Officially Not Fatty Matty

I was downing carbonated drinks very early on, I had no specific prohibition. Probably week four? I drink several cans of diet sodas a day, it’s how I get my water intake needs met. never had an issue with bubbles or cravings or weight gain or blood sugar levels etc. ymmv and your doctor may not approve…

Whoa this is a tough one…. Truthfully many (most? All?) of us have failed at every diet. We’ve all probably sat in bed falling asleep and promising ourselves that tomorrow will be the day I take this seriously. We’ve all failed over and over again otherwise we wouldn’t be here in this forum talking about having (or having had) surgery to help us achieve what we want but have yet been able to achieve. You’re not alone, you’re not even in the minority here. You’re all of us and we are all you. Some of us are just in different parts of the same journey. Since you know it would be disingenuous for us to tell you “yeah you’ll do great” I’ll spare you the line. We can’t know how you or any other one person will do on this path. We can tell you that for many many many of us it has worked when everything else failed. It can be life altering in the best of ways. The pre op diet sucks. It seriously sucked for me, I had all the same thoughts you did. But I got through it, I did cheat but recovered. Once the stomach was gone it got drastically easier for me. I was you. I had doubts, I thought I would be the rare exception and fail. I’m not far enough out to say regain can never happen…. But I’m saying it will never happen. I was you. And you will - statistically speaking - very likely end up being me. I know you’re not happy the way you are, or you would have failures in your past and you wouldn’t be here. So I ask… why not? The way I feel today? Despite the fears and doubts it was worth it, 100000 times over. I don’t cook either. Neither does my wife. My meals don’t look anything like the meals in the “food before and after” thread. Not one bit. I lived off cottage cheese and cucumbers and tomatoes until I moved back into meats. My lunches are a couple pieces of deli meat and some cheese and I’ll squirt some off brand Mayo in the middle and roll it up. Last week I bought a burrito from chipotle and ate most of it over four days (two meals a day). I still enjoy food, flavors haven’t changed, what I liked before I like today. I can eat anything I want, but I never want much at all. Shockingly so compared to the amount I used to eat. Some people have to be very careful and strict, some people are able to not be so careful. It depends on so many factors, but I will say for the first few months be super careful and stick to the plan. You’ll figure out your hang ups, you’ll know if being near food is a trigger, and you’ll know what risks you can take. And if you can’t figure it out, we are here for you to help. Therapy might be a great option for you as well. I didn’t need one for my plan, and I don’t really think it would have been helpful for me anyway, but that’s just me. Self reflect and don’t be afraid to say to yourself “I need someone professional to help me work through this.” If you need it. I wish you success, I hope you become like the new me, because I feel like I’m talking to the old me right now. You CAN do this.

If the bypass is what you want you’d be better off finding another surgeon instead of trying to force the issue. I know doctors are professionals but I wouldn’t get my car fixed by a mechanic who says “I don’t do many of those” let alone a surgical procedure. In my completely uneducated opinion that has zero value, your reasons for preferring bypass sound legitimate and worthy of pursuing further.

So a chipotle just opened up near me and I used to love their food (whatever… it’s a personal preference like favorite color) and thought “why not.” Eating off of it two meals a day I got to day four and still had some left. By that point the guac was looking a little scary so I chucked it. Just found it amazing that there was a time not too long ago where I could down that tortilla swaddled baby in one sitting and still have room for chips and a drink. It was less than 200 calories (when divided by 8) but it was really dense so I couldn’t eat much at each “meal.” Makes it pretty reasonable from a price/meal standpoint too. Like I said… the only point I have here is it’s shocking how much food I used to be able to eat… stay on your plan. My plan is “figure it out as I go along.”

