I did a thing . . . a year ago.

I just wrote about a 1,000 word post telling you all about how I started out as a sturdy kid and eventually became a fat and sick adult.

I decided to delete that post however, because . . . well . . . we all know that story, amirite? We get told every day about the obesity epidemic that is crushing the world, so if that’s the case, the odds are that if you’re reading this post you have lived it yourself.

Instead I’ll tell you that when I found out that Kendra was pregnant with Georgia, I realized that I probably wouldn’t get to see her graduate. Hell, she might not even really know who I was if I wasn’t careful. So I decided to do something about it.

One year ago today, I had a Roux-en-Y gastric bypass.

What the hell is that? Well, if you don’t want to click on the link (and it is a bit gross), the short version is that I had part of my stomach disconnected and pushed aside, rendering it totally useless. A little pouch was made from what was left. It made the effective size of my stomach much smaller, allowing me to eat less and also absorb less of the food which I did eat in the first place.

The result is weight loss, whether you like it or not.

So let’s skip straight to the results. This was me right before the surgery. 296.8 lbs, 39.4% body fat and a BMI (which I’m not fond of as a measurement, but whatevs) of 42.6.

Also the most epic beard you ever did see.

 

This is me a year after surgery. Today. 217.7 lbs, 25.9% body fat and a BMI of 31.2.

Cropped because I didn’t use a tripod here, it was Kendra and so there was some camera shudder.

So over the course of a year I have dropped 72.8 pounds and gone down by 13.5% body fat.

It’s not precisely the most amazeballs story of weight lost that has ever been told, but hey . . . it works. I needed help, and I went and got it.

To qualify for WLS (Weight-Loss Surgery), they have you check boxes listing what are called “co-morbidities”. Things which impact your quality of life. Basically things which will kill you before your time.

When I went in, mine was a field of checkmarks.

Now? Like 3. I still snore (sorry, Kendra!), I still get migraines, and I still have bad feet. I don’t imagine any of those are going away. All the rest . . . all of the ones that are really dangerous? Gone.

None of this is meant to be self-congratulatory, nor is it meant to laud the practice of WLS . . . in fact I would advise most to steer clear. It’s an extreme measure which will absolutely change your life forever, not always for the best.

Instead, it’s really just to make me talk about this thing that I did. I have mostly refused to talk about the fact that I had this surgery for a year now, mostly because I was embarrassed that I needed the help. That embarrassment hasn’t gone away, but a year later I am proud of the results and that even now I continue to shed weight . . . I’m owning this person that I’ve become.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask! If I don’t know the answer, my beautiful wife (who had the exact same surgery nearly 7 years ago) probably will.

 

P.S. Sorry for looking so mangy today. I didn’t really plan on making this post. It just kind of happened. I’ll shave and brush my hair next time I make huge relevations!

Tags: diabetes, high blood pressure, life changes, rny, roux-en-y, scottsdale bariatric, surgery, weight loss, weight loss surgery