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Paul11011's Blog

A blog by Paul11011 in General

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    22

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About this blog

My Effort to Become Less Than Half the Man I've Been

Entries in this blog

Hey! How about an update?

Wow, it's been a long time since I have been here. Post sleeve life has been good. Ups and downs and unforeseen events but the majority of it I would not trade if I could. Weight is still an important part of my life but it does not hold the control over me that it did while I was obese or even that it did for the first 18 months post op. I was fanatical about doing everything right in order to shed the weight as quickly as I could. It worked by following the recommendations of my surgical

1 Year Post Op Checkup

On Wednesday I had my 1 year post op visit with the PA (Todd), Dietician (Kristen) and Behaviorist (Scott). I am still sitting here in shock that it has been a year already. I find myself lost in what I can only describe as a surreal state. My physical life is so different today than it was a year ago. I feel better in ways that I never could have imagined. I had a conversation with Todd today about needing to be aware of getting ill (extended flu as an example) because at my current body f

9 months post op

I can not believe it has been 9 months already. I am still incredibly thankful for the progressive I've seen. I can only equate my nine months with the much more famous 9 month period we all know, the progress towards birth. I feel that my journey has very much been a rebirth. I am no longer the person I used to be. Not only am I physically smaller, so many other things are different about me. I have a better attitude about life, feel more confident and resolute in who I am and what my cap

49.8% the man I was

On Nov 23, 2010 I met with my surgeon for my initial consultation, on that date I weighted in at 492lbs. On the date of my VSG, Jan 10, 2011, I weighted 456lbs. Today I weigh 245lbs. That brings my total lost to 247lbs and my post op total to 211lbs. Here's why today is a milestone for me: today I weigh 49.8% of what I did back on Nov 23, 2010. I am officially less than half the man I was!   I know this journey is not about the numbers on the scale rather it's having the opportunity to

8 months post op

So this last Saturday (Sept 10) marked the 8 months post op point for me on this journey. I am still amazed at what a process it's been. I have had success well beyond my wildest dreams. As is often the case nothing is ever completely positive. There have been some bumps to work through that I never would have predicted before surgery. Primarily dealing with relationships. Relationships with both people and my relationship with food. It has been a learning experience in so many ways.   In sna

Wow look at me...I'm Obese!

With my latest weigh-in on Monday I have now dipped under 40 on the BMI scale. So now after being Super Obese and Extremely Obese...I am now just plain ole Obese. What a silly label to be happy about huh? The other realization that I have come to and still trying to come to grips with is that this very likely will be the label I stay at. When I get to my goal weight, I will still have a BMI north of 30, so my prospects of getting to Overweight are pretty slim....man I hate puns.

7 months Post-op

7 months ago today was my surgery day. I can not believe, nor would I believed had you told me then, what a different life I have now. On the morning of surgery I weighted in at 456lbs. Today as I type this I weight 280lbs. I have lost 176lbs post op. From my initial consultation to my surgery I had lost 36lbs for a total now of 212lbs lost. It is so much more than just the decreased numbers on the scale that have changed my life. Obviously it all goes back to the diminished mass I now ca

2 Century Club!

I am proud and excited to say that as July 18th I have officially joined the 2 century club! I am now down 204lbs since the start of this journey. I still can not believe it's gone as well as it has. I thank God for the success he has allowed me to see with this process.   For the first time in at least 23 years I am under 300lbs. This takes me back to my early days in high school. I have never been at my current weight as an adult. I still keep expecting to wake up from this dream and

Pity Party Busters

Last night I was feeling irrationally down because I had a goal in mind to be at by 6 months out and I did not quite get there. I say irrational because had anyone told me on the day of surgery where I would actually be at 6 months, I would have bet the farm against it. So as a way to get over myself I looked back in my weigh-in log book ( I weigh once a week and record it). It was looking back at the hard numbers that made me snap back to reality. Other "tools" I've used to get over such pity p

General catch up

Wow, it's been forever since I wrote a blog on here. About time to catch up. Here's the random stuff happening in no particular order.   I am now at a weight less than I've been in approximately 12 years. As of Monday June 20, I was at 312lbs. 180lbs less than I was on Nov 23, 2010. 144lbs less than I was on the day of my surgery, Jan 10, 2011.   When eating at a resturant I no longer have a fear of being placed in a booth.   I am now "light" enough to use the Wii Fit balance board.

