One year surgiversary! 171.5 lbs lost since surgery! pic! long!

Hello All!

My surgery was a year ago!  I give credit of my success to the VSG and advice of others so I don't even feel a sense of bragging when I say that the results have been amazing! I NEVER dreamed of making it this far in one year!!! My BMI is about 23 so technically I am in a healthy range.  I don't feel ready to call goal yet.  Time will tell.  

In my head, the true measure of healthy is being "able."  I was very close to disabled at my highest weight. Really, that was no way to live....or, I guess no way to live well.

At the 6 month mark (about 205 lbs) I took my first yoga class ever.  I am hooked and practice almost daily.  Someday, I may return to my old loves of long distance running and biking.  But for now, I love yoga for giving my physical abilities back, albeit slowly, piece by piece.  It has improved my body awareness and I think it even helps settle my mind which in turns helps settle my head hunger.

Listen to the vets here on OH!. If you are shy, you don't have to talk to them personally to hear their teachings.  Grab your water bottle, and sip, sip, sip as you browse their post histories. Slow post day? No problem!  There is a LOT of information out there ready for you to dig up.  As you go thru old posts, you will find even more vets that had a lot to share tho they no longer post.  Soak up their collective wisdom.  Who speaks to you? Who got to goal and who didn't seem to?  What kind of a sleever do you want to be when you grow up?

Looking back, I am pretty structured in my diet.  Some might say over-structured but I wanted the weight off as fast as possible while it was easier in these early months. (Somewhere, there is a vet saying "hey, that's what I said!")  

I find that sticking to my VSG food plan provides much more contentment than the fleeting comfort of off-plan foods. Of course, it is the VSG itself that makes sticking to the plan possible.

Not that I haven't wobbled in my food choices!  But I am quite purposeful in finding VSG friendly options, no matter what unusual cir****tances arise.  As I go about daily life, I remember my previous patterns of grabbing an extra snack (or three) or meal(s) here and there and everywhere.  I don't make excuses now. I tell myself "I don't eat that," or "it isn't time to eat," and move on. (There is a still a part of me that is sad when I move on.)

I deliberately de-emphasized food/cooking/eating as a hobby. Now I use my cooking skills to keep meal prep simple. Less time in the kitchen means that I have less time in the grazing zone.  

I feel my secret weapon has been pre-portioned protein meals always available in the freezer. This is convenient to grab as needed, but even more importantly, it takes portion negotiations off the table.  

Quick Thoughts

• What's out:  elastic waists, earth tones, being hot and sweaty
• What's in:  fitted clothes, color!, long underwear, electric blankets
• What's under the Christmas tree: hiking boots, shapewear, size small (from the Junior section!) loungewear
• Favorite compliment:  "You look very fit.  What do you do to keep so fit?"  I literally turned around to see who else this person might be talking to.
• Most disappointing comment:  From my Mom (who else) who said "fat people want to stay fat because they like all the attention they get"  Geez mom, tell me what you really think!  LOL
• Most dangerous time to cheat: As I plate my meal.  My eyes always feel FREAKIN' ENTITLED to MORE!  Practicing "this is enough" is a daily (sometimes minute by minute) struggle.

Most of us look at how many pounds we lose each month.  I thought those newer in the process might be interested in what percentage of my weight I lost each month. (I used each month's starting weight as the basis of the calculation.)  Sort of interesting that except for that crazy first month, my best months were in the middle, not the beginning.  

• Mo 1: 10.5%
• Mo 2: 4.96%
• Mo 3: 5.2%
• Mo 4: 3.9%
• Mo 5: 6.4%
• Mo 6: 6.8%
• Mo 7: 6.7%
• Mo 8: 8.9%
• Mo 9: 7.4%
• Mo 10: 7.7%
• Mo 11: 6%
• Mo 12: 5.7%

Best wishes in your own journeys!  I'll see if I can insert my headless picture below :)  Sorry for no before picture. I wasn't a happy 361 pounder, few pictures exist and they certainly aren't on my computer, and looking at them still disrupts my zen.  (My head is not entirely well.) 

First off - YAY YOGA!  I love it too and also do it pretty much daily.  (It's rare for me to miss a day!)  

"I deliberately de-emphasized food/cooking/eating as a hobby. Now I use my cooking skills to keep meal prep simple. Less time in the kitchen means that I have less time in the grazing zone. "

This REALLY resonates with me.  I'm going to be thinking about this a lot in the days to come.  Thank you.  

I remember you encouraging me when I first started yoga!  YAY!

I have to give credit to the pre-surgery psychologist for the idea of de-emphasizing cooking and food in general.  Almost the only time he perked up during the interview was when I commented that I can cook for any eating plan and described my cookbook collection, how I find macros for recipes etc etc etc.

