I spent last weekend in Portland, OR at the NW WeightLoss Conference. This is the furthest West I’ve ever been in the good ol’ U-S of A, and unfortunately I didn’t see anything outside the airport and hotel. This time. If you want to hear about what I did the first couple days, check out my Recap Part 1, otherwise… onward!

Saturday morning I woke up just after 6. In a way I actually slept in a little bit. See, that was 6 Pacific time, which is 8 Central time.. which is when I’m usually heading out the door for the radio studio. But since I didn’t have to actually go anywhere, I hit the club house room for the continental breakfast… peanut butter toast and some fruit again… before coming back to my room to wait for my producer to call. It was a good show, Gizelle and I chatted about stomach health, how stress and anxiety can cause problems, a few natural ways to deal with minor issues and more. Feel free to check out the podcast!

After that I showered and got dressed, ready to face the day! The vendors were all set up, people were getting registered and greeting each other before the days events kicked in. I don’t know what the final head count was, but they were expecting about 100 attendees. I had missed the morning workout, a zumba class, because of the radio show thing, but I made it for the first speaker – Katie Jay. She gave a talk about “rose colored glasses”. I tried to take some notes, but was kind of too busy listening. I think a big part of her message overall was to “have faith in yourself” and about moving forward in life. She also made a point about there being “no buts”, and I forget the exact context but it made me jot down the following: “If you’re leading with your ‘but’, you’re going backwards.”

After that was Dr. Emma Patterson, a local bariatric surgeon. I ended up skipping this one and chatting with people in the vendor area. After that was a talk/cooking demonstration by Chef Dave. It was a chicken recipe that I’ll likely end up trying at some point.. slightly modified. It used a white wine sauce, and since I don’t do wine I’m not going to buy some just to cook with… so will use chicken stock instead or something. Unless I decide to try and make some of my own vinegar at some point… then I might buy some wine.

This was followed by lunch and mingling in the vendor areas. I hung out mostly with Connie and Cari. After lunch, Connie and I sat in on the short talk about nutritional eating by one of the vendors. Connie ducked out a little early cause her and Cari were up next. It’s a good thing I didn’t… cause I found out when the MC (Michelle Michaels, a local DJ) announced the upcoming talks that I was going to be speaking at 3 instead of 4. Ok, no pressure. So then I sat at Connie’s table and kept an eye on things while she and Cari did their “Post-op and a Doc” thing. I didn’t see it, but I could hear from the laughs and stuff coming from the room that the audience was having a good time.

Then when they came out, I decided to duck outside for a few minutes. It was a nice sunny day, mid-50s out. I hadn’t been outside really at all and I needed some fresh air, needed to take a few deep breaths. I don’t know if it was the hypnosis session I had a few weeks back with my friend Mary or what, but I was much calmer than I expected I would be. Now originally, the planners were sort of thinking my session was going to be “guys only”. But, that wasn’t how I had set in my mind, and well, it’s not like they were going to turn anyone away. But… because of the somewhat “limited” audience, I was the only one scheduled to go at the same time as another speaker. In this case the local plastic surgeon. So I was in the smaller of the two rooms, when I entered there were 20 chairs set up in a circle. We were running a couple minutes behind schedule, but by the time I started at about 3:05, we had to bring in about four or six more chairs for people. So that was kind of kewl.

I can’t say I wasn’t nervous, but I was much less so than I anticipated. I had the outline of my talk in a PDF document loaded up on my TouchPad, using that to reference instead of note cards or something. I also was running a VoiceRecorder app, hoping to record this whole thing to listen to again later… for self-critiquing mostly. Using it for notes was great…recording not so great. I dunno, got some weird interference or something. Makes it annoying (more so than just hearing me alone!) to listen to.

Overall, I think the talk went well… I encouraged folks to chime in with comments or questions and I think having the room set up as a circle helped foster that interaction. I didn’t have a projector so I had printed out the photos/slides I had set up and put them in a 3-ring binder as a sort of flip-book. Ken Coleman was nice enough to handle that for me, making sure everyone got a good view of the pics as I referenced them during my talk. I wandered around the room, outside the circle, trying not to spend too much time in any one spot.

Someone later asked me why I … I think why I didn’t just stand inside the circle. I replied with something about wanting to be moving around because to help alleviate the nervous energy I had. In retrospect, being inside the circle would have worked too, for the audience. But I think for me… I would have felt sort of claustrophobic. Maybe if it was a much larger circle I would have been better to go inside it. I did listen to the audio a bit, and I think I said “um” and “uh” much more than I do then when I’m on the radio and such, I hope it wasn’t too noticeable. And I suppose it’s one of those things I’ll get better at with time – assuming I keep doing stuff like this.

