3 years since my sleeve surgery

Hello everyone. I was sleeved on October 2, 2017 at the Cleveland Clinic. I had a wonderful surgeon and the various support from the hospital was fantastic. I am a 68 year old male. I was like many here and did every up and down and back up diet known to man. In my opinion weight watchers is the best.

I am 6" tall and my starting weight was 307. I set a goal weight at 220. Today I am at 217 and give or take 3-4lbs I have been at this weight for 30 months. I lost weight very quickly. I lost 25 the first month, 15 in the second and then a consistent 8-10 for 5-6 months. As I say I "attacked" the sleeve. I followed my nutrition guidelines to the letter. I drank gallons of water and flavored water. I walked every day for the first year. When my surgeon gave me the OK after 8 weeks I resumed weight training with a personal trainer. I am an old athlete and gym rat and I lost a considerable amount of muscle mass and strength. It took over a year to return to an acceptable level. I think weight training for everyone with a sleeve is essential. Even very light resistance training build lean muscle.

It took a lot of trial and error to settle in on a proper diet. Gone were the 16oz steaks now an occasional 4 oz filet. I may have beef once or twice every two weeks. Lots of fish, soup and chicken. I can't handle chicken breasts but thighs work well. One thing I can't handle is chips and dip. I loved the various salsa dips but any corn chips are out. Any vegetable is ok although boring.

My surgeon and GP are thrilled at my results. My regular doctor says I have the blood work results of a 35 year old. My blood pressure is around 116/64 and my cholesterol is at 160 and my HDL and LDL levels are perfect.

The downside. I became prone to bowel obstructions usually due to poor eating habits and especially dehydration. I get a horrible sore stomach and it take 4-6 hours for the pain to pass. I had 4-5 of these episodes. I was hospitalized overnite for one obstruction. I have to be very careful with protein bars. I need to really work on my water consumption. My doctor thinks I may have davriticulitis and need to watch any peanut consumption.

In closing. THE BEST DECISION I EVER MADE. The sleeve works. What a great tool. Best to all of you here.

Wow, what a praise report! Congratulations on your success!
I, too, have had a bout with dehydration. Not fun at all. I have to consciously make sure that I am consuming enough fluids. You are doing so well. Continued success!

fantastic result and well done for keeping it up. I agree weight training is the best.

Congratulations - you have this all under control by the sounds of things.
We are only a few weeks apart and after 3 years I am loving the decision too. Best thing that I ever for for myself.
I was just thinking about this yesterday as I was playing Twister with some of my grandkids - something I would never have been able to do prior to surgery.
:-)

Congratulations on all that. I want to weigh in on the diverticulitis. I suffered quite a few bouts of it, and hospitalized numerous times for it. My last hospitalization was 8/2015. They were on the verge of ressecting my colon, but I was too sick for surgery at that point. Crazy as it may sound, pooping saved me from all of that. I have been on prescription Linzess since 2015, and I've not had a single episode of diverticulitis since. I often tell anyone who will listen how Linzess is (maybe literally) a lifesaver for me. Never eve have to worry about peanuts or any nuts anymore. In fact, I just ate a whole buttload of boiled peanuts over the weekend. So, keep those bowels moving!