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Who knew 3 years ago that on September 24, 2023, I’d be crossing the finish line after 12 hours, 33 minutes and 38 seconds of hard work in the Chattanooga Ironman! Since February 5, 2021 I have stayed focused, followed the plan, and worked hard to lose a 160lbs. And those decisions are got me here! I share this not to brag or seek attention, but to show others who have questions or doubts of what is possible! If you have or are considering proceeding with bariatric surgery, go into it with the decision and desire to live life differently moving forward! The old way doesn’t work for us wired the way we are! You have to want to do better and be better for this to work! The surgery is a tool for change! It’s going to be difficult, you’re going to face temptation, you’re going to tip toe back in the old life… but discipline, consistency and effort is the way forward! You deserve it! But you also deserve to give your self grace when mistakes are made along the way! But know that one poor choice doesn’t define your path forward, it’s just about trying to make a better decision the next time. Ok, off my soapbox… Good luck everyone and keep fighting the good fight!

Lily2024 first, congrats on making a positive life changing decision. My advice to you is if you go into your RNY with the strongest foundation possible then that is the best case as you have weeks of lower calories and activity. That said, there can be arguments made to which is better: weights vs cardio? I think a balanced approach between the 2 is always prudent. At the end of the day, the best workout plan is the one you stick to! So most importantly stick with what you enjoy so you are motivated to stay committed to the plan and pick back up when your recovery plan allows. Hope that makes sense. Generally I work out 5-6 days a week which involves mix of weights and cardio. Training for the Ironman, I spent most time focusing on the 3 disciplines: swim, bike and run. In hindsight, I wish I would have made strength training more of.a priority in that process to help with foundational strength and recovery. But I chalk that up to lessons learned! Learn2cook: thank you and yes I have plenty of pictures of my progress. Journaling is an area of which I need to improve but I have started jotting down some notes.  As for other goals, yes! My current goal is to get back to normal or whatever my new normal is. It’s funny how life hands you tests along the way. On 10./29, I suffered from an Ischemic stroke where clots hit 2 parts of my brain. Turns out I have a hole in my heart that’s a birth defect. I have my issues but it could’ve been much worse. A blessing was going into the stroke being in such good health. Had I still been obese, I may not be here today. So now I need to channel my Ironman attitude into putting in the work towards my recovery. So my fitness journey isn’t over but surely has taken a Detour. But attitude and effort are the only things I can control so I will do what it takes. Good luck in your journey!

Thank you everyone! The coolest part about the whole experience, despite being tired and hurting, I felt so thankful and fortunate to be there Three years ago I would have scoffed at the idea of doing something like this or made a self deprecating joke to hide the fact that I thought it never would have been possible.

Great work! Healthy feels awesome, doesn’t it?

Sorry you are dealing with this. First, you’re down 50 lbs in a year and 9 months!!!! That’s friggen awesome!!! My guess is it took you a lot longer to gain that 50lbs than it was to lose it! Second, it sounds like you may benefit from some counseling to help with the head trash- I will be the first to admit my mental health work impacted me so much more than any of the physical work. Last, go back to the basics of your eating habits. Track your intake (calories and macros), eat protein first then vegetables then carbs, and then if you’re able to get moving and exercise! Doesn’t matter if you’re walking or powerlifting… get moving. Activity drives attitude. Hope this helps and remember, the surgery isn’t the fix… it’s a tool to allow you to make sustainable healthier lifestyle decisions. You got this! My last thoughts are look forward and not backwards. Whatever you did or didn’t do can’t be changed. Today is your opportunity to be a little better than you were yesterday! Tomorrow you get an opportunity to be a little better than you were today…. Rinse and repeat and keep fighting the good fight. You deserve to be the best version of yourself!!!

