Two years and counting.

It’s been two years since my gastric sleeve surgery. I honestly can’t believe it’s been that long. I’m going to ramble here a bit, but hope you will indulge me on my second birthday

Weight:

I’m hovering right at 180 right now. Down to 177 some days and up to 182 some days. That’s a reasonable range for me and represents about a 240 lb loss. I met with a plastic surgeon who think I’ll lose about 25 lbs of skin during my lower body lift. That would put me in the 155 – 160 range which is solidly in the normal BMI range for my height. In fact, the surgeon said I shouldn’t lose further so that there would be enough subcutaneous fat to make the contours of my body right once I’ve had plastics. So this is where I want to sit for now. I’ve maintained at this weight level since April 20^th this year.

Health:

So far so good. I am due to have my vitals checked out but I feel quite well. I seem to be doing well with blood pressure and blood sugars and that’s great. I thought my gout was completely resolved but I have had one flare up. So I’ll have to watch that one. However, I don’t see feel that there is anything that I would hesitate to take on limited by my health for my age. A few weeks ago I had some landscaping rock that needed to be moved quickly. I moved over three yards of rock in a four hour period. I expected to pay for that the next day… however I didn’t. WOW that’s a big change for someone that had a hard time climbing a flight of stairs two years ago. When we say this is life changing….. it is LIFE CHANGING!!!

Lifestyle:

Oh boy… this is the second biggest reason I did this after my health and it has filled the bill in full. Amongst the things I have done since surgery: SCUBA advanced certification and several dives; amusement parks and Water parks (with my nephews and my close friend Jennifer from the boards); Intercontinental travel to the Canary Islands, Europe and India; horseback riding; sailing; walking hours and hours whenever I want; feeling closer to my wife and feeling equal to my friends; less job anxiety and fear of changing jobs if I want… That was a lot of activity and a lot of satisfaction. Additionally, I have developed a bit of a cross addiction to clothes. I expected that to be honest and I’m pretty happy with it. I’m wearing mediums and smalls (mostly smalls) and 32-34 inch waist in my pants. Way down from 5x shirts and 62 (labeled… really much larger pants). I lost a shoe size as well. I love walking into any store (Ralph Lauren this weekend) and just buying stuff and having it work. I’m holding off on the big ticket items (suits specifically) until I have my lower body lift (hopefully in February or March). I can’t wait. So far I have been thrilled with the low cost of clothes and I’m now moving from quantity to quality. In total, I’ve donated more than 15 big bags of clothes over the course of my journey. I’m acting as mentor to some others having surgery and I’m appreciative of my mentors and friends too. I remain in contact and am continuing to work the support system here and at my hospital. I’m so so happy with this aspect of my weight loss. My relationship with my wife is good and she is now planning to have the surgery as well. I won’t say that there haven’t been some tense times. These kinds of lifestyle changes don’t come without complications but I am so looking forward to her joining me after the surgery. She has mentioned, gulp, skydiving… we’ll see.

Relationship with Food:

Overall – pretty happy here. I do miss quantity eating sometimes. - especially when I have something really good sitting right in front of me. So the only quantity item that I eat is lite popcorn. Otherwise, small portions of really good food. Carbs are still not the center of my world as they were before surgery. I focus on Protein rich foods with other items sprinkled in to add variety. I’ve probably had 10 Desserts (just two or three bites) in the past couple of years. That’s no longer compelling to me. That blows my mind as I was a dessert junky before. I probably rely on Protein Bars more than I should, but I’ll take that over my old eating habits. I don’t track as much as I used to but I have a set of habits that keep me on track. I have standby meals that I know by heart (I’m looking at you Jimmy Dean Turkey Sausage Omelets with egg beaters) and I repeat these meals to keep my intake in check. The sleeve is great for preventing over eating as long as I treat it right and put food into it in the right order. Many thanks to Frisco, Elina, Kairk, and many many others for helping me keep the focus on intake and helping my sleeve work for me.

The Road Ahead:

More of the same please! Maintenance is my biggest fear and I’m going to work hard to keep on top of it. I’ll also have to step up my mentor game as my wife has her sleeve surgery. I’m anxious to have my plastic surgery but honestly a bit worried about whether I’ll ever be completely happy with my body… I went from way to fat – to – way too much extra skin – and now anticipating – now have big scar… So I may have to get help for that. However there is no doubt and I mean NO DOUBT that this has been the greatest decision I’ve made for my health and wellbeing in my entire adult life. It’s the gift that gives every single day. Good luck to everyone and may your journey be as fruitful as mine has been.

Thanks so much for sharing your story! It's inspiring.

Best of luck to you in the future!

You have done a fantastic job! I too am at my 2 year anniversary and learning to do maintence. It's not easy. I fluctuate by a couple lbs. I have a horrible habit of eating quest bars and will no longer have them in my house. My DH loves them but he has put on a little bit of weight and I think it's contributed to the quest bars. They are like candy to me..... Thank you so much for sharing. It reminded me that I forgot to celebrate my anniversary on October 4 as well. So cheers to the both of us!

Great to read your journey thank you!

Love this post, and so looking forward to many of the things you've mentioned, Terry H. Thank you!

Happy 2nd Sleeve-versary! And congratulations for such an awesome job at losing the weight one, and two for maintaining it!

I have my consultation with my surgeon tomorrow. I'm at the very beginning of this journey...and I have 220 pounds to lose. Reading your story has taken away some of the apprehension I feel over the surgery part of this. I'm okay with all the other parts of the journey, including the changes that have to be made, but the cutting part scares the crap out of me. You helped me by telling your story...and thank you for that. :-)

I'm almost 14 months out and I love hearing success stories from people that are further out then me. It seems lately I've read more from people gaining and struggling with their weight so thanks for posting! I have had no issues so far and reading your post gives me hope that I won't!

Great story and inspiration. Thanks for sharing!