I think Katie Jay ended up giving another talk after I was done… but I missed it. I was still coming down off of the jitters of my own talk. And then the girls from Banded Living wrapped up the daytime stuff and everyone broke for dinner. After dinner it was Cari’s turn to do talk.. she talked about finding your own place in this parade of life. I thought it was a good talk and told Cari I might have to steal it. She said I could as long as I give her credit. Cari’s really got a good sense of humor and a quick wit. Cari also MC’d the fashion show portion of the evening. I got to play with Connie’s DSLR taking some shots of the participants for her. I think they turned out pretty good.

After dinner there was the Rae Gordon Band, good stuff… but I was soon feeling pretty wiped out, so I headed up to my room to relax a bit before crashing.

I was up early Sunday again, relatively speaking. About 10 of us showed up at 7am to get tortured by Ken Coleman. Seeing as we had nothing but ourselves and a chair to use, he put us through a pretty good workout. Squats, push ups, dips, leg lifts, crunches and more. One of those workouts you feel it a little bit when you’re done… but you feel it much more the next day. My abdomen is still recovering I think.

Then it was upstairs to shower and change, there were a couple more speakers yet this morning… Larry Van Tuyl gave a short talk about how WLS is a team effort, basically talking about things from the perspective of a spouse of someone who has had weight loss surgery. With the help of a couple of guys who’s wives are post-ops they gave a very good talk. Then we did a panel discussion with Katie Jay, myself, Cari, Ken and Laura answering all sorts of questions from the audience, followed by talk by Ken on getting rid of bad habits, setting goals, etc. and finally Kate Jay was up once again (boy she was busy this weekend!) to talk about Emotional Desserts and where to go from here. She had some very touching interaction with some folks from the audience and did a great exercise where she had everyone get up and “thank” the others around them without using words. Lots of hugs, hand shaking and smiles were being handed out.

And then just like that, it was over… sort of.

There was a lunch given for the volunteers and speakers right after Katie Jay was done. A sort of debriefing to start the discussions on what worked, what didn’t, what might be changed for next year sort of thing. It was in the middle of this I had to say goodbye and catch my shuttle ride back to the airport for my flight home.

Overall, it was a whirlwind of a weekend. Part of me thought my 50-minute talk was going to take forever, but it was over all too soon. I survived it, and received a lot of praise, encouragement and positive feedback. I can’t say this is something I can mark off my “bucket list”, because it’s not something I had ever really considered doing before Laura called me up to ask me about this.. (or did she email me? I don’t remember). But I’m glad I did it. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about some stuff lately, partly as I prepared for this, but also because of some other things I have going on. It’s some stuff I’ll be writing more about, and soon. But the bottom line is, it was a new challenge, one I faced and made it past.

There’s still things things I need to work on of course. Like there were plenty of times this weekend where the shyness crept in, keeping me from maybe going up and saying hi to some folks, introducing myself, etc… but I know I did better than I would have even just a year ago. It’s an ongoing thing, working through all these issues. I did get a few comments from folks about how my talk helped them see something new… but I hope these folks realize, that for every one of them that I may have helped… I also got something in return. For every little thing others said they got out of hearing me talk, I want them to know I picked up so much more for having been there this weekend, around all these folks. Having been a part of this conference was an honor for me, it really was.

There were a lot of folks that were very supportive as I tackled this over the last few weeks, I hope you all know who you are. You all helped me out a lot in your own ways. I want to be sure to thank Connie… she’s been very encouraging ever since I met her in Vegas, and was doubly so this weekend. And of course Cari, for her continued support… and Katie Jay, who even though we just met this weekend was also supportive and encouraging all weekend. And Ken, even though he’s not a post-op, he does get the whole thing about making changes for life, and he was quick to jump in to lend a helping hand. If you live in the Portland area, it really would be worth your time to check him out for his training services. Plus the dude plays paintball… an’t go wrong there.

I also need to thank Larry and Laura Van Tuyl for organizing this event… and all the volunteers that worked with them to pull this event off. This was a great weekend, and I am looking forward to the possibility of returning again next year… and you should think about it too.

I always intend on doing some sort of blogging when I’m away for an event or something, but so far I’ve never really pulled it off… so instead I have to rely on my (sometimes faulty) memory and do a recap after the fact instead. Like I’m doing here now…

This was the second annual NW WeightLoss Conference held in Portland, OR and organized by Laura and Larry Van Tuyl, with the message of “Encourage, Eqiup, Empower”. And while I didn’t get to spend a huge amount of time with Larry and Laura, I gotta say they are incredible people that really do embody the message they are putting forward.

Chef Dave Fouts, Connie Stapleton, Cari De La Cruz, Myself

So yea… for those who don’t know, I was invited by Laura to come speak at the conference as they wanted to have a session that gave a guy’s perspective on things. Apparently it was something that came up frequently in the feedback from last year… or at least frequently enough they wanted to specifically get someone like myself there. While I’ve never really done anything like this… they offered to fly me out, put me up, and feed me… so how could I say no?

