Weight Loss Options & Sleeve Gastrectomy is Not One of Them!

The Rocketry Forum

Help Support The Rocketry Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Reading through all the posts, I would like to add another perspective. I'm not an athlete or health fanatic by any means, but I do actively maintain my health and fitness as an important part of my life. During younger years, I would focus on one area to the exclusion of others. That never seemed to last long, as boredom would eventually set in.

While I was still in my 50's, I started a fairly comprehensive cross-training program for myself. It included stretching, weight-lifting, aerobic interval training, and a few other activities. I won't go into diet here, as it always seems beat to a pulp.

One thing in all my reading and study came out pretty clearly. Straight aerobics, or running, biking, rowing at steady pace burned relatively few calories over time. I was trying to lose just a few pounds, to increase my ability to climb hills while jogging. I found that the few pounds of adipose (fat) tissue I was carrying was the biggest factor in causing me to choke and falter on hill climbs.

Over the years, I acquired several instruments, (being an engineer seems to demand that), to measure progress. Heart rate monitors, ECG, blood pressure, pulse oximeter, blood glucose, body fat analyzers, and plain measuring tapes. I was approaching the issue as if my physical body was a "bio-machine" of sorts, and it would respond to different things in different ways.

Onto the main point here, I read about a measurement called "basal metabolic rate". It is basically what energy your body uses at rest or sleeping. It seemed to make sense that if one could increase the basal metabolic rate, then I would burn more energy just doing nothing. The biggest factor in that rate, is the amount of muscle mass you carry on your body. Simply, muscle is "active" tissue, while fat is "storage". Sure enough for myself, weight lifting and resistance activities to slowly increase muscle mass yielded far more useful results than running or jogging for hours on end.

I only offer this as a different perspective. Everyone is different, and has different strengths, limitations, and constraints. A few things to Google search might be "increase basal metabolic rate", "high intensity interval training", and "cross training".

A couple of new things I'm working on now are balance and core strength. Those seem to be a couple of areas that often get ignored as we age. I don't intend to be a "help, I've fallen and can't get up" victim in the foreseeable future.
 
Onto the main point here, I read about a measurement called "basal metabolic rate". It is basically what energy your body uses at rest or sleeping. It seemed to make sense that if one could increase the basal metabolic rate, then I would burn more energy just doing nothing. The biggest factor in that rate, is the amount of muscle mass you carry on your body. Simply, muscle is "active" tissue, while fat is "storage". Sure enough for myself, weight lifting and resistance activities to slowly increase muscle mass yielded far more useful results than running or jogging for hours on end.

This is interesting - one thing that worked well for me was to exercise early in the morning before consuming anything. The days I slowly jogged just one mile I lost more weight than you would expect from that amount of exercise - my unscientific thought is that it raised my BMR for a significant part of the day.
 
This is interesting - one thing that worked well for me was to exercise early in the morning before consuming anything. The days I slowly jogged just one mile I lost more weight than you would expect from that amount of exercise - my unscientific thought is that it raised my BMR for a significant part of the day.

This is what I do. I walk 4 miles 3-4 days a week in the am before I eat.
 
It is true, I could probably use psychiatric intervention, someone to help me find that magic switch to flip. The switch that will change me from living to eat to eating to live... Saying that all I need to do is eat less and exercise more is merely stating the obvious. It is not correcting the deep rooted problem, a problem that may take a psychiatrist help with... I don't know. I did tell the last couple doctors, that if they recommend that I "eat less and exercise more" I was going to push their face in... they get paid more to offer more than that (jokingly of course).

There is one new solution that I am exploring; I have set up an appointment with a bariatric surgeon. Since my insurance requires that I go through six months of extensive physical testing, medical supervised dieting, and some psychiatric evaluation, something no other doctors have offered as possible solutions, I figured why not. My rational is, that in six months I am either going to flip my switch and not need the surgery, or I am going to end up on the table. One way or another I will get the tool needed to get my life back under control so I can get busy living, instead of slowly dying.
 
This is the final score on bariatric procedures. Every single one of them can be subverted by the patient if there are diligent enough.
The partitioning procedures, the person can just simply eat to the point of nausea and can stretch the pouch out over time. Gastric sleeve or duodenal switch people just eat continuously and they'll put the pounds back on. That said, one should pursue a program at a major institution that offers more than one procedure and has the psychologists and dietitians on hand besides being able to partake in group therapy sessions.

