LoBMI VSGguy46

Hi jcb,
I'm sorry you felt miserable like me. In hindsight I should have stayed in the hospital. It seems I read on here how well everyone was doing right after surgery but I was miserable. I just want others to know that it can be a very difficult process.
Today I'm at day 4. I felt miserable when I woke up but once I got moving around I feel better. I stay on top of my anti-nausea medication. So far I've gotten 1 1/2 Protein Shakes and I added some nonfat Fairlife milk (3oz) so I could have a different taste. The milk tastes good. The main issue I'm having is when I drink a "sip" I feel tightness under my breastbone.. it's kind of painful. I tap, tap, tap it hoping the pain will go away. I do as much walking as I can.. it's not much.. but it's something.
Each day is a pinch better. I'm looking forward to feeling better tomorrow. I hope you feel better soon too!

Since I have no better place to do it, I will log my journey entries here from time to time like a blog post. I don't mean to annoy anyone, but it will help me keep a record of the different things I experience, and what times, before I forget.

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

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

I think a girl actually flirted with me today. That hasn't happened in a long time!

I’m a little over 7 weeks post op and my “second belly button” as I called it immediately after surgery is almost completely gone.

Day 20 now. I'm doing well. I've ate some solid foods ahead of my plan, but I chewed them up VERY well before swallowing and I seem to be okay. But I am still going to do my best to stick to the plan in spite of these few lapses. My weight has started moving down again, very slowly. My exercise has been fantastic. Ran my 1.3 miles this morning at my fastest pace ever and even forgot for a while that I had had surgery. Did my dumbbell, sit-up and push-up workout after running. Felt great all day.
I do feel restriction now with those solid foods. Don't feel a need to finish a plate full of food. But could snack on pudding and applesauce all day, if I wanted. Still trying to fight the sense of hunger, but winning the battle mostly.
My clothes are all loose now. I will need to buy new clothes soon. Clothes I had saved because they were too small for me are now too big.
Today the president of our org commented on my weight loss for the first time. He congratulated me. He, like everyone else, doesn't know I had surgery. However, I don't feel bad or dishonest like I thought I might. That is because I still feel I am earning all of this weight loss myself with my continued diet and exercise. The surgery just helps my body to cooperate.
I definitely feel additional confidence coming on to a level I didn't have before. I'm not embarrassed by my body as much as I was. I feel like I look good, even though I realize I'm still fat. I never wanted my wife to take or post pictures of me online and now I am posting selfies quite often. Just happy with the results so far.
I am blessed because I feel like I am doing well with the sleeve, no complications and good results. I'm down to only one Metformin pill per day and expect to come off that soon. My blood glucose numbers have been perfect. I find out my A1c numbers tomorrow. Off blood pressure meds and blood pressure is perfect. Plantar Faciitus is gone. I feel like my sleep apnea has gone away and don't need my CPAP machine like I did before. (But I will wait a few more months before doing another sleep study.) I don't know how long it will be until I no longer have fatty liver disease, but I pray that this day comes soon, after which I think I could declare: Clean Bill of Health!
Sleeved on 10/18/2017
Male, 46, 5' 8"
HW: 270, SW: 232, CW: 217, GW: 170.

I was worried about the same thing. I looked down post surgery and was like, well, the indents are the cost of my weight getting out of hand and having to fix it surgically. However, I am happy to say that I no longer have the indents. I’m about 16 weeks out and the indents are gone. I don’t remember when they went away but am SO glad they did!!!!


Sleeved 8/7 HW: 256 SW: 248
CW: 206 on 11/28 5'7" GW: 150

Glad to see you back, keep up the good work!

