So, it's officially been 1 year since my surgery!

[dr3am3rstarz 61]

This time last year I was getting ready to undergo my surgery. I followed the diet to a 't' except for on Thanksgiving. That was my last meal it wasn't a big meal but it was my last meal that I would have for a year. I decided that at that moment I needed to make a change. I actually made the change long before when I started my pre-op diet however I wasn't as serious as I thought I needed to be. So as I underwent surgery everything went fine, I tried to minimize the pain and the gas in the minimal suffering that came with the surgery and was out the next day and back home. I went and about my business to school and back to work and was trying to do my best to make sure that I was doing what I was supposed to do. After being diagnosed with Lyme disease just six months before and also being diagnosed with fibromyalgia I found out that I wasn't going to be able to exercise the way that I had committed to before having the surgery. However my lyme disease doctor decided that it was going to be okay for me to still go ahead with my surgery as getting rid of fat at the same time as a herxheimer reaction would be okay because the toxins are all getting released and dumped at the same time. My year was a struggle off and on I even checked myself into the hospital for fear of an overdose because of severe fibromyalgia pain that I didn't know could exist that badly until I lost I think my first 40 or so pounds within the first two months of my surgery. But I'll get on to the Happy stuff now. I am now down a hundred and thirty pounds from 334. I feel like I'm in a good place and that I'm still working to get my weight down to a better level and also working on my cholesterol as it as it still sits well above what it should be. I think that anyone who wants to do the surgery should definitely do some research as to the discipline that this it requires because you will have obstacles to overcome and, as you lose the weight you'll feel feelings that you haven't felt in a really long time, you'll have cravings that you didn't think were possible, you'll have to overcome some things that have happened to you in your life just to make it out alive, so you should definitely think long and hard before deciding to have a surgery like this this, it is as though this is literally the hardest thing I've ever done. But I'm happier for it, it's taking me awhile to get here this year has been quite Rocky, I hope that with continued support and continued diligence and stability in my life that I can continue to lose weight and get down to my goal weight which is around 150 lbs because of a previous eating disorder that I had when I was growing up I don't want to get down to well that makes sense. I'm not going to post the pictures here, I know that a picture is a thousand words, but I'm still ashamed of how I looked before and I'm not completely okay with where I am now. I can tell that I've lost weight when I look at the before pictures and you know look at myself in the mirror. However just looking at myself in the mirror I can't tell, not yet anyway. Thanks to those who have been supportive throughout this journey I don't know what I would have done without you. As for everyone else looking to go through surgery and looking for success stories I would have to say that mine is one, but again, you want to make sure that this is something you can do because this again is a tool, something to help you, because in reality what we all need to do is learn to eat better and this can help. Just be careful!

sw: 331

pre-op: 314

cw: 274