ajrober2

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Ok, so we know that weight loss is mainly about living a healthier lifestyle, feeling better and developing good life long eating and exercising habits. However, I must admit that the shopping has been so FUN!  I have always wanted to dress nice, but the clothing selection in the super morbidly obese range is very slim and EXPENSIVE!  For years I have been extremely limited in what would look decent on my huge body.  I absolutely HATED the way I looked in suits.  As a matter of fact, I don't even have full body pictures of me in a suit before surgery. 

Triumph!   - I recently went into a Big & Tall store out of habit.  Some of you may be familiar with it (Destination XL/Casual Male). Anyways, EVERYTHING was too big.  LOL!   I couldn't believe it!  I am now able to go shopping in normal clothing stores and it is SO liberating!  Here's a couple of recent snap shots.  I hope to have a real photo session done very soon. 

Stats:  10 Months Post Op  (plus 2 weeks)
High Weight: 440 lbs
Surgery Weight:  429 lbs
Current Weight: 235 lbs
Total weight loss:  205 lbs!!!

Shirt:  From 5xl/6xl to L/XL
Neck:  From 22/24 to 15.5/16
Pants:  From 56 waist to 36/38
Coat/Blazer:  From 64R to 44R

The Duodenal Switch procedure has been one of the best decisions I have made concerning myself.

Best wishes to everyone!!!

Yesterday I was a bit overwhelmed with grief missing my mother and my cousin who died last week (only 29 yrs old).  I started craving chocolate cake, ice cream, chocolate chip cookies, bread and scampi butter, high calorie drinks and every other health-damning thing on earth.  BUT, I refuse to go back to the way things used to be.  The DS was too big of an investment for me to give in to grief inflicted cravings.  I went home and had a low carb meal with water and called it a night.  This is not just another diet, it's a lifestyle.  WE CAN DO THIS!!!! 

Hi Everyone!

Well, it's been six months.  Time is going by pretty fast.  Seems like just yesterday I was laying across that ironing board like table to get the DS.  LOL!  Starting weight was 440.  Surgery day weight was 429 lbs.  I am currently 284, that's 145 lbs loss since surgery and 156 lbs loss far!  Oh yes, I am happy!

I still can't believe it.  I can actually see and certainly feel my weight loss now.  Although I still look big to myself, I feel SO MUCH better than before.  I am so overwhelmed with all of the beautiful comments that I've been getting at church, around family/friends, and (shocker) at WORK!  I can't walk from one end of the building to the other without someone stopping me to tell me how awesome I look, ask me what i'm doing to lose, or just stand there completely jaw dropped!  LOL!  I love it!  I've never had high self-esteem, but I feel my head being lifted day by day.

I hope to be 250 lbs by my birthday which is about 2 months away.  I think I can do it!

There are definitely some none scale victories as well.  My overall mood is so much better these days.  I don't slip into depression nearly as much as I did at 400+ lbs.  I am soooo much more outgoing now.  I seem to get a lot more invites to different things.  I was always invited to things before but I would shy away and back out.  I didn't care to be seen or be around a lot of people.  That has changed. 

It is so wonderful to be able to sit comfortably in movie theater seats, restaurant booths, and on sofas without taking up too much room.  I'm taking a flight next month and people are trying to convince me that there is no need for me to buy two seats anymore.  I'm still a little nervous about that but we'll see. LOL! 

Things are going very well.  I turn 30 this year!!!  I feel like I cheated myself out of my 20's by being so obese, unhealthy, and unhappy.  I won't make the same mistake going forward.  Life is too short to waste it being miserable. 

There is so much more I could type but I'll save some for next month!  Take care and God bless!

WOW!  It's been 5 months already!  I'm taking some time this morning to reflect on my journey thus far.  My highest recorded weight is 442 lbs.  I dropped down to 429 pre-surgery.  On April 1, 2013 I weighed 298 lbs.  That's a lost of 131 lbs in 5 months!  That's amazing. 

I am so grateful to God for helping me through this.  At this point I feel that all of the agony, frustration and $$$$ I went through to get this surgery was worth it.  I thank God for my surgeon, Dr. Felix Spiegel, and my primary Dr. Linda Ly.  I am so blessed and I encourage anyone who needs to lose a substantial amount of weight to please consider the Duodenal Switch.  It may not be for everyone, but I am convinced that if it can help me it can help anyone!

