My Story: Short Fat Italian

[gustavo52974 369]

Hi all. I thought I'd share my story.

I'm a guy, 38, 5'7", and I was up to about 255 (I stopped weighing myself at that point, so I was probably heavier). I come from a long line of short, fat Italians, so I knew early on that I'd struggle with my weight all my life. This turned out to be quite true. My only saving grace was that I had a "large" frame for my height (according to the doctors' charts). And I was able to gain muscle quite easily as well, which is a trait I share with most of my family.

I was skinny until puberty, which is when I became "husky", or "stocky", or as my evil sister would say, "fleshy". If I dieted, I would lose weight, but I found dieting extraordinarily difficult because I loved to eat.

Went I went to college, I discovered weightlifting. I was able to put on muscle rather easily, so I concentrated on doing that rather than "dieting". I followed the bodybuilding diet as close as I could, but that too was unthinkably difficult: tons of lean Protein (mostly chicken), sweet potatoes, and broccoli for just about every meal. Sure, I started to look really good, but I'd injure myself somehow (not always gym-related), and I would have to stop working out for long periods of time. This happened several times over the years. And whenever I stopped working out, my body was used to taking in tons of calories and it would still want them even though I wasn't weightlifting. So I'd end up gaining weight.

Finally, I injured my shoulder very badly and I had to take nearly a year off from the gym. By the time I could go back, I was so burnt out on the gym that the idea of returning literally made my stomach turn. i'd been working out for over 15 years and I was tired of it.

The other reason I was hesitant to return to the gym was because my doctor put me on Effexor. The one really bad side effect that I experienced on that drug was constantly feeling hot and sweating profusely with even the slightest amount of physical activity. I'd go to the gym and would finish looking like I had jumped in a pool. It was embarrassing and impracticable.

However, Effexor is the only antidepressant that has worked for me, and trust me, I've tried them all. I didn't want to go off it since it worked so well, but I knew going to the gym would mean leaving puddles of myself everywhere and needing at least two or three showers a day. Oh, and I dehydrated easily because of that.

Then my doctor put me on Elavil to help me sleep. The bad side effect with that drug is that it made my appetite skyrocket. I ended up eating all day long. No, literally, I was eating ALL DAY LONG. I couldn't stop myself. I ended up gaining about 75 pounds. My doctor took me off it, but I just wasn't able to lose the weight. I just wasn't strong enough to do it on my own anymore and I was still on Effexor.

My doctor is going to reduce the amount of Effexor I'm taking, but I'm still wary of working out heavily again.

So, I met a guy at a party who bragged that he had lost 100 pounds or some ridiculous number like that. I asked him how, and he said he had had a lap band put in. Now, I was only peripherally aware of such a thing, and I had heard of gastric bypass, but I thought those were only for morbidly obese people. I knew about gastric bypass because a famous opera singer had had it done and she went from scary obese to quite svelte (the great soprano Deborah Voigt, if anyone cares).

I had never thought I'd do something as drastic as surgery, but a friend of mine took a picture of me recently and I just about died when I saw myself. I just didn't see how big I'd gotten. I couldn't see it. I guess I fooled myself into thinking I wasn't that fat.

So the party guy gave me the name of his surgeon, Dr. Manish Parikh at Bellevue Hospital, NYC. He explained to me what was involved in all procedures. But I vacillated back and forth between the different procedures--I couldn't decide at first. But then I decided to go with the sleeve.

It was clear that I was on the lower end of the body mass index for the procedure (39 or somewhere around there, <40), but since I had sleep apnea, my insurance ended up approving it. My insurance did make me wait six months, which I found unbearable, but I was patient. I finally had it done on July 9, 2012. I'm at my 7 day mark and I've already lost quite a bit of weight.

I just never want to be fat, "husky", "stocky", or god forbid, "fleshy" ever again!

[JDHenin 165]

Yay I loved your story!! Short fat Italian girl from long island here. How did your surgery go? Feeling ok? Sounds like everything went well. I had my surgery on April 9 and am down 60 pounds post op, but 115 in total since I started last August. Good luck to you and you will be so happy you did this once you're able to eat 'normal' again.

[gustavo52974 369]

Hey, thanks! It's always nice to hear from other Italians, short or not, fat or not. Especially NY Italians!

Yes, my surgery went well. I'm 7 days out and I still have a bit of abdominal pain. But it's manageable (not on any pain meds), and only bad if I twist in certain ways.

I am climbing the walls though not being able to eat. My surgeon gave me a VERY conservative food stage plan. I won't be able to advance to pureed/mushy food stage until week 5! I'm on "full liquids", but according to his plan, that only includes Protein shakes. Other people have been talking about Soups and all that at this stage. Ugh!

