10/2/2002

Well, here I am one year later. I can't believe how much weight I've lost. Including the 23 pounds I lost getting ready for surgery, I've reached a grand total of 251 pounds. That's more than I weigh now (244). I just can't believe it. This was absolutely the best thing I ever could have done for myself. Life is good.

244 Pounds

8/31/2002

5/2/2002

287 Pounds

4/20/2002

This was a very cool day. My company had their annual picnic at Busch Gardens in Williamsburg. For the first time in many years, I was able to ride a roller-coaster. I rode the Loch Ness Monster, Apollo's Chariot, Alpengeist, and The Big Bad Wolf. Totally awesome!!!

4/16/2002

As of today, I have lost 200 pounds!!!! I can't believe I'm there, and I'm only 6.5 months post-op. I still exercise five times a week, walking over 2 miles a day and lifting weights. My skin is sagging a little, but I think it could be a lot worse. My hair is thinning considerably, which is no surprise since I have a tough time getting my protein every day. Do I miss my hair? Yeah, I do. Do I miss it more than the 200 pounds? Not on your life, baby. Bald is better than fat anyday!!

295 Pounds

2/27/2002

I'm still losing pounds and inches, but it's definitely slowing down. In the last two weeks, I've only lost 5 pounds. My natural reaction is one of disappointment, but I can look at the inches lost during that same period and know I'm still progressing nicely. I was hoping to have broken under a BMI of 40, but that'll have to wait a couple weeks.

320 Pounds

1/11/2002

As of today, I've lost 128 pounds since my surgery, and a total of 151 pounds. And my life just gets better and better. I still have a vomiting episode every now and then, but they're infrequent and tolerable. I'm really enjoying how healthy I feel, and being able to do so many new things. I can now officially say that I'm glad I had the surgery, and that I'd do it again without question. I'm 29 pounds away from losing the classification of "morbidly obese". I'm 45 pounds away from weighing less than 300, something I haven't seen since 1989. Amazing. I feel like I've been given a second chance at life, and I'm going to take advantage of it. It's certainly too short to waste any more time.

359 Pounds

12/15/2001

Things are continuing to go well. I don't throw up often at all anymore; and when I do, I can usually trigger it myself to relieve discomfort that I know is not going to go away by itself. Hell, if I had learned how to purge years ago, maybe I wouldn't be in this mess! (Just kidding) I can eat almost anything I want nowadays (in tiny amounts), with the exception of pasta. No matter how well I chew, it always seems to get stuck. I did have a problem with my potassium levels a couple weeks ago which was causing severe cramps in my feet, but that has gone away with medication and a banana every day for breakfast. I don't regret having the surgery at all now, but I'm still not saying I'd do it again. It's been a really hard road to travel, but I know that it was necessary.

394 Pounds

11/4/2001

I guess things are going pretty well. I haven't tossed my cookies for a week now, and I'm exercising regularly. Even my vitamins seem to go down now without blocking up the works. I'm tired of the soft foods, but they're a hell of lot better than those damn CIB's (Carnation Instant Breakfast). I still have a lot of "head hunger", but I guess that's to be expected. My greatest craving is for a steak and cheese sandwich from Subway, loaded of course with everything and extra mayo. Yummy! I keep telling myself that I will be able to eat that again someday, just not a whole foot-long sub (or two). Perhaps maybe half of a half. I have noticed that the foods I do eat taste a whole lot better than before. Instead of a quest to eat everything in sight as rapidly as possible, I now pay attention to what I'm eating and savor every bite. I've also discovered a wonderful way to supplement my daily protein intake. American Bodybuilding makes a couple of sports drinks called "Lean Protein" and "Pure Pro", with 25 and 40 grams of whey protein in each, respectively, and about 1 gram of sugar. If I have one of those a day, I don't have to worry so much about where my protein is going to come from and have a wider choice of foods available during the day. They taste pretty good, too. I like the Wild Berry flavor of Pure Pro best. I've also found that Special-K cereal has 7 grams in a 1 cup serving. Taken with a cup of skim milk, that provides 15 grams in one meal. So things are improving, and I don't think I've made such a huge mistake after all. But I'm still not ready to be the WLS poster boy. That is going to take a while.

10/14/2001

Feeling better today. I jumped the gun a little today and introduced soft foods. My doctor had me on liquid protein drinks ("Carnation Instant Breakfast" or "Resource Diabetic"), and I just couldn't manage 4 per day. I'd start with one in the morning, and spend the rest of the day paying for it, generally with a lot of gas and the "foamies". Any attempt to drink another would result in pain, nausea, and vomiting. So today I got my nerve up and blended up a simple chicken soup (well-blended) for lunch (30 g. Protein). It went down great and felt terrific!! I concentrated on fluids for the rest of the afternoon and then decided to be brave again for dinner. I had 2 four-ounce containers of low fat cottage cheese (24 g. Protein). Again, it went down fine. No bloating, no gas, no foamies. I'm doubting the previous assertion of lactose intolerance. Today has been the best so far post-op. Do I still want to die? Not really. Am I glad I had the surgery? Not yet. Do I wish I hadn't done it? Sometimes. A lot of the time is probably more accurate.

10/11/2001

What the hell have I done?!?! I have totally fucked up my life! Granted, it wasn't all that great before, but at least I could eat! Now, it seems like I have nothing. I just want to die. I had one great joy in my life, and now it's gone. This sucks.

10/9/2001

Got home from the hospital today. I would have been home sooner, but we discovered that I am lactose intolerant. My vomiting, nausea, and gas had to be addressed before the doctor would release me. The incision hurts and it's kind of hard to move around, but I'm feeling pretty good otherwise. I'm also totally able to care for myself for which I'm very grateful. So now the REAL journey begins...

9/20/2001

Completed physical exam and preoperative tests today. All went fine; surgery is two weeks from today.

472 Pounds

7/25/2001

Received insurance approval today. My surgery is scheduled for October 4, 2001 at St. Mary's Hospital in Richmond, VA. I'm really excited about it, but at the same time pretty nervous. I know this is the right decision, but I also have an idea of how hard the road is ahead. I'm trying to wean myself off of sugared sodas, and will phase out sodas out altogether in the coming weeks. More water, water, water!

6/20/2001

I met with Dr. Hutcher today for the first time. We went over all the details and made sure the paperwork was in order. His office will submit the insurance request tomorrow. If all goes as planned, my surgery (Open RNY) will be in September.

3/27/2001

I received the initial information packet from Dr. Hutcher's office today. I set an appointment for June 20th, which was the earliest appointment available.