I was just sleeved on Oct 18, 2017. I am a white male, 46 years old, 5' 8", and a devout follower of Christ. My highest weight ever was 270. I lowered this slowly during the first half of 2017 to 255 when I signed up for the surgery. In August I started my life reset in preparation for surgery and followed the pre-op diet. I started running a lot and was doing 1-2 miles most days, and 6.55 miles on weekends. I ran a 5K the Saturday before surgery. The day of surgery I weighed 232. Now, four days out, my weight is 228. My goal weight is 170, I believe. (Not sure how to decide about that.)
Since surgery I have had a lot of abdominal pain, but it has gotten a little better each day. The night after going home (day after surgery) my calf muscles started hurting. Doctor didn't think it was clots. I started walking a lot and enjoy it quite a bit. I've walked between 6-12 miles each day since I've been home. I only threw up my pain medicine once (which was painful) but haven't thrown up, or even felt like it, since. Each day I reduced the frequency of taking the pain medicine and today went without it. Today my calf pain was almost gone. The first two days after surgery I only drank around 30 oz., I think, which might have contributed to that pain. These last two days I've gotten my 64 oz. down or more.
I've noticed last night and today that food my family was eating looked REALLY good and I wanted to eat it so bad. Felt hungry. This worries me some.
I can't wait until my belly stops hurting and I can start running again. My belly still looks bloated out from the incisions. Wondering when I can expect for that to happen. I also wonder when the reduced hunger pangs are going to happen, if ever. If I feel as tempted as I did today it will be a difficult journey for me.


Also, the only person in my life who knows I've had this surgery is my wife. I haven't told parents, kids, friends or coworkers. My parents expressed opposition a couple years ago so when I made the decision I decided that it was a personal one that they didn't need to know about. But I would like to make a friend or two on here so I can discuss things on this journey.

Hi there
I have been reading through your posts and I'm impressed! At one point I started liking them as well, and what I really like is your commitment to chronicle all of your ups and downs so honestly and personally. I wish you staying strong and on track and like you said, follow your doctors advice, cause that one is specifically made for you. There are general rules that work for most, but they don't apply to all.
You seem to be very well educated in whats right and whats not and you are doing best you can while being a dad, a husband, and a coworker. It is surely harder to blend in with a crowd where nobody knows about the surgery, but you are making it possible while following the basic rules. Kudos to you!
I also think since you were leading a very active lifestyle prior to surgery and for an average height male didnt have a really high starting weight it all comes easier to you, as it should be. Existing muscle helps burn more fat, all the work you are doing definitely helps it, as well and you are surely eating less now. I have been very strict with myself at first, cause I wanted to get into the right mindset and change my pre op habits. I changed them a lot and keep changing them, adjusting to current situation which is a work in progress - daily work. I also have to admit that recently I have been allowing myself not to have to be too strict. To avoid eating what I shouldnt I simply don buy it anymore, and even if I wanted to eat more i cant - there are days when I cant have more than 2 meals (if my Breakfast was late). The only 4 things I'm really strict about are: portion size, drinking Water only, taking all my Vitamins and while having meals eating Protein first. All other things that I get usually done during the day I'm trying to fit comfortably into my schedule without overwhelming it, and my schedule changes all the time as well. I know I'm doing well cause my doctor keeps reminding me of it every time I see him, and my 3 mo blood work came back all good - I'm very proud of that
There is something you said that I'd like to shed some objective light on. Please think of it as an observation from a person who just read in one take all that happened to you in the past month. In your very first post you were expressing hope to find a buddy to help you tag along in your journey, and its very understandable especially cause of your situation where you cant really talk about it to anyone other than your wife and doc. Then you decided you will use this medium to post daily updates like in a blog, or diary, which is fine too, that's why this forum is here, so we could write what we think and want to write, or show our progress. I don't have time to post daily but when I can I write what I want to write about, so I get your point of view.
Then eventually you started writing this post, and I got worried that you will quit updating us on your impressive progress, that is bound to inspire many people who will happen to come across your thread. As much as I understand your reasons for posting here and I respect your wish to do it blog style, I also wish you understood that it is still an open, public forum, and people who will read it might want to comment on it, praise it or find problems with it, just like in a blog. This is actually also how the buddy system (one you originally wished for) should work: we support each other, and also try to keep each other accountable for all of our actions. Its both productive and helpful, cause in the craziness of every day, or special events, like upcoming holidays, more and more of us will need extra support, and it has to work both ways for the system to be effective. Remember, we are all buddies here , and although each of our journeys is different, we all came to the decision to get the surgery done with different motivations behind it, we all also have the same goal - weight loss. Sadly not everyone realizes that fact, and we all like to think that things which work for us should work for others as well.
I personally like to hear about all ways to make the most of the surgery, and if I read here something that I like, I will ask my doctor for his opinion before applying it into my routine. Every little thing might help, but we might not know about the options if nobody would want to share them. So keep on sharing people, and be supportive, and when faced with criticism, well, think about it, maybe its valid, and if it doesn't apply simply move on.
I seriously hope I didn't discourage you from writing more, cause I find your journey both honest and inspiring, and that's the only criteria I need to keep wanting to read more.
Keep up your awesome work and keep making good choices, now is the time to set a solid basis for the future and keep up with it. I hope to read more of your adventures in months to come.
Good luck! May the only thing we lose here be our weight

