10.5 months out - at goal and loving it - long description of life at this point

Jasonm11
on 1/25/12 11:41 am, edited 1/24/12 11:45 pm
I don't have much time these days to spend on here with work and just life iin general but I did want to give a quick update to how things are going and how a typical day for me goes.

I have been at goal since around new years. I have slowly been creeping down but at no more than a pound a week, which I am fine with considering I have reintoduced full fat cheeses in place of the 2% and made a few other changes to try to slow the weight loss. I think going forward I should be able to slow it and potentially stop it. I'll be careful to monitor for ANY gains and put a stop to them if and when they happn.

Typical day in eating

A typical day in eating, for me, involves the following, for breakfast I have 1 medium egg, scrambled with only black pepper with 1 piece of bacon cooked either in the microwave or on a george foreman to minimize fat. I buy center cut as well to minimize fat because, well, bacon is fatty and I don't like fatty lol. I also watch for sodium levels and have found bacons that have 'lower' (doesn't mean low by any means) sodium levels. That is the #1 reason I don't add salt to ANYTHING else I eat. On somedays, I will cook 1/2 piece of wheat toast with no butter and put the egg and bacon on. This folds into what I call my quarter egg bacon toaster. Delicious.

For lunch I have alternate between 1 bratwurst, cooked on the george foreman and squeezed like crazy while cooking and on paper towels after to remove as much fat as possible or 1 grilled chicken or taco salad or such. I keep it to about 3-4 oz of meat is the point. I'll let myself have an ounce of grated cheese if its a salad. I don't measure lettuce at all and limit it only to allow myself to eat the full 3-4 oz of meat. I'll also substitute spinach for lettuce sometimes to get the nutrients. I can;t stand any kind of dressings or mayo so nothing like that will ever go on my salads.

For dinner, almost every single night, I eat a taco with 2 oz of beef, 1 oz of cheese and as much lettuce as I can squeeze on it. If after eating that I feel like I need more to be satisfied(happens about half the time I would say), I will have either one more taco(or as much as I can eat, usually about half...but I'll pile the meat to one half so I can get my 4 ounces of meat) or I will have 4 nachos made with fat free refried beans topped with cheese and an extreme amount of jalapeno peppers because, well....I love jalapenos and this is about the only thing they will go on....

This menu won't work for many for a couple reasons....first and foremost there is NO variety....I absolutely could live off tacos and scrambled eggs and be the happiest person in the world....I love those two foods....I don't know why...my wife hates tacos...mainly because I have literally had them 6 niights a week for atleast the last 6 months I would bet....I love them....for breakfast, she does the same as me...1 egg and 1 bacon, though she picks the bacon fat off more drastically than me.....to me, as long as the fat is cooked crispy to where it is not at all oily, I will eat it....

Second, many people would freak out at a WLS patient ating bratwurst....lets be honest, there is nothing about bratwurst that is healthy....its about 50/50 meat/fat and is high in sodium.....that is why I will only eat it cooked on the george foreman, squeezed literally to the point it explodes, and squeezed again in paper towels until it is very, very dry. This only works because I love bratwurst soaked in mustard....soaked....drenched....else, cooked like this it would be so dry that I don't think it would be edible....

That being said, I won't have more than 2 bratwurst in any given week because I do realize, even with my cooking style, that it is in no way healthy.

Basically, tacos are what I live off of. Oh, and I ONLY use 96/4 ground beef and drain any liquid off and squeeze the cooked meat between paper towels....

I literally go through a paper towel roll every few days....I drain the crap out of my cooked meat....I can't stand oily foods.....disgusting....

Disclaimer

But anyway, recognize that I am in no way suggesting foods that you should eat. I am simply saying what works for me. This menu keeps me satisfied because I eat foods I enjoy and I meet my nutrtional needs. It allows me to meet my weight loss goals and stay in good health.

