I am one of those really lucky fat people. I just have miiiild asthma, PCOS, and mild sleep apnea. That’s it. No diabetes, hypertension, high blood pressure, anything. But I am a ticking time bomb. I’m only 34, so yeah, I was still healthy. But for how long? I also was having trouble keeping up with my preschooler and I didn’t want that life anymore.

So, this is the story of my sleeve journey so far. I started this process when a friend of mine that had been having weight issues for the 20 years I have known me sent me an email about his 126 lb. weight loss in a year with this surgery. I had never heard of this surgery before, and had always been opposed to the gastric bypass because of all the side effects that every person I met who had one seemed to have. I was intrigued, and started doing research.

I not only found out about the surgery, but became interested in pursuing this as an tool for helping me get to my goal weight. I weighed 350ish lbs., and had yo yoed all over the place. I did really well with low carb diets, as I have PCOS, but always managed to fall off the horse and eat like one. I researched the best hospitals for this surgery, and I was glad to find out that there are so many options in Boston. I chose Newton Wellesley as the best candidate, and decided to go to a new patient meeting.

My husband came with me to the first meeting, and we thought it was interesting. My fabulous husband was very worried about the risks, but was willing to let me pursue this avenue as a way to lose the weight we were both pretty worried about. I met one of the surgeons, and decided to book my first appointment on June 14th. Which was the day after returning from a 1 week vacation to Miami. With lots of good latin food. Ha! So, I booked the appointment and decided not to worry about much until that day. I was given the pre-op diet at that time, and thought about whether or not I could lose a little weight.

I went to my appointment on June 14th, and found out my weight was 353. My doctor is Dr. Chahal. Which was the highest weight I ever saw written down. I'm sure somewhere I owned a scale, but I certainly didn't use it. And they gave me the pre-op binder and the pre-op diet, and I went on my merry way. They told me that in order to qualify for the surgery I just had to lose 5 lbs. I have lost as much as 5 lbs in a day. So, to say I wasn't worried was an understatement.

I made some changes, and stopped drinking soda. Which I did rarely. And tried not to eat quite as much dessert. I tried to eat as many veggies as the nutritionist told me, and as little meat. Lost 5 lbs, and thought, well, I'm set. But I was STARVING. Then my husband couldn't come with me to the appointment,and I had to change it to 2 weeks later, which I of course assumed would mean I would work hard, and lose more weight. Then I went on a girl's weekend to New York. Where I ate as though I was never going to eat again. And gained 9 lbs. And I couldn't move this other appointment. So, I get there on July 26, and I’ve lost……. 0.3 lbs. Well, this is a big shocker. My 5 lbs that I’ve always been able to lose didn’t cooperate with me. So, the doctor sat me down and said that I obviously wasn’t ready for surgery, and that he wanted me to focus on one thing, protein. He said, later on, we’ll worry about vegetables, and anything else. He said no more CARBS. No bread, pasta, rice, no matter what color. No soda. But most importantly, my plate should be 75% protein, with the rest veggies. And no fun sugary sauces like ketchup and bbq. But when he said the protein thing, it clicked. Because then I wouldn’t be as hungry. And that my friends, is when everything changed.

The first 2 weeks were kinda sucky because I was detoxing from all the sugar I didn’t think I was eating. But then, the weight started coming off. And I was feeling pretty good. I started going to Zumba 3x a week. So, I went back on August 23^rd, and I had lost 8 lbs. But most importantly, I had actually started making the changes I needed to be successful. The doctor looked at me and said, it’s clicked for you, you are ready. We’ll submit you for the insurance approval. I was on my way.

In the next month, I continued on my path, eating well, and I got to 327.4 lbs. It was a good month I have to say. And then they called me, and gave me a date, Oct. 9. Whoa, this is really happening now. So, I started having more conversations with my husband to make sure that he was ok, and he said if I thought this is what I needed to do to get off my yo yo, he was all for it, but he was still worried about what if something happened to me on the table. Of course, this is something we all worry about, but he was particularly troubled by this. I would have thought the fact we couldn’t go out to dinner for a while and that our food plans were going to drastically change would be a bigger thing, but he was stuck on the me dying part. I head him. I just said to him that I could die in a car accident on the way to the hospital too, but that I needed to change my life drastically. So, with his support I moved forward.

So, the week before surgery, they gave me a stricter pre-op diet. But, they suggested we have a lean cuisine for dinner. I found out I wouldn’t have 2 protein shakes during the day without a laxative effect, and because I hadn’t had sugar for so long, the potatoes in the lean cuisine made me sick too. I called, and they said that was just intended to help make it easier. I could go back to my previous diet, as long as I ate smaller portions. Thank goodness! So, the day of the surgery comes, and I am at 319 lbs.