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My new weight loss thread since my one from before my surgery is lost to the ages

Kumquat

Member
Today I shifted into a new phase of my life and it made me want to make this post so I could possibly help some of you to your own weight loss goals. I won't go too in depth here on my story but please do ask if you want a better understanding and more detail over certain areas. I am determined to be as open a book as possible for any serious questions.

So, my name is Jakob. I am 38 years old and I started my weight loss journey 2 weeks before my 37th birthday. I mean, technically it started before then but that date, September 14th 2016 is when my life irrevocably changed. I had gastric sleeve surgery that day where they also removed my Gall Bladder. I started this at 390 pounds and am currently 238. Today I have shifted my focus. I am still doing my best to promote weight loss but today I feel I can finally start doing a much more strenuous weight lifting routine. So I have gone from a total cardio and fat loss outlook now to a body recomposition one. I have already started to slowly add muscle from my toning exercises and I hope it explodes when I get serious about it.

So yeah, I had gastric sleeve surgery. For those who don't know what this is they cut out three quarters of your stomach and they suture it together in the shape of a sleeve. Basically, you lose the entire kidney bean shape of the stomach. I did it as a tool to win my battle over food addiction which I have. It was a life changing decision and despite all the complications it has been very much worth it. I have actually had 4 surgical procedures in the last year all told. I had an endoscopy before the gastric sleeve and gall bladder removal where they put you in a twilight state and snake a camera through your mouth and down into your stomach. It actually wasn't bad, just a sore throat later. Yes, I know, HA! Anyways, a week after I had the gastric sleeve surgery I developed Diverticulitis. Ya know, that thing Brock Lesnar had that really ****ed him up for his MMA fighting. Never experienced it before in my life but it was horrible. I had horrible shooting stabbing pains in the lower left pelvic area. So, I'm a week out from a brutal surgery, I can't eat anything. I'm living on protein shakes and water and these ****ing pills. Like seriously, **** these pills. They gave me two antibiotics that I'm having to take on an empty stomach which is painful itself but then one of the pills makes everything I consume taste like bitter metal. At this point I can barely tolerate water and just thinking back on it I just felt waves of nausea so powerful I almost threw up even though I'm in the fasting portion of my day.

Anyways, so eventually I am starting to recover and it is the night before Thanksgiving. My weight loss has been going pretty well and I'm upbeat and I've got a giant turkey brining that I will bring over to my moms and cook using Alton Brown's method. It's about midnight as I am getting ready for bed and I feel a horrible stabbing pain in my back. I take some Tylenol but it does absolutely nothing. At this point I am pacing back and forth in the apartment between the bedroom and my living room just hoping the walking will reduce the pain but it is still excruciating. Long story short, after an hour I broke down and went to the ER which I really hate. They took care of me though, shot me up with dilaudid, had me pee in a cup and then go through a CT scan. So what they found was a 6 cm kidney stone sitting right next to a tumor that had taken up half of my right kidney right through the middle of it. So, in December I went through surgery for kidney stone removal. Since it was sitting right next to my new found tumor friend they couldn't blast it with soundwaves and break it up. They had to insert a laser through my penis and through one of my tubes, remove the stone pieces, and then left a stent in that tube for a couple weeks before removing it with a cytoscope. It is not an experience I would recommend because you are awake when they lower that cytoscope down into your urethra and then pull a giant tube out of you that way.

Anyways, so yeah, the tumor. It was classed as a Bosniak 3 complex cyst which is about a 50/50 flip on whether it is malignant or not and they can't test it because it would risk rupturing the cysts. So this thing is taking up residence in a horrible place too. Right in the middle of the kidney and spread out all over taking up half the damn thing. My urologist says he would have to do a radical nephrectomy but he also referred me to UT Southwestern and Dr. Cadeddu. He said it was borderline inoperable but he would try to do a partial instead of a radical nephrectomy as long as I realized my chance for complications was going to be higher than average because of all the factors. So I did that at the beginning of July just before the 4th and I've been recovering from that surgery ever since. It went smashingly well by the way and tests came back benign! So I have one and a half kidneys and I am very thankful I escaped a cancer diagnoses.