I arrived Thursday evening, unfortunately a bit too late to join them and the volunteers at their home for a dinner cooked by Chef Dave Fouts (who should be familiar to anyone who’d been to an OH event). So instead, I got settled in to my room at the Sheraton Airport Hotel. This is a really nice place… lots of amenities, very clean, lots of friendly staff. A very good choice for hosting an event like this. I had planned on meeting up with Dr. Connie Stapleton (who I first met at the WLSFA event earlier this year in Vegas) for dinner, but she texted she was later than expected and may not make it for dinner. I was getting hungry.. it was only 6ish Pacific time, but I was on Central time so I hit the dining room myself. I was very tempted to get the ribeye that was on special… when I do steak, ribeye is my favorite. And while there was a fridge in my room… I knew I likely wouldn’t finish the entire meal and didn’t want to stick my hosts with the $30+ cost for a single meal like that. So I got the angus burger (only ate some of the bun) with veggies.

Of course, by the time I was finishing dinner, I heard from Connie again that she was going to be meeting Katie Jay for dinner and did I want to join them. So I ended up hanging out in the lobby while she checked in and then met her and Katie Jay back in the dining room. I had “known of” Katie Jay from her website, the National Association for Weight Loss Surgery, but didn’t really know much about her. Connie and Katie Jay did a bit of catching up and we all chatted a bit about the weekend, and they both let me know they were looking forward to hearing my talk. Ok, no pressure there. These two are seasoned veterans when it comes to this conference speaking thing.

After dinner we all retired to our respective rooms, Connie still had a lot of work to do to prep for the seminar she was doing the next afternoon. I was just plain wiped out. I’d only gotten about three hours of sleep the night before, and while I figured I would get some sleep on the plane I never did. So I headed up to my room… but not before stopping by the “club house” the hotel has. It’s a suite that instead of a living room/bedroom setup has a living room and dining room. They offer free appetizers in the evening and continental breakfast in the mornings. I just kind of poked my head in to see what the set up was like, and almost wish I’d done so earlier. They had some mini egg rolls and what looked like maybe some mini empanadas or something similar as well as fruit and cheese trays and such. Oh well. I ended up back in my room to watch a bit of TV before drifting off to sleep in what was a very comfortable king size bed.

Friday morning, I think I woke around 7 and decided I would hit the fitness center, but not before checking out the continental breakfast. They had the usual pastries and bagels, lots of fruit, cereals, yogurt, some hard boiled eggs, juices, etc. I went with some peanut butter toast and grabbed a yogurt and a V8 to have later. After doing about 40 min on the elliptical machine I hit the pool, because I could. Then a few minutes in the hot tub before heading back up to shower and such.

Rather than just sit around my room until Connie’s workshop started at noon, I decided to go hang out in the lobby and catch up on some email and reading and such on my TouchPad… I had just cracked open the yogurt I grabbed earlier when Laura found me and had me join her, Larry and some of the event volunteers for a late breakfast. So I abandoned the yogurt and had some eggs and bacon. They were very accommodating in the restaurant- all their breakfasts had eggs, meat, hashbrowns and toast. I just wanted two eggs and some bacon, and they had no problem doing that up for me.

I killed a bit of time after breakfast before the “Breaking the Chains of Obesity” seminar given by Connie started, and ran in to (and sat with) Katie Jay again… who gave me a copy of her book Weight Loss Surgery: Stages of Transformation. Which I haven’t cracked open yet though, I actually still have to finish Connie’s book… but I’m workin on it! Anyways, this was a four hour workshop, which based on what i have read, is very much in line with Connie’s book, Eat It Up!. It touched on the concept of how we’re all born as a full glass and through things that have been done to us or we do to our selves, our glass is spilled (or in some cases dumped out) and how we often turn to food or other addictive type behaviors as a way to try and fill them back up. It was good stuff, very emotional stuff for many of the participants.

After that we had a dinner break… had dinner with Connie, Katie Jay, Cari De La Cruz (who had gotten in late the previous night), and Chef Dave. Cari and I split a great Greek Salad with chicken added… and it was still too much. Soon after dinner the main event was kicked off, and one of the opening night speakers was Ken Coleman. Ken was on season 3 of The Biggest Loser, and while he didn’t have WLS, he has committed himself to not only to a healthy life, but also in helping others achieve their goals as well. He’s now a personal trainer and has really been able to change his life around.

The evening ended with us breaking down for some “Table Talks”, which were just some informal and open discussions based on certain topic. I was asked to host the “dude’s talk” table. Nearly all the guys (about 8?) in attendance, including Ken, came to join me… as well as the MC of the event – Michelle. While she isn’t a dude, she is married and has some concerns over her husband’s weight and wanted to get the guy’s perspective on how she can help him out. Our bottom line was… until he’s ready, there’s not much she can do. The whole “you can lead a horse to water..” kind of thing. We all have our ‘ah-ha’ moment that leads to us really taking that step towards a healthier life, but until he has his, nothing she can do or say will rush it along.

