krobbb6
Who would have thought that in the 3rd grade the gangley spider that was me would end up pushing 400lbs. I was always tall for my age until I stopped growing at age 12 (6'2") The doctors all said I would be over 6'6" but it never happened. For some reason "baby fat" showed up and I started to get chubby at that time. I kept my weight within reasonable proximity to HWP through sports and exercise through my adolescent years and early adulthood. I had done some competitive bodybuilding and powerlifting and reached some pretty low bodyfat percentages (12-15%). But as I reached strength goals and size goals I couldnt figure out how these would help me in career and life. So I let fitness fall to the wayside in search of education and career.
It didnt take long for the lack of training and a high calorie diet to catch up. I went from 250lbs to 300lbs in a matter of a year. My metabolism has always been, shall we say, very efficient. I can store calories like a squirrel storing nuts for winter and as I got older into my late 20's and early 30's I noticed that dieting wasnt working like it used to. I got into the Atkins program in my early 30's and that seemed to be the missing piece of the puzzle. I could eat huge amounts of food and still lose weight. It was nothing to eat a 6 egg omlette for breakfast, a whole chicken for lunch and a salad and a 24oz steak for dinner. I still lost weight and got down to a comfy 265 from a high of 340. It seemed that total calories didnt matter as long as it was protein and some fat. I felt great and got into decent shape at that point with just a modicum of exercise. Then fate took over.
I had developed a painful nerve ailment of the brain that put me down for over a year. Doctors were taking turns passing me along to other doctors they thought could help me and in the end it took over a year for someone to figure out how to treat what was wrong. In the mean time, eating only soft, salty, high carb crappy foods I managed to put on 120lbs. When I finally found a doctor who could help the condition I thought all would be right in the world and I would just restart my Atkins lifestyle and the weight would fall off... guess what... lots and lots of high protein and fat meats and cheeses didnt work really well this time... Metabolism much slower now. Calories now seemed to be an issue. The problem was I was always hungry or thought I was. I lost a few pounds and was exercising but couldnt seem to lose the weight again. This problem has gone on for the last 7 years. I had mentioned to people that I would like to try bariatric surgery but I always got the same response, "no, dont do it... you can get the weight off naturally with diet and exercise, your just not serious enough." HUH. REALLY?! Funny thing was they had never been fat. Never walked in my shoes and never known what being serious about weight really was. I had always thought how wonderful it would be to only eat a few bites of food and be full. Share a dinner with my wife(ilovekev) and not finish everything. That trully was the solution. But how on earth could only eat a few hundred calories and still keep my sanity. I tried it and tried it and could never seem to stop thinking about food whenever I denied myself quantities that were satisfiying.
It took actually knowing someone who had went through bariatric surgery to finally push me back to the idea that this is the tool that would give me the advantage that I needed. Our friend had a duodenal switch and did beautifully well with it and still is. I was set on that procedure and was looking into going to Europe to have it done. Then I discoverd that there were a few doctors doing only the first half of the procedure, VSG. After months of researching it I had found the procedure that I had been looking for. A procedure that puts me on a good, tasty diet and gives me a tiny little stomach to fill. Until I actually go through with it I wont know for sure, but so many of you who have travelled on this path seem to be my evidence that it will be successful in the long run. My wife and I will do the VSG together since we are both overweight and I think that will make it easier to adjust to this new lifestyle. When I was doing Atkins my significant other at the time was doing it with me and it was very easy to adjust to that way of eating. I believe that with work and dedication to following the protocols set by our nutritionist and doctors that we will achieve our weightloss goals, which are very conservative at this point, but just the same, they shouldnt be too hard to achieve. Not like living on slimfast with a normal size stomach anyhow. That is tough.
