Officially Not Fatty Matty

So for the first time since probably middle school (30 years ago! (Omg that hurt)) I’m not technically obese per BMI charts! Broke below 240 this morning which puts me at 29. I have a friend who’s a pro body builder and he’s technically obese too without a lick of fat on him so I don’t really give much credit to those charts but I’ll take the little wins wherever I can!

Ok this isn’t something I ate so it doesn’t really apply but I just thought it was a funny picture. Me and one of my kids made these from crushed flaming hot Cheetos and mozzarella sticks. I hate those things (flaming hot Cheetos) but I had a little nibble and I gotta admit it wasn’t bad. Ranch and Frank’s Redhot on the side. Sorry if this triggers anyone it was just for fun.

I’m a little over four months out and I still get full on one egg. I was eating eggs at about 3.5 weeks, the first few I could only get maybe half an egg down or so. Just go slow and if you feel full, stop.

I initially told my kids (11 & 13) I was having another surgery to help my back get better (had two previous back surgeries) and they were going to remove some tissue that might be causing my pain. Eventually I told my oldest the whole truth, he was kind of impressed with the non-lie-lie and thinks it’s cool he’s one of the few people that know. I haven’t told the youngest yet because he’s oblivious to anything that’s not Fortnite related........ Edit: I showed him a pic of the part of my stomach they removed and he thought it was the coolest thing ever. 

You don’t have to be scared of any particular weight. When you’re at a weight you feel good about you can add things like breads and pasta or other high carb foods to stop the weight loss (and if you overdo it, regain)

I miss Nevada. I lived in Vegas for six years and while I hated the city I loved all the outdoors stuff outside of it. Hiked almost daily in red rock canyon (and lost a lot of weight). On of my favorite things to do was get old Topo maps to look for and explore the old abandoned mines in the desert. We were cautious (as cautious as one could be when doing that sort of thing), like having enough water and light for days and telling someone exactly where we were going and to call for help if we didn’t check in by a certain time... but it was crazy how deep some of them went into the mountains and the spider webs of tunnels, likely dug by hand. I really miss the desert and the mountains. Houston is just flat and sticky...

45yo 6’3” high all time weight 356 (several years ago) surgery weight (June 12, 2020) 334, today 243. I honestly didn’t realize how fat I was until I looked at the before pics just recently.. I knew I was overweight but I just felt like I was a big guy, now I’m honestly horrified at how I looked and it’s hard for me to look at the old me. I really thought that 240 would be a good weight for me but I now know I have at least 30lbs more to go. I don’t have a goal weight, I’ll know it when I hit it, but definitely more to go. Here is the pic that really messed with my head...

I’ve always preferred my water and Gatorade room temp, even more post op. At first water was painful but Gatorade zero was absolutely fine (as long as it was room temp). For the first week or so that was all I drank (excluding broths and protein shakes etc).

I’m four months post op and my tastes haven’t changed at all (as in what food tastes like). What has changed is my desire for the crap that put me in the operating room in the first place, hunger level, and of course my capacity.

I’m not in a legal state.... so someone I know has used cannabis (vape pen) for chronic back pain without issue and thankfully no desire for food since sleeve surgery

I had to take giant purple antibiotic pills in the hospital it went down fine. When I got home I tried breaking them in half and they got stuck in my throat and it wasn’t easy to gulp enough to get them down, after that I just took them whole and had no more problems.

It doesn’t bother me in the slightest. So many doctors have such different post op requirements. Mine only gave me a four week plan, after that I was on my own. When I first started drinking carbonated again I took it really slow at first, I shook out most of the carbonation. It didn’t bother me. I’m always hesitant to suggest doing things your doctor says no to, but when I did meet with a local nutritionist (I had surgery in Mexico so once your back home you really are on your own) she said that typically doctors give the safest advice possible to limit phone calls from patients and of course actual harmful situations that could lead to malpractice lawsuits. If I doctor had a patient who had a bad episode from say... carrots they may just add a blanket “no raw veggies” for six months, etc. it’s to protect them, and isn’t necessary for 99% of their patients but better safe than sorry. Once I heard that (and it does make sense) I just went for it with raw veggies, carbonation, etc. perhaps I’m an anomaly but nothing has bothered me. I still make good choices when it comes to food, and even though I know diet sodas aren’t the most wonderful of products it’s not hurting my weight loss which is my main focus right now... and they really do keep me full and satisfied all day.

Welcome and congratulations for making this choice, I’m confident you’re doing the right thing and I hope soon you’ll be saying “I wish I did this sooner I feel great!” My experience will be vastly different than yours as I did self pay in Mexico. My whole process was three weeks from phone call to surgery, and it would have been just a week if I didn’t have a schedule conflict. My insurance wouldn’t cover the process and to be honest it was so cheap to go to Mexico I probably would have done it anyhow to skip all the drawn out steps insurance typically requires. Some people most definitely benefit from all of that, so don’t assume I’m saying it’s not necessary for most people. The most difficult part for me was the preop diet. It just sucks (depending on what your Dr allows of course). The post op diet, even though it was basically the same as preop didn’t bother me though, the combination of being ready for the journey and stomach discomfort made it easy to not want solids. The surgery itself was pretty easy. I’ve been put under so many times I actually look forward to the experience so no anxiety at all. Recovery was a full day in the hospital they had me up and walking within a few hours. Five hour drive home (I didn’t drive) wasn’t that bad, I had no pain meds so it could have been better but I don’t remember being in much pain but I was very groggy. Day three I had really bad gas pain, particularly in my left shoulder and arm, walked around and it subsided. After that it’s been smooth sailing. I’m four months out, down 85lbs and have more energy than I’ve had in probably 25 years. I wish I did this years ago. Again, welcome and don’t worry about starting new threads for yourself. There are a lot of wonderful people here who are eager to help, it’s a great community.

