I had my first post-surgery backpacking trip this week. It was GORGEOUS, and only 3.5 miles in. There were some interesting elevation changes, though. For food I mostly ate salmon Jerky, cheese sticks, salmon pouches, and almonds here and there. That part was fine. Getting enough fluids in was a real challenge, though. The day before my trip I paid very close attention to my intake, I do struggle to get in my Water. On the trail I stopped to get down water mixed with nuun tabs (electolytes). As long as I did that prior to having an issue, it was fine. The trouble I had was on day 3. My ability to stay adequately hydrated for my activity level in those circumstances was problematic. I did it. Nothing bad happened. But it became clear that I HAVE to do a better job hydrating in general, and that I need to be patient with myself as my body continues to change.
Now, about the trip. It was GORGEOUS. Serene lake, out near Mt. Hood. The wildflowers were in full bloom. The terrain was varied and interesting. On Friday it was warm enough that we were able to play in the lake. The picture of my yellow tarp tent is from the first night’s camp spot. The first photo and the last two are from night #2’s spot. The rocky terrain looked like the perfect spot for pika, but we thought the elevation was too low for them. We were wrong! There were pika right next to our camp spot, meeping their little hearts out. It was wonderful.
Some of the things that I enjoyed about it, after having lost weight: clambering over logs and rocks was MUCH easier, going uphill was way easier (even with the added pack weight), my feet didn’t hurt at all afterwards, and I felt more balanced in general. I’m REALLY excited to keep seeing improvements. Now if I could just get my stomach to be less fussy about getting water in, it would be perfect.
I turned down opportunities to zipline over and over again over the years because most have a 250 lbs weight limit. I was too close to that to be certain I wouldn't be disallowed and have to deal with that embarrassment.
But look what I did this weekend!
Back in 2012/2013 when I was contemplating my VSG, I spent hours scouring this website, which I found incredibly helpful. In fact, I don't think I would have gone forward with the surgery without it. As a "pay it forward" I committed to providing annual updates to the community. I missed my year 5 update last November, so here goes a 5.5 year update. Prior updates are linked below, in case you're curious about annual progression. Enjoy and feel free to comment or ask question, if you think I can help.
This year was probably my toughest since having surgery in terms of weight management. I took on a new job that was particularly stressful and involved a lot of travel. That led to some bad eating habits. I also used to weigh myself every day and sort of stopped that for a year. Low and behold, my weight increased from ~ 195 to 218, which was my highest by far since having the surgery. My clothes got tighter (and I grew out of some) and I generally felt like ****. My lovely wife basically called me out and said "what's going on?" The truth was I just lost discipline and abandoned the basics. The biggest contributors were SNACKING and carbs. I was constantly eating between meals and choosing more carb options during meals. The sleeve provides little defense against these behaviors. I can eat as much popcorn, potato chips and candy as anyone. And during meals, the sleeve doesn't restrict as much against carbs like bread, rice, potatoes, etc..
The solution for me was just attacking these two bad habits. BTW, cutting out the carbs sort of solves the snacking issue too. By that I mean, no carbs means no chips, candy, etc.. I allow myself as much cheese, beef Jerky, Quest bars or veggies for Snacks as I want. For me, I can eat a piece of cheese and be done. Not the same for chips. With those changes, my weight dropped back down to 198 (my current weight) in about 2 months.
While this situation was a bummer, it's still child's play compared to what would have happened pre surgery. I wouldn't have gained 20 pounds, but rather 50 or more. And it wouldn't have been so easy to drop it with behavioral changes.
Other general observations 5.5 years out:
Positives:
I'm a totally "normal" eater. That means I naturally eat portions that a healthy, non-weight issue person would eat. For Breakfast I have 1 or 2 eggs and a veggie sausage or some yogurt. For lunch I eat a salad with some Protein or a small sandwich. For dinner, protein (small steak, a hamburger, 1 or 2 pieces of chicken) and a veg. Even 5.5 years out, I'm still completely full after those normal portions. In sum, the sleeve still works just fine and hasn't stretched out or anything like that.
