My wife, Anita and I are the Webmasters of Nooga.com, a news and fun internet ezine for and about the Chattanooga, Tennessee area.

Now at 54 and for many years I have had serious weight problems and like most other overweight people, I "tried everything" to lose weight.

As a fan of the Today Show on NBC and watching every morning as I get ready for the very short trip to the Nooga.com World Headquarters about 15 feet from my house, I couldn't help but notice the weatherman on the show, Al Roker, had the gastric bypass surgery, lost lots of weight and looked great.

I was jealous when I noticed Roker crossing his legs while seated on the show one morning, a few short weeks after the surgery. He had never done that in the past years he had been on the show. That's when I asked Anita to find more information at the doctor's office where she worked and get the ball rolling!

Because of the doubts I had about the surgery, especially mainly if the insurance company would even pay for it, I did not start this webpage until after the surgery had been completed. I guess you might say, it was almost to be too good to be true when after checking with Memorial Hospital here in Chattanooga and I found out the surgery had been approved. I didn't want to "jinx it" or get excited about the surgery until it was "done."

 

Latest entries from the top ...

Wednesday, July 28, 2004 --- 245 --- Lost 111

Sorry for not updating much lately .. there's just not much to tell anymore. I see where since my last post I've dropped 10.5 more pounds. Not bad for 4.5 months.

I feel great, like a teenager again and that's not bad for a 55 year old. Here's a list of things that make losing all that weight so cool:

I can sit in booths at restaurant and my belly no hang over the table.

My riding lawn mower seems to run fasted and doesn't bog down as much now, not to mention how much easier it is to stay on it.

When I go the rest room at restaurants, I don't fell everyone is "watching and talking about me."

When I see my reflection in a window, I don't cringe any more.

I was on the TV news a short time back in a news video where I was standing at a news conference .. I didn't recognize myself. Anita pointed me out. I blended in with the "regular" people.

My energy is way up and my knees no longer hurt.

I no longer hang on to the rail when going up and down steps.

I sleep better.

It's so much easier to get in and out of the car (a Mustang).

and Much more.

 

Wednesday, March 3, 2004 --- 255.5 --- Lost 100.5

Yeah !!!! 100 pounds off .. that's another person!!!

Like I said January 17 .. not much news other than the weight continuing to drop off.

Went over to Memorial Hospital today to be weighed and poked at and stuff. They say I am doing fine.

One little issue is concerning me a little and that's the way I "feel" in public. I feel as if I am still fat and people are still looking at me as if I am huge. That's something I will have to deal with I guess. But, if that;s the only problem I have from this process ... I'll continue to be happy with it all.

 

Saturday, January 17, 2004 --- 266 --- Lost 80

Lot's of folks keep asking me to update my page but there is just so little to add now-a-days.

I feel great, I'm not hurting in my knees at all anymore like I used to all the time. My self esteem is stating to improve and lately .. I just don't mind looking in the mirror.

I have discovered that all hose years of me saying "My weight doesn't bother me," was actually a lie. Not so much a intentional lie but certainly an "untruth" because I now know my weight embarrassed me. I hated it. I would suppose I was in some type of "denial."

My dad would be so proud to see the weight coming off me. I believe that was the one thing he held against me. Not so much my inability to handle money or whatever but my weight.

I wish he were here to see me now and I would really want him to see me when I get another 40 or 50 pounds off.

I am so thankful to Anita for her support and her INSURANCE and Dr. Vanderbilt at Memorial Hospital for changing my life so much for the better!

I have heard through the grapevine Dr. Vanderbilt no longer does the surgery since a woman died shortly after the surgery. I also heard he made the statement, "I am a healer."

Yes you are Dr. Vanderbilt, you healed me, physically and mentally. Had I have died from the surgery .. I would have never ever had held it against you. I knew the odds were 1 in 150 of dying from the surgery .. and YES it was worth it. Sir, if you read this diary, there are many more people out there who would be much happier, healthier and very appreciative of your changing their lives.

Later.

Thursday, December 4, 2003 --- 276 --- Lost 80

What's funny is how I sometime feel like the weight loss has dramatically slowed but then I come to this page and by golly, look at the last entry. Just 21 days since my last post and I have dropped another 9 pounds.

The main question I get from people is, "Do you feel any different" and my answer would be mixed. Yes, I feel different in a lot ways but dern it I still feel fat. I certainly can go up and down steps a lot easier without the huffing and puffing and the chairs I sit in now aren't so tight fitting. I guess the keyword now is patience .. which I have little off and I want the next 60 pounds off.

