I had my open-heart surgery on March 20th. At the time of my surgery, I weighed 330lbs. I’m 6’1″ tall, and people told me I carried it well. Think morbidly obese, but not like the people you see on My 600lbs Life. I was getting pretty chunky.
Leading up to the surgery, I read some information from the Mayo Clinic that stated people typically lose an average of 20 pounds of weight during the 12 weeks of recovery from open-heart surgery. That ended up being spot on. After 12 weeks, I weighed in at 310lbs. Apparently, the body burns a lot of calories during the healing process.
I was prescribed Ozempic by my doctor, but the insurance company wouldn’t authorize it until I had tried some other form of weight loss, either a scientifically supported diet or counseling. I talked it over with Robin, and we decided to give the Mayo Clinic Diet a try.
It cost us $120 each for a six-month program. The Mayo Clinic provides recipes, dietitian support, and a food-tracking app. We shop for the ingredients and do the cooking. We also examine our bad habits and work on developing good ones. We eat three times a day, and can have unrestricted fruits and vegetables.
The program started off with a two-week Lose It phase. The focus was on breaking those bad habits and creating new ones. We are incorporating habits such as: eating a healthy breakfast, consuming vegetables and fruits, choosing whole grains, including healthy fats in our diet, and engaging in at least 30 minutes of physical activity daily. Habits we are working to break are not watching TV or using screens while eating, no sugar or alcohol, no snacks (except vegetables or fruit), limit meat and dairy, and no restaurant meals(Unless they fit the program). Bonus habits include eating ‘real’ food, keeping food records, keeping activity records, and moving for at least an hour.
After the two-week Lose It phase, I weighed 287lbs! Robin lost 10lbs. It was good to see our weight decrease, but more importantly, we were actively involved in planning our meals, cooking, and adopting healthy habits. No fast food, no sugary foods. The hardest part is being bombarded by ads for chips, candy, donuts, and sodas. I felt like Rowdy Roddy Piper in They Live when he put on the glasses that let him see the aliens. He could also see the subliminal ads that said things like ‘consume’ and ‘conform’. If I see aliens, I’m running out of bubble gum.
We are now into week 5. I was able to work in a homemade Texas-style brisket with a steakhouse chopped salad for one of our dinners. We made delicious chicken cacciatore for another dinner. We did a weekend trip to Gatlinburg. Robin and I gained a couple of pounds but learned a lot. I’ve been hovering around 285lbs. I’ve been working on moving more. I get out into the garden, and I go for walks. Yesterday, I worked out for an hour on the elliptical. At 61, it’s not easy to get up and move around, but I make myself.
Today I went to the store to pick up some fruit. I was hungry and took a long look at some sushi they had, but I was able to tell myself, “No.” Dieting is about winning the little battles. Win enough of the little battles, and you can win the bigger ones. It helps that Robin and I hold each other accountable and encourage each other. She has MS, so movement is problematic, but she does what she can, and I am proud of her for it.
Next stop, 280lbs!
Meditations of a Bald, Fat Guy 