This is purely a personal choice. My wife also had sleeve too and she grew up learning you finish what’s on your plate. I grew up with “eat what you want and if you can’t finish it that’s fine” and neither of those are wrong but it’s definitely carried over to our adult selves. She was not happy with the waste and I actually was (in one perspective, it’s clearly better not to simply waste food but I get a joy from seeing how little I can eat). I’ll have to remind her that portion sizes and packaged food isn’t made for us and it’s not our fault. If it bothers you and you think you’ll eat it later, save it . If not toss it or give it to someone else. Whichever brings you comfort is the right answer :)

Hope is a good thing. Maybe the best of things. One of my favorite movie quotes (perhaps it is a direct quote from the short story)… anyhow… the change in one year can be so drastic (in a good way) it’s not even possible to imagine. I’m about 14 months out and it’s simply unreal. I had a reason to review security footage of my shop yesterday and I freaked out when I saw someone I didn’t recognize… it was me. That moment of “who the hell is that” didn’t last long, but I kept watching me walk around and move and it was just amazing to think that a year ago I was morbidly obese, now I’m healthy, off all my meds (except restless leg stuff which isn’t related to weight), sleep well, can get down on the ground to look under my car if I drop something, play basketball with my kids, take my shirt off when I swim in public (like the shirt ever fooled anyone anyway). It’s life changing and amazing and yes I wished I did it sooner (I’m 46) but I’m still just thrilled I did it at all. How many winters did I say “I’m going to lose weight so I can enjoy the summer” only to fail… how many class reunions did I avoid because I didn’t want to be seen as “oh look how big he got…” how many moments did I lose with my kids because I was too tired… surgery isn’t for everyone, but if you’re unhappy with the size you are, DO SOMETHING… surgery for me was a joke it was so easy… I’m lucky and I understand that… but it could be you too. One year… seemed like an eternity one year ago, but now feels like it was just a day ago I started this journey. I will never allow myself to go back. Never. It’s ok to hope. This is different.

Ok ready to post my final before and after photos. Before is around 350lbs, 3 or 4xl shirt. My highest ever confirmed weight was 356 and this was very close to that date in 2014. The other is today, wearing a size medium shirt. Surgery was June 12, 2020, weight 334lbs, 6’4” BMI 40. I hit this weight (193) about 10 months post op and have been maintaining fairly evenly since (up a couple down a couple etc). For anyone on the fence about surgery, do your research but don’t let the scary stories you read here overwhelm you or give you a false sense of their frequency. Yes, bad things can and do happen in any endeavor. No one has a crystal ball, but the statistics of health issues from being obese and the statistics of coming through gastric surgery safely and enjoying positive results speak for themselves. I never dreamed I would feel this good again. I didn’t even think I was that fat…. Just a “big guy.” Looking back at old photos I’m mortified. Looking forward I’m so optimistic and full of life and joy. I feel like this is the “me” that has always been in there, hiding, hoping, waiting to come out. What “you” do you have inside longing to come out and face the world?

I “like” eating junk too. I have a party sized bag of peanut m&ms just sitting here. Over the course of a day I’ll probably have a handful. In the past I could mow through that whole bag in a day (yeah I know). My wife is concerned every time the scale drops a pound now and though I feel like I probably have another 15-20lbs I could lose she (and my mom uhg) are worried I’m too skinny (I’m not, 192 @ 6’4” is at the top of the healthy BMI range (BMI is garbage but I agree with it in this circumstance just by looking at me (I need to chill with parentheticals))) so they are keeping me fed… but you’re right, it’s very very empowering to look at a sleeve of Oreos and have two (gotta take off one cookie top each and smoosh two double stuffs together for a quad stuff…. I’m not Amish) and be happy with that.

The people who need a book like that won’t read it, and even if they did they’d find excuses or google until they get the one response from a like minded Neanderthal that confirms their bias.

One way to easily track that downward trend (if you insist on weighing daily) is to keep a second list… so list 1 is your daily weight… 231, 230, 229, 229.7, 230, 228, etc… the second list is take your weight seven days ago and subtract your weight today. This will show how much you lost in the last week, but still updated daily. It really highlights stalls and for me made it much easier to assess how I was really doing without focusing on those daily fluctuations. Here is what my two graphs looked like. The first is just the normal “my weight today” and the second looks back seven days and counts how many lbs I lost. The closer it gets to the top line (0) the bigger the stall… you can see when I do it this way I really didn’t have that many TRUE stalls, even when it felt like I wasn’t losing there was still some small weekly losses. It also shows the super fast loss at first and the gradual decline. It’s a very easy thing to set up in excel or google sheets if you’ve ever work with those.

