Checking in with my OH friends!

Jun 18, 2013

Hello OH extended family!

Sorry I've been away for so long! I've just been living life and honestly broke with all the hard-core disciplines I used to get me the 175 Lb weight loss I had attained. So before we go on any further, this is NOT another one of those "OMG I've fallen off the wagon and I can't get back on track" posts. I have gained back some of the weight I lost but honestly I was feeling so weak at times and looking so ill and gaunt that I had to rethink what I was doing. The original goal I had set was based on a healthy weight I was at when I was an athlete  in my early 20's. As it turns out 225 Lbs really isn't applicable to a 50+ year old obese man simply because the amount of lean muscle mass and more importantly the 25-30 Lbs of excess skin I'm now carrying around really hadn't been factored in. So here's the short story.. After several bouts with dehydration and trips to the ER I decided to eat more than 800-1000 calories a day. I also allowed myself to eat more than 50 carbs per day and slip out of ketosis. Within weeks I had gained about 6 Lbs but to me that had to be water weight and likely much needed water weight. The frequent bouts with dehydration and electrolyte imbalance started to subside. So now fast forward to today. I'm ~45 Lbs heavier than my all time low of ~240 Lbs, I'm slightly disappointed that my dietary habits are not as strict as I want them to be, but I still only consume ~1500 calories a day and I feel very very good! The VSG did exactly what I needed it to do. It saved me from myself. Even when I have a day when I eat nothing but convenient, high fat, high carb crap the damage is contained simply because of the small stomach capacity. I'm not chain eating so when I do switch back to monitoring what I'm putting in my mouth the weigh falls off quickly, like 5-8 Lbs a week quickly! Gotta love the VSG!

So here's where I'm going with this today. I yearn for the structure and the OH support system I've left behind for nearly 2 years when I went free styling. I've started tracking my food again (today) on myfitnesspal.com, I've set reasonable food intake goals, and I plan to get back to walking or riding my bike for exercise 4x per week for at least 20 minutes per session. I hope to bring my weight back down to around 250 Lbs and hold it there. I wish I had a stack of money or a rich uncle to fund some plastic surgery for excess skin removal but it just isn't going to happen. The reality is a former 410 Lb man weighing in at 250 lbs is actually a 220 Lb man without his excess skin. I had to learn this the hard way but I'm ok with it (sort of, but physical identity is a whole other conversation). I'll check back more often now so please drop me a message and for those of you that want to talk off line I would be happy to exchange cell numbers with you so we can chat or text each other outside of the OH.

Looking forward to hearing from you!... Craig

PS: This is the most recent picture I have to share. It's from Dec 2012 and it's pretty much how I look today. Yes, my hair did come back thanks to lots of daily doses of biotin!

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Week 45 Post-Op Update!

Dec 22, 2011

Happy Almost Christmas Everyone!
Last week I was in damage control mode due to a momentary uptick in my weight caused by excessive use of processed foods and the resulting sodium intake. Well I'm happy to report that 3 days after I went back to basics my weight returned to my pre-processed foods hiatus. So as of today the scale says 238 Lbs! BUT.. the week isn't over yet and we have a family tradition of eating Chinese food on Xmas Eve so we'll see what next week brings. Anyway, I wish all my OH friends have an excellent holiday!
Take care... Craig
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Week 44 Post-Op Update!

Dec 16, 2011

Happy Friday Folks!
Today I had to go back to basics and stick closely to the rules of protein 1st, minimize my carb intake, keep my total calories below 800, and keep my meals to just 3 per day. Why you may ask?... the scale went up 3 Lbs after literally weeks of staying locked solid at 239 . OK, I know it's likely just water from eating processed food (frozen pre-cooked Tyson chicken, Jack Links beef jerky or turkey jerky, etc) and I'm not overreacting. I'm just taking preemptive measures to head of the upward trend. Hopefully I'll be able to report back next week that I'm back on track and either back to weighing 239 or even less. Stay tuned!...
Craig
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Week 43 (10 Months) Post-Op Update!

Dec 10, 2011

Today's my 10 Months Post-Op surgiversary, Yay!!
I'm a happy VSG customer and I'm so pleased with my choice to change my life with this most excellent weight loss solution! NSV.. For the past 5 years I have avoided an annual BBQ that is put on in December by a good friend of mine. I stayed away simply because I didn't want to be the "FAT-GUY" that everyone would mumble about ("geez I hope he leaves some for the rest of us"). Well today I wasn't that guy and YES I DID ATTEND! It was a great time and I ate my fill of BBQ and fixin's (all 6 oz's of it... LOL!). Oh, and as promised, here's a current pic of me..