Yesterday while waiting for my son to get off the bus, I was talking to a neighbor and she asked how much I had dropped and I told her 80 pounds .. about that time her son jumped off the bus and she said he weighs 80 pounds. I can;t imagine carrying that guy around all day ....

 

Wednesday, November 12, 2003 --- 285 --- Lost 71

A reader of Nooga.com posted the following message on the Nooga forum:

GASTRIC WEIGHT LOSS PAGE

Dear Mr. Igou, is there any way that you could update the gastric bypass page more often. I really enjoy reading about your success and I noticed that the updates are coming less and less often. The last one was in late October. My sister in law is a big woman and in fact she is so big that she has to iron her shirts in the driveway! We almost have her convinced to have the surgery as her insurance already has pre-approved her. Thanks! OD --- old dawg

And here's my answer:

I update fairly often but after four months now and everything being "normal" and the weight not dropping off as fast (as expected), there's is just not a lot to report.

Would I do it again ... you bet. Do I recommend it for others? I would rather not. There is risk involved and I wouldn't want to recommend the surgery to someone and then they get terribly sick or even die and yes that does happen but, that can happen with any surgical procedure.

Like I said ... Would I do it again? ... you bet.

It's up to the individual and their doctor.

I will post a new photo soon.

It's just that even though I have lost 70 pounds. I am still a big guy and I'll look so much better when the second 70 pounds is gone and we expect that to happen over the next nine months.

Thanks for you concern! --- Rick Hisself

 

Thursday, October 30, 2003 --- 288 --- Lost 68

Man, don't know what happened this last week but the pounds just fell off!!! Love it!!! I am now able to wear XL shirts, haven't done that in about 25 years. Truly a funny feeling. But what is funnier than that is ... last night while walking around the bedroom in my birthday suit I could tell my legs weren't rubbing together like they used to. A tear came up in my eye.

I'm feeling great and I want to say hi to some nice folks in Texas, Charles and Paige, Nathan and Shelby, who have been checking out this page regularly to see how I'm doing. They are relatives of a girl that works with Anita .. Hi Folks!!!!

 

Thursday, October 23, 2003 --- 295 --- Lost 62

Not updating as often now because really there's not so much to talk about as in the first three months. Rarely do I get a sic feeling and I have learned to eat only the amount of food at each meal I need to take care of the huger. In other words I have learned to push back from the table.

I am at that point now where I have lost a lot of weight but I'm still a big guy. But hopefully and probably that will change over the next few months as the pounds keep dropping off. I have lost 9 pounds since September 29 so it looks as if I will have lost 10 pounds in the last 30 days and if I keep that pace up over the next 9 months man, I will be at my goal weight of 220!!!

This surgery has saved us a lot of money, when we go to BoJangles, Anita gets the two breast dinner and I eat on and a couple of bites of rice and bingo ... I'm stuffed! Later.

 

 

Monday, September 29, 2003 --- 303 -- Lost 53

The pounds aren't coming off as fast now ... duh ... but two pounds a week would be wonderful. Most men I talk with who have had the same surgery have lost about 100 pounds in a year.

Dislocated my ring finger last week after falling at a marine sales place. Just clumsy I guess. Didn't see a step down in the concrete concourse in front the place. I kinda wonder if maybe the loss of 53 pounds didn't throw my balance off some too. Some laugh when I say that.

Anywho, the nurse who took care of me at the emergency room had the gastric band surgery two and a half years ago and she has lost a whopping 255 pounds. She looks great now. Got to see a photo of her before!!! I plan to holler back at her and see if I can get a couple of photos for this page.

I feel great, much lighter on my feet now. Eating more if the things I like now too .. just not much of it. In fact this evening we ordered pizza delivered and instead of the usual half a large pizza, I ate the cheese and pepperoni off three smaller pieces. That totally filled me up! Oh what a feeling!

 

Wednesday, September 17, 2003 --- 306 -- Lost 50

Feeling great now. It's three days past my second month since the surgery and down 50 pounds. If I keep losing at this rate ... I won't be here in a year! :)

I can tell a whopping difference when I go up and down steps and my energy levels seem to be much higher. The only thing bothering me is to think after all that weight off, surgery and all .. I am still fat :) ... Can't wait until I lose about another 70 pounds and THEN I can say ... "yeah baby!"

 

Thursday, September 11, 2003 --- 308 Pounds -- Lost 48

Went to the doc at memorial Hospital yesterday. Man, they are nice folks there.

An old buddy of mine, a police officer here in Chattanooga, was there "thinking about" having the surgery and of course I told him to "go for it." I think he will. he is built a lot like me, in fact a lot of people say we look alike. He asked me not to mention his name, so I won't

When getting ready to go to the doc yesterday, I put on a new pair of jeans Anita bought me .. size 48, wow, hard to believe. I wore a size 54 until July 14!!!