After that, it was upstairs to relax and get some sleep… I had a radio show the next morning to get ready for… and I was two hours earlier than normal!

I’ll pick up with Part 2 later…

Diet products are a “dime a dozen”. Well, actually… they’re usually MUCH more expensive than that. They’re a mega-million dollar business category and some of those companies go to GREAT lengths to protect those business interests – often at what seems to be at the expense of the little things… like truth, safety, etc.

One of the latest products to take the web by storm is a product from Roca Labs that is touting itself as “Gastric Bypass NO Surgery”

This medical innovation is an easy-to-use formula that you can mix with any drink. Take it in the morning and it creates an immediate gastric bypass effect: only 20% of your stomach volume will be available for food/calorie intake, forcing you to eat 50% less and lose weight from day one!

The patented β-Glucan® ingredient regulates your blood sugar levels and eliminates the body’s need for sweets and snacks.

Now, first off… if these claims are true, it would be more accurate to say this “creates an immediate gastric band or vertical sleeve gastrectomy (VSG) effect”. See, the band and VSG are restrictive only procedures… as a tool they help you lose weight by helping you control portion size, they limit the amount of food you can eat at any given time.

Gastric Bypass (RNY), does this as well, but it also has a mal-absorption component…. something this product can not mimic. So right off the bat I think they’re being a bit misleading. They likely went this route because in the US, the bypass is much more well known than the other two surgeries… so I suppose they have to play off that recognition, right?

There is no shortage of videos and other testimonials out there that talk up the benefits of their product… I’m not here to give you a review of it, cause with my own altered anatomy, it’s probably not something I should be taking. My own “stomach” (or rather a pouch) is way too small as it is for me to be ingesting a product that would further reduce it’s function, even if it is GRAS (Generally Regarded As Safe).

According to their own website, the product is a “Natural Formula is based on healthy fibers: β-Glucan®, Xanthan Gum, and Guar Gum.” Let’s take a quick look at each of these ingredients… shall we?

Beta Glucans

Basically, WebMD says “Beta glucans are sugars that are found in the cell walls of bacteria, fungi, yeasts, algae, lichens, and plants, such as oats and barley. They are sometimes used as medicine.” They go on to say beta glucans can be used topically for treatment of various skin ailments, as a subcutaneous (under the skin) injection as part of some cancer treatments, as muscular injections to boost immune functions and via IV to help prevent infections. When taken orally, it can help block cholesterol absorption from food in the stomach and intestines. And while there are some seemingly minor possible side effects when taken by injection, there don’t seem to be any known side effects when taken orally, and not enough know about when it’s applied topically.

Interestingly enough, it’s also used as a food additive in things like salad dressings, frozen desserts, sour cream, and cheese spreads… which leads me to believe it some how plays a small part in the “thickening” aspects of the product.. and that possibly they’re trying to use it’s possible cholesterol blocking trait as part of their gastric bypass effect claim? Though it seems to work in the same way oatmeal or other fibers do when it comes to blocking cholesterol absorption.

The most common source of this stuff seems to be bakers yeast. So yea, this stuff is 100% natural, and as far as the FDA is concerned it’s GRAS and doesn’t need any sort of pre-market approval – and while they generally don’t have any quantity restrictions, the WebMD site doesn’t recommend taking more than 15g a day orally and to avoid if pregnant or breast-feeding. The Roca Labs website has a standard disclaimer about consulting a physician before using if you’re pregnant or breast feeding.

Xanthan Gum

According to WikiPedia, “One of the most remarkable properties of xanthan gum is its ability to produce a large increase in the viscosity of a liquid by adding a very small quantity of gum, on the order of one percent.” It also is a stabilizer, keeping things like salad dressings from separating.

Also from WikiPedia: “It is also a preferred method of thickening liquids for those with swallowing disorders, since it does not change the color or flavor of foods or beverages.” So yea, this seems to be a thickening agent at play here.

Xanthan Gum can come from a variety of sources such as corn, soy, dairy, or wheat – they seem to list barley as one of their sources… so folks with food allergies could run into some possible issues there.

Gaur Gum

Checking WikiPedia again, gaur gum is an extract of the gaur bean. Along with the Xanthan Gum, Gaur Gum is supposed to help produce a “pleasant texture”. I haven’t actually tried the product, so I can’t comment on their success here in that regard.  Like Xanthan, it’s too is a thickener, but gaur gum is also an emulsifier… so it probably plays a part in keeping all the ingredients playing well together.

Other Stuff

The rest of the ingredients they list include Natural Flavors, Maltodextrin, Vitamins C, B6 and B12. Not much to say here except that the Maltodextrin is likely in there as a sweetener.

