Emerging from the Shadows
Today is the day I start Optifast.
I've been sitting here quietly at the back of the class for months now waiting for the "right time" to raise my hand and introduce myself. I've been tempted to join the conversation a few times but I would hesitate for one reason or another and the moment would pass. I feel as though I've gotten to know many of you through reading your daily posts and trust that you will do the same with me so I'll spare you my long winded life story and just start out with the basics.
My name is Christine, I'm 40 years old and live about an hour outside of Toronto. I've had a severe scale allergy for most of my life so while I can't say with 100% certainty there is no doubt that my high weight was comfortably over 400 lbs. Looking back over my lifetime I have seen a number of increases, decreases and plateaus but ultimately my weight continued to get higher and higher, with one significant loss of approximately 200 lbs 5 years ago. From then until this past spring I had an almost equally significant regain and at my first appointment at the Bariatric clinic in April I weighed 386 lbs.
I don't make decisions lightly. Any decisions. Ever. Last year when it was time to purchase a new coffee maker such a life altering decision could only be reached with weeks of intense produce research and consumer reviews. So when considering WLS I devoted countless hours to scouring the internet for information and while Google led me all over the place I kept coming back here. Again and again and again. I was really struggling to make such an enormous, life changing decision and while I was 95% sure it was the right path for me that remaining 5% raised a lot of questions and concerns.
For the first few months that I was going through the pre-op testing I was really struggling to wrap my brain around it all, struggling to flip the switch and truly commit to something that I knew in my heart that I needed to do. Then on the long weekend in July I went away with my bf, sister and her husband and while we had a great time we ate like we were preparing for hibernation. On the drive home I made my decision, enough was enough and it was time to focus my stubbornness on the task at hand. When I got home I weighed myself... 386... ugh.
Without pre-op diet instructions beyond "try your best" I came here for guidance and since that weekend I have been tracking my food daily, weighing daily (recording on Mondays) and trying to eat as close to what would be described as a maintenance diet as possible to see if I felt like it was doable in the long term. I met my surgeon this past Monday 56 lbs lighter and my surgery was scheduled for November 21st.
I will be eternally grateful to each and every one of you for sharing your lives, your successes, your failures, for asking questions and for caring enough to try to help each other. I have had more "Yes! That exactly." and "I know exactly how you feel/what you mean" moments than I can count and I fully understand why you all keep coming back here. I have learned so much and for that I can't thank you enough. I look forward to becoming a contributing member of the group.
Welcome Fozzie! I'm quite the newbie myself but have found a home here on OH even though I lurk in the forums absorbing as much as I can. I've just had my surgery and still believe this is the best option for me to get healthy once and for all. I too went through everything before finally committing to this new life and I'm so excited to have just had the surgery Nov 2!!! You've got this!! Although I don't wish those Optifast weeks on anyone. It is just a few weeks so I know you've got this! Good luck and welcome again ?
Referral: Jan 2016 Orientation: Apr 2016 Nurse/Nutritionist/Physio/Social Worker: Jun 2016 Meet Surgeon Telehealth: Aug 25/16 Meet Surgeon Toronto: Oct 5/16 Surgery Date: Nov 2/16
