DANCBJAMMIN

Send Message

Block

Add Friend

So for those of you who don't know, I am in sales, and I was recalling a funny story last night and thought I would jot it down so I could share it.

So I call up this customer to see if I could find out who the person I needed to talk to was. The woman who answered was very rude and nasty to say the least! So she ends up hanging up on me. Later that day I had an appointment not too far from where this rude ladies business was so I decided I would drop in and see if I could stir up the pot and find the right person to speak with. 

    So I walk in and this lady who I assume was about 50 with a scowl on her face, snapping her gum, and talking on the phone as she rolls her eyes when she sees me walk in the door says to the person on the other end of the phone..... "Well I guess I better go I got some customer here who probably wants something". What a psycho!! (I was thinking this was the person I originally talked to). So after hanging up the phone she says to me what do you need? I was so taken back I said the first thing that came to mind and here is what I said...

     Actually ma'am I am here from the corporate office! Her face drooped in fear! (It was great). Then I said... Actually I have been assigned to this region as the new physical fitness instructor and I am here for our 1st workout! She didn't know what to say, seeing as I was almost 400 pounds and stating I was a physical fitness instructor. Finally i started laughing cuase I couldn't hold it in any longer and I told her I was kidding... She fell out of her chair laughing so hard, and eventually I made the sale!

This was my Tommy Boy moment and I will never forget it.

-Dan
** Someone commented on the story and said I should have made her run in place for a minute! Now that would have been funny.

Hey Everyone,

     Just a quick update and side note that I have added 1 month post-op pics to my album... Check 'em out. Down from 395 to 336 as of today.... Almost 60 biscuits (without the jelly though of course). Once again, thank you everybody for your love and words of encouragement.

-Dan

Today marks my 4th week post-op. Started in the mid 390's and am officially in the 330's now! I am loving this! I am eating more solid food now and have enjoyed the innards of a Taco Bell Combo Burrito.... YUM!!!

Thank you guys for all your support!! I love you all!

Today is a good day. I am feeling 1000 x's better than I was on January 1st. My clothes are falling off me, people are noticing the difference, I am able to feel like I belong at the gym and could care less about what people think of me. Next week, I am going to start swimming laps at the gym. It will be a struggle to go into a public pool without a shirt on and still weigh over 340 pounds, but, I seriously doubt I will ever see those people in the gym anywhere else in my life, and if they look down on me because of the way I look today, it will just give me more motivation to keep on keeping on! The only time I ever had, what resembled a six pack on my abs, was when I was on the swim team. Swimming should be another great tool to get me to where I want to be. I thank you all for your support and encouragement and I am so thankful I am not walking this road alone!

-Dan

On January 3rd they measured my body fat % was 64.4. As of today per my surgeon, it is down to 46.4%. Now that's still a ton of lard...... but dang GINA!!! that's a lot of fat lost if I do say so myself. It's so cool getting healthy!

I went to the doc's today, and I am officially down 50 pounds since January 2nd!! I am so stoked! I am jogging / fast walking 3.50 miles 3-4 times a week now, and that is totally helping me shed this fat. I feel great!

Hopped on scale this morning.... 348!!!! On January 1st I weighed about 395....Almost 50 pounds in 1 month!  YEE HAW!!!

Hey There Everyone,

    I was just thinking about the road that led to my obesity and the road I am on now to getting healthy, and the truths I have found in both sides of the spectrum. I think first and foremost, the true love and happiness I share with my wife has sustained me through all of my trials because I know she truly loves me and will stand by me through anything. She has always loved and accepted me for being me, and has never faltered. She took such good care of me through this surgery and recovery. And, as I began thinking about all the things she has done for me, I reflected upon my uncle Larry. For those of you who don't know about my uncle, he had a dabilitating stroke that left him pretty much an invaled without much memory or any real means to communicate with anyone. I love my Uncle Larry and think about him often, but I also think about how he lived the majority of his adult life obese, as much of my entire family has, and I am so grateful that I made the decision to have my surgery with the support of my wife. I cannot imagine the guilt and remorse I would feel inside if I just kept living my selfish, greedy life that evolved around food and eating, and then suffering a tragic health incident such as my Uncle Larry did and becoming an even greater encumbrance on my loved ones because of my poor choices. Now, by no means is my Uncle an encumbrance on anyone, it's just a scenario that I could have possibly experience myself, had I not made the decision to get healthy. 

