Before & After RNY with WintersParadox, losing 225 lbs!
March 21, 2017Why I Decided to Have WLS
Let me tell you, the struggle is real. My entire life I have struggled with gaining, losing, and then regaining. I struggled throughout my entire school career where I was bullied about my size. I struggled as a parent. I struggled to even do normal everyday activities with my children. I struggled with depression and then anxiety, which only seemed to worsen with every pound I gained. I struggled, and I struggled some more, and then a little more.
In 2011, I lost my Dad to cancer, it was then that I decided that if I can prevent my children from feeling the pain of losing a parent at a young age then I would do everything in my power to do just that. It was time for me to get my weight and health under control. I walked, I started working out, I ate right, and I lost 110 pounds! I kept the weight off for a year and was still losing slowly but surely. Boom, before I knew it, I was at 364 pounds and I hadn't changed anything. I didn't understand it so I gave up, I had failed not only myself, but I had failed my children.
Early 2015, I was fortunate enough to meet an amazing nurse who introduced me to the idea of weight loss surgery. I read everything I could find on the subject and decided that a Gastric Bypass was exactly what I needed to reclaim my life. My journey has finally started. I ate right, I started doing CrossFit, I was food journaling, I was doing it this time. I participated in a 5k mud run at 362 pounds. I didn't run, I most definitely didn't have the best finishing time, but I made it through obstacles and all. If I am strong enough to finish a mud run at 362 pounds, I am strong enough to handle whatever this surgery is going to throw at me. Pre-op tests, classes, psych evaluations, all of it. I was down to 315 pounds, so I thought "I've got this. Go me!"
Before & After RNY with WintersParadox
OH Username: WintersParadox
Total Weight Loss: 225 pounds
Surgery Type: Gastric Bypass
Surgery Date: 11-17-15
Surgeon: Dr. Douglas Krahn
Having Surgery and Life as a Post-Op
On my surgery day, I was down to 308 pounds. I have never been so scared in my life, my day was finally here. The first day of my new life, a whole new me. I had no complications, I was up and able to walk the halls within 30 minutes of being moved out of recovery. I did struggle a bit getting my fluids in, but I think for some people that's to be expected. The pain was very minimal, not even worth taking the pain medication they were offering. Within the following week, I started noticing the changes that were already taking place with my body. My face was thinning out, my leggings and my shirts were loose. I had lost 28 pounds in the first two weeks after having my Bypass.
As I continued to lose over the next few months, I struggled with everyone seeing my weight loss. I could only see a difference in my face. My body still looked the same to me. Then came the anxiety of "Oh no, I'm failing again!" Of course, I wasn't but it was so hard for me to see how much I had physically lost and how small I was actually getting. Thank goodness for before pictures! I was in disbelief when I saw my first before and after picture. Holy moly, I went from a size 28/30 to a size 16 in just a few short months.
I am now in a size 5, a size 5! Can you believe that? Never in my adult life have I ever been smaller than 18 at any point.
My Milestones and Non-Scale Victories
The NSV that stands out above all the rest was the moment I realized while working out that I could do an actual "Burpee," not the modified version that I had always struggled with, but an actual Burpee! To be able to drop down and do a push-up, hop back up into a jumping jack and right back down again?! Definitely the most amazing feeling in the world.
NSV's are something I take note of every day because they really keep me going....from having extra room in my seat belt, to going to a theme park without fear of being told that I am too big to ride a roller coaster, being able to run around the park with my 16-year-old son and play Pokemon Go without having to stop and take a break, without running out of breath is unbelievable.
Those small NSV's that I notice every single day are what counts, the numbers on the scale matter not, it's the little things that make it all worth it.
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