Wow, it's been a long time since I have been here. Post sleeve life has been good. Ups and downs and unforeseen events but the majority of it I would not trade if I could. Weight is still an important part of my life but it does not hold the control over me that it did while I was obese or even that it did for the first 18 months post op. I was fanatical about doing everything right in order to shed the weight as quickly as I could. It worked by following the recommendations of my surgical center professionals. I have since realized I can not live the rest of my life so regimented and constrained. That does not however mean that those things that were recommended and I proved worked will be abandoned. It is really about using those tools I learned, in addition to my surgical tool, to manage my weight for the rest of my life. My weight is under my control I am not under it's control.
I started my journey on Nov 23, 2010 at 492lbs. One year post op (Jan. 10, 2012) I was 200. Today nearly 2 years post op. (Jan 7, 2013) I set here at 196. This is about 6 lbs heavier than I want to be. I had gotten to a low weight of 177 around September 2012. I was still 4lbs away from "ïdeal" weight but my body fat was under 9% and I felt like crap. For once in my life I made a conscientious decision to be heavier. That concept is still surreal to me even as I type this. I found that I felt the best and looked the best in a range between 185 and 195. I am using a target of 190 as my new life goal. Now is where I get to make myself feel better and preface that this is all weight before any removal of loose skin so in all reality my "real" body does weight less. My best guess based on others I have seen that have had removal is that I have at least 25lbs of skin that could go. Will I ever be able to get the skin removed so that I can actually see what my "real"body looks like? Who knows, I doubt it. And yes there is a bunch of extra skin. I like to make jokes about it, after-all who doesn't want a butt that looks like a Shar-Pei? The reality though is that it sucks. I have bags and folds that are a constant reminder of the size this container used to be. I can dress it well but in my birthday suit it is not a pleasant sight. Uhhhhggggg! Is the extra skin burdensome enough to regret the decision to have surgery, nope, never. The surgery is still the best decision I have ever made.
One statement of advice to those looking to go through this that have significant others (in the pre-politically correct days I would have said spouses). Be very aware of what THEY are going through as you are on your journey. This affects them too and often in a blindsiding way. Even the most supportive and enthusiastic partner can get lost in the waves of attention that a successful WLS patient will be seeing. And trust me, when they get swept under and begin to feel like WLS has unexpectedly become their whole life too.....the results are not good.
I hope you all are doing well and I will be back more often. I had forgotten how good it feels to simply put into text what is swimming around in my mind. Take care Ya'll!
Well I am four weeks post and doing good. I made the mistake of trying to progress forward too fast, and wasnt eating the best food. I ate too fast and that caused violent vomiting and had lots of blood coming up. SCARY!
I was out of comission for the afternoon, napped andmy husband frantically looked though my weight loss books to find out what was going on. The dr. scolded be BIG TIME and put me back to purree foods.
Let me tell ya that was one hell of a reality check! My husband and I have cleaned out the cubbords and fridge and did shopping for all foods purree. I really read through all my lit from the dr again and made a few recipes of tuna salad and egg salad my dr provided and my husband and I LOVED them.
Word of advice to all of you new sleevers TAKE IT EASY do not rush! Evalute your habits, how you eat, why you eat, slow down and listen to your new stomach!
I am ready to eat my some mashed tatoes tomorrow! Lesson learned I could have been eating turkey "normal" but I didnt focus and take things one step at a time!
So today is post op day 15. I did not get much sleep last night therefore i slept a large portion of the day. I still have a little soreness from the procedure so I'am going light on the exercising. Mentally I feeling ok but I must admit I miss eating alot. I guess I never thought that I would miss the act of eating and drinking so much. I know this sounds so bad but sometimes I just wish I could just chew some food.
Food/liquids:
30 oz of plain water
11 oz (2) Priemier Protien chocolate shakes ( each 11oz shake contains 30g of protien 160 cals, and 1g sugar)
3 oz of pureed marie calender chicken pot pie
1 oz sugar free popsicle
Things I plan on working on tomorrow: being more active and not laying in bed all day and trying to get all 64ozs of fluids down.
Surgery date 11/06/12
Starting weight 260
Current weight 239
