The 1st week was a bit tough but after that everything is good. I get the hiccups when I drink water too much too quickly. Some burps. Great thing for me is all my coworkers know and support me.

Hey shel. The burger went down well. I am still working on telling myself to eat slower and chew a lot more before swallowing. All the years of on the go and woofing my food down is a tough habit to break. This is my 3rd major surgery. Donated kidney to my brother. Back surgery. And now my new sleeve. Most important thing I have learned. We are in control of our body. If nurse refuses to change something tell them you want to see the Surgeon . Dr. Anyone who will listen. it is your body and your money. Not theirs. They may be the professional but you are still the boss!!! Stay strong and battle thru this.

Tmuller2 welcome. Best of luck on your journey. I lost 65 lbs pre-op as i .waited for insurance approval. I spent an hour a day in the pool. So much easier on joints and body. Had surgery day after Christmas. Merry Christmas to me. 2 weeks after surgery I had lost 25 lbs. Surgeon let me back into pool. I am on day 17 straight in the pool. I am now allowed to start weight lifting again. I haven't weighed myself since last Dr. Appt. Next appt is Friday Jan 31st I am guessing 35-40 more lbs gone. I am not a scale everyday type person. Surgery went without any problems. Do what your team tells you and you will be just fine.

Hey Shelby. I am 4 weeks post-op. I am doing very well. Right after surgery and the 1st week out I was really struggling. When I went to see the team. I told them I felt like I was going to puke all the time. Well they forgot 2 meds when I left hospital. Carafate helps with healing of tummy and staple line. Also I am on omeprazole for 3 months. Controls stomach acid. These 2 things helped me 100% I just started protein in regular consistency. Actually had 4 bites of a burger today. Did you or are you taking either of these items? Hope things get better for you. Stay positive. Lots of support on this site.

That is great. I am just 4 weeks post-op. My NUT just allowed me to eat protein in normal consistency. I had some fish Friday nite. Imagine that. Fish in WISC. On a Friday. Lol for those of you who don't know. Fish fry's in WISC on Friday is like a national holiday. Lol. Anyhow today I had a bacon cheeseburger. It was wonderful. 1st red meat in about 4 months.yes it does get better each week you progress through this journey. For any pre-op. It is the best thing I did for my health and well being.

I take rottiserie chicken refried beans chicken broth and garlic powder. Put it in blender. Split into 3-4 oz cups and freeze. Great purieed food stage item. Add some shredded cheese and nuke. Tastes like a burrito. Lots of protein.

My NSV today. Got my haircut tonite. The gal that normally cuts my hair hasn't seen me in 2 months. When she saw me she was all OMG. You look great. When she put the cape on me. She says your neck is so smalliI had no trouble snapping it. What a great feeling. 65 lbs pre-op just short of 4 weeks post-op another 45 lbs gone. Love my sleeve. It is gonna be a fun ride.