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LoBMI VSGguy46

Gastric Sleeve Patients
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    58
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About LoBMI VSGguy46

  • Rank
    Senior Member

About Me

  • Biography
    I became obese as an adult but was rather athletic in high school. I love to run. I lost a lot of weight before my surgery. I was sleeved on 10/18/2017. I live in Kentucky.
  • Gender
    Male
  • Interests
    travel, guitar, outdoors, running, football, my kids.
  • Occupation
    coffee
  • City
    Louisville
  • State
    KY

Recent Profile Visitors

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  1. LoBMI VSGguy46

    OCTOBER SLEEVERS CHECK IN HERE

    Anyone have weight regain?
  2. LoBMI VSGguy46

    OCTOBER SLEEVERS CHECK IN HERE

    My weight loss has completely stopped. I got down to about 195 and now it’s hovering around 197 for the past 3-4 months. Was hoping to get it down more. I’m happy at this weight but don’t want to gain.
  3. I struggled a lot wondering if I should tell people about getting weight loss surgery. I had considered getting sleeved a couple years before I did and told a few people I was considering it. I was surprised at their responses, especially my parents. For one, most people had a pretty negative view of it—even a doctor friend of mine. But it was clear most people were not well-read on the topic and were prone to all of the common misconceptions. At first my parents sounded like they would be supportive but them wrote to me in unison telling me that I shouldn’t do the surgery. My dad had been successful at losing a bunch of weight and controlling his diabetes a few years back but has since gained most of it back. Their thought was that if I needed to have a lifestyle change after surgery to maintain why not just do the lifestyle change and forego surgery. They also thought that if it was something I had to be secretive about (because I had asked them not to mention it to my siblings) then it must not be right. Well, this discouraged me and I decided not to do the surgery but try to lose weight on my own. And, as you can imagine, I did not succeed. My diabetes got a lot worse and I started daily injections. I also developed sleep apnea and needed to sleep with a CPAP machine. The trajectory of my health was not good and I came back to the idea of bariatric surgery. I thought that I would not ask my parents their thoughts but just tell them my decision and ask for their support. My thought was that I had to tell them because they are my parents. But I struggled a lot thinking about how they would respond and doubted that they would keep it from my siblings, who, if they knew, would tell the world. I actually talked to my primary physician about it and she supported me and suggested that since I’m an adult (46) my parents don’t even have to know. So I wrote to my parents a desperate message telling them the extent of my health problems and that I needed to do something. I asked for their prayers. I already decided to get sleeved but didn’t know if I should tell them. I decided that if they replied and changed their tune about surgery and brought it up to say they’d support me if that is what I decided (since we had discussed it before) then I’d tell them. But otherwise, I would take that as a sign that I should not tell them. They just said they’d pray for me, so I decided I wouldn’t tell them. I also decided that I couldn’t tell people in my workplace because of gossip—telling one would be the same as telling everyone. So, in the end, the only people in the world who know, besides the doctors and nurses who performed the procedure and my other physicians, is my wife. I didn’t even tell my young kids. I was afraid people might guess I had had the surgery if I suddenly lost a lot of weight—especially the few people I had previously told I had been considering it the first time around. So about 3 months before surgery I posted on Facebook a pic of me on my bike and that it was time for me to reset my diet and lifestyle and lose weight. I did start exercising then and would regularly post pictures and updates so that people would get accustomed to the fact that I was exercising and working hard, which would leave little room for suspicion about the cause of my weight loss. This worked really well and I did indeed lose 38 lbs pre-op through diet and exercise, which, to this day, convinces me that I did do this and can take credit for it. I took a 2-week vacation and got the surgery on the third day of the vacation. This gave me time to recover so that I’d be in good shape by the time people saw me again. I had told a couple people that I was going to take my vacation to ramp up my weight-loss efforts and alter my diet. I lost a quick 10-15 lbs immediately after the surgery and when I went back to work a couple people noticed. I went to my explanation: “I had been losing weight since August but no one could tell but me; then when I get to a certain threshold everyone starts noticing and thinks it happened overnight, but truthfully, ive been losing weight over the past 3 months!” I’ve lost 34 lbs since surgery and am much thinner than before. But I’ve continued to run races (5K, 10K and half-marathons) and post about it online. People have said some very encouraging things to me but I’ve been a little surprised that I haven’t gotten more comments about my weight loss. Maybe because I’m a guy—might be different for a girl. Not one person has asked me if I got bariatric surgery, or have seemed to be “fishing” for that either. I’m sure some people think I’m just being prideful by posting so many selfies and race results, but I decided that would be both understandable and effective for keeping the secret about surgery. So far all has gone well—I don’t regret the surgery or keeping it a secret. I also don’t feel like I’ve lied about portraying myself as having done it all on my own when really surgery did it for me because I lost more pre-op than I have post-op, and I have still had to maintain all that discipline since surgery as well. I can eat a lot more than I thought I would be able to, and so it is still my self-discipline that is keeping food out of my mouth, not just the sleeve. Sleeved 10/18/2017 Male, 46, 5’8” HW: 270, SW: 232, CW: 198, GW: 170
  4. LoBMI VSGguy46

