I just received an email from this site informing me that I have been registered for a year. So, I figure I'll give an update My diet started on 8-9-10 and surgery was 8-19-10. My starting weight was 435lbs and I am now 197lbs, a total of 238lbs lost!
A couple months ago I got a phone call from a local magazine, they were putting out a men's health issue and had heard about me and wanted an interview. I went to the interview, but I tend to get flustered and start to back track, fast forward, and jumble a lot. I ended up writing the article myself, and it was printed as is:
It’s the moment you hear that loud crunch, that only you can hear because it’s coming from somewhere on your body. It’s that moment that happened to me one evening in the fall of 2009. It’s that moment when you realize that your right knee can no longer support the weight of your body; which you did not realize, nor, for that matter…care. It’s that moment when you know drastic changes need to be made.
It wasn’t until middle school when I began to put on weight. Before that I was pretty much your average sized kid, one who was active in recreational sports. Then the growing pains of life start. Depression hit me hard, really hard, and I still suffer from it even today. I didn’t notice then, but looking back now, I gave up on everything, nor did I care about giving up. I had no interest in any sport or physical activity, though I would ride my bike to the local fast food restaurants. I was the kid in P.E. that would casually finish the mile in half an hour. Between lack of care on my part and a mixture of changing anti-depressants, my teenage memories are all a blur.
I always ate well. Rice and gravy, red Beans and rice, meat and potatoes; the beauties of the southern cuisine. Between my meals were more meals. To me, food was the best medicine. My family would plead to me to make a change. They would try to help me by introducing me to a new diet or take me to a new gym, which I would try, and soon after give up. For every pound lost I would gain back two. Diet after diet would fail, excuse after excuse would be given, all things were to be blamed, except for the one thing that should have been blamed: myself.
The morning after my knee gave out I had to go to the hospital, where I learned that I was now over 400 pounds. I was given a brace and sent home. My blood sugar was high, as was my blood pressure, I had sleep apnea, I was borderline diabetic, and I was becoming immobile. The physician warned that if I continued on like this, I was going to die. I was only 23 years old; I hadn’t even lived and was already en route for death. I wouldn’t see my nephews grow, I wouldn’t have a family of my own, all I would be was a 400 pound body that would need more than six men to carry to his grave site. It’s that moment when you know drastic changes need to be made.
I began to think of diets that I would have to stick to, not one that I had attempted in the past and shortly gave up on. I needed to be invested, I needed a lifestyle change. For the first time I thought about the surgical weight loss route. I began researching the lap band. I had always been skeptical about them, and in a way felt it was cheating. I would see people get the surgery, but would be the same person afterward. Still with a terrible diet and no physical activity, they would lose a little weight and gain it all back. They would say that it never worked. It clicked in my head, this is not a cure; it’s a tool.
I began to have consultations with the doctor. With my weight I was told that a lap band might only give me a 20% weight loss success, and was recommended to get a more extensive surgery, one that would remove three quarters of my stomach. I believed that was a little too invasive. I wanted no part of me removed for the rest of my life. I wanted a tool that would help me make a lifestyle change. In the end we agreed upon the lap band operation, and scheduled surgery.
Ten days before surgery I was ordered to cut out all solid foods and begin a pre-op liquid diet. My mother asked me if I wanted any last meal, “I want a Thanksgiving feast.” I replied. That Sunday, we had turkey and all the fixings. It truly was a last supper. Monday, August 9th 2010 (8-9-10, easy to remember), my diet began. My family, whom I love dearly, said they would stick out this liquid diet with me. They went to a local steakhouse the first night. The liquid diet was very hard at first, only consisting of Water, Gatorade, broth, and one small Proteinshake a day. Around day four without any solids I entered this weird euphoric stage, like mental and physical cleansing. The next six days were easy.
My surgery was on August 19th 2010. Before going to surgery I was very scared. I had never had an operation and did not know what to expect. My family was there for me with love, support, and encouragement. I remember waving bye as I was rolled into the operation room, laying on the table, and then waking up afterwards in recovery. The surgery had gone great and I was alive! After a few check-ups and walks, I was released on the same day. During recovery I had to continue my liquid diet. It was no problem, and my recovery was well. I saw my doctor on the 28th day and was told I could begin on solid food, but to take it slowly and start with soft solids like mashed potatoes and creamy Soups. That first bite was amazing.
With the beginning of my new lifestyle I had to change my diet. I cut out all fried foods and fast foods. I began a low carbohydrate/high protein diet, cutting out all bread, rice, and pastas. I have learned to love many things that I despised in the past. Fruits and vegetables have become my new “go to” Snacks instead of the bag of chips. Healthy, natural, small portioned meals have replaced my fast food value meals. Just the smell of fast and fried food makes me ill: I honestly do not know if I could eat it again. People often offer me a snack, a piece of cake, or some sort of treat. I thank them for the generous offer, but decline. They ask if it will bother me if they eat something around me: it doesn’t. I have had to mentally change my ways as to which foods are healthy for me and which foods are detrimental to my new lifestyle. That’s not to say that I will never have any of these things again. In time I will slowly re-introduce foods back into my diet, but with the knowledge and willpower enabling me to make wise food choices.