I am at a better place than I have been in a long time.  At 400+ I was very depressed, reclusive, and inactive.  I can remember many Saturdays where I would sit in my room looking out of the window with tears in my eyes.  I wanted to go out and enjoy but either my blood pressure was high, or I was super exhausted due to severe sleep apnea, or my back and knee pain was just too much to bear. 

My weekends are different now.  I feel like I can go out and do whatever I want.  I'm still wearing plus size clothing, but I have a feeling that's going to change very soon!  I will have to really control myself once I'm able to shop in the regular sections of Macys, Dillards, etc.   I CAN"T WAIT!  

I realize now that I should not get upset when I hit stalls.  Last month, I didn't lose weight for about 2 1/2 weeks.  I even gained 8 pounds one of those weeks.  Then suddenly, at the end of the month I lost 15 pounds!  I think I go crazy when I try to weigh myself every week so that's gotta stop!  I was so shocked when I weighed myself for my 5 month post op and saw that I was under 300 pounds!  I can't remember the last time I was at this weight.  I looked at an old high school photo and I actually look younger now than I did back then.  It's amazing.  The DS (with the help of prayer ;) is restoring my youth! 

I can't give all credit to the DS, glory belongs to God.  Before I even knew there was a DS, I prayed and asked God to please lead me to the proper resources that would help me finally get my weight under control.  He has fulfilled that prayer by leading me to the DS and I am so grateful.  This is an amazing tool! 

At 298 lbs I only have 48 lbs to lose to get to my birthday goal.  I turn 30 on July 7 and I want to be 250 lbs by then.  So I have 3 months to lose 48 pounds.  I believe I'll be able to do it.  I just have to stay focused and not go crazy every time the scale doesn't move. 

More to come...... 

Hi all,

This post is coming a little late because I've been SUPER busy!  It's been 4 months and a week since my surgery.  I'm down 118 pounds.  The weight loss has slowed down but I'm ok with that, for now.  I'm doing good with food choices, but I need to eat more frequently throughout the day and start working out!  I've been getting so many compliments.  I'm about halfway to my ultimate goal of being 200 lbs.

I know that I'm still obese at this point, but I've noticed that no one has called me "big man" or "big guy" lately.  I've also noticed that I am no longer the biggest person at my job, and i'm no longer the biggest person in the group when I'm among family and friends.  I'm starting to feel normal.  I can fit in a booth at a restaurant, I can walk around the mall and not get tired.  I can fit comfortably in movie theater seats.  At 4 months, this is still just the beginning!  I can't wait to see what things are like by the end of this year. 

I was 3 months post DS on February 1, 2013.  I weighed in on February 4th and I was down 103 pounds!!!!!  Yay!  Not too bad.  People keep telling me I look good, what am I doing?, etc!  First of all, I don't look very different to myself yet.  I see some changes, but I probably won't see anything significant until I reach goal.

Everyone that asks me how I'm losing weight gets a straight answer.  I had weight loss surgery - the Duodenal Switch procedure.  It shocks people when I tell them because I am very private when it comes to my personal business.  I don't talk much to anyone.  The thing about letting people know I had surgery is that most people who are naturally thin have no idea what weight loss surgery is.  They somehow got the dumb idea that its an "easy way out".  However, I am very much an introvert, I consider my siblings my only friends, therefore I'm not attached enough to people to care about what they think.  So that's why if someone asks, I just tell them.  I did this for ME, not irrelevant people's opinions.  I did this so that I can have a decent quality of life, and so far it appears I have made one of the best decisions of my life.

For the first time in life, I'm confident that (with the help of God) I will get down to my goal weight.  I've started gathering all of my pre-surgery clothes and will get rid of them to make room for new ones.  My pre-op clothing looks totally ridiculous on me now.  It really helps me mentally to wear clothes that fit correctly.  Shopping time!

