November's Pictures!

I forgot to post November's progress pictures!

More Food Discoveries

I recently had a friend who had gastric bypass. Her partner has been quite helpful in finding high protein food.

Jimmy Dean’s D-lights breakfast bowls have 23g of protein and 230 calories.

Chobani Greek yogurt with it’s impressive 18g of protein, 130 or less calories, and serving size.

How I'm adjusting 4 months out

To further follow up on how I’m adjusting to my surgery the progress is slow but steady. Here are some of the things I have realized over the last month. I am learning to listen to my body and when to stop eating. I have also learned that if I choose to eat dense food like meat I will get full quickly. I have continued to avoid bread. Protein is vital and because I have a very reduced capacity for foodstuff I simply cannot justify eating bread as opposed to or along with protein. I do not think I will eat bread until my protein needs are not so high. However, I didn’t really eat bread before my surgery so this really isn’t a big deal for me.

Psychologically, I think I’m making progress but it’s much slower. My self-image issues are still a problem. When I look in the mirror, I still see the person I was before surgery. However, when I look at pictures of me I can clearly see the difference and when I look at pictures of myself before surgery I frankly don’t remember being that big. Socially, things are improving. I really don’t feel the pressure of food anymore when I hang out. I eat what I can and anyone who expects anything different is politely told their expectations are impractical.

How to calculate percent of excess body weight lost

To calculate excess body weight lost is simple.

1. Using a BMI chart simply identify the weight that takes you from overweight to normal. For me that weight is 177 lbs.
   
2. Using your starting weight subtract your ideal weight.
3. Next, divide the number of pounds you have lost by the number of pounds you need to lose in order and this will tell you the percent of excess body weight you have lost.
   

The reason this number is important is that most surgeons will say that a specific surgery usually results in 75% of excess body weight lost.

From my research here are the generally accepted amount of excess body weight to lose is:

Lap-Band: 40%-60%
Sleeve gastrectomy: 60-75%
Gastric bypass: 75-85%

However, sleeve gastrectomy is a relatively new procedure and long-term statistical data is still being developed. My surgeon has stated that he sees sleeve gastrectomy patients and gastric bypass patients lose weight at the same rate and generally enjoy comparable weight loss. Returning to my results, so far I agree.

4 months out

Friday the 16th of October marks four months since surgery, today I got on the scale, and it read 272. I did not anticipate losing one hundred pounds within the first four months. Before surgery when I was doing my research, it was fairly common to lose one hundred pounds in six months. However, I knew this is just a number the real number that matter is the percent of excess body weight lost. So far, I have lost 51% of my excess body weight.

Today also marks the day I completed my second goal. My first goal was to weigh less than 300 lbs. and my second was to lose 100 lbs. Now I’m working on my last goal which is to lose 75% of my excess body weight or to weigh 225 lbs. The one goal I am not setting for myself is to weigh 177 lbs. or to lose 100% of my excess body weight.

I have two reasons for this, the first being my surgery is guaranteed to help me lose 75% of my excess body weight and the second is I'm not sure I want to be that thin. I have a feeling the dietary and fitness changes I'm making will gradually keep propelling my weight downward but at this time I'm not setting a goal to lose all of my excess body weight.

Surgery has Improved Me

Hello World, meet the new and improved Kevin.

I am happier, more positive, and enjoy a better outlook on things. I definitely was not a negative person before surgery but as impossible as it may seem my personality has improved.

Allow me to elaborate.

I have changed A LOT since surgery. My personality is definitely not the same as before I had the surgery. This past week I have came to the realization I have changed. And to be honest, I hope these changes are permanent. I asked my work partner if she has noticed a changed in me since surgery because I feel like I have changed. She told me that I'm happier and a lot more positive. The unimaginable thing is that I think I'm even more outgoing.

The only thing I am taking for granted right now is the fact I don't feel run down and tired all the time. However, even though my overall mood has improved, I don't necessarily think my overall personality has changed. When I look in the mirror I still see me weighing 372 lbs. I still have the same self image that I had before surgery. My brain has not caught up with my physical changes.

I have seen people who have negatively changed since surgery and those are the people who put on the fake act to compensate for being overweight. When it comes to how I interact with people I would like to believe I'm genuine. I'm definitely not nice to people just to make them like me. I believe I learned at an early age that if someone doesn't like me then it's their loss. I think the big the biggest factor is that I never saw myself as a 'fat person'. I didn't let my weight define who I am now or what I can do with our lives. For me, it has gotten in the way but it never defined who I was. Also, I think the biggest thing resisting change is the fact that I liked myself before surgery. I think the ones who change hated themselves before surgery.

Like I said above, when I think of myself, it's like the new and improved Kevin and not the Kevin that became Jack after surgery.