I did it! Got sleeved yesterday 9/2!

[#BirdDog 604]

Still losing weight, down to 209 so I'm closing in on 1derland. Spent one day last weekend out at the barn riding with my wife. She snapped a photo and I shared it on Facebook, so many good comments from my friends. I still get a kick out of running into people and having them not recognize me. Happened twice last weekend

[Propo 48]

8 hours ago, #BirdDog said:

Still losing weight, down to 209 so I'm closing in on 1derland. Spent one day last weekend out at the barn riding with my wife. She snapped a photo and I shared it on Facebook, so many good comments from my friends. I still get a kick out of running into people and having them not recognize me. Happened twice last weekend

Looking great! I read your story last week and it really was inspirational to me. I got sleeved on Monday! No pain, no gas. Really good. On a Soup, jelly and yoghurt post op diet now until 15 may. hope this passes quickly as I do miss a little variety already

[#BirdDog 604]

Put together a new set of before and after photos.... 370lbs to 209lbs.

[#BirdDog 604]

Today has been a rough day for me. I actually did well with my food. Nothing there, just stressed that I am going to mess this up and gain weight. I never really set a goal weight but the surgeon wants me under 200. I'm quickly approaching that mark and worried about the transition to maintaining. I am going to try and get an appointment with my nutritionist to discuss my concerns.

Wish there were more veterans who had several years of maintaining that were around to share their story. Are they not here because there aren't many long term success stories or are they just to the point that their life doesn't revolve around the surgery???

Constant worry that I'm going to mess this up has me pretty down right now. I know that I alone have control over my future, just pray that I play my cards right.

[Knittychic 24]

It is AWESOME!! I'm really happy with how things are going. I went from a size 48 jeans to a size 34 and a size 4x shirt to an XL.

I'm hearing the lion King theme song in my head. You look like mufasa holding simba.

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[bengaldude 27]

Dude,

I'm right at 2 years post surgery. I know that's not several as you mentioned but it has been a while. There have been a lot of ups and downs during that time. I actually blew right through my goal weight set by my surgical team. The goal was 175 from 252, and this morning I was at 157. My new approach to eating has become my new normal and my family has adjusted to it. It has been hardest on my wife because so much of our identity as a couple was wrapped up in food. Date nights at nice restaurants, that sort of thing. I never really adopted the eat slow thing and it always bothered my wife that I would be done eating 10 minutes with two thirds of a plate of food and it was kinda awkward while I sat there watching her eat. In addition, I've lost so much weight that she puts too much pressure on herself. Having said that, we have pretty much adjusted.

I no longer track my food intake. I pretty much eat what I want because I am vigilant about getting my Protein still. I still do protein first and I believe that naturally limits how much I can consume. I also keep bread to a very minimum. I never eat hamburger Buns anymore, and generally just have a few bites of a roll or whatever. I enjoy the taste but I have limited space for food and don't want to fill up in bread. I also don't try to push it. However, when we go out to eat now, I eat till I'm full, we chat and stuff for a while, and after some time passes I eat some more. In normal terms I still don't eat that much, maybe a third to at the most half of a meal out. It seems like so much to me given how little I used to eat, but she reminds me that there is another meal sitting there on my plate for me to eat later.

I don't stress about my weight but I am vigilant. I weight myself several times a week still. If I've dropped more than I want I eat Pasta or whatever to get it back up a pound or two. If I'm a bit high I focus on protein or reducing carbs to drop it back a couple pounds. I figure I will be vigilant the rest of my life but I don't dwell or focus on it. I see myself as a fat person in a skinny person's body and I don't want the fat suit back. To me, the vigilance is the key. I know it is sacrilege for many, but I really do eat what I want. If I want spaghetti I eat spaghetti. I eat more sauce perhaps for the protein, but I eat what I want when I want it. Even with that I am more more apt to lose weight than gain weight. I still have a hard time getting enough calories. Even eating what I want I am generally in the 1500-1800 calorie range. My unscientific opinion is that you are more likely to gain weight if you graze than eating whatever you want. Again, sacrilege I know, but I just can't eat that much. The sleeve works for me.

