MeanSleevedMachine

There are a lot of variables that play into pain. First is the skill of the surgeon, your current health which includes your current vitamin levels and things. Then there is the difficulty of the surgery. If you have enlarged organs that have to be lifted and moved out of the way with a lot of force or if you have hernias that have to be repaired while in there, all of those things will add to the pain. I had pretty bad pain the first 48 hours. I was still able to get up and walk and things. The next 48 were rough but tolerable. After that I didn’t even take pain meds. Not even Tylenol. Some people report zero pain ever although I have found those people rare. Most people describe roughly a week of pain. After that you will still have discomfort but it will be very situational. For instance if I twisted or lifted something in week three my stomach reminded me it was healing.

I am down 118 total since my surgery on May 10. I’ve had zero issues since surgery minus the inability to eat scrambled eggs and lunch meat. Both things make me vomit every time I try them. Outside of that, no issues. I have been working out with weights since mid June when I was cleared to start lifting. I’ve been walking 5+ miles a day for the last few months. I started with half a mile, then a mile and very quickly jumped to 5 miles. Once you get past the first six weeks of walking it becomes so easy. Something I never would have said presurgery where my weight on my joints made small walks a chore. Now instead of adding miles to my walks I add speed. I just walk faster because I don’t have time to walk for hours on end. This past week I added some hills to my walks by doing different more hilly routes.

You are going to have pain but it is brief. I felt absolutely miserable the first 48 hours and the next 48 hours I had pain but it was tolerable. After that it was clear sailing. We are all different but there is no way to get around the pain -- it's going to happen. That said, the joy of being healthy and how abso-freaking-lutely great you feel once you heal and lose the weight is heaven. So really, I'd make the trade again. Four days of agony for a lifetime of pure bliss.

My heaviest was 489. I was 477 the day of surgery on 5/10/2018. As of today, roughly 4 months later, I am 359. The weight has just melted off. However, I workout five days a week with weights and walk 7 days a week. Make sure you eat plenty of protein and get plenty of fluid. It will be like a blink of an eye and you'll wake up and be thinner.

Left was day of surgery (May 10, 2018) and the right was taken on August 2, 2018. Not quite 3 months. A total loss of 93 lbs.

13. They had 15. Ok, 17. Quit badgering. :)

Good luck! Once you get going with it, it becomes like second nature. There were a few times early on I had to make myself get up at 5 am and workout because I absolutely did not want to. You have to push through that.

Updated my side by side photo today. The left side was the day of surgery, May 10, 2018. The right side was today, August 3, 2018.

I’ve had some really offensive surgeons in my life. My mantra is when it comes to life or death situations, I would rather dislike you and you be really good at your job versus like you but you are bad at your job. Same with cops, firemen, etc... some professions and situations, I can tolerate someone that is generally as asshole but good at what they do. Surgeon tops that list.

Eggs if they are scrambled still make me nauseous. I can eat them fried or boiled. But if I eat them scrambled they tear me up. The only food that does that, too.

Well, I only told my wife and parents. My wife told her mom who literally told the world. So, I would have preferred to keep it close to the vest but my mother in law made sure everyone knew. Still rather annoyed by that because it never fails that I run across people that tell me I took the easy way out but I just avoid those people after that. It has certainly altered some relationships after people found out if they were overly judgmental and a surprising number of people are. And anyone who has had the sleeve knows it isn’t the easy way out. I have to watch and log every piece of food that goes into my mouth. My sleeve doesn’t get up at 5 am every morning and workout and it doesn’t walk 5 miles a day. My sleeve undoubtedly made it possible for me to make all of those changes and deserves a lot of credit for that. It doesn’t however get all the credit for my success. Or failure for that matter if I become a giant blimp again in five years. It is a tool. I don’t give a hammer all the credit for building a house and I don’t blame it if the house collapses a month later, either.

I have eaten oatmeal without issue. I get the non-instant oatmeal and instead of milk and sugar, I used a vanilla premier protein shake. I don’t eat oatmeal every day or even every week. But I do eat it from time to time. Especially if I feel really fatigued. The shot of high quality carbs peps me up.

Down 89 lbs total. Forgive the sunburn — went to a ballgame the other day with friends and forgot my sunscreen and hat. The picture on the left was taken two weeks prior to gastric sleeve on April 27. The picture on the right was taken today. I get this question a lot after I make posts; people fire away with personal messages. So I will answer it here. No, I have not had any issues with loose skin. I don’t know if I have any secrets to share. I will gladly tell you what I do. I eat 1300 calories, 120+ protein a day, I walk 5 miles or more a day and I weight lift 5 days a week. I also use skin so soft lotion all over my body each day after a shower. I make sure I drink plenty of water. As much as I can stand. I have zero sagging skin despite rapid weight loss. I don’t know what, if any of the above, produces those results. It could simply be age, gender or genetics for all I know. Also, we have six garages on our house so after I got really going on the weight lifting I converted one to an in-home gym complete with gym flooring and I’ve added every type of weight lifting machine to beside a leg press machine. I am also looking for a giant tire to roll around my property. This train has no brakes and I feel like a million bucks. If you are on the fence with this surgery, don’t be. Make sure you vet your surgeon and get a really good one but definitely do it!

