John’s Story - 3.5 years out

[JohnVSG 29]

Hello all,

Lurked here for a while over the years. Figured I’d pop in and tell my story.

Former professional American football player (Arena league, not NFL), played one year got injured, used my degree and got a desk job. My playing weight was 330 lb, so I was a big guy most of my life… then I got the desk job… kept eating like a professional football player but sitting on my butt all day. That went on for 10 years. Had to do a physical for work and life insurance. Weighed 390… the nurse asked me if I wanted to lay down after taking my BP 210/150.

Oh and I had my first child a few months earlier…

In that ten years, I had tried every diet in the book. Same old story. Would lose a decent amount of weight if only to add it back, plus some. The BP meds I was put on killed my libido. I was in a dead end job. Something had to give…

I had casually looked into WLS a few times throughout the years, but dismissed it. I thought I was weak minded and just needed more will power. There may be some truth to that, I don’t know. I know in the moment I felt like I could die any moment and it wouldn’t surprise me. I decided to do the surgery.

I was lucky to have insurance that covered the surgery and I could move through the process quickly. This is probably not the best approach for everyone, but it worked for me. I feel like I would’ve sabotaged myself if given longer.

Anyways, had VSG surgery in May 2019. I have a high pain tolerance and recovered quickly. I followed the Dr’s orders to a T. Lost weight quickly. Within 6 months, I went from 390 to 230.

I am now about 225. My weight stays in a range of 225-235. I have come to love the gym, got into CrossFit and love that scene. I stayed in the same career but pivoted to a different path and have almost tripled my salary. Had another kid, and I’m not on any meds.

This surgery really was a life saver for me. Everything has gone spectacularly smoothly and I’ve gotten a new outlook on life and a much healthier relationship with food!

[summerseeker 1,923]

Congratulations, you have done a great job, not only with your weight loss but in your life as a whole. I know your story will help others who are still deciding which step to take on their weight loss journey.

[Jen-ny 18]

I enjoyed ready your story and I’m glad you’ve had good success!

[SHORTY_ 154]

Congratulations, This new tool can really be life-changing and it looks like you have really experienced that!

[SpartanMaker 676]

Congrats on your success and thanks for sharing! Though I never played any sports at your level, I was very active when younger until sidelined by a serious injury. Continuing to eat like I needed to when i was burning through 5-6k calories a day had a pretty detrimental impact on my health.

Glad you finally found something that worked for you!

[Spinoza 1,235]

Thank you for this OP! I used to play competitive sport and stopping that but continuing to eat as I had before definitely contributed to my weight gain, as did so many lifestyle changes. So glad to hear your story and I only hope I can get there some day too. 💪