PDG Movie Review and NSV

My wife and I decided to take advantage of a child-free weekend and go see the Hangover 2 at our local movie theater. I bought our tickets and we made our way into the theater. We selected our seats, right near the top as close to the center as we could and we sat down.   It was then that I noticed something unusual. Something did not quite feel normal. Oh I know what it is, we did not have our hands full of snacks, popcorn, candy, pretzels, and soda. Hmmm, while that was true it was n

150lbs lost and a NSV too

This has been a great week. Monday I did my weekly weight in and discovered I'd lost another 6lbs which put me at 150 lbs lost! I'm not sure why 150 was so much more rewarding than 144, but t sure felt great. I'm now 55% of the way to my goal.   Also on Monday I put on a new pair of dress pants, black ones. Well when I went to my closet to get a black belt it occured to me that the only black belt I had was from "before". Not having much of a choice I punched a new hole in the belt, abo

4 months post-op.

It's hard to believe that it has already been 16 weeks since I was in the hospital getting my "sleeve". What a whirlwind of changes. I feel so fortunate to have been able to get this procedure done and get on with a more healthy, more complete life. I feel so much better and have increased energy. I find myself with a renewed outlook on life. I'm now beginning to believe things are so much more possible than they were prior to my surgery.   I am returning to college to finish my bachelo

Century Club Post Op

Today when I weighted in I had to triple check to make sure I was seeing correctly. I lost 10 lbs this past week which puts me at exactly 100lbs less than I was 15 weeks ago today, my day of surgery. Holy crap was I excited to see that number. I had in the back of my mind been hoping to 100lbs lost post op by 4 months out which would be next Monday. Wow what a great day.! Next mini goal now is only 6lbs away and I'm now only 30lbs heavier than my lightest weight in 10 +/- years. Total lost

Progress Shirt....Attention Pre-Op'ers

Monday April 4 was 12 weeks since I had my VSG surgery. I have enjoyed every second of my journey thus far. I have found one thing that I wish I would have done differently and I wanted to share with you.   I have a blue camp shirt, nothing special, blue denim button-up. I had bought this shirt back near my highest weight because it was the type of shirt that my wife had always wanted me to wear. At the time I bought the shirt I could not wear it, it was too small. It was about 4 inches

3 month post op check up.

Yesterday I had my 3 month (11 week actually) check up with my nutritionist, surgical PA and exercise physiologist. Everything went very well and they were all pleased with the progress I've made both on the scale and with the changes I've made to my diet and workout routines. A couple of things of note that I want to share:   Weight on 11-23-2010 (initial consult): 492 Weight on 1-10-11 (Surgery day): 456 Weight on 3-28-2011 (3 Month check up): 383   Cholesterol on 10-13-2010 (Labs don

My workout buddy

I can not express how valuable it has been for me to have a workout buddy. Though I am very excited about my new exercise routine as part of my journey, there have been a couple of times where if I were left to my own devises I would likely have found myself too busy to get in my workout. Having that other person there to help me be accountable, and I him, has kept us on pace with our 3 times a week strength training. Even better part about my workout buddy, he's my 17 year old son. Commitme

Milestone reached

Well this afternoon at about 4:30pm one of my first goals on this journey was achieved. I have now passed the 100lbs lost mark. This is from my initial consultation date on 11-23-2010. I lost 36 lbs from that date until my surgery on 1-10-2011 (9 weeks ago) and have lost 67lbs post-op for a total of 103lbs gone. I know I have a long road yet to go but man this feels great!

But, I don't want to be full yet.

I've now found myself twice eating dinner and getting that, "Here comes the fullness feeling" and not wanted to be done eating yet. I suppose this is me trying to hang on to my old way of viewing food as enjoyment and satisfaction instead of realizing that it is simply the body's fuel. Luckily I have this wonderful new tool that prevents me from taking in more than I really need.

Back to Strength Training

I had my 6 week post op checkup last Wednesday. I met with the excercise physiologist and he cleared me to start doing some strength training in addition to the cardio I've been doing. Man I was unaware of how weak I had become. I'm not sure if it's related to the surgery or that I've really done no strength training for so long. I'm hoping that it is just getting back into the swing of things and it will come back quickly. Oh well I'm looking at everything as being a fresh start.

My Journey To Become Less Than Half The Man I've Been

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog. This is my first attempt at this so please be patient as I figure this thing out. It may be helpful to understand a bit of my history to understand some of the things that I write and emotions that I express. I have been a large person all of my life. I have lost over 100 lbs on 3 separate occasions. The bad side to that is that each time after the loss I gained an equal amount or more back. After examining my options and realizing that I need

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