A few things that may be a bit mis-leading if you don’t take a moment to really look at them…

“β-Glucan®: an FDA-approved ingredient” – when the FDA labels something as GRAS, it is NOT the same as being FDA Approved. It basically means that there’s no evidence that the FDA needs to do any sort of approval process on it.

“it has been proven to reduce the risk of heart disease, lower cholesterol levels, and strengthen the immune system” – While the reading I did supports the claims of the possibility of beta glucans lowering cholesterol, which can reduce the risk of heart disease, I think the immune system claim is a bit mis-leading. It seems to get that benefit from the beta glucan, you need to take it by IV or other injection, not by mouth. Unless they’re saying by losing weight and all that you gain some benefits.

I couldn’t find any sort of “nutritional information”, so I’m not sure what percentages the various ingredients are in… but they all are pretty much carbohydrates… except for the added micronutrients… couldn’t find anything that said anything about how many calories or anything the actual product has.

I dunno… I get the concept of how it’s supposed to work… and can even see in theory how it would help… but I fail to see how this will give you any sort of long term results.

So many people look at bariatric surgery as it’s the “easy way out”. It’s not… yes, in the case of RNY, VSG and the DS surgeries, you can and likely will lose a lot of weight rather quickly. And I suppose I could see doing so with a product like this as well.

BUT

If you don’t put in the effort of learning how to eat better, learning how to take some control over your portions, learning how to deal with head hunger and the potential emotional reasons behind your over-eating in the first place… you will likely gain back the weight. And a product like this does absolutely nothing to address any of those aspects… well, except for a passing note at the bottom of one of their FAQ items - “Since you are now eating so much less, it is recommended that the food you do eat be nutritious, low-calorie and supplemented with vitamins. Exercise is not necessary, but will greatly accelerate your weight loss.” and some language in their terms that says “The Diet will assist so long as the diet process depends upon appetite and not invalid psychological reasons (such as depression, boredom, sadness, etc)”

So yea… would I personally recommend trying something like this? No. Especially if you’ve already had some sort of surgically restrictive procedure and are thinking this will help you lose those last few pounds or something. If you do your own due diligence and still want to give it a shot… check with your doctor… look hard for some of the non-corporate produced material out there on this (or any “diet”) before putting down your money on it.

Living in your comfort zone can be either a good or a bad thing. If you have been working hard to transform your life and reach a level of change, it’s good to stay in a well earned comfort zone. Change is mentally and physically challenging. When you achieve that change, your body deserves a time to recharge and reap the benefits. The bad side of a comfort zone is when we move in and stay too long. A little too much comfort breeds complacency that can unravel that hard-worked-for transformation.

One can choose to go back toward safety or forward toward growth. Growth must be chosen again and again; fear must be overcome again and again. – Abraham Maslow, founder of humanistic psychology

It’s good to remind ourselves of what athletes refer to as “being in the zone”. It’s that place where an athlete wants to be. They are performing at their peak with everything going perfectly and without much thought. These experienced athletes know that to stay in that zone they need both challenge and nourish their bodies. That balance between testing their limits and being happy performing at their current levels is what makes them grow and expand beyond their current boundaries.

The athlete’s well thought-out balance translates well to a bariatric patient’s weight loss journey. It is where emotional health and physical health come together to assure continued success in a sustainable weight management program. There is no standard template on how to live in the zone. It varies by the individual. It starts with knowing ourselves. We need to understand when a comfort zone helps us reach our full potential and when it hinders our march forward. Here are a few helpful hints to help you define your comfort zone and how to live your post-op bariatric life in and out of the zone.

1. Discover the real you. — I spent considerable time developing my personal wellness vision that identified what success and happiness means to me.
2. Know your habits, both bad and good. – Habits are very hard to break. Your long term success will be greatly improved the more you understand your habits and how they impact your life.
3. You are #1. – This is difficult for most of us. Our work life, home life, and relationships put this to a test. Recognizing that YOU are the most important part of these is a must do.
4. Baby steps are good. — Remember the ancient Chinese proverb: A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.
5. Be adventurous. – Test the boundaries of your comfort zone often. Testing is how you expand the limits and grow beyond the limits.
6. Enjoy life on the beach. – Above all, enjoy your time in the zone and reap those benefits, baby!

Tom @ Beariatric.com

I wasn’t always “obese”, I don’t think I was even always overweight. I think I was a pretty average baby, and I was a fairly active kid. From second grade through sixth, it was baseball in the spring, soccer in the summer, football in the fall and basketball in the winter. I wasn’t a star athlete, but I did ok. I remember in fifth grade I led our baseball team in home-runs. Yet while I was active, I was never really “fit”. Every year I remember dreading those Presidential Fitness challenges. I couldn’t do a pull-up to save my life, and I was getting teased about it. And this was by some of my “best friends”.

