Bob B

Had my sleeve gastrectomy on 12/16/14, and have lost 120 pounds in 7 months. I am jogging, following the diet like crazy, and have gone from being a daily (heavy) drinker to only having two drinks (on my birthday in May) since the surgery. My doctor is thrilled. All tests read great. I've lost more in 7 months than the doctor predicted I would ever lose (he said -110 was what he thought would be likely for a final loss, but more would be great), and I am still losing. And while I physically feel pretty good, doing things I couldn't or wouldn't have dreamed of a year ago, I can't help but be uncomfortable in my (saggy) skin. I feel like I have that "used to be a fat guy" too-small head now. I have the droopy stomach skin, etc. I look in the mirror, and I don't really like what I see. How have you dealt with WLS success by all measures that doesn't register when you see yourself in a mirror?

Coming up on my one year anniversary of Sleeve Gastrectomy. Thought I would post an update. Weighed 348 on day of surgery. Been steady for a month at +-210. Down from 3-4X to L-XL in shirts, and from 48-50" pants to 34-36". Went from being a daily, heavy drinker and a glutton (of some renown!) to no drinks for six months, and 1-2 a week since. Started a walking program immediately after the surgery, then started a C25K app, and ran (jogged) my first 5K on my birthday in May. Moved on to a 10K trainer app, and have since run (jogged) 4 10K's, each one posting a better time. I exercise frequently, and for the first time in my 45 years, I don't mind it! (Honestly, I don't love it, either!). I have been doing a six week 100 pushups workout, but can't get past 45, even though I've been doing it for 10 weeks! My original goal weight was 240 (Doctor suggested), but I had a "dream weight" of 225. I've beaten that by 15 lbs, and think I still have a little more to lose, although I'm more interested in tightening stuff up. Lose skin in my belly, boobs, and thighs...some under my arms. I miss the social aspects of drinking and eating, and I am still trying to figure out my new personality. My wife has been fantastic support and has been instrumental in keeping my meals healthy. I would NOT have the success I have had without support at home, I am sure. I have no food intolerances so far, and the adjustments too my diet haven't been nearly as hard to stick to as I once worried. I'm now considering doing a half marathon in February, although that may be biting off more than I can chew. Sex drive has dramatically increased, although sometimes I last too long, and that can be frustrating for my wife. For years we've had perfect "timing" when it comes to sex, and we have had to adjust expectations, but it is definitely better, more active sex. I feel a bit more comfortable in my body, which is great, and I don't sweat anywhere near as much! I'm a different guy now than I was last year, and feeling mostly great about the journey. I hate to sound like a shill, but I wish I had done it ten years earlier. Getting healthy has been wonderful, but it doesn't solve all your problems. It's not a "quick fix." But it is wonderful to have one less thing to worry about, especially when that one thing was almost 140lbs!

Coming up on my one year anniversary of Sleeve Gastrectomy. Thought I would post an update. Weighed 348 on day of surgery. Been steady for a month at +-210. Down from 3-4X to L-XL in shirts, and from 48-50" pants to 34-36". Went from being a daily, heavy drinker and a glutton (of some renown!) to no drinks for six months, and 1-2 a week since. Started a walking program immediately after the surgery, then started a C25K app, and ran (jogged) my first 5K on my birthday in May. Moved on to a 10K trainer app, and have since run (jogged) 4 10K's, each one posting a better time. I exercise frequently, and for the first time in my 45 years, I don't mind it! (Honestly, I don't love it, either!). I have been doing a six week 100 pushups workout, but can't get past 45, even though I've been doing it for 10 weeks! My original goal weight was 240 (Doctor suggested), but I had a "dream weight" of 225. I've beaten that by 15 lbs, and think I still have a little more to lose, although I'm more interested in tightening stuff up. Lose skin in my belly, boobs, and thighs...some under my arms. I miss the social aspects of drinking and eating, and I am still trying to figure out my new personality. My wife has been fantastic support and has been instrumental in keeping my meals healthy. I would NOT have the success I have had without support at home, I am sure. I have no food intolerances so far, and the adjustments too my diet haven't been nearly as hard to stick to as I once worried. I'm now considering doing a half marathon in February, although that may be biting off more than I can chew. Sex drive has dramatically increased, although sometimes I last too long, and that can be frustrating for my wife. For years we've had perfect "timing" when it comes to sex, and we have had to adjust expectations, but it is definitely better, more active sex. I feel a bit more comfortable in my body, which is great, and I don't sweat anywhere near as much! I'm a different guy now than I was last year, and feeling mostly great about the journey. I hate to sound like a shill, but I wish I had done it ten years earlier. Getting healthy has been wonderful, but it doesn't solve all your problems. It's not a "quick fix." But it is wonderful to have one less thing to worry about, especially when that one thing was almost 140lbs!

Sleeved on 12/16/14. 348lbs. 5'11". Male. 44 years old. Doctor told me that a realistic expectation for me, if I did well, was loss of 60lbs after 6 months, and 110lbs after one year. I have SHATTERED that. Where I was told that 240 would likely be my final goal weight, I am down 121 lbs after 7 months, and only 3lbs away from my "dream" goal of 225lbs. Here's the deal: I will be at that weight in a week or so, but I look at my body now, and I still see a mess. I feel like if I lost 50 more pounds, I MIGHT be in a comfortable place, but I don't know. Am I struggling with dysmorphia? Something else? I should be THRILLED that I am so far ahead of schedule. Last week, I even "ran" (well, no walking) my first 10K (unthinkable even a year a go). What should I do, now that I know that my goal isn't my goal?

I was sleeved on 12/16/14, and as of my weigh-in today, I am down 90 pounds! As a restaurant owner, my biggest fear before the surgery was how the weight loss would affect my personality and image. While I am thrilled with the quick results, and I have been VERY able to handle the big changes in lifestyle, I must admit that unfortunately my "work joy" has lessened. I'm a restaurant owner, and been in the business my whole life. I love food, the food business, talking about food, etc. Since my eating is so restricted, and I don't get much joy from it any more, I have been feeling less and less enthusiastic about serving and selling food. It's such a disappointment. The trade-off is worth it, obviously, from a health standpoint, but every day at work I'm less enthusiastic about what used to make me so happy. I've been in the restaurant business since I was a kid. I don't know anything else, and I don't have any other skills. I don't know how I can keep doing this for the next 20-30 years with the kind of "food apathy" I seem to be developing. Has anyone else had a negative WORK reaction to the surgery? Anyone changed their career as a direct result of the surgery? I would love to know that I'm not alone! Bob B

I was sleeved on 12/16/14 at the Khalili Surgical Center in Los Angeles. Today, exactly five months to the day, I weighed myself and was thrilled to see that I have hit the "100 pound loss" mark, way ahead of schedule. Since the surgery, I have taken up light jogging (thanks, C25K app!), and COMPLETELY changed the way I eat and drink. Not a drop of alcohol since the surgery (I was an "every night" drinker), not a taste of sugar, and not a miligram of caffeine. Other than family and my wife, I haven't told anyone that I had the surgery. I'm sure people must be wondering, but the truth is that the weight loss has come from my complete 180 degree lifestyle change more than the surgery itself. But if I hadn't had the surgery, I certainly wouldn't be as motivated to succeed as I am. Hell, you can install an Olympic-sized swimming pool in your backyard, but you'll never get better without doing the laps! Anyhow, I know that this 5 month period is just the beginning, and I will have plenty of chances to fall off the horse, but I committed to making hay while the sun shines, and making sure that I got off on the right foot, maximizing the early weight loss in order to set up a long-term run. I'm so proud of how hard I have committed, and wanted to share my success with anyone on the fence about getting the sleeve surgery done.

I am two months post op (to the day) from my sleeve gastrectomy, down 54 pounds. Been using a CPAP for about 10 years. Changed my life, and maybe saved my marriage, but I also can't wait to get rid of it! How long after surgery were YOU able to stop using your CPAP? What did you notice about sleeping without it?

This post is damn near a copy of a post I made last November before my sleeve on Dec 12. That "identity" issue is a bitch. I own two restaurants, and food isn't only my life's love, it's my life's work. But my knees and back and gut, and everything else were screaming to me at all times, and I had to get where I was before I decided to take the plunge. Today (five month anniversary) I am down 96 pounds. I feel great. Smaller than I've been in 20 years (I'm 44). Jogging daily, and actually enjoying it. I'm not going to say that the identity part isn't tough-it is-but so far, it's been DAMNED worth it. I wish you a lot of luck.

Hot Damn! You are a BAD MAN! I'm looking forward to something similar in a month. Congrats.

I had my sleeve gastrectomy on Dec 12, and three days later went back and worked a full day, I felt so good. Speaking for myself, the pain was about a 2 on a scale of 1 to 10. My vasectomy was worse, and the recuperation from that was worse also. Pain just shouldn't be a factor in deciding whether or not you want the surgery. If you need it, you'll get it. But again, while not all experiences are the same, mine was very nearly a breeze.

I'm not interested in "leading the charge" or educating people about healthier living. I have loved the restaurant business my whole life, and now have little interest (unfortunately, since this has been my whole life, I don't really have any other interests, either). Smaller portions, healthier cookbooks, etc, all appeal to me as much as someone coming into my home to sell me on their religion, which is to say: it doesn't appeal to me at all. I'm hoping this will pass...again, I'm still only 4 months in, but I used to be excited to go into work every day, and now I'm not. Healthier, but not (so far) happier.

