Weight Loss Surgery (WLS) is becoming more and more accepted as a treatment for morbid obesity. With the internet being what it is, there is no lack of information about WLS out there; good, bad, and everything in between. Just between the number of personal blogs and YouTube channels out there, one would almost wonder why there are any more fat people out there, there is that many WLS related sites out there.

The thing is, at least 80% of the WLS folks out there are women. For general informational type stuff, that’s fine, sometimes getting the chick perspective is even useful. But there are things guys go through that women will never get, (just as we kinda zone out when the talk of boob-jobs and periods come up… ok, maybe the boob thing gets our attention a lil bit).

So as helpful as some of those sites are, as much encouragement you get from the various forums, sometimes you just gotta hear it from another guy.

That’s what we’re going to try and do here.

Yea… you’ll get a lot of general info, from product reviews and suggestions to cooking tips and recipes, but here you’ll get a take on those things from a dudes perspective. Ladies, your input is welcome… but no freaking out on us, k?

And not just mine… I started this with the idea of bringing in other dudes. Cause even tho I am a “former fat dude” at this point, I’m just one dude. Everyone out there is going through similar, but different stuff. And not just post-op either, we’re looking to bring you info on going through the pre-approval process right on through surgery and then to living a post-op life.

So to that end, we’re always looking for contributors. You don’t have to be a writer, you just need to be a dude that’s looking at, or have had a form of WLS. If you are interested in writing someting for us, drop us a note at dudes-at-formerfatdudes-dot-com.

-rob

Contributors

McNee (Rob)

I had been over 300# for pretty much my entire adult life, and probably 250+ from high-school or before. I hit my max (that I know of) in mid-2008 of 377. I had always felt WLS was not an option. I knew it was a life-style changing event, and that I should be able to make those changes on my own.

In October of 2008 after seeing the success a friend had with lap-band and my own aunt had with RNY, I decided that even with some of the changes I had been making… I needed help.

I became a “pre-op” in November of 2008, and started jumping through the required hoops, which included going on a 1500 calorie a day meal plan as directed by my surgeon to lose 21 pounds before I could have surgery. I lost that 21 and then some by New Years, and started to have some doubts. But then I remembered how I had lost that same 30-some pounds time and again over the years, only to have them find me again and bring along friends.

I kept plugging along and by the time I had my RNY surgery on April 8, 2009 I was down 55 pounds from my heaviest recorded weight. It’s now November 2009 early 2010, over a year since I started down this road I’ve lost about another 125+ pounds. I’ve gone from size 48 jeans down to 32-33 and from wearing 4X shirts to larges, and I’m below the 200# mark for probably the first time since before high school.

WLS is a tool, one I’ve got no regrets in adding to my arsenal. And at times I wonder why I waited so long. This web-site is another tool. By writing about things here I think it helps keep me a bit more accountable… and if it helps someone else make the changes they need, so much the better.