My New Start

[plain.sight 20]

My first post I thought I would introduce myself and talk about my story. I'm Jamie. I am 36 years old and I recently had the duodenal switch completed on 12/12/19, so I just had my 3 month post-op appointment on Friday. I am exactly 60lbs down from my surgery weight and 88lbs from my highest weight in 08/19.

I felt like I was more on track a month ago when I was meal prepping more. Now I feel like I eat more on the fly and while I'm not making the worst choices, I feel like there are better choices that I could be making. It comes down mostly to time, though. I work more than full time, I am a full time student, and I am in a thrupple relationship (dating two people that are married to each other - been together nearly 18 months) with their 6 year old son in the mix. This means that I am super busy with my family, work, and school, and I split my time between my house and theirs. When I do meal prep, it feels like I am shuffling food around a lot and trying to find places to put it to keep it cold/fresh. It is still cold here (Pennsylvania), but come summer I know this is going to be more of a challenge. I also meal prep for the boyfriend to help him get in good meals for lunch while he works from home.

I started working out recently, joining a bootcamp fitness class that was challenging but so rewarding and so so SO motivating! The problem there, however, is that I have osteoarthritis in both knees. My left knee is much worse than my right and has been killing me. I recently saw an orthopedic specialist who gave me a steroid shot in my knee and is having me see a physical therapist on Wednesday (03/11) before I can go back to the gym. I feel like this has put a huge snag in my plans and what I have been working so hard lately to get on track with.

Overall, I'm definitely looking and feeling better, and I know these are small snags that I just need to find a work-around for and not get discouraged. I wanted to join a support site to maintain my motivation and get inspired by others, so if you are still reading, thank you!

[AJ Tylo 1,399]

You found the right place, all of us have had ups and downs and all of us here support each other! This place is a world of information and experience = Welcome and ask away

FYI get back on the meal prep will really help

[GreenTealael 25,377]

Hey!

It's commonly believed that the majority of weight loss occurs in the dietary changes vs exercise. But if you want to keep motivation high, try chair exercises until things improve (IMHO save your knees or what's the point really if it will eventually begin to hurt to stand or walk because of over exertion)

Your relationship status/type *probably* will not matter much to your weight loss journey unless it's toxic. But (once again) IMHO you must focus on yourself exclusively for a bit in order to set yourself up properly for the future (ingraining good long term habits/coping skills for the life challenges that will surely come)

Good Luck 🌈

[plain.sight 20]

Thank you both so much! I agree that eating right is very important, but now that I have more energy, I'm finding myself a bit antsy if I sit still for too long/don't move. I work a sedentary job, too, so I'm hoping with modified exercises, I'll be able to join my troop again soon.

My relationship is actually a huge motivator for me. My girlfriend had the gastric sleeve surgery the week after mine (12/20/19), so we're going through most of this together. The boyfriend was supposed to have the sleeve done as well but ended up dropping out. He wasn't emotionally ready to make the changes needed, and no reason to have the surgery if you aren't prepared to do that yet. He has been SO supportive of both of us, though.

I agree that taking care of myself first and getting back to with meal prep is the best thing I can do right now to get back on track. Thank you again!

Edited March 9, 2020 by plain.sight