thecabbie
New member
There may be some of you who remember me from my previous stays here in this forum. Many others have never met me, as you have joined here in my hiatus. I have been, and continue to be a member of other forums as well, but thought I could share some pertinent information here as well as continue to follow my story.
Flashback to 2007 ish. Weighed 389 lbs, was a 2 pack a day smoker. High B/P and Sleep apnea. Cholesterol of 260. My VO2 max was 15.65, which wasn't far away from needing oxygen...
Dropped to 330 lbs by summer of '08. Quit smoking in August, and started exercising more regularly. No question I was becoming more fit, and healthier in some regards, but...
I was a yo yo. Yes, I was consistent about exercise, its how I managed to keep off the cigarettes, but I had little self control with portion control, or just pushing away from the table... In 2009 my wife underwent RNY gastric bypass surgery and lost 130 lbs. She looks amazing, and took to the lifstyle by becoming more active. I finally decided in January of '10 that I would look into it. By then I had also been diagnosed with early stages of type 2 diabetes. I was still weighing in at 330 lbs after occasionally dropping down under 300 for short stints, and then falling off the wagon hard once more.
After going through the counselling sessions and appointements, I had my surgery on May 20th of '10. Liquid diet, then blended for the first month, then soft food and eventually full solid food. Watching my vitamin, protein, and calcium levels.
Activity has not been a problem anyhow and that part has not changed. The bottom line is, that effectively what I got from the surgery was built in self control. Even before, the problemwas less one of eating the wrong things, more eating too much of the right things. Now I don't over eat. I do a full body resistance workout typically 3 days a week. All compound lifts, (Squats, bench presses, deadlifts, overhead presses, lat pulldowns, rows, and body weight exercises like planks, reverse crunches and pushups). I also typically cycle between 75 and 100 miles a week. depending upon schedule.
My Current weight is 247 lbs. I am approximately 6' 7" tall so that weight is not too far away from a good BMI for me, if one was to put a lot of stock in BMI numbers. My most recent cholesterol was 181 total, my B/P was 124/74 adn my resting H/R is 60 bpm. My most recent VO2 max calculations put me at 39.6, which doesn't make me an athlete, but does make me normal, which ain't bad for a former smoker of 25 years.
Could I have done all this on my own without surgery? Yes, I'm pretty sure eventually I could have. Here is the thing. I'm 45. I have dieted for years and yo-yo'ed for years. Eventually I probably would have figured it out. The question is, would I have done it before I had something drastic happen? Add it up, Obesity, high b/p, high cholesterol, sleep apnea, diabetes... tick, tick, tick... can you hear the time bomb? My two daughters are not yet married, and I would like to see that happen.
Okay kids, for the other parts of me here, I'm leaving the link in my sig temporarily to my old journal is anyone wants to see where I was, or see what kind of irreverent, slightly off kilter person I am in all other things. I would also love to hear from anyone who is curious about the bypass. I will be more than happy to share my experiences so far and answer anyone's questions about the procedure. I have anumber of them in my family now, so I'm pretty well versed in the operation at this point.
Flashback to 2007 ish. Weighed 389 lbs, was a 2 pack a day smoker. High B/P and Sleep apnea. Cholesterol of 260. My VO2 max was 15.65, which wasn't far away from needing oxygen...
Dropped to 330 lbs by summer of '08. Quit smoking in August, and started exercising more regularly. No question I was becoming more fit, and healthier in some regards, but...
I was a yo yo. Yes, I was consistent about exercise, its how I managed to keep off the cigarettes, but I had little self control with portion control, or just pushing away from the table... In 2009 my wife underwent RNY gastric bypass surgery and lost 130 lbs. She looks amazing, and took to the lifstyle by becoming more active. I finally decided in January of '10 that I would look into it. By then I had also been diagnosed with early stages of type 2 diabetes. I was still weighing in at 330 lbs after occasionally dropping down under 300 for short stints, and then falling off the wagon hard once more.
After going through the counselling sessions and appointements, I had my surgery on May 20th of '10. Liquid diet, then blended for the first month, then soft food and eventually full solid food. Watching my vitamin, protein, and calcium levels.
Activity has not been a problem anyhow and that part has not changed. The bottom line is, that effectively what I got from the surgery was built in self control. Even before, the problemwas less one of eating the wrong things, more eating too much of the right things. Now I don't over eat. I do a full body resistance workout typically 3 days a week. All compound lifts, (Squats, bench presses, deadlifts, overhead presses, lat pulldowns, rows, and body weight exercises like planks, reverse crunches and pushups). I also typically cycle between 75 and 100 miles a week. depending upon schedule.
My Current weight is 247 lbs. I am approximately 6' 7" tall so that weight is not too far away from a good BMI for me, if one was to put a lot of stock in BMI numbers. My most recent cholesterol was 181 total, my B/P was 124/74 adn my resting H/R is 60 bpm. My most recent VO2 max calculations put me at 39.6, which doesn't make me an athlete, but does make me normal, which ain't bad for a former smoker of 25 years.
Could I have done all this on my own without surgery? Yes, I'm pretty sure eventually I could have. Here is the thing. I'm 45. I have dieted for years and yo-yo'ed for years. Eventually I probably would have figured it out. The question is, would I have done it before I had something drastic happen? Add it up, Obesity, high b/p, high cholesterol, sleep apnea, diabetes... tick, tick, tick... can you hear the time bomb? My two daughters are not yet married, and I would like to see that happen.
Okay kids, for the other parts of me here, I'm leaving the link in my sig temporarily to my old journal is anyone wants to see where I was, or see what kind of irreverent, slightly off kilter person I am in all other things. I would also love to hear from anyone who is curious about the bypass. I will be more than happy to share my experiences so far and answer anyone's questions about the procedure. I have anumber of them in my family now, so I'm pretty well versed in the operation at this point.
Congrats on the loss man!
!!!!!!!!!!!