goblue9280

Well, it has now been 1 year since my gastric bypass surgery. Looking back, the year really flew by. There were ups and downs along the way, but I wouldn't change a thing about it... well, my only regret is not getting the surgery done sooner. I have stuck to my diet, which is primarily vegan/vegetarian, for the entire year. I don't crave junk food and really feel like I've hit a groove and can keep this up for life. It's no longer a diet... it's simply the way I eat now. A year ago I thought a lot about my own funeral... I was convinced I'd die by the time I hit 50. Not healthy thoughts for a 35 year old with 4 kids. I pictured my parents, brothers, kids and wife being at my funeral. I told my wife I wanted her to promise to cremate me as I couldn't bear the thought of all the people it would take to carry my coffin. Happily, those thoughts are a distant memory. The stats to date... my "high" weight (I know I was higher) was 425lbs. On the day of surgery (October 1st) I was down to 404lbs. October 1st, 2016 I clocked in at 217lbs, so 208lbs down. I've gone from 56 waist pants and 5/6XL shirts to a 34 waist pant and size large shirts. I do have the much talked about loose skin around my midsection and inner thighs... but it's actually much better than I anticipated after viewing pics online before surgery. I figure I'll start looking at plastics in 6-months to a year... but honestly, I'm not that worried about... loose skin beats being over 400 pounds. Things I've done in the past year: Traveled on an airplane a few times with no worries about being forced to buy an extra seat or seat belt extenders... no worries about infringing on the space of the passenger next to me. Started playing ice hockey again in a beer league after a 14+ year hiatus. Took the family to Universal Orlando and rode every ride. Trained for and completed the couch to 5k program. The last bullet was a big goal of mine. I've always hated running, but I wanted to do something big for my first surgiversary, so with the help of my cross-country running 14-year old daughter, I began the couch to 5k program 10 weeks ago. There was a local 5k that just happened to be held on October 1st... the exact date of my first surgiversary. So I was able to run it this past weekend with my 14-year old daughter and 12-year old son. I really wanted to do it in under 30 minutes... which I just missed with a time of 30:34. My daughter finished first in the under-19 female with a time of 25:45 (4th woman overall) and my son (who didn't train and has never run anything beyond a mile) finished 1st for under 19 men and 4th overall with a time of 21:44. Bottom line, I feel like I've been given a 2nd life to live thanks to this surgery. I couldn't be more happy with the decision. Big thanks to my family, my surgeon (Dr. Garth Davis in Houston, TX) and to all of the great posters here on BariatricPal... I wouldn't be here today without the support and kindness all of you have shown through this journey... while I may not post as much as others, I read this forum daily.

Exactly. I'll tell you, right now at a year out the scale is weird... my weight will fluctuate all over the place during the week, yet is still on a slight downward trajectory. So if you look at the past 8 weeks, I've averaged 1-2 lbs lost per week, but some days I'll step on the scale and be up 2 lbs from the day before. Anyhow, all my rambling is getting at is don't put much stock into the scale... step on it whenever and just learn to take it with a grain of salt. Buying smaller clothes... having more energy... those are the changes to Celebrate.

lol, I remember reading that I believe... didn't it make national news? I knew my kids would beat me, so had no issue with it. I was happy to finish it strong and run for the entire duration... those were my two main goals. On the positive side, with it being my first 5k, I set a personal record!

So for me, doing the pre-diet binge was helpful in clearing a mental hurdle and sort of preparing myself for the process...but again, not a real healthy thing to do. Still...upon weigh-in before surgery, I had lost 35 pounds from my high, a month earlier. So it didn't do THAT much damage This +1... found the binge/food funeral to cold turkey 2 week liquid diet was a huge mental boost going into the surgery. 2 weeks of all liquids is one of the hardest things to do, but it is such an important mental step. Here's me the other day (Oct 1st) on my first surgiversary... from over 400lbs to around 215lbs. Even if I don't lose another lbs, I'm already a good 30 lbs lighter than when I graduated high school 18 years ago.

woah, woah, woah! https://youtu.be/6PH9uCs0als?list=PL0-vHNvFgrf63W5K_RjuecE_Uy9AF_21e

@@pammcat, @@aquarius1234, @@Nursenia, @@SlimBra, @@katie09/21/2016, @@jvleeuw, @@kitkattulsa Thank you guys so much for the kind words! It really means a lot!

Much appreciated! Keep at it, everything will eventually become 2nd nature and the time will start to fly by!

Yes, there is... but it's not nearly as bad as I was anticipating. My arms aren't too bad... if I do more strength training and build up the biceps/triceps I think they'll look just fine. I will probably look into a lower body lift for my midsection to tighten all of that up... also have some wrinkled/sagging skin on my inner thighs that I would like removed. But like I said, I'm just happy to be healthy right now and am comfortable in my own skin, pun intended.