What was proven a long time ago that simply doing surgery without concomitant support, the failure rate of bariatric procedures is above 33%. Going through the 1 year pre acclimation program before having surgery greatly increases the success rate at least in the short-term. Long term? Some will subvert their procedures and go back to old ways many years out from the initial weight loss and gain their weight back.

What I have been told by people who have had long-term successes is as long as one follows the rules that have been set they will have no trouble with maintenance. In fact they tell me that those that subvert the procedure have to try very hard to subvert it. With partitioning procedures they eat to the point of puking and then don't throw up and stretch the pouch out. That takes work and is uncomfortable to pull off.

Last thing is if you've had repeated failures with diet and exercise, a bariatric procedure can help you feel sated after you eat small amounts. In the short term that will help you lose weight and in the long-term you have to come to grips with the other factors that make you overeat. That makes it very important to become involved in an all-encompassing bariatric program for the greatest chance of long-term success. Best of luck. Kurt
 
A quick update; I decided in February to put myslef on a "scared straight" weight loss program. That is, I decided to seek weight loss surgery, specifically Sleeve Gastrectomy... Here's the deal; my insurance requires 6-months of supervised doctor visits, to include help from my family doctor, from the bariatric nutritionist, along with a ton of specialized testing (like H pylori and treadmill work etc). I figured it this way, either in six months I will have figured this crap out, or I was going on the table (for surgery). My wife, who plans to support my decision for surgery, has since also issued her own challenge; she first asked what would it take for insurance to decline surgery? I replied that my BMI would have to drop below 35 before I would be denied surgery. That would put me at 250lbs. She said to tray and lose the weight, to give it everything in my power; mentally, physically and spiritually. She has challenged me to lose 75lbs in six months. She said that if I did that, and surgery was called off, she would do everything she can to help me maintain the life style changes.

The nutritionist, along with my family doctor have been awesome! First off, my doctor had me do some blood work to check my thyroid and insulin. As he suspected, my thyroid was normal, but my insulin was elevated. I am now taking Metformin to control my insulin. My nutritionist set me up with a nutrition plan that is maintainable, I do not know why I could not see it before... nevertheless, I am down 25lbs (325 to 300), with 50lbs to go in the next 4 months. And yes, eating less and exercising more has been the win/win combination. Losing 12.5lbs a month is really maintainable for the next 4 months to hit my goal of 250, but there after I will slow the weight loss so that I can maintain the life style changes for the rest of my life.
 
persistence pays off! Way to go!

I as well, have changed my habits in order to loose some weight. The biggest change is cutting out sugar, most of it..

You may not realize it, but you are a bit of an inspiration for a few of us!
 
I was not getting any notification of replies, so to get on here and see all the replies brings a tear to my eye. Thank Guys!

Yes, cutting out most sugar helps, all while yet battling the hidden sugars. The toughest part is getting away from the processed foods packed with sugars (to included high fructose corn syrup etc). I have also reduced carbs, but I maintain eating good carbs like strawberries and carrots. I bought a scale to weigh my meat... I did not realize how much meat I was consuming at a sitting. Also, the nutritionist asked that I not watch TV while a eat... now that is some will power right there, but it helps. I have also cut out bread, and all chips. I have replaced most beef options with either grilled chicken, or ground turkey meat (love ground turkey meat for everything you would use ground beef for).

I Realized I had been feeding "head hunger" all this time... When you are hungry, truly hungry, you should not get angry and jittery etc. Head hunger is a direct result of food addiction, and the feeling of food addiction is the same thing as "jonesing" for a cigarette. Those of you who smoke, or have quit smoking know exactly what I mean by jonesing...True hunger is felt in the stomach. Once I recognized head hunger for what it is, I stopped feeding it. Just like quiting cigarettes, the urges of head hunger eventually subside and go away. If I feel the beast coming on, I just drink another bottle of water.

Speaking of water, I quit drinking any and all sodas, replacing everything with room temp bottled water. Other than water, I have my black coffee, and that is it.

I walk a little over a mile in the morning 5-days a week with the guys at work, and my wife and I walk a mile in the evening, unless we go to WallyWorld, or it is raining. This past Saturday I started exercising first thing in the morning (best time for me). I have to get up at 3AM to do it, as I have to be at work by 5AM... a tough schedule to maintain to say the least.

