BelgianGuy

On 1/10/2020 at 2:06 AM, ms.sss said:

@BelgianGuy thanks for posting, it is makes me so happy to hear/see from those who are years out and have kept the weight off!!

You look awesome, BTW.

I must say it's not the easiest to come back to the forums once you are... used to your new way of life, especially since I had little to no regain!

Thanks a lot for the compliment 😃 it's very kind of you!

Hello everyone, I had my surgery on the 26th of February 2016... Almost four years now!

I just wanted to show that it's possible to maintain your weight even after a few years... I'm happy with the decision I made even though I was only 23 back then. It changed many aspects of my life, mostly in a very good way!

Here are some "before pics":

Here are some pics from my 2019/2020 trip to Slovakia (I did Celebrate new year's eve with nice drinks, oops):

If I can be useful or answer any question, don't hesite to ask me anything

Cheers from Belgium!

When I had my sleeve, I was 23.

I lost more than 50kgs. And I did try dieting and exercising before, losing twenty kgs, regaining twenty-five...

So yeah, people don't know sh*t about what you are personally going through, so they can mostly keep their opinion for themselves. Just smile and nod and do what you intended to do.

Today I am 26, I finally have a body I am not ashamed of and I am really happy with the results.

Family members can be toxic, you don't have to justify yourself or your actions to her.

sleeping on the side seems to the be quite common, I can't sleep on the side without a piece of my blanket between my knees.

To this day, when I take public transportation, I still tend to retract into my seat when someone sits besides me because unconsciously I still think I take a seat and a half on my own, which is not the case anymore, I must just seem very antipathic somehow :x

And the only "bad" thing about the after-surgery body is how cold I always am. Winter has become a true enemy of mine, I wear layers and layers of clothes, scarves, gloves, and yet, I am always shivering when the temperature reaches below 10°c... Which is quite unfortunate since Belgium is not the warmest place on earth!

Thanks a lot to the both of you 😃

So it had been a while since I had posted anything down here. My surgery was on the 25th of February 2016.

I used to look like this:

After three years, many things have changed.

I must admit I still fancy a bit of fast food, a beer, wine or a whisky from time to time, but I don't feel addicted to those like I used to. I eat healthier, I learnt to avoid stupid behaviour and I don't give a s*** anymore about what my family can tell me regarding the fact I now eat "like a bird" (at least I am not dying each time I climb up stairs).

I had a few throw backs health-wise that are non-weight related (started to have epileptic crisis) and I was scared the treatment would lead me back to a wrong path food-wise, but hopefully, it wasn't the case. I also was diagnosed with osteoroposis, but it hasn't been linked with my sleeve surgery (it's very uncommon amongst male patients, let alone 27years old ones), apparentely, it's more a lack of luck regarding my genes. Every blood test I have made indicates that I have a very healthy diet and that I lack of nothing but a bit of luck 😛

I still bike, walk and hike a lot, I had a small regain (two kilos) but in two years, I don't think it's that horrific.

Here is how I look recently:

If I can help answer any question, relieve a doubt or whatever I can do to be useful, don't hesitate to PM me or ask me something here.

Cheers from Belgium

It's more the tobacco and the cigarettes that are the problem in this case. My doctor told me to avoid tobacco as much as I could because it could cause ulcers indeed, but I think you'd have to smoke two packs a day to ruin your stomach this much.

I personally have a vaporizer, I smoke one with tobacco from time to time and nothing bad has happened to me (except in some cases, an unwanted craving for some ice-tea and chocolate).

I still smoke from time to time, just watch out not smoking a type of weed that'll give you the munchies and get ready to drink lots of Water.

I just came back from the Netherlands and I had a very good time there

1 hour ago, frust8 said:

You look so good and I'm sure you have gained so much respect for yourself. I am hoping to reach the point where I am proud of me for the acheivement of weight loss.

Sent from my VS880PP using BariatricPal mobile app

Thank you, it does help to gain confidence

Don't worry or haste, if after the surgery, you follow the diet and start exercising, there will be a time where you will look back and actually think to yourself "Wow, was I really this person?", cheers!

Thanks everyone for the nice words! Lots of good vibes

Two years ago, I had the Sleeve.

Since then I have lost more than fifty kilos, I have gained all my confidence back, found a girlfriend, a new job and it basically transformed my life.

I have, through those two years, sometimes gained one or two kilos back when I was on holiday abroad, when it was around Christmas or my birthday, I might have had a bit of wine, even ate fries and a burger, but I've never fallen into excess again and so far could always lose the bit of weight I had taken back in a few days.

