#BirdDog

Put together a new set of before and after photos.... 370lbs to 209lbs.

Still losing weight, down to 209 so I'm closing in on 1derland. Spent one day last weekend out at the barn riding with my wife. She snapped a photo and I shared it on Facebook, so many good comments from my friends. I still get a kick out of running into people and having them not recognize me. Happened twice last weekend

Thank you for the kind words! I went to my first support group yesterday. I think it was pretty good. I plan on continuing to go. Hopefully it will help me keep my head in the game. Maybe my experiences can help others who are just beginning their journey.

Been hovering around the same weight for a while now. This morning I weighed in two pounds lighter. Guess the scale isn't done yet

It is AWESOME!! I'm really happy with how things are going. I went from a size 48 jeans to a size 34 and a size 4x shirt to an XL.

It's been a while since I've posted. Thought I'd give an update. I've continued to go to the gym and eat within my surgeons plan. I'm down 155lbs now. Meals are getting easier as I learn more about what I can and cannot have.

Happy to report my blood tests came back with excellent results. The only level that was a little low was Vitamin D. But I do live in Seattle, everyone's Vitamin D is low here.

Things have slowed down a little for me, which I'm totally alright with. My nutritionist added in some more carbs and fat. I was dropping 1 to 2 pounds a day now it's much slower, about a pound every couple days. I'm down 110 pounds and feeling really good. I've been going to the gym four to five times a week and am in the best shape of my adult life. If my weight loss stopped now I would perfectly content. My surgeon would like me to get down to 200. Guess I'd be alright with that as well.
I've been using the PatchMD Vitamin patch, just had my blood drawn the other day and have an appointment with my surgeon this afternoon. Time will tell how well it's worked for me.

The fitbit aria scale is about two pounds off from my old scale. But it is WAY more consistent than my old one. So I trust it more. It's awesome that it uploads to my fitbit app and fitbit sends the data to MyFitnessPal. I'm finding tracking everything is getting easier and easier as I go.

Still trying to wrap my head around how much weight I've lost. I'm down 103 pounds and counting. I look like a different person!

Have to work all night but I woke up this morning to weigh. Down 100 lbs!!
Eight years ago my wife and I were in Jamaica for our honeymoon. I had a button up shirt on over my t-shirt and couldn't button it up. The one button I did was holding on for dear life. I put that shirt on the other day and had room left in it.

Getting ready to head off to work, thought I'd get a before and after pic since it's been a while. I'm approaching 100lbs lost. 97 as of this morning.  

Met with my new DME provider. They set me up with a new mask. Tonight is my first night with it. Given my symptoms the guy that did the fitting thinks my pressure is too high. You'd think the doctor would have identified that too. But we'll see. I'll give the new mask a couple weeks, if no improvement back to the sleep doc!
Still going to the gym on a regular basis. Working a sedentary job it feels good just to get in some activity and a good sweat. Doing a circuit of weight training just trying to keep from losing muscle mass. So far so good.
I still need to get in more variety in my diet and get my calories up. I have an appointment with my nutritionist in a few days so hopefully she can give me some tips that keep me on track but bump up the calories.

Had my appointment with the sleep doc today. Apparently I lost a bit of chub from my face so they are sending me to be fitted for a new mask. It was good to have them review my machines data and have a follow up anyway. Hopefully I hear back about my fitting appointment soon. I want to get back to sleeping as well as I was before. They are going to keep monitoring my weight loss progress and downloading my machine every couple months to stay on top of it while I'm losing weight.
I think it's amazing all the people that are monitoring things to make sure I'm successful, from my surgeon, the nutritionist, my primary physician, the sleep doctor, and my trainer at the gym. My support team keeps getting bigger! Everyone has their part, including me. It's important I keep up my end of the bargain not only for myself but because a lot of people have done a lot of work to support me. I don't want to let any of them down!
A little bummed this evening as I ate a few too many carbs. Had five wheat thins with my dinner. I know it's not huge, but I really didn't need them. Oh well, tomorrow's a new day!
Haven't given numbers in a while, two weeks pre op I was 370, this morning I weighed in at 288. Hoping to be down 100 pounds by Christmas.

Made my appointment with the sleep doctor today! Also went and joined my local YMCA. Awesome facility, going to start my gym regimen tomorrow after work.

Updated before and after. Feeling pretty good. Ready to start getting some more variety in my diet. Started at 370 and down to 297 and still dropping!

Thank you! It was a huge milestone for me. My next one will be when I hit 270. . I'm on my way.

