Vikingsfan8178

This is what I assumed and this is what I believe the most likely scenario would be. It was just an idea but figured it would be a poor idea.

I'd be able to take it pretty easy on the vacation.

Keep us posted. I was initially interested in the band but started leaning towards the sleeve. now there is a piece of me that wonders if the band is a better fit.

That is pretty much what I told my surgeon the other day and he 100% agreed. He said there was no big rush (based on my age and current health). He said "Get your ass out there and see what you can do on your own and if you figure out that you need another tool, I am here to help." I was hoping to hear that from him because that told me he wasn't just in it to make $$$ off another surgery. But, he knows the statistics and so do I. GIve yourself a set time period to lose the weight AND keep it off, and go from there. I am going to use my insurance mandated 3 months of physican supervised weight loss to see if I can maintain a lifestyle that I would need to maintain without WLS.

Just so you know, I have not even met with my WL Doc yet. We meet tomorrow and I am excited to meet him. I am 36 and have honestly been fighting with my weight for as long as I can remember. My earliest memories of feeling overweight were in 3rd grade. For a long time, due to my participation in weight lifting and athletics, I could maintain a somewhat healthy weight even though my body fat % has always been higher than I wanted. Fast forward to being married with 2 kids, 36 years old with a desk job. I am at my heaviest weight ever and I have been "meaning to get it together and lose some weight" for the past 5 years (at least). There is a part of me that would much rather try to lose this weight without such a life changing event like surgery. With that said, why haven't I? If I am honest with myself, I have gotten to the point where I don't think I will beat this without a tool like weight loss surgery. I don't want to be in this position, but it is what it is. Did anyone else struggle with these feelings?

First let me say that I absolutely agree with your decision to back out at the last minute. If you are not mentally ready then you should not do this. I will respectfully disagree with your comment about having zero health issues related to being overweight and here is what I mean by that. Being obese in itself, is a health issue. Statistically, obese people don't live as long and the years they do have often have more medical problems. Then, there is a always the psychological side of "health" and how it relates to obesity. I only mention all of this because I do not get the feeling that you are completely off of the WLS surgery journey and that you will be considering this as you move forward. Just adding another perspective to the idea of "health issues." But again, I completely agree with you not doing the surgery at the moment and I really wish you the best of luck. Personally, I am still debating on what to do, and I keep going back and forth.

Do not be ashamed. You made a damn tough decision. Not too many people would have been strong enough to have sat there and then decide to not go through with it. The bottom line is that if you were not ready, then you made the right call. Do not be so hard on yourself. You are still left with a decision you can change if needed. Otherwise, you would have had the surgery and not been able to reverse course.

nicely stated. you put into words exactly what I have felt over the past few months

For anyone interested in calorie expenditure, here is basic site that helps a little. I did some quick numbers: 30 minutes walking on a Treadmill at 3mph = 275 calories (at my body weight) 30 minutes of Normal Weight Training = 323 calories (at my body weight) Sitting, doing office work = 100 calories http://www.exrx.net/Calculators/Calories.html The basic idea is how much muscle are you moving when exercising. Dynamic exercise that engages more muscle is going to require more oxygen and burn more calories. The main thing for any of us is to MOVE. Get those muscles moving.

@@Stevehud If your doc advises against it for 6 to 8 months, you should certainly follow those orders. I do not think anyone is advocating that you should go against doctor's orders and if they are, they have no business to do so. I think the reason people freaked out was in the "tone" of your initial response. I respect your desire to have a more "Bruce Lee" type of body. Nothing wrong with that. I would take that over my current body shape! My professional opinion though, for what it is worth, is that for anyone looking to get lean, resistance training (when medically cleared) is a fantastic and highly recommended addition to your fitness routine. It will help to build lean muscle mass, reduce fat mass, and help to increase your resting metabolism.

amazing job!

excellent. If go this route, I would also like to get back into a competition. Just curious, at what weight were you and what are you at know?

clicked on the wrong thread lol...honeybun!

