6 Month Surgiversary

It has been a year since I started researching WLS and attending introductory meetings.  Now on my 6 month  surgiversary I am essentially at goal.  Reflecting back, this is the best decision I ever made and I wish I had done it many years ago.

The process prior to surgery was extremely helpful in preparing me and in helping me understand what I needed to change to be successful with my new tool.  I started reading on OH late last year and the knowledge I gained has been invaluable.

It took longer to get to surgery than I originally wanted (due to insurance requirements), but it still came relatively quickly.  The surgery itself ended up being much easier than I ever imagined with little pain and no nausea.  Recovery took about as long as OH reading had prepared me for (2 weeks off completely and 2 weeks working from home at a desk job). 

Learning to eat was interesting and the purée stage was boring but by 3 months I had a pretty good handle on what to eat and how much.  The last month my hunger and carb cravings have been kicking in so I am still learning how to deal with that.

My blood pressure is now controlled with minimal medication. I no longer need medications for high cholesterol or Gerd, and am I not pre-diabetic anymore.  My back, knees and feet don't hurt anymore and I am more active than I have been in years.

I found great on-line consignment shops which allowed me to stay in professional work clothes while losing and allowed me to rebuild my new wardrobe without breaking the bank (though I have become a clothes shopoholic).  I have loose skin mostly on my stomach, backside and upper thighs but look pretty good in clothes and okay in a bathing suit. The loose skin on my neck bothers me the most because I can't hide it.  I may look into doing something about it.

To maintain I am going to follow the advice from some veterans here to set a weight range (5 pounds), weigh weekly and adjust calories if needed.  I am going to continue to track on MFP so I know when I need to adjust what I am eating (always eating protein first).  Hopefully with these rules and my "tool" I can finally stay at a healthy weight.

Thank you to everyone who contributes to OH.  Knowing that someone else has experienced the same things and being able to hear the advice of veterans had been tremendous.  And I love the enthusiasm of us "newbies".  Thank you all!

Congratulations! Very impressive. I hope I can follow along in your footsteps and all the other successful wls vets here. I wouldn't mind the links to those online consignment shops (in hopes I'll need them soon) 

Wow -- you really lost at a rapid rate! I'm very impressed! I eat like I'm supposed to and I work out almost every day, but I'm not losing as quickly as you. and it looks  like you and I started at almost the exact same weight and have the same goal. What's your secret? Congratulations, by the way!!!

Thanks!  No secrets, just always eating protein first and low calories.  I was very low in the beginning, then in month 4 my average was 600 calories, month 5 700, month 6 800.  It helps that I can't eat more than 3 ozs of dense protein still (and less in the beginning).  The protein fills me up so there is no room to snack.  I also take my vitamins religiously and drink a minimum of 64oz of crystal lite, usually more (don't like plain water much).  SparkleKitty always says it is all about the calories and I believe her - keeping them low with the dense protein to fill me up has been key.  I am a pretty boring eater most of the time.  Breakfast = egg eaters and cottage cheese; lunch = 3 oz deli turkey or 3 oz tuna.  I have more variety at dinner - usually I go out to eat once or twice a week and have a protein rich appetizer or small plate most times.  Often it will be shrimp or scallops or crab cake (small), etc.   Dinner at home is 1/2 of leftover from going out OR crack salad (about a 1/2 serving fills me) OR 1/2 small burger and cheese OR 1 cup homemade vegetarian chili.  I have 1-3 snacks a day depending on hunger: string cheese or yogurt or quest chips (newly found) or 1/2 protein bar (if at work). 

Forgot to mention that I had a hiatal hernia fixed at the time of surgery which is why the GERD is gone.

On-line consignments: ThredUp.com and Swap.com.   I usually buy "like new" or "new with tags" and they really are!  

Congrats on all your success!