My first memories of “dieting” are from around sixth grade. I remember going to Weight Watchers with my mom. I don’t know how long it lasted, or actually even how/why I started going. I suppose I should ask her one of these days.

I remember in 8th grade gym, we were supplied uniforms. I was given the largest shirt they had, and it was tight on me. And it wasn’t because I was one of the tallest kids in class, having hit my growth spurt by then, and was nearing my final adult height of just over 5ft10 already. It was a new school, and the teasing seemed to follow. This was when the nickname “Porky Portinga” started.

I tried Weight Watchers again in 11th grade. By this time, most of my classmates had caught up to me in height, and while some were matching my 200+ pounds of weight, those were the jocks that spent all their spare time in the weight room. I had tried football again in 10th grade, I made it through the season, but that was it as far as sports went.

If I had to guess, I would say I was around 220 by the time I graduated high school.

Over the course of the next 10-15 years, my weight slowly crept upwards. Some might say I am blessed in the sense that I have never looked as heavy as I was. I think I’ve always had a fairly decent amount of muscle mass (everywhere except my arms!), so that dense muscle made my body size a bit deceiving. So even as I peaked 300 pounds, the few folks that actually new that never believed it when I told them.

Sure, I would try a few different diets here and there trying to stem off the increasing weight. I would lose 30, 40, even 50 pounds no problem. But then I would hit stalls, get frustrated, and lapse back in to my old habits. Those pounds would find their way back and bring buddies with them.

During this time, I spent a lot of time in denial. Sure, I had been on and off medication for my blood pressure since my early 20s. Sure I went through periods where I was popping Rolaids a few times a day to keep the heartburn under control. And sure, I was increasingly popping pills to help deal with knee pain, but It didn’t matter. I loved eating, and eating in large quantities. A large pizza and a 2-liter bottle of pop from the local delivery spot was often a dinner for one as far as I was concerned.

Despite all that stuff, I still considered myself pretty active. I could easily walk or go hiking for miles, roll around on the floor with my niece and nephew, and when it came to paintball my motto was “I ain’t built for speed-ball”, but I loved being out in the woods playing. But a few years ago, something happened. I turned 40.

Ok, it wasn’t the age itself that got to me. But I started to realize I wasn’t doing those things I loved anymore. I couldn’t walk far without lower back pain. I dreaded getting on the floor to play because of the struggles involved in getting back up. And when it came to paintball, I wasn’t playing. Getting out to the field, let alone making my way around it was… exhausting.

I had never considered weight loss surgery before. In fact, I always felt that if I really wanted to lose the weight, I should be able to do so without doing something so “drastic”. But the reality was, I couldn’t do it on my own. I needed help. By this time I had come to know some people who did have bariatric surgery and it had helped them, including my aunt.

So after a few weeks of doing some pretty intensive research online, I decided that this may be the help I needed. I talked with my doctor, and he was glad to hear I wanted to make some changes and had a positive outlook on surgery as a weight loss option. Turns out his nurse has had the surgery herself. He gave me a referral to Unity Hospital, which he felt was one of the best in the area, and I had my first appointment with their office the following week. My weight at this first appointment was 377.

This was early November of 2008, and as I started getting everything in order between their office and my doctor and the insurance company, I started making a few changes on my own. I stopped drinking soda… and that one change in my diet helped me lose about 5 pounds that month. The Tuesday before Thanksgiving I met with a dietitian, and she put me on a 1500 calorie a day meal plan. As part of my requirements to have the surgery, I would have to lose 10% of my excess body weight before surgery, in my case 21 pounds.

I was emboldened and motivated by what I was learning that this procedure would help me do. The idea that I might get back to under 250 (based on statistics of losing about 2/3 of excess body weight, I figured I would end up around 230-240) was thrilling. By the time Christmas came about, I had lost nearly 30 pounds.

I won’t deny, by the middle of January 2009, I was having second thoughts. I had lost about 40 pounds, feeling better than I had in years. But then I looked back at how often I had done this in the past, only to have it come back in spades.

Sure, by this time I was really was making some significant changes in not just how much I was eating, but in how I was eating. But then I realized something. While I can’t say I was “always hungry”, I don’t believe there was a time in the last couple of months that I had actually felt full. I was being diligent about my portion sizes, keeping under my 1500 calorie a day allotment. So yea, of course I was losing. But I knew sooner or later, that hunger was going to get the better of me. And eating better doesn’t cut it alone if you just keep eating too much.

In the next few weeks, I relaxed a bit. I was probably eating closer to 2000 calories a day, and there were days here and there I could say that yea, I felt full. But not every day. The weight still trickled off. And overall, my habits were continuing to change, I went through my psychological reviews, continued to meet with my doctor, and finally I was approved for surgery. I had laproscopic roux-en-y (also known as gastric bypass or RNY) surgery on April 8, 2009 and when I weighed in that morning I was down to 323, the lowest I had been in close to 10 years.