5k complete. Beautiful weather, and had a blast. I did much better than expected and ran it in 30:30 (mile splits were 9:42, 9:42, 10:13, so really close to sub 30). My 14-year old daughter finished first in the under 19 group with a time of 25:44. My 12 year old son (no training and never ran anything) finished 4th overall and 1st in the under 19 male group with a time of 21:44... so sub 7 min pace the little sh!?, lol. A figure a few more 5k's under my belt and I'll be ready to start working towards the 10K. Btw, today is my first surgiversary... reason I picked this 5k.

Thanks for the tips, ladies and guys! I guess I'm ready, ran pretty much a 5k tonight (3.06 miles according to Nike app.) my splits were interesting: 1st mile in 10:53, 2nd in 10:47, 3rd in 10:09. I really pushed myself over the last mile to simulate how I think I'll likely run on Saturday... steady pace to start and pick it up over the final mile. Ready for Saturday... I'll make sure to let you all know how we did. Maybe in a year or two we could have a team of BariatricPal runners meet up and run the Boston Marathon... something to shoot for!

Agreed, I'm just hopeful to one day have the confidence to go without a swim shirt at the beach/pool... maybe if I get around to plastics a year from now. Another running question for you guys, do you find you run at a faster pace during the event than you did while training? I'm thinking with the added adrenaline of running with others, I might run a bit faster than usual... worried I'll burn myself out over the first half of the run.

Well, just a few days away. Have not been able to run much the past 2 weeks (too much home drama.) Finished the C25K program tonight 5 minute warmup walk... then jogged 33 mins at right around an 11 min mile pace... so I'm right there for Saturday. I had wanted to get to a sub 30 for my first 5k but I'm just going to enjoy it and shoot for sub 33 minute. I'll probably do another run Thursday night and then rest until Saturday morning.

What do you guys eat the night before and morning of a 5k? How much do you drink in the morning? Just trying to plan things out.

I don't talk about it outside of close friends and family. People ask all the time how I did it... I tell them eat less, move more (with eating being the primary focus.) I didn't tell people at work, though I'm sure they figured it out since it all corresponded to me being out for surgery for a week. I know I could be a great advocate for surgery, but I simply don't have the time... too many people that I don't feel like dealing with have a negative opinion of the surgery so that's why I decided to go the route I did with not bringing it up. I'm not embarrassed about it, though... I have shared my struggles with others that are of the size that bariatric surgery should probably be something to consider.

Absolutely. Everything seemed to happen so quick once I started making the appointments... NUT class, stress test, upper GI, 2 week pre-op diet... next thing I knew, it was the morning of surgery and I was terrified. Never had major surgery before or been under other than wisdom teeth. Only complication I was truly afraid of was waking up in the middle of surgery. Two things I'll never forget... being wheeled down to the operating room, and being laid out on the table. Next thing I remember was waking up in recovery. Since then it has been a whirlwind of a year. Once the recovery period ends and you start eating normal foods again, you'll be shocked at how quickly your quality of life improves. The weight really does melt away... you sleep better, you have more energy, you have better sex, even your mental health will likely improve from all of the physical improvements. My biggest regret is I dragged my feet for a year knowing I would eventually have this surgery. I wouldn't waste 2-3 months of time delaying it... get it done and start living your new life!

Well, finished up week 7 last Thursday, but have not run since. Major drama on the home front has made it very difficult. Was out of the house for a week... just went back last night. Trying to work through all of that with the wife. On the positive side, signed myself up (and my two older children) for my first 5k set for October 1st (my first surgiversary.) Planning to run week 8 tomorrow, Friday and Sunday... then have two weeks to ease into the 5k.

Week 6 done... was suppose to finish week 6 last week but only got in 1 run due to all the thunderstorms last week in Houston. So I restarted week 6 this week. Just ran 2 straight miles for the first time in my life. Did the fastest mile thus far (10:12) and was really pushing it to get past 2 miles in the 22 minute allotment. Ended up covering 2.75 miles in the 32 minute workout (includes 5 min walking warmup and cool down). I'm absolutely spent... but in a good way! 2 weeks to go and 1 month until the 5k.

Nope, I always feel sorry for any guy not receiving "pop rocks" on a regular basis! Don't fret though, I also feel bad for any lady whose guy is unwilling to reciprocate.

@@goplay94123 yes, it's an amazing feeling every week! This really was the first day though where I can now see myself running a full 5k. I've also noticed my stamina has increased incredibly during hockey... still haven't seen any speed increases (need strength training and sprints for that) but it's nice to not be dead in the 3rd period. My stamina has also improved dramatically in uhhhh other areas. I love the medal idea... I think I'm going to get myself something special to mark the accomplishment as well.

As a guy, pop rocks in that area doesn't sound like a good idea... too sharp. Sounds like he REALLY is wanting to cash in... no harm in skipping the pop rocks!

Started eating salads without discomfort at about 3 months out. Per surgeons orders made sure to chew very well. I love greens from a visual standpoint because what looks like a large volume on your plate ends up taken up a small volume in your pouch. 10+ months out and I generally have a salad every day for one meal. I like to add beans or half a veggie burger to my salad greens for extra protein and usually some sliced almonds, grape tomatoes and a drizzle of olive oil vinaigrette. Also, some fresh ground pepper and salt!