this is now normal - 3 years

So good to see all of you fellow Maysters post, to see the old familiar names and faces, and to hear what's been happening in your lives. I feel so fortunate in my life and health. I was an "over 50 over 50". I had my open RNY just before I turned 50 years old, and my BMI was over 58. At 5'5" I weighed 351. I had been morbidly obese since a toddler, and my doctor didn't give me much hope of losing more than 50% of excess body weight. Well, when I saw him for my 3 year checkup, he told me I could be a poster child for him. My BMI is 23, and my health is great. I weigh 133 and can wear a size 4. Amazing to me. My weight has stayed pretty consistent since year two. I put on about 6 pounds after the holidays this year, which I couldn't get off until I just had round two of plastic surgery. Yes, I am recovering from brachioplasty and revised abdominoplasty in mid-April. It has been tough, as I always seem to have some complication after surgery. I have developed seromas after every surgery I have had. This time it is in the left arm, and has been very painful. At 5 1/2 weeks post-op, I still have swelling and pain in that arm, but no longer any infection. I am glad to have had the plastic surgery, but am looking forward to complete recovery. I am scheduled to have a breast lift/augmentation in September, and that will complete my plastics. I don't ever plan on having a lower body lift or thigh lift, too great a risk for me. So for me, this is the new normal. I still think about the surgery every day, meaning what will I eat or not eat. I am not perfect. I do eat some carbs and some sugar occasionally, but I always start the day with the protein drink still. I am good about my vitamins, and try to get my water in. I can still remember what it felt like to be 351 pounds, and hardly able to move, that feeling of disability, of missing out on life. My knees will never be normal, and I have limitations on what type of exercise I can do, but I love the freedom of being able to move my body. I love walking through a crowd and not standing out. I love the feeling of just being "normal". After three years, my oldest daughter has still not adjusted to her new mom, but I hope some day will. I hope I can say the same things in another three years. I will always be grateful to my two surgeons, the RNY surgeon and the plastic surgeon, who have given me a new life. Debra M.

Wow Debra! You are 1/3 what you used to be; that's amazing. Congratulations and welcome to the new normal. Take care, J