Hi,

I'm new to the forums and in the starting stages of obtaining a VSG. Just looking to see if there are any other men who were above 400 (or even close to 500) pounds before starting this journey and how life after surgery has been. Did you suffer any complications from surgery due to your size? Did your doctor make you do anything extra or warn you of any possible issues? Did you lose more rapidly than average patients? Did you lose any motivation when you had lost enough weight to lead a fairly "normal" life, even though you might still have a good amount of excess weight?

A little background...I'm 31, 5'10", and honestly can't bear how difficult my weight has made my life. Just this weekend my wife went alone to her sister's engagement dinner at a restaurant due to my fear the chairs wouldn't be supportive enough. (I typically avoid restaurant situations unless there's a booth with a table I can adjust, ideally half booth/half chairs.) I've avoided flying for a couple years, will only attend theatre or sporting events where I can be guaranteed an aisle seat, etc. It seems like in the last 60 or so pounds many social situations involving sitting have escalated from very uncomfortable to more or less unbearable. Healthwise, I have hypertension and am very likely will be diagnosed with sleep apnea once the results of my sleep study last week come in.

Look forward to hearing from any of you have started in similar situations.

I haven't had surgery yet I'm scheduled on the 19th... You look great keep at it brother! I started at 465, did doctor monitored weight loss to lose 30lbs in currently at 425. I hope mine goes as well as some of the great reports posted here [emoji16]

I started at 470 pounds and am down to 218. I haven't been this size in some time so I'm not sure if I'm losing weight right. I've noticed my collarbone is very visible now as well as my shoulder blades. Is this normal? I've never really been thin so I don't know. I also notice I can see my spine, especially on the upper back

On 4/3/2016 at 11:53 PM, Ignatius said:

Hi,

I'm new to the forums and in the starting stages of obtaining a VSG. Just looking to see if there are any other men who were above 400 (or even close to 500) pounds before starting this journey and how life after surgery has been. Did you suffer any complications from surgery due to your size? Did your doctor make you do anything extra or warn you of any possible issues? Did you lose more rapidly than average patients? Did you lose any motivation when you had lost enough weight to lead a fairly "normal" life, even though you might still have a good amount of excess weight?

A little background...I'm 31, 5'10", and honestly can't bear how difficult my weight has made my life. Just this weekend my wife went alone to her sister's engagement dinner at a restaurant due to my fear the chairs wouldn't be supportive enough. (I typically avoid restaurant situations unless there's a booth with a table I can adjust, ideally half booth/half chairs.) I've avoided flying for a couple years, will only attend theatre or sporting events where I can be guaranteed an aisle seat, etc. It seems like in the last 60 or so pounds many social situations involving sitting have escalated from very uncomfortable to more or less unbearable. Healthwise, I have hypertension and am very likely will be diagnosed with sleep apnea once the results of my sleep study last week come in.

Look forward to hearing from any of you have started in similar situations.

I started at 569 pounds. I am pre-op gastric sleeve. I have spinal stenosis that has caused me to be bedridden. I live in a nursing home. Working with my dietan I have lost 100 pounds in 5 months. Just met my Jewish bariatric doctor two weeks ago. He is great! He wants me to loose more weight to be healthier for surgery. Chicken,spinach,oatmeal & yougart is my diet. Never physically hungry. Hypnosis and staying busy helps with cravings.

Thought I would check in with you guys today. As of today, I am at 271 pounds, after starting at 458.

My sugar intake is still at a minimum, and it is really hard to maintain that some days. I have gone from sodas and energy drinks to water, tea, and coffee (probably the hardest transition). My food intake is three meals a day, and I never eat past 6:30 pm.

Thought I would check in with you guys today. As of today, I am at 271 pounds, after starting at 458.
My sugar intake is still at a minimum, and it is really hard to maintain that some days. I have gone from sodas and energy drinks to water, tea, and coffee (probably the hardest transition). My food intake is three meals a day, and I never eat past 6:30 pm.

Great how long of a timeframe was this

I started losing by portion control on 3/17/16 and my surgery was on 7/5/16

I was 46 and 413 lbs. I had type 2 diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol and possible heart issues. I was taking 6 pills a day plus checking my blood. Life was a struggle .. my weight made me depressed mentally and physically. I really hated myself. After talking to my cardiologist I decided to look into WLS and decided it couldn't hurt. While on my pre-op diet I lost about 30 lbs and was off all my meds before the surgery. I was sleeved April 4th of 2016 so it has been a little over a year. I have lost around 183 lbs and feel great. I am only mad that I didn't do this when I was 31.. so lucky you. I pretty much lost 10-15 lbs a month for the first 9 months and have been sitting in the 230's since. Not sure if I have stalled or just that I am working out so much. I am quite content at my current weight but another 20 lbs would be nice.

