WeighInRadio

Thank you! It's not been an easy road. Mentally, I still struggle... same as everyone else.... But I feel 1,000X better than I ever have.

My names Don Moe, and I'm a recovering food addict. I've been addicted to sugar and carbs my entire life. Like most, I've dieted and exercised and had a lot of success over the years, but it never lasted and the weight always came back and then some. For me, bariatric surgery saved my life. It was have surgery or get ready to live life as a 500 lb male. It was a last ditch effort to save me. I was on a collision course with death, one bite at a time. Consuming well north of 4500 calories a day I ate whatever I wanted when I wanted. My life, like my weight, was completely out of control. My surgeon told me... "stay strict to the program and you will lose 170 lbs in the first year". At my 6 month check in I was 170 lbs down. By month 14 I was 250 lbs gone. It's been a wild roller coaster of a ride. the ups and downs have all been worth it. For me, my bariatric journey has NOT been one focused on weight loss. To me, weight loss was a by product of getting my eating disorder in check. I had the VSG in February of 2017. Since then it's been a mental journey on discovering who I was, but more importantly who I wanted to be. A lot of the old me died the day I had surgery. I don't even know who he was. A lot of him, the parts I loved, I kept, but for the most part I've completely re-invented who I wanted to be from the ground up. It caused me to make some VERY difficult decisions in my life, which included me ending an 18 year marriage, because it was what was best for me. It's not been easy. Early in my journey, I decided to be accepting of my choice to have surgery. For me, that meant being completely transparent and open and willing to discuss my journey with others. From the start it caused many people I met, to my utter shock, to tell me that I was an inspiration and huge motivator to them on their journey. This got me to thinking. If my story can motivate and inspire others, what could your story do for others on their journey? Last year I started a pod-cast called WeighInRadio. On any weight loss journey, the weigh in, is most often the most stressful part. Our guests join us on air monthly to "weigh in" on weight loss topics so you can determine what works for you. Our hope and goal is that you will take bits and pieces from each of our guests and episodes allowing you to custom tailor a weight loss plan that will work for you. The podcast supports people, not specific weight loss methods. It's not just for bariatric patients. From South beach to surgery, from Atkins to Keto to traditional diet and exercise we support and discuss anything and everything that could help you on your weight loss journey. Its a grass roots movement created by the people for the people and our growth has been amazing! If anything over my 40 years, I've learned one thing as it relates to weight loss. So here it is... There is no magic one size fits all solution to weight loss. Shocking right? You have to figure out what will work for you, and it will only work for you. Could it work for others? Sure..... but it most likely won't and that's OK! I'm a firm believer that we all contain within us the ability to impact someones life. It our choice if that impact will be a positive one or a negative one. My inbox is always open and I'm more than willing to help any of you in any way that I can. I'm couldn't happier to be joining the bariatricpal community. Message me anytime, and good luck on your own journey of discovery!

Brian, Thanks for your kind words. It's just my story... it's all I know, but it makes me happy that it resonates with others. I agree. As males in the bariatric community we are few and far between. I have actually spoke about the lack of male participation in a few of our current episodes. Drawing more awareness to men and encouraging them to see help with obesity is something I'm absolutely passionate about. As far as the podcast goes..., We can be found on all the major podcast platforms. iTunes, GooglePlayMusic, Stitcher, Spotify, etc... Just Search "Weigh In Radio" Or you can even listen via our website. www.weighinradio.com Feel free to email me direct as well. I'd love to chat. DonMoe@weighinradio.com

The first year post op is going to be a mental mind-screw. Your going to be VERY emotional post op. Your going to cry for no reason at all, and just be emotional in general. Hormones are stored in fat. When the fat is lost, hormones get displaced and need to be re-absorbed. This will cause you to be an emotional wreck. Stay in therapy, talk it out. Make no rash decisions in the first year post op. Make NO major life decisions that first year post op. No having babies, divorces, etc. You need to make sure you have a clear NON-EMOTIONAL head when these decisions are made. 80% of bariatric patients end up divorced post op. If your in the 20% that doesn't that's amazing. If your playing the odds, it will be SUPER easy for you to want to "step out" and find emotional or sexual support from someone other than who you are with. DON'T DO IT! Clear your head, think about your choices, and then make them with a clear mind. Relationship with your children, friends, co-workers... it will all change too.... and that's ok. Just know it will happen. Lots to come in that first 365 days..... strap in... its going to be a wild ride. Message anytime.

