One Year Out (Well, really tomorrow, but who's counting???)
Fair warning – This was a lot longer than I thought it would be. You might want to have your water bottle with you before starting!
Today (plus one day that I've confessed to above) makes one year out for me. WOW! What an incredible year. In some ways it seems like forever and in other ways, just like it was yesterday. As my signature states, I’ve gone from an 18W to size 4/6. My BMI changed from 32.8 to drum roll please .... 20.1. Hard to believe!!! My surgeon was Dr. Thomas Umbach in Las Vegas, NV. I found him through Medical Tourism and am very thankful that together we’ve made sure I have a nice long, healthy life.
The typical question – would you do it again? YES, YES, YES! I was known as a “lightweight" since my BMI was “only" 32.8. Was I fat? Definitely! Did I have risk factors? Definitely! I’ve often said that I was the smallest obese person in my family, but I had to personally realize that I was still obese. I really considered this surgery due to my father. I lost him in March 2009 due to complications from his obesity – congestive heart failure and uncontrolled diabetes. He was only 64 years old. It broke my heart to lose my dad at such a young age. I want to be around for my kids (currently 20, 17, and 9) and their kids!
Not only do I look better, I feel better. I can run up and down our stairs all day! No more having to sit down because I’m tired after one trip up. I can go to Costco, shop, put the food away & still have energy for more chores/tasks. INCREDIBLE!!! With that being said, I still have not been good about regular, planned exercise. My stomach may look better if I had (but part of me thinks not – skin just isn’t going to bounce back but so much). I am thinking breast augmentation, but I probably won’t. Just invest in more push up/padded bras.
Do I want to punch out people that say I took the “easy way"? Yep! Is it hard? Yes. Do people who say I’ll gain it all back annoy me? Yep! Does my new tummy give me a tool that can make me successful? Heck yeah! Am I already successful? YES I AM! Am I concerned about maintenance and gaining again? Yes, but with continued dedication & support groups like this one, I can make it!
The next question – how much can you eat now? Slider foods – more than I thought I could/should. I can pack down close to pre-surgery amounts of cookies, ice cream, popcorn, etc. I have been testing a bit with “normal" foods … the other day, I was able to eat almost all of a McDonald’s hamburger with just the top bun & all but 3 slices of the Apple Dippers (no caramel sauce). I had one or two more bites left of the top bun, but knew I was done. I can eat about 3 ounces of steak with a bite or two of salad & maybe 1/4 of a baked potato. My biggest battles right now are (1) head hunger at night and (2) not counting foods as “bad" or “good". I am trying to change my thinking to “good for me" or “tastes good, but not very nutritious".
I met with a nutritionist last week to talk about my eating plan for life. While she questioned if I still needed to track every bite I eat, I told her that it helped me be accountable. I am now tracking to 60g protein, 64+ ounces of water, 100+ grams carbohydrates, and somewhere between 1500-2000 calories a day. I will add a confession here – I track Monday to Friday, but rarely on Saturday & Sunday. I just kind of eye ball/mentally track on the weekends.
OK – enough rambling … Just want to leave with 1 more thing: If you are on the fence about this surgery, I want to strongly encourage you to investigate further. This surgery has truly saved my life & given me a new future. It can do the same for you.
For newbies … this is a great place to start: http://www.obesityhe...or-New-Members/
Today (plus one day that I've confessed to above) makes one year out for me. WOW! What an incredible year. In some ways it seems like forever and in other ways, just like it was yesterday. As my signature states, I’ve gone from an 18W to size 4/6. My BMI changed from 32.8 to drum roll please .... 20.1. Hard to believe!!! My surgeon was Dr. Thomas Umbach in Las Vegas, NV. I found him through Medical Tourism and am very thankful that together we’ve made sure I have a nice long, healthy life.
The typical question – would you do it again? YES, YES, YES! I was known as a “lightweight" since my BMI was “only" 32.8. Was I fat? Definitely! Did I have risk factors? Definitely! I’ve often said that I was the smallest obese person in my family, but I had to personally realize that I was still obese. I really considered this surgery due to my father. I lost him in March 2009 due to complications from his obesity – congestive heart failure and uncontrolled diabetes. He was only 64 years old. It broke my heart to lose my dad at such a young age. I want to be around for my kids (currently 20, 17, and 9) and their kids!
Not only do I look better, I feel better. I can run up and down our stairs all day! No more having to sit down because I’m tired after one trip up. I can go to Costco, shop, put the food away & still have energy for more chores/tasks. INCREDIBLE!!! With that being said, I still have not been good about regular, planned exercise. My stomach may look better if I had (but part of me thinks not – skin just isn’t going to bounce back but so much). I am thinking breast augmentation, but I probably won’t. Just invest in more push up/padded bras.
Do I want to punch out people that say I took the “easy way"? Yep! Is it hard? Yes. Do people who say I’ll gain it all back annoy me? Yep! Does my new tummy give me a tool that can make me successful? Heck yeah! Am I already successful? YES I AM! Am I concerned about maintenance and gaining again? Yes, but with continued dedication & support groups like this one, I can make it!
The next question – how much can you eat now? Slider foods – more than I thought I could/should. I can pack down close to pre-surgery amounts of cookies, ice cream, popcorn, etc. I have been testing a bit with “normal" foods … the other day, I was able to eat almost all of a McDonald’s hamburger with just the top bun & all but 3 slices of the Apple Dippers (no caramel sauce). I had one or two more bites left of the top bun, but knew I was done. I can eat about 3 ounces of steak with a bite or two of salad & maybe 1/4 of a baked potato. My biggest battles right now are (1) head hunger at night and (2) not counting foods as “bad" or “good". I am trying to change my thinking to “good for me" or “tastes good, but not very nutritious".
I met with a nutritionist last week to talk about my eating plan for life. While she questioned if I still needed to track every bite I eat, I told her that it helped me be accountable. I am now tracking to 60g protein, 64+ ounces of water, 100+ grams carbohydrates, and somewhere between 1500-2000 calories a day. I will add a confession here – I track Monday to Friday, but rarely on Saturday & Sunday. I just kind of eye ball/mentally track on the weekends.
OK – enough rambling … Just want to leave with 1 more thing: If you are on the fence about this surgery, I want to strongly encourage you to investigate further. This surgery has truly saved my life & given me a new future. It can do the same for you.
For newbies … this is a great place to start: http://www.obesityhe...or-New-Members/
Revision from Sleeve to DS (with re-Sleeve) on 10/10/17. Slow and steady ...
I love this post. Thank you so much! And congrats to you!!
Julie, 5' 3", age 42. Starting weight: 263, Surgery weight: 255
Blogging at www.freejulie.blogspot.com
Blogging at www.freejulie.blogspot.com
This is a wonderful post!!!
I just posted some pictures. If you have pictures in your profile you can pull up what picture you want on the post, right click and click on copy. Pull up your new topic page and right click. Click on paste. It should come up.
Hope this helps.
Thanks again for posting your experience.
I just posted some pictures. If you have pictures in your profile you can pull up what picture you want on the post, right click and click on copy. Pull up your new topic page and right click. Click on paste. It should come up.
Hope this helps.
Thanks again for posting your experience.