Imwichya

This is a long post. I promise there won’t be many like this. My hope is that my story will help inspire someone that is on the fence. My story is about some really good decisions I’ve made including marrying my wife. I submit to you that our respective journeys are about decisions and commitment to a process. The surgery fixes the physical for a period of time, but it does not work on your brain. The short and sweet version:
HW: 602 lbs I very rarely admit to this.
SW: 552 lbs
CW: 260 lbs
Total weight loss: 342 lbs
On this day 2 years ago, I made one of the best decisions of my life. At the time, I had no idea how great I was going to feel or the new experiences I was going to enjoy. All I knew was that I was about to turn 50, and I came to the realization I had to make a change. I always told others, that you can’t do the same thing over and over and expect different results. That was my a-ha moment prior to the surgery. I decided I was going to undergo weight loss surgery. I decided I was “all in” on this process. The day I went to initially meet with my surgeon, I stepped on the scale and weighed 602 lbs. It was hard to look at. Every part of my body hurt... my knees, my back, my ankles, etc. Almost impossible to walk. To put it into perspective, I could barely walk for a couple of minutes without pain or having my heart beating heavily. The good thing was I had normal BP, sugar, cholesterol, etc. I can’t even explain my mental state. I had slowly withdrawn from almost all aspects of living. I am the by-product of losing weight successfully and then gaining it back with interest. I could always lose 75-100 lbs on my own. But since I had a lot more than that to lose, I would eventually hit a wall and revert to my bad habits. I initially wanted to have VSG surgery because it was less invasive and quite frankly I was scared of surgery. Although my surgeon recommended RNY, he left it up to me. I researched a lot and decided RNY. I asked soooo many questions. I spoke with people that underwent surgery. I also decided that I was going to pay out of pocket for the surgery. I felt it was an investment in me. I also didn’t want to chicken out during the insurance process as other times. From my initial consult to surgery day (about 60 days), I lost 50 lbs. 27 of those were during the liquid diet. And no, I did not cheat once during the liquid phase. Was I scared about surgery? Absolutely. But I also understood, statistically, men of my weight do not live long lives. My surgery weight was 552 lbs. I was blessed to go through the surgery without complications. The 1st 6 months out, I focused on the nutrition aspects. The only physical activity I tried was Water aerobics. At about the 6 month, I weighed in at 425 lbs. I felt things were beginning to slow up. I decided to hire a personal trainer. My first conversation with him was that I knew I needed to exercise for my health but there’s no way I could ever have the passion for going to the gym like him and others. My first goal was to walk a 5K. I accomplished that 6 months after. It took me 1.5 hours to finish. But I did it. What an incredible feeling. Today, I do that on a daily basis. Both walking and jogging. I have never felt this good during my adult life. I have embraced this new lifestyle and now look forward to working out. During these unprecedented times we are facing, I have found alternatives to going to the gym and refuse to allow the situation to dictate my life. Today, I stand at 260 lbs. This is the lowest weight I’ve been since high school. It’s important to build the right team. To my wife, my surgeon, my primary physician, and my trainer.......THANK YOU. I would not have been able to achieve these results without your support, encouragement, and advice. I also look at my own level of commitment during this journey. As I said, I hope that my story helps others.

This is a long post. I promise there won’t be many like this. My hope is that my story will help inspire someone that is on the fence. My story is about some really good decisions I’ve made including marrying my wife. I submit to you that our respective journeys are about decisions and commitment to a process. The surgery fixes the physical for a period of time, but it does not work on your brain. The short and sweet version:
HW: 602 lbs I very rarely admit to this.
SW: 552 lbs
CW: 260 lbs
Total weight loss: 342 lbs
On this day 2 years ago, I made one of the best decisions of my life. At the time, I had no idea how great I was going to feel or the new experiences I was going to enjoy. All I knew was that I was about to turn 50, and I came to the realization I had to make a change. I always told others, that you can’t do the same thing over and over and expect different results. That was my a-ha moment prior to the surgery. I decided I was going to undergo weight loss surgery. I decided I was “all in” on this process. The day I went to initially meet with my surgeon, I stepped on the scale and weighed 602 lbs. It was hard to look at. Every part of my body hurt... my knees, my back, my ankles, etc. Almost impossible to walk. To put it into perspective, I could barely walk for a couple of minutes without pain or having my heart beating heavily. The good thing was I had normal BP, sugar, cholesterol, etc. I can’t even explain my mental state. I had slowly withdrawn from almost all aspects of living. I am the by-product of losing weight successfully and then gaining it back with interest. I could always lose 75-100 lbs on my own. But since I had a lot more than that to lose, I would eventually hit a wall and revert to my bad habits. I initially wanted to have VSG surgery because it was less invasive and quite frankly I was scared of surgery. Although my surgeon recommended RNY, he left it up to me. I researched a lot and decided RNY. I asked soooo many questions. I spoke with people that underwent surgery. I also decided that I was going to pay out of pocket for the surgery. I felt it was an investment in me. I also didn’t want to chicken out during the insurance process as other times. From my initial consult to surgery day (about 60 days), I lost 50 lbs. 27 of those were during the liquid diet. And no, I did not cheat once during the liquid phase. Was I scared about surgery? Absolutely. But I also understood, statistically, men of my weight do not live long lives. My surgery weight was 552 lbs. I was blessed to go through the surgery without complications. The 1st 6 months out, I focused on the nutrition aspects. The only physical activity I tried was Water aerobics. At about the 6 month, I weighed in at 425 lbs. I felt things were beginning to slow up. I decided to hire a personal trainer. My first conversation with him was that I knew I needed to exercise for my health but there’s no way I could ever have the passion for going to the gym like him and others. My first goal was to walk a 5K. I accomplished that 6 months after. It took me 1.5 hours to finish. But I did it. What an incredible feeling. Today, I do that on a daily basis. Both walking and jogging. I have never felt this good during my adult life. I have embraced this new lifestyle and now look forward to working out. During these unprecedented times we are facing, I have found alternatives to going to the gym and refuse to allow the situation to dictate my life. Today, I stand at 260 lbs. This is the lowest weight I’ve been since high school. It’s important to build the right team. To my wife, my surgeon, my primary physician, and my trainer.......THANK YOU. I would not have been able to achieve these results without your support, encouragement, and advice. I also look at my own level of commitment during this journey. As I said, I hope that my story helps others.