Yay!!!!!

Having started at 370 I am really excited to drop out of the 300s. Thought I'd be there with my weigh in today but alas I was 300.3. Darned scale got me again. Oh well hopefully tomorrow. That would be an awesome way to start my day! Soooo close!

Things are still going good, I'm down 60 pounds since the beginning of my pre-op diet. Had my one month post op appointment with my nutritionist just as I'm coming off of the food restrictions. I expressed to her that I'm scared to start adding things back into my diet. She just said to take my time and make sure I'm getting my Vitamins, Protein, and liquids in. Avoid the bad carbs and keep on keepin on. So that's the plan.
It sure is nice to see the weight coming off. I've dropped a few clothing sizes so I'm going to start hitting the stores for some work clothes. Not buying anything expensive yet as I'm still losing weight at a pretty good clip.
We went out to eat with some friends a few days ago. For the first time in a long time I didn't have to worry about fitting into the booth. That's a WIN for sure!
Not huffing and puffing after taking the stairs at work and my energy level is getting better each day.

Good for you! I have been completely transparent with anyone and everyone about my entire journey, surgery and all. It has served me well...

This popped back up at the right time. I am a year and 3 months out from my surgery and am ordering a new saddle this week because my old saddle is way too big.

Day 3 is in the books.
Woke up this morning feeling pretty good. Stood up out of bed and coughed once. Then the pain was ON from my large incision. Not quite as bad as yesterday. Wife gave me my shot of blood thinner, that still stings a bit. Water is going down easier today, in total I got down 40oz of fluids including a few ounces of Protein shakes. Still need to work on getting in the Protein as well as a bit more Water.
Feeling pretty good I thought I'd walk to the mailbox about a block away. That was a little much and I was hurting pretty bad by the time I got back. The rest of the day I just focused on sip sip sip and tried not to agitate my sore spot. Had a couple coughs through the day usually right after using my incentive spirometer. Those coughs caused quite a bit of pain. Staying ahead of it with my pain medicine is helping.
Getting back into bed wasn't nearly as painful as it has been the last few days. Checking my blood sugar and blood pressure often. Both are staying in a normal range without the use of medication. It's like the surgery just flipped a switch. So far I am very pleased with my decision and am looking forward to getting to the point where I can have real food. I plan on working that sleeve for all its worth. There are some awesome recipes for sleevers here on the forums and on YouTube. I'm ready for small but nutritious meals to fill me up and watch the weight melt away.
Looking forward to what tomorrow has to bring for my recovery!

You guys are all so supportive!
So I had my own version of a "food funeral" a couple days ago. I had purchased a new rifle and was headed out to the mountains to sight it in. On the way out there I stopped to get fuel and decided to get a bottle of Water. While in the gas station I noticed the Coke-a-cola cooler and thought about how much of that I used to drink. Sometimes I'd have up to three cans of it at a meal. So I thought why not have a little symbolism of not letting those things have any grip on me anymore. So I bought a 20oz coke. Then I pulled into McDonalds and bought a bigmac. Once I made it up to the mountains I sighted in the new rifle and set out the soda and the bigmac. I also set up my GoPro. Stood back and took a shot at the soda, it literally exploded. Same thing when I shot the Big Mac. It actually looked like it was raining Big Mac for a few seconds. Felt pretty good to get some kind of closure, to actually say, "no, I am not going to give into this drug called "junk food" anymore!" It is so much like a drug, I think these foods are engineered to make you want them more and more. Then I went up to my GoPro and hadn't pressed record. Bummer, I was looking forward to sharing my "food funeral" video with you all.
This morning I weighed in at 50lbs down. That's a nice mile stone to hit! Many more to go! This was also my first day back at work. Not like a real work day as I headed out of town for a business trip. Now I'm several hours from home staying in a hotel. Brought a cooler full of foods that are okay for my stage of the post op diet. Still one of my coworkers wanted to go out to dinner, heck employer is footing the bill so why not. Went to a nice seafood restaurant, I got a cup of clam chowder and only had about a 1/4 cup of the broth before I felt full. Not the best food selection as chowder is a bit high in fat content, but it was a decision I can live with. No ill effects. I'm on the purée stage so it was something that was on my list from the nutritionist that I could have as long as I steered clear of the chunks which I did.
Tomorrow I'm going to try and hunt down some scrambled eggs for Breakfast and will probably work on a Protein shake for lunch. Then I'll have to decide if I stay in for dinner or go out again.

Two weeks pre-op to two weeks post-op. Down 47 pounds and counting!