KahunaLou
I've been struggling all my life with being overweight. I was that "husky boy" in school. Well liked, actively involved in programs (football, wrestling, chorus, etc.) but was always one of the larger kids, so my social circle was fairly small.
I've done just about every diet program known to man with little to no long-term success. I would lose around 15-25 lbs. then plateau; then after a while I would lose focus as I was not getting the results even being diligent to the program. The most success I had was Weight Watchers when I lost 40 lbs in about 6 months, then plateaued for over a year. It was very disheartening.
I've had no real issues with exercise. My workplace has an on-site gym and I have used that with some frequency (once or twice a week).
I've gone on campouts with the Scouts and taking hikes (1/2 to 2 miles) as well high adventure hikes (50 milers). I accompany them about 4-5 times a year.
When I RV with my DW, we'll take about 2-3 walks per day. We try to get out 4-6 times a year; at least one time that is a week long.
Even at home, we try to walk at least once a day for a half-hour.
My adult lifestyle is primary sedentary. Being a computer professional, I sit at a desk in front of a computer pretty much all day during the work-week. On the weekends, I spend about 2-3 hours on the computer and try to get outside to the real world as much as possible. Even when out RVing, when there's wi-fi, I'm online (if not moderating, just surfing). I'm a very early riser (5:00am) so I will do this before my DW wakes up and the day really begins.
In spite of all of this activity, I continue to struggle with my weight and I'd have to say that it's primarily due to portion control more than anything else. When out camping or RVing, you can't beat the smells and taste of outdoor cooking. At home and at the office, there are just too many instances where I'm continuously "grazing" and not necessarily on the most healthy of foods. It's just too easy to go to the fridge or pantry. Food is an addiction for me.
I felt I needed "intervention" so on July 15, I underwent a vertical gastric sleeve procedure as part of the latest weight loss program that I started back in March.
To date, I have already lost over 30 lbs. and am continuing to shed the pounds. My last weigh in was when I was released from the hospital on July 18. My next weigh in is July 31. My home scale just doesn't cut it, so I'm looking at buying a new one.
From the day of my surgery, my blood sugars have been well within normal range (90-120 mg/dl) and I am off all diabetes medication (metformin, Byetta and Lantus). My blood pressure is still a tad high, so I am still on medication for that, but I'm told that as the weight comes off, so will the blood pressure.
I've been told that the the sleeve gastrectomy may be better than the traditional Roux-en-y (gastric by-pass) in that it is less invasive (no re-routing of the small intestines) resulting in obtaining needed nutrients from foods ingested (requiring less multivitamin supplements), and no issues with "dumping" (a shock-like state when small, easily absorbed food particles rapidly dump into the digestive system) and more effective than lap-band as the portion of the stomach that produces the hormone "Ghrelin" which signals appetite to the brain is removed entirely resulting in lower appetite.
I am definitely already seeing the results of this latest effort and sincerely hope that this is the start of a journey that will ultimately lead to the success that I've been denied my whole life.