This is a long post. I promise there won’t be many like this. My hope is that my story will help inspire someone that is on the fence. My story is about some really good decisions I’ve made including marrying my wife. I submit to you that our respective journeys are about decisions and commitment to a process. The surgery fixes the physical for a period of time, but it does not work on your brain. The short and sweet version:
HW: 602 lbs I very rarely admit to this.
SW: 552 lbs
CW: 260 lbs
Total weight loss: 342 lbs
On this day 2 years ago, I made one of the best decisions of my life. At the time, I had no idea how great I was going to feel or the new experiences I was going to enjoy. All I knew was that I was about to turn 50, and I came to the realization I had to make a change. I always told others, that you can’t do the same thing over and over and expect different results. That was my a-ha moment prior to the surgery. I decided I was going to undergo weight loss surgery. I decided I was “all in” on this process. The day I went to initially meet with my surgeon, I stepped on the scale and weighed 602 lbs. It was hard to look at. Every part of my body hurt... my knees, my back, my ankles, etc. Almost impossible to walk. To put it into perspective, I could barely walk for a couple of minutes without pain or having my heart beating heavily. The good thing was I had normal BP, sugar, cholesterol, etc. I can’t even explain my mental state. I had slowly withdrawn from almost all aspects of living. I am the by-product of losing weight successfully and then gaining it back with interest. I could always lose 75-100 lbs on my own. But since I had a lot more than that to lose, I would eventually hit a wall and revert to my bad habits. I initially wanted to have VSG surgery because it was less invasive and quite frankly I was scared of surgery. Although my surgeon recommended RNY, he left it up to me. I researched a lot and decided RNY. I asked soooo many questions. I spoke with people that underwent surgery. I also decided that I was going to pay out of pocket for the surgery. I felt it was an investment in me. I also didn’t want to chicken out during the insurance process as other times. From my initial consult to surgery day (about 60 days), I lost 50 lbs. 27 of those were during the liquid diet. And no, I did not cheat once during the liquid phase. Was I scared about surgery? Absolutely. But I also understood, statistically, men of my weight do not live long lives. My surgery weight was 552 lbs. I was blessed to go through the surgery without complications. The 1st 6 months out, I focused on the nutrition aspects. The only physical activity I tried was Water aerobics. At about the 6 month, I weighed in at 425 lbs. I felt things were beginning to slow up. I decided to hire a personal trainer. My first conversation with him was that I knew I needed to exercise for my health but there’s no way I could ever have the passion for going to the gym like him and others. My first goal was to walk a 5K. I accomplished that 6 months after. It took me 1.5 hours to finish. But I did it. What an incredible feeling. Today, I do that on a daily basis. Both walking and jogging. I have never felt this good during my adult life. I have embraced this new lifestyle and now look forward to working out. During these unprecedented times we are facing, I have found alternatives to going to the gym and refuse to allow the situation to dictate my life. Today, I stand at 260 lbs. This is the lowest weight I’ve been since high school. It’s important to build the right team. To my wife, my surgeon, my primary physician, and my trainer.......THANK YOU. I would not have been able to achieve these results without your support, encouragement, and advice. I also look at my own level of commitment during this journey. As I said, I hope that my story helps others.

This is a long post. I promise there won’t be many like this. My hope is that my story will help inspire someone that is on the fence. My story is about some really good decisions I’ve made including marrying my wife. I submit to you that our respective journeys are about decisions and commitment to a process. The surgery fixes the physical for a period of time, but it does not work on your brain. The short and sweet version:
HW: 602 lbs I very rarely admit to this.
SW: 552 lbs
CW: 260 lbs
Total weight loss: 342 lbs
On this day 2 years ago, I made one of the best decisions of my life. At the time, I had no idea how great I was going to feel or the new experiences I was going to enjoy. All I knew was that I was about to turn 50, and I came to the realization I had to make a change. I always told others, that you can’t do the same thing over and over and expect different results. That was my a-ha moment prior to the surgery. I decided I was going to undergo weight loss surgery. I decided I was “all in” on this process. The day I went to initially meet with my surgeon, I stepped on the scale and weighed 602 lbs. It was hard to look at. Every part of my body hurt... my knees, my back, my ankles, etc. Almost impossible to walk. To put it into perspective, I could barely walk for a couple of minutes without pain or having my heart beating heavily. The good thing was I had normal BP, sugar, cholesterol, etc. I can’t even explain my mental state. I had slowly withdrawn from almost all aspects of living. I am the by-product of losing weight successfully and then gaining it back with interest. I could always lose 75-100 lbs on my own. But since I had a lot more than that to lose, I would eventually hit a wall and revert to my bad habits. I initially wanted to have VSG surgery because it was less invasive and quite frankly I was scared of surgery. Although my surgeon recommended RNY, he left it up to me. I researched a lot and decided RNY. I asked soooo many questions. I spoke with people that underwent surgery. I also decided that I was going to pay out of pocket for the surgery. I felt it was an investment in me. I also didn’t want to chicken out during the insurance process as other times. From my initial consult to surgery day (about 60 days), I lost 50 lbs. 27 of those were during the liquid diet. And no, I did not cheat once during the liquid phase. Was I scared about surgery? Absolutely. But I also understood, statistically, men of my weight do not live long lives. My surgery weight was 552 lbs. I was blessed to go through the surgery without complications. The 1st 6 months out, I focused on the nutrition aspects. The only physical activity I tried was Water aerobics. At about the 6 month, I weighed in at 425 lbs. I felt things were beginning to slow up. I decided to hire a personal trainer. My first conversation with him was that I knew I needed to exercise for my health but there’s no way I could ever have the passion for going to the gym like him and others. My first goal was to walk a 5K. I accomplished that 6 months after. It took me 1.5 hours to finish. But I did it. What an incredible feeling. Today, I do that on a daily basis. Both walking and jogging. I have never felt this good during my adult life. I have embraced this new lifestyle and now look forward to working out. During these unprecedented times we are facing, I have found alternatives to going to the gym and refuse to allow the situation to dictate my life. Today, I stand at 260 lbs. This is the lowest weight I’ve been since high school. It’s important to build the right team. To my wife, my surgeon, my primary physician, and my trainer.......THANK YOU. I would not have been able to achieve these results without your support, encouragement, and advice. I also look at my own level of commitment during this journey. As I said, I hope that my story helps others.

This is a long post. I promise there won’t be many like this. My hope is that my story will help inspire someone that is on the fence. My story is about some really good decisions I’ve made including marrying my wife. I submit to you that our respective journeys are about decisions and commitment to a process. The surgery fixes the physical for a period of time, but it does not work on your brain. The short and sweet version:
HW: 602 lbs I very rarely admit to this.
SW: 552 lbs
CW: 260 lbs
Total weight loss: 342 lbs
On this day 2 years ago, I made one of the best decisions of my life. At the time, I had no idea how great I was going to feel or the new experiences I was going to enjoy. All I knew was that I was about to turn 50, and I came to the realization I had to make a change. I always told others, that you can’t do the same thing over and over and expect different results. That was my a-ha moment prior to the surgery. I decided I was going to undergo weight loss surgery. I decided I was “all in” on this process. The day I went to initially meet with my surgeon, I stepped on the scale and weighed 602 lbs. It was hard to look at. Every part of my body hurt... my knees, my back, my ankles, etc. Almost impossible to walk. To put it into perspective, I could barely walk for a couple of minutes without pain or having my heart beating heavily. The good thing was I had normal BP, sugar, cholesterol, etc. I can’t even explain my mental state. I had slowly withdrawn from almost all aspects of living. I am the by-product of losing weight successfully and then gaining it back with interest. I could always lose 75-100 lbs on my own. But since I had a lot more than that to lose, I would eventually hit a wall and revert to my bad habits. I initially wanted to have VSG surgery because it was less invasive and quite frankly I was scared of surgery. Although my surgeon recommended RNY, he left it up to me. I researched a lot and decided RNY. I asked soooo many questions. I spoke with people that underwent surgery. I also decided that I was going to pay out of pocket for the surgery. I felt it was an investment in me. I also didn’t want to chicken out during the insurance process as other times. From my initial consult to surgery day (about 60 days), I lost 50 lbs. 27 of those were during the liquid diet. And no, I did not cheat once during the liquid phase. Was I scared about surgery? Absolutely. But I also understood, statistically, men of my weight do not live long lives. My surgery weight was 552 lbs. I was blessed to go through the surgery without complications. The 1st 6 months out, I focused on the nutrition aspects. The only physical activity I tried was Water aerobics. At about the 6 month, I weighed in at 425 lbs. I felt things were beginning to slow up. I decided to hire a personal trainer. My first conversation with him was that I knew I needed to exercise for my health but there’s no way I could ever have the passion for going to the gym like him and others. My first goal was to walk a 5K. I accomplished that 6 months after. It took me 1.5 hours to finish. But I did it. What an incredible feeling. Today, I do that on a daily basis. Both walking and jogging. I have never felt this good during my adult life. I have embraced this new lifestyle and now look forward to working out. During these unprecedented times we are facing, I have found alternatives to going to the gym and refuse to allow the situation to dictate my life. Today, I stand at 260 lbs. This is the lowest weight I’ve been since high school. It’s important to build the right team. To my wife, my surgeon, my primary physician, and my trainer.......THANK YOU. I would not have been able to achieve these results without your support, encouragement, and advice. I also look at my own level of commitment during this journey. As I said, I hope that my story helps others.