     Speaking of family; As I look through family photos of immediate and extended family alike, I see the faces of those I love who, for the most part, are all obese as well. I hurt inside for myself and my family because of this struggle we all have with self control, food, and lowered self esteem. I certainly believe that the only place I truly felt like I could be me was around my family and those that are overweight. For instance, if I went to a buffet with friends or peers from work, I might make 1 - 2 trips to the buffet, but if I was with my family, I would have no problem going back 3,4,or 5 times, because everyone else was too. I think that genetically, my family is predisposed to be heavy, but in reality much of the things we struggle with in life are a result of trained / learned habits. As I think about these things and then contimplate the surgery I had, I am so grateful for this TOOL I have been given. 

     The reality about Gastric Bypass is that it is NOT the "Easy Way Out". This has been one of the hardest things I have done in my life. Take a 400 pound man that had eaten at will for 14 years, tell him he has to go on a liquid diet for two weeks that consists of broth, horrible protein shakes, and water. Then add to the equation that after surgery, you will only be able to eat 2-3 ounces of food that must be blended before eating... Do that for four weeks post-op, then you can try your hand at eating solid food again, which more than likely you will puke up. Completely eliminate ice cream, candy, sweets, and all junk food FOR LIFE! Be sure to eat 2 chewable adult multi vitamins that taste like chalk, a B12 vitamin, 3-4 tums, pepcid AC everyday for the rest of your life. Sound fun yet? Try sleeping at night with a drain coming out of your gut that is filled with bloody yellowish fluid that YOU must empty several times a day, than hope and pray you don't get a wound infection in one of the 6 incisions you have. I could go on and on, but the bottom line is: Nothing about this proccess has been easy,and I am sure that there are many more hurdles I have yet to overcome. Of all of these things I know, the one thing I am most certain about is that I will never weigh 400 pounds again, I will never turn to food to fill voids and pains that I carry inside, I will be healthy for my family, I will be a better husband, a more involved father, and a better person, who will be able to understand peoples struggles and hardships, whatever they might be, because I have experienced many of them myself.

     I am so lucky to have a great family, great friends, and finally a sense of peace within me that tells me everything is going to be alright. If you are reading this, it is because you either know me and care for me in some way shape or form, or have found a sense of understanding and can relate to the words that I have written. I hope and pray that we can all encourage one another to be the best that we can be, and at the end of each day, we can improve the lives of those around us including our own by making better decisions and living more for others than ourselves!

Today, 1 day after returning to work since my Roux-En-Y on January 14th, I am feeling great! I was reading some stuff I got in a packet from my Bariatric Center, and found the link to OH and found it to be awesome. It was so cool to read, hear, and see all the success stories that have come from WLS. I liked it so much, I thought I should write down some thoughts and experiences as I travel through this journey to good health.

My wife and I got together our Junior year in high school, when I was 6'2" and weighed a solid 215 pounds and looked and felt great! 16 years later, I found myself weighing a few pounds shy of 400 pounds and was living a very different life. When I was young, I played football, soccer, golf, baseball, loved to jog, and enjoyed lots of outdoor activities. After the sports stopped, and I continued eating like a heathen, the pounds kept adding on and on, year after year. The more weight I gained, the less activity I did, the less activity I did, the more I turned to food to occupy my time. I got to the point that almost every waking minute was consumed by thoughts of food, and feelings of guilt and hopelessness.

Throughout the years, I did the whole yo-yo diet thing with every program imaginable. I lost and gained weight like it was going out of style, and finally after several attempts, just threw in the towel, and resigned myself to misery. I was pretty good at wearing a smile, but on the inside, I was so miserable and just had a deep feeling of self- pitty and a sense that I didn't fit in. My brother had RNY 16 months ago, he weighed about as much as me, and is down 150 pounds! He looks awesome, feels awesome, and became the catalyst that drove me to look into WLS.

I had my surgery 2 weeks ago and I feel great! I just got home from the gym where I walked 2.5 miles and am on top of the world. 4 weeks ago I weighed 393 pounds, and with the loss since surgery and the 20 pounds I lost prior to surgery I am down almost 40 pounds! I eat about 60 grams of protein, puree my food, take my vitamins, and try to always get my excercise in, and I can say that has contributed greatly to my recovery. I am so thankful for the chance I had to go through with WLS and am excited to keep this up to date with my progress.