I Can Do It Now: AFTER WLS!

I know I am always threatening to do a post of what I can do now that I couldn't do before and then I think but we have all visited this before but sometimes it is a good thing to revisit it so we can reevaluate our progress...and we all have made progress.  I am so proud of Vic and Eileen and Julia for making changes in their eating and moving and all are seeing a change in the scales and in how they feel. I know there are others too so if I have missed anyone please say, hey, you forgot me and I will make sure that we all give glowing credit where credit is due and encourage those who are not quite ready to recommit a little bit of inspiration to move forward; to cross from the dark side; to reevaluate their choices and make amendments to their diets and to their activity.

I remember weighing over 500 pounds and no stores ever having clothes that fit me so I made myself these huge tent dresses that sometimes were made from sheets that I bought and used the solid colors to make me shifts. I bought the largest panties that they made and girls to get them to fit me in the front, I turned the ass side around and they were still so tight that after a while, I just had to make those panties larger until I learned to make my own panties...So my first "I can do" of my list is clothes:

1. I remember, after losing enough weight to qualify for WLS, buying stretch pants...and thinking, I cannot wait until I can wear real pants...
2. Then, I got one of the traveling swim suits that came to me from Karen Courtney and she brought me the traveling pants that came from someone from Oregon...I hung those jeans up as an inspiration to lose enough weight to actually wear zipper jeans....That swim suit was way too tight when I got it and by six months after WLS, it swallowed me hole and so it went on its journey to another WLS sister who was ready to wear her first (in decades) bathing suit. 
3. Those traveling jeans...ladies, it took me a year or more before those jeans fit but when I started wearing them and could zip them up, they were tight but within three months, those jeans along with a few shirts and skirts were on their way to a sister in OK who was ready to try the zipper pants.
4. Sitting in the booth: I know we all have the booth phobia...you know, we go tot he booth, try to squeeze  in and are embarrassed that we cannot fit in without the table squishing us and we looked around and saw all those normal size people who had all that room between their bellies and the table...And, even after I had lost a whole lot of weight, I still didn't want to sit in the booth because I was so scared from trying and seeing everyone look at the fattest lady they had ever seen try to squeeze her morbid belly in...but one day, I was feeling very confident so I walked up to the booth at Chilies and I ever so gently sat down and there was no belly/table contact...DH said I was smiling from ear to ear and to be truthful, I was feeling so normal in that one moment...now I have so much room between me and the table that my granddaughter use to sit in my lap...yep...I have a lap. 
5. Chairs that hold me: Don't laugh. I sat in a chair at my sisters and it broke and I fell flat on my arse so I have always been very careful of chairs and even today, I know I am not going to break a chair but I proceed with caution...I remember the first time I sat on one of those fold up lawn chairs...the kind that has a weight limit and I knew I was under that limit but all I could think about was what if I bend the frame and now I carry one of those in my car so if we are out and I need to sit, we have it. 
6. Peeing in the woods: don't laugh. Before I lost enough weight to squat and pee in the woods, DH and I were out in the middle of the woods and I had to pee so bad and I couldn't pee because I couldn't squat...I always carried extra clothes just in case because when I was so big that there might not be handicap stall I could use, I might pee my pants and so DH said, just get out of the car and pee and use the baby wipes and change your clothes and I was so humiliated but that is exactly what I did. I remember telling the ladies on the board about it and they said, next time, open the door, and take your pants off or down and use the car to help you squat or hold you up while you pee....a couple of years later, DH and I were out fossil hunting...deep in the woods in an old river bed and I had to go and he said, go behind that rock and I said, I can't and he said, sure  you can...he came with me and was going to help me squat...ladies, I almost fell on my ass...I squatted so fast and he had to help me up a little but there you have it..I can now pee in the woods. 
7. Going shopping for clothes in a regular store...the day I was too small to buy clothes at the plus size shops, I panicked. I thought what now?  What now...holy crap...so I went to Penny's thinking they would not have clothes that would fit me...I went to their plus size and was shocked to find that I didn't need the plus size and actually could wear normal size jeans that snapped and zipped and didn't have any elastic anywhere.  Ladies, I bought so many pairs of jeans, and pants, and tops, and underwear...let me just say that I had some making up to do....
8. Wearing heel: I remember when the only shoes I could wear were those awful slip on tennis shoes or those awful old women shoes that slipped on...I have very small feet and have had small feet even during my heaviest, but I was always too heavy to wear a nice pump...and I had to speak at a women's business luncheon and so I wanted to wear a little pump...plus I had a formal dinner that I was going to a week or so after speaking so I needed a reasonable pair of high heels so I went to the shoe store and found pumps and high heels and just like finding out I could buy regular clothes, I sort of went crazy with the shoes but putting those little navy pumps on and walking across the stage and thinking I looked like a million dollars and felt like a billion was one of those I can do this now and could never do it before....yep...true that. 
9. Paying for only one seat on the plane. I will never forget before WLS, flying to Florida with my DH and we bought our tickets over the phone so when we got to the airlines, there was much discussion about how they were going to let me on the plane so they finally made me pay for another seat...and let me add that the other seat was not next to me cause DH was next to me and no seat was on the other side...the aisle was but you cannot argue with the airlines....but they had to bring me two extensions to get me buckled up and everyone in the plane watched as the flight attendant said, I may have a larger one but we can put two together.....Ladies, I fly all over the world and have room in my seat to put my purse next to me...take that American Airlines...