Eating out - throwing my food log out the door for one night a month

My wife and I do enjoy going out to dinner. We both enjoy our wine and sangria and atleast once a month, I absolutely obliterate my calorie and carbs at a monthly wine dinner at the local Carrabbas. While I can't eat or drink much those nights, I do have atleast a combined total of 3 glasses of wine and between the five courses, I would say I easily eat 1000 calories. There is no way to lie out of this one. It ruins my nutritional goals for that day and is absolutely against everything the WLS is for. But, my wife and I love it and get to spend a wonderful night out with family and friends and I don't let myself have any care for watching my nutrional intake. The only thing I watch for is time between eating and drinking, which fortunatly they serve very slowly, and that I don't over eat as far as too much at one time. For example, I may have 4 ounces in a 30 minute period, but as much as 12 ounces over the entire 4 hours we're there. I adjust my meals accordingly in the week afterwards to ensure on a weekly basis that I am doing ok on my nutrional needs and on calorie intake. In the 8 months we have been doing these, I have not once seen a noticeeable effect, either in weight gain or slowed weight loss, by doing these. So, it works for me, may not for you.

The big question I think I had before WLS was, can you lead a normal life?

I have to say this question isn't easy to answer. I will first say in no way, have I ever, a single time, even once, thought that this wasn;t the absolute best decision I have ever made. It absolutely is.

But can I call my life normal? I have to plan meals. I have found a menu that is healthy and works for me but is extremely limited. My wife hates its and is usually having to either have me fix something else or do so herself(she hates to cook). I can't just say, oh, spaghetti with meatballs sounds great!.....I have had noodles maybe 3 times since surgery....they just simply don't work...they swell up and I end up not being able to eat anything....

I simply can't eat bbq meats. I used to cook competitivly. I still enjoy bbqing but I literally can have one small bite of brisket or ribs. anymore and I will puke. No questions asked....eat second bite...5 minutes later standing over a toilet puking....every time....

So is my lif normal? It is small but this still annoys me. People always ask me if I want something to drink when they serve me food. They'll set out the meal, then offer me a glass of water, even though hundreds of times now, I have told them I can't have a drink with my meals. Not drinking with meals is second nature and is normal now. I don't even think about it. But its just annoying always being offered it....small but bugs me....

So no, my life isn't normal. Every day I am faced with reprecussions of my surgery. However, they are so small and insignifigant that I would take them any day over the 150+ pounds of fat I have lost.

Summary

In closing, I want to express my thanks to everyone on this board who came before me. While I am not following every piece of advice I have been given, I havve taken their advice as best I could to make a system that works for me. I have learned from their mistakes and made this into a success story.

I also want to encourage all of you who think this is so far away and isn't possible, that there is always a way. My insurance didn't pay a dime for this. I saved in a retirment account for a long time before having enough to cover the cash price for my surgery. Think outside the box and you'll be amazed at the ways you can fund this.

I also want to give credit to my surgeon, Dr. Daryl Stewart. I still believe he is much of the reason for my success. I just think he is a skilled, great surgeon.

If you are on the fence, I would encourage you to lean towards having surgery. While I can't say my life is normal, I often feel like i traded an unhealthy not normal life for a healthy not normal life. That is a trade that in hindsight, I would make over and over again.

Feel free to message me if you have any questions. I would love to help out and give back in any way I can.


Edit:
Whats next in life

My wife and I are taking a cruise from Vancouver to Seward in May....looking forward to that....and being healthy enough to enjoy a flight and a cruise. Also, still intend to run a 5k and one of the 'mud runs' that have gained so much popularity lately....so yup....leading an active life....life is good and God is great....
    
HW(2-19-11) - 375    SW(3-9-11) - 362.5    CW - 204    GW - 220
Reached 100 pounds lost from highest weight at 3.5 months post-op!!!
Reached 100 pounds lost since surgery weight at 4.75 months post-op!!!
loser2be
on 1/25/12 11:43 am - CA
VSG on 03/02/12
Great work!
kimbethin
on 1/25/12 1:59 pm - CA
I'm glad to hear you are doing so well- I loved seeing your posts when I was a new sleever!  Enjoy that cruise- I may do it in July!
putting one foot in front of the other...        
frisco
on 1/25/12 7:35 pm
 
Right on Jason !!!

Thanks for keeping it reals !!!!

Can't never argue Success !!!

frisco

SW 338lbs. GW 175lbs. Goal in 11 months. CW 148lbs. WL 190lbs.