Thank you.

This is a long post. I promise there won’t be many like this. My hope is that my story will help inspire someone that is on the fence. My story is about some really good decisions I’ve made including marrying my wife. I submit to you that our respective journeys are about decisions and commitment to a process. The surgery fixes the physical for a period of time, but it does not work on your brain. The short and sweet version:
HW: 602 lbs I very rarely admit to this.
SW: 552 lbs
CW: 260 lbs
Total weight loss: 342 lbs
On this day 2 years ago, I made one of the best decisions of my life. At the time, I had no idea how great I was going to feel or the new experiences I was going to enjoy. All I knew was that I was about to turn 50, and I came to the realization I had to make a change. I always told others, that you can’t do the same thing over and over and expect different results. That was my a-ha moment prior to the surgery. I decided I was going to undergo weight loss surgery. I decided I was “all in” on this process. The day I went to initially meet with my surgeon, I stepped on the scale and weighed 602 lbs. It was hard to look at. Every part of my body hurt... my knees, my back, my ankles, etc. Almost impossible to walk. To put it into perspective, I could barely walk for a couple of minutes without pain or having my heart beating heavily. The good thing was I had normal BP, sugar, cholesterol, etc. I can’t even explain my mental state. I had slowly withdrawn from almost all aspects of living. I am the by-product of losing weight successfully and then gaining it back with interest. I could always lose 75-100 lbs on my own. But since I had a lot more than that to lose, I would eventually hit a wall and revert to my bad habits. I initially wanted to have VSG surgery because it was less invasive and quite frankly I was scared of surgery. Although my surgeon recommended RNY, he left it up to me. I researched a lot and decided RNY. I asked soooo many questions. I spoke with people that underwent surgery. I also decided that I was going to pay out of pocket for the surgery. I felt it was an investment in me. I also didn’t want to chicken out during the insurance process as other times. From my initial consult to surgery day (about 60 days), I lost 50 lbs. 27 of those were during the liquid diet. And no, I did not cheat once during the liquid phase. Was I scared about surgery? Absolutely. But I also understood, statistically, men of my weight do not live long lives. My surgery weight was 552 lbs. I was blessed to go through the surgery without complications. The 1st 6 months out, I focused on the nutrition aspects. The only physical activity I tried was Water aerobics. At about the 6 month, I weighed in at 425 lbs. I felt things were beginning to slow up. I decided to hire a personal trainer. My first conversation with him was that I knew I needed to exercise for my health but there’s no way I could ever have the passion for going to the gym like him and others. My first goal was to walk a 5K. I accomplished that 6 months after. It took me 1.5 hours to finish. But I did it. What an incredible feeling. Today, I do that on a daily basis. Both walking and jogging. I have never felt this good during my adult life. I have embraced this new lifestyle and now look forward to working out. During these unprecedented times we are facing, I have found alternatives to going to the gym and refuse to allow the situation to dictate my life. Today, I stand at 260 lbs. This is the lowest weight I’ve been since high school. It’s important to build the right team. To my wife, my surgeon, my primary physician, and my trainer.......THANK YOU. I would not have been able to achieve these results without your support, encouragement, and advice. I also look at my own level of commitment during this journey. As I said, I hope that my story helps others.

This is a long post. I promise there won’t be many like this. My hope is that my story will help inspire someone that is on the fence. My story is about some really good decisions I’ve made including marrying my wife. I submit to you that our respective journeys are about decisions and commitment to a process. The surgery fixes the physical for a period of time, but it does not work on your brain. The short and sweet version:
HW: 602 lbs I very rarely admit to this.
SW: 552 lbs
CW: 260 lbs
Total weight loss: 342 lbs
On this day 2 years ago, I made one of the best decisions of my life. At the time, I had no idea how great I was going to feel or the new experiences I was going to enjoy. All I knew was that I was about to turn 50, and I came to the realization I had to make a change. I always told others, that you can’t do the same thing over and over and expect different results. That was my a-ha moment prior to the surgery. I decided I was going to undergo weight loss surgery. I decided I was “all in” on this process. The day I went to initially meet with my surgeon, I stepped on the scale and weighed 602 lbs. It was hard to look at. Every part of my body hurt... my knees, my back, my ankles, etc. Almost impossible to walk. To put it into perspective, I could barely walk for a couple of minutes without pain or having my heart beating heavily. The good thing was I had normal BP, sugar, cholesterol, etc. I can’t even explain my mental state. I had slowly withdrawn from almost all aspects of living. I am the by-product of losing weight successfully and then gaining it back with interest. I could always lose 75-100 lbs on my own. But since I had a lot more than that to lose, I would eventually hit a wall and revert to my bad habits. I initially wanted to have VSG surgery because it was less invasive and quite frankly I was scared of surgery. Although my surgeon recommended RNY, he left it up to me. I researched a lot and decided RNY. I asked soooo many questions. I spoke with people that underwent surgery. I also decided that I was going to pay out of pocket for the surgery. I felt it was an investment in me. I also didn’t want to chicken out during the insurance process as other times. From my initial consult to surgery day (about 60 days), I lost 50 lbs. 27 of those were during the liquid diet. And no, I did not cheat once during the liquid phase. Was I scared about surgery? Absolutely. But I also understood, statistically, men of my weight do not live long lives. My surgery weight was 552 lbs. I was blessed to go through the surgery without complications. The 1st 6 months out, I focused on the nutrition aspects. The only physical activity I tried was Water aerobics. At about the 6 month, I weighed in at 425 lbs. I felt things were beginning to slow up. I decided to hire a personal trainer. My first conversation with him was that I knew I needed to exercise for my health but there’s no way I could ever have the passion for going to the gym like him and others. My first goal was to walk a 5K. I accomplished that 6 months after. It took me 1.5 hours to finish. But I did it. What an incredible feeling. Today, I do that on a daily basis. Both walking and jogging. I have never felt this good during my adult life. I have embraced this new lifestyle and now look forward to working out. During these unprecedented times we are facing, I have found alternatives to going to the gym and refuse to allow the situation to dictate my life. Today, I stand at 260 lbs. This is the lowest weight I’ve been since high school. It’s important to build the right team. To my wife, my surgeon, my primary physician, and my trainer.......THANK YOU. I would not have been able to achieve these results without your support, encouragement, and advice. I also look at my own level of commitment during this journey. As I said, I hope that my story helps others.

