I cannot believe it has been one year since I had my weight loss surgery. My life has changed in so many ways, finally being healthy is the best. I hit my goal of 199 lbs. 9.5 months out from surgery, today I am at 194, down from 315 lbs when I started my pre-op diet. I take no medication and have NO health issues at all.
If anyone is on the fence about having this surgery, they need to talk to me. Getting your health back is the best gift you can give yourself and your family.
My next phase is to lose another 4 lbs. and then I am going to really increase my strength training and build up a bit. I want to create the 10 lb cushion so I never go over 200 lbs again.
I am going to post updated photos next week. To this day, I still look back at my before surgery pictures and the monthly pictures I took a long the way, they still amaze me how I let myself get in that position in the first place.
Have a great Holiday weekend.
Friday, May 25, 2012
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Carbs, Carbs and more Carbs
It is funny how your focus changes. During the weight loss period, I stayed away from carbs to maximize the weight loss. Now that I have hit my weight loss goal, my focus has turned to building more muscle. It was very hard for me to just go from very few carbs to "carbing up" before and after a workout. I do this before my workouts to give me the energy to prolong my workouts and give me the few extra reps for lifting. I have always had a protein drink after my workouts to help build muscle but I have found, that is not enough. I needed to increase my carbs so I do not lose lean muscle while burning calories. You want to lose fat, not muscle so it is better to use the carbs for energy and it makes a huge difference.
The sleeve has given me the fantastic restriction that keeps my meal portions under control, it is just as tight now as a month after surgery. I do not even have to think about food choices any more, I only eat what has nutritional value. Everyone who knows me knew my favorite food was steak and potatoes ( just one of the reasons I needed the surgery). I might have this meal once a month now and only about 4 oz of it.
When you work out at the gym as hard as I do, you do not want to eat BAD calories, it is not worth it. You can work your butt off for an hour and burn 400 calories, you eat a donut and all that work was for nothing. That is what keeps me motivated.
What I tell my patients is the Sleeve is just a tool, a wonderful tool. You still have to make smart choices and excercise. It kills me when a patient asks me when they can smoke or drink after surgery. I guess it is hard for me to understand why someone would go through this surgery and then not try to become healthy as possible. It has given me a second lease on life. I have told many people, my only regret is that I did not have this surgery years ago.
The sleeve has given me the fantastic restriction that keeps my meal portions under control, it is just as tight now as a month after surgery. I do not even have to think about food choices any more, I only eat what has nutritional value. Everyone who knows me knew my favorite food was steak and potatoes ( just one of the reasons I needed the surgery). I might have this meal once a month now and only about 4 oz of it.
When you work out at the gym as hard as I do, you do not want to eat BAD calories, it is not worth it. You can work your butt off for an hour and burn 400 calories, you eat a donut and all that work was for nothing. That is what keeps me motivated.
What I tell my patients is the Sleeve is just a tool, a wonderful tool. You still have to make smart choices and excercise. It kills me when a patient asks me when they can smoke or drink after surgery. I guess it is hard for me to understand why someone would go through this surgery and then not try to become healthy as possible. It has given me a second lease on life. I have told many people, my only regret is that I did not have this surgery years ago.
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