Since then I've really just been healing, mostly walking and some light cardio. Some light weights mostly for tone. So earlier I talked about my food addiction right? So, even though I had had the surgery and all that I still had my food addiction. I was eating much more healthy things in much smaller amounts but I was still kinda grazing all day and drinking flattened out diet sodas and all that. That changed about a month or so ago. I tried on my old clothes and saw how they now were so massive. I went out and bought my first new outfit in over six months. That's when it became real what was happening with me and it was like a switch had been thrown in my brain. My depression eased, my craving for food all the time went away, and my entire relationship with food changed. It's been amazing to feel truly confident in everything and not have your physical appearance be what drags you down. That being said I still have bad times. Hell, last night I went on a self doubt and abuse rampage. I guess the difference is I feel hopeful about the future rather than dreading it. I've also been sticking with intermittent fasting for the last couple of weeks and am really liking how I feel when doing it.

So here below you can see my weight progress charts with all my measurements and some before and progress pictures. I'm still working to get the official before and after pictures that my doctor took. I still have a ways to go but if I can help anyone here I would like to. Just remember this is only based on my own experiences. Also apologies for the big pictures. I suck at figuring out how to size them.

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Before:

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Progress:

And yes, I know I dressed terribly.

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Current:

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Laserdisk

Member
Dressing badly is a byproduct of shit bigger clothes.
I lost a stone a month for 6 months and have gone from 23 stone down to just over 13 now, and it's amazing the choice in clothing.
 
Good thread, terrible what happened to you, Op.

Society refuses to acknowledge the severity of food adiction, puts it on individual responsibility (lack of will) instead or realizing the systemic reasons and how hard it is to fight an addiction that,unlike cigarettes or drugs, cannot be stopped. You have to eat, even when you're morbidly obese.
 

Kumquat

Member
That's amazing man, props for your perseverance and determination.

I appreciate it man.


So I did my first real heavy weight routine since my last surgery. Everything went flawlessly. I actually weighed in at 232 this morning though I suspect a lot of that is water.

If anybody has questions about food addiction or weight loss I would love to answer. Ombra, were you thinking about something like that for a video series? I don't know the production end of videos but I have a pretty good voice.
 

RSP

Member
Hey dude, thanks for sharing!

My journey begin on January 3rd of this year when I was probably at my heaviest / fattest I had ever been (I bought a stepcounter for my and my girl for her birthday) . I estimate I was around 160kg (350lbs) back then, but I didn't even dare to go on a scale until about a month into the process.

Here's what I did:
- Kept track of what I ate
- Cut out the bad stuff
- Started walking

This worked like a charm for me. I'm currently at 109.7kg (242lbs), and my goal of 99.9kg (220lbs) is well in sight. I have tons of energy, and hope that I've avoided running into fat-people deseases at an early age. People complement me on how good I look, and say that they see a lot of the "old" me again.

I intend to never get back to that weight ever again. Being fat and out of shape is horrible. Ultimately all it took is for me to say: "No more".
 

llien

Member
OP, thanks a lot for sharing!

PS
For other metric guys, like me:

238 pounds = 108kg
390 pounds = 176kg
 
Hey dude, thanks for sharing!

My journey begin on January 3rd of this year when I was probably at my heaviest / fattest I had ever been (I bought a stepcounter for my and my girl for her birthday) . I estimate I was around 160kg (350lbs) back then, but I didn't even dare to go on a scale until about a month into the process.

Here's what I did:
- Kept track of what I ate
- Cut out the bad stuff
- Started walking

This worked like a charm for me. I'm currently at 109.7kg (242lbs), and my goal of 99.9kg (220lbs) is well in sight. I have tons of energy, and hope that I've avoided running into fat-people deseases at an early age. People complement me on how good I look, and say that they see a lot of the "old" me again.

I intend to never get back to that weight ever again. Being fat and out of shape is horrible. Ultimately all it took is for me to say: "No more".