Honestly, I've felt less motivated to post updates of my journey here because of the thought that people will question it. Decided that I should post again, anyway. If it feels to me there is too much opposition I will leave this app behind. I am not looking for advice, unless I ask for it, but primarily ask and take advice from my doctor. I'm not trying to get anyone to follow my example but just want to log my journey here. Hopefully there will be encouragement. If not, oh well.

I'm at a week-long training away from home and forgot to bring my scale. So, last I checked I was at 215 four days ago. I might be the same or I might be at 214 or 213 but have no way of knowing until I get home on Monday.

Running has been going excellent! I ran a quarter-marathon (6.55 miles) on Sunday evening. Pre-op I had been doing that weekly. Well, this time I did my fastest time ever--1:02--just over an hour. Today I ran 3.8 miles (1/8 marathon) and again had my fastest time ever--28:48. Felt great. Back in my room I did 40 sit-ups, 30 push-ups and 20 squats.

I was nervous about eating at this event with other people. It is cafeteria style. But it hasn't been a problem. I'm just taking very small portions and chewing a lot. Even though everyone has noticed my weight loss, no one has noticed (or mentioned, I should say) my small portion sizes. Eating very soft meats, soft vegetables, eggs and Soup.

Sleeved on 10/18/2017
Male, 46, 5' 8"
HW: 270, SW: 232, CW: 215 (or less), GW: 170.

Yes, I don't keep any secrets from him. The goal is to keep under 100 carbs a day, which I do most days, easily. So he wasn't worried about that. However, I did not report eating these things here as if to say it is okay to eat those things--I reported them as lapses. There are two concerns with eating--one is how food will physically "push" the sleeve's seam and the other is nutrition. Chewing food well makes a big difference for the former, and keeping your macro/nutrients at the daily goals is what's important for the latter. I know what I need to do and will stay committed to eating right, and according to the plan, in spite of those lapses.

Your comment sounds like a rebuke or as if you've caught me in hypocrisy, or something. I am using this space to log my journey--not to boast or expect others to follow my example. I want to be completely honest as I log my experiences--it does me no good to lie and say I didn't eat some pizza, when I did. I'm not trying to impress anyone. I don't need to worry if people will like or agree with what I have to say because I'm not trying to convince anyone about anything--just telling my story.

Yeah, I realize I am not most people and my doctor realizes that, too. People should not follow other people's examples but follow what your doctor orders.

Depleting energy--calories are a measurement of energy. We don't lose weight unless we deplete calories/energy. We build muscle mass by breaking our muscles down and then our bodies build them stronger. I am both losing fat mass and gaining muscle mass. My doctor says this is excellent and I'm doing exactly what I need to be doing for me.

Another important milestone happened yesterday. My endocrinologist took me off of all diabetes medications! Very happy about this!

