280
Dancing with my wife at my brother's wedding.

2/8/2006
Well,

I am really upset with myself as I know the predicament in which I find my self should be a simple fix. I am fat, because I eat too much and don’t exercise enough. I have tried at least a hundred different diets and exercise programs and they all work as long as I can stay on them. The problem is hunger. Sooner or later I fall off the food wagon due to the incredible desire to stuff my gut until that comforting uncomfortable feeling sweeps over me. Sometimes I feel like a machine. I know I should not eat, yet my mind says “you are hungry”. I feel out of control and the fatter I get the less I enjoy exercise. I am a fairly young man (35) and I can’t stand the feeling of being fat and extremely out of shape anymore. My weight always comes back to just over 300 lbs. I have decided to seek help through WLS.



305
King of Queens?

I have done research until my eyes hurt and I truly believe I am a good candidate for this surgery. I attended a seminar put on by Dr. Oliak’s office in Brea, CA and he seemed to be an excellent surgeon. I am very concerned with what the complications to this surgery could mean and he has performed over 500 surgeries and has a good track record. That still does not quiet the fear altogether though. I am very happily married to the most incredible woman I have ever met. We were high school sweet hearts and have been very happily married for over 14 years. She definitely does not struggle with her weight and she has always loved me unconditionally, but she does fear that because of my weight, cholesterol, etc… that I could be sending myself to an early grave. She is also terrified that I might die due to the surgery. I also have the 3 greatest sons on the planet. They are the greatest gifts God has blessed me with. I have a lot to loose.

I am scheduled to go in for my psychological evaluation tomorrow. I actually met the therapist at a WLS support group I attended and I am looking forward to this experience. I would appreciate any prayers or support you can spare.

Till next time!

2/13/2006

Well I went to the Therapist last Thursday and things seemed to go pretty well. I did think they would be a little more thorough, but I was hoping that I wouldn’t have to spend the whole afternoon there. From what I could tell the session was mainly trying to weed out people who hear voices in their head and see people that are not there. Well, the voices in my head told me what to say so I think I fooled them (HA, HA). I have not heard anything from the Doctor’s office and I have no idea how long it will take to proceed to the next step. I can only assume my insurance company should approve me quickly as I will have to pay the majority of the cost out of my own pocket due to my PPO / HSA, but what do I know?


2/22/2006

Wow,

I was camping last weekend and got the call that my surgery was approved. I can’t believe that it happened so quickly. I went to meet with the Doc today and had another small seminar about GBP and then had a one on one to ask any questions regarding the surgery. I am currently 312 lbs according to the Docs scale. I have a surgery date of March 29th.

3/22/06

I am nervous. My surgery date is on the 29th, 1 week away. I feel better today than I have in a while, but I still feel afraid for my family. I can’t stop the thoughts of what would happen to my family if I had serious complications or if I died. I am really trying to focus on the positive aspects, but the damn morbid thoughts keep creeping in. I know I need this. I saw a great story on msn.com about a 500 lb guy who is in great shape 2 years after the surgery. The story was a great motivator to me. I need to be positive. I know it’s not going to be easy, but it will be worth it.

3/28/2006
Well, I am getting ready to go to the hospital tomorrow. My surgery is scheduled for 2:00 PM. I posted on the OH message board and I got a lot of positive feedback. I am a little bummed because I was scheduled for surgery at 9:00 AM and was bumped to the end of the line. I guess I am not sick enough and it’s gonna suck to not drink anything all day. I feel pretty calm today. I was seriously freaked last week. God has given me a peace so I am leaving my fate in his hands. Had my last meal at In & Out Burger today. Nothing huge, just a burger and a coke. I am ready to be on the loosing side. I weighed in on my scale this morning at 307. My goal is 185. I haven’t been there since high school. I am ready to run, exercise, play with my kids, ski, play paintball without feeling like I am constantly out of breath. I am ready to drop the foot, ankle, knee, and hip pain. I even sprained my pubic symphysis playing softball. All due to my weight. I can’t wait to be at a normal weight. I am praying for success.


4/1/2006
Made it home from surgery yesterday. It seems to have gone very well. I have little to no hunger and the thought of the protein shakes for a month are starting to make me sick already (LOL). I am doing very well though. I pray that my good health continues.