Follow instructions by your nutritionists and medical professionals right out of the gate. You can slowly start to venture into new stages with new food items. If you can't tolerate, then back off and go back to the prior stage. At some point you have to work into the later stages, but if your body won't tolerate it, it just wont tolerate it. Your not a failure if you try hamburger and it just doesn't work. Remind yourself constantly that this is just a phase. Its temporary. Baby steps. go slow. Here is to better happier days! Hang in there.

Sleever's don't have the pouch like our gastric bypass friends do. Most of these online reset programs or "reboots" attempt to shrink up the pouch, and from what research I've done most of them don't work. Once you have stretched it.. its stretched. The good news is, its difficult to stretch. The fact that you can eat way more 2 years out is normal. Has little to do with you having stretched out your stomach and more to do with you just returning to your ability to eat a normal meal. Post op I was eating like 500 - 800 calories a day for the first 8 months. that's normal for bariatric patients, but its not normal AT ALL. Your body can maintain that for a short while, but at some point we have to get back to normal sized portions and at or about the 2,000 calories a day target. That said... a reboot isn't a bad thing. But I see it as a mental journey, not a physical one. Do things that will remind you of why you started down this path to begin with. Start with the pre-op liquid diet for 10 days. Remind yourself of the HELL you drug yourself through years ago to have the surgery to being with. Perhaps look at some old journals, or FB posts and goals you had set for yourself then. Have you achieved them? If not... why not? Its all about fighting for you. Gotta get back into that game mentally and start making better eating choices. Smaller portions of acceptable well rounded meals and you should get back on track. Long term success is nothing more than short term success repeated daily. One day at a time. From here on out, its a mental kick in the pants. Its the mental reboot your struggling to get a grasp on which is causing more carbs to sneak back in and perhaps some weight to come back. Know its all totally normal, and totally correctable. You know what you need to do. Now just do it.

Atkins has some AMAZING bars. Y ou can find them at most supermarkets. Meijers / Walmart... They are usually in the pharmacy however and not with the food. Pure Protein: has a great chocolate salted caramel bar. OMG! Walgreen's also carries a good brand of bar called ThinkThin. I love the brownie and the lemon bar. The Robert Irvine Power Crunch bars are great, but I would NOT recommend them for someone that's still in the first year post op. Once you get into post 1 yr or 2yrs... then ok... They tend to be a tad more carb heavy than some of the other bars. Just make sure you read the nutrition label on any of the bars and make a good choice for yourself based on what stage in the process you are at.

Obesity is NOT about people being lazy... It's a disease. A medical condition that millions of people seek no treatment for yearly. I believe this so much that I blogged about it last week. Obesity is Not Your Fault: http://weighinradio.com/blog-post/obesity-is-not-your-fault/ But that doesn't mean obesity isn't your responsibility! Take care of yourself people. There is nothing weak about asking for help. It's probably one of the most courageous things you will ever do in your life.

Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed it. I appreciate you taking the time to listen, and to provide me with some feedback. 💚

I know right? Give us a listen and let me know what you think. We are always looking for new folks to come on air to share their stories. If you'd ever consider it, let me know. I would be honored to help you tell your story with the world. We can be found on all the major podcast platforms. iTunes, GooglePlayMusic, Stitcher, Spotify, etc... Or even our website. www.weighinradio.com

At my heaviest I was 5'8" and 465 lbs. At 39 I was told my excess weight was 170 lbs and that if I was determined and I could stick with it I would lose that 170 lbs in 12 months. I lost that 170 lbs BEFORE my 6 mo checkup. Because of schedule conflicts I didn't have my 1 year followup until about month 14. At 14 months I was down 250 lbs. I have since re-gained, but that's OK. This process saved my life and changed my life in ways I could have never anticipated. It was NOT a weigh loss journey for me, but rather a journey of self discovery. I've spent the last 2 years learning who I was, but more importantly who I wanted to be. We all can be anyone we want to be. You just have to be willing to make the necessary changes to make that happen. It's NOT about willpower or determination, but a combination of the two. Long term success is NOTHING MORE than short term success repeated over and over again.