[sleeveInSD 17]

Short fat Italian girl here too! lol Right before surgery my 11 year old son was trying to make me feel better and said....'Mommy you are not fat, just a little husky" (bless his heart) but I hear you when you talk about growing up in an Italian family and loving to eat! It is not easy losing weight when life revolves around food! Anyway, I hope everything continues to go well for you, and congrats on the weight loss so far!

[gustavo52974 369]

Thank you! I had a similar moment: I was walking down a narrow sidewalk, and some teenage punk was behind me and wanted to go around me. So he said, "Move it fat boy! Damn, you are WIDE!" It was painful to hear.

Yes, we Italians love to eat! At puberty, my mother took my sister and me aside and explained that we had a family curse: we would always be hungry. It's been that way in her family for generations and it looked like it would be passed down to us as well. She takes it seriously too. It was sort of downhill from there.

[JDHenin 165]

Oh boy that's a tough diet phase. All surgeons are different. It's amazing how their diet plans vary so much from others. But my best advice is stock to it!! It's only a short time even though it feels like forever. You can do it.

[JDHenin 165]

Stick not stock. Lol

[chitowngirl 886]

Hello Gustavo, welcome and congrats on your procedure. Im sure you will do great. As for he abdominal pain, I felt like I did 1,000 sit ups, but it wasn't intolerable. I know there are some broth flavored Protein, it maybe worth a try asking your doctor if you can have that, since it is pretty high in protein. I'm not Italian but I do love Italian food. I'm Coming up on 4 months post op, and some things that I love to eat that are sleeve friendly are, meatballs in sauce, chicken Parmesan (broiled chicken not fried), minestrone Soup, and for a special treat I will get some authentic style Italian pizza, with the super thin crust...hmmm. Good luck to you and hope to see Posting around the board soon.

[gustavo52974 369]

Thanks for the encouragement! You're exactly right about the 1,000 sit ups. It feels almost exactly the same as the muscle soreness and fatigue you get the day after an intense workout. I'm sure it will go away eventually.

The funny thing is that I was never a serious Italian food fan! I very much enjoy most of it, but I always hated lasagna (let's please not get into that...), sausage, and any kind of seafood Pasta combination. But I never went out of my way to eat Italian, especially since I'm allergic to onions.. I think this is because I ate so much of Italian food growing up and I have a very short attention span when it comes to food.

But now, all I can think about is Italian food, especially pizza! I subsisted on pizza (and PB&J sandwiches) during college and I vowed never to eat it again. But these strange food cravings are popping up! macaroni and cheese especially. It's literally been decades since I've eaten that.

Did anyone also have strange food cravings after the surgery?

[Argnewcan 3]

I'm not Italian but I must say that Pasta was a big downfall for me. I could easily eat half a pound in one sitting with just butter and Parmesan. I though it tasted good but now I think I was just addicted to the carbs. I'm not sure I will ever be eating pasta again. As for your strict post-op diet, my doctor and his nurses say different things about what is allowed when. LOL . I'm just going to pay attention to my body and try new things very slowly. I was sleeved on July 11.

[Honey Bear 2]

I have a very similar story. Same age, height and body type. Always easy to gain muscle but even easier to gain weight. I also have sleep apnia.

My weight is a bit more than yours was and I'm Irish not Italian. Other than that, remarkable similarities.

My insurance is not coveting a penny. However, my desire to live has compelled me to seek private financing. All of my preliminary work is done. I am now just waiting for a surgery date.

Thank you for your story. It has helped convince me I have made the correct decision.

[gustavo52974 369]

Irish, Italian....tomato, tomahto. . I'm sorry to hear that your insurance isn't covering it. My insurance decided not to cover the procedure anymore right after they approved my surgery. They covered it, but apparently I was the last one they approved. Kind of scary, really.

I'm glad I helped you with your decision. I didn't find this website until after I had had my surgery. I'm glad I did, because I was having some serious buyer's remorse. The incredibly kind and jaw-droppingly supportive people on here made me feel a lot better about it.

[Pre-OpLoser619 36]

So glad to hear you are doing well! I'm still waiting on my surgery and hoping to be done by halloween. I'm from a big italian family here in kansas and I became addicted to pasketti lol at an early age. Then you always got the lecture about cleaning your plate etc. I never cared for lasagna or sausage either. I've been doing good pre-op staying away from the Pasta but I know I'll be craving it after. That stinks that you can only have Protein Shakes right now when theres so much more you could be eating to break up the monotony! I wish you the best of luck and I'm sure you'll do great!

[Pre-OpLoser619 36]

Is 52974 your birthday? If so, thats my moms birthday day too! You are a year older than me though...lol, sorry just thought that was cool. I'm a dork I know.

[Catracks 865]

Hmmm, I'm a short Sicilian. I think we just come that way

Congratulations on being sleeved. This was one of the best decisions that I've ever made.