Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy -- My Journey Starts

I have battled my weight since I hit puberty.  Once I turned 11, my weight started ballooning until I hit my peak weight in high school of 414 pounds.  I wasn't chunky, nor was I big boned.  I was FAT!  Only one time in my life have I ever been at what might be considered a normal weight and that was back in 1999 when I reached 240.  I looked very different then.

1999 My weight was 240

My Drivers License Picture from '99

So what do I look like now?  Take a look.

Me in 2011 standing next to well, you know who.

Me in 2012 standing next to my Father-in-Law

Currently I am up to 365 or so pounds and depending on the day and time I actually weigh in my weight can range from 362 to 368 pounds.

No, I am not in great shape physically.  

Yes, I do realize it.

I'm not writing this to throw myself a little pity party.  I'm writing this to start blogging about my journey to a healthier lifestyle.  I wouldn't be able to even contemplate starting up this journey had it not been for my wife.  She was the one who opened my eyes to the fact that I was killing myself and was going to deprive my kids and her of the guy who loved them if I did not do something and start doing it soon.  

So to my wife, thank you for your love and toughness in this.  

I actually started this journey (along with her) about a month and a half ago when I went to a weight loss surgery seminar given by a local doctor.  I decided to go ahead and start the process to change my life for good.

So what am I going to do?

It is called a vertical sleeve gastrectomy, or a gastric sleeve surgery.  Basically what it does is to surgically remove two thirds to three-quarter of your stomach and force you to eat small portions of food.  It is a radical surgery, but one that is safe and done thousands of times a day around the world.  If you want to see what they do with this, there's a video to watch at the end of this post.

This is not going to be a miracle cure, nor will this be an overnight magical experience.  There is risk and money involved, but after dozens of failed diets and being sick and tired of being fat, and wanting to have a long life with my wife and daughters, it is a journey I choose to make.  I will blog about the steps and what happens and how things happen as I go along in this journey.  I invite you to journey along with me as I take it.  

For now, I wish each of you well.

Have a great day!

Eric

Here's the video I promised.  WARNING!  This video contains graphic footage of an actual surgery and is NOT for those that cannot tolerate the sight of such activities!