Thanks for all of the responses. I met with the nutrition person and the surgeon this morning. Everything went very well and I was very impressed with the surgeon. Now I just have to make up my mind or better yet, convince myself, whether or not I need a WLS for me to lose the weight and keep it off long term. Can I get there with cutting calories, exercising, and sheer will-power? If I were a betting man, I would say no and I usually never bet against myself. On the other hand, do I really want to have 80% of my stomach removed?

best of luck

thanks for the blog link. It was a good read during my lunch break today. Best wishes to you for continued success.

Hi all, I guess I am at the beginning of this whole journey. My initial thought was to go with the Lap Band procedure. I guess I just considered it "safer" and "reversible (if a medical need came up and it had to come out." Additionally, my father had this procedure done at age 60 and lost about 100 pounds with very few complications, if any. After meeting with the staff psychologist ( I meet with the surgeon on Wednesday), she advised me to read up on the Sleeve. I have to admit, after careful reading, I do like the fact that the procedure seems to have a similar surgical risk profile and I like the idea that I will not have an implantable device in me. Besides some of the issues like a staple line leak, I guess the biggest thing that freaks me out is that they would be removing 80% of your stomach. That just sounds extreme if you say that out loud doesn't it? What are the ramifications of only having 15 to 20% of your stomach remaining, especially if you are 36 and hope to be around for 30 to 40 more years? '

When I was in college, I went from 257 to 185 in about 8 months. I did this to compete in a Natural (drug free) body building competition. I know how hard that was (losing through extreme dieting and exercise) and to think now I would have to lose that plus another 50 pounds. With my schedule (wife, kids, work) and the fact that I am 15 years older than I was back then, I just don't know that I could do it. And even if I did, I don't think I could keep it off. I think I could lose 30 pounds on my own. Maybe 40. But that doesn't get me to where I need to be. I am a confident person and I have always believed in myself. With that said, I understand the reality of the situation and I have been "wanting" to lose this weight for far too long and I think if I could have done it on my own, then I would have already done it.

thank you -- i will be checking out your blog during my lunch break today.

i am good with that as well!

Another way to think about this is the following example: Would you rather weight 150 pounds at 20% body fat or 150 pounds at 12% body fat? Both scenarios are at a body weight of 150lbs but the person with the lower body fat is going to be healthier and have a leaner physique

Exactly Right.

Here is another great caveat to weight lifting. Beginners are able to add lean muscle mass fairly quickly compared to those of us who have been weight training for years. Stick with some very basic lifts (compound movements, look them up if you do not know what I am talking about or PM me) and you will see results.

I am new to the board and not looking to stir the pot, but with my background (BS and MS in Physiology), I feel compelled to comment on what I have read about weightlifting just to make sure there is not a ton of misinformation. For one, muscle does not weigh more than fat. That is absurd. One pound of muscle weighs the same as one pound of fat. With that said, muscle IS more dense than fat. In other words, you could stuff 10 pounds of muscle into a much smaller box than you could 10 pounds of fat. Another great thing about adding LEAN muscle mass an increase of lean muscle will increase your basal metobolic rate. In other words, an individual with more muscle mass will typicaly burn more calories at rest compared to the person with less lean body mass. When the gentleman above is talking about bulking up, I am sure he means that he wants to gain some lean muscle and that is a great goal to have and I do not think any medical professional would have a problem with this. The trick is to "bulk up" and still maintain your lower body fat percentage. If you are adding fat pounds along with your lean muscle mass, then that can be counter-productive to our overall goal getting healthy. So, please, if your physician approves of you adding resistance training to your exercise program, by all means you should do so. I would use this as another tool in your "toolbox" but also keep performing your aerobic exericse as well (walking, running, etc.).

One of the first things I said to my primary care physician when he suggested that I look into WLS was "I am unsure of the long term effects." His response hit home with me: "It is true that we do not have long term data for some of these procedures but we do have long term data on the consequences of being obese, having family history of early heart disease, high cholesterol, etc. and the results are not ideal." Talk about hitting home, his statement made perfect sense. Also, after 15 years of "planning to lose weight," I am pretty sure that I will never get to an ideal weight without a tool to help me. At this point, I am pretty sure that I will either go for the Band or the VSG. I am just struggling trying to determine which is the best for me at this point in my life.