First Surgiversary - What a difference a year makes

[goblue9280 481]

Well, it has now been 1 year since my gastric bypass surgery. Looking back, the year really flew by. There were ups and downs along the way, but I wouldn't change a thing about it... well, my only regret is not getting the surgery done sooner.

I have stuck to my diet, which is primarily vegan/vegetarian, for the entire year. I don't crave junk food and really feel like I've hit a groove and can keep this up for life. It's no longer a diet... it's simply the way I eat now.

A year ago I thought a lot about my own funeral... I was convinced I'd die by the time I hit 50. Not healthy thoughts for a 35 year old with 4 kids. I pictured my parents, brothers, kids and wife being at my funeral. I told my wife I wanted her to promise to cremate me as I couldn't bear the thought of all the people it would take to carry my coffin. Happily, those thoughts are a distant memory.

The stats to date... my "high" weight (I know I was higher) was 425lbs. On the day of surgery (October 1st) I was down to 404lbs. October 1st, 2016 I clocked in at 217lbs, so 208lbs down. I've gone from 56 waist pants and 5/6XL shirts to a 34 waist pant and size large shirts. I do have the much talked about loose skin around my midsection and inner thighs... but it's actually much better than I anticipated after viewing pics online before surgery. I figure I'll start looking at plastics in 6-months to a year... but honestly, I'm not that worried about... loose skin beats being over 400 pounds.

Things I've done in the past year:

• Traveled on an airplane a few times with no worries about being forced to buy an extra seat or seat belt extenders... no worries about infringing on the space of the passenger next to me.
• Started playing ice hockey again in a beer league after a 14+ year hiatus.
• Took the family to Universal Orlando and rode every ride.
• Trained for and completed the couch to 5k program.

The last bullet was a big goal of mine. I've always hated running, but I wanted to do something big for my first surgiversary, so with the help of my cross-country running 14-year old daughter, I began the couch to 5k program 10 weeks ago. There was a local 5k that just happened to be held on October 1st... the exact date of my first surgiversary. So I was able to run it this past weekend with my 14-year old daughter and 12-year old son. I really wanted to do it in under 30 minutes... which I just missed with a time of 30:34. My daughter finished first in the under-19 female with a time of 25:45 (4th woman overall) and my son (who didn't train and has never run anything beyond a mile) finished 1st for under 19 men and 4th overall with a time of 21:44.

Bottom line, I feel like I've been given a 2nd life to live thanks to this surgery. I couldn't be more happy with the decision. Big thanks to my family, my surgeon (Dr. Garth Davis in Houston, TX) and to all of the great posters here on BariatricPal... I wouldn't be here today without the support and kindness all of you have shown through this journey... while I may not post as much as others, I read this forum daily.

[pammcat 47]

Congrats you look fantastic and must feel the same

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[genn 460]

Congrats did u have a lot of loose skin after loosing I haven't had my surgery yet but hopefully with in a month or so

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[aquarius1234 39]

Amazing!! Congrats!

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[Nursenia 68]

Congratulations you look great!!!

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[SlimBra 151]

awesome results......what an amazing feeling

I think we have all been on the funk of "this is just my life" ..and felt we had to live unhappy

I am looking forward to a fresh start.....this was very inspiring!!

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[goblue9280 481]

Congrats did u have a lot of loose skin after loosing I haven't had my surgery yet but hopefully with in a month or so

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Yes, there is... but it's not nearly as bad as I was anticipating. My arms aren't too bad... if I do more strength training and build up the biceps/triceps I think they'll look just fine. I will probably look into a lower body lift for my midsection to tighten all of that up... also have some wrinkled/sagging skin on my inner thighs that I would like removed. But like I said, I'm just happy to be healthy right now and am comfortable in my own skin, pun intended.

Edited October 3, 2016 by goblue9280

[katie09/21/2016 137]

Congratulations on your success! This is very inspiring

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[jvleeuw 98]

Awesome job. A great motivator.

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[genn 460]

Awesome congrats

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[kitkattulsa 28]

Congrats

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[mopardad03 6]

Congratulations!!! As i read your story it sounded as though it was me...i am 13 days post and i already feel amazing...thank you for sharing your success for all of us to benefit from

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[goblue9280 481]

Congratulations!!! As i read your story it sounded as though it was me...i am 13 days post and i already feel amazing...thank you for sharing your success for all of us to benefit from

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Much appreciated! Keep at it, everything will eventually become 2nd nature and the time will start to fly by!

[goblue9280 481]

@@pammcat, @@aquarius1234, @@Nursenia, @@SlimBra, @@katie09/21/2016, @@jvleeuw, @@kitkattulsa

Thank you guys so much for the kind words! It really means a lot!

Edited October 4, 2016 by goblue9280

[Jericho 1]

Awesome you look great!! Family support

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