Okay, I have many more but I think I want to hear you guys I can do that now but couldn't do it before stories....if you guys let me down, you will have to read more of my posts...and I have a ton of these stories.  

Tell it like it is; open up; empty your heart of those stories of what scared you and made you afraid and even now, makes your heart skip just a bit. 

Jeannie!

I think this topic is another great idea!

I started this journey last February weighing 350 at 5'9" tall.

I remember being stuck to the sofa because moving was such an effort! I would need to prop a pillow in the small of my back because my ass was huge...60 inches around! The pillow helped me sit forward a bit so my posture was better, but I also needed a pillow in the front to balance plates, checkbooks, my kindle, laptop, etc.

Jim and Jazz had to fetch things for me as the effort of setting up to sit down or get down totally winded me! Plus, my knees did not like me getting up. Walking to another room in the house really got me out of breath, and sometimes after being forced to move around I had to take a nap I was so worn out. Even when not moving I was tired 4 hours into any given day and had to have my nap!

I could barely fit behind my steering wheel in my large car with the seat all the way back, and closing the door was sometimes blocked by my side fat protruding out the door.

I was using a handicap cart to grocery shop if I shopped at all...I was regulating many of my old duties to Jim due to my ongoing fatigue and increasing immobility.

All my largest clothing was stretched to the max, and I am talking stretch pants and mostly polyester or other stretchy tops. I was losing interest in clothing as nothing looked good...it was embarrassing my staff dressed better and looked more professional than I did as my 'uniform' consisted of stretch pants, a 'professional' blouse or top, and boots in the winter and flip flos in the warm weather due to my swollen and unsightly ankles. Shoes hurt!

I could not get in my brother's boat because of my weight and inability to balance properly to go aboard. At one point 4 men were holding the boat steady encouraging me to board, and I still could not get in. Humiliating!

I could not walk down my 20 foot driveway to get the mail without feeling dizzy. I could not sit too long without getting tired or uncomfortable. Rolling over in bed was like crossing a mountain. The toilet base came loose from my weight and I cracked quite a few seats. Falling became an issue. My balance was off!

Since I began losing weight I can now sit on that same sofa with NO pillows to prop me up, and even with some knee pain I can hop up and down to get what I need from any room in the house. I can climb the stairs at home after considering moving the washer and dryer upstairs, and I use the stairs without getting dizzy at the doctor's offices.

One day I got in my car and realized I had to pull the seat up to reach the wheel, and I could actually see the seat on the side as my butt shrunk over 10 inches. I used to be taller than Jim sitting down because of all that padding...now we are the same height...and that man has NO ass!

I am still wearing a lot of my older clothing, but it is very loose. I had considered buying new, but the clothes I got for Christmas sag in the crotch already and are too big in the waist. My favorite sweaters are nice and roomy...I kind of like them like that! My ankles rarely swell, and I can wear my winter flats without pain.

I can walk around SuperWalmart a dozen times without getting out of breath!

I had planned on going tubing off the back of my brother's boat this past summer, but my suit got too big. The fact I would have even considered that was a huge NSV.

I still need my daily nap, but that is probably due to my heart condition. I see the surgeon this week and expect my blood pressure meds may be reduced and another sleep study ordered. My PCP said due to losing 1/3 of my weight I probably don't have sleep apnea anymore, and he ordered blood work to see if I am borderline diabetic.

So in documenting all this it makes me realize much has been accomplished even with 50 pounds to go. It really is a gift!

Thanks Jeannie!

Kathy,

That is great news. I, too, remember being unable to walk for any great l distance so when we drove anywhere, I was never able to go far away from the car.  

Don't you just love looking back? I know we aren't supposed to look back but only look forward but sometime in order to move ahead, we have to look back and evaluate our accomplishments...you have done great!  Way to go. 

I love this topic because, as we get stalled along the way and seem to be getting NOWHERE, we tend to forget just how far we have already come!

Yesterday, I went to a hair salon and realized that my butt FIT in their chair while the hairdresser cut my hair.

I also realized that I could actually rest my feet on the foot bar...yes, my swollen knees bent enough to do that while, all these years, I had to swing my feet around that foot rest and place them on the floor (looks as awkward as it felt)

I constantly am finding NEW CLOTHES that fit (in my closet). FUN!

