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.

@sgc It's interesting how differently all of us live post-op. I'm 8 1/2 months past surgery and probably consume 1,200-1,400 calories daily. My loss is slower than yours, but I have lost over 150 pounds in this time. At 600-800 calories, I'd feel deprived. Though I'd like to keep it closer to 1,000-1,200 daily, I struggle with snacking. And I'm just now starting to focus on regular exercise.

Best of luck as you explore plastics.

I am about nine months post-op now and if I really wanted to, I could probably get over 2,000+ calories a day if I really wanted to, but that's really down to food choices and not volume. The good thing is, I'm now only about 55 pounds away from my goal weight and I find controlling my intake FAR easier now...and 55 pounds seems so do-able on my own steam, that I don't care if my "honeymoon period" is about to come to a close. I can take it from here, for sure.

I upped my calorie intake to slow my weight loss and I ended up losing 5 pounds this week. I steeped on and off the scale several times and it read the exact same number. I then waited an hour, got back on, and I lost another .8 pounds. Maintaining seems kind of hard.

I'm having a similar issue. I've gradually upped my calorie target to find a steady maintenance level. I'm at 2400 calories per day and still losing 1-3 lbs per week, despite the fact that I'm already 7 lbs below the weight that my surgeon suggested that I should not go below.

Hey guys,

So I was sleeved on July 10th and have been reading through this thread... First off. Thanks. Glad I'm not alone here as the big dude. All the successes you guys have had is giving me some much needed boosters.

My max capacity before pre-op was 460(ish). Never really nailed down the exact number but I was hovering that since christmas. I'm down to 412lb and excited to see some 3's here shortly. My wife is already noticing a change in me, even though I don't necessarily see it.

Needless to say. I'm 12 days post op and feeling great. Not sure if its weird or not, but I feel super normal. I feel like I can eat whatever (but I KNOW I shouldn't and I wont)... Zero pain, zero anything really. Been walking my dog and jogging my stairs with ease. Been funny even noticing how 40ish lbs down and my energy levels are increased.

My biggest struggle is trying to find a way to get my protein in. I'm currently getting around 60g... But can't seem to push the 80g mark. Going to start the puree on Monday and might just blend up a ribeye or something... Any advice?

Thanks

Marshall

Siggi plain yogurt with flavored protein powder. Killer protein.

choclate chia pudding with added protein powder. Google it.

i can have ground meats on soft/ purée. I ground brisket and chicken. Made them really wet with sauces. Slow to go down.

i use get cheese crisp. Because it makes mush in your mouth.

Turkey pepperoni

deli sliced Canadian bacon

no bean turkey chili. Homemade or store bought.

i made protein powder pancakes. Pretty good. Made mush in my mouth, went down fine.

keep it up. Lots of folks in the same boats as you.

On 7/21/2017 at 9:02 PM, Mersh said:

Hey guys,

So I was sleeved on July 10th and have been reading through this thread... First off. Thanks. Glad I'm not alone here as the big dude. All the successes you guys have had is giving me some much needed boosters.

My max capacity before pre-op was 460(ish). Never really nailed down the exact number but I was hovering that since christmas. I'm down to 412lb and excited to see some 3's here shortly. My wife is already noticing a change in me, even though I don't necessarily see it.

Needless to say. I'm 12 days post op and feeling great. Not sure if its weird or not, but I feel super normal. I feel like I can eat whatever (but I KNOW I shouldn't and I wont)... Zero pain, zero anything really. Been walking my dog and jogging my stairs with ease. Been funny even noticing how 40ish lbs down and my energy levels are increased.

My biggest struggle is trying to find a way to get my Protein in. I'm currently getting around 60g... But can't seem to push the 80g mark. Going to start the puree on Monday and might just blend up a ribeye or something... Any advice?

Thanks

Marshall

I would say for now stick to either using beef/chicken broths, and protein powders and mixes. I wouldn't even chance trying to eat and/or drink pureed beef/pork anything. You may feel fine, but your body is still healing from you removing something out of it. That takes times, even if you feel like you are fine and okay, your body is still in recovery and will be for at least the first 6 to 8 months. Don't skip by your plan, and don't cheat it. Because if you do, it may come back and bite you in the rear in a lot harder than what you expected.

For me getting those 80g of protein in consisted of me not only using Isopure unflavored and flavored protein mix, I was also doing Pure Protein coconut water (had about 8g of protein per 12oz), and Swanson's chicken broth (10g per 10oz). Then there was just some days that I didn't meet the goal. Not everyday are you going to meet that protein goal. And that should be expected especially only being like 10/15 days post surgery. But try very hard to get as close as you can to goal as often as you can. The sooner that you meet your protein goals I feel the quicker you will heal your body.

I may have this maintenance thing down. Stuck on 192 for three straight weeks. My doctor estimates I have anywhere from 20 to 30 pounds of excessive skin and fat that can be removed so my weight is more like 160-170 and she thinks I should probably gain a couple pounds. I can't fathom trying to gain and I seem to get disappointed now when I don't lose. I feel like I have nothing to work towards now. Every week it was trying to get under 350, then 300, then 250 and so on. It's almost an empty feeling now to be at a normal healthy weight.

You of course have a goal still it's to get to the weight they want you at or to maintain where you are that sometimes can be a chasing game but the challenge is to never go back to how you were before

Gain that weight in muscle mass. Gives you that attainable goal and keeps you working.

My stats after this mornings weigh-in.

Nice to see the progress continue.

I am new to this board. Lots of very encouraging stories on this one. I just got sleeved on 7/19. I am doing pretty good. I am almost down below the 400 mark for the first time in a long time. Looking forward to continuing down this journey and I just want to thank all of you who have shared your stories. It is very inspiring to see what I have to look forward to from people who were as big as me. Keep up the great work everyone!!!

Welcome. Pretty good group of folks lurking around here. Lots of true love experts with years of experience. I've learned a lot from them.

Lost 3.5 pounds this week and am down to 189. Looking to get skin surgery which could drop my weight anywhere from 20-30 pounds. Trying to gain weight is such a large mental hurdle. My goal at the beginning was to get down to 250. After my skin surgery I will need to get with a trainer and try to gain 20 pounds. I had lost weight before but then gained it back plus an extra hundred. It's so hard to gain and not think it will spiral out of control.

@sgc I know you've worked out consistently before and after surgery. How do you split your exercise between cardio and strength training?