It can work for some, but not others. Once the stomach pouch is expanded out, it’s very hard to ever feel satisfied eating. The surgery is a game changer, but it can’t stop the addiction all together. It can curb it for a year or two, but if life style choices aren’t permentantly changed, the surgery will fail.

For example, there are pro football athletes that have this surgery after their career is over. Their work out routines and physical demands drop significantly and can’t be replicated off the field. But the body has become so accustomed to tens of thousands of calories to survive. It’s not just about will power or increasing weights at the gym.

Weight loss surgery is a tool. It’s not an easy way out. Even though the OP had other setbacks, the journey is still difficult. The surgery requires authorization from a psychologist to ensure a person is mentally ready for the emotional side of things.
 

ReBirFh

Member
It can work for some, but not others. Once the stomach pouch is expanded out, it's very hard to ever feel satisfied eating. The surgery is a game changer, but it can't stop the addiction all together. It can curb it for a year or two, but if life style choices aren't permentantly changed, the surgery will fail.

I think this mentality is part of the problem. You don't need to eat untill you're stuffed, this is what gets the person in this situation and why the stomach pouch expands. You just need to eat enough to have energy for your daily activities instead of eating untill you can get anything more insde of you.

I'm in this fight too. Even though I was never obese, I am, a bit less now, overweight/skinny fat. It isn't an easy change but the last couple of months I'm trying to go to the gym at least 3/4 times a week and do kickbox two times a week while trying to control what I eat and I'm already receiveng compliments from people that didn't knew I was "changing".


And congratulations to the OP! Now that someone did the conversion from lb to kg, I'm impreessed with how much you were able to achieve.
 
Congratulations, each step off the scales with a loss must feel amazing!

Do you feel noticeably better? Like you wake up and and are like "ahhhhh fuck i feel good'?
 

RSP

Member
It can work for some, but not others. Once the stomach pouch is expanded out, it’s very hard to ever feel satisfied eating. The surgery is a game changer, but it can’t stop the addiction all together. It can curb it for a year or two, but if life style choices aren’t permentantly changed, the surgery will fail.

For example, there are pro football athletes that have this surgery after their career is over. Their work out routines and physical demands drop significantly and can’t be replicated off the field. But the body has become so accustomed to tens of thousands of calories to survive. It’s not just about will power or increasing weights at the gym.

Weight loss surgery is a tool. It’s not an easy way out. Even though the OP had other setbacks, the journey is still difficult. The surgery requires authorization from a psychologist to ensure a person is mentally ready for the emotional side of things.

I'm not saying people should not have surgery. I'm just glad I didn't have to. I really was afraid that I needed that to turn myself around, but I've been fortunate. I used to be able to eat 1.5 pizza by myself and still feel hungry. I had my first couple of slices this year last weekend, and I felt dizzy because of the amount of grease and fat I ate (this was a take-away pizza at a party). I've learned my lesson: I'm not picking up that shit again as it is just garbage that won't do anything to benefit you.

What I was surprised about is how quickly I was able to lose weight by taking just a couple of (very) simple measures. When I started doing my walks, they were 20-minutes tops, at a very slow speed. I now walk for 60-90 minutes without breaking a sweat. That's stamina I didn't have for almost a decade.
 
Lookin' great, bro.

Just remember its going to take a lot of work and self-discipline to maintain it, but I absolutely believe you can do it!
 

Nester99

Member
I was scanning the photos and thinking, Dude you need to shave, and then you did and it looks awesome!

Mad props to you and your hard work! keep it up you are looking (and I hope feeling )great!
 

Kumquat

Member
Congratulations, each step off the scales with a loss must feel amazing!

Do you feel noticeably better? Like you wake up and and are like "ahhhhh fuck i feel good'?