This is a long post. I promise there won’t be many like this. My hope is that my story will help inspire someone that is on the fence. My story is about some really good decisions I’ve made including marrying my wife. I submit to you that our respective journeys are about decisions and commitment to a process. The surgery fixes the physical for a period of time, but it does not work on your brain. The short and sweet version:
HW: 602 lbs I very rarely admit to this.
SW: 552 lbs
CW: 260 lbs
Total weight loss: 342 lbs
On this day 2 years ago, I made one of the best decisions of my life. At the time, I had no idea how great I was going to feel or the new experiences I was going to enjoy. All I knew was that I was about to turn 50, and I came to the realization I had to make a change. I always told others, that you can’t do the same thing over and over and expect different results. That was my a-ha moment prior to the surgery. I decided I was going to undergo weight loss surgery. I decided I was “all in” on this process. The day I went to initially meet with my surgeon, I stepped on the scale and weighed 602 lbs. It was hard to look at. Every part of my body hurt... my knees, my back, my ankles, etc. Almost impossible to walk. To put it into perspective, I could barely walk for a couple of minutes without pain or having my heart beating heavily. The good thing was I had normal BP, sugar, cholesterol, etc. I can’t even explain my mental state. I had slowly withdrawn from almost all aspects of living. I am the by-product of losing weight successfully and then gaining it back with interest. I could always lose 75-100 lbs on my own. But since I had a lot more than that to lose, I would eventually hit a wall and revert to my bad habits. I initially wanted to have VSG surgery because it was less invasive and quite frankly I was scared of surgery. Although my surgeon recommended RNY, he left it up to me. I researched a lot and decided RNY. I asked soooo many questions. I spoke with people that underwent surgery. I also decided that I was going to pay out of pocket for the surgery. I felt it was an investment in me. I also didn’t want to chicken out during the insurance process as other times. From my initial consult to surgery day (about 60 days), I lost 50 lbs. 27 of those were during the liquid diet. And no, I did not cheat once during the liquid phase. Was I scared about surgery? Absolutely. But I also understood, statistically, men of my weight do not live long lives. My surgery weight was 552 lbs. I was blessed to go through the surgery without complications. The 1st 6 months out, I focused on the nutrition aspects. The only physical activity I tried was Water aerobics. At about the 6 month, I weighed in at 425 lbs. I felt things were beginning to slow up. I decided to hire a personal trainer. My first conversation with him was that I knew I needed to exercise for my health but there’s no way I could ever have the passion for going to the gym like him and others. My first goal was to walk a 5K. I accomplished that 6 months after. It took me 1.5 hours to finish. But I did it. What an incredible feeling. Today, I do that on a daily basis. Both walking and jogging. I have never felt this good during my adult life. I have embraced this new lifestyle and now look forward to working out. During these unprecedented times we are facing, I have found alternatives to going to the gym and refuse to allow the situation to dictate my life. Today, I stand at 260 lbs. This is the lowest weight I’ve been since high school. It’s important to build the right team. To my wife, my surgeon, my primary physician, and my trainer.......THANK YOU. I would not have been able to achieve these results without your support, encouragement, and advice. I also look at my own level of commitment during this journey. As I said, I hope that my story helps others.

This is a long post. I promise there won’t be many like this. My hope is that my story will help inspire someone that is on the fence. My story is about some really good decisions I’ve made including marrying my wife. I submit to you that our respective journeys are about decisions and commitment to a process. The surgery fixes the physical for a period of time, but it does not work on your brain. The short and sweet version:
HW: 602 lbs I very rarely admit to this.
SW: 552 lbs
CW: 260 lbs
Total weight loss: 342 lbs
On this day 2 years ago, I made one of the best decisions of my life. At the time, I had no idea how great I was going to feel or the new experiences I was going to enjoy. All I knew was that I was about to turn 50, and I came to the realization I had to make a change. I always told others, that you can’t do the same thing over and over and expect different results. That was my a-ha moment prior to the surgery. I decided I was going to undergo weight loss surgery. I decided I was “all in” on this process. The day I went to initially meet with my surgeon, I stepped on the scale and weighed 602 lbs. It was hard to look at. Every part of my body hurt... my knees, my back, my ankles, etc. Almost impossible to walk. To put it into perspective, I could barely walk for a couple of minutes without pain or having my heart beating heavily. The good thing was I had normal BP, sugar, cholesterol, etc. I can’t even explain my mental state. I had slowly withdrawn from almost all aspects of living. I am the by-product of losing weight successfully and then gaining it back with interest. I could always lose 75-100 lbs on my own. But since I had a lot more than that to lose, I would eventually hit a wall and revert to my bad habits. I initially wanted to have VSG surgery because it was less invasive and quite frankly I was scared of surgery. Although my surgeon recommended RNY, he left it up to me. I researched a lot and decided RNY. I asked soooo many questions. I spoke with people that underwent surgery. I also decided that I was going to pay out of pocket for the surgery. I felt it was an investment in me. I also didn’t want to chicken out during the insurance process as other times. From my initial consult to surgery day (about 60 days), I lost 50 lbs. 27 of those were during the liquid diet. And no, I did not cheat once during the liquid phase. Was I scared about surgery? Absolutely. But I also understood, statistically, men of my weight do not live long lives. My surgery weight was 552 lbs. I was blessed to go through the surgery without complications. The 1st 6 months out, I focused on the nutrition aspects. The only physical activity I tried was Water aerobics. At about the 6 month, I weighed in at 425 lbs. I felt things were beginning to slow up. I decided to hire a personal trainer. My first conversation with him was that I knew I needed to exercise for my health but there’s no way I could ever have the passion for going to the gym like him and others. My first goal was to walk a 5K. I accomplished that 6 months after. It took me 1.5 hours to finish. But I did it. What an incredible feeling. Today, I do that on a daily basis. Both walking and jogging. I have never felt this good during my adult life. I have embraced this new lifestyle and now look forward to working out. During these unprecedented times we are facing, I have found alternatives to going to the gym and refuse to allow the situation to dictate my life. Today, I stand at 260 lbs. This is the lowest weight I’ve been since high school. It’s important to build the right team. To my wife, my surgeon, my primary physician, and my trainer.......THANK YOU. I would not have been able to achieve these results without your support, encouragement, and advice. I also look at my own level of commitment during this journey. As I said, I hope that my story helps others.

