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Budah recovering after weight loss surgery

Posted at 10:28 PM, Feb 06, 2013
and last updated 2013-02-07 01:02:03-05

SALT LAKE CITY - Five days after a life-changing surgery, Fox 13's Big Budah says life is good, despite a minor setback.

Budah had bariatric sleeve surgery last Friday afternoon in hopes of losing weight to help him live a longer, healthier life.

Doctors say that the surgery went as well as it could and, aside from a bad reaction to pain medication that was quickly fixed, Budah says he's been feeling great.

"If you talk to my wife and kids, I've done more cooking in the past 4 days because I don't know what to do with myself," Budah said. "I haven't felt like this in a long time."

Budah says he's getting text messages from people saying he looks great.

"I don't know how much weight I lost. In the pre-op before I even stepped on the table, I was at 24 pounds weight loss so I imagine a little bit more," he said.

But the surgery was the easy part. Now the hard work begins.

For the next couple of weeks, Budah will have to stick to a liquids-only diet. After that comes a lot of exercise and a healthier diet.

"I hear a lot of stories from other people saying, 'Oh my gosh, the first month is going to be your hardest because you want to eat everything in sight.' That hasn't hit me," he said.

Doctors say he'll have to change his mindset and focus less on food, something that can be challenging. But with the help of psychiatrists, he can work through his issues.

Right now, Budah is pretty sore, but when he's ready for it, he'll work with a fitness trainer to get back on track.