The operation
A true horror story from one of our members
„I grew up in a classic Romanian family, food was abundant, and love was manifested only through the food that was put on the table.
The reward for any good deed was always from the same category: something tasty.
Ever since my childhood I saw how mean my colleagues could be, so I focused on my studies: I figured that if I cannot be beautiful, I should at least be smart...
It wasn't until high school, when even the gym teacher was making fun of me, that I realized I had to lose weight!
I've done all the diets:
Herbalife + yoyo;
salad and chicken breast + yoyo;
exercising 2 hours a day and eating oatmeal and rice + yoyo;
injectable hormones + yoyo;
nutritionist + yoyo;
amphetamine pills + yoyo.
Unfortunately, there are no miracles. Everything comes with hard work.
I ended up seeing my mother in a coma in the hospital.
She had all the diseases associated with morbid obesity (what a gruesome name): hypertension, diabetes, hemorrhagic brain stroke.
I realized that this will also happen to me in the near future. And that was only because I couldn’t refrain from eating and...
It was also because sometimes I eat in order to forget about myself and everything that bothers me.
I eat to so I can fall asleep faster, so I can make myself numb faster...
Do you know how surprising it is to step on the scale and see 3 digits?
That's where all the bad things start.
Because one cannot help but think: what's the harm in eating one more ice cream since there is no escape anyway?
I'll die in some hospital anyway.
I remember thinking: I’d rather kill myself before that happens.
When you find out your mother wound up sleeping in her own feces overnight because the nurses couldn't get her up in order to wash her...
That's when you realize: you must do everything in your power to not end up like that.
Absolutely EVERYTHING in your power.
✅ THE FINAL SOLUTION
The head neurosurgeon came and gave me an idea:
the famous “stomach surgery” - the gastric sleeve - which he had also had and “look how well I turned out”.
But doesn't that stomach of yours also play a role?! Did someone put it there for nothing?
Is it worth cutting it just like that - for no reason? Why not?!?!?
It's hard to make such a decision. Especially for someone who doesn't know what postoperative pain is.
Those who had the procedure done don't tell you what exactly that pain means.
Theoretically, a person diagnosed with hypertension and a blood sugar level of 125 is eligible for the gastric sleeve procedure. It’s also subsidized by the government…
But I didn't want to end up in one of those state hospitals, so I went to a private one.
I figured employees in a private hospital would take better care of me, right?
But what do you know?
You are asked for a lot of medical tests beforehand.
You are told that within 3 days you’ll be back home and within a week you’ll be able to go back to work.
Yes, but...
I had all the medical tests done. I saw a gastroenterologist, a cardiologist and a pulmonologist; all of them at the top of their respective fields.
The 3 doctors told me that the operation only works temporarily if I continue eating the same way.
They bluntly told me that I would gain the weight again if I didn't change my lifestyle.
I gave them all the same answer: I don't have any other chance, doc, I've tried everything.
I really had tried all the options available at the time.
✅ OPERATION
Getting a surgery in a private hospital means they don't have an emergency service and,
If something unexpected happens late at night, or after the surgery, the staff would still have to take you to the emergency room at the state hospital…
But what do you know?
Nobody tells you that either.
I had a bad reaction to the anesthesia or God knows what, and I was having trouble breathing when I woke up.
I remember how the nurse was begging the anesthesiologist to stay with me. My surgeon was long gone anyway.
And he replied:
“What am I supposed to do? Just call the emergency services...”
The nurse was the only one who sat by my side and calmed me down.
I was palpitating and hyperventilating from the pain and probably from all the panicking…
I probably got lucky.
I would also like to add that you enter the operating room semi-naked (not to say butt-naked).
You will enter on your own feet, of your own free will and not in any way forced.
And when you come out, for the first 48 hours, you have a lot of tubes coming out of you.
You are told that the operation is laparoscopic, but no one warns you about the drain tube in your belly and the one in your nose when you wake up.
But I should be thankful for waking up, right?
Indeed, in 3 days, after having passed gas and you can safely stand up to go to the bathroom by yourself, they will discharge you.
✅ THE ROAD TO HELL
But folks, that 7-hour drive home… This is how hell must feel.
Every pothole hurt me to my core and I had the feeling, with every curve, that I would never get to my bed alive.