4/29/06
Well I am down from 307 the day of surgery to 268 buck naked this morning. Thats 39 pounds in just over a month. I'll take it. I am feeling really good these days as I am able to excercise a lot easier. I am fast walking 3.2 miles 4-5 times a week. I am hoping to get cleared to do some real weight lifting. Food has been a strange adjustment for me. when I first went back on semi solid foods I was able to sneak a cracker or some other easily digestible carb with my tuna or similar food. Within a week I have changed to the point it makes me dump. Now the dumping syndrome I have experienced has been a feeling of dizzyness, a tiny bit of nausea and the need to lie down and sleep. A very strange feeling that I don't like at all. Now all that really feels good is low fat low sugar yougurts and meat and egg protein. They taste good and sit well. I always hated the Atkins diet, but now it's close to how I live. I know that it will change, but I can have a coffee and liquid protein in the morning and I literally have forgotten to eat the rest of the day. That seems very funny to me now. I use to eat 2-3 fast food meals a day and still felt hungry. I have a friend that is over a year out from her surgery and she laughed at me when I told her that. She told me to retrain my self when it comes to eating habits as the hunger will return. Not looking forward to that day. Anyway, things are goinggreat for me and I praise God for my success so far.
I also ran into a guy at my church today that will be having the surgery in about a month. I am definitely going to go out of my way to support him.


6/5/06
I weighed in at 240.5 this morning for a total loss of 66.5 lbs. It’s been 9 weeks and 4 days. I am feeling pretty good, but my food tolerance changes on a regular basis. I am reverting to softer foods as meat looks good, smells good but does not sit well in my pouch. I am hoping this will change in the future. I do fell really good as far as my body size. I am shrinking pretty uniformly and my wife is absolutely thrilled with the results so far. My only real complaint is that I have lost the explosive energy that I had before. My workouts are now lengthy and more aimed towards endurance, but before the surgery I was very fast (for short distances) and could lift extremely heavy weights. It’s weird to identify with size and strength and then loose your identity. I don’t regret this surgery one bit though. My relationship with food has become healthy instead of obsessive. I don’t care about food anymore. It really brings me no enjoyment. It is hard to go to an old restaurant that I loved before the surgery and nothing on the menu sounds good. On the contrary it’s great to fit into more normal size clothes. I am down from a 50 in. waist to a 40 in. I am no longer morbidly obese (just obese). I walk / jog 4 miles 6 days a week. I am starting to feel healthy. God has definitely blessed me through this surgery.


8/2/07

Well, it's been a long time since I updated my story, but I am doing great.  I am 16 months out from my surgery and I feel incredible.  I am in better shape now than I was in high school.  I reached a weight of 175 back in November of 2006 and I really was not happy with the way I looked.  I was very gaunt in my face and although I had a pretty low body fat I had very little muscle tone.  Well I joined 24 hour Fitness and within a month I had some pretty amazing changes.  I can't believe I have become such a gym rat, but I love to workout now.  I gained 10 pounds of solid muscle and my weight now hovers between 185 and 190.  I have made it my mission to stay within that range.  Food has been an ever changing subject for me.  Sometimes I can eat just about anything and other times my body becomes very picky.  I feel very lucky as I don't really have any major eating issues.  I eat very healthy and my stomach has stretched out to accommodate more food, but it's nothing like my previous life.  I feel full after about half a meal.  I always eat protein first and I have faithfully followed my Doctors advice.  I thank God for my success and I hope things keep getting better.

12/12/2007

 

 

 

Well it’s been 21 months since my surgery and I thought it funny that I really am pretty adjusted to my new life style.  I don’t think about the fact that I had a radical surgery that not only changed my stomach size, but changed how my digestive tract works entirely.  I don’t think about it much because I feel so damned good.  I can eat  most foods now without suffering much ( I am still not sure if that’s good or bad) but now I am making mostly good food choices and I have a will power I never thought possible.  I still do have a cookie now and then and I enjoy some foods I know are not good for me, but the difference now is they are not my first pick off the menu.  I am always thinking of protein first.  I never drink sugary drinks.  I enjoy my low carb diet and I don’t think of it as being deprived.

             I do have one problem now I am very interested in fitness and I have taken up weight lifting / bodybuilding and I love the changes in my physique, but it also comes with increase in muscle mass (my weight has gone up).  I dropped all the way down to 175, before I started weight training.  Over 4-5 months I gained about 10 pounds of muscle.  Over the las year I have slowly been increasing in weight, but my waist has stayed the same (32) and my body fat is still around 8.5%.  But it DRIVES ME CRAZY to see the scale go up again.  In fact just today I weighed in at 194 and I decided that was enough.  I am going back down to 185 just to keep myself from freaking out.  I enjoy the strength gains, but I never want to see the North side of 200 pounds again.  I am going to be scaling back on the heavy weights and start running some serious distance again.  I am going to think of it as an experiment and see how my body reacts to a more endurance emphasized regime. 

I’ll post again as soon as I reach 185.







280
My reason for the Surgery.








About Me
ladera ranch, CA
Location
27.3
BMI
RNY
Surgery
03/29/2006
Surgery Date
Jan 27, 2006
Member Since

Before & After
rollover to see after photo
Day of my surgery
315lbs
16 months after surgery
185lbs

Friends 14

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