Oh and to add… you’re likely in the infamous three week stall. It’s very typical, doesn’t always happen at exactly three weeks but most people experience it to one degree or another. You’re probably losing fat but your body is adjusting to the new food intake and is storing water again as your glycogen levels rise. Here is a great read on that topic: https://www.dsfacts.com/weight-loss-stall-plateau/

Water alone will make your weight fluctuate quite a bit. You should be drinking (at a minimum) four pounds of water a day so that could be the reason for the scale issue. If you’re going to weigh daily (personal choice on whether you can handle the ups and downs) I suggest doing it at the same time and under the same conditions each day. For instance I do weigh daily (always have even before surgery)…. I weigh naked in the morning after my coffee and after my poop/pee. My coffee alone is 0.75lbs so you can see that one small change in pattern will affect it. I only poop every few days (I give it the ol’ college try every day) and I can lose two pounds just from that. Basically what I’m saying is if you weigh daily you are going to have fluctuations that aren’t really related to how much weight you are honestly losing. Stick with the plan, trust the process, and be as consistent as possible with your weigh ins if doing it daily.

So funny you mention that. I’m going to see my favorite band in a couple weeks for three days and I’ve never been able to wear the official shirts, sometimes lot shirts were big enough but usually not. I’ve already bought a few online and am SOOO ready for these shows. Even fat I’d dance like an idiot (like seriously, think Elaine from Seinfeld meets Frankenstein’s monster)…, now I’ll just be the tall guy dancing like an idiot, not “awww look at that fat guy try.”

Early on I had really violent hiccups when full, now a year out I’ll sneeze or get a runny nose if I push it. But as I’ve learned my capacity over time those “oh no I ate too much” moments have become quite rare. You’ll figure it out but don’t worry, it is not an unusual full response.