Chairs no longer squeak and groan when I sit down.... and yes, I HAVE cracked several toilet seats here at home.

I find it much EASIER to get UP OFF the toilet!

Except for my stiff knees, I no longer struggle like a newborn giraffe when I try to stand up after dinner in a restaurant.

I walk much easier, albeit with my cane.

I am no longer breathless when I walk out to the road to pick up our newspaper...holy cow!

I can now wear my younger son's long-sleeved shirt over my nightgown (because I need just that little extra layer to stay warm when I lie down)...and since he left many clothes here when he moved next door, I have now stolen several warm flannel shirts and jackets (he has good taste).

People look AT me now...differently...not try to avoid seeing me. They smile and often say HELLO!

I FEEL lighter. I no longer feel like a freak.

I no longer have to fight with the seatbelt to get it across me and snapped in.

Last night, I bent over to remove my tight support stockings that I must wear for my chronic lymphodema and my stomach has shrunk enough that I could lay my hands flat on the floor...oh MIRACLES!!

 Tears of gratitude swell in my eyes as I type this....I am so very grateful...I allow my body to adjust...sometimes it takes unbelievably-intolerable time, but this surgery still works! Even after ten years of post WLS, it still works! I am still 300(to 297) pounds, BUT I WAS 431 pounds!

I am finding ME again! YOU CAN TOO! NEVER GIVE UP!

Nancy B

Nancy,

I am so happy that your journey has found you...the real you.  Yeah for you and yeah for you that the journey is ongoing and you will never give up...get those smaller clothes to the front of the closet because you will be reaching for the next size real soon.

Great Topic. I was thinking to myself the year before my surgery I was walking with a cane and I could hardly walk anywhere. When I went to the grocery store I had to use power cart because I couldn't walk the store and had to park in a handicap parking space.

I couldn't bring my groceries upstairs,  my friend had to bring them up for me. She had to take my garbage  out for me because I couldn't hold the cane and garbage at the same time and hang on to the railing to go down the stairs. She also would take and bring my laundry in and out of the car and laundromat.  Now  I can do all that myself and can park anywhere I want and walk without a cane

I'm not afraid to sit on lawn furniture now.

Not afraid to sit in a booth at a restaurant. 

I can exercise more easily now. 

Yvonne

Yvonne,

I am so proud of your accomplishments and think you are doing fantastic. I remember carrying in my groceries...all my groceries...the first time.  It was the best feeling ever.  If we all ever get together, we need to do pictures of us all around a flimsy lawn chair just to remember where we are and where we have been. 

When I had surgery I weighed 356 pounds. I don't think I looked like I weighed that much because I am built like a brick ****house...5'9" and proportionately thick. But at that weight I was very embarrassed. The sear belt on the plane, the restaurant booth, the clothing. I was almost into a size 28...unbelievable.

As I started to lose weight my face came back first. With all that weight my face had become puffy and I had a double chin. The weight melted off my face and I felt pretty again. That was the happiest part for me because I am shallow...lol. But in addition to that I was able to do so much more physically. I was dancing and walking. I could walk in sand on the beach. I could go up and down stairs. At Yosemite I was able to hike up to the waterfalls. At the point of almost 100 pounds lost I had friends not recognizing me. That was the absolute best! I remember walking into an all district special Ed meeting with about 75 people that I've worked with for many years and I actually heard a collective gasp. I still smile remembering that. I got down to a size 16/18 which was a far cry from the 26/28.

I never got to my goal weight which was 199. I did get down to 238 and have gained back up to 247. I am now trying to get to 238 again. It's an intermediate goal as I am determined to get under 200. Even though I did have that medical complication a few months ago I am still thankful for the surgery. I look, feel, and move so much better than before I had that big loss. I am also happier.

Julia 

Julia, 

I remember getting my face and neck back too. I also heard people gasping. It is a great feeling and nothing to ever be ashamed of...all of us still have work to do and I think we are all making positive steps.  The first step is to realize that the process is ongoing and that our tool needs to be revisited so that we can apply new strategies to kick start the weightless again. And, you are doing great.  We all need to do a great big ole pat on our backs.....

What has changed?  So much?  I have all the same changes as the others but a couple of smaller but yet not small changes not mentioned yet.

1.  I can cross my legs

2.  I can stand beside the grocery cart in the check out and unload my basket. 

Now a biggie.

I just returned from a week in the desert.  I HIKED, not walked but hiked.  Needed some help on narrow rock steps for balance but I hiked.  minimum of 2 miles per hike.  I would never have attempted that even when I was 40.  At 68 I didn't even consider not taking the hike.  In the last month I have walked and walked and walked. 

Like Julia I did not get below 200 (well I did hit 199 for about 30 seconds).  I did get to 207 and stayed there for awhile.  I regained to about 253 and now am around 242.  I am determined to get below 200. I stick to a good food plan so I am hoping that the walking and exercise at the gym will make a difference.