          " To eat is a necessity, but to eat intelligently is an art "

                                      VSG Maintenance Group Forum
                  
 http://www.obesityhelp.com/group/VSGM/discussion/

                                           CAFE FRISCO at LapSF.com

                                                      Dr. Paul Cirangle

RW76
on 1/25/12 8:07 pm, edited 1/25/12 8:08 pm - Medina, OH
First off, congrats on reaching your goal! 

It's funny, change the foods and you just described my post VSG life.  lol

My live in GF always makes fun of me as I eat the same foods over and over again, but you know what?  It works for me and that's the important thing,  must be a guy thing I guess.



 

  
Pre Op: 415  SW: 390  Goal: 235 CW: 225

mandyc1975
on 1/26/12 1:28 am - Richardson, TX
VSG on 09/20/11 with
Nope, not a guy thing. I eat "out of the box" sometimes but mostly I have about 3 or 4 things I eat almost every day. But, if it's not broken, don't fix it!
Do not ask God to guide your footsteps if you're not willing to move your feet.
  
9/4 (pro op) 299 lbs - 9/20 (surgery day) 285 lbs - 10/4 268 lbs - 11/7 251 lbs- 12/8 239 lbs - 1/9 222 lbs - 2/7 214 lbs - 3/3 202 lbs - 3/19 194 lbs ... 9/20/2012 - 142 lbs
trayb17
on 1/25/12 8:39 pm
VSG on 01/05/12
I LOVE this post! For me, a new post op, it is very helpful to see what life may be like in the future! Congrats on your success!!
Jasonm11
on 1/25/12 9:20 pm
Thanks everyone. Also wanted to add what I do for exercise. Up until mid Novemeber, I was running 3-4 times a week, up to 2 miles per day. I did and still enjoy running. My wifes uncle flew in for the holidays from Germany and due to spending time with him, we both stopped exercising as much. Then, once he left, work picked up and I have been working an average of 100 hours per week since. That is finally slowing and I have been able to get back to running. It is amazing how much you can slip in 2 months. I could run a mile without breaking a sweat. Now, I make it half a mile and just about pass out.

So for that reason, I plan on starting over in the couch to 5k program next week and building back up and attempt to better maintain.

As for how running works for me, I downloaded an app, 5k Runner, that allows music to be played in the background and it voice overs with running and walking instructions. Works great and lets me enjoy the music I want for that day. I am a Christian music buff. However, when running, I have to have something heavier. So, I pull way back in my music library from my college days and find all the alternative/rock music....things like Rage against the machine - bulls on parade, toadies, some korn....all that kind of stuff....I have found the heavier music with a faster beat greatly increases the pace of my workout. So if you feel like you aren't making any progress, try some faster music....your pace may pick up without you noticing, causing a more effective workout.

I also strongly think more than anything, the drop off in my workout is what has allowed my weight loss to slow. I don't believe the added calories from the full fat cheeses and increased meat portions....from 3 to 4 ounces....has done as much as the fall off in my exercise. SO for that reason, I along with so many others, stress how important exercise is for both weight loss and health.

Once you get in a pattern of exercise and 'get in shape' you will be amazed at how great you feel every day. It really does make a huge difference....take it slow to get started and build up. I started at 360 pounds walking building up to running a mile by 280 and 2 miles by 240. The improvement in my daily life, directly due to my stamina was drastic and amazing....you won't regret it...

    
HW(2-19-11) - 375    SW(3-9-11) - 362.5    CW - 204    GW - 220
Reached 100 pounds lost from highest weight at 3.5 months post-op!!!
Reached 100 pounds lost since surgery weight at 4.75 months post-op!!!
favrow812
on 1/26/12 12:07 am - Olathe, KS
VSG on 02/20/12
Thanks for such an amazing inspirational post! I love reading success stories such as yours! It gives us that are about to have surgery a great thing to look forward too!

There is only one success--to be able to spend your life in your own way.
  

 
jojomoe523
on 1/26/12 1:23 am - PA
good job Jason!! you are fantastic! may you have continued success!

Joanne
            
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