So I figured I'd post a (hopefully) short note on what my life is like about 5 months after my lap sleeve, for any prospective sleevers.

First, the bad news -- this is forever, and it's not a decision to be made lightly. This WILL affect the food choices you make for the rest of your life. It's probably the safest WLS surgery around (when you total up operative and perioperative risks, long-term success rates, M&M stats, and so on), but that doesn't mean it's risk- or hassle-free.

Now, let me soften the blow: it's really, really easy. Every day, I take some multivitamins -- and I was taking vitamins before the surgery, so this is no biggy. Every day, I drink a protein shake for breakfast -- not because I have to, but because they're tasty and it's quick (I'm usually in a rush in the mornings) and that way I know I'm not getting protein deficient. I have changed my eating habits dramatically -- I've slowed down my eating and drinking, and I don't eat breads any more for the most part, because I find that bread gets "stuck." It seemed like an imposition at first, but now I don't notice because I've sort of been trained. I don't even WANT bready stuff any more, and that's a HUGE change from my pre-op mentality (I was a HUGE fan of doughy, bready stuff).

I exercise, but I haven't been to a gym since my surgery, and I'm not sure I'm going to be. What I've discovered is that my activity level (or lack thereof) has NOTHING to do with my weight loss. Now, don't get me wrong -- I still do a fair amount of exercise, but that's because 1) it helps in so many OTHER ways -- I sleep better, I think better, my sex drive is better, and my occasional spells of anxiety or mild blues are pretty much gone when I'm exercising, and 2) now that I'm 70+ pounds lighter, exercise seems so EASY. I can easily run up three flights of stairs without getting winded! At 330 lbs, that would have (possibly literally) killed me! So, when exercise makes me feel so good and doesn't HURT like it used to -- why WOULDN'T I exercise? But again, my exercise "routine" consists of some push ups in the morning to keep my chest and shoulders from getting flabby, some arm curls while I'm sitting reading the news in the morning to keep my arms strong, and a 30-45 minute fitness walk at lunch every day. Honestly, it doesn't feel like I'm having to "work out" at all -- it's all so EASY -- and yet my stamina keeps going up, my arms and chest are getting very muscular. It almost feels like I'm "cheating" since there's so little work involved, but I wanted to show you that this is not like you're used to! You don't have to sweat for hours and hours in a stinky gym just to "maintain" -- post sleeve, you just have to do enough to be healthy, and honestly your body WILL reward you.

I still eat sweets -- just not very much. I still drink an occasional bottle of beer or (more likely) a mixed drink or two -- just not very much (volume or frequency). I still have days or whole weekends where I just lie around on the couch and do NOTHING at all -- no fitness walk, nothing -- and mostly munch on snack-y foods. It's not like I'm some slave to my sleeve.

And the net result of my hard, hard life? I've lost over 70 pounds with little to no effort. My weight loss shows no signs of slowing. My doctor is amazed how healthy I am at 40 -- my last blood test showed that ALL of my numbers were "within range." My sex drive -- which vanished in my 20's-30's when I was so fat -- has returned with a vengeance. My face looks much more lean and angular. My bones and muscles now show where fat used to bulge and roll out. I can easily walk over 5 miles without getting winded or sore, and could probably walk 10 miles or more -- in the right clothes and shoes, I think I could walk for days. I don't get tired. I'm already out of the "morbidly obese" category; I'm looking to be out of the "obese" category near the beginning of next year, and by the middle to end of next year -- if my weight loss progress holds steady at about 1-2 pounds per week on average -- I should be near or under 200 pounds. I started this at 330, and I haven't been under 250 in my adult life.

And all of this without any real deprivation, any really hard work (aside from meticulously following the doctor's orders), and any real cost aside from the up-front cost for the surgery.

So, I don't want to make you think this surgery is completely cost and risk free. Like everything in life -- especially everything worth having -- it has trade-offs and consequences. But as someone who has literally struggled with his weight his entire life -- 30 years, probably, and I'm only 40! -- I can tell you that this is the best medical decision I've ever made. I would do it again in a heartbeat. In fact, my only real regret is that I didn't get a chance to do this when I was, say, 20, instead of 40. But still, I'm so very glad I made this choice.

Hopefully that will help some folks who are on the fence realize just how "normal" life after sleeve is.

Source: Life After the Sleeve

This is what I am looking forward to

Dennis