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Holy shit, I weighed in at 300 lbs exactly today. It won't be long before I slip the surly bonds of the the 300's and dance the 200's on laughter-silvered wings.

Apologies to John G. Magee

50 lbs from goal.

 

Hello anyone who actually reads this blog! I kinda doubt it, but here it is anyway.

Saturday made 4 months since I had weight loss surgery. Photo requests have come in, so my photo web page has been updated.

As usual, the links along the top of the page will take you from the photos taken on and before my surgery date, to the most recent 4-month photos.

Make sure you see the 'Quick Look' page as well to see the photos lined up by date.

    http://web.mac.com/mikeprevost/Site/Surgery_Day.html

I hope that you other OH members also take and post your progress photos.

 

 

OK, I'm waaay past 30 yrs old (will be 47 in June) so I must be talking about exercise, right?

As my other post informed, I've started using my stairclimber. The best workout is when you're on the damn thing for at least 30 minutes. Let's just say I have a long way to go to get up to 30! LOL.

Actually, from past experience I know that I will progress in leaps, so I feel great just about getting started.

Here's my progress toward the 30 minute goal for the whole (OH) world to see (yeah, right. Delusional much?):

3/31 - 5 min, level 5
4/1 - 8 min, level 5 and 6
4/2 - 8 min, level 6
4/3 - diid not exercise
4/4 - 10 min, level 6, did not rest!
4/5 - 10 min, level 6, did not rest!
4/6 - did not exercise
4/7 - did not exercise
4/8 - 15 min, level 6
4/9 - 15 min, level 6, did not rest
4/10 - 14 min, level 6
4/11 - did not exercise (a cold)
4/12 - did not exercise (a cold)
4/13 - did not exercise (a cold)
4/14 - did not exercise (a cold)
4/15 - did not exercise (a cold)
4/16 - 15 min, level 6, no rest
4/17 - did not exercise
4/18 - 15 minutes, level 6, no rest
4/19 - 15 minutes, level 6, no rest
4/20 - 120 minutes yard work
4/21 - no exercise
4/22 - 15 minutes, level 6, no rest
4/23 - no exercise
4/24 - 15 minutes, level 6, no rest
4/25 thru 4/27 - lazy schlub, no exercise
4/28 - 20 minutes, level 6, no rest

Finally ran out of excuses, real and manufactured. The stairclimber has been fixed, despite the best attempt by the vendor to be the most incompetent company this side of Enron.

My first session on it, this morning, was a laughable 5 minutes. But those paltry minutes represent the breaking through a (mental) barrier. Big for me.

I also did some crunches and leg lifts. Again, not setting records, just trying to establish a daily habit. I really have to build the strength of my core to help with the back pain and put an end to the weak-ass thing I've become.

Yesterday was the 3 month mark since WLS.

I've lost 80 lbs (exactly) since surgery, and 134 lbs since my highest weight. The numbers are:

Highest: 454
Surgery Day: 400
Current: 320
Goal: 250

Gotta have photos! The links at the top of this page will let you click from Surgery Day photos to my 3-Month photos:

http://web.mac.com/mikeprevost/Site/Surgery_Day.html

Today is the two-month mark since WLS. Happy to report that I've lost exactly 60 lbs since surgery and 114 lbs since my highest.

Here are some photos to remember the occasion. You can use the links at the top of the photo page to see photos taken on the day of surgery, and at 1 month:

http://web.mac.com/mikeprevost/Site/2_Months.html

No complications, no real difficulties so far. The internal healing is progressing nicely because it is much easier to eat and drink without that uncomfortable tightness in the pouch. During the first 6 week everything that hit the pouch felt like lead, now thing feel more normal (well, a new normal).

Next focus has to be on exercise...

I've always had a love-hate relationship with exercise. I loved playing certain sports, loved being strong and physically capable. I even liked *doing* the exercise when I finally got around to doing it.

Problem was... I didn't get around to exercise very often, particularly after college. Forcing myself to start exercise is very, very hard. After I gained a bunch of weight, exercise itself became very hard, sometimes painful, always humiliating. A built-in failure loop.

Well, I'm nearly at my 2 month post-op mark and my weight loss has been going well. I'll post numbers and photos next week at the official 2-month mark. I've been careful to NOT be sedentary, but I haven't faced the Exercise Demon, that dreaded need to exercise regularly. If I'm going to meet my weight and health goals, the exercise has to be a no-compromise component.

