70BMI pre-surgery 6 month report

[curveball21 0]

Hello everyone,

Just dropping in to tell a story in hopes that it might help somebody else.

I weighed 495lbs at my highest "official" weight. I probably tipped 500 at some point. On day of surgery I was 486. Today, six months out I weighed in at 413.

What did I do right?

I had the surgery. It has my weight going in the right direction, something that just wasn't possible before. Also, I always get in my Protein.< /p>

What did I do wrong?

Just about everything else. I started eating solid foods 9 days out from surgery. I still indulge in junk food from time to time. I rarely exercise. I have had beers and sodas (infrequently and never more than 2/day.)

I can eat 8-12 oz of food at a sitting and I do get hungry, although not always. I have never thrown up and stop if I feel any discomfort. I was really hoping to have an exercise program in place by now, but I have not been able to go for more than 3 straight days of physical activity (even simple stuff like walking a mile or 2) without suffering a foot or ankle problem that takes me out of commission for a week to 10 days. Still, I can perform all regular daily hygiene activities without a problem ( that was getting tough prior to surgery) and I feel better than I have in a long time. Last week I put on a suit I hadn't been able to wear since shortly after I bought it in 2004. I'm losing 1-2 lbs a week on average now and even though it goes up a pound or 3 on occasion I either fix what I'm doing wrong or wait it out if I don't know what I'm doing wrong and the weight loss resumes in a few days. I have recently found that drinking a 30gr Protein Shake first thing in the morning in lieu of Breakfast really helps me keep weight loss consistent. Still, I don't do that everyday, just days I don't have time to make breakfast or days where the scale was particularly unkind to me.

My BMI cracked under 60 about 10 days ago and I'm not giving up on my exercise. I know one day my feet and ankles will be able to handle my smaller frame without incident and I will get it done. I know it is unusual for someone of my size to opt for this surgery as their primary plan instead of a bypass, but let me tell you when I go to post surgery meetings, I'm the one that's doing well compared to the others in every category other than total pounds lost. While I would like to have lost more weight, I know that the surgery was just a tool and not a cure. If I were able to be less of a tool about what I eat, the surgery would have worked better than it has. Still, I have no complaints and am in a much better place and have a much brighter future than I did six months ago today. I hope that my 12 month report will be even better.

Thanks for reading, comments and opinions, good or bad are always appreciated.

[SmokyMtnGal2011 10]

Curveball21

Good for you. Good job so far. Have you tried swimming as an exercise? I don't know if you have a "YMCA" or pool near by - I found this to be good for being able to move, walk, etc in the Water without so much pain in the joints, feet, ankles and especially for me my knees. Please keep moving - this will help alot for your weight loss. I know it helps me even if I have stayed strict to the program. You are doing great so keep going!!!!! You are worth the effort and hard work. :teeth_smile: :clap2:

[LilMissDiva Irene 3,282]

Hi Curveball 21, WOW you have done fabulous so far!! Thank you so much for sharing your story! It's nice to see that even those with higher BMI's can still do well with the Sleeve and not feel like their only choice is the Bypass. The sleeve is a very viable choice!!

Re: exercise, I do agree with Smokey in that doing Pool exercises is excellent for those who need to go easy on the joints. You're simply doing too much if you're injuring yourself during your workout. All that does is set you back and might even turn some off to even wanting to do it. No one likes to be in pain!!

Hang in there and keep checking in with us to let us know how your journey is moving along. All the best to you!

[janinemaire 7]

You are doing so great with your weight loss. I'm now 8 months out and for me as the months went on I was able to change some of my habits and behaviors. Like I didn't start to exercise till I was 6 months out, also I don't want as many carbs and junk now as I did a few months ago. I think we are learning as the months goes on to what works for us and what things we need to change. Stay positive and good luck, Janine

[twoboysandagirl 109]

I want to tell you that you have taken a lot of steps togive yourself a long healthy life. Good for you:) I know that this surgery isnot an instant fix to all the problems that we have that have gotten us to beobese in the first place. I just want to encourage you to take this opportunityto continue to eat with in your doctor’s recommendations and be more mind fullof eating only things that will nourish your body. I think it is so importantto eat healthy during the losing stage (when you will lose even if you makepoor choices) because that is only a stage and when you move past that stageyou need to have a new relationship with foods or you are at risk of regainingthe weight you lost. Besides, wasn't the goal of having surgery to make youhealthy and to avoid medical problems that we certainly face as obese people? Ihave read numerous posts from others who remind us that there is a honeymoonperiod and once it is over it is much harder to lose this weight. I have afriend who had a different wls but she lost about 75% of her excess weight inthe 10 months after surgery but then got pregnant. After the birth of her babyshe has struggled to lose just a few pounds. She keeps telling me that it is somuch easier to lose the weight with in the first year after surgery.

While you have lost a great amount of weight and you should be really proud ofyourself...I can't help but wonder how much more you may have lost if you hadn’tsidelined your diet a bit. Please don’t see this as a negative post, I do not meanit that way I just really want to encourage you that you can make gooddecisions and you can lose all of your excess weight but it is going to takesome more work on your part.

Good luck to you...thanks for being honest and sharing your journey with us. Iam sure it will help others.

[S311kyra 1]

Thank you for sharing your story. I was almost 60 bmi the day of my surgery and I struggled hard about having the sleeve or the bypass. Although the bypass has my group dropping pounds faster, I too am having a better success story. Stick with it! We'll be ok! Good luck to you!

[curveball21 0]

While you have lost a great amount of weight and you should be really proud ofyourself...I can't help but wonder how much more you may have lost if you hadn’tsidelined your diet a bit. Please don’t see this as a negative post, I do not meanit that way I just really want to encourage you that you can make gooddecisions and you can lose all of your excess weight but it is going to takesome more work on your part.

Good luck to you...thanks for being honest and sharing your journey with us. Iam sure it will help others.

No offense taken. I didn't mean to imply that I had all the same old bad habits I used to. I have changed the way I view and relate to food quite a bit. I just haven't been able to banish all the bad habits. I don't need to wonder how much more I would have lost if I had been perfect. It would be on the order of about 50 more pounds I think just by comparing myself to the percentage other men have lost in the same time-frame. I am not in any rush to lose the weight at record speed as I really don't want to deal with carrying a bunch of loose skin around in a wheelbarrow. I'm willing to give it more time to rebound naturally. I prefer to keep my eye on the prize rather than pursuing the prize with tunnel vision. I work on my relationship with food every day, forgive myself when I mess up and get back in the saddle right away. I think by the time the honeymoon period has completely worn off I will be in the right place to continue my journey the rest of the way.