Milestone! Today I weighed in at 216.4 lbs. My lowest weight when I lost weight 4 years ago was 216.5. So now I'm thinner than that and as thin as I've been since 1998 when I ran a marathon. Woohoo!!
Day 21, Sleeved on 10/18/2017
Male, 46, 5' 8"
HW: 270, SW: 232, CW: 216.4, GW: 170

Day 20 now. I'm doing well. I've ate some solid foods ahead of my plan, but I chewed them up VERY well before swallowing and I seem to be okay. But I am still going to do my best to stick to the plan in spite of these few lapses. My weight has started moving down again, very slowly. My exercise has been fantastic. Ran my 1.3 miles this morning at my fastest pace ever and even forgot for a while that I had had surgery. Did my dumbbell, sit-up and push-up workout after running. Felt great all day.
I do feel restriction now with those solid foods. Don't feel a need to finish a plate full of food. But could snack on pudding and applesauce all day, if I wanted. Still trying to fight the sense of hunger, but winning the battle mostly.
My clothes are all loose now. I will need to buy new clothes soon. Clothes I had saved because they were too small for me are now too big.
Today the president of our org commented on my weight loss for the first time. He congratulated me. He, like everyone else, doesn't know I had surgery. However, I don't feel bad or dishonest like I thought I might. That is because I still feel I am earning all of this weight loss myself with my continued diet and exercise. The surgery just helps my body to cooperate.
I definitely feel additional confidence coming on to a level I didn't have before. I'm not embarrassed by my body as much as I was. I feel like I look good, even though I realize I'm still fat. I never wanted my wife to take or post pictures of me online and now I am posting selfies quite often. Just happy with the results so far.
I am blessed because I feel like I am doing well with the sleeve, no complications and good results. I'm down to only one Metformin pill per day and expect to come off that soon. My blood glucose numbers have been perfect. I find out my A1c numbers tomorrow. Off blood pressure meds and blood pressure is perfect. Plantar Faciitus is gone. I feel like my sleep apnea has gone away and don't need my CPAP machine like I did before. (But I will wait a few more months before doing another sleep study.) I don't know how long it will be until I no longer have fatty liver disease, but I pray that this day comes soon, after which I think I could declare: Clean Bill of Health!
Sleeved on 10/18/2017
Male, 46, 5' 8"
HW: 270, SW: 232, CW: 217, GW: 170.

I'm 5'7 37 yr old male. Just had VSG 23 days ago. OCT 5TH,. My HW=280 SW=250 CW =229 GW=170/180

Sent from my SM-G935T using BariatricPal mobile app

Exercise--I started jogging again on Day 7, one week after my surgery. Just a mile, and I took it very slowly. My pace was something like 13:42. My belly felt heavy inside upon each footfall, but not painful. My surgeon had told me that I could start running again as soon as I felt comfortable. I had my one-week follow up appointment later that morning and he seemed happy to hear I had jogged and asked how it went. I told him I took it slow but that my legs wanted to go faster.

I jogged again yesterday and did my standard 1.3 mikes, which is two laps around my neighborhood. My pace increased to 12:19/mile and felt just a bit better.

This morning I ran the 1.3 miles and felt better when I started out. I was surprised to see my pace jump to 10:50/mile. Very encouraged! My belly didn't feel as heavy, but could still feel it. (My pace before surgery was 8:30-9:00/mile.)

When I got home after running today I thought I'd try sit-ups, like I had been doing before surgery. I was a bit scared because this meant scrunching my belly--where I had been cut and still have five incision wounds. I started slowly but was surprised after the first one how good it felt--almost normal! So I ripped off 20 and then did 20 push-ups. I could definitely feel the weight loss when I did the push-ups!

I was so excited with how good those exercises felt, I went downstairs and did a number of resistance band exercises. Felt great.

I'm excited now that 9 days out I feel I can do all of my normal exercises and more!

Today's date: October 27, 2017 (Day 9)
Sleeved on: 10/18/2017
HW: 270
SW: 232
CW: 222
GW: 170
Male, 46, 5'8"

Since I have no better place to do it, I will log my journey entries here from time to time like a blog post. I don't mean to annoy anyone, but it will help me keep a record of the different things I experience, and what times, before I forget.

