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 470 and was 380 by surgery time. Surgery was 3 weeks ago and I'm down to 369. Hoping I start picking up the pace because it's disappointing losing at a slower pace after surgery.

I WAS 472LBS WHEN I HAD MY SLEEVE ON APRIL 23RD 2015. TODAY I WEIGH 243 AND MUSCULAR. I LOVE MY NEW GYM LIFE! BEST DECISION I EVER MADE WAS HAVING THE SLEEVE!

So what did you do be muscular as well.

lots of weightlifting in the gym!

Today was my 8-month follow-up appointment with my surgeon. As chance would have it, today is also the day that I dropped below 300 lbs. At 518 less than a year ago, I could not have imagined it back then.

When did you guys start making big progress after surgery? I'm 3.5 weeks out and my weight loss is slower than before surgery. I average about 70 grams of protein, no more than 1,000 calories and at least 60 minutes on my bike. I lost 31 pounds on my two week diet and my surgeon is expecting big things. I don't expect 15 pounds a week but I have only lost about 6 pounds in the past 2.5 weeks.

@@sgc Hope the losses speed up for you. I'm pre-op, so I can't offer you any first-hand advice. I have read, though, that some patients retain fluids, and thus weight, post-op for a few weeks.

@@sgc, I'm 2 days shy of my one year "surgiversary" and am just now hitting the 850-950 calorie per day mark as per my nut. I might have a splurge day that gets me to 1200-1400 cal, but that is rare. From my experience, 1000 calories, less than a month post op, is kinda high. The 70 g protein seems about right, though. (A trick my nut taught me was one gram per inch...we are both 6 foot, 72 inches=72 grams. This should be the minimum per day, and will slowly increase over time.)At the year mark, I am between 80-100 g, averaging in the low 90's. At the 1 month mark I was averaging 675-750 cal per day and about 5-6 lbs a week. I think it was the six week mark that I started exercising. I started with water aerobics and just walking laps in the pool (harder than it sounds!). As always in these posts, your experience may differ and ALWAYS follow your surgeon's advice first. Good luck.

@@sgc, Just a quick update...had my one year yesterday, dietitian said that at 1 year I should bump my calories to 1000 per day with lean protein, non-starchy vegetables, and SMALL amounts of beans and whole grains. I also asked about my goal weight of 185 (set by my original surgeon), both the weight loss doctor and my new surgeon said right around 30 bmi. That puts my new goal at 215. I was hoping to make it to "one-derland", that might still happen with 10-20 lbs of skin removed with plastics...but that is still at least a year away. Keep up your hard work, the weight loss gates will open for you.

Bro, you lost 104 pounds in 3 months. that's motivating as f**k. I'm happy for you and hopefully I can achieve the same success. I'm 18 days post op and down 25 pounds so far.... any tips you can give me?

i was 520lbs at my heaviest before i started my pre op diet. I had my surgery on dec30th of 2015. I had my 3 month post op visit this morning and i am down 104lbs. I feel amazing my energy level is through the roof and i can do a lot of things i couldn't do before. I really been working hard every day with exercising and sticking to a strict diet. I do not and will not become the person i used to be.

Bro, you lost 104 pounds in 3 months. that's motivating as f**k. I'm happy for you and hopefully I can achieve the same success. I'm 18 days post op and down 25 pounds so far.... any tips you can give me?

i was 520lbs at my heaviest before i started my pre op diet. I had my surgery on dec30th of 2015. I had my 3 month post op visit this morning and i am down 104lbs. I feel amazing my energy level is through the roof and i can do a lot of things i couldn't do before. I really been working hard every day with exercising and sticking to a strict diet. I do not and will not become the person i used to be.

Down 177lbs in 6months now. The best advice i can give is follow your surgeons orders to a T. Drink lots of Water and cut out all carbs and sugars. I pretty much eat Proteins and veggies. I also exercise pretty much every single day. I hope to hit my goal weight by my one year anniversary.

Bro, you lost 104 pounds in 3 months. that's motivating as f**k. I'm happy for you and hopefully I can achieve the same success. I'm 18 days post op and down 25 pounds so far.... any tips you can give me?

i was 520lbs at my heaviest before i started my pre op diet. I had my surgery on dec30th of 2015. I had my 3 month post op visit this morning and i am down 104lbs. I feel amazing my energy level is through the roof and i can do a lot of things i couldn't do before. I really been working hard every day with exercising and sticking to a strict diet. I do not and will not become the person i used to be.

Down 177lbs in 6months now. The best advice i can give is follow your surgeons orders to a T. Drink lots of Water and cut out all carbs and sugars. I pretty much eat Proteins and veggies. I also exercise pretty much every single day. I hope to hit my goal weight by my one year anniversary.

Where do you get your proteins from and what type of exercise do you do and how long?

Sent From Galaxy Note 5 using the BariatricPal App

Bro, you lost 104 pounds in 3 months. that's motivating as f**k. I'm happy for you and hopefully I can achieve the same success. I'm 18 days post op and down 25 pounds so far.... any tips you can give me?

i was 520lbs at my heaviest before i started my pre op diet. I had my surgery on dec30th of 2015. I had my 3 month post op visit this morning and i am down 104lbs. I feel amazing my energy level is through the roof and i can do a lot of things i couldn't do before. I really been working hard every day with exercising and sticking to a strict diet. I do not and will not become the person i used to be.

Down 177lbs in 6months now. The best advice i can give is follow your surgeons orders to a T. Drink lots of Water and cut out all carbs and sugars. I pretty much eat Proteins and veggies. I also exercise pretty much every single day. I hope to hit my goal weight by my one year anniversary.

Where do you get your proteins from and what type of exercise do you do and how long?

Sent From Galaxy Note 5 using the BariatricPal App

Im still doing 2-3 premiere shakes a day. I eat chicken or fish everyday and as far as exercise i walk around 4-5 miles a day with my dogs thats pretty much it.

Just a quick update: My surgeon's office submitted for insurance approval today. The insurance specialist mentioned my provider takes up to three weeks to process. Hopefully mine will move through the bureaucracy quickly; either way, looking forward to starting the next chapter.

Best of luck, @@Ignatius ! You will be amazed at how quickly the entire process from pre-op to surgery to post-op goes by now that you have the ball rolling. I'm 9 months out and my life is completely different, all to the good, now.

Just dropping in. Surgery scheduled for Sept. 27. Currently 390, was 430 as recently as a year ago. Im looking forward to getting through the initial surgery recovery etc. Ive been increasing the activity level over the last year, gym, running and Tae Kwon Do. I hope the break is not too long. I get itchy when its been too long.

Best of luck, @@Dap73! Forty pounds lost pre-op is great progress.