Stats: Male, 6’4” (193cm for the more enlightened) 46 years old. All time known high weight 356lbs (161.5kg) (approx June 2013) Surgery weight 334lbs (151.5kg). Self pay, Dr Galileo Villarreal - Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, June 12, 2020 $4400 all in, VSG & hiatal hernia repair. Current weight 194lbs (88kg). This turned out to be way too long… sorry. The idea of having surgery wasn’t anything I ever really gave any thought to. I did the lifetime attempts at diet and exercise without success. The lowest weight I ever achieved was 285 when I hiked almost daily in the mountains surround Las Vegas. But like all my other attempts, things changed, I got tired of the same thing, and put it all back on plus some (yet again). Fast forward to 2020 and my wife looks at me and asks “have you ever thought about gastric surgery?” “Well, not really but I’ll look into it.” I don’t recall exactly how long I researched, I know it wasn’t long. One day, maybe two? I knew my insurance wouldn’t cover it at all, so self pay was my only option unless I wanted to wait and change to a different plan (I’m impatient so that wasn’t happening). Anyway I live near Houston so I started looking at the border towns in Mexico and came across the website for Dr Galileo Villarreal in Nuevo Laredo. I made a phone call to his assistant who handles US patients and had an appointment set for two weeks later (for the procedure, not just a consultation). The next few days I mostly looked at before and after photos and was really excited about the possibilities. I don’t worry about much in general(why worry about what I can’t control?) so I didn’t bother reading too many horror stories. I understood that people who have problems are far more likely to post, seeking guidance/solutions than people who cruise through easily. I did look up complication statistics and that alone completely eliminated any worries that may have existed. I watched several videos of the procedure (I was interested to see what’s going to happen to me) and that too brought me comfort, seeing how quick and relatively simple the procedure was. Traveling to Mexico also didn’t bother me in the slightest. The way I figure is a doctor either cares or doesn’t, it doesn’t matter which side of the border they happen to be on. The one obvious downside to surgery in another country is “what if something does go wrong?” But again realistically I knew that was unlikely and it’s not like I couldn’t walk into a hospital once back home to get care for anything I might have needed. I spent the next few days having tons of food funerals. I reveled in the experience and really went crazy with the Cinnamon Toast Crunch, smoked brisket, homemade carbonara pasta (I even found some real guanciale), more Cinnamon Toast Crunch… you get the idea.. My pre-op diet arrived via email. It was sparse and consisted of things like cream soup, protein drinks, electrolyte drinks etc. I had seven days of this before surgery. This was - by far - the worst part of the whole experience. Day one I was good. Day two I was pacing frantically. Day three I cheated and hated myself for it. Day four was a little better. Days 5 & 6 I had resigned to the lifestyle and at this point I was so giddy with excitement about the surgery I didn’t care anymore about the food as much. I was fortunate with my timing in regard to COVID. The border was still open and there were no issues about that, I was a little surprised that the Mexican Border Guards didn’t even care to see my passport or ask any questions. I was just waived through, barely given a glance. I arrived at the hospital a few minutes later to begin the pre op blood work and physical. This is where I had my first moment of “oh shit.” It was late in the day and apparently the normal nurse who handled the blood draw had already left. So this nice young man was assigned to get my blood. He takes me into a small room and I could tell he was really scared. We had an obvious language barrier but I kept pointing to a big thick vein in the crock of my elbow that you really can’t miss. I’ve had enough blood drawn in the past, no one has ever missed it first shot. He was literally shaking and sweating all over my arm. I kept pointing and saying “aqui” but he would get the needle close then pull it back and look around and sweat some more. It was a good ten minutes of this and I was starting (just starting?) to get a little worried. Again, I could tell he either never did this or rarely so I didn’t assume this was a sign of how it was all going to go (it didn’t, it all was fine after this). Eventually someone must have recognized there was an issue. Another nurse came in, looked at the obvious vein, and popped that needle in. I wouldn’t know if my blood work was ok until the next morning, so they drove us to the hotel (which was included in the price) and we went to bed. The next morning they picked us up and brought me back to the hospital. I checked in, got word that my blood work was fine and I forked over the cash for the procedure ($4000) plus a $400 deposit in case I had a hernia that needed to be repaired. The hospital was very nice. Beautifully decorated, polished marble walls and floors. As clean (to the naked eye of course) as any hospital I’ve been in. It was small, but appropriately sized for the area it served. It was not a dedicated Bariatric facility, just a typical public hospital. I actually enjoy the experience of being put under anesthesia and I wasn’t nervous at all so I declined the sedative and just went for it. The weirdest part was the staff asking me questions through google translate on their phones. Dr. Villarreal and his assistant spoke perfectly fluent English but the pre op staff had a lot of questions to ask. Even though they spoke some English and I spoke some Spanish, when it comes to translating medical related stuff it was definitely better using the app, it was just a little surreal. I was wheeled into the OR, greeted again by Dr. Villarreal who asked if I wanted any music played (I did) and I went under listening to some classic rock. I woke up in moderate pain, but nothing too bad. I was brought to my room where my wife was waiting for me. The first few hours I just relaxed in bed. Eventually I was given some ice chips to suck on and allowed to get up with assistance and go to the bathroom. Things were tender but I don’t recall being in a lot of pain. Walking was a slow shuffle and I was given permission to do laps around the hospital. I met a couple other people who had the same procedure the day prior and we nodded and smiled knowing we were on the same journey together. They were nice moments and I hope they’re doing well. Later in the day I did a barium swallow to ensure there were no leaks. It tasted like shit (sorry), and I got to watch it on the monitor. It was pretty interesting to see. Doctor visited me several times, and I asked if he had video or photos of my procedure, and he sent