Honestly, I've felt less motivated to post updates of my journey here because of the thought that people will question it. Decided that I should post again, anyway. If it feels to me there is too much opposition I will leave this app behind. I am not looking for advice, unless I ask for it, but primarily ask and take advice from my doctor. I'm not trying to get anyone to follow my example but just want to log my journey here. Hopefully there will be encouragement. If not, oh well.

I'm at a week-long training away from home and forgot to bring my scale. So, last I checked I was at 215 four days ago. I might be the same or I might be at 214 or 213 but have no way of knowing until I get home on Monday.

Running has been going excellent! I ran a quarter-marathon (6.55 miles) on Sunday evening. Pre-op I had been doing that weekly. Well, this time I did my fastest time ever--1:02--just over an hour. Today I ran 3.8 miles (1/8 marathon) and again had my fastest time ever--28:48. Felt great. Back in my room I did 40 sit-ups, 30 push-ups and 20 squats.

I was nervous about eating at this event with other people. It is cafeteria style. But it hasn't been a problem. I'm just taking very small portions and chewing a lot. Even though everyone has noticed my weight loss, no one has noticed (or mentioned, I should say) my small portion sizes. Eating very soft meats, soft vegetables, eggs and Soup.

Sleeved on 10/18/2017
Male, 46, 5' 8"
HW: 270, SW: 232, CW: 215 (or less), GW: 170.

Yes, I don't keep any secrets from him. The goal is to keep under 100 carbs a day, which I do most days, easily. So he wasn't worried about that. However, I did not report eating these things here as if to say it is okay to eat those things--I reported them as lapses. There are two concerns with eating--one is how food will physically "push" the sleeve's seam and the other is nutrition. Chewing food well makes a big difference for the former, and keeping your macro/nutrients at the daily goals is what's important for the latter. I know what I need to do and will stay committed to eating right, and according to the plan, in spite of those lapses.

Your comment sounds like a rebuke or as if you've caught me in hypocrisy, or something. I am using this space to log my journey--not to boast or expect others to follow my example. I want to be completely honest as I log my experiences--it does me no good to lie and say I didn't eat some pizza, when I did. I'm not trying to impress anyone. I don't need to worry if people will like or agree with what I have to say because I'm not trying to convince anyone about anything--just telling my story.

Another important milestone happened yesterday. My endocrinologist took me off of all diabetes medications! Very happy about this!

I was sleeved on 10/18/2017. Everything is going great. Started running one week post op. Running 5Ks now and doing dumbbell work outs. I've lost 16 pounds post-op. (I had lost 37 pounds pre-op.) Yesterday my endocrinologist took me off all diabetes meds and I'm off high blood pressure meds, too. Weight loss stalled around days 9-15 but is now creeping down again I'm eating around 1,500 calories a day. I've gained one pound of muscle mass. Eating a little ahead of my schedule but no issues at all. Can feel the restriction with the more solid foods. Have lost 6 inches in my pants size and am starting to buy new clothes. My confidence is up and I am happy. Enjoyed being with my wife last night and it felt sooo much better not having my big belly in the way! I will run a 5K race on Thanksgiving.

Sleeved on 10/18/2017.
Male, 46, 5' 8"
HW: 270
SW: 232
CW: 216
GW: 170

I was sleeved on 10/18/2017. Everything is going great. Started running one week post op. Running 5Ks now and doing dumbbell work outs. I've lost 16 pounds post-op. (I had lost 37 pounds pre-op.) Yesterday my endocrinologist took me off all diabetes meds and I'm off high blood pressure meds, too. Weight loss stalled around days 9-15 but is now creeping down again I'm eating around 1,500 calories a day. I've gained one pound of muscle mass. Eating a little ahead of my schedule but no issues at all. Can feel the restriction with the more solid foods. Have lost 6 inches in my pants size and am starting to buy new clothes. My confidence is up and I am happy. Enjoyed being with my wife last night and it felt sooo much better not having my big belly in the way! I will run a 5K race on Thanksgiving.

Sleeved on 10/18/2017.
Male, 46, 5' 8"
HW: 270
SW: 232
CW: 216
GW: 170