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.

Surgery TODAY! DS at noon! I’ve been waiting for 6 months for this portion of my journey. Sure, I’m a little apprehensive but I’m confident in my surgeon, the hospital, and God. 20 months past sleeve, and 100# down from when we initially started pursuing WLS. Under the knife by 2:00 this p.m. Your prayers are appreciated!

15 minutes ago, ScottH611 said:

Surgery TODAY! DS at noon! I’ve been waiting for 6 months for this portion of my journey. Sure, I’m a little apprehensive but I’m confident in my surgeon, the hospital, and God. 20 months past sleeve, and 100# down from when we initially started pursuing WLS. Under the knife by 2:00 this p.m. Your prayers are appreciated!

You got this, man! Wishing a speedy recovery.

1 hour ago, BlueCrush said:

You got this, man! Wishing a speedy recovery.

2 hours ago, ScottH611 said:

Surgery TODAY! DS at noon! I’ve been waiting for 6 months for this portion of my journey. Sure, I’m a little apprehensive but I’m confident in my surgeon, the hospital, and God. 20 months past sleeve, and 100# down from when we initially started pursuing WLS. Under the knife by 2:00 this p.m. Your prayers are appreciated!

May the Holy ONE of YISRAEL BLESS you and protect you always.

Blessings & Shalom Shalom

Today is day 5 of 7 day pre-op liquid diet. Weight is 418 lbs. (Started at 569 lbs) I purchased FAGE Total 0% Milkfat Yogurt to eat 3 times a day to get the 60 grams of protein daily. (18grams per 6oz) Yesterday, I was unable to eat the yogurt due to feeling sickly. I instead placed Unjury Santa Fe Chile Protein Powder in chicken broth. For dinner, mixed a small amount of yogurt and Unjury Chicken Soup protein powder in chicken broth. Drinking water mixed with Crystal Light and Kroger Lite Pink Lemonade to intake minimum of 64 oz daily. Not hungry at all! Sometimes I feel strange, weak and sick stomach feeling, bad breath and gas. Surgery is Thursday! Excited to begin my new life and continue my single engine private pilot land certificate to soar above the clouds. Up...Up...and Away!

Edited November 12, 20187 yr by NEXT YEAR IN JERUSALEM
Correct spelling

28 minutes ago, NEXT YEAR IN JERUSALEM said:

Weight is 418 lbs. (Started at 569 lbs)

Amazing accomplishment pre-surgery! (or even post!) Keep up the good work!

Good on you man @NEXT YEAR IN JERUSALEM. That is a great accomplishment so far. Good luck on your surgery and best to you post in the healing process.

Today is day 6 of 7 day pre-op diet. I really thought this liquid diet would be super easy.....I purchased 6oz (18grams of protein) FAGE Total 0% Milkfat Yogurt to eat 3 times a day to get the 60 grams of protein required daily. Well....That worked GREAT for the first few days until I could not eat the yogurt due to sick stomach feeling. So.....that day I used no fat low sodium chicken broth mixed with Unjury Santa Fe Chile Protein Powder. Also, mixed with Unjury Chicken Soup Protein Powder for another metal. Last night and today. I have mixed the chicken broth with 2 packs black pepper, 1 teaspoon Unjury Chicken Soup Protein Powder and 1 oz of FAGE Total 0% Milkfat Yogurt. Total 20 grams of protein each meal. It taste really good and is soothing to my stomach. I hope this helps withanyone having sick stomach feeling on pre-op liquid diet. Don't be afraid to try different combinations to be successful. Everyone stay AWESOME!

Almost 2 years to the day separate these photos.

Me at 406lbs on Memorial Day 2017 in the pic to the left. I started my diet and exercise journey the day after Memorial Day 2017. I lost 88lbs through diet and exercise, then had VSG surgery on 12/11/17 and got down to 220lbs by August 2018. I added 5lbs back in muscle with my weight lifting routine, and just had skin removal surgery on 5/2/19. Currently sitting at 225lbs on the pic to the right. Still a bit swollen and healing from the skin removal surgery.

Guy's over 400lbs, IF I CAN DO THIS, SO CAN YOU!!!