This is a long post. I promise there won’t be many like this. My hope is that my story will help inspire someone that is on the fence. My story is about some really good decisions I’ve made including marrying my wife. I submit to you that our respective journeys are about decisions and commitment to a process. The surgery fixes the physical for a period of time, but it does not work on your brain. The short and sweet version:
HW: 602 lbs I very rarely admit to this.
SW: 552 lbs
CW: 260 lbs
Total weight loss: 342 lbs
On this day 2 years ago, I made one of the best decisions of my life. At the time, I had no idea how great I was going to feel or the new experiences I was going to enjoy. All I knew was that I was about to turn 50, and I came to the realization I had to make a change. I always told others, that you can’t do the same thing over and over and expect different results. That was my a-ha moment prior to the surgery. I decided I was going to undergo weight loss surgery. I decided I was “all in” on this process. The day I went to initially meet with my surgeon, I stepped on the scale and weighed 602 lbs. It was hard to look at. Every part of my body hurt... my knees, my back, my ankles, etc. Almost impossible to walk. To put it into perspective, I could barely walk for a couple of minutes without pain or having my heart beating heavily. The good thing was I had normal BP, sugar, cholesterol, etc. I can’t even explain my mental state. I had slowly withdrawn from almost all aspects of living. I am the by-product of losing weight successfully and then gaining it back with interest. I could always lose 75-100 lbs on my own. But since I had a lot more than that to lose, I would eventually hit a wall and revert to my bad habits. I initially wanted to have VSG surgery because it was less invasive and quite frankly I was scared of surgery. Although my surgeon recommended RNY, he left it up to me. I researched a lot and decided RNY. I asked soooo many questions. I spoke with people that underwent surgery. I also decided that I was going to pay out of pocket for the surgery. I felt it was an investment in me. I also didn’t want to chicken out during the insurance process as other times. From my initial consult to surgery day (about 60 days), I lost 50 lbs. 27 of those were during the liquid diet. And no, I did not cheat once during the liquid phase. Was I scared about surgery? Absolutely. But I also understood, statistically, men of my weight do not live long lives. My surgery weight was 552 lbs. I was blessed to go through the surgery without complications. The 1st 6 months out, I focused on the nutrition aspects. The only physical activity I tried was Water aerobics. At about the 6 month, I weighed in at 425 lbs. I felt things were beginning to slow up. I decided to hire a personal trainer. My first conversation with him was that I knew I needed to exercise for my health but there’s no way I could ever have the passion for going to the gym like him and others. My first goal was to walk a 5K. I accomplished that 6 months after. It took me 1.5 hours to finish. But I did it. What an incredible feeling. Today, I do that on a daily basis. Both walking and jogging. I have never felt this good during my adult life. I have embraced this new lifestyle and now look forward to working out. During these unprecedented times we are facing, I have found alternatives to going to the gym and refuse to allow the situation to dictate my life. Today, I stand at 260 lbs. This is the lowest weight I’ve been since high school. It’s important to build the right team. To my wife, my surgeon, my primary physician, and my trainer.......THANK YOU. I would not have been able to achieve these results without your support, encouragement, and advice. I also look at my own level of commitment during this journey. As I said, I hope that my story helps others.

This is a long post. I promise there won’t be many like this. My hope is that my story will help inspire someone that is on the fence. My story is about some really good decisions I’ve made including marrying my wife. I submit to you that our respective journeys are about decisions and commitment to a process. The surgery fixes the physical for a period of time, but it does not work on your brain. The short and sweet version:
HW: 602 lbs I very rarely admit to this.
SW: 552 lbs
CW: 260 lbs
Total weight loss: 342 lbs
On this day 2 years ago, I made one of the best decisions of my life. At the time, I had no idea how great I was going to feel or the new experiences I was going to enjoy. All I knew was that I was about to turn 50, and I came to the realization I had to make a change. I always told others, that you can’t do the same thing over and over and expect different results. That was my a-ha moment prior to the surgery. I decided I was going to undergo weight loss surgery. I decided I was “all in” on this process. The day I went to initially meet with my surgeon, I stepped on the scale and weighed 602 lbs. It was hard to look at. Every part of my body hurt... my knees, my back, my ankles, etc. Almost impossible to walk. To put it into perspective, I could barely walk for a couple of minutes without pain or having my heart beating heavily. The good thing was I had normal BP, sugar, cholesterol, etc. I can’t even explain my mental state. I had slowly withdrawn from almost all aspects of living. I am the by-product of losing weight successfully and then gaining it back with interest. I could always lose 75-100 lbs on my own. But since I had a lot more than that to lose, I would eventually hit a wall and revert to my bad habits. I initially wanted to have VSG surgery because it was less invasive and quite frankly I was scared of surgery. Although my surgeon recommended RNY, he left it up to me. I researched a lot and decided RNY. I asked soooo many questions. I spoke with people that underwent surgery. I also decided that I was going to pay out of pocket for the surgery. I felt it was an investment in me. I also didn’t want to chicken out during the insurance process as other times. From my initial consult to surgery day (about 60 days), I lost 50 lbs. 27 of those were during the liquid diet. And no, I did not cheat once during the liquid phase. Was I scared about surgery? Absolutely. But I also understood, statistically, men of my weight do not live long lives. My surgery weight was 552 lbs. I was blessed to go through the surgery without complications. The 1st 6 months out, I focused on the nutrition aspects. The only physical activity I tried was Water aerobics. At about the 6 month, I weighed in at 425 lbs. I felt things were beginning to slow up. I decided to hire a personal trainer. My first conversation with him was that I knew I needed to exercise for my health but there’s no way I could ever have the passion for going to the gym like him and others. My first goal was to walk a 5K. I accomplished that 6 months after. It took me 1.5 hours to finish. But I did it. What an incredible feeling. Today, I do that on a daily basis. Both walking and jogging. I have never felt this good during my adult life. I have embraced this new lifestyle and now look forward to working out. During these unprecedented times we are facing, I have found alternatives to going to the gym and refuse to allow the situation to dictate my life. Today, I stand at 260 lbs. This is the lowest weight I’ve been since high school. It’s important to build the right team. To my wife, my surgeon, my primary physician, and my trainer.......THANK YOU. I would not have been able to achieve these results without your support, encouragement, and advice. I also look at my own level of commitment during this journey. As I said, I hope that my story helps others.

This is a long post. I promise there won’t be many like this. My hope is that my story will help inspire someone that is on the fence. My story is about some really good decisions I’ve made including marrying my wife. I submit to you that our respective journeys are about decisions and commitment to a process. The surgery fixes the physical for a period of time, but it does not work on your brain. The short and sweet version:
HW: 602 lbs I very rarely admit to this.
SW: 552 lbs
CW: 260 lbs
Total weight loss: 342 lbs
On this day 2 years ago, I made one of the best decisions of my life. At the time, I had no idea how great I was going to feel or the new experiences I was going to enjoy. All I knew was that I was about to turn 50, and I came to the realization I had to make a change. I always told others, that you can’t do the same thing over and over and expect different results. That was my a-ha moment prior to the surgery. I decided I was going to undergo weight loss surgery. I decided I was “all in” on this process. The day I went to initially meet with my surgeon, I stepped on the scale and weighed 602 lbs. It was hard to look at. Every part of my body hurt... my knees, my back, my ankles, etc. Almost impossible to walk. To put it into perspective, I could barely walk for a couple of minutes without pain or having my heart beating heavily. The good thing was I had normal BP, sugar, cholesterol, etc. I can’t even explain my mental state. I had slowly withdrawn from almost all aspects of living. I am the by-product of losing weight successfully and then gaining it back with interest. I could always lose 75-100 lbs on my own. But since I had a lot more than that to lose, I would eventually hit a wall and revert to my bad habits. I initially wanted to have VSG surgery because it was less invasive and quite frankly I was scared of surgery. Although my surgeon recommended RNY, he left it up to me. I researched a lot and decided RNY. I asked soooo many questions. I spoke with people that underwent surgery. I also decided that I was going to pay out of pocket for the surgery. I felt it was an investment in me. I also didn’t want to chicken out during the insurance process as other times. From my initial consult to surgery day (about 60 days), I lost 50 lbs. 27 of those were during the liquid diet. And no, I did not cheat once during the liquid phase. Was I scared about surgery? Absolutely. But I also understood, statistically, men of my weight do not live long lives. My surgery weight was 552 lbs. I was blessed to go through the surgery without complications. The 1st 6 months out, I focused on the nutrition aspects. The only physical activity I tried was Water aerobics. At about the 6 month, I weighed in at 425 lbs. I felt things were beginning to slow up. I decided to hire a personal trainer. My first conversation with him was that I knew I needed to exercise for my health but there’s no way I could ever have the passion for going to the gym like him and others. My first goal was to walk a 5K. I accomplished that 6 months after. It took me 1.5 hours to finish. But I did it. What an incredible feeling. Today, I do that on a daily basis. Both walking and jogging. I have never felt this good during my adult life. I have embraced this new lifestyle and now look forward to working out. During these unprecedented times we are facing, I have found alternatives to going to the gym and refuse to allow the situation to dictate my life. Today, I stand at 260 lbs. This is the lowest weight I’ve been since high school. It’s important to build the right team. To my wife, my surgeon, my primary physician, and my trainer.......THANK YOU. I would not have been able to achieve these results without your support, encouragement, and advice. I also look at my own level of commitment during this journey. As I said, I hope that my story helps others.