It was when I felt my food addiction break and my depression finally ease. It was like a month ago and I started to realize just how much I have going for me in life now. Since then, despite some setbacks like my breakup, I'm doing pretty well mentally for like the first time in a looooooooooooooooooooooooong time
 

Kumquat

Member
I'm not saying people should not have surgery. I'm just glad I didn't have to. I really was afraid that I needed that to turn myself around, but I've been fortunate. I used to be able to eat 1.5 pizza by myself and still feel hungry. I had my first couple of slices this year last weekend, and I felt dizzy because of the amount of grease and fat I ate (this was a take-away pizza at a party). I've learned my lesson: I'm not picking up that shit again as it is just garbage that won't do anything to benefit you.

What I was surprised about is how quickly I was able to lose weight by taking just a couple of (very) simple measures. When I started doing my walks, they were 20-minutes tops, at a very slow speed. I now walk for 60-90 minutes without breaking a sweat. That's stamina I didn't have for almost a decade.

It's crazy how you body adapts and changes. It blows my mind. After I broke up with my girl I allowed myself one small bag of pity candy and got some of my favorite sour things. The thing is now I find I can only eat like 5-10 of these little candies. The sugar is too much for me if I go beyond that. I keep trying to give them away to people who come over because I don't want all the ones in the bag anymore.
 

RSP

Member
It's crazy how you body adapts and changes. It blows my mind. After I broke up with my girl I allowed myself one small bag of pity candy and got some of my favorite sour things. The thing is now I find I can only eat like 5-10 of these little candies. The sugar is too much for me if I go beyond that. I keep trying to give them away to people who come over because I don't want all the ones in the bag anymore.

And I bet you feel great about that just like me. I've come to the realization that I've been stuffing so much garbage in my mouth well, pretty much my entire life. It's time for a change.

I've been reading packing labels more, and thinking about what actually benefits my health. I'm not on some wild chase to only eat what nature produces or something, but I have come to a point where I can't justify drinking a can of soda anymore because of the amount of sugar that it holds.
 

Sosokrates

Report me if I continue to console war
You've been through a lot, you are a brave guy.

I used to do circuit training and although it does get you in good shape when working a 9-5 it felt like torture having to do these intence circuits.

Now I just try and be active, lift weights 3x a week and watch my calories.
 

Android Kuma

Neo Member
Great job on your journey and as you continuously get healthier.

When I wanted to lose weight the best thing by far was the Keto or low-carb diet. Once I realized that so much of my hunger came from eating so many carbs I switched it up to primarily fat and protein. A few days of this and hunger is much easier to handle after eating one meal. Not to mention that excessive fructose will cause insulin resistance and lowers leptin levels (the hormone that tells you that you are full).
 

Kumquat

Member
Great job on your journey and as you continuously get healthier.

When I wanted to lose weight the best thing by far was the Keto or low-carb diet. Once I realized that so much of my hunger came from eating so many carbs I switched it up to primarily fat and protein. A few days of this and hunger is much easier to handle after eating one meal. Not to mention that excessive fructose will cause insulin resistance and lowers leptin levels (the hormone that tells you that you are full).

Sugar is the enemy. I'm realizing it now more than ever and I have really lost my taste for super sweet things all together.
 

Sosokrates

Report me if I continue to console war
Sugar is the enemy. I'm realizing it now more than ever and I have really lost my taste for super sweet things all together.

While apart from fast energy, sugar has little benifit, and can cause disease in excessive amounts, however Some sugar is not bad.

For example if someone is an active postman eats this
(Which is about 2500 calories)
Breakfast: berry and banana oat smoothie

Lunch: spinach and cheese omlette a slice of wholemeal toast with butter and a couple of fruits

Dinner, chicken breast, potatoes and salad and for dessert a chocolate bar.

I dont think the sugar in the chocolate bar is gonna do anything bad.

I might be wrong , you might be wrong you can find studies that contradict each other these days, so people tend to go on anidotal evidence.
 

double jump

you haven't lived until a random little kid ask you "how do you make love".
Op a inspiration.
Sorry bout the kidney stuff. People don't know what kind of bs that is unless they themselves or family members go through it. All things considered you got lucky beating it. Seriously congrats.
 
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