I was going to stop coming to obesity help because no one seems to pay attention to my profile anyways.  After getting on the scale this morning and looking in the mirror, I was a little disappointed in myself, not in the DS.  I prayed for the DS, I fought for it, and I got it!  The DS has amazingly helped me lose 77 pounds in 2 months.  I'm disappointed in myself because after losing 77 pounds I'm still super morbidly obese and really don't look like I lost anything.  Sure my clothes are fitting super loose/baggy, but I can still wear them.  How could I have ever let myself get this huge in the first place.  Shame on me! 

I logged into my profile today to take a look, and I began to feel a little better.  I read my first post and my second and realize how grateful I should be for even being where I am.  There are many people who are dealing with obesity but don't have the financial means or mental strength to do anything about it.  So I will continue to write on this page for myself.  I need to be able to look back and see my progress so I can appreciate where I currently am a little better.

So yeah, 2 months out from surgery and down 77 pounds.  I can't lie and say I'm happy at this point, but I'm making progress.  Me not being happy with the way I look has opened my eyes to how shallow I am concerning myself. 

*****update - I went to my pcp on 11/30/2012 which was my official 1 month follow-up.  I was actually down 50 pounds which was my goal (although I thought it was unrealistic)!*****

Well I am 1 month post-op.  So far, I'm down 48 pounds.  I could be down a little more than that, but I only allow myself to get on the scale on Thursdays.  If I don't set this limit, I'll be getting on the scale everyday and driving myself INSANE!!!! 

I am doing well.  I may not be able to eat more than 2-3 spoons, but that's a good thing.  I don't feel deprived, and I have a versatile diet.  I didn't think I would be happy with my DS this soon, but I am!  I have never been able to lose this kind of weight in such a short amount of time.  I have been getting so many compliments!!!!  (although, I think people are just being nice)  LOL!  I've always been very critical of myself so it'll be a good while before I actually *see* any changes in my appearance.

I'm so excited because I know that this time next year I will look and feel like a totally different person.  Happy, Healthy, and SEXY!  LOL!  kidding, i'm already sexy in my own way. 

My severe back pain is gone, knee pain is gone, sleep apnea is going away, and I believe it's time to get rid of my blood pressure pills.  If one month can do all of this, I'm going to be totally stoked by month 5!

Clothes that I couldn't fit a month ago, fit just fine now.  And the clothes I could fit a month ago are now baggy.  I can't wait to shop for more clothes.  Especially when I can shop in the normal sections of the department stores, that will be awesome!

That's all for now. I posted some 1 month post - op photos.  Subtle changes, but progress nonetheless.  I'll write more and post more photos for my 2 month post - op!  See ya soon, and Happy Holidays!!!!!

Wow!!!!  It's hard to believe that this time next week I will be recovering from Duodenal Switch surgery!  I can't say that I'm excited, but I am glad.  I'm pass excited, I just want to get it over with.  I've actually been in this position before, but the surgeon (Dr. Erik Wilson) decided a week before surgery that he wasn't satisfied with my pre-op weight loss. This was around August/September 2012.  I WAS DEVASTATED!!!!!  But I've been through too much hell to give up now.  A friend referred me to Dr. Felix Spiegel, I met him and decided he was definitely the surgeon for me.    Before meeting Dr. Spiegel, I had been trying to get this surgery for about a year.  Red tape, after red tape, after red tape!  Now that it's finally near, I can't help but wonder, "what's going to happen now". LOL!  Then my faith kicks in and says "It's really going to happen this time, rejoice!". 

I'm looking forward to no more back and knee pain, being able to shop for clothes anywhere I want, and not being so noticeable when going to everyday places.  When you're almost 6' and over 400 lbs, you're kinda hard to miss.

Anyways, I've never been one to care that much about what people think.  I'm not defined by obesity, i'm defined by my character.  The main things I'm looking forward to is to no longer have to deal with high blood pressure, fatigue, constant extreme hunger, and sleep apnea. 

I can't wait to revisit every vacation I've ever gone on.  I've always enjoyed myself, but not to the fullest because of my health.  This time when I go to Orlando Studios, I'll be able to ride anything I want and not worry about my back going out just from walking, or getting asked to leave a ride because i'm too big.  

Uh-oh, I feel myself getting excited again!!!!

....more to come...