me some cool pics of my removed stomach and of my hernia and repair. I was given an antibiotic pill. I had read enough “no pills after surgery” posts here that this gave me concern. The pill was literally the biggest pill I have ever taken in my life. It was an inch long and thick. I pointed at my stomach and said “esta bien?” and she nodded and so I took it. It went down fine, didn’t hurt or anything. We stayed over that night which was more walking and ice and eventually electrolyte drinks and some jello. I was given a bag of pills, more of those giant antibiotics, anti nausea meds, and some non-opioid pain pills. They wheeled me out where my car was waiting for me and we started the drive home. The drive home the next day was about five hours total, we took our time. Getting into the US took an hour or so, but wasn’t an issue. One thing I took particular notice of on the ride home was just how many restaurants there are. I was obviously hyper focused on food and I was dumbstruck at the endless strip centers filled with high calorie options. Just endless. I’ll speed things up here…. The first week was fine, some pain in my left arm that scared me. Spoke to the doctor and he explained that gas left over in the abdomen can rest on the diaphragm which can translate into left arm pain. He advised the typical “walk it off” prescription and sure enough that fixed it. Food intake was slow but I didn’t care. This was much easier than the pre op diet even though it was essentially the same. Broths, Gatorade, protein shakes. By week two I was feeling great and ready for mushy foods. Cottage cheese was my friend. By week three I felt normal. I starting having a scrambled egg here and there and that’s when I began to feel the restrictions. The first meat I tried was around week three, I had some ground chicken with seasoned salt and it was pretty good and didn’t bother me. I visited my regular doctor a month or so in and he was happy with my weight loss. My back doctor was also happy and we both were hopeful it would fix my back issues (spoiler it didn’t completely). One year out I still have zero hunger. I had one spell in December where I thought it returned and it was disappointing and scary. It only lasted a few days and I don’t know what caused it. It really felt like the MORE I ate the hungrier I got and if not for physical restriction I would have eaten myself out of any other normal “diet.” Fortunately that’s gone and I’m back to no hunger, one year out. But im prepared and ready should it return. There are no significant stories or details for the rest of my journey. I’ve been very fortunate that I’ve had zero problems. No foods have bothered me, I did not get sick, my tastes didn’t change (my eating habits did but not due to bad foods no longer tasting good, Cinnamon Toast Crunch is still awesome but I just don’t eat it any more except a couple pieces here and there). My main drinks are coffee, diet Mountain Dew and Monster Zero Ultra (the white can). I’m not going to pretend that I’m a model citizen of this forum. There are plenty of things I eat and drink that I probably shouldn’t. I’m in maintenance mode now and still losing (very slowly) even though I’m eating garbage like peanut m&ms to try and up my calories without increasing capacity. I know there are better options but I like them and it’s working fine for me. I don’t take vitamins like I should but I just had my one year blood panel done and all my labs came back in the middle of the normal range so no worries on that front. Somehow my vitamin D is normal for the first time as an adult. Again, don’t look at me as a guide, but it is what it is and I think it’s important share what is working. I’ve included two screen shots of some graphs I used in a spreadsheet. The first is simply my weight loss over time. The second is a rolling weekly average using the past seven days. So each point on the graph looks back seven days, takes that weight, subtracts the current day’s weight. “I lost 2.4 lbs the past week” etc. This graph highlights stalls, and recovery from stalls etc. so you can see my weight loss was really fast at first. The big stall during the holidays where I didn’t gain or lose. For me this graph was more useful as sometimes I felt like I was stalled but the graph proved otherwise. Here is a breakdown of my loss at 30 day intervals. Don’t compare me to you or to anyone else. There are over 7 billion of us and we’re all unique. Day 30: 29.2lbs Day 60: 46.0 Day 90: 63.5 Day 120: 74.6 Day 150: 92.1 Day 180: 102 Day 210: 103 (holidays/long stall) Day 240: 113.6 Day 270: 120 Day 300: 129.5 Day 330: 135 Day 360: 138.8 Conclusion and final thoughts: For some of us this journey IS the easy way out, and I honest to God don’t care. Im happy and healthy and I’d do it again without hesitation. I want people on the fence about having the procedure to know that. It’s easy to get lost in the problems people post about. Those problems ARE REAL and do happen. But I really think there are a lot of us out there for whom this journey has been easy, you just don’t hear from us as often. People who are having a difficult time need advice or want a solution so it’s natural and helpful to post questions about those problems. But it does skew the impressions towards the negative. I wish I did this years ago. I don’t know why I never even thought of it. I guess it was one of those things I thought was reserved for medically necessary intervention. But you know what? I had a BMI over 40. It was medically necessary. I’m VERY lucky that at age 45 I was not on a downward spiral health wise, but it could have started any day. My wife’s dad was a “big guy” too, and was active and worked hard. Then one day, diabetes. Another day, bad knees. Another day a stroke. He had the sleeve AFTER these things and did lose weight but he can’t walk, can’t enjoy life, he’s miserable because he waited too long. Don’t wait. If you need to lose weight do it now. Figure out a way that works for you. Surgery is relatively safe, with far fewer complications than doing nothing and assuming you’ll just always be a healthy “big person.” But it’s not the only solution. Whatever it is that works for you, make it happen. I know I won’t live forever and I know I can regain and I know lots of bad things could be lined up in my future. But today I feel great. Today I’m happy. Today I look at myself and I see the me that I always knew existed. It’s the most wonderful feeling. I hope from the bottom of my heart everyone here will feel it too….. ….But I know not everyone will. My wife for example. Surgery has done nothing for her. 20lbs in a year. And she DOES follow the plan. For those of you in her situation who are probably cursing me and telling me to shut the f up, I get you. And I’m sorry. Don’t give up though. We’re all here for you; this forum is a great asset. We want you to succeed. Vent, cry, scream out, ask a million questions, we hear you. Just don’t give up.