This is a long post. I promise there won’t be many like this. My hope is that my story will help inspire someone that is on the fence. My story is about some really good decisions I’ve made including marrying my wife. I submit to you that our respective journeys are about decisions and commitment to a process. The surgery fixes the physical for a period of time, but it does not work on your brain. The short and sweet version:
HW: 602 lbs I very rarely admit to this.
SW: 552 lbs
CW: 260 lbs
Total weight loss: 342 lbs
On this day 2 years ago, I made one of the best decisions of my life. At the time, I had no idea how great I was going to feel or the new experiences I was going to enjoy. All I knew was that I was about to turn 50, and I came to the realization I had to make a change. I always told others, that you can’t do the same thing over and over and expect different results. That was my a-ha moment prior to the surgery. I decided I was going to undergo weight loss surgery. I decided I was “all in” on this process. The day I went to initially meet with my surgeon, I stepped on the scale and weighed 602 lbs. It was hard to look at. Every part of my body hurt... my knees, my back, my ankles, etc. Almost impossible to walk. To put it into perspective, I could barely walk for a couple of minutes without pain or having my heart beating heavily. The good thing was I had normal BP, sugar, cholesterol, etc. I can’t even explain my mental state. I had slowly withdrawn from almost all aspects of living. I am the by-product of losing weight successfully and then gaining it back with interest. I could always lose 75-100 lbs on my own. But since I had a lot more than that to lose, I would eventually hit a wall and revert to my bad habits. I initially wanted to have VSG surgery because it was less invasive and quite frankly I was scared of surgery. Although my surgeon recommended RNY, he left it up to me. I researched a lot and decided RNY. I asked soooo many questions. I spoke with people that underwent surgery. I also decided that I was going to pay out of pocket for the surgery. I felt it was an investment in me. I also didn’t want to chicken out during the insurance process as other times. From my initial consult to surgery day (about 60 days), I lost 50 lbs. 27 of those were during the liquid diet. And no, I did not cheat once during the liquid phase. Was I scared about surgery? Absolutely. But I also understood, statistically, men of my weight do not live long lives. My surgery weight was 552 lbs. I was blessed to go through the surgery without complications. The 1st 6 months out, I focused on the nutrition aspects. The only physical activity I tried was Water aerobics. At about the 6 month, I weighed in at 425 lbs. I felt things were beginning to slow up. I decided to hire a personal trainer. My first conversation with him was that I knew I needed to exercise for my health but there’s no way I could ever have the passion for going to the gym like him and others. My first goal was to walk a 5K. I accomplished that 6 months after. It took me 1.5 hours to finish. But I did it. What an incredible feeling. Today, I do that on a daily basis. Both walking and jogging. I have never felt this good during my adult life. I have embraced this new lifestyle and now look forward to working out. During these unprecedented times we are facing, I have found alternatives to going to the gym and refuse to allow the situation to dictate my life. Today, I stand at 260 lbs. This is the lowest weight I’ve been since high school. It’s important to build the right team. To my wife, my surgeon, my primary physician, and my trainer.......THANK YOU. I would not have been able to achieve these results without your support, encouragement, and advice. I also look at my own level of commitment during this journey. As I said, I hope that my story helps others.

This is a long post. I promise there won’t be many like this. My hope is that my story will help inspire someone that is on the fence. My story is about some really good decisions I’ve made including marrying my wife. I submit to you that our respective journeys are about decisions and commitment to a process. The surgery fixes the physical for a period of time, but it does not work on your brain. The short and sweet version:
HW: 602 lbs I very rarely admit to this.
SW: 552 lbs
CW: 260 lbs
Total weight loss: 342 lbs
On this day 2 years ago, I made one of the best decisions of my life. At the time, I had no idea how great I was going to feel or the new experiences I was going to enjoy. All I knew was that I was about to turn 50, and I came to the realization I had to make a change. I always told others, that you can’t do the same thing over and over and expect different results. That was my a-ha moment prior to the surgery. I decided I was going to undergo weight loss surgery. I decided I was “all in” on this process. The day I went to initially meet with my surgeon, I stepped on the scale and weighed 602 lbs. It was hard to look at. Every part of my body hurt... my knees, my back, my ankles, etc. Almost impossible to walk. To put it into perspective, I could barely walk for a couple of minutes without pain or having my heart beating heavily. The good thing was I had normal BP, sugar, cholesterol, etc. I can’t even explain my mental state. I had slowly withdrawn from almost all aspects of living. I am the by-product of losing weight successfully and then gaining it back with interest. I could always lose 75-100 lbs on my own. But since I had a lot more than that to lose, I would eventually hit a wall and revert to my bad habits. I initially wanted to have VSG surgery because it was less invasive and quite frankly I was scared of surgery. Although my surgeon recommended RNY, he left it up to me. I researched a lot and decided RNY. I asked soooo many questions. I spoke with people that underwent surgery. I also decided that I was going to pay out of pocket for the surgery. I felt it was an investment in me. I also didn’t want to chicken out during the insurance process as other times. From my initial consult to surgery day (about 60 days), I lost 50 lbs. 27 of those were during the liquid diet. And no, I did not cheat once during the liquid phase. Was I scared about surgery? Absolutely. But I also understood, statistically, men of my weight do not live long lives. My surgery weight was 552 lbs. I was blessed to go through the surgery without complications. The 1st 6 months out, I focused on the nutrition aspects. The only physical activity I tried was Water aerobics. At about the 6 month, I weighed in at 425 lbs. I felt things were beginning to slow up. I decided to hire a personal trainer. My first conversation with him was that I knew I needed to exercise for my health but there’s no way I could ever have the passion for going to the gym like him and others. My first goal was to walk a 5K. I accomplished that 6 months after. It took me 1.5 hours to finish. But I did it. What an incredible feeling. Today, I do that on a daily basis. Both walking and jogging. I have never felt this good during my adult life. I have embraced this new lifestyle and now look forward to working out. During these unprecedented times we are facing, I have found alternatives to going to the gym and refuse to allow the situation to dictate my life. Today, I stand at 260 lbs. This is the lowest weight I’ve been since high school. It’s important to build the right team. To my wife, my surgeon, my primary physician, and my trainer.......THANK YOU. I would not have been able to achieve these results without your support, encouragement, and advice. I also look at my own level of commitment during this journey. As I said, I hope that my story helps others.

