438

Four Hundred and Thirty Eight. 438. Quattro Tres Ocho. A number. I guess it would be ok if it were my lifetime batting average or number of home runs I hit. I maybe if it were the number of sit-ups that I did last week. I think my wife has 438 pair of shoes. But it is not one of those numbers. It is how much I weigh. Holy Crap – 438 pounds. 7008 Ounces. 199 Kilos. That doesn’t sound so bad. I don’t even know how I got here.

I don’t feel like a 400 pound man. Sure, my back hurts now and then. My ankles are swollen. I have high blood pressure. But, I don't have high cholesteral and I am not diabetic. When I look in the mirror, I don’t see a 400 pound man. I see Jim. Successful, happy, always smiling, never depressed. But there it is, on the scale. 438. So, what is to be done? Where am I going in life? How do I fix this? I am categorized as super morbidly obese. Super.

I am going to answer your obvious question now. Of course I have dieted. More than you could ever know. There was my 10 years in the Navy. I was always in “The Chub Club”. Had to exercise everyday after my work hours. Running, Sit-ups, always receiving 4.0 on my evaluations except for the Military Bearing part. That was a 3.2 because my neck wasn’t big enough. If only I could have a bigger neck. Then there was weight watchers. Lost 20, woo-hoo. Gained 30 back. How about the no dairy diet. Atkins, lost 80 there. Gained 110 back. Weight watchers again.

Ok – next was the medically monitored weight loss program. I paid $600.00, which was not covered by my insurance. Interesting that Insurance won’t pay for diet programs or smoking cessation, but gladly pay for all the side affects of Obesity and Smoking. They wanted to sell me Optifast, so I could live on liquids. Why is a medical doctor supplementing his Practice selling Optifast. I chose no to by the liquid crap, but followed a strict program with them. Lost 60 – Awesome. Gained 90 back. Bummer.

My daughter married last year and all of a sudden I was thinking about grandbabies. Thinking about the a lot. When I looked down at that scale, saw 438, I quickly realized that I wasn’t going to be around to see those grandbabies if I did not do something drastic. Sure I was relatively healthy now, but what would I be like in 10 years. Would I even be able to walk? Is that the way I want my grandkids to remember me? I think not, so I have decided to do something drastic. A major life-changing event.

I am going to have Gastric Bypass Surgery, and on top of that I am going to write about it. I am going to be open and honest, you will experience my ups and downs and hopefully I will find some comfort in these words and you can be following along in this journey. I covet your thoughts and prayers and comments as I go through this journey. I am blessed to have a great employer, with fantastic insurance. I have found a great Hot-Shot Doctor with an awesome team and I have a date. November 19, 2007 at 10:30 AM. That is the day and time. The day and time when my new life starts.