15 hours ago, BlueCrush said:

Almost 2 years to the day separate these photos.

Me at 406lbs on Memorial Day 2017 in the pic to the left. I started my diet and exercise journey the day after Memorial Day 2017. I lost 88lbs through diet and exercise, then had VSG surgery on 12/11/17 and got down to 220lbs by August 2018. I added 5lbs back in muscle with my weight lifting routine, and just had skin removal surgery on 5/2/19. Currently sitting at 225lbs on the pic to the right. Still a bit swollen and healing from the skin removal surgery.

Guy's over 400lbs, IF I CAN DO THIS, SO CAN YOU!!!

WOW! Congrats! I started around 420-430... Had surgery in August 2018 and I've been stuck at 280 for several months now. What did you do for exercise/diet that helped you get so low?

I really want to get down to at least 250 this year.

Also, I also have some ink on my upper arms... did getting rid of your excess skin impact that? Were they able re retain the art?

What an inspiration!!! Congrats @BlueCrush . Heal well brother!!!

1 hour ago, PopsFury said:

WOW! Congrats! I started around 420-430... Had surgery in August 2018 and I've been stuck at 280 for several months now. What did you do for exercise/diet that helped you get so low?

I really want to get down to at least 250 this year.

Also, I also have some ink on my upper arms... did getting rid of your excess skin impact that? Were they able re retain the art?

Just diligence. I've got a two-year streak going on MyFitnessPal tracking my food everyday. I'm sure I stay under my calorie goal (2800 at the moment) while getting at least 160 grams of protein per day. Couple that with going to the gym 6 days a week. Do that for a year straight, and you will see the results. Most people just don't have the diligence to be consistent for that long.

Edit: I should add that I've not done cardio in the gym for about a year now. All I do is weightlifting with free weights. I had to abandon cardio, because I couldn't stop losing weight, and I got to the point where I was trying to gain muscle and cardio was counterproductive to that goal.

Edited May 29, 20197 yr by BlueCrush

1 hour ago, PopsFury said:

Also, I also have some ink on my upper arms... did getting rid of your excess skin impact that? Were they able re retain the art?

I had no impact at all to my tattoos, as I did not have to get skin removed from my arms. I credit that to all the weightlifting I did over the past year filling out my arms to the point where I did not need surgery on them. The only places I had to get skin removed were my chest, abdomen, and lower back ( think like the place where women get "tramp stamp" tattoos).

Edited May 29, 20197 yr by BlueCrush

17 hours ago, BlueCrush said:

Almost 2 years to the day separate these photos.

Me at 406lbs on Memorial Day 2017 in the pic to the left. I started my diet and exercise journey the day after Memorial Day 2017. I lost 88lbs through diet and exercise, then had VSG surgery on 12/11/17 and got down to 220lbs by August 2018. I added 5lbs back in muscle with my weight lifting routine, and just had skin removal surgery on 5/2/19. Currently sitting at 225lbs on the pic to the right. Still a bit swollen and healing from the skin removal surgery.

Guy's over 400lbs, IF I CAN DO THIS, SO CAN YOU!!!

Great job. I’m a little over three years out and have lost 190 lbs. I have not had the skin removal surgery and I may not need it. How much actual weight did you lose from the skin removal surgery? Im still debating the surgery.

Edited May 29, 20197 yr by aggietop

48 minutes ago, aggietop said:

How much actual weight did you lose from the skin removal surgery? Im still debating the surgery.

Great question... I've been curious how much that excess skin weighs as well.

57 minutes ago, aggietop said:

Great job. I’m a little over three years out and have lost 190 lbs. I have not had the skin removal surgery and I may not need it. How much actual weight did you lose from the skin removal surgery? Im still debating the surgery.

7.72lbs of skin was removed. Oddly enough, I'm only like 3lbs down from my pre-surgery weight, likely due to the swelling that takes 6-8 weeks to fully subside from this kind of surgery. I thought it was funny that the day before surgery to the day after surgery, I was UP almost 11lbs despite having 7.72lbs removed lol. The swelling is real, but I go more by what I see in the mirror vs. what I see on the scale now days.