- Name: Brian Meiers
- Username: TreBone
- Location: SF Bay Area, CA, USA
- Member Since: 2/22/2004
- BMI: 21.9
- Post Op
- Surgery Type: RNY (08/18/04)
- Surgeon: Douglas M. Krahn
Photos
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Goals
Category: Other 1 Person in progress, 0 People achieved this |
Surgeon TestimonialDouglas M. KrahnOriginally, I was referred to Dr. Suh of Crown Bariatric. He was pleasant and confident. After my insurance company stopped working with his surgical group, I was referred to Dr. Douglas Krahn.
So far, I am very happy with the switch. From a personal standpoint, Dr. Krahn's office is much more practical for me. My OS's office was about 90 minutes from my house, while the support groups his office ran were about 45 minutes away. The new doctor's office is only 2 minutes away and the hospital were he performs the surgery and holds his seminars at is also 2 minutes from my home. This convienence is a huge blessing to me because it was such a struggle getting to see my OS.
His office staff are very supportive and friendly. After giving my information to one of the staff, I received the information package in the mail the next day. With my previous surgeon, it had taken months to get anything.
August 14th, 2004 Update***
I can not say enough about the staff of Western Bariatric. Sue, Beth, Sandy and all the others at WB are super supportive and have kept this experience from becoming a giant stress factory. Dr. Krahn's services are so much better than what I've experienced before with other offices. He has been professional, kind and honest. I would give him and his staff the highest rating I possibly could. A true 10 out of 10. A+
I'll add more after my surgery next week. Member Interests
- Writing - I've found that keeping a journal helps me deal with life's day to day struggles
- Bicycling - My name is Brian and I race bikes
- Computer Games - My parents should have named me PONG.
- Music - Music soothes the savage beast. I guess that makes me soothed.
- Bowling - Grew up in a bowling alley (yep, it's true).
- Computer and Internet Surfing - Besides gaming, my computer has become my main source for news and entertainment
Latest Surgery Support Comments
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Hey Brian!
Congratulations on
all your successes!
I hope I am as
rockin as you at
three years out!!
Keep up the
inspirational
work!!!
-
Hi Brian! How are
you doing guy? I
just realized you
celebrated your 3
year surgiversary a
couple days ago...
Congratulations! You
are still my # 1
inspiration buddy!
If you ever get back
down this way let me
know and we can meet
for coffee or
something!
Click here for the surgery support page
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"Be the change you want to see in the world."
- Mahatma Gandhi
I spent most of my life trying to find myself. When I finally found "me"- the real Brian that I was afraid to be for so long, I was hidden away in a cell of my own design. It was up to me to unlock the door that I had hidden behind and to start truly living.
Amgen Tour of California on February 19, 2008 4:55 pm
Spending this week watching the Amgen Tour of California. Great race run by great people.
I was invited to the Team Presentation in Sausalito last Friday. Talk about an enjoyable evening. Got to meet Robin Williams, most of the Tour riders and many local media peeps. A nice evening by the Bay.
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Gettin' back to ma' roots on February 1, 2008 9:12 am
Speaking of roots, it's time to dye my hair again... but that's another post.
My diet is wonky. I ride A LOT and at a pretty high intensity so I've had to modify my diet to meet the caloric needs of my body. Racing cyclists can burn between 5000 an 9000 calories in a day. Replacing that much usually isn't too hard to do- unless you're a bariatric patient.
That's damn hard to keep up with when my intake and absorption are limited.
I've experimented with a lot of different approaches to "bariatric sports nutrition" (you read it first here!!!). Basically, for me, it comes down to meeting the fuel requirements of an aerobic engine with the limited intakes of a Roux-en-Y bypass. Since I can't rely on sugars and carbs the way non-bariatric athletes can, I have had to keep close tabs on my protein intake.
Here's the boring numbers part:
At my maximum, I was taking in 2.5 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day. At 66 Kgs, I was taking in 165 grams of protein per day. With a low/no carb diet and 165 grams of protein, I was still only getting around 700 Cals per day. Not enough fuel!!!