This is a long post. I promise there won’t be many like this. My hope is that my story will help inspire someone that is on the fence. My story is about some really good decisions I’ve made including marrying my wife. I submit to you that our respective journeys are about decisions and commitment to a process. The surgery fixes the physical for a period of time, but it does not work on your brain. The short and sweet version:
HW: 602 lbs I very rarely admit to this.
SW: 552 lbs
CW: 260 lbs
Total weight loss: 342 lbs
On this day 2 years ago, I made one of the best decisions of my life. At the time, I had no idea how great I was going to feel or the new experiences I was going to enjoy. All I knew was that I was about to turn 50, and I came to the realization I had to make a change. I always told others, that you can’t do the same thing over and over and expect different results. That was my a-ha moment prior to the surgery. I decided I was going to undergo weight loss surgery. I decided I was “all in” on this process. The day I went to initially meet with my surgeon, I stepped on the scale and weighed 602 lbs. It was hard to look at. Every part of my body hurt... my knees, my back, my ankles, etc. Almost impossible to walk. To put it into perspective, I could barely walk for a couple of minutes without pain or having my heart beating heavily. The good thing was I had normal BP, sugar, cholesterol, etc. I can’t even explain my mental state. I had slowly withdrawn from almost all aspects of living. I am the by-product of losing weight successfully and then gaining it back with interest. I could always lose 75-100 lbs on my own. But since I had a lot more than that to lose, I would eventually hit a wall and revert to my bad habits. I initially wanted to have VSG surgery because it was less invasive and quite frankly I was scared of surgery. Although my surgeon recommended RNY, he left it up to me. I researched a lot and decided RNY. I asked soooo many questions. I spoke with people that underwent surgery. I also decided that I was going to pay out of pocket for the surgery. I felt it was an investment in me. I also didn’t want to chicken out during the insurance process as other times. From my initial consult to surgery day (about 60 days), I lost 50 lbs. 27 of those were during the liquid diet. And no, I did not cheat once during the liquid phase. Was I scared about surgery? Absolutely. But I also understood, statistically, men of my weight do not live long lives. My surgery weight was 552 lbs. I was blessed to go through the surgery without complications. The 1st 6 months out, I focused on the nutrition aspects. The only physical activity I tried was Water aerobics. At about the 6 month, I weighed in at 425 lbs. I felt things were beginning to slow up. I decided to hire a personal trainer. My first conversation with him was that I knew I needed to exercise for my health but there’s no way I could ever have the passion for going to the gym like him and others. My first goal was to walk a 5K. I accomplished that 6 months after. It took me 1.5 hours to finish. But I did it. What an incredible feeling. Today, I do that on a daily basis. Both walking and jogging. I have never felt this good during my adult life. I have embraced this new lifestyle and now look forward to working out. During these unprecedented times we are facing, I have found alternatives to going to the gym and refuse to allow the situation to dictate my life. Today, I stand at 260 lbs. This is the lowest weight I’ve been since high school. It’s important to build the right team. To my wife, my surgeon, my primary physician, and my trainer.......THANK YOU. I would not have been able to achieve these results without your support, encouragement, and advice. I also look at my own level of commitment during this journey. As I said, I hope that my story helps others.

This is a long post. I promise there won’t be many like this. My hope is that my story will help inspire someone that is on the fence. My story is about some really good decisions I’ve made including marrying my wife. I submit to you that our respective journeys are about decisions and commitment to a process. The surgery fixes the physical for a period of time, but it does not work on your brain. The short and sweet version:
HW: 602 lbs I very rarely admit to this.
SW: 552 lbs
CW: 260 lbs
Total weight loss: 342 lbs
On this day 2 years ago, I made one of the best decisions of my life. At the time, I had no idea how great I was going to feel or the new experiences I was going to enjoy. All I knew was that I was about to turn 50, and I came to the realization I had to make a change. I always told others, that you can’t do the same thing over and over and expect different results. That was my a-ha moment prior to the surgery. I decided I was going to undergo weight loss surgery. I decided I was “all in” on this process. The day I went to initially meet with my surgeon, I stepped on the scale and weighed 602 lbs. It was hard to look at. Every part of my body hurt... my knees, my back, my ankles, etc. Almost impossible to walk. To put it into perspective, I could barely walk for a couple of minutes without pain or having my heart beating heavily. The good thing was I had normal BP, sugar, cholesterol, etc. I can’t even explain my mental state. I had slowly withdrawn from almost all aspects of living. I am the by-product of losing weight successfully and then gaining it back with interest. I could always lose 75-100 lbs on my own. But since I had a lot more than that to lose, I would eventually hit a wall and revert to my bad habits. I initially wanted to have VSG surgery because it was less invasive and quite frankly I was scared of surgery. Although my surgeon recommended RNY, he left it up to me. I researched a lot and decided RNY. I asked soooo many questions. I spoke with people that underwent surgery. I also decided that I was going to pay out of pocket for the surgery. I felt it was an investment in me. I also didn’t want to chicken out during the insurance process as other times. From my initial consult to surgery day (about 60 days), I lost 50 lbs. 27 of those were during the liquid diet. And no, I did not cheat once during the liquid phase. Was I scared about surgery? Absolutely. But I also understood, statistically, men of my weight do not live long lives. My surgery weight was 552 lbs. I was blessed to go through the surgery without complications. The 1st 6 months out, I focused on the nutrition aspects. The only physical activity I tried was Water aerobics. At about the 6 month, I weighed in at 425 lbs. I felt things were beginning to slow up. I decided to hire a personal trainer. My first conversation with him was that I knew I needed to exercise for my health but there’s no way I could ever have the passion for going to the gym like him and others. My first goal was to walk a 5K. I accomplished that 6 months after. It took me 1.5 hours to finish. But I did it. What an incredible feeling. Today, I do that on a daily basis. Both walking and jogging. I have never felt this good during my adult life. I have embraced this new lifestyle and now look forward to working out. During these unprecedented times we are facing, I have found alternatives to going to the gym and refuse to allow the situation to dictate my life. Today, I stand at 260 lbs. This is the lowest weight I’ve been since high school. It’s important to build the right team. To my wife, my surgeon, my primary physician, and my trainer.......THANK YOU. I would not have been able to achieve these results without your support, encouragement, and advice. I also look at my own level of commitment during this journey. As I said, I hope that my story helps others.

