X-Post: Mildly NSFW photos, 15 month update, a bit long!

Post Date: 5/16/11 1:25 pm
Hello everyone. I was 15 months out from surgery yesterday and on Saturday made it to my surgeon's goal of 165. This is a smidgen over a "normal" BMI, so I am looking forward to losing another pound or two so that I can report that I am finally "NORMAL" (Ha! As IF!) I had somewhat arbitrarily set a goal for myself of 160 and my plan now is to just keep doing what I have been doing all along (You know the drill: protein, fluid, supplements, physical activity, healthy veg, minimal crap).

I had struggled for a long time with wondering if I would ever reach goal and whether I even cared - I had several months where I lost no weight or maybe a pound or two a month - and I think I was a bit sick of worrying about whether I was going to be a failure or not. Oddly, my weight loss picked up a lot this month - 6 pounds down, after months of little change.

It was funny that once I reached this somewhat significant goal it was a bit anti-climatic. The reality is, it won't really change my behaviour or my eating - I just will keep doing what I have been doing all along. I still can't actually imagine ever needing to gain weight or having to make weight loss stop - and if that time comes, well I will deal with it then. In the meantime my mantra is "Keep on keeping ON!".

Just so you can see what is possible - here are some before photos and a set taken yesterday. I'm wrinklier and wobblier, and not likely to be asked to model bathing suits or lingerie for Sports Illustrated or Victoria's Secret, but a lot leaner and healthier too!

Also, here are the changes in some of my measurements: Waist was 49, now 32; Bust was 54, now 41; Ribcage was 49, now 34; Bicep was 14, now 11; Thighs were 34.5, no 21; Calf was 20, now 15. WOO HOO!

 Back: Before and at 15 months

Side: Before and at 15 months

 Front: Before and at 15 months


For what it's worth, the keys to success (FOR ME) have been:

To fail to plan is to plan to fail: I always carry my protein drinks and other fluids with me and have a solid plan for lunch, or a packed lunch (Same for any other meal away from home). Every week I plan the week's menus, including planned leftovers for lunches, and do the shopping. I make a list of items for lunch, breakfast and snacks and make sure to have them on hand - so that when it is time to eat, the easiest route to my meal is the healthy stuff I have planned to eat, rather than a swing through a fast food drive-through or convenience store. My desk is stocked with some healthy and low carb snack items as well as protein powder etc. for when I need them at work.

Get those fluids in. the more I drink, the less I retain water and the quicker my body sheds fat. If I feel hungry or have cravings I drink first and see if I still feel hungry 15 minutes after drinking 16-20 ounces. Often I do not.

Eat protein first, no matter what else I am craving, Then, if I still want it, I have a bit of chocolate or whatever (But minimize the damage - make it DARK chocolate!)

Don't sweat the stalls. I haven't seen any evidence in terms of my own experience that eating more, eating less, exercising more, swinging cats, praying, swearing, going back to liquids, or whatever breaks stalls. I mean, be honest with yourself - if you are eating crap and not eating what your body needs, you should not be surprised if you gain weight or stall. But, if you are doing what you should be doing, there is nothing to do but wait it out and keep tracking your body measurements - these typically change a lot when I am NOT losing weight according to the scale!

Maximize the benefits of your food. Whatever and however you choose to eat - try to make sure that what you put in your mouth has a lot of benefit and only a little bit of harm. (For me, with my limited capacity to eat, food has to really be worth it, not just be harmless.) So, I prioritize protein, healthy fats, and fibre - and tend to rely on foods that help me feel satiated.

Try eating until you are satisfied, rather than stuffed: You don't need to stuff yourself! It doesn't feel good and it won't contribute to your long term success. We chose a surgery that provides restriction - USE IT!

If you are gonna "cheat" plan it, track it, own it. I eat a couple squares of 85% dark chocolate a day. I like them, I am still losing weight, for me they are an acceptable part of a daily eating plan. Whatever it is, make it a choice and not a slip.

Exercise: I look and feel better, and I know that I improve my overall health when I exercise. Lifting weights, in particular, makes my body look better ... BUT for me exercise isn't really a key to weight loss, It's all about what i eat and what i don't eat.

Supplements: Take them, track your labs, be an informed WLS consumer. Lots of doctors and many WLS surgeons know little to nothing about nutrition, let alone the nutrition needs of WLS patients. You may need to be an effective advocate for yourself - acquire the knowledge that will make this possible!

Take pictures and take measurements monthly : When the scale is being a real ***** your measurements and your photos will reassure you that you are changing for the better!

Celebrate your successes! I often celebrate with a pedicure or new clothes or whatever, but the most satisfying reward so far was donating 100 pounds of food to the food bank when I hit the milestone of 100 pounds lost. When I hit my personal goal of 160, I will donate the 123 pounds I have lost to the food bank again. Take a picture with it - it is amazing to think about having to carry all of that around with me every second of every day. No WONDER I was tired and sore and sick!