He told me to "knock it off."  He said I needed to spend minimal time in the kitchen and minimal time organizing food including researching on the computer.  He said that while I needed to track my food, I should put a minimal amount of effort into it tracking.    

He said I needed to replace my interest in food with interest in other things.  I felt offended for some reason and protested that I cook for my small family (husband and 14 year old) so I couldn't simply "stay out of the kitchen."  He said that they could fend for themselves for a long time.   

My family survived and of course they CAN eat what I eat.  As a family, we will continue to figure this out over time. 

I cooked for a crowd on Thanksgiving and the urge to graze during food prep was amazing.  That really highlighted how useful his advise was.   

How has your family dealt with the change?  I admit, I worry if that if I stopped cooking new and exciting recipes as often as I do, that my family would rebel.  But there might be a happy medium for me, stick to simple standards during the week and then more new and exciting things on the weekends.  (I only cook five nights a week, since we do leftovers the other two nights.  So I could do simple 3 nights and crazy the other 2.)

I think the idea of simple standards more often sounds good. I am sure they are delicious. I also think that people that love us don't have many ways to support us in this journey.  My guess is that your family would be happy to have a way to help you.  

If my experience is any indication, it is a significant help to not only be out of the kitchen (ground zero for grazing,) but also to simply be out of food planning mode which is a trigger for head hunger, too.  

My family probably isn't like your family but here is their reaction. 

In the beginning, I simply said that I had 85% of my stomach removed and I wasn't going to be the main cook any more. (I am always super nice, but I am also blunt.)  I expected at least a show of sadness but I swear they celebrated being released from home cooked meals.  

But, it wasn't like they were cooking for themselves.  I watched with a mixture of jealousy and horror as they ordered large quantities of Chinese food so that they would make the minimum order for delivery. (Heaven forbid they drive over the hill to the Chinese restaurant.) There was a regular parade of fast food/convenience foods thru the house.   Giant Costco casseroles that they snarfed down with ease.  Giant bags of chips and crackers and cheese.  Large quantities of low quality baked goods from grocery stores. 

If I sound judgmental, I was! I worried about my 14 year old's health for one thing.   But, I said little outloud tho I am sure they knew my internal thoughts. 

The psychologist said my daughter was old enough to choose healthy foods but boy I didn't see that for a long time. 

Eventually, she started making specific requests for old standards which was great because I was to the point that we could eat from the same simple recipes.  At this one year point, really my only modification in these standards is to flip the protein/vege ratio to make them vsg friendly.  Plus, she can add rice to hers if she wants. 

But, I still don't cook daily because there are just too many leftovers to have it make sense.  Neither my husband or daughter like to eat home cooked leftovers.  (They are fine with eating leftover restaurant food!) 

My husband never really did take healthy control of his diet, in my opinion. He rarely eats what I prepare when my daughter and I eat together.  But, I wouldn't call it rebellion.  He really hates vege's and my cooking was always vege heavy.  I pretty much cook from scratch.  In contrast, his mom cooked by pouring food out of a can or box and to him that is what tastes "right."  I cook pork tenderloin, he eats multiple links of pork sausage. 

I would guess that he has gained 30-40 pounds in the last year and I don't think it is coincidence.  I feel bad about that but I don't feel personally responsible.  He is very judgmental when it comes to other people, their weight, and their eating patterns.  I know he doesn't see a problem with his.  We will see what the next year brings. 

I am inappropriately interested in what your cooking "crazy" entails.  But I am going to be true to keeping it simple for now and not tempt myself by asking for specifics. 

Great. Now I want to go back and redo my monthly losses as percentages rather than pounds. Great idea!

You've obviously done a fantastic job. But you have the attitude and approach that just as obviously will lead to long term success.

Nicely done.

Thanks, Grim!  In my brain, I particularly attribute the "get it off as fast as you can" philosophy to you.  Thanks SO MUCH for being a regular contributor to this forum!!!!!  

And, I am sorry that your recent bout of crapping blood.  Ew!  Glad you are still with us.  

As I get farther and farther out from surgery (four months yesterday), I get more and more excited by posts like yours.  It keeps my eye on the prize, and gets me looking forward to the end.  Your success is wonderful, and you are such an inspiration.  Thank you for posting.

See, that is the cool thing about this forum.  As you move thru the process, you keep looking at different stages with more interest and curiosity.   Always so much to learn about the next step.  

You are going to have a great year!

Congratulations on such a success filled first year! I suspect that with your great attitude and knowledge you will transition into maintenance without any problems. What you've accomplished over the past year is amazing. You are someone to follow and to learn from. 

You are inspiration!