2012 - I had Vertical Sleeve Gastric Surgery in October 2012, and this is my journey to push the fat girl aside and start living life without fear of lawn chairs, the middle seat, clothing shops and high heels. Among other things.

2017 - I'm preop for the Duodenal Switch procedure for my sleeve to help me get to goal weight....and to fix another hiatal hernia.


Thursday, November 15, 2012

1 month sleeversary

1 Month

Starting weight – 301
1 Month weight – 269.4

Pounds lost – 31.6

Pant sizes down – 2
Shirt size down – 1

One month in.  Wow, feels like so much longer (in a good way). I have been reading lots of blogs about people that are 8, 9, 15 months, plus into their surgeries and I want to be there already. However, I also wanted to wake up from the surgery skinny too, so you don’t always get what you want! Ha!

I really couldn’t be more happy with the surgery and what its done for me, even in this little beginner stage – One Month. Not for just the weight and the dress sizes. There have been a lot of other amazing changes. 

Here are my amazing improvements:

  1. I have gone from a 4-6 ibuprofen a day habit down to ZERO.  You’re welcome liver and kidneys!!
  2. Sleep – SO.MUCH.BETTER.
  3. Moving, biking, walking, stairs…. All seriously easier!
  4. