It has been a while since my last post, it is amazing how the time can get away from you. Things cannot be better, I have settled in at the weight I feel the best at ( 190) and have added muscle through my strength training. My cardio workouts could not be better. It seems like such a short time ago when I had my surgery but in fact, it has been well over a year and a half.
Most all of my patients have reached their goals and my new patients are well on their way. One of my new patients just told me this week that her Doctor has already eliminated her blood pressure medication and she only had her surgery less than a month ago. That is only after a 23 lb weight loss.
People have to make the life changing decision to have this surgery or not and if it is in their health's best interest. If you are obese, have high blood pressure, diabetes or any other weight related issues, you need to do something before it is too late. Going on a diet to lose a few pounds just to gain it back will not get it done. You need the tool of the restriction and need to change your life now. For all of the people that know me will tell you, my only regret was that I did not have this surgery years ago. I feel that I lost many great years of living healthy.
Sunday, December 16, 2012
Sunday, September 9, 2012
Balancing Act
Well, I have experienced a situation that I never thought in a million years would be a problem. I have lost more weight than I intended and I am having a problem gaining weight to get back to my comfortable number. I feel better at 195-200 lbs. I feel better and look healthier at those numbers. I am down to 188 as of yesterday. I am adding more muscle and definitely toning up but the muscle gain is not matching the weight loss. I am about to increase my protein and calorie intake and reduce my cardio workouts. With those changes, I am going to step up the weight lifting to see if that will get me back on track. I really hate to slow my cardio down because my last blood panel was perfect and I do not want to make a drastic change that would affect my cholesterol, blood pressure or any other of my vital statistics. I will post how my new plan is working.
Sunday, July 15, 2012
Education
It has been a while since my last post, time has flown by while staying busy at the gym.
I have come to the understanding that when talking to people about weight loss surgery, you can give them the information, answer their questions and hope that they do something before it is too late. This is a decision only they can make.
The reason I bring this up is I almost waited too long because of my diabetes. As most of you know by my earlier posts, my A1C test was 10.2 when I was diagnosed. My symptoms were numbness and tingling in my feet. After the weight loss and reversal of my diabetes, my total feeling in my feet returned. This DOES NOT happen for a lot of people. Sometimes the feeling never returns and the doctor said I was very close.
I urge anyone on the fence about this surgery to go and have their blood work done, that should be the eye opener that they will need to realize something has to be done.
I think it is great when people try to lose weight naturally and start exercising to get in better health. The problem is 99% of the people lose SOME weight but then gain most if not all of it back. While this is happening, you are getting older and your health is getting worse. Keep in mind, I am not talking about someone that needs to lose 30-or 40 lbs. If you are 50 or more pounds over weight, you need to realize what ever you have been doing IS NOT working. Your weight, age and height determines your body mass index ( BMI). If your BMI is 30 or higher, you are OBESE. Nine out of 10 people that I talk to that are OBESE do not see themselves as OBESE, I did not. The way we eat, sitting at a computer all day and lack of exercise is what got us in this mess, a pill, some exercise and trying to eat healthy is not going to fix this issue. The sleeve is a tool that provides the 4 oz restriction. Once you start losing weight, you WILL feel like exercising and that along with healthy eating, you WILL NOT gain weight back. The reason for this is if you can only eat 4 oz of food, your resting metabolism is enough to burn that few of calories of intake. What has kept me pushing forward after 14 months is human nature, we are results oriented.
Everyone that knows me will tell you that my ONLY regret was that I did not have this surgery years ago. I felt that I wasted so many years. The one thing I cannot do is bottle up how great I feel now compared to how I felt when I was obese. The energy level, the strength and most of all, I am in the best health of my life.
Please, get your blood panel done, it is not just your blood sugar but things like cholesterol, heart disease and ALL organ functions are hurt by obesity.
I have come to the understanding that when talking to people about weight loss surgery, you can give them the information, answer their questions and hope that they do something before it is too late. This is a decision only they can make.
The reason I bring this up is I almost waited too long because of my diabetes. As most of you know by my earlier posts, my A1C test was 10.2 when I was diagnosed. My symptoms were numbness and tingling in my feet. After the weight loss and reversal of my diabetes, my total feeling in my feet returned. This DOES NOT happen for a lot of people. Sometimes the feeling never returns and the doctor said I was very close.
I urge anyone on the fence about this surgery to go and have their blood work done, that should be the eye opener that they will need to realize something has to be done.
I think it is great when people try to lose weight naturally and start exercising to get in better health. The problem is 99% of the people lose SOME weight but then gain most if not all of it back. While this is happening, you are getting older and your health is getting worse. Keep in mind, I am not talking about someone that needs to lose 30-or 40 lbs. If you are 50 or more pounds over weight, you need to realize what ever you have been doing IS NOT working. Your weight, age and height determines your body mass index ( BMI). If your BMI is 30 or higher, you are OBESE. Nine out of 10 people that I talk to that are OBESE do not see themselves as OBESE, I did not. The way we eat, sitting at a computer all day and lack of exercise is what got us in this mess, a pill, some exercise and trying to eat healthy is not going to fix this issue. The sleeve is a tool that provides the 4 oz restriction. Once you start losing weight, you WILL feel like exercising and that along with healthy eating, you WILL NOT gain weight back. The reason for this is if you can only eat 4 oz of food, your resting metabolism is enough to burn that few of calories of intake. What has kept me pushing forward after 14 months is human nature, we are results oriented.
Everyone that knows me will tell you that my ONLY regret was that I did not have this surgery years ago. I felt that I wasted so many years. The one thing I cannot do is bottle up how great I feel now compared to how I felt when I was obese. The energy level, the strength and most of all, I am in the best health of my life.
Please, get your blood panel done, it is not just your blood sugar but things like cholesterol, heart disease and ALL organ functions are hurt by obesity.
Friday, May 25, 2012
One year ago today
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.
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.
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.
Friday, March 9, 2012
At last, hit my weight loss goal.
It took me almost 9.5 months but I have lost 116 lbs. and hit my goal weight of 199 lbs. I can now concentrate on buiding more muscle and continue getting in the best shape of my life. I would have never thought this surgery could have changed my life so much. Anyone that is wondering if this surgery can help them, just read my blog from the beginning, it is a life changer.
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Missed my goal.
I was 9 months out from surgery yesterday and was hoping to have reached my weight loss goal of 199 lbs, I am 3 lbs short of that weighing in at 202. I know I am still losing inches and still losing weight but very slowly at this point. I think that I am going to have to increase my running over the next week or so to get rid of the last few lbs. Once the goal is reached, I am going to revisit my initial goal and probably change it to 190 lbs. I want to build more muscle and stay between 190 and 195. I never want to get to 200 lbs ever again.
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