Where do I get more fuel from? Fats. Fats from cheese. Fats from meat. The 9 Cals per gram are a great fuel source especially when my body is in ketosis and using fats for energy.
Anyhoo- the long story short is, that after a year of serious experimentation, I've come around full circle. The best diet for me is my original bariatric diet of proteins, fats and water.
huh, go figure.
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Emo Eats on January 30, 2008 9:41 pm
My weight loss journey has been a pretty successful one. I'm not saying that in order to toot my own horn, but more to lay the foundation for this blog entry.
I've actually gained weight. Funny how difficult that is to write. The difficulty is that gaining weight in the weight loss world would seem like FAILURE! That sense of failure, at least for me, seems married to the fear of being obese again.
Now, when I say I've gained weight, I'm talking about 5 to 10 lbs, depending on the day. In the scope of my weight loss, 5 pounds isn't very much at all. But to the scared part of my mind, it's almost as if it could be 50.
The fear of regaining the weight is substantial. It's something I have to gain control over or else it will control me. When i put weight on the first time, it was because I turned to food for comfort from my fears, regrets and sadness.
When I decided to have my bypass surgery, I promised myself to never live that way again. Fears do not rule me. My success is my own. I promised to myself.
"Attack of the Blogs" on November 30, 2007 8:29 am
I love to journal. It's both edifying and cathartic for me. There's only one little problem. I have TOO MANY BLOGS!!
I only used to write in journals that I kept at home. There were for me to read only...my private thoughts, feelings and dreams. Once I started here on OH, I began my first blog. What a great experience it has been. I re-read my original blog and was amazed by the journey.
It's funny, though, because I forgot about that day to day excitement I felt when the surgery was on the horizon and the time immediately post-op. Reading about the daily progress checks, working toward my goal, watching the results as they were met helped me to reconnect with that part of me. It was an amazing time. Those days were filled with huge moments of discovery for me.
Getting back to the blogs....
I think right now, I have something like 5 different blogs I keep. Sadly, the one blog that has gone untouched the longest has been my OH blog. That was a surprise to me, because really, all the other blogs are branches off of this one.
The fact that I have so many different branches also illustrates how much my life has changed. When I started my OH blog, it was about my bariatric journey. It was filled with my dreams and goal that I'd hoped GBS would help me to attain. It was also filled with my struggles and challenges that I faced along the way.
As I reached those goals, new branches started to grow. My life started to change.
I feel I could right a book about all the changes...
But this blog wont be that book.
It'll be about my day to day journey as a formerly morbidly obese man that found a bike and who likes to ride.....FAST.
Thanks for reading!
How did I forget? on August 27, 2007 12:50 pm
I totally forgot my surgi-versary!!! Things in my life have gotten so "busy" which took my focus far from my progress on this bariatric path.
Three years out and I'm still at goal. I reached goal weight pretty quickly and have maintained it ever since. My lowest post op weight has been 141, but it wasn't very healthy. I hit that point during the darkest time of my life when my daughters went missing and I stopped eating for a month. I felt miserable and didn't find comfort in food anymore.
My normal weight ranges between 147 and 154, depending on the time of the year. I train for racing quite a bit, so when I am in a heavy training period my weight will drop to the low end of the range. When the training levels drop, the weight comes up a little.
My main source of protein continues to be Pure Whey shakes from Champion Nutrition. A couple of years ago, I coined the phrase "Bariatric Athlete". As a bariatric athlete, my nutritional needs live in an uncharted area between the needs of a bariatric patient and an endurance athlete.
Neither a strict bariatric diet or endurance athlete diet works for me, so I have had to find some kind of hybrid diet that works.
On average, I try to take in around 140 grams of protein a day. To keep things moving along internally, I use "real" foods. I also use amino acid supplements and energy/fluid replacement drinks while riding/racing. For the most part, I have found some things that work great. I also continue to experiment to see what else I can eat.
I'm also a big fan of cheese!!
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