Learning as I go... like I said when I started this thread years ago; I do not want to mutilate myself to get healthy. Gastric sleeve surgery will be my final option.
 
Last edited:
Great update Dragon. Glad to hear things are working out. Keep us posted.
 
Thanks for posting. Your efforts encourage all of us, even those of us who have a shorter distance to go, or maybe that's *especially* us.
 
Good job on the weight loss. You can lower your insulin without the drugs. You just need to learn how the body works with insulin and sugar/carbs. Dr. Jason Fung just released a new book and it is incredible. I have listened to his other books during my commute but this one is even better. I think every single person owes it to themselves to read this book. This information was life changing for me. I refined my eating habits easily. And the results were immediate. I lost weight and have so much more energy. When I eat certain foods I feel like crap so I don't eat those foods. I can hear my body talking to me now and telling me what it wants and doesn't want. Please get this book and read it or listen to the audiobook before you have surgery. https://www.amazon.com/dp/1771642653/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20. Or if you promise to read it and report back here for discussion I will send the book to you.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Weight loss is not easy. I walk 3-4 miles 3-5 days a week to remain ready to stay in the Army.

Good luck.
 
This has been tough, I kid you not, but just today I had a scale victory, in that I have said good-bye to the 300's forever; I weighed in today at 299! Everyday I am feeling better and better. I eat what I like, albeit healthier and in much much fewer quantities, and even then find myself pushing away from the table once I feel satisfied.

As for my insulin issues, yes, I would promise to read the book. Just this week my office partner, a pastor of a small church here in Huntsville, laid a book on my desk; although I am not very religious, the book is a page turner, and kind of speaks to me spiritually. It is called "Made to Crave" and is written by Lyra TerKeurst. I am also reading a book by Dr Mathew Weiner called "A Pound of Cure" that my wife got for me. He is a bariatric surgeon, but he also offers alternatives to surgery. He has a very good video series on YouTube. I am learning all I can so that I never let myself become the 'big' man I used to be.
 
If you want to read a lifestyle, diet changing, eye-opening book then pick up "How Not To Die" by Michael Greger, M.D. The book is primarily about nutrition however he goes over the big reasons why to eat certain foods not just what and how to eat them.

I am also a diabetic, albeit a type 1, whcih is a very different disease than type 2 and the subject of this book is very applicable to diabetes, specifically type 2. It's about a 25-30 hour read but well worth your time.

He is also the owner of https://nutritionfacts.org/, which is a very informative site.
 
This has been tough, I kid you not, but just today I had a scale victory, in that I have said good-bye to the 300's forever; I weighed in today at 299! Everyday I am feeling better and better. I eat what I like, albeit healthier and in much much fewer quantities, and even then find myself pushing away from the table once I feel satisfied.

As for my insulin issues, yes, I would promise to read the book. Just this week my office partner, a pastor of a small church here in Huntsville, laid a book on my desk; although I am not very religious, the book is a page turner, and kind of speaks to me spiritually. It is called "Made to Crave" and is written by Lyra TerKeurst. I am also reading a book by Dr Mathew Weiner called "A Pound of Cure" that my wife got for me. He is a bariatric surgeon, but he also offers alternatives to surgery. He has a very good video series on YouTube. I am learning all I can so that I never let myself become the 'big' man I used to be.

PM me your address and I will send it.
 
I lost 40 pounds easily this way -> low carb diet. I could lose more if I chose to, but I've stabilized where I want to be and can cheat while still maintaining where I want to be.

There are many studies like the one below. The 8-week limit was for the sake of experimentation only. You stay on the diet until you lose what you want. OR, you can take longer to lose the weight and go on a LOW rather than VERY LOW diet. That's what I did. A VERY low carb diet is difficult to achieve and can have negative side effects.

Beneficial Effects of an 8-Week, Very Low Carbohydrate Diet (VLCD) Intervention on Obese Subjects

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3612489/

Carbs are CHEAP, so convenience and junk foods are LOADED with them to bulk up the net weight. Check the labels of such foods at the supermarket and you'll see what I mean.

FATS are much more expensive than carbs, so fats are easy to reduce since they'll make MORE profit on such foods and yet the jerks charge more, don't they, because they're a "diet" food. BS. FATS are NOT the problem, CARBS are. See, the video below about where the BS "low fat" thing got started.