Regarding the transition to maintenance, it is scary. I was terrified when I was ready to stop losing weight. My entire focus up to that point was losing, and the notion of maintenance was unsettling. I was used to exercising all the time, counting calories, etc, and for a while in maintenance I totally stressed about my food intake and all that. However, as time passes, your new reality takes shape and you stop stressing about it so much. Constant vigilance, but not stress and worry.

You didn't mention it but regarding drinking, I have had some challenges. For a while, I drank more than I should. I also couldn't really drink beer for a long time so I drank the hard stuff. Trouble is, with the sleeve liquor hits me like a hammer. And oh yeah, I've lost more than a third of my body weight, so I'm a cheap date. I've had more than my share of blackouts in the last year, which terrified me. I have since stopped drinking the hard stuff. I have developed an affinity for craft beer and enjoy a couple of those. Stouts and porters tend to have less carbonation and I have found that I enjoy drinking those. I also ensure that I don't drink on an empty stomach. It just hits me too hard.

The advice I would offer is to listen to the advice you read and ignore the nazis. Live your life. If you are vigilant (yeah I know I keep using that word), you will find your new normal and roll with it. This may be a bit rambling as my coffee hasn't kicked in yet, but I hope it helps!!

[#BirdDog 604]

Thanks for the advice. I think having gone through the struggles that we all have with various diets that I just keep waiting for the shoe to drop. I feel I have had a very successful journey thus far. Lots of stories of folks gaining weight back and looking at statistics don't help. I know bottom line my success is up to me. Would be nice to see hear more from those who are many years post op and maintaining. But unfortunately there aren't many that frequent the forums.

[#BirdDog 604]

Today I had an awesome NSV!!!

I work for the State Patrol and they are supporters of the Special Olympics. They were looking for people to run our leg of torch run. So I participated. It wasn't pretty but I got it done. From Olympic Drive in Gig Harbor to the war memorial SR16/Jackson. It was a good 4 miles. Doesn't sound like much but considering this time last year the only way I would have completed it would have been in the back of an ambulance... this was a major win for me. Not only was it a win for me but it was for an awesome cause.

[#BirdDog 604]

Spent a little time today putting together a video of my before and after pictures. I think it turned out pretty well. I'm having a ton of fun with my new grasp on life! Trying to take advantage of the opportunity to do things I could never do before.

[#BirdDog 604]

Surgeon wanted me under 200 lbs. didn't really set a goal weight for myself. But I woke up this morning and weighed in....



Pretty stoked!!!!

[blizair09 3,250]

8 minutes ago, #BirdDog said:

Surgeon wanted me under 200 lbs. didn't really set a goal weight for myself. But I woke up this morning and weighed in....



Pretty stoked!!!!

It's a great feeling. Congratulations!

[Deanna V. 4]

Day 8, I woke up feeling pretty good, which is surprising because I didn't take pain medicine last night. Got a shower and got dressed, with limited help from my wife. Had my medications crushed up and put into some sugar free pudding. Ate about half the serving of pudding. We then went out and took care of some errands. Since I hadn't taken any pain medicine I decided to drive. Stopped at the state surplus store, then an army surplus store, Bass Pro, and finally a grocery store. By the time we made it home I was pretty tired and a little sore. So I took half a dose of my medicine and relaxed the rest of the evening. Got in an easy 64+oz of liquid and 40g of Protein. Tomorrow I'm shooting for 80g of Protein. Hopefully that will help a bit with my energy.
Finally today I started to feel human again. I was sore but not in a lot of pain. Looking forward to what tomorrow holds. May even make it to church service.
I forgot to mention, my watch slid down my arm today and rotated. Had to cinch it up a notch! Seems silly but it was a big deal to me.

I know it's been a while since you've posted these, but I love reading your day-to-day post-op experience! You seem to have an awesome wife and that's just great to hear. My husband is the same way and I know he will be helping me a lot. God is good!
Thank you for being very descriptive on your journey!


Deanna V.

[#BirdDog 604]

Thank you! It's been an awesome journey and I know I have a lot of work ahead of me still.

[nomorefattypatty 329]

Thanks for the detailed description I go in tomorrow at 12:00

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[#BirdDog 604]

Thanks for the detailed description I go in tomorrow at 12:00

Sent from my N9519 using BariatricPal mobile app

Awesome!!!! So exciting!!! Hope things go smoothly for you as well!!!