In January of 2011 I had lost nearly 75 pounds and it was time to start the next phase in my lifestyle change; I got a membership at a local gym. I go to the gym four days a week. I started slowly by walking the treadmill and using the weight machines. In time I began to increase the speed and incline of the treadmill. Slowly but surely I was building up my strength and stamina. At the gym, behind the treadmills is an elliptical like cardio machine called an arc-trainer. My first time trying it I didn’t even last two minutes, it was tough. I’d see people on it for fifteen minutes at a time, and I told myself that I had to work up to that. Each week I would increase my time by one minute, finally being able to reach that fifteen minute goal. Then I told myself I could do better than that, going from fifteen to twenty to thirty minutes and now I can do it for an hour, with ease. As said before, I was always the kid that would casually walk a mile in half an hour, now I can run a mile in seven minutes. Never would I have thought that possible.
I have been stopped by people on many occasions, and asked how am I able to do some of the things that I am doing. Being able to achieve new physical abilities amazes me almost every day. Fitness is no longer a chore in my mind, it’s a hobby. If I’m bored I’ll go for a quick run or maybe do some exercises, it’s no longer a burden. Last Christmas I was given a bicycle. Biking has become a major hobby of mine. I’ll ride my bike to the gym on weather abiding days, sometimes I find myself riding for two or three hours at a time, it’s one of the greatest feelings I know. Some weekends I’ll drive down to Galveston and ride the seawall from one end to the other. The first time I did that I broke down in tears. Taking a break, watching the waves crash, reminiscing on the past, and the things that I have accomplished with this new life; it hits me hard. Some days, I truly feel like Superman.
Many times I look in the mirror and still see myself weighing 435 pounds. To see pictures of myself then and then to see pictures of myself now weighing under 200 pounds is shocking every time. To see people I know and for them to not recognize me, it’s is a constant mental game. My depression is still there, and most likely will always be there, but now I have better and healthier ways to cope. Two years ago, the fear of death was on my mind; Today there is life
I just received an email from this site informing me that I have been registered for a year. So, I figure I'll give an update
My diet started on 8-9-10 and surgery was 8-19-10. My starting weight was 435lbs and I am now 197lbs, a total of 238lbs lost!
A couple months ago I got a phone call from a local magazine, they were putting out a men's health issue and had heard about me and wanted an interview. I went to the interview, but I tend to get flustered and start to back track, fast forward, and jumble a lot. I ended up writing the article myself, and it was printed as is:
It’s the moment you hear that loud crunch, that only you can hear because it’s coming from somewhere on your body. It’s that moment that happened to me one evening in the fall of 2009. It’s that moment when you realize that your right knee can no longer support the weight of your body; which you did not realize, nor, for that matter…care. It’s that moment when you know drastic changes need to be made.
It wasn’t until middle school when I began to put on weight. Before that I was pretty much your average sized kid, one who was active in recreational sports. Then the growing pains of life start. Depression hit me hard, really hard, and I still suffer from it even today. I didn’t notice then, but looking back now, I gave up on everything, nor did I care about giving up. I had no interest in any sport or physical activity, though I would ride my bike to the local fast food restaurants. I was the kid in P.E. that would casually finish the mile in half an hour. Between lack of care on my part and a mixture of changing anti-depressants, my teenage memories are all a blur.
I always ate well. Rice and gravy, red Beans and rice, meat and potatoes; the beauties of the southern cuisine. Between my meals were more meals. To me, food was the best medicine. My family would plead to me to make a change. They would try to help me by introducing me to a new diet or take me to a new gym, which I would try, and soon after give up. For every pound lost I would gain back two. Diet after diet would fail, excuse after excuse would be given, all things were to be blamed, except for the one thing that should have been blamed: myself.
The morning after my knee gave out I had to go to the hospital, where I learned that I was now over 400 pounds. I was given a brace and sent home. My blood sugar was high, as was my blood pressure, I had sleep apnea, I was borderline diabetic, and I was becoming immobile. The physician warned that if I continued on like this, I was going to die. I was only 23 years old; I hadn’t even lived and was already en route for death. I wouldn’t see my nephews grow, I wouldn’t have a family of my own, all I would be was a 400 pound body that would need more than six men to carry to his grave site. It’s that moment when you know drastic changes need to be made.