I still bike three times a week, I walk rather than taking the car/bus/metro (when it's possible to do so), I still drink a lot of Water, eat healthy and follow strictly the same diet that has been working for me during two years.

Before:

After:

After 18months post-surgery, I just wanted to share some pics!

That would be before:

That is now:

More confidence, no more sleep apneas, loads of energy and finding out I actually love hiking, walking, swimming. I can buy normal clothes and not gigantic absurd parachutes, I can see my feet...

No more sweating a ton every time I take the stairs, no more grossed out looks in public transportation, more attention and respect from strangers (that's sad in a way but well).

The list could go on for hours. Just hold on for the first weeks are not easy, but it's all worth it, I've been out since February 2016 and my weight stabilized over 5months ago, and I feel great physically (except for the bit of excess belly skin, but it's nothing compared to obesity).

It feels nice when receiving comments, but at first even though I lost 30kilos, some friends (I did not tell anyone about the surgery) just simply thought I was in one my "dieting" phase (which I'd always give up), I started receiving tons of comments when I actually lost 45/50 kilos.

All this weightloss has even made me a bit paranoid for a bit, as some friends would not want to comment and when I asked they just told me "Well, it's obvious you've shed half your size, so we thought we would just tell you the same thing you must be hearing all the time".

In the end, what matters is how you feel regarding yourself and how your loved ones see you, the opinion of mere strangers or work colleagues or even acquaintances do not matter much (even if it is nice to hear people telling you positive things regarding your new body).

On 26/04/2017 at 5:21 PM, alighterkaan said:

dude! your (what i think is a godflesh) and death shirts. two of my favorite bands. you look great!

Thank you! It's a SepticFlesh shirt though, but I am not against giving a spin to Streetcleaner once in a while!

14months since the surgery, seems I've reached my weight, haven't been gaining or losing for a few weeks. Finally!

Some before:

Last week during some holidays in Norway:

It was after a 5hours walk through the Norwegian mountains, the view of the fjord was great and I was really glad I could climb up all this, one year ago I would not have been able to do so! I now am in better physical shape than most of my friends which feels kinda weird but satisfying as well.

Wrong topic please ignore this message

On 13/03/2017 at 1:17 AM, Nyletak121 said:

What are some words of wisdom/encouragement you could give someone who is only a month post-op?

You look fantastic! Congratulations.

Sorry for the kinda late reponse, I haven't been much behind the computer. Well I would just say "don't give up" because at times it seems so difficult: weightloss isn't as fast as you hope it would be, you feel sad of eating so little, feel tired because your body is changing so fast... It's all worth it, keep walking within the guidelines that have been given to you by the doctors, do sports, and also enjoy all the benefits you will have from the weightloss. Have a nice weekend

16 hours ago, hermione53 said:

You do look great! I'm wondering (because this topic came up in the support group connected with my surgeon), do you experience a lot of body image issues like thinking you're bigger than you are, still feeling not as attractive as "normal" people and such? I'm only 10 weeks out so still look pretty much the same. I'm wondering what it's like a year out when you've lost as much as you have.

It happens sometimes, but more out of habit like trying to take less "room" in my seat in the car or the train even though I know I don't fill a whole seat by myself, or when I catch my reflexion in a window and I think "Right, this is actually me now...!"

Which is kinda paradoxal because when I was fat, I actually never realized... how fat I was! It actually shocks me when I see "before pictures", I never realized I looked like this and feel embarrassed for my past self.

But except for what I've just said, I don't experience a lot of body image issues, I am reminded of how much I lost almost daily by friends or family, when pictures of me are posted on Facebook, friends I haven't seen for a while send me a PM asking how come I have lost so much weight, so I am well aware of my weightloss (for that and many other reasons such as health or fitting in a "M" shirt rather than a XXXL one).

17 hours ago, BSWhip08 said:

That is awesome, congratulations! I hope I am as successful as you!
Question for you, do you exercise a lot? I am at 4 months, lost about 52 pounds, slower than I wanted but I feel kind of loose and flabby. Been working out at least 5 times a week for the last 8 weeks.

I swam twice a week for about 90minutes and also biked 25kilometers twice to three times a week, it allowed my arms and legs skin not to hang around, but I still got loose belly skin, not too much, but I might have to go through plastic surgery for that.

You should not think about that just the night before your surgery! I told my friends weeks (even months) after I did it, and even if some were worried about my decision, they all have been supportive, I am sure your friend will be too.

Impressive work! You look good

Too bad for the complications, hope everything will remain fine for you.

You know you lost weight when friends you haven't seen for a year take a good thirty seconds to realize that it's actually you that is walking towards them!

You know you lost weight when two people can sit next to you in the train instead of one...!