This is a long post. I promise there won’t be many like this. My hope is that my story will help inspire someone that is on the fence. My story is about some really good decisions I’ve made including marrying my wife. I submit to you that our respective journeys are about decisions and commitment to a process. The surgery fixes the physical for a period of time, but it does not work on your brain. The short and sweet version:
HW: 602 lbs I very rarely admit to this.
SW: 552 lbs
CW: 260 lbs
Total weight loss: 342 lbs
On this day 2 years ago, I made one of the best decisions of my life. At the time, I had no idea how great I was going to feel or the new experiences I was going to enjoy. All I knew was that I was about to turn 50, and I came to the realization I had to make a change. I always told others, that you can’t do the same thing over and over and expect different results. That was my a-ha moment prior to the surgery. I decided I was going to undergo weight loss surgery. I decided I was “all in” on this process. The day I went to initially meet with my surgeon, I stepped on the scale and weighed 602 lbs. It was hard to look at. Every part of my body hurt... my knees, my back, my ankles, etc. Almost impossible to walk. To put it into perspective, I could barely walk for a couple of minutes without pain or having my heart beating heavily. The good thing was I had normal BP, sugar, cholesterol, etc. I can’t even explain my mental state. I had slowly withdrawn from almost all aspects of living. I am the by-product of losing weight successfully and then gaining it back with interest. I could always lose 75-100 lbs on my own. But since I had a lot more than that to lose, I would eventually hit a wall and revert to my bad habits. I initially wanted to have VSG surgery because it was less invasive and quite frankly I was scared of surgery. Although my surgeon recommended RNY, he left it up to me. I researched a lot and decided RNY. I asked soooo many questions. I spoke with people that underwent surgery. I also decided that I was going to pay out of pocket for the surgery. I felt it was an investment in me. I also didn’t want to chicken out during the insurance process as other times. From my initial consult to surgery day (about 60 days), I lost 50 lbs. 27 of those were during the liquid diet. And no, I did not cheat once during the liquid phase. Was I scared about surgery? Absolutely. But I also understood, statistically, men of my weight do not live long lives. My surgery weight was 552 lbs. I was blessed to go through the surgery without complications. The 1st 6 months out, I focused on the nutrition aspects. The only physical activity I tried was Water aerobics. At about the 6 month, I weighed in at 425 lbs. I felt things were beginning to slow up. I decided to hire a personal trainer. My first conversation with him was that I knew I needed to exercise for my health but there’s no way I could ever have the passion for going to the gym like him and others. My first goal was to walk a 5K. I accomplished that 6 months after. It took me 1.5 hours to finish. But I did it. What an incredible feeling. Today, I do that on a daily basis. Both walking and jogging. I have never felt this good during my adult life. I have embraced this new lifestyle and now look forward to working out. During these unprecedented times we are facing, I have found alternatives to going to the gym and refuse to allow the situation to dictate my life. Today, I stand at 260 lbs. This is the lowest weight I’ve been since high school. It’s important to build the right team. To my wife, my surgeon, my primary physician, and my trainer.......THANK YOU. I would not have been able to achieve these results without your support, encouragement, and advice. I also look at my own level of commitment during this journey. As I said, I hope that my story helps others.

This is a long post. I promise there won’t be many like this. My hope is that my story will help inspire someone that is on the fence. My story is about some really good decisions I’ve made including marrying my wife. I submit to you that our respective journeys are about decisions and commitment to a process. The surgery fixes the physical for a period of time, but it does not work on your brain. The short and sweet version:
HW: 602 lbs I very rarely admit to this.
SW: 552 lbs
CW: 260 lbs
Total weight loss: 342 lbs
On this day 2 years ago, I made one of the best decisions of my life. At the time, I had no idea how great I was going to feel or the new experiences I was going to enjoy. All I knew was that I was about to turn 50, and I came to the realization I had to make a change. I always told others, that you can’t do the same thing over and over and expect different results. That was my a-ha moment prior to the surgery. I decided I was going to undergo weight loss surgery. I decided I was “all in” on this process. The day I went to initially meet with my surgeon, I stepped on the scale and weighed 602 lbs. It was hard to look at. Every part of my body hurt... my knees, my back, my ankles, etc. Almost impossible to walk. To put it into perspective, I could barely walk for a couple of minutes without pain or having my heart beating heavily. The good thing was I had normal BP, sugar, cholesterol, etc. I can’t even explain my mental state. I had slowly withdrawn from almost all aspects of living. I am the by-product of losing weight successfully and then gaining it back with interest. I could always lose 75-100 lbs on my own. But since I had a lot more than that to lose, I would eventually hit a wall and revert to my bad habits. I initially wanted to have VSG surgery because it was less invasive and quite frankly I was scared of surgery. Although my surgeon recommended RNY, he left it up to me. I researched a lot and decided RNY. I asked soooo many questions. I spoke with people that underwent surgery. I also decided that I was going to pay out of pocket for the surgery. I felt it was an investment in me. I also didn’t want to chicken out during the insurance process as other times. From my initial consult to surgery day (about 60 days), I lost 50 lbs. 27 of those were during the liquid diet. And no, I did not cheat once during the liquid phase. Was I scared about surgery? Absolutely. But I also understood, statistically, men of my weight do not live long lives. My surgery weight was 552 lbs. I was blessed to go through the surgery without complications. The 1st 6 months out, I focused on the nutrition aspects. The only physical activity I tried was Water aerobics. At about the 6 month, I weighed in at 425 lbs. I felt things were beginning to slow up. I decided to hire a personal trainer. My first conversation with him was that I knew I needed to exercise for my health but there’s no way I could ever have the passion for going to the gym like him and others. My first goal was to walk a 5K. I accomplished that 6 months after. It took me 1.5 hours to finish. But I did it. What an incredible feeling. Today, I do that on a daily basis. Both walking and jogging. I have never felt this good during my adult life. I have embraced this new lifestyle and now look forward to working out. During these unprecedented times we are facing, I have found alternatives to going to the gym and refuse to allow the situation to dictate my life. Today, I stand at 260 lbs. This is the lowest weight I’ve been since high school. It’s important to build the right team. To my wife, my surgeon, my primary physician, and my trainer.......THANK YOU. I would not have been able to achieve these results without your support, encouragement, and advice. I also look at my own level of commitment during this journey. As I said, I hope that my story helps others.

Today marks my 5 month surgiversary!! As of this morning, I am down 156 lbs from my high weight and 130 lbs from surgery. I am blessed that I’ve had little complications through the process. Still have a long way to go. A big THANK YOU to all that have supported me throughout the journey. It’s one of the best desicions I’ve made in life.

Today marks my 5 month surgiversary!! As of this morning, I am down 156 lbs from my high weight and 130 lbs from surgery. I am blessed that I’ve had little complications through the process. Still have a long way to go. A big THANK YOU to all that have supported me throughout the journey. It’s one of the best desicions I’ve made in life.

Congrats to you both! Well done!

@magpie26Congratulations to you as well. It doesn’t make sense to compare ourselves to others. There are too many variables to consider (like starting weight etc.). Wishing you continued success on your journey!!

Today marks my 5 month surgiversary!! As of this morning, I am down 156 lbs from my high weight and 130 lbs from surgery. I am blessed that I’ve had little complications through the process. Still have a long way to go. A big THANK YOU to all that have supported me throughout the journey. It’s one of the best desicions I’ve made in life.

Today marks my 5 month surgiversary!! As of this morning, I am down 156 lbs from my high weight and 130 lbs from surgery. I am blessed that I’ve had little complications through the process. Still have a long way to go. A big THANK YOU to all that have supported me throughout the journey. It’s one of the best desicions I’ve made in life.