The glycemic index is a measure of the rate a particular food is converted to blood glucose causing an insulin spike which one wants to avoid. Low glycemic index foods:

https://www.glycemicindex.com/

The following has been further confirmed since 2011. Ironic, isn't it, that the "diet" foods which contain artificial sweeteners can change the gut bacteria and then cause obesity?! Haven't heard much about this, have you?

Artificial Sweeteners May Change Our Gut Bacteria in Dangerous Ways
Substances such as saccharin may alter the type of bacteria inside us, could lead to obesity
April 1, 2015 (NO, it's not an April fools article)

https://www.scientificamerican.com/...ay-change-our-gut-bacteria-in-dangerous-ways/

I just noticed that a "diet" yogurt that I used to eat until I discovered the artificial sweetener thing has changed. NOW look:

vanilla-fruit.png


On the "low fat diet" myth and how it got started:

[video=youtube;oLtQLDptI1g]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLtQLDptI1g[/video]
 
I lost 40 pounds easily this way -> low carb diet. I could lose more if I chose to, but I've stabilized where I want to be and can cheat while still maintaining where I want to be.

There are many studies like the one below. The 8-week limit was for the sake of experimentation only. You stay on the diet until you lose what you want. OR, you can take longer to lose the weight and go on a LOW rather than VERY LOW diet. That's what I did. A VERY low carb diet is difficult to achieve and can have negative side effects.

Beneficial Effects of an 8-Week, Very Low Carbohydrate Diet (VLCD) Intervention on Obese Subjects

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3612489/

Carbs are CHEAP, so convenience and junk foods are LOADED with them to bulk up the net weight. Check the labels of such foods at the supermarket and you'll see what I mean.

FATS are much more expensive than carbs, so fats are easy to reduce since they'll make MORE profit on such foods and yet the jerks charge more, don't they, because they're a "diet" food. BS. FATS are NOT the problem, CARBS are. See, the video below about where the BS "low fat" thing got started.

The glycemic index is a measure of the rate a particular food is converted to blood glucose causing an insulin spike which one wants to avoid. Low glycemic index foods:

https://www.glycemicindex.com/

The following has been further confirmed since 2011. Ironic, isn't it, that the "diet" foods which contain artificial sweeteners can change the gut bacteria and then cause obesity?! Haven't heard much about this, have you?

Artificial Sweeteners May Change Our Gut Bacteria in Dangerous Ways
Substances such as saccharin may alter the type of bacteria inside us, could lead to obesity
April 1, 2015 (NO, it's not an April fools article)

https://www.scientificamerican.com/...ay-change-our-gut-bacteria-in-dangerous-ways/

I just noticed that a "diet" yogurt that I used to eat until I discovered the artificial sweetener thing has changed. NOW look:

vanilla-fruit.png


On the "low fat diet" myth and how it got started:

[video=youtube;oLtQLDptI1g]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLtQLDptI1g[/video]

Thank you Winston, with your post, and the book sent to me by Big_Red_Daddy, I have also rid myself of artificial sweeteners. The change in my weight loss has been fantastic! I did another cleansing of my cabinet and pantry to rid my stores of canned and boxed items that contain sugars in any shape or form. The hardest change to get used to is drinking black coffee. Although I never ordered a coffee with all the "fru-fru" junk like whipped cream, sprinkles and caramel drizzle, I was an avid cream and sugar user... albeit the sugars I used to use came in the nifty little pink packet. Thank you guys, your advice and literature has been extremely helpful!

I am now down 36.4lbs, with 38.6lbs to go before September 4th in order to meet my wife's weight loss challenge... and to ensure that my insurance company will deny my surgery!
 
Great news!

I've also started to cut sugars out of my diet too! (Surprisingly, it's one of the easiest things to do!)
 
I am now down 36.4lbs, with 38.6lbs to go before September 4th in order to meet my wife's weight loss challenge... and to ensure that my insurance company will deny my surgery!

Fantastic. I knew you could do it. Even if this is painful, it's less painful than surgery. I have to remind my self of this also. Keep up the good work.
 
Thank you Winston, with your post, and the book sent to me by Big_Red_Daddy, I have also rid myself of artificial sweeteners. The change in my weight loss has been fantastic! I did another cleansing of my cabinet and pantry to rid my stores of canned and boxed items that contain sugars in any shape or form. The hardest change to get used to is drinking black coffee. Although I never ordered a coffee with all the "fru-fru" junk like whipped cream, sprinkles and caramel drizzle, I was an avid cream and sugar user... albeit the sugars I used to use came in the nifty little pink packet. Thank you guys, your advice and literature has been extremely helpful!