Here’s a better before where I’m not making that weird “why are you taking my picture face”

For those looking for before and after pics

You’ll get there! Things were foggy for me too at the beginning. Sometimes I mis-remember details and I either have to look through my texts or what I wrote here to pull it back into my memory banks. But at six days yeah it’s very overwhelming thinking about what’s to come, and I don’t know about you but I (and others) had a moment of “what the hell did I just do to my body forever” panic but rational me took over and answered “fixed some lifelong and life threatening issues, Matthew.”

I had no problems at all with seasonings and like future skydiver (love the name I’ve always wanted to do it and now I’m not afraid of snapping the harness) said, it helped keep me on the mushies longer. For me, nothing felt any worse than pre op spicy wise, if I could handle it before it was the same after.

I admit I am having similar issues. My goal was reached and surpassed so fast, so early and so easily I have this mentality that “I’m good for life.” I hope I am and I’ve been maintaining well for a few months now. But to be honest I could be thinner. My wife and mom (seriously I’m 47 and still her baby) got worried I was too thin…. Damned if I do damned if I don’t scenario… so they’ve been conspiring (out of love and concern) to feed me more, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a voluntary participant in this game of theirs. But I know I need to be very careful. The “bonus m&ms” to keep calorie count high but food volume low can very very easily become a significant problem. I’m ready to sit down and reevaluate my food choices and make sure maintenance doesn’t turn into regain, because I know once it starts it’s so much harder to reverse the trend.

This is an outstanding post and will no doubt be helpful for many people (including myself). thank you for becoming one of the wise old timers by sticking around and sharing your experiences.

I just want to say I don’t normally make that face in the before but it was the only one I had that really (really) showed the girth is all it’s glory.

I was allowed (required actually) to take pills the day of my surgery continuing for ten days. Large antibiotic pills. There was no problem taking them and my regular bp meds, but as with a lot of advice on here…. “Ask your doctor.”

It depends on a lot of factors like starting weight/bmi but to answer your question… yes it definitely can be done. I lost 145lbs in ten months with the sleeve. My starting BMI was 40, now at 24.7

Many people fly to another country, have surgery and fly home typically two days later without issue. TSA does allow you to bring medically necessary drinks in “reasonable” quantities so just have a note from a doctor if you want to bring specific drinks and not rely on what’s available in the airport. You don’t NEED a note but it will help, but you DO need to tell tsa at the check point. Other than that at two weeks unless you have a problem beyond what’s considered normal healing you’ll be fine. Bring whatever comforts you think you’ll need, a travel pillow, blanket etc.