I was having that same "desert dry mouth" about two weeks ago, and it was so insane, it was waking me up three or four times a night. I went online to see how to adjust the CPAP pressure (I know, I know, that's for a doctor to do), and I brought my pressure down substantially. I slept like a baby after. When I start getting dry mouth again at the new pressure, I will likely start trying a night or two without it...but I'm a lot like you: I haven't taken even a NAP without my machine since I got it.

I waited tables for years and years. Always been big. One day, I was waiting on a table of four women in their 70's. A very pleasant brunch. At the end of the meal, I brought them dessert menus and asked if they'd like to take a look? One IMMEDIATELY said to me, "No, we don't want dessert. If we ate it, we'd end up looking like YOU." I almost told he to fuck off, but instead shook my head and walked away. Then I went into the kitchen where no one could see me, and kept myself from crying as best I could. The moral of the story: Some people are fucking assholes.

I wrote a very similar post (about food professional, "part of my identity," etc) back in the fall when I was researching. I own two restaurants, and while I'm not FAMOUS-famous, I am more famous than most chefs. I was worried about people not being able to identify with me, and, more importantly, feeling like I couldn't identify with myself if I had the surgery done. I am 2 months out, and down 58 pounds. The hardest part of any of it was deciding to do it despite my concerns about how my identity would change. I'm not the kind of guy who tries to sell his religion, but from my POV you and I have very similar stories, and WLS (sleeve) was absolutely the right thing for me to do.

Less than two months out from my sleeve gastrectomy surgery, and yesterday, at the gym I weighed myself and saw that not only have I lost 50 lbs, but I am below 300lbs for the first time in my adult life! The last few days have been the first times that people have started saying, "Hey man, you losing some weight?" or "Bob, you been working out?" It took 50 lbs for people to start noticing, but now the weight loss is finally making a difference. None of my clothes fit: I wore the tux from my wedding (8 years ago) to an event the other night, and it was FALLING off. I've bought some second-hand clothes to get me through the work weeks without spending a million bucks. I think the only real down sides so far have been (awful) constipation alternating with (not quite as awful, but still pretty bad) diarrhea, and also I seem to wake up at 5am every morning no matter what time I go to bed. But it seems like I'm headed down the right path. Please wish me continued good luck!

Unbelievable to be down more than a pound a day since my sleeve. A little tiny part of me is wondering if it's going too fast, but the other part of me knows that there will be stalls and plateaus in the future so I should make hay while the sun shines. Has anyone lost 100 pounds in less than 120 days? That seems like too much to hope for, but that's the track I'm on now. I think that my biggest downfalls with weight have been drive-through (quite frequently twice a day, along with regular meals) and drinking (a six-pack of beer, a bottle and a half of wine, or a few scotches every night), and without those, the weight is dropping faster than most seem to report. Please wish me continued good luck! Bobby

@@Duxx1 Starting weight and height are right under my name above! About 20lbs during liquid diet and 22 (now actually 24) since. Wishing you all the luck I've had so far and more!

I think you should do it as soon as you can, if you have already committed to having it done. Yes, I need to be tasting with customers. I planned my surgery over the Christmas holidays so that all of my sales were behind me, and we were just executing parties, but the truth is this: Mostly, no one gives a shit about what you are doing with your food. No one has said to me, "why aren't you eating more of your food?" If someone says something is too salty, say, "I'll make sure we ease up on the salt for your event." I know it's hard to imagine that you can do this (I posted a similar "anyone in the restaurant business" post and got no responses), but I'm telling you that you can. BB

Congrats on your easy vasectomy! Unlike my smooth Sleeve surgery (which was super-smooth), my vasectomy was rough. I was promised a 15-20 minute procedure, and it ended up being over an hour, and I was miserable the whole time. The post-surgery bruising was horrifying. The pain was bearable, but certainly not comfortable. 3 months out, I felt fine, and sex is better knowing we won't have another little one running around. Totally worth it, but not the breezy in-and-out procedure I'd hoped for.

I own two restaurants, have a successful catering company, AND do lots of personal appearances for food, cooking, restaurant consulting, etc. My BIGGEST worry was how I would be able to work at my places (with all the food I love the most!) and not pick, snack, or just be miserable. I had my surgery on Dec 16, 2014, and have lost 38 pounds. I worked a 12 hour day three days after my surgery. I was prepared to grit my teeth, lock my jaw, and just be terribly miserable, but the truth is, so far, it hasn't been an issue for me. There have been exactly two times where I have said to myself, "I wish I could eat that," but when I realized I couldn't, I forgot about it quickly. I also used to have a coffee cup in my hand, constantly refilled, drinking maybe two pots a day. I thought that would be awful, too, but now I just always have a Water bottle in my hand and it fulfills that habitual need. I'm off to a great start here, and I wish you the same. I've been in the restaurant business for 30 years (and overweight just as long), so I know what a big change this will be. But I'm thinking about you and sending you great vibes.