No one tells you about that either.
Reality beats any movie. Reality is different from one person to another.
After paying 11,000 lei (2.200 Euros), I left the hospital with 3 documents in my hand:
one with medical tests I had before the operation;
one in which it was written which doctor performed which surgery;
one with post-op recommendations.
The recommendations: 2 weeks of eating strained soup or skimmed milk, then 2 weeks of pureed vegetables and then, slowly - slowly, the reintroduction of normal foods.
Basically diversification.
And then: it was recommended I go see a nutritionist.
That the nutritionist should be a specialist in bariatrics.
Good thing I found a nutritionist closer to my home than that private hospital!
I went to see her one month after surgery to tell me what to do next.
✅ THE CLASSIC
You know how it goes: a slice of bread in the morning, half a chicken breast for lunch. The classic.
But I was mainly prescribed pills and powders: vitamins for my hair, calcium, multivitamins, d3 and protein powders and soup.
As you can imagine, it was a dietary delight, full of taste and flavor...
The basic idea is that if you eat a bit more than the capacity of the stomach in question, you will immediately “discard” said food, without prior notice.
That seemed the worst to me. It was of course yet another surprise that I had to swallow whole. Almost literally.
That’s on me for jumping in head first…
What I can tell you for certain: you will remain addicted to pills for your entire life.
Because you can’t eat the daily vitamin requirements, you will receive recommendations for products that are not absorbed in the stomach.
On account on not having a stomach anymore...
But still, 200 ml of…something still goes in, so there is still some stomach.
From what I have read, only the "bottom" of the stomach is actually removed, the part that is responsible secreting the hunger hormone.
That way I got rid of an ulcer I got from the "healthy" lifestyle I had before the operation...
I was setting my alarm clock - to eat. I wasn't realizing when meal time was: 3 meals and 2 snacks (of course).
✅ REGRETS
I regret I went through with the procedure, but I saw no other solution at the time.
5 years after the operation and 40 or so kilograms lost and I still haven't reached the objective every woman dreams of: a weight that starts with a 6 or a 5...
Now, thinking back, I remember the sheer disappointment that came after ordering a dress for myself. I remember I was so proud of myself for losing weight.
When I tried it on, it was like the sky had fallen on me: I was still fat!!!
I have realized, all these years, that although the operation takes away the pleasure of eating, you remain unsatisfied for your entire life and nothing is the same.
I repeat, when your miniature stomach fills, you throw up straight away.
You feel the same deep despair when you see that, although you did everything humanly possible, not only did you not lose as much weight as you wanted, but after 3 years you start gaining weight again...
If you feel like there isn’t enough room for eating enough to gain weight...
✅ LITTLE GOES A LONG WAY
Think again. Little by little goes a long way.
High-calorie foods are not necessarily bulky. Do you know what I'm saying?
How many fattening liquids do you know?
(Un)fortunately, it all comes down to math and ultimately physics and chemistry.
✅ ENGINEERING
Here at Body Engineering I found a mentor with enough patience and professionalism to explain everything to me.
Down to the molecule level.
I got the explanation on what happens inside a body with a properly functioning metabolism and how I must act in order to lose weight.
That’s how I managed to get a proper mindset for success and went to work.
For the first time in my life and by my own strength I reached a weight that starts with a 6.
I think it all starts from the brain.
✅ THE METHOD
When you solve your past traumas and learn to rely exclusively on yourself, you discover that you can achieve anything you set your mind to.
And I mean EVERYTHING.
The Body Engineering method does not consist of quick and expensive solutions.
If you find the motivation enabling you to persevere, everything you need to do becomes simple and within reach.
You have every chance to discover a universe without addictions.
✅ TOP SHAPE
Because, let’s admit it, sugar is the cheapest drug in the universe.
Only now do I have the capacity to:
think clearly;
make quick and confident decisions;
be honest with myself and those around me.
Today I am in the best shape of my life, physically as well as mentally.
I'm only sorry I can't put into words how it's like to feel in control of your own destiny.
✅ TO CONCLUDE
Do you know what I want to ask of you?
Just do what Sensei Valentin says. Do 100% of things for at least a month.
I strongly believe you won't want to go back to the time when everything you dreamed of was made of sugar and honey.
Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels."