DougNichols

Ex co-worker of mine died at the age of 50 from a heart attack while sitting at work (he now works at a different company). We all knew him, and he was an awesome person. Yet his life ended while in a chair in an office building. And he wasn't even that old... They're blaming weight and lack of exercise. Makes me feel good about going through the VSG approval process. I DO NOT WANT TO DIE AT 50 YEARS OLD, especially while sitting at work doing overtime on some important project.

Ick, I can't watch more than 2 minutes of either video ... But I do see why the doctor wants to shrink your liver before surgery.

I know it varies based upon how you do, but curious what your personal experiences were. thanks!

That annoying vocal minority makes many of us not tell anyone we're planning weight loss surgery. Although they may be 10% of the population, they rattle their jaw 200x more than anyone else about it, even though it's just their opinion.

My boss knows I'm planning this, because of the mass amount of doctor's appts. Other than that, I'm just saying "Atkins did it".

Grats dude! Post some pics and keep us updated.

Have you guys been to Cheesecake Factory? I used to go there for Sunday brunch. Their omelet plate was the size of a small pizza, and it filled the entire thing. My "side of sausage" which had to be 1/4lbs was on another monstrous plate. Even when I was 380+ lbs, I couldn't finish all that. Oh, and Sonic started serving 1/2lb coneys. Because apparently a foot long chili dog isn't enough food... You can make it a combo and add a 1,400 calorie shake and 700 calorie onion rings to make a meal of ... 3,200 calories. :thumbup1: Good lord.

WOW, you gotta see this guy's videos. He goes into excruciating detail about his foods, diet post-op, etc. He went from 474 to 200 lbs thanks to VSG. Watching these has really got me excited for my surgery! Here's a 2 video summary: BEFORE: [nomedia=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96KvMMEav6s]YouTube- Optifast liquid Diet[/nomedia] AFTER: [nomedia=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6z4h21agSk]YouTube- April 2010 VSG Post Op Update!!![/nomedia] And his channel for all 80+ videos: YouTube - mark45acp's Channel

41 lbs in 30 days? Wow, nice. Grats!

Awesome, I subscribed. :001_tt2: You should let your husband get on camera, so we can see his size loss as well. And the earrings were kinda cool. Edit: WOAH I just watched your "2 weeks after surgery" video. You look like a totally different person!

I originally was gonna tell my fellow employees, but now I'm saying "Atkins". Everybody has heard of Atkins, and knows it's a huge weight loss alternative. My boss already knows, but that's kinda necessary considering all these Dr appts.

Do you have a link to this?

I like the chicken Caesar and shrimp alfredo ones. I started eating these on lunch for my own 'custom blend' insurance-hoop-jumping-diet.

My psych appointment is ONLY doing the large 500+ question test (and chatting with him). Their office said they are NOT doing the behavior mod program. I'd call your surgeon's office to figure out where you go. You definitely want to be 100% sure. Please let us know what they say, I'm confused too (since my surgeon's office said the nutritionist will "take care of behavior mod and exercise requirements"). And now you're saying that yours didn't. I'm taking my little happy handout to the nutritionist on my first visit, and asking her how I sign up for the behavior mod/exercise. Worst case, I'll do monthly visits with a certified trainer at my gym, and have her document EVERYTHING.

Don't forget that sometimes you lose inches, but not weight (due to more muscle buildup, water retention, etc). So the scale is not always the most accurate way to judge total fat loss.

Women and their doctor fetishes... :biggrin2:

Grats dude!

I know that the ghrelin removal is one of the bigger selling points to sleeving. I'm really curious to see, long term, what the difference is in hunger between plication and regular sleeves.

If I did self-pay or Mexico, I'd definitely go for the behavior modification program OF SOME TYPE. Just to figure out why I have such issues with food, and develop a plan to resolve these. Otherwise the surgery is just a stop-gap measure for 2 years until you return to your bad habits.

Wow, you're looking hot. Keep up the awesome work!

Awesome, grats! Be sure to post your video too when you make it.

jbland: who's your insurance company?

10% sounds very reasonable. For me, that's 1 lb per 4 days. So long as they don't drop coverage for the surgery because of the weight loss, I'll be good. thanks for the input!