Good morning Bariatric Pal Community… I am writing this post to take a poll of sorts. A little background: I am 43 years old and 2.5 years post op; maintaining healthy eating and fitness habits. I am also training for my first Ironman Triathlon in September- how cool is that?!? Three years ago when I was 360 lbs, I never would have conceived the possibility of a triathlon. Anyway, the cool benefit of making all these positive changes is it has me thinking about different options professionally. I have a successful career currently but to be honest my heart just isn’t in it anymore. My real passion is health and fitness. Which brings me to this post… I am thinking about becoming a Fitness Coach/Life Coach geared towards the bariatric community. I would like feedback on the following questions: 1. In your journey, do you think having a coach would be helpful? 2. If so, would working with someone who has been in your shoes provide a credible perspective? 3. Would you be willing to engage with a coach virtually if in-person wasn’t an option? 4. What would you expect from a coach? Thanks in advance for your help!

Thank you all for the insightful responses. To be clear- I understand more education will be involved. I actually have already looked into a few programs that would provide me the certifications for personal training, nutrition counseling, etc. I am in the US but would happily help folks in other countries as long as schedules could align. I will would also open my doors to all types of folks not just the Bariatric Surgery community (but my passion is geared towards the BS community). Thanks again.

Here’s my advice: trust your medical team, stay calm, and think about all that you’ll gain rather than what you’re giving up! 2 years post op here and down 180 lbs from highest weight. I’ve gained more confidence, the ability to be more active, good health (good A1C score, no more sleep apnea, no more high blood pressure), a better relationship with food, etc, etc, etc… Good luck tomorrow and the days to come.

Great work! My journey is similar. I am a year and a half post op and ran my first half marathon (also a trail run) back in April. I want to start doing triathlons as my next challenge. I’m too on a mission to put on some muscle. My trainer also wants me to up calories and I’m easing into that but I agree, it’s scary! Anyway, thanks for sharing and keep fighting the good fight!

Have you tried logging your daily food intake? I use myfitnesspal religiously. I found that managing my daily food budget helps me manage that same anxiety. Heck, I eat dessert every single day but my conscience is clear because it’s budgeted.

Cucumber is a great dipping. We buy the 3 packs of the seedless cucumbers at Costco and they work great.

Yes, I log every day. I generally plan out my days/meals ahead of time too. Now I’m not 100% perfect with my daily logging at this point. I’d say 95% though. For example I generally won’t log if I put some sugar free creamer in my coffee and stuff like that. But I’m a year and a half out and in maintenance phase. Early on post op I logged everything. My advice to you is do the best you can with logging and tracking your food. Again it doesn’t have to be perfect, it just has to be better than what you’re currently doing. There are probably a lot of folks on here that no longer log at this stage and they are better at intuitive eating but for me this system works. Hope that helps.

I use the mini peppers when eating salsa or guacamole. If you eat chips, be honest with yourself and log them so they fit into your daily calorie budget (assuming you log). Just remember the surgery isn’t the fix, it’s a tool to help you make changes for the long term. I am a year and a half post op and basically went from 363 to 180. Have I been perfect, heck no! Am I more aware and have overall better habits, absolutely! What I’ve learned since my VSG is: 1. Give yourself some grace- we’re human after all 2. Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good 3. One bad decision isn’t going to derail you- consistent bad decisions will! 4. Know that every day you have an opportunity to do better than the day before Good luck in your journey.

I find the list of things I don’t miss far outweigh the things that I thought I would miss! Being 16 months post op and about 180 lbs down, I don’t miss blood pressure meds, I don’t miss my cpap, I don’t miss big and tall sizes, I don’t miss requesting a seatbelt extender on flights while trying to make myself small to not be rude to those sitting next to me, I don’t miss the mind space and control that my food addiction had over me, I don’t miss hangovers, I don’t miss fat jokes, etc., etc., etc! This journey has given me so much to celebrate that I don’t dwell on what I’ve given up. If I never have another carbonated beverage or Big Mac or you name it, it’s all been worth it to me. Keep fighting the good fight y’all!

Zero regrets! Had VSG 2/5/2021. Highest weight was 363. Current weight 185. No more blood pressure meds, no more sleep apnea. I feel in control of my life and have a process to help manage my food behaviors for life. I still log my food every day and follow the guidance of my surgeon and nutritionist. Surgery allowed me to make long term behavior changes.

Sleeved on 2/5/2021 Heaviest Weight: 363 Intake Weight: 358 Surgery Day Weight: 333 Goal Weight: 200 Current Weight: 183 I’m a 5’11 male. 42 years old. I still log every meal, weigh and measure food, workout 4-5 times per week.  I’m averaging 1500-1600 calories a day. 