One thing that WLS doesn't help you with is keeping the weight off lol. I always though that losing weight was the tough part but really its changing your relationship with food to make your life better.. dare I say normal! The surgery is just a blur now .. all the gas pain and uncomfortable adjustments are nothing to me anymore. But every time I button up my size 36 jeans I still get a smile on my face and think how amazing life feels now.

22 minutes ago, Brian B said:

I was 46 and 413 lbs. I had type 2 diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol and possible heart issues. I was taking 6 pills a day plus checking my blood. Life was a struggle .. my weight made me depressed mentally and physically. I really hated myself. After talking to my cardiologist I decided to look into WLS and decided it couldn't hurt. While on my pre-op diet I lost about 30 lbs and was off all my meds before the surgery. I was sleeved April 4th of 2016 so it has been a little over a year. I have lost around 183 lbs and feel great. I am only mad that I didn't do this when I was 31.. so lucky you. I pretty much lost 10-15 lbs a month for the first 9 months and have been sitting in the 230's since. Not sure if I have stalled or just that I am working out so much. I am quite content at my current weight but another 20 lbs would be nice.

One thing that WLS doesn't help you with is keeping the weight off lol. I always though that losing weight was the tough part but really its changing your relationship with food to make your life better.. dare I say normal! The surgery is just a blur now .. all the gas pain and uncomfortable adjustments are nothing to me anymore. But every time I button up my size 36 jeans I still get a smile on my face and think how amazing life feels now.

Yup I love buttoning up my size 36 jeans as well. Especially when just 30 months ago I was struggling to get into a size 58. Would not trade back the old size for anything.

This that post gym pump look. Yeah I have to keep going. If you can't motivate yourself to do it, then no one else will.

On 5/21/2016 at 9:55 AM, sgc said:

No longer a member of this club. Had a little extra time this week so I upped my exercise from 60 minutes a day to 90 minutes. Lost over 8 pounds this week. My goal was to be under 400 in time for surgery. I haven't even started the liquid diet yet and my surgery is still a month away and I'm under by the slimmest of margins.

This picture was taken one year ago today so I figured I would take a new one. It does look like my feet are smaller. It seems like they don't swell up as much. You'll notice the scale is smaller as I don't need the extra wide scale. My surgery was June 22nd, one month after this picture and 11 months ago today.

This picture was taken one year ago today so I figured I would take a new one. It does look like my feet are smaller. It seems like they don't swell up as much. You'll notice the scale is smaller as I don't need the extra wide scale. My surgery was June 22nd, one month after this picture and 11 months ago today.

Is this the thinnest you've been in adult life? I once hit 240 and that's my current goal, which is a bit over 100 pounds away at the moment.

11 hours ago, Ignatius said:

Is this the thinnest you've been in adult life? I once hit 240 and that's my current goal, which is a bit over 100 pounds away at the moment.

I got down to 250 when I was 21. I crossed over to 200 probably middle school or even late elementary school. I was also very tall as a child.

Down to 198 now so I broke the 200 pound barrier. My surgeon wants me to stop losing weight now. This is the real struggles. Looking to get some skin removed. Doctor estimates I could have about 20 pounds of skin and fat removed which would put me under 180. In some ways I think I'm developing an eating disorder in the opposite direction. Most days I still only average 600-800 calories. On Saturdays I tend to go off my schedule so today I had some pizza. These are some interesting times and the ones I find the most challenging. On a side note, I was able to by a slim fit shirt and a slim fit pair of jeans. I strolled through my old stomping grounds in the big and tall section and everything was about two sizes too big now. I'm glad I discover roll tab sleeves. My under arms are bad so short sleeve shirts are a no go now.

Down to 198 now so I broke the 200 pound barrier. My surgeon wants me to stop losing weight now. This is the real struggles. Looking to get some skin removed. Doctor estimates I could have about 20 pounds of skin and fat removed which would put me under 180. In some ways I think I'm developing an eating disorder in the opposite direction. Most days I still only average 600-800 calories. On Saturdays I tend to go off my schedule so today I had some pizza. These are some interesting times and the ones I find the most challenging. On a side note, I was able to by a slim fit shirt and a slim fit pair of jeans. I strolled through my old stomping grounds in the big and tall section and everything was about two sizes too big now. I'm glad I discover roll tab sleeves. My under arms are bad so short sleeve shirts are a no go now.

I'm only about 6 months put, but still at around 800 calories max also.

10 hours ago, HB76356 said:

I'm only about 6 months put, but still at around 800 calories max also.

For me it's not about not being able to get more calories in, but just not wanting to. I have fallen in a cycle where I may only eat 500 calories in one day and then let loose on Saturday. My tests all come back good though and my doctors doesn't have me on any vitamins so I guess it's working.