I felt what I think was hunger the first two weeks or so. It was probably stomach pain from the surgery as the stomach contracted. Hard to tell for sure. Since then I haven’t been hungry at all (four months out).. occasionally I’ll get what I remember as hunger pangs but they last literally a few seconds and are gone.

I’m four months out and typically get around 400-500 a day I guess. I’m capable of eating more I just don’t want to yet. I’m losing fast and I don’t want to hop off this train just yet. I do a ensure cafe mocha shake for breakfast and lunch and for dinner I’ll have a couple slices of different cold cuts, a little cheese and some raw veggies, usually cucumber or bell peppers. I keep hydrated with diet mtn dew. It’s certainly not a model diet but it works for me, keeps me satisfied and my second round of blood work came back all perfectly normal.

Tek nailed it. I would just like to add one thing.. is there anything else you can turn to to make today a little easier to handle? Relying on comfort foods when things aren’t going well is a slippery slope... to give an analogy I once quit smoking for five years, cold turkey no issues or cravings.. but one day something really stressful happened and I bummed a smoke off someone to help calm myself.... a week later something a little less stressful happened and I had another, and another and suddenly my old unhealthy habit was back. For many of us (I’m not speaking for you specifically) turning to comfort foods on bad days is a dangerous thing, and if there’s something better we can turn to it’s a good idea to find it before the old habits that got us to where we are come back.

It sounds like 1 and 3 are the cause of 2, so surgery or not they’ll have to go or be significantly reduced. As far as just doing it yourself, statistically speaking it’s unlikely to be successful in the long term, but that’s statistics... where on that line you fall isn’t something anyone here can honestly answer. As far as answering #3 it’s hard to for me.. Ever since I was a kid I was a cereal junkie and I’d pour a crap ton of sugar on my corn flakes, like a layer of milk/sugar mud on the bottom. But I can’t say I was ever addicted to it, I just really liked it. Never had compulsions to eat it like I imagine a true addiction would be like. But, I haven’t had a touch of cereal in four months since my surgery. I think it’s more about me wanting to be successful though. Even though I’m never hungry and I have to remind myself to eat anything at all, I know this honeymoon phase won’t last forever so I’m really trying to always make good choices today so when that time comes I’ll be more prepared.

I’m four months post op, down 83lbs and the skin isn’t as loose as I thought. What is weird for me though is almost every day now I’m noticing something different about my body. I’ll get an itch somewhere and WHOA I HAVE RIBS or my bones in my shoulder feel weird. I lay on my side and my knees knock together differently... it’s all good, I’m enjoying all of these discoveries I got off the couch yesterday and it was suddenly...easy. I’m sure the skin will be more of an issue later but I don’t care. I’ll decide later if it’s something I need to address or not. The only thing I don’t really appreciate is my man-titties are the one part of me that seems to reaaallly not want to go away. :)

I went to Dr Galileo Villarreal in Nuevo Laredo and my wife went to Dr Alvarez in Piedras Negras, both a nice drive from Houston, TX. Mine was done in a local hospital and hers was done in a dedicated facility with hotel rooms and whatnot. Both of our surgeries went very well with no issues. I’m down 84lbs since June and feeling great.

Yup you’re right. I put mine as June 13 and it changed it to the 12th (my actual date). Thanks!

Mine is the same I accidentally put in a day early and when I change it it won’t persist. This is in app, haven’t tried to change it on the web version.

I know you’ve probably read this phrase here 1000 times from different people but I’ll say it one more time. I had the vsg four months ago and I’m amazed already how much better I feel, so “I wish I did this years ago.” For me, if I have to have another surgery in five years I honestly would consider it a small price to pay for what I’ve already gained in my life, let alone what is to come. It’s perfectly normal to be nervous at this point. That being said, whether or not your doctor will be mad at you should be at the bottom of your list of worries. S/he is a professional. Not to diminish the you, but you’re just a slot on a schedule not a partner on some lifetime project that’s walking away at the last minute. If you can’t go forward with the surgery that’s your decision and the feelings of the doctor are irrelevant. They experience cancellations all the time for various reasons and they’ll just skip you over and go on to the next one, you won’t be a second thought to them for more than half a day.

While I obviously don’t speak for everyone, I have had zero issues with carbonated drinks. My restriction is still the same four months out and I drink a LOT of carbonated drinks daily. I won’t say what I drink because that’ll start another discussion entirely but I will say they don’t make me crave sweets or anything like others mention, and they keep me feeling full. Ok it’s diet Mountain Dew. It’s always been my favorite drink and I’ll die on a hill extolling their virtues. ;)

Broke the 80lb mark today, almost at 250 (which opens up a whole new world of ladders I can safely climb!). I didn’t think I looked that different until I did this side by side, probably the first time since surgery I’ve really looked at pics of me “before.” Even though I’m not at my goal I’m just dumbfounded at the change to be honest. FYI I never once wore that shirt, it was a 3xl and assumed it would fit, so it’s been hanging sadly in my closet ever since. I tried on a size large regular shirt and it fit!!! Crazy, not even in high school could I have done that. I’m tall so I will still probably need to get some new clothes from a big and tall store but at least I’ll only be there for half of that. As every says, wish I did this years ago.

They can tell you this all day long and most people just go along with it because “doctors” but you’re not in prison, they cannot confine you against your will. Worst case scenario they ask you to sign a waiver, but they can’t even force that. If they feel you’re a danger to others driving they can call the police on you but again they cannot legally confine you (there are exceptions for psych evaluation of course but that’s not what we’re talking about here). I had to do it once... “am in in custody?” “No.” “Bye.”