You can’t help but lose weight after having weight loss surgery. Initially it pretty much does all the work. I think the drastic weight loss people see in folks that have had a surgery like RNY cause them to feel it is the “easy way out”, and that it doesn’t address the reasons why a person became so obese in the first place.

None of it’s true.

Yes, RNY helped me lose the weight. But I’ve discovered that is is only through maintaining a healthy lifestyle will I be able to maintain that loss. I need to eat right, get exercise, and just plain take care of myself better. That includes mentally as well as physically. I still attend support group sessions with the psychologist I first saw to help as I continue to battle with the mental and emotional reasons behind my former obesity.

Now, nearly two years later I’ve been maintaining about 180 pound loss for over a year. The acid reflux was gone before I even had surgery. I haven’t had any medication for my blood pressure since the day of surgery, and it’s at a better level than it ever was when I was on them.

Does this mean I think surgery is the only option? No. I do know that statistically speaking, it really does give you a huge edge in maintaining long term weight loss. But no, I don’t believe it’s the only way. But that’s why it’s important to work with professionals to help explore your options. That’s why it’s important to learn how to eat better. That’s why it’s important to get exercise.

See, when I went to that first meeting back in November of 2008, I was so ready for this. I went in there hoping I would be under the knife in a matter of weeks. For a variety of reasons, those weeks turned in to months, and now I’m glad they did.

I played more paintball in the summer after my surgery than I did in the couple years prior to it. My niece and nephew are only becoming more and more active as they grow up, but not only am I keeping up.. there are times where I’ve worn them out. Walking is no longer a problem, and I’ve taken up an activity I haven’t enjoyed since high school, biking. I put over 700 miles on my bike this last year, and if I had my way it would have been triple that. But I had to work once in awhile.

In looking back can I honestly say, knowing what I know now, that I couldn’t have made it this far without surgery? No. I can’t. But those early months were critical for me in building the foundation I now have. A foundation I’ve continued to build upon.

And now, it’s even leading me down a path to a new career. One where I can continue to learn more and more about eating better and nutrition, not just for myself, but in the hopes that I can share it with others. That I can help others build that foundation of their own. That I can help them down their own paths towards a lifestyle that is positively healthy.

Originally published January 27, 2009

Just a rambling update… go ahead and skip it if you don’t care.

Since my last update about two weeks ago I’ve gotten down to 336, bout 10-11 pounds down in the last two weeks. It’s been nine weeks and I’ve knocked off bout 33 pounds. Had a bit of a flat spot there… along with some general ups and downs. But hey.. I’m almost down to where my license says I weigh.

Going to the gym is not a habit at all yet. The eating better is… getting better… but I’ve lapsed quite a bit in the last week. The fact I haven’t had a major gain back is kind of bugging me though. Dinner at Friday’s last week, lunch at Zantigo’s twice in the last week. Burger and Fries at Applebee’s for lunch today (first time I’ve had fries in over two months).

If I was gaining the weight back I could get some incentive to stop it. I’ve been succumbing to the  hunger a bit more. Sure, overall my choices are better than they were just a few months ago. A handful (small handful) of cashews to take the edge off vs just nibbling on more and more over the course of an hour. Or a pack of those 100-calorie pretzels instead of chowing on half a bag of tortillas with salsa and sour cream.

And believe it or not, I’m geting tired of cooking. That’s how I ended up at Friday’s last week… I just did not want to have to come home and make something. I started going for a chicken dish that didn’t look too bad, but I was feeling really hungry and I just *knew* that dish wouldn’t cut it so I went for the shrimp and chicken cajun alfredo. Not good. Well, it was good tasting, but that sauce and those noodles? Not good.

So whose fault is this? Whose fault is it I’m … fat…?

If you listen to the media and politicians, it’s either the fast food industry, or maybe advertisers in general? And let’s not forget ::insert ominous music here:: Trans-Fats! Or how bout those sugar-laced fries at Mickey-Ds? That’s gotta be a class-action lawsuit in the making, no?

Can I blame my genetics? I already blame my parents for bad joints, my nose, and the receeding hair line. I suppose that’s enough guilt for them.

oh! the cows! I mean, all that milk I drank growing up, the cheese on my burgers, and lets not forget the sour cream! What’s chips and salsa, or a Chipotle burrito without a good shot of sour cream with it?

It’s probably just a combination of all of the above and none of the above, mixed in with my own damn choices. But I suppose it doesn’t really matter. There are lots of things that factor in to this, and I have to just keep focused on how the goal of this is not some sort of magic cure for all that ails me. WLS is just another tool to make it easier to get something (in this case losing weight) done.

After all, I could build a house with a hand-saw and a hammer, but give me a chop-saw and a nail gun and I can do it a lot easier, right?

So here I am, bout a month or so out from surgery… still facing down the same problems… still with nobody to blame but myself…

and really, that’s ok.