Make and take notice of achieving goals other than clothing size and weight: Such as: health goals, exercise goals, stuff you could do and places you can fit that you couldn't before losing weight. Here are some of the goals I set 6 months before my surgery:

Normal blood pressure: Check
Normal cholesterol: Check
Controlled blood sugar: Check
Reduce/eliminate joint pain (have ALREADY had a knee replacement following an injury): Check - pain is GONE
Size 14 or below: Check - now in size 10 mostly, some 8s and some 12s too
180 pounds or less: Check
Able to polish toenails without straining: No problem!
No more huffing and puffing up the hill: Check - and it still is a surprise to me every time that walking uphill is not difficult at all anymore
Can reach behind my back to fasten my bra: Yup!
Exercise is more fun than it is torture: Yes - although I still lack motivation to get started quite a lot of the time
Increased energy: Absolutely!
Can buy clothing at regular shops: Yes - although I still feel like a trespasser sometimes!
No more worrying before sitting on fragile looking furniture:  Check
No more worrying about whether the seat belt on the airline will fit: Check More space in my airline seat!: Lots more space
Easy to fit in all of the amusement park rides - and the energy to do a day at Disneyland!: Yup, and had a great day a year ago at Disney!
Able to schedule a dude ranch vacation without worrying that I am too heavy to ride the poor horses: Haven't done this yet - but it is in my future!
Learn to kayak: Not yet
Learn to scuba dive: Not yet
High heels don’t hurt (as much, let's be realistic!): Check (but yeah, they still hurt sometimes!) Cute undies!:Not so much - Spanx are my friend!
Able to fit my behind in the bath - and able to hoist myself out of it!: Check
Bike riding is fun and not a form of torture: Haven't tried this yet
A hike is no longer the equivalent of a forced march: Absolutely - I am even the speedy one sometimes!
Attend a reunion in July 2010 looking FINE!: Reunion was cancelled - but I am ready to rock a little black dress ANYTIME - bring it on! 
 
I am so grateful - this surgery may have saved my life and it has certainly saved my quality of life!

Wow, I agree with so many of the things you said and it's what has helped me so much too. Especially these things:

Planning - I love the freedom that having my food with me gives me.

Water - so important and helpful!

Protein first (I do the sugar free dark choco if I need it for even less damage)

Not sweating stalls - When I'm stalling I usually know I'm not doing enough of the things I normally do like allowing myself too many calories, not drinking enough water or exercising enough, so I just tighten things up again

Quality food - I'm very careful in choosing my foods!

Not stuffing - This is hard for me but I've gotten much better at this. The trick for me was to keep my half cup sized food bowls with me at all times, that way I can always measure by volume before I eat, and not try to guess how much I was eating.

Exercise: I also don't expect the exercise to make a HUGE dent in my weight, but I know it helps with my mood and having a better mood keeps me from eating emotionally as much.

Measurements: I haven't taken my pictures or measurements but what I do is I always have some item of clothing that is too small to use for reference. Then regularly I try the clothing on to see if it fits yet. Once it fits then I get another smaller item. I watched as I had a pair of size 22 pants that were way too small, then they fit, then they were way too big. Now I have this adorable size 16 skirt that I'm dying to fit.. pretty soon I hope!

Goals: I also have a lot of goals that are more fitness related, like being able to run for a specific amount of time, etc. This past weekend I went to an amusement park with my son and walked for more than 8 hours with very few breaks. I was so happy I was able to do it! My ultimate goal is to be able to take my son to Disneyland and fit on every ride and be able to handle walking around for a few days, which I'm hoping to do in October.

Thanks for sharing your photos too.. you look amazing! Wonderful tips and I so appreciate you sharing what has worked for you.

Super post girlfriend. I would hire you as a "pin up" girl anytime. You look great. And your hints are wonderful. I hope you put them on the main vsg too as these lessons can't be repeated often enough.

Yeah, getting to goal can be a little anti-climatic. Somehow you think the skies will open and birds will swoop in with ribbons and confetti. But then its just another day except for one little thing  YOU ARE NO LONGER FAT AND NEVER WILL BE AGAIN. So bask in that realization. Then start your plan for maintaining since its just as critical as having a plan for losing. thats what this group is here to do.

So welcome to goal and the rest of your skinny life!  Diane

Thanks Diane, and also thanks for being a wonderful support on this board! It seems to me that there ought to be some bloody birds and confetti, and maybe 76 trombones etc...- but alas, as you said, it's another day. Still, the sun is shining for probably the first time this spring here in the Northwest, and I look and feel great, so no complaints!

 Wonderful post! I am booking marking it because you are so chock full of common sense and wonderful realistic advice...Thank you for all your contributions to this forum and this group!

congratulations!!  you look great.  

of everything you talked about the thing I find the hardest is not eating past the point of satisfaction. I still want to keep going until I can't eat even a little more. this is true in general and really really true when I feel like a binge. 

I have heard some people - the entire population of France, for example - have learned to stop eating when no longer hungry: they don't even wait until "full"  - that is something I find hard to imagine.  but I assume it's possible!

I've been at goal for awhile but I'm still learning, still trying to do better....

I have this problem too and it really sucks.  What I have found for me is that if I start off by measuring things out then I can do it, whereas if I just eat without measuring I will eat as much as I can fit.  So I use these small bowls that are exactly 1/2 cup and then fill that up, and only get one bowl full of food per meal. 

Now I *can* eat a cup of food or maybe a little more/less depending on the food and if I serve myself a cup full I'll try to fit it all in.  That's why I have to be mindful and measure BEFORE I eat.. then when the 1/2 cup bowl is empty I don't have much of a choice.

Plus the bowl is a volume measure rather than a weight measure so more likely to be accurate when in my tummy.  I have found that I can be not hungry any more with just 1/2 cup bowl and not stuffed.. that perfect amount.  Have you ever tried this?

Yeah - after a lifetime of stuffing myself to the gills, I still have the feeling that I should be eating what looks like a reasonable amount of food, never mind what my stomach is telling me. Last night that meant 1 1/2 small meatballs. It is like my brain is saying "You'll STARVE if you don't eat more!", but my body is saying, "Chill out, you'll be fine" and I have a hard time listening to my body... especially if it is something really really yummy!

Thanks to Sublimate and to Jackie for all of your great support and advice, here and on the main forum!

what is NSFW?

Not Safe For Work ... (only because I am in my skivvies, even though they are modest they might be offensive in some work contexts...)