I can eat anything. No stuck foods, etc.. Of course, some things fill me up faster, but I generally view that as a good thing.
The weight is staying within a reasonable band, although not perfect by any means. Today, I weighed in at 198. At my worst pre surgery, I weighed 275 and was headed for 300+ fast. Post surgery, I went all the way down to 175. I'd like to weigh 190, so like most people you talk to in the world, I've got those 10 pounds to lose.
Ever since I had surgery, I've been able to participate in all sorts of activities that would have previously been out of the question. I regularly walk, golf and now a lot of hot yoga. My knees and joints were killing me with all the weight and all that's gone now.
I sleep better.
I'm off all meds! Pre surgery, I had to take meds for cholesterol and heart burn. I was pre diabetic and was considering meds for that. Post surgery those meds became unnecessary. Most surprising is that over the the last 18 months, I've even stopped taking omeprazole for heartburn.
I don't get hungry like I used to. I've always liked food and eating, so I do continue to think about food (head hunger), but I rarely physically feel hungry. No growling stomach ever.
Negatives:
Once in a while (5 or 6 times per year), I eat past my stomach's capacity and vomit it up. This is always frustrating and I kick myself for still letting it happen.
Weight loss surgery is NOT a silver bullet. For the first 12 months post surgery it seemed like magic. Weight flew off and it didn't seem like I would ever gain it back no matter what I ate. Not true 5.5 years out. I still need to think about my weight and diet. If I forget or get lazy / complacent, I gain weight. I need to weigh myself every day. I need to lose 10 pounds. Managing weight is still work.
I elected kept my surgery a secret, expect for just a handful of people. I'm not sure I'd do that again. I was pretty embarrassed about having to have a surgery to get my weight under control. Since I eat normal now and it's been so long since I lost the majority of my weight, the "how did you do it" conversations don't come up any more. But when I interact with really obese people that are friends, I'd like to be able to talk about my experience and try to inspire them to consider surgery. Secrets in life aren't that fun. Yes, I could always reveal what I did to everyone, but it seems silly at this point.
So that's all for this year. Having surgery was the best thing I've ever done for myself. My only regret is having waited until I was 39. I wish I would have done it 10 years earlier!
Thanks for reading and your support.
Familyman
When was your surgery date and how much have you lost so far? Any non scale victories? Just curious I love reading everyone accomplishments. I had my surgery March 27,2019 so I’m just over two months out. My highest weight was 330lbs I lost about 46lbs before surgery so I was around 284lbs the day of surgery. Just weighed in this morning and was 238.8lbs. So I’m 8.8lbs from loosing a total of 100lbs. I’ve lost around 46 lbs after surgery. Feeling so much better! All of my clothes are to big and the clothes I’ve had since high school(hoping I’d be able to fit into them eventually) fit perfectly some are a lil snug but that hopefully won’t be an issue for to long. I’ve had some personal non scale victories like I was able to move my tummy back a little and actually see my below area to shave WITHOUT doing awkward positions with a mirror 😂. I can sit on the couch with my knees to my chest. I was able to actually have sex without having pains in my chest from all the pressure from the fat. With that being said my sex drive is FINALLY back. And I am starting to be able to see my feet again. I can walk more without being out of breath I still get sweaty easily when walking outside but that’s not a big issue. I haven’t had to take my diabetes medicines since leaving the hospital and about a month ago I got taken off my blood pressure medicines. Since being taken off my bp meds my heart rate gets high quickly they said I need to retrain my heart muscles since it didn’t have to work to hard with the beta blockers for the 4-5 years I was on it. I haven’t taken my anxiety/depression meds since surgery either.
2 days post op as well. If your pain is upper chest, it could be the gasses they use from surgery... so walk as much as you can. I had some strongish pain this morning after I tried some jello.. and used GasX which helped.
You've got this!
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