I thank you. Now on to the fun.
It is now almost one month post surgery and things are progressing. Not quite as fast as they started off, but they are not really supposed to. As a refresher, here is some quick background. In December of 2012 i weighed in at 408 pounds. In a response to this I decided it was time for a change and started my journey in weight loss. I wasn't very good at it as over the course of the next 15 months i only managed to lose 34 pounds.
This helped me to understand that I needed a new plan. I started off in March of 2014 at 374 pounds and started my job at Peach New Media.They helped inspire me to take that next step as well. The step to Bariatric Surgery, VSG also known as Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy, aka the sleeve. My pre-op weight loss plan helped me lose 30 pounds from October 12th to December 16th.
On December 16th 2014 I underwent the VSG procedure at Saint Elizabeth's Hospital, my surgery weight was 332 pounds. . A day later I was home healing, and about a month later I sit here writing to you.
The best news i can give is I now weigh in at 298 pounds. For the first time in probably 15 years I have cracked the 300 barrier. Honestly I had dreamed of this day for a long time, but dreams alone done do the work, it took a lot to get just to this point and I am truly glad to be here. Here is some side by side pics of my face, see if you can tell the difference before the weight loss and currently.
I hope you see a difference. So far I am down 2 shirt sizes from a 5xl to a 3xl and in pants, Well lets just say it is a big difference. I have been wearing mostly elastic pants knowing I would be losing weight i couldn't buy anything expensive or it would be a waste anyway. So Sweatpants and workout type pants for me. I dropped from a tight 3xl pant to a loose 2xl pant. I will post my before surgery measurements and I will take another set of measurements after my formal weigh in and meeting with the nutritionist on the 21st. That will be a hoot.
So I am now on the soft foods stage but that includes soft meats so im very happy about that. Yet in a be careful what you wish for sort of way. You see after being on the liquids for two weeks you truly want to eat something. However when you get to do so you realize how little you can eat and all the restrictions come to bear. Eat to fast..you will pay for it, eat too much, you will pay for it.
For me the toughest is not drinking within a 1/2 hour before and after meals. Also just not being able to drink in the way you used to , and I don't mean alcohol. Let's say you are thirsty, want to just grab a glass of water and drink your fill. Well your fill is a small half mouthful. Then wait then maybe another small half mouthful.
Now add to this the fact that myself and my wife have joined a gym. We go 4 to 5 times a week, and I ride the stationary bike ( upright) and she uses the treadmill. We started the first time at 15 minutes, because i was close to surgery still and didn't know what this would do to me to be honest.
I know from a year or so ago in physical therapy when i had my shoulder surgery, that I was capable of doing 15 minutes on the bike, albeit with a supreme effort on my part. Well that first day was okay. The next week we upped it to 20 minutes and i was able to ride 5 miles and even doing the hill program on the bike.
The best part is although I was tired and sure felt the burn, I wasn't feeling like I would die like i used to. Losing this much weight so far has truly already benefited me. So next week 25 minutes, and then 30. Then we add in the circuit training to be sure i can keep some muscle tone. All in all things have gone very well. I go together with friends on last Saturday for the New England Patriots game and my friends all remarked how much I had changed. It is truly a wonderful thing to hear when you know and can feel and see the changes. Sometimes people say " oh have you lost weight?" when in reality they are just being polite. This time, i know and can honestly answer yes, I have. Well thats where I am going to leave this and head off to bed. I hope you have a wonderful week, and I will see you soon.
and I leave you with this.
All good. All good. Loving the gym progress -- keep it up. I can't believe we haven't seen you yet. I can't wait to see the difference (need to get Jim better though, so we can make it up there.)
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