Gastric sleeve surgery helps New Hyde Park man lose 152 lbs.

Tom Knichel describes his childhood physique as “husky.” As an adult, he weighed 275 pounds at age 22. “But then I got married, bought a house, worked six days a week, had a son and, all of a sudden, I was 320 pounds; then 350 pounds. It crept up from there,” Knichel says.

By September 2015, he weighed 369 pounds (50 pounds less than his lifetime high of 419) and was on blood pressure and diabetes medications. His work brought him in contact with a bariatric center in Huntington, where he decided to have gastric sleeve surgery. In that procedure the stomach is reduced by stapling off about 20 percent and removing the rest. He started the process in November 2015 and had surgery six months later.

“It went great. It was everything the doctor described. I had no pain or discomfort and was home for about 10 days” before returning to work, Knichel says. He adds that he was off his diabetes and blood pressure medications two months after surgery. “I had tremendous support from family, friends and co-workers. It’s a hard transition. You need to retrain your brain,” Knichel says. He lost 125 pounds the first year.

“My biggest joy moment was getting on a plane and not worrying about fitting in the seat, asking for a belt extender or being judged. Second was being able to go into any store and buy any type of clothing at a much cheaper price. The third was being able to exercise,” Knichel says.

His usual breakfast is two scrambled eggs, sometimes with cheese or vegetables. To help digestion, Knichel doesn’t drink while eating. He has water or unsweetened iced tea 30 minutes after meals. Lunch is four to five ounces of turkey or ham and American cheese rolled together. Knichel hasn’t had bread in two years (and, yes, he misses it). Dinner is four to five ounces of protein, either salmon, shrimp, chicken or pork and sometimes beef along with broccoli, cauliflower or string beans. A small amount of mashed potatoes or pasta is an infrequent treat. Once or twice a week he has two or three cookies or a small serving of ice cream for dessert. Snacks include yogurt, a piece of fruit or a protein shake.

Knichel hits the gym three to four days a week, doing 30 minutes of cardio on an elliptical or treadmill, followed by 30 minutes of weight training.

“I think most people are afraid of the surgery. That was the easy part. But you have to be ready mentally to take it on, stay on the program and work with the physician to do what you’re supposed to,” Knichel says. “Some people think it’s the easy way out. It’s not. It’s hard work. You need to be determined to be successful.”