Backpacking photos

Hi Guys,  I haven't been around much lately, but thought I'd drop by tonight and offer some words of encouragement to the guys who are still pre-op or newly post-op. One of the reasons I haven't been on the board much lately is I've just been so darned busy with this new, lighter life.  My surgery was almost two years ago (2/23/2005) and I've lost more than 200 lbs. Not carrying around the extra weight has enabled me to do so, so many things I never could have done previously, including a visit last fall to Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico to go backpacking with seven other guys. We hiked 30+ miles in five days, all in rugged, high-altitude terrain. My backpack was heavy, weighing in at about 55 lbs., but nothing compared to carrying around 200 lbs. of excess weight.  I've posted several photos of the trip on my profile. I'm the tall, skinny guy with the grey jacket and black fleece cap. It's really "the new me."  For those of you still in the early stages of your journey, keep plugging away. It takes time to put on the weight, and it takes time to get it back off, but it is SO-O-O worth it! Regards, Joe

Guys,  I'm still getting used to the new profile stuff, so it looks like you might need to try a link to see the photos. Sorry for the inconvenience.  Joe http://www.obesityhelp.com/photos/albumId,16109/uzone,photos /action,gallery/

Looking very slender there, Joe!

You're two years out. Does it take much of an effort to stay slim? Exercise, diet? Or does it pretty much take care of itself for you? I've heard of both cases 2-4 years out.

Dave

Hi Dave,  Nice to hear from you and thanks for the compliments. It's still weird saying I'm the "tall, skinny guy" after being MO most of my life! For me, the weight is pretty much taking care of itself at this point. My food choices have expanded considerably and I seem to tolerate sugar better than I did shortly after surgery (bad news), so the temptation is there to eat sweets again. A couple of weeks ago, though, BAM!!! I ate a piece of pastry and dumped really bad, so that was a good wakeup reminder not to eat sweets.  Several weeks ago, I did Dx's cottage cheese test to determine my pouch capacity, which is right around 10 oz. Compared to the immediate post-op days, that's a lot of food. I still get "go boxes" regularly when dining in restaurants so that I don't overeat. My wife and I still use salad plates rather than full-sized dinner plates to get the visual sensation of a full plate of food.  Overall, we eat much, much healthier than we did two years ago. Lots of fish and other protein. No trouble tolerating beef, pork, chicken, etc., as long as it isn't dried out. A smattering of pasta, but rarely rice or potatoes. For example, I eat a lot of sashimi, but will order one or two pieces of nigiri sushi and the rice in that much will cause me to feel bloated. Most of my exercise still comes from walking, as evidenced by the backpacking pix. Rain or shine, good weather or bad, I still average two miles a day. I don't go out every day, but make up for it to keep the two mile-a-day average. My doc wants me to start doing somes upper-body and core strength training, as my arms are now quite spindly (as Boner would say, they're twigs). I've got a good incentive to do so, as I'm planning on going with Scouts on a big canoe trip in the Boundary Waters (northern Minnesota) this summer (I'll have to ask Paul to keep his lantern burning for me).  I'm still working hard to get at least two or three liters of water every day. I have always been a big coffee drinker (still am) and occasionally enjoy a glass of wine or a brew, but psychologically I want to drink the water to purify my system. It's not a matter of hydration, as I get plenty of liquids, but I know it's important to drink lots of water. In two years, I think I've had diet soda twice, but it doesn't hold any appeal.  Well, Dave-san, that's probably more than you wanted to know, but you caught me in a reflective mood. Time to get back to work.  Best regards, Joe

Hi Joe,

It's good to know that it can be done (and more), even with a 10 oz. pouch! I think the water is good, not only for hydration, but also to speed up metabolism. If we have 1/2 the small intestine and drink twice as much water as before, we'll not only feel fuller, but everything just has to go though more quickly.

I'm getting in the strength training, but it is harder to keep the enthusiasm after you've already done 30-40 minutes of cardio. Maybe I need to cut to 20 minutes, 10 before and ten after. Something to consider as it gets warmer and I can keep on the same clothes for both.

Always Good to Hear About Your Experiences,

Dave

Great pictures and you look incredible! Talk about encouragement for us pre-op guys!!

Joe, You're looking great and the hike must have been a blast. I am considering doing some hiking on the Appalachian Trail in the NC Mountains this summer. I would love to travel the whole thing but who can take 6+ months off from work. Glad to see your new life is going well and keep up the good work.

Hey Tim,

Nice to hear from you man! Hope all is going well for you too.

Hiking the AT would be a blast. Like you, I don't have six months to do it, so maybe doing it a little stretch at a time would work. My son has done part of the Hundred Mile Wilderness of Maine and another stretch in the Whites, but I haven't done any of it yet.  Right now, I've got cabin fever. My hiking shoes are on my feet, but this morning it was -5 F and we've got about 18 in. of snow, so I can hardly wait for the thaw. I sometimes walk in the snow, but it's pretty hard slogging.  Best, Joe

Great job! Curious about something. What did you use for food during the backpacking trip. I'm an avid hiker, and now that I'm a looser I want to get back into backpacking. Did you use freeze-dried? What brand? Anything to avoid? How about protein contents, etc...? Thanks, Jake

Hey Jake,  For the most part, we used freeze-dried backpacking meals, most of which are quite high in complex carbs, but we needed 'em for endurance. Most of them, I believe, were the Rich-Moor brand. We ate spaghetti, beef stroganoff and a few other entrees. All were quite tasty. Dinner was the only meal we cooked, so for breakfast and lunch we ate things like beef sticks, jerky, tuna-in-a-pouch and other items high in protein. Some granola cereal, which was really tasty, but high in sugar (I could feel my tummy rumble whenever I ate a handful). In addition, I had a small stash of my favorite protein bars when I needed an extra protein boost.  One thing I took along but wish I hadn't was a powdered protein drink. I thought the packets would be convenient since all I'd do was add water; however, after a few days, the shaker got a little ripe since there was nowhere to scrub it out properly.  Be careful with the energy bars. Philmont Scout Ranch is big into things like Lara bars, Clif bars and the like, but when I checked the labels I saw they were rich in sugar (like 28-32 grams per bar). The last thing I wanted was to have a dumping episode out in the backcountry.  Philmont pre-packages meals for trekkers there. Other than taking my protein bars and powdered drink mix, I ate the same things as everybody else in my crew. They didn't need to make any special accommodations for me, which suited everyone really well. All I did was avoid the high-sugar foods, as described above.  Happy trails, Jake.  Regards, Joe