One Year Later

[WingRider 1]

Hello all,

I haven't posted in a long time, but I am posting this to help people see how successful this procedure really is. I had my sleeve on 12/29/09 and weighed in at 345. Today a year and a week later I am weighing in at 222. I am extremely happy with my progress, I had been stalled at 226-227 since Thanksgiving 2010, but I have started the scale moving again this past week.

As far as my well being, I feel like a totally different person. I have energy, sleep great at night(no more CPAP), love shopping for clothes now(went from buying 52" pants to 36" and 3XL shirts to XL or Large!). Money saved from not eating so much has helped me keep my wardrobe fresh. If I had to do it again I would not wait so long to purchase new clothes. I kept wearing the 52" pants for the longest time, just cinching up the belt. When I finally broke down and bought new pants I bought 40"'s. Boy did I start getting a lot of compliments about my weight loss once I did that. I was just so used to wearing baggy tent-like clothing it didn't seem to bother me.

I started a Couch to 5K program as my New Year's Resolution and just registered for a 5K the second week of March. I am so stoked about my ability to actually do the training program and excited that in 9 weeks I will be running for 30 minutes non-stop. I expect this to help me shed the last 20-25 pounds that I would like to lose. The last weight loss takes exercise, it would with our without the sleeve I firmly beleive. I haven't exercised much this past year, but I do lead a very active life juggling a small business, working a full time job, and volunteering 10-15 hours a week.

My eating ability is still weird. I eat Breakfast everyday, can't miss it or I will be tired and laggy later that day. lunch is still very light, but at dinner sometimes I get full really quick and sometimes I feel like I am eating too much. I make good food choices 90% of the time, I don't believe in complete denial of things we want(it just makes us want it more). I still struggle to drink 64 ounces of Water a day, never did like water. I know that more regular exercise will help me there though, I seem to crave water more when I have exercised in the past. I drink a margarita on Friday night like I used to, but I used to be able to drink 3 or more. Now I can't, I get intoxicated very quickly and feel like crap if I have more than one. No big deal, saves me money in the long run and not as unhealthy. Oh yeah, and even a year out if I do eat too much, it hurts like hell for about 5 to 10 minutes. Feels like a heart attack I assume feels.

Doctor is very pleased with my results. All my levels are checking out normal, where as before I was border line on BP(she wanted to start me on meds), I never did get tested for diabetes, but I know that I was borderline there because my energy levels were so erratic when I was heavy. My resting heart rate has gone from 75 bpm to 54 bpm. Cholesterol is in normal range. Only pills I take now are aspirin occasionally, Vitamins daily, and Prevacid daily.

I wave the VSG flag high and proudly. I talk to people about it all the time if they ask. I have no regrets to date.

Thanks for reading.

Bill

[Eloray 3]

Thanks for posting and letting us get a glimpse of what a year from now will be like. Its so very encouraging!!!! Thanks again.

[Oopsseedaisy 90]

Thanks for posting! I enjoyed hearing about your journey!

[MINI-Me 196]

Awesome job Bill. Life is good without all the "insulation", isn't it?

[chilo1 62]

Thanks for sharing your experience

[M2G 1,836]

Congratulations on your loss and the regaining of your health! Congrats on signing up for a 5K, you will have to keep us posted on how that is going.

Thanks for sharing your story with all of us, it truly is wonderful that some of the longer-term vets come in and check in with us and let us know how far they have come. We love hearing success stories!

[Ms. E 5]

Wow!!! How encouraging. I am about to start my journey and it's great to hear there is light at the end of the tunnel. I can't wait to post my one year update. Thank you.

[Rootman 1,101]

I am SOOO jealous! Can't wait till I see results like that.

[WingRider 1]

Awesome job Bill. Life is good without all the "insulation", isn't it?

Yes it is. I do get cold easily now, in the past you would be hard pressed to hear me complain about it being too cold.

[Furry 0]

Thanks for sharing your story....I get sleeved January 14, 2011. Our weight and size are exactly the same..... so I am going to hold on to this post as motivation.

[Tiffykins 673]

Many congratulations ! ! ! You've done amazingly well, and I know you feel awesome ! ! !

[coops 1,790]

Wow Bill,

fantastic post and story... well done on your excellent weight loss... you really are a changed man!!

Good on ya fella !! =]

[twoboysandagirl 109]

Awesome Job! Your post means a lot to me today because at 4 weeks out I am struggling to see past these stinkin Protein Shakes. Thank you!

[juliarh 35]

Thanks so much for sharing Bill -- I read it aloud to my husband because even at 4 months out, I share a lot of how you feel about eating, etc. I am continually amazed at the amount of weight I carried and how much I have yet to lose -- and knowing I will lose it -- it's something that I'm trying to fathom right now and thanks to your description, it is that much clearer! Congratulations!

[educationrulz 18]

This is great to hear from a veteran sleever. I feel like I have really hit my stride at 6 months out so I can only imagine how great I'll feel in 6 more months. I talked to my nurse case manager yesterday who told me she had the sleeve four years ago - when they were bigger than they usually are these days. She said she has had no problem maintaining her weight loss and still has about the same stomach capacity that she had at 6 months out. These kind of stories keep me going and confirm my decision to get the sleeve.

Congratulations on your success and keep us updated every now and then on how you're doing.