My energy level has been slowly improving and now there is no excuse to avoid it any longer. Actually, I'm looking forward to it. Mostly ;-)

I threw my back out a couple of days ago, but should be healed up by the weekend. Not a procrastination, just hard-earned knowledge of what NOT to do when my back is spasmming... but that's a different story.

This gives me two days to pull together an initial plan. It won't be too ambitious, but it will get me started. It would ordinarily feature walking for cardio, but we've been having a snowy, sloppy winter here in Massachusetts and there are no sidewalks anywhere around my home (and its far too dangerous to walk on the roads due to traffic and snow banks). So I think I'll get back to the LifeFitness StairClimber.

This is a story that OH members will identify with... when I was at my heaviest (454 lbs) I bought this commercial StairClimber: http://us.commercial.lifefitness.com/content.cfm/stairclimbers just like you'd use at a gym.

Only problem was that I far exceeded the 350 lb weight max. So predictably the thing started to make grinding noises after a couple of weeks. How fricken' sad and disheartening is it when you have to admit that you are too heavy for COMMERCIAL EXERCISE EQUIPMENT???

That was a crappy day.

So I shelved the unit rather than stomp the multi-thousand-$$$ machine into to small, tortured, pieces. Now that I'm below the 350 lb rated limit, time to pound on it some more.

I know what I'm in for with this machine from hell, and I don't expect to be able to do more than a couple of minutes at a time at first. But I also know from past (great) experiences that I thrive on Climbers when I get going.

For a great cathartic description of facing the Climber for the first time, read Miss Rocky's blog entry on the matter. It's a scream!
http://www.obesityhelp.com/member/missrocky/uzone,blog/action,comments/blog_id,88460/blog_post_id,129904/

Well, I'll report back with my exercise plan and activity by Monday at the latest.

Wish me sweat. Wish me success. But most of all, wish for me to Exorcise the Exercise Demon.

My weight loss is getting noticeable and people are beginning to ask me about it. I really don't want to have a thousand conversations about my surgery with just anyone who asks.

It's not that I'm ashamed of having the surgery, but it still feels like a medical issue to me with normal privacy boundaries attached. So I tell my family and close friends, but I haven't been telling others about having surgery.

How are other people handing the questions that weight loss brings?

It's been about a month since my RNY surgery (12/19/07) and all is going well.

My weigh-in had me down to 360 lbs, which is a 40 lb loss since surgery, and a 94 lb loss since my highest weight.

Still on protein-only food, mostly fish and seafood. Mixed in are chicken, ground turkey, and eggs. I sneak in a bit of fresh fruit on occasion (cherries, grapes, grapefruit) but I think I'll avoid that for a few more weeks.

It''s getting easier to eat and drink, but still occasionally I have a day where eating is very uncomfortable and I'm so tired that I want to sit and lie down most of the day. Then the next day I feel much better. This seems normal based on other posters here at ObesityHelp.

My energy level is still low. I'm looking forward to being more active as the healing process continues.

Summary: so far, so good, no major problems!

Well, tomorrow will make three weeks since my surgery.

Last week the medical folks moved me to solid foods, proteins only. It made a big improvement in my energy level and general well being. Also has been easier to get both 60-70 grams of protein in and 64oz of water.

Sunday was a 'bad day' with pain when I ate or drank. But most days are fairly even. The real work is adjusting to my new anatomy and realizing that every meal requires effort.

I'm down 27 lbs since surgery (373 this morning). I'm down a total of 81 lbs since my highest weight.

My energy level is still low, and I run out of steam very easily. Frustrating, but then I remind myself that it's only been 3 weeks since half of my GI tract was rearranged ;-)

Anticipating the new life that will be made possible by this procedure and process powers my recovery!

Tried peanut butter last Friday... THAT did not sit well at all, and was vomiting 30 minutes after eating it. It will be a bunch of weeks before I try it again.

My next major milestone will be slipping below 350 lbs, which might happen around Feb 5th.

Very Important: A big 'Thanks' to all of the great OH members who have been sending messages and encouragement. It has helped a bunch! My best wishes to your own recoveries and encouragement in your continued weight loss efforts respectively.

Bye for now!