I began to think of diets that I would have to stick to, not one that I had attempted in the past and shortly gave up on. I needed to be invested, I needed a lifestyle change. For the first time I thought about the surgical weight loss route. I began researching the lap band. I had always been skeptical about them, and in a way felt it was cheating. I would see people get the surgery, but would be the same person afterward. Still with a terrible diet and no physical activity, they would lose a little weight and gain it all back. They would say that it never worked. It clicked in my head, this is not a cure; it’s a tool.
I began to have consultations with the doctor. With my weight I was told that a lap band might only give me a 20% weight loss success, and was recommended to get a more extensive surgery, one that would remove three quarters of my stomach. I believed that was a little too invasive. I wanted no part of me removed for the rest of my life. I wanted a tool that would help me make a lifestyle change. In the end we agreed upon the lap band operation, and scheduled surgery.
Ten days before surgery I was ordered to cut out all solid foods and begin a pre-op liquid diet. My mother asked me if I wanted any last meal, “I want a Thanksgiving feast.” I replied. That Sunday, we had turkey and all the fixings. It truly was a last supper. Monday, August 9th 2010 (8-9-10, easy to remember), my diet began. My family, whom I love dearly, said they would stick out this liquid diet with me. They went to a local steakhouse the first night. The liquid diet was very hard at first, only consisting of Water, Gatorade, broth, and one small Protein shake a day. Around day four without any solids I entered this weird euphoric stage, like mental and physical cleansing. The next six days were easy.
My surgery was on August 19th 2010. Before going to surgery I was very scared. I had never had an operation and did not know what to expect. My family was there for me with love, support, and encouragement. I remember waving bye as I was rolled into the operation room, laying on the table, and then waking up afterwards in recovery. The surgery had gone great and I was alive! After a few check-ups and walks, I was released on the same day. During recovery I had to continue my liquid diet. It was no problem, and my recovery was well. I saw my doctor on the 28th day and was told I could begin on solid food, but to take it slowly and start with soft solids like mashed potatoes and creamy Soups. That first bite was amazing.
With the beginning of my new lifestyle I had to change my diet. I cut out all fried foods and fast foods. I began a low carbohydrate/high protein diet, cutting out all bread, rice, and pastas. I have learned to love many things that I despised in the past. Fruits and vegetables have become my new “go to” Snacks instead of the bag of chips. Healthy, natural, small portioned meals have replaced my fast food value meals. Just the smell of fast and fried food makes me ill: I honestly do not know if I could eat it again. People often offer me a snack, a piece of cake, or some sort of treat. I thank them for the generous offer, but decline. They ask if it will bother me if they eat something around me: it doesn’t. I have had to mentally change my ways as to which foods are healthy for me and which foods are detrimental to my new lifestyle. That’s not to say that I will never have any of these things again. In time I will slowly re-introduce foods back into my diet, but with the knowledge and willpower enabling me to make wise food choices.
In January of 2011 I had lost nearly 75 pounds and it was time to start the next phase in my lifestyle change; I got a membership at a local gym. I go to the gym four days a week. I started slowly by walking the treadmill and using the weight machines. In time I began to increase the speed and incline of the treadmill. Slowly but surely I was building up my strength and stamina. At the gym, behind the treadmills is an elliptical like cardio machine called an arc-trainer. My first time trying it I didn’t even last two minutes, it was tough. I’d see people on it for fifteen minutes at a time, and I told myself that I had to work up to that. Each week I would increase my time by one minute, finally being able to reach that fifteen minute goal. Then I told myself I could do better than that, going from fifteen to twenty to thirty minutes and now I can do it for an hour, with ease. As said before, I was always the kid that would casually walk a mile in half an hour, now I can run a mile in seven minutes. Never would I have thought that possible.
I have been stopped by people on many occasions, and asked how am I able to do some of the things that I am doing. Being able to achieve new physical abilities amazes me almost every day. Fitness is no longer a chore in my mind, it’s a hobby. If I’m bored I’ll go for a quick run or maybe do some exercises, it’s no longer a burden. Last Christmas I was given a bicycle. Biking has become a major hobby of mine. I’ll ride my bike to the gym on weather abiding days, sometimes I find myself riding for two or three hours at a time, it’s one of the greatest feelings I know. Some weekends I’ll drive down to Galveston and ride the seawall from one end to the other. The first time I did that I broke down in tears. Taking a break, watching the waves crash, reminiscing on the past, and the things that I have accomplished with this new life; it hits me hard. Some days, I truly feel like Superman.
Many times I look in the mirror and still see myself weighing 435 pounds. To see pictures of myself then and then to see pictures of myself now weighing under 200 pounds is shocking every time. To see people I know and for them to not recognize me, it’s is a constant mental game. My depression is still there, and most likely will always be there, but now I have better and healthier ways to cope. Two years ago, the fear of death was on my mind; Today there is life