From 410 to 240 to 340 to 200........

[weightloss4life 1]

My journey began by yo-yo dieting. If there was a diet, I tried it, Weight-Watchers numerous times, Jenny Craig Twice, Nutri-system Twice, Low-Carb, Keto and at least I kid you not 30 other diet attempts! Oh, I forgot the best one! HMR, weight-loss shakes under medical care, I lost 200 pounds or more on that one! It was great and I kept my weight off for SIX years but old poor eating habits crept back in.

Which brought me to 2012 and Dr. Steiner at St. Joe East in Lexington, Ky performed a Bariatric Sleeve. I did everything they told me, Everything! A remember waking up from surgery and it hurting like hell! Of course, they cut half my stomach OUT and threw it away. What did I think it was going to feel like? LOL. Anyway, I remember the great pain and they gave me something obviously that helped, morphine or something.

So the next day, Dr. Steiner came in and said are you ready to go home? I was like NO, I am in so much pain, he told me to walk as much as I could around the floor. So, I made myself get out of bed and rolled the pole holding my IV Fluid bag around the floor of the hospital wing I was in. I did that ALL day long and of course the amazing Dr. Steiner was right by the next morning I WAS ready to go home! I love Dr. Joshua Steiner, he is a brilliant doctor, I trust him as a surgeon implicitly! Unfortunately, St. Joe East was either overrun with patients or short staffed and I was NOT well tended too! I was in pain a lot as they were always late giving me pain medicine as I had switched from morphine to pills.

So, they send me home with a bottle of Percocet which I only needed for I'd say a day or two and the rest I flushed! From the day I got home I continued what Dr. Steiner said to help heal myself faster, I got on my treadmill and walked and walked and walked and I healed so fast!

I followed the liquid high Protein diet, Unjury, etc. by the book I did what he and his staff said to do! I am a great patient in that way, I do what I am told!

I think walking so much, every single day really helped as far as loose skin too. Since I was off work for two weeks, when I got up at 4:45 in the morning every day, I started by putting on my shoes and hopping on the treadmill! Within two weeks I was up to an hour a day on the treadmill!

I went back to work after two weeks and I was so tired, A four hundred and ten-pound body is tired when it can only consume so many calories as my stomach was so swollen and smaller and couldn't hold much food/liquid at all.

But, I made it.

So, I continued to follow exactly what Dr. Steiner and the staff said to do and the weight came off!

I went to all my check-ups, lab works etc. I got to the weight they said I would and then the weight-loss stopped at 240 pounds! Boom! I maintained that for probably two years, continuing to follow the recommended LOW CARB diet.

But then, I started slowly gaining weight! Scary! Check your diet? Are you eating differently? no, I'm not! Are you eating MORE? YES, I am! Hmmmm. But, my stomach is smaller! Right? Have you stretched it? I didn't know you could do that until AFTER surgery! Anyway, I was gaining weight and it was packing back on. While I lose FAST, I gain it FASTER! Oh Joy!

So, I ballooned back up to 340 pounds and was too ashamed to go back to the weight-loss clinic and I know they would have helped me any way they could. But, I was so ashamed and felt so bad inside, you know the feeling when you have lost weight and gained it back, it SUCKS!

Anyway, I was visiting another doctor locally and she was terrific, but when we came to the topic of food, I told her I followed a low carb diet, thinking I was so healthy! It's kind of funny now that I know better. I didn't know that a low carb diet was so detrimental to my health, but my doctor did and she said and I quote: "You are Killing Yourself eating that way!" Now, wasn't that nice!? LOL.

Well, she didn't just criticize she was amazing and so supportive and she helped me change my eating habits to a No OIL, Whole Food Plant Based Diet! First Question, Where do I get my protein!???? I NOW I KNOW, that is not a cause for concern, I get all the protein and then some eating this way. The beauty of this way of eating is I am no longer deprived of delicious foods and I can eat potato's, glorious grains, fruits, vegetables, the recipes, and creations are endless and more importantly, DELICIOUS!

I went from 340 pounds to 200 pounds! Not overnight but gradually and this is the first time that I have ever lost weight and not felt deprived in some way! I didn't have to weigh my food! I didn't have to measure my food! I didn't have to count calories? I didn't have to count carbs? I didn't have to count fat grams? I didn't have to count anything! I could now seat down to a meal and enjoy it and eat until I felt satiated! Wow! You know what? That is nice!

Of course, I had a diet mentality, so I had to deprogram myself! That is a whole story in itself! I had to make myself NOT limit myself! That's crazy but true! I learned about nutrition! I found out that this whole PROTEIN thing is MOSTLY MARKETING! I found out the Food Pyramid has been marketing for YEARS! It's getting better but it's not there yet! The meat and dairy industries are huge and they OWN the politicians, like many other industries. Like my parents and our ancestors, we are indoctrinated into the foods we eat and I had to deprogram myself from years of indoctrination! I had to find out for myself that we are the ONLY species who drinks ANOTHER SPECIES MILK! What the? That's CRAZY! And GROSS! LOL.

Anyway, THIS Works for me and "I" feel like I have been given the keys to the Kingdom because I have finally found a way of eating I LOVE and most of all feel NO deprivation! I am proud of myself for being so open-minded! I used to be a "Hey, do want some beef with your steak kind of person!" Or, go to Burger King or McDonald's and just order beef patties with cheese and that's ALL I ate! Or I would just eat BACON for breakfast! So, being open-minded I no longer eat, any added OIL, No MEAT (Fish, Foul, Beef, Veal, etc) No Dairy (Cheese, Milk, Yogurt, etc.)

I am so happy and healthy! No more Cholesterol meds for me! Also, when I had weight-loss surgery they told me my GERD would go away, be cured! Nope, I still had indigestion, acid reflux, GERD whatever you call it and if anything it became WORSE After surgery! I was aspirating when I slept! That is not fun! So, I took Prilosec/Nexium/Omeprazole! Turns out these medicines are linked to kidney DISEASE! I saw a commercial from a law firm saying if you took these meds and have kidney failure call our firm to join a class action law suit! That's not fun to realize you are on this stuff to help control your horrible acid reflux and it may cause your kidneys to fail! It didn't help much as I was still aspirating in my sleep! I had to start sleeping in a recliner! Anyway, NOW I am off that medicine because I don't need it any longer since I don't eat the foods that cause acid!!!! I didn't release eating animal flesh or eating animal milk products like cheese cause acid reflux!? Who knew?

Yes, I was ignorant of so many things concerning nutrition!

I am still on this journey, but I am so grateful to Dr. Steiner for performing my surgery and to St. Joe East for supporting me during my journey, I need to go back and let them see how well things are now! They would be proud, they are great! I am so grateful to my new doctor for helping me learn about nutrition and about how we were meant to eat and how when you eat the foods you are meant to eat your body rewards you with the body you are meant to have, one that's healthy and trim!

Good Luck to everyone on this journey!