Happy Three Years!!!

Hi, everyone! I hope things are going well for you all, three years out! The following was taken from something I posted on the Main Board and the DS forum the other day.

Nicolle
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So, on Tuesday, it was THREE YEARS since I had my DS with the amazing Dr. John Rabkin in San Francisco (www.paclap.com).

Before my DS: 344 pounds, 55.5 BMI, Size 30-32 and Type 2 diabetes and sleep apnea  

3 years after my DS: 148 pounds, 23.9 BMI, Size 8-10 and Type 2 diabetes and sleep apnea GONE!!

   

I had an extended tummy tuck and a brachioplasty 6 months ago. (Info and pix on my blog.) So far, I must still be in my “DS honeymoon." I have no idea how long that will last, but I will enjoy it as long as I can. I eat what I want (fortunately what I want is not usually ALL carbs so far) and I have no deficiencies and no gas or poop issues, so far.

I weigh myself EVERY day. I notice the number and I don’t freak out if it’s a pound up or down. I know the neighborhood it should be in for my comfort. I WILL say that if I even lose 2 pounds, it seems to come off of my face ONLY and I look “too skinny" for my taste. Then I up my carbs a smidge. If I start to regain, I plan on cutting back severely on my carbs and seeing what happens.

Yesterday, I ate:

Breakfast at Bakers’ Square
·         Hickory Skillet with extra bacon and cheese
·         Two pieces of rye toast with butter
·         2 cups of coffee with heavy cream and sugar

Lunch/Snack
·         Half of a large bag of uber-buttered popcorn at the movie theater
·         2 treat-sized bags of mini-M&Ms
·         Handful of chocolate-covered almonds and Diet Coke

Dinner out at a Latin American restaurant:
·         Handful of tortilla chips and salsa
·         Tapas: Lamb mini-taco, mini chicken empanada, 2 breaded goat cheese and pumpkin balls, breaded plantain ball
·         Half of a skirt steak with Costa Rican potatoes
·         Glass of white wine
·         Grand Marnier chocolate torte with whipped cream
·         Cup of coffee with heavy cream and sugar and Diet Coke

Midnight snack
·        Cheese and crackers

I have not developed any cross-addictions like over-shopping (in fact, I hate clothes-shopping--too many choices now!), alcoholism, drug addiction, sex (well, I AM far hornier for my husband than before my DS, but that’s a good thing). My marriage has been positively impacted by my weight loss and improved health. My kids eat well-rounded, healthful meals and snacks and indulge in some treats (some nutjobs here on OH seem to think we DS moms and dads slather Crisco on a cookie and hand it to our kids for lunch). My kids view food as fuel and pleasure, as it should be. If I had that attitude from birth, maybe I would not have become obese in the first place. I exercise, but usually in the act of having fun and sometimes in the gym.

I told my husband and my best friend the other day that if I died tomorrow due to something freakish about my surgery, then I would have no regrets. It still would rate as one of the very best things I have ever done. While I was always active, even at 344 pounds, I was moving slow, not at the hyperspeed that I am now.  I have packed a helluva lot of living in these three years including:

·         Easily walked the almost 40-mile Avon 2-day breast cancer walk
·         Logged hours upon hours in active play with my kids (rollerskating, bikeriding, running, climbing,etc.)
·         Gone back to work full-time, confident that my appearance was the LEAST important thing they noticed in interviews (My hilarious new co-workers DID say they saw me on interview day and actually called me a “skinny *****!")
·         Hours upon hours of more comfortable, even closer sex with my husband
·         Happily posed for hundreds of pictures without trying to shield my huge body from the camera with children, my purse, a chair, anything!
·         Did everyday life things without a thought to my appearance (e.g. "I wonder if I look fat doing this?").
·         Ate any and all foods that tickled my fancy, without worrying about fat, calories, etc. or how people would judge me for my choices. I now taste food and flavors as they should be tasted. I had been tossing food back without really tasting it for YEARS. The world is HUGE when you can taste it all!
·         I said “yes" to lots of things, from roller coasters to new relationships. I was always outgoing, but now I am outgoing times a million.
·         Met tons of new friends, fellow DSers IRL and online.
·         Oh, and I got to wear shoes with a heel. Now, I am never going to wear serious high heels. It’s not my style and not really age-appropriate, BUT, here is a pic of my shoe the other night. I felt tall and glamorous, not frumpy.