Male Success Story

[AnotherGuy 66]

Hello All,

I came to this site when I was doing research for my own surgery which was completed in December of 2021. I found it difficult to find numerous relatable stories from men who had weight loss surgery. Hence, I thought I would share my experience. I am a 56 year old male and I would consider myself just another guy.

I started my own new business in 2015. If you have ever started a new business from zero, then you know it is a very stressful experience. Consequently, I gained 20 pounds a year for, roughly, six consecutive years. My weight ballooned to an all time high of 353 pounds. If it wasn't nailed to the floor, I ate it. If it was cold, I drank it. I take full responsibility for my actions. I freely made the decision to consume all of the food and drink. I also found ways to justify eliminating my regular exercise routine during this time period.

Towards the end of 2021, from a health perspective, I was miserable. I had trouble walking any sort of distance. My poor dogs felt neglected because I could not walk with them. I had a difficult time standing for any length of time because my lower back would begin to ache. I was beginning to have problems with my joints, especially my knees and ankles.

From an emotional perspective, I also had issues. I had to search for restaurants with tables instead of sitting at a cozy booth because I could longer fit in any booth. It is an awful feeling to ask, "Can I have that table over there instead of this booth?" It seemed to me they knew I asked because I couldn't fit in the space.

I was forced to buy bigger clothes. Soon, those clothes didn't fit and I had to buy even bigger clothes. My clothes needed to be purchased in the "fashion forward" Big & Tall section of stores and websites.

I began to hate to have my photo taken because I did not like the way in which I appeared in the photos. To me, the person who looked back at me in the mirror looked nothing like the person who appeared in those photos. Who was that guy in those photos? Was that really me?

I began to feel self conscious about eating in front of other people. I just had this feeling they were saying, "look at how much food that fat guy is eating." while I was eating a slice of pizza. I found myself buying food to eat in the car while I was driving so no one would see me. I justified the binge eating by telling myself I was hungry and didn't have enough calories at such and such a place.

I grew tired of family members asking me if I was "okay" each time they saw me. I grew tired of friends asking me if I was able to "manage" going somewhere with them. Consequently, people started to avoid me. It was my own fault. I was grouchy all the time.

If you are reading this, perhaps you have had similar feelings to my own. I made the decision I needed a little help. I began to look for a surgical procedure to assist me in my weight loss journey. I decided to have gastric sleeve surgery. As previously stated, my surgery was completed in December of 2021.

I followed my surgeon's instructions explicitly. I ate what they told me to eat. I drank what they told me to drink. I used an app on my phone to track every calorie.

When permitted, I began a regular exercise routine. The routine began with cardio and, over time, I added weight training too.

Day after day and week after week, I developed better habits. I ate better foods and less calories. My cardio improved and my strength improved. Oh, I also lost weight...a lot of weight.

My weight went from 353 pounds to 199 pounds. Yes, that's right. Today, I weigh less than 200 pounds. My total weight loss has been a whopping 154 pounds in 17 months.

My waist size shrunk from 48 inches to 34 inches. My shirt size went from XXX-Large to Large. Hell, even my shoes lost 1/2 of a size.

The feeling has been incredible. Nothing tastes as good as thin feels.

Today, I continue to perform cardio four days per week and I lift weights every other day. Luckily I have had no ill side effects from the surgery.

I feel great. I feel like others who have described losing a lot of weight...fantastic.

Apologies to you if I have rambled on too long. Hopefully you find something here in which you can relate.

Good luck in your journey.

All the best.

[The Greater Fool 2,023]

Congratulations on your success.

Good luck,

Tek