I finally went below 400 this week. That was my first major goal. Next is 330, the weight I was at when I was probably in the best shape of my life when I played college football (6’6” 330). Then I want to tackle 250 after that as my ultimate goal. I was stalled for about 8 days at one point since I last posted and then this week I was dropping 1-2 lbs every single day until I just weighed in at 393. That is a total loss of 84 lbs thus far.

I’ve been following my plan to a “T.” Aside from two times. On my birthday I had a tiny piece of cake and one scoop of ice cream. My daughter handed me her half eaten single serving bag of goldfish crackers before bed and I finished them off.

Honestly, I was told by several doctors I needed to lose weight. The only one I ever listened to was my current one because he didn’t just say “lose weight” but actually helped. He set me up with a nutritionist, provided reasonable meal plans of stuff I could and would eat. Just telling someone to lose weight will likely get you a bad reaction. Lord knows I had my moments with doctors that said that — it’s like, gee, if someone had just told me to lose weight the 4,000 diets I have tried may have worked. My current doctor approached it as a — “you know, not many 400 lb men are walking around at 50 and 60 years old. If we could get you help would you want to lose weight?” Then he provided help. Eventually it led to me surgery. He built a lot of credibility with me by being willing to provide help and not just admonishment. It is easy to tell a far person to lose weight. It is much harder to help them lose it.

58 days since surgery. My total weight loss is up to 69 lbs. It really hits home when I see photos. The left was the day of my surgery (May 10) and I was 477. The right is today, I was 408 lbs. I am almost in the 300 lb club again!

I’ve lost 68 lbs since May 10. No complications. Although, better than the weight, in my opinion, is that right after surgery all of the inflammation in my back and joints disappeared. Like poof, totally gone. That has allowed me to walk an average of five miles a day and weight lift 5 days a week. Before my surgery I would try to get healthy but it hurt so bad to exercise because of all of that inflammation. So losing that, more than anything, was worth having the surgery. My wife says it has made me a brand new man as I work on the house and do things I’ve needed to do for years but avoided. I seriously feel like I am 25 again.

Meh. I don’t care really. If people compliment me I say thank you. If they don’t say anything I don’t pay attention. The world is full of ugliness and things to be upset or outraged about. If I receive a compliment it is hardly worth being upset about it. What does irk me is when I tell someone that asks that I had sleeve surgery and then they hint at it being the “easy way” to lose weight. While the sleeve does in fact jumpstart things it is me that gets up at 5 am and works out five days a week. It is me that take the stairs and walks five miles a day. It is me that logs everything I eat and avoid all junk foods. The sleeve deserves a lot of credit for getting me going. However, we all have a decision to make after the ball gets rolling and we can sit on our butt or get to work. It still takes every bit as much effort to get off your lazy ass after the surgery as it did before. Trust me, many a 5 ams I will wake up and wish I was still snoozing. Many nights after dinner I’d rather sit and watch TV than go for a walk. The sleeve does nothing for that. Only willpower and good decision making will. Now that burns me up and I generally get on my soapbox.

I was 6’7” and 489 lbs when I had surgery on May 10, 2018. Currently I am 416 at a little over a month out. I’ve had zero complications. I have followed the program to a “T” because I figured this was my last shot to live a long life. If this doesn’t work I will die a young man. So I eat about 1000-1200 calories a day. The main focus is 120g of protein or more. I wake up at 5 am every morning instead of 6:30 so I can workout. I do that five times a week. I walk 4.5 miles a day (started at half a mile three days after surgery and have progressively increased it.) I take the stairs at work (I’m on the 5th floor). Originally I started taking the elevator to the 4th floor and taking one flight and now I do them all. Little changes that have made a huge difference. I feel better than I have felt in over a decade. I have a long way to go but man, you’ll never regret this surgery if you have it. But it is like anything else. You’ll get out what you put in. Start small and go big on the exercise and watch your diet very carefully.

I am 6 weeks out and eat 1000-1200 calories a day. I eat 120 lbs of protein a day or more. I’ve lost 36 lbs. Daily rate loss of .92. I say we are all different. If you are losing then keep doing your thing.

That is 3/4 a pound a day. How is that bad? I’ve lost an average of .92 lbs a day and I am thrilled. I’d be happy at .75. Really, anything over .5 a day is excellent.