You got this. Change your perspective: even though you’re “up 30 lbs”, you’re still down 70!!!! After 6 years or so! I imagine if you think back to 2015 prior to your sleeve, I’d be willing to bet the idea of having to lose 100 lbs seemed way more daunting than losing 30! What Gradycat said: get back to basics. Track your inputs, move more and give yourself some grace!

Hey whatever works! At the end of the day I got the surgery because “my way” wasn’t working so I embraced the new process! I started this journey 12 months ago at 358 and I’m currently at 183 and am training for my first half marathon! Getting sleeved gave me a second chance at life and I vowed to do things differently and work to be the best version of myself! I have a sneaking suspicion that soon you will look back at this time and realize it was all worth it!

Hang in there buddy. The first few days suck! I had terrible abdominal gas, it took a handful of days before I had a movement, and felt crappy. I had a a shot glass of liquids every 15 minutes. It got easier to ingest as the days progressed. Good news: it’s temporary. Brighter days are ahead. Follow the plan of your medical team… it’s not their first rodeo. All the things you’re thinking are natural. You got this!

I’m 11.5 months post op and I have lost 175 lbs total since this process. Starting weight was 358, surgery day weight was 331, current weight 183! Prior to my surgery, I was terrible at logging food, exercising regularly, and had a terrible relationship with food (addiction, portion control, etc). Of course I knew what to do conceptually but the follow through was the issue. I told myself (and truly believe) that the surgery was not the fix! It’s just a tool! A tool that allows me to fix the broken things. What I’m getting at is, although logging food is “difficult”, it’s necessary! You have to be willing do do things differently and consistently if you want to reach your goals. Set up your environment to help you be more consistent: meal plan, log your planned foods the night before or first thing in the morning. Proactivity rather than reactivity is key! I treat my food log like I budget my finances, I track input and output and plan ahead! You got this! You just have to tell yourself you’ll do what it takes. The habits that got you in this situation won’t get you out of it! Embrace your second chance at becoming the best version of yourself and focus on the inputs and the desired outputs will happen! Don’t be afraid to consult your medical team and seek mental health help if need be. We all decided we can’t do it on our own which is why we took this journey. You owe it to yourself to be better than you think you can be! Good luck!

I am about 11 months post op (sleeve). I am generally an open book and was very honest with my friends and family about MY decision to get the surgery. Surprisingly enough I only got pushback from 2 or 3 people. Everyone else was supportive and had more questions than opinions. I think this is an area that different people may have different results with but as mentioned the vast majority were super supportive. I had been battling obesity and food addiction for 15 plus years and the supportive folks were happy I was making a decision to take control of my health and battle my addiction. As for the few folks that had differing opinions, I gave them an opportunity to voice their concerns out of respect for the relationship. After I heard their side, I explained my side and then immediately set a boundary of “I appreciate your concern, but it’s my decision and this is the path I’m taking. Either you can be supportive or you can keep your opposing thoughts to yourself”. I’ve found the naysayers still wanted me to get healthy, they just had different ideas in how to get there. Now that they’ve seen my success and commitment to the plan, the naysayers have been some of my biggest cheerleaders! Hope that helps. Ultimately do what you think is best but I’ve found the more people you “lie” to the more the lies build on top of that. And furthermore I think opposition helped mold my commitment to proceed as planned and fueled my hard work to prove them wrong. People are always going to have their ideas of how you should live your life but ultimately it’s your decision and you don’t owe an explanation to anyone other than yourself. But it is super helpful for your inner circle to understand and be supportive of your decision.

I was sleeved 2/5. Down 88 lbs total (62 post op). Feeling great!

Wasn’t as issue for me. I did a 2 week pre-op diet and had zero issues afterwards. I’m 3 months post op and have been alcohol free for about 4 months. Prior to that I was a heavier drinker on the weekends. Just follow your plan and it should be fine for you

Great news! I had my sleeve done yesterday. This abdominal gas is something else!

@blackcatsandbaddecisions that's great input, Thank you! I am truly excited!