I am now down 36.4lbs, with 38.6lbs to go before September 4th in order to meet my wife's weight loss challenge... and to ensure that my insurance company will deny my surgery!
Very glad to hear of your success!

Just in case I didn't emphasize it enough, that food glycemic index link (there are others, just Google) is a valuable asset. The fundamental problem with sugars is indicated by their high glycemic index, the glycemic index being the rate at which they show up as blood glucose, with sugars having an even higher index than the nearly as bad processed grain carbs.

THUS, generally avoiding foods with a high glycemic index is the way to go. The glycemic index is only a RELATIVE measurement since it's very hard to measure exactly due to the differences in all sorts of factors which affect an individual's rate of blood glucose level increase after eating a particular food, but we only NEED a relative measurement - avoid foods with a high glycemic index because that indicates they have a "sugar like" characteristic. That explains the success rate with low carb diets - carbs have a high glycemic index.
 
My sister and I meet weekly (she has lost 100lbs) and she told me early on that once she quit any and all sugars, it was like a fog lifted off of her brain; all cravings went away, and she felt happier than she had in a long time. Now I can say the same thing; no cravings of any kind, and the veil has lifted for me too... More milestones to go, once I meet my wife's challenge, I will set new weight loss goals that will carry me on to my goal weight of 195. First thing is first though, avoid if at all possible.
 
I have been follow this thread for quite a while and I just went through and read through it again. 4 years ago you were making some good progress and life happened. When you recently reported back, I was a bit saddened to hear that things had not been going well but I applaud you for jumping back on that horse and not giving up.

It would have been very easy to just give up and decide that you can't do it. I don't think that it is in you to do that though, deep down in your soul, you are a fighter. You have lost half of the weight to meet your objective already and you have 4 months to lose the other half, that is very obtainable.

After 25 years in the military, I have seen many people, myself included, needing to lose weight. Every one of the suggestions offered in this thread has worked for someone that I have known. In my own experience, I cherry picked elements from several plans that passed my personal common sense test and I am now within just a few pounds of being at the same weight as when I enlisted. The key for me was to put together a plan that I could continue for the rest of my life. Granted, I didn't have the time constraint that you do but working out a lifelong diet and just adjusting portions may make life long maintenance much easier. What worked for me? Severely limiting sugars, cutting out wheat, high protein, increasing water intake and eating lots of fresh veggies. My preferred snacks these days are cashews, almonds and pecans.

Keep posting updates here good or bad. By making yourself accountable to more people, you are giving yourself one more tool to help get through the tough times. You are also an encouragement to others as they struggle with their own challenges in life. Keep up the good fight my friend, in any way I can, i've got your back.
 
Thank you for the support. My son, who weighed 225 at Christmas, put himself on a diet, and he is currently sitting at 167!!!! He is not starving or anything, he is only eating until he is satisfied, no more no less. Incidentally, he has offered to hang all of his size 40 pants in my closet, because he knows I will need them soon enough.
 
I have recommended a form of a ketogenic diet for several patient recently and they have seen good success without hunger. This type of diet is a treatment for certain pediatric seizures. It is pretty safe and very satiating.
 
I have recommended a form of a ketogenic diet for several patient recently and they have seen good success without hunger. This type of diet is a treatment for certain pediatric seizures. It is pretty safe and very satiating.
That's exactly what I started with because of my reading on its theory and praise of it from a financial and computer security blogger I read daily who has written much about it due to his great success with it, but because getting the body into ketogenic mode (ketosis) requires a huge reduction in carb intake requiring much vigilance and because of some negative side effects I had with extremely low carbs, I just went with a low carb diet rather than the extremely low carb ketogenic diet.
 
Something that really helped me to get fit, back in 2001, was buying an elliptical machine.. a good one that monitors heart rate and adjusts to maintain a certain rate.

I'd climb on the machine, plug in a DVD and not even realize I was working out.

That was back when we lived in Ohio. We've since moved to Colorado and we hike a lot now so that's been a blessing.

The nice thing about an elliptical machine is there is no impact loading on your joints, like walking or running. And in an air conditioned space there's no weather related excuses.
 
Back
Top