    To tell or not to tell

    I struggled with this a lot. I had considered getting sleeved a couple years before I did and told a few people I was considering it. I was surprised at their responses, especially my parents. For one, most people had a pretty negative view of it—even a doctor friend of mine. But it was clear most people were not well-read on the topic and were prone to all of the common misconceptions. At first my parents sounded like they would be supportive but them wrote to me in unison telling me that I shouldn’t do the surgery. My dad had been successful at losing a bunch of weight and controlling his diabetes a few years back but has since gained most of it back. Their thought was that if I needed to have a lifestyle change after surgery to maintain why not just do the lifestyle change and forego surgery. They also thought that if it was something I had to be secretive about (because I had asked them not to mention it to my siblings) then it must not be right. Well, this discouraged me and I decided not to do the surgery but try to lose weight on my own. And, as you can imagine, I did not succeed. My diabetes got a lot worse and I started daily injections. I also developed sleep apnea and needed to sleep with a CPAP machine. The trajectory of my health was not good and I came back to the idea of bariatric surgery. I thought that I would not ask my parents their thoughts but just tell them my decision and ask for their support. My thought was that I had to tell them because they are my parents. But I struggled a lot thinking about how they would respond and doubted that they would keep it from my siblings, who, if they knew, would tell the world. I actually talked to my primary physician about it and she supported me and suggested that since I’m an adult (46) my parents don’t even have to know. So I wrote to my parents a desperate message telling them the extent of my health problems and that I needed to do something. I asked for their prayers. I already decided to get sleeved but didn’t know if I should tell them. I decided that if they replied and changed their tune about surgery and brought it up to say they’d support me if that is what I decided (since we had discussed it before) then I’d tell them. But otherwise, I would take that as a sign that I should not tell them. They just said they’d pray for me, so I decided I wouldn’t tell them. I also decided that I couldn’t tell people in my workplace because of gossip—telling one would be the same as telling everyone. So, in the end, the only people in the world who know, besides the doctors and nurses who performed the procedure and my other physicians, is my wife. I didn’t even tell my young kids. I was afraid people might guess I had had the surgery if I suddenly lost a lot of weight—especially the few people I had previously told I had been considering it the first time around. So about 3 months before surgery I posted on Facebook a pic of me on my bike and that it was time for me to reset my diet and lifestyle and lose weight. I did start exercising then and would regularly post pictures and updates so that people would get accustomed to the fact that I was exercising and working hard, which would leave little room for suspicion about the cause of my weight loss. This worked really well and I did indeed lose 38 lbs pre-op through diet and exercise, which, to this day, convinces me that I did do this and can take credit for it. I took a 2-week vacation and got the surgery on the third day of the vacation. This gave me time to recover so that I’d be in good shape by the time people saw me again. I had told a couple people that I was going to take my vacation to ramp up my weight-loss efforts and alter my diet. I lost a quick 10-15 lbs immediately after the surgery and when I went back to work a couple people noticed. I went to my explanation: “I had been losing weight since August but no one could tell but me; then when I get to a certain threshold everyone starts noticing and thinks it happened overnight, but truthfully, ive been losing weight over the past 3 months!” I’ve lost 34 lbs since surgery and am much thinner than before. But I’ve continued to run races (5K, 10K and half-marathons) and post about it online. People have said some very encouraging things to me but I’ve been a little surprised that I haven’t gotten more comments about my weight loss. Maybe because I’m a guy—might be different for a girl. Not one person has asked me if I got bariatric surgery, or have seemed to be “fishing” for that either. I’m sure some people think I’m just being prideful by posting so many selfies and race results, but I decided that would be both understandable and effective for keeping the secret about surgery. So far all has gone well—I don’t regret the surgery or keeping it a secret. I also don’t feel like I’ve lied about portraying myself as having done it all on my own when really surgery did it for me because I lost more pre-op than I have post-op, and I have still had to maintain all that discipline since surgery as well. I can eat a lot more than I thought I would be able to, and so it is still my self-discipline that is keeping food out of my mouth, not just the sleeve.
  5. LoBMI VSGguy46

    How long before your big scar stops being indented?

    I still have mine. Still indented quite a bit. Almost 5 months out.
  6. LoBMI VSGguy46

    Can we talk about boobs and bras?

