One year anniversary

Thank you, and I will do my best to post some more from time to time. I might even tell a story.

Congratulations! You look amazing...

i could really use a Little Bill story right now!

You look amazing!! I have missed you and your life anecdotes. Hopefully, you'll come around from time to time.

Incredible job--Happy surgerversary!!

As I wrote to Reree, I will do my best to show up a little more often, and even tell a story from time to time. Thank you.

Congrats! Glad you came back by. I think we could always use another positive-minded fellow warrior in our midst.

Diane

Fantastic to see your post - seeing results like yours are so important to newcomers and surgery vets alike So thank you for coming back and sharing.

If you could pick your top 3 "wins" since starting your journey what would they be? Did you do anything to celebrate your first year and amazing results?

Wishing you all the best.

I gave this some serious thought. There are so many victories I have had. One of the things that has helped me succeed is being thankful every day for the little things that have improved in my life, even if they are the same things I was thankful for yesterday, and the day before, and the day before that. But for the three top wins?

I think just losing as much as I have so far has to be one of the top ones. I was laboring under the irrational fear (that I suspect many of us do) that this wouldn't work for me, or I would manage to mess it up somehow. So to see the changes, to experience them, and to have others notice has been a real big one.

Second, I was relatively healthy when I started this. Except for being extremely fat, I had no co-morbidities with one exception. Just as I was beginning the pre-op program, I crossed the line from pre-diabetic to diabetic. I am now safely on the other side of that again. I am a diabetic, but in remission. I intend to stay there.

Third would be my energy level. Even when I was fat, I was active. One of the doctors with whom I had to do in my pre-op testing told me that the vast majority of people at my weight level had just given up, and were living on disability. I was, and continue to run my own business, which requires standing and working at a very physical job. But in the past couple of years it had gotten hard. Real hard. Now, I have a lot more energy, and I am getting a lot more done. Perversely, my wife and I are talking seriously about me retiring. I will still be working hard, but for her rather than other customers.

As for celebrating, yeah, I did something special. I hopped on my bike and rode a new trail, turning in a 12.6 mile ride in less than an hour. My fitness tracker informed me I averaged 13.3 mph on my old mountain bike. That is the furthest I've done in one ride, and a tie for my fastest time. And there were hills. It burned off enough calories that I was able to eat a piece of birthday cake a few days later guilt free. My birthday was three days before surgery. I am 59 as of a few days ago, one year away from geezerhood.

What an awesome response - you sound like a really motivated, proactive person

So glad you indulged in birthday cake without guilt, those are some kick ass times you clocked on your ride. Isn't it wonderful to enjoy the outdoors and life in general without having to first strategise the how-to's of obesity?!

I'm really impressed with your remission from diabetes that is a HUGE win.

I hope reading your post gives newbies the inspiration to go ahead on their journey and give it 150%. Thanks again for sharing.

I have been so happy with my results it has been relatively easy to stay motivated. Yeah, I have my temptations, but I deal with them by eating something bad for me once in a while. That was the recommendation of the shrink at our practice. He actually said to do an 80/20 mix of good and not so good. I am running about 90-95% good and 5-10% bad.

The big challenge for me is going to be winter. I love my bike, and I have a stationary one sitting right behind my desk here in my office. But it is as boring as can be, even with the ability to watch youtube or Netflix while I am biking. Outside on the trail, it is nature, just as you wrote. It is always interesting. but sometimes it is "break your ears off" cold in the morning when we go, and we aren't even that far in the season yet.