A common theme in the various WLS forums again and again is someone posting about being unhappy with their progress… how they know someone who had surgery the same time as them that’s doing better… that they thought the weight could come off easier… etc…

I have two words for those folks… STOP IT!

Ok, I have more than two words… but seriously, I know it’s hard, but stop it. This isn’t a race – there is no finish line, this is the rest of your life!

No two people are the same, at all. You can’t compare how you do to anyone else, period. You need to have faith in your tool, be it RNY, band, sleeve, or whatever. It may not happen as quickly as you would like. It may not happen as fast as it did for anyone else (tho odds are there is someone out there wishing they could lose as much and as fast as YOU just did), but if you do what you are supposed to, bariatric surgery is about as close as you will ever come to a guaranteed way to lose weight – and more importantly, keep it off.

So unless you’re prepping for that 5K this summer, take off the running shoes, kick back, and enjoy the ride!

Ok, you ready for this? I’m going to give you THE proven secret formula for losing weight.

Eat Less + Exercise More = Lose Weight

Really, that’s it.

Eat less, exercise more, and you will lose weight.

Ok fine. I realize it’s not that simple, and really not all that much of a secret. I mean… honestly, this is like saying the way to win the Super Bowl is to score more points than the other team. Yea, it’s true but it’s nowhere near the whole story.

So when it comes to your weight loss, what is the whole story?

I have no friggen clue.

Really.. I don’t.

What I do have is a story, a story of what has worked for me… and well obviously if you’ve been reading this site at all you should realize by now that for me it included weight loss surgery.

See, that whole forumula thing is true, but I needed help with the eating less part, and that’s where WLS comes in. It’s the whole “WLS is a tool” thing you’ve likely heard about. and its true. I just physically can’t eat anywhere near the quantity of food I used to before surgery, I would get seriously sick before I came close.

And thanks to the eating less helping me lose some weight, it’s helped make it easier for me to increase my physical activity, which is the other part of the equation that helps increase the odds of not just losing weight, but keeping it off.

Now if you can do the whole eating less, exercising more without having surgery like I did, more power to ya dude. I really thought I could… or least that I should be able to do so. But after twenty-some years, I finally admitted to myself that I needed some help.

And that kind of leads in to why I started this blog, why I put the stuff up here that I do. It’s an aid for me, help keeps me motivated, helps me keep focused. It’s my ongoing story.

And if by chance it helps someone else either decide they need this tool to help them, or helps keep them motivated to keep using their tool effectively – well, so much the better.

This was the night before surgery

My name is Benson. I am 43 years old and on March 2 of this year I had Gastric Bypass Surgery. The techie description is Roux en-Y (RNY). At some point I am sure one of us will get into the technical specs on each surgery but for now I am going to focus on what brought me to that day and how it saved my tail.

I can say that like almost every “morbidly obese” guy I had struggled with weight most of my childhood. I spent 4 years in the Army fighting to stay under the pinch test weight standard, making it through some weeks but most of the time I was on Top’s remedial P.T. list. On the day I was discharged (May 89) I was sure of one thing. I was going to gain a little weight.

Eleven months and 100 lbs later I was 24 and on my way down the tubes. Of course as time went by my health and sheer mass both continued to crash until I arrived at the point of no possible return. I was 5’9” 328 lbs. diabetic, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, severe arthritic with gout and a nasty heart arrhythmia and broken feet.
Yes folks I was so damn heavy that I broke my feet just walking…. More than once. That as they say, is another story.

I had become everything I hated and realized that I was no longer living. I was slowly killing myself. Once you reach that point there is one thing that is always true. You can not just exercise and diet to loose the weight. I lost the same 30 lbs a hundred times at least and every time I would go for a “walk” I would be hammered for at least a week and in need of a medic. The sad thing was that I had spent my entire life as the “tough guy”. All my friends and family were seriously concerned.

This is about 2 1/2 months later

That is when I started looking at WLS as a solution. I went back and forth on it for a long time. The entire thing seemed completely extreme. I went on vacation to visit the mouse and after 7 days of power walking down there I returned so injured that I couldn’t even work.

That process repeated every 18 months as my wife is a complete Disney Freak. Finally I had enough. I had my primary care doc send me in to a seminar and the rest (after a year and a half insurance battle) is history.

I am currently at 240 lbs with no major health issues to speak of. Even the knees are much better now and I have a life again. I continue on my journey day by day. I don’t have all the answers but I am working it out as I go.

I am a Christian guy with a wife, kids, house and blessed for the most part with all the good stuff in life. I am a bit old fashioned. I live in Colorado where I again can enjoy hunting and fishing these majestic mountains and marvel at the glory and wonder in my kids faces when they see a 14,000 foot view of an Elk herd or hear a mountain lion scream in the middle of the night.

Life is worth living. Live it. If WLS lets you do it then God Speed.