    Just wondering... Does Mr. Nipple come with an underwire option?
  7. LoBMI VSGguy46

    Can we talk about boobs and bras?

    My nipples have gotten smaller and get chafed on long runs from rubbing against my shirt. Actually get little scabs around the tip. Still rather hairy. Now my pecs are rock-solid, though, and no more man-boobs. Never wore a bra before. Oh... is this for girls only?
  8. I believe they call this “one-derland”! Boo-yaa! PTL! #down70
  9. LoBMI VSGguy46

    OCTOBER SLEEVERS CHECK IN HERE

    I had my three-month follow up this past Monday. Doctor says I'm doing perfect. (Always good to hear!) I lost 11 pounds since my one-month follow up. She said her goal for me is to lose 70% of excess weight by one year, and that I'm only 16 pounds away from that with 9 months to go. So, well ahead of schedule. Traveled overseas for the past 3 weeks and didn't always track what I ate and ate a lot of rice. But I ran 5 miles almost every morning in 5 different countries. Came back home and my weight was the same as when I had left. But I lost another belt size during this time. Today I am down again and on the cusp of what they call "one-derland." Can't wait to be under 200! Haven't been this thin since I was 26 and ran a marathon in 1998. My new clothes are getting loose again. I used to buy XXL shirts. I went to buy an L the other day and it felt big. So I tried an M and was amazed that it fit me! I feel fantastic but am eager to continue to get rid of the loose belly I still have and for the scars to continue to fade. (The big one is still indented.) Wishing to celebrate with someone today but don't know who, so I'm posting here. Sleeved 10/18/2017 Male, 46, 5'8" HW: 270, SW: 232, CW: 200, GW: 170
  10. I had my three-month follow up this past Monday. Doctor says I'm doing perfect. (Always good to hear!) lost 11 pounds since my one-month follow up. She said her goal for me is to lose 70% of excess weight by one year, and that I'm only 16 pounds away from that with 9 months to go. So, well ahead of schedule. Traveled overseas for the past 3 weeks and didn't always tracked what I ate, ate a lot of rice, but ran 5 miles almost every morning in 5 different countries. Came back home and my weight was the same as when I had left. But I lost another belt size during this time. Today I am down again and on the cusp of what they call "one-derland." Can't wait to be under 200. Haven't been this thin since I was 26 and ran a marathon in 1998. My new clothes are getting lose again. I used to buy XXL shirts. I went to buy an L the other day and it felt big. So I tried an M and was amazed that it fit me! I feel fantastic but am eager to continue to get rid of the loose belly I still have and for the scars to continue to fade (big one is still indented). Wishing to celebrate with someone today but don't know who, so I'm posting here. Sleeved 10/18/2017 Male, 46, 5'8" HW: 270, SW: 232, CW: 200, GW: 170
  11. LoBMI VSGguy46

    Two Difficult Days of Head Hunger

    Also, drink your stomach full of some Powerade Zero.
  12. LoBMI VSGguy46

    Two Difficult Days of Head Hunger

    Try munching on high-volume-to-calorie ratio foods. Two of my favorites are skinny pop popcorn and beef Jerky. The former gives me crunch, Fiber and volume with relatively low calories compared to most snack foods. The latter gives me a hard chew, which can trick my brain, as well as high Protein and low calories.
  13. LoBMI VSGguy46

    Pain in tailbone

    I was sleeved in October, and the big picture is that I've done awesome. I'm already approaching a normal weight and no longer look like an obese person. That is good. However, one thing I've now noticed is that my tailbone hurts when sitting for a long time, such as while driving for more than a couple hours or when flying. I've assumed this was due to not having as much "padding" on the backside as I had before. Has anyone else experienced this? Does it go away over time or is this just a lifelong thing I'm going to have to deal with, growing older? Sleeved on 10/18/2017 Male 46, 5'8" HW: 270, SW: 232, CW: 203, GW: 170
  14. I ran in a half marathon last Saturday and did it under 2 hours! My body shape looks mostly normal but I still have a belly. Weight loss has definitely slowed down for me. I've been between 210 and 205 the last few weeks. Would really like to be under 200. Sleeved 10/18/2017 Male, 46, 5'8" HW: 270, SW: 232, CW: 205, GW: 170
  15. LoBMI VSGguy46

    OCTOBER SLEEVERS CHECK IN HERE

    I ran in a half marathon last Saturday and did it under 2 hours! My body shape looks mostly normal but I still have a belly. Weight loss has definitely slowed down for me. I've been between 210 and 205 the last few weeks. Would really like to be under 200. Sleeved 10/18/2017 Male, 46, 5'8" HW: 270, SW: 232, CW: 205, GW: 170

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