10-yr surgiversery - I'm a size medium and living life larger than ever!

I recently passed the decade mark from my gastric bypass. In this older post I reflect upon how my life has changed in so many ways - at the time of writing the post I was 8-yrs post op http://www.healthcentral.com/obesity/c/276918/142536/bariatric-weight?ap=831

I’ve battled with my weight since early childhood. I was obese throughout elementary school and junior high. In high school I joined a gym, became an avid swimmer, took diet pills and crash dieted. I got down to a weight of 120-lbs. I felt incredibly healthy and looked wonderful, but I was anorexic. I stopped menstruating and lost my body hair (but not the hair on my head). That low weight wasn’t long-lived, but for years I did maintain my weight at 140-lbs. However, once I began to gain weight I became bulimic. I struggled with bulimia for more than two decades. 

My weight began to balloon up again in my early twenties. I was a processed food junkie and by the time I reached my thirties, I had developed diabetes, celiac disease, depression, acid reflux, asthma, and hypertension. I ended up hospitalized for diabetes. I was morbidly obese and on ~10 prescription medications. Clearly my life was in jeopardy. At the time, Al Roker was in the news for having had gastric bypass surgery. I saw him on the cover of a magazine while shopping with some very beautiful co-workers. I grabbed it off the shelf and told one of the girls that I had thought about getting this surgery. She said, “You should do it.” And in that moment of truth, I decided to have weight-loss surgery. In July of 2003, I had gastric bypass surgery.

Gastric bypass surgery was the linchpin in my decade-long success in defeating obesity and obesity-related illnesses, both physiological and psychological. I've been off 9 of those 10 prescription medications for 10-yrs and counting. Never could I have achieved this success with diet and exercise alone. That said, the surgery is not a "silver bullet." I had to work hard to learn how to eat and live healthily. My bariatric diet: I eat only real food, mostly organic, raised/grown locally and sustainably, no red meat, no grains. I follow the pouch rules. I take a ton of supplements. I am not a gym rat (wish I was), but rather I engage in activities that I enjoy to keep me active. 

Today, I'm a size medium and living life larger than ever!   

Recently I underwent abdominoplasty. Never did I imagine that my body could look this good. So far I have lost 20-lbs and 18 inches and I am not even 4-mos post op yet. At my largest, I wore a size 24W. After gastric bypass, I wore a 14. After abdominoplasty, I am in a 10. You may read about my results in this post http://www.healthcentral.com/obesity/c/276918/162069/bariatric-wow-inches-months?ap=831

What's next? I am looking into more plastics to complete my total body transformation. Next year I will be turning 50- and I think that I will be looking better than ever! 

 clicking this icon will take you to my photo album with nude before and after shots of my tummy tuck. You must be my friend to view and enter the password, "capella."

Feel free to send me a friend request... ladies only, please. 

EDIT I just came back from a shopping spree. I a, now in size 6 and 8 jeans. I cannot freaking believe it!!!!! Woot woot!

Congratulations on hitting such a milestone!  You have been a true inspiration for a lot of people.  Keep up the good work!

Congrats!  It does make quite a difference in our lives.  We actually have a life now. 

Congrats and here's looking forward to the next 10! 

Congrats.  I enjoy reading your stories:)

You've done awesome!  Congrats!

Thank you so much for your kind words, everyone. This is a journey for me, and I have learned so much from others who have shared their successes and struggles here on ObesityHelp. I truly strive to reach others with my story of triumph over adversity. We each deserve to live a life we love.

I updated my original post to add details about my struggles with anorexia and bulimia.