Friday I went in for my one month follow-up with the surgeon following my sleeve gastrectomy on Dec 16th. I'm down 35 pounds, blood pressure is great. Scars are there, but hardly anything too speak of. Other than the (sometimes TERRIBLE) constipation that I have experienced intermittently, my recovery has been fantastic. I'm feeling great, and not being tempted by the food around me. I've been to a few group support meetings, but none of them really "fit" me. I need to find one in Los Angeles with similarly aged men. The groups I visited were primarily women much older than me, and while the vibe was all positive, I could tell that their needs as "recoverers" were different than mine. Doc says all systems are go for me, and today I'm going to go to the gym for the first time in almost 2 years. Treadmill and light weights are all I can handle right now, but hoping to accelerate what has already been RAPID loss. While eating has always been an issue for me, my biggest fear about my new regimen was quitting drinking. For almost 20 years I have been an every day drinker. Not always a ton, but always something. And while I miss the ritual of drinking nightly, I haven't had any physical withdrawals or cravings for alcohol since I stopped drinking during surgery prep. I'm certain that the weight loss so far has been greatly improved by losing all those empty, nightly calories. Please wish me continued good luck, as I will for you on your journey.

Had my sleeve done last Tuesday, Dec 16, and today was the one week follow up. Down 15 pounds, with nearly no pain (except that one time I sneezed and I thought every muscle in my midsection was exploding!), and laproscopic wounds that look like five little cat scratches. I went back to work-full day's work- three days after the surgery. No heavy lifting, which is strange, but feel great...STARVING, but great. At my follow up today, my surgeon told me everything looked great. He said some people don't lose anything in the first week, because of the fluids from the IV. I told him that I must be a perfect case then, because not only have I started losing, I have near-to-no pain, nearly no scars, didn't take pain meds once I left the hospital, and went back to work three days later. I have had ONE weird thing that I didn't expect: insomnia...for the last week, even when going to sleep between 10-11pm, I can't fall asleep until nearly 3am. There's no way to tell if it is related, I guess, but the surgeon told me that this is sometimes a side effect of the deep anesthesia, and should wear off. I've been drinking Premium Protein shakes, and as of yesterday some pureed peas in chicken stock (4oz at a time). Drinking tons of Water. Anyhow, I know this is just the very beginning of a life-long change, but I must say that from pre-op to one week post-surgery, I feel like a million bucks. Wishing all of you all the luck I've had so far and more.

I did it! 48 hours removed from my Sleeve Gastrectomy surgery, and I honestly don't know how much more smoothly it could have gone. I had nerves up until they wheeled me in, but when I became conscious again, I was shocked at how good I felt. Sore, for sure, in the stomach, but certainly manageable. The scars from the laproscopic surgery (There were five of them) were so small they were covered each by little bits of surgical tape. When my chest hair grows back, the scars wouldn't even be visible if they never healed! I had two 60 second session of dry heaves, but no vomiting, no acid, no nothing. Started walking a couple hours after the surgery with NO problems (although the sore stomach made it a little slower getting up and down, the actual walking was no problem). I tried to just sleep and walk as much as I could the first day. Day two brought the gas pains, which actually were worse than any of the surgical pain. They came on hard and sharp, and lasted anywhere from 2-5 seconds. I understand this is normal, but thought that since my first day was so trouble-free that I might not have to deal with them. Unfortunately, this wasn't the case. The gas pains came and went during the night last night, but while uncomfortable, it certainly wasn't awful. Long story short: If I could guarantee my initial recovery story for anyone else getting the surgery, a LOT of people's worries would be put to rest. I know that this is a life-long game, and I just came out of the chute, but I can tell you that my procedure and initial recovery experience has been VERY positive. We'll see where it goes from here!

My surgery is in 3 days, and I am nervous as hell. I'm riding feelings like waves: one minute I feel like this is the best move I've ever made, and the next I wonder if my personality will diminish without food. I'm getting support from my wife, but she's nervous as hell, too, which does nothing to help! Tonight I'm meeting my mom and dad for my Last Supper. I don't want to go nuts, but this is a milestone, and I want to share it with people I love. But the nerves...the NERVES! I need someone who's not worried for me to give me some words of encouragement for the next week. Maybe that someone is you! You have a minute? I'm asking for a few folks to send me a little bump of good vibes. It would go a long way! Thanks, Bob

5:03am, and I just got up to go to surgery. It seems like the turnaround from "I think I need to do this" to "oh my god, today is the day" has been lightning quick. In less than three hours, my surgery will be underway. In less than 6 hours, it will be over. Nerves (and a grumbly stomach) woke me up at 3:30am, so jitters are there for me right up until the end, I guess. Anyhow, hopefully I will be able to update tomorrow with a tale of a smooth and successful surgery. Wish me luck!