Till next week!... Craig 
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Week 42 Post-Op Update

Dec 03, 2011

Hi gang!
Sorry I'm a bit late with my blog post this week. To some degree I see myself moving away from the routines that got me to where I am today. I don't read the OH as often as I used to and it seems like the weeks just speed by now. Blog updates always seem to sneak up on me. I guess it's because I'm just living life now and not really focused on my VSG and weight loss. I'm still 239-240 Lbs and honestly I'm quite comfortable at this weight! I do plan to make another drive to break through and drop another 10 Lbs very soon. But for now I have just been eating like a normal person! Small portions, little to no junk food, a bit higher carb count, and a bit lower protein count than my post-op diet. Right now I'm taking in an average of 1000 calories a day, 50 carbs, and 70 proteins. Yes I still log my food in myfitnesspal.com religiously. I know I owe you and myself a photo update and I will do this soon. Next Tuesday I'm planning on going back to the local Bridges meeting. I've missed 2 months in a row so it should be fun seeing the old crew again and the progress they have made. I'll post again after the meeting Tuesday, hopefully with pics!
TTYS... Craig
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Week 41 Post-Op Update

Nov 25, 2011

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! My holiday was very low key. My whole family is sick with our 1st winter cold (even the baby!). Both myself and my wife are sleeved so the food we consumed was enjoyable but actually quite conservative. I made a very small batch of cornbread and cranberry stuffing with pork sausage (only about 2 cups) and we split a frozen Banquet Turkey dinner. The only other adders were a mini bagel with lox and low-fat cream cheese for breakfast, a few Sun-chips and veggy dip for snack, and a small slice of pumpkin pie with a dollop of Cool-whip. I even entered all my food into myfitnesspal just like every day. Turned out OK, only about 300 more calories than usual, mostly carbs and fat (DUH). So it was fun and just as satisfying as it used to be when I used to consume about 20X more food on this particular holiday. Oh.. I did have to quit the temp job I mentioned last week. My feet just couldn't take the 10 hour shifts of constant standing and walking very long distances (15 miles per night!). So I only lasted 4 days. The darn cold would have taken me out the next day anyway. Back to interviews next week though!
Take care!... Craig
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Week 40 Post-Op Update

Nov 17, 2011

What a week! I took on a temp job working at Amazon for the Xmas season and man is a killer! On my  feet for 11 hours a day 5 days a week!!!! Lord knows there is NO WAY I could have done this 165 Lbs ago. Jeez I'm not even sure I can keep doing it now! I'm happy that my renewed health has allowed me to even consider doing this job, but I'm also not crazy about having sore legs and feet at the end of my shift!. Anyway, the scale says 139 Lbs this week and I had to start wearing smaller pants too. I'm now wearing a size 36 waist jeans! Haven't seen that number in a very long time! Like 20 years ago. Not much more to add. Hopefully the sore legs and feet don't force me to throw in the towel on the temp job.
Thanks for listening... Craig
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Week 39 Post-Op Update

Nov 10, 2011

Happy surgiversary to me! Today is my 9 months post-op surgiversary and I couldn't be happier about my decision to undergo this life altering VSG process. I didn't really lose any weight since last week but I also didn't gain any. That usually means the scale is about to drop a few Lbs for me soon. I'm not really too concerned because I honestly feel like I'm about done losing weight pretty soon. In fact I'm not planning on dropping below 230 Lbs even though my original goal was 225 Lbs. I figure I'm carrying about 20 Lbs of excess skin around so my real body-weight is likely 220 Lbs right now (that is if I had a rich Daddy to pay for my PS). Anyway, I'll post a current picture to mark my 9 months within the next few days.
Talk to you again soon!... Craig
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Week 38 Post-Op Update

Nov 03, 2011

OK!
This week, and in particular today, my spirits are higher. Last week I had blood and urine tests that came back negative for markers for bladder and/or prostate cancer (YAY!). So why all the hoopla last week then? Well it turns out that the urologist isn't the sharpest knife in the drawer. He had all kinds of plans for me that were both very expensive and very uncomfortable (although I have not had it done to me personally, shoving a small camera up your pee hole can be quite painful I'd imagine?). The Internet is a wonderful thing! Had my brilliant urologist actually read the background info I had given them on the 5 page medical questionnaire they made me fill out he would have seen that I indicated extreme problems with constipation as of the past several months. Well it turns out that I self diagnosed myself (via the Internet) with a bruised prostate and bladder from the bad time I've been having in the potty. I stopped taking that nasty medicine the urologist gave me and started taking very large amounts of fiber in despite my carb count going through the roof. I tell ya, it's amazing what some good old homemade cabbage soup can do for your potty problems! So long story short is my trips to the potty are now daily and hardly even strenuous. My bladder and prostate are on the mend, and all pain and difficulty with pee pee is subsiding nicely. I also dropped about 3 more Lbs since last update (the scale says 241 Lbs today!) so now I'm just 16 Lbs from goal! To top all this good news off.. Today I went to a job interview and I was looking smokin' in my black pleated pants and long sleeved black and paisley dress shirt. It's the first time I've interviewed as a normal size person in over 30 years. Well I got the job and I start work on the 16th! I'm so stoked that I wasn't discriminated against for my weight like I often have been over the years pre-op!
More next week, thanks for reading... Craig
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Week 37 Post-Op Update

Oct 27, 2011

If my life were a movie this week would be called "The Good News & The Bad News". The Good News is that I really buckled down and broke my higher carb daily consumption that was quickly becoming a habit.  The result.. a 5 Lb weight loss! The scale now says I weigh 243 Lbs! The Bad News is that despite all my efforts over the past 11 months to lose weight, regain my health, and live a long & healthy life, I now have severe lower abdominal pain that may be quite serious. I went to the urologist Thursday and kicked off the testing for bladder and prostate cancer. So we'll see what comes of it over the next week or two (fingers are crossed hard on this one!).
Take care... Craig  
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About Me
40.4
BMI
VSG
Surgery
02/10/2011
Surgery Date
Mar 30, 2011
Member Since

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