Eating more regular foods now, just about everything is able to go down okay but I can't eat much before filling full. In fact to day Anita and I went to Logan's Roadhouse and I got just a piece of broiled tuna, loved it and a little rice. Anita kept telling me the tuna was a little too big but I ate it all anyway ... and then about 30 minutes after we left ... pew!!! I felt like I was going to explode. That evening I had a can of Ensure for supper and that was it .. guess that tuna was a days intake!!!!

 

Friday, September 5, 2003 --- 314 pounds --- Lost 42

Not much to add now. Seems as if everything is going fine. Not as sick as often. If I overeat, which is getting rare, I feel a hurting sensation in my stomach area.

People are really beginning to look at me and go on about the difference in the way I look from a few weeks back. Don't feel much of an ego boost tho. I guess because that was never really a problem with me.

I admit I am not a real patient kind of guy and now I am wishing the next 80 pounds were off but I know it will come in time. I would think that by next summer I will be down to about 220. That's the weight I was when I got back from Vietnam and I carried it very well.

 

 

Wednesday, August 27, 2003 --- --- 317 pounds --- Lost 39

Feeling much better now. The nutritionist from Memorial Hospital called me today ... she heard about me eating a Krystal hamburger.

She was sure it would have made me sick. I told her it didn't and I ate just one. Why man ... I used to get six Krystals, a large fries and a huge tea so, I doubt one little Krystal will hurt.

 

Sunday, August 24, 2003 --- 319 pounds --- Lost 37

The past three or four days have been muck better for me. I know now that I had a virus that made me sick the past couple of weeks and I would suppose the extreme change in my lifestyle and guts reduced my resistance. Anywho .. it's nice to feel better.

I've been experimenting with some new foods lately and so far so good. Chinese food seems to go down good. And baked potatoes with butter does real well. Milk seems to be problem yet. Every time I drink it, I feel "over full" and I get that pukey feeling. Coffee seems to be getting it's taste back now and it seems to perk me up again .. whew!!!

We stopped at Wendy's this evening and I got a small frosty (thick milk shake), the first few bites felt good going down because if they well so cold and it was in the nineties outside, but after a few bites, I quit with less than half gone. Just didn't taste so great anymore. I remember when I used to get the huge size and chunk it down ... after a double cheeseburger, a tea and fires. :)

 

 

Saturday, August 9, 2003 --- 325 pounds --- Lost 31

The new scale Anita bought will now weigh me with my clothes on and that's fun ... yes fun! Anyway, it's showing me at 325 now. We took off to Bowdon, Georgia for the weekend and had a great time. Ate some catfish and mashed taters at a country restaurant down there .. tasted wonderful. They let me eat at the child plate rate. On the way home I got a craving for a Krystal cheeseburger so we stopped and got me one. The bill was 54¢ What was funny was the girl at the Krystal when we ordered one of those little cheeseburgers. I think she thought we were broke or something. So, I paid her with a $20 dollar bill.

 

August 6, 2003 --- 326 pounds --- Lost 30

Back to the doctor. He says everything looks great but I told him I'm concerned with he way I seem to "overfill" and I have to poke to get the pain in my throat to stop. He says, "you'll learn." He doesn't seemed concerned. I also told him about constipation I am having and he says that is "normal" and will improve as swelling inside goes down. He says to take Milk of Magnesium.

 

July 31, 2003 --- 334 pounds -- Lost 22

17 days since the surgery. It's been tough. Cheated some by trying to eat more solid stuff cause I am so tired of liquids and Jello. But after eating a 3/4 can of tuna it came back the same way it went in. Managed to eat half a baked potato at Two Pigs BBQ. It doesn't bother me that others are having the full course meals because after a bite of two the craving is gone.! Awfully sore in my stomach area still. Even coffee doesn't seem to have the bite it used to :(

 

July 23, 2003 --- 336 pounds - Lost 20

10 days since the surgery and I went back to see Dr. Vanderbilt today. Told him I sneaked in some mashed potato last night and he smiled and said, "you'll know your limits." I bet. Later that day I tried some tuna fish in water, the kind that's copped up and it was goooood! Couldn't eat the whole can, about 3/4 of it and then I felt "full." Guess I was.

 

July 21, 2003 --- 342 pounds -- Lost 14

Had lunch with Anita, first day away from home. She works in a doctors office and I weighed in at 342!

 

July 16, 2003 -- ??? pounds -- ???

Went home from the hospital. Feeling rough. Haven't weighed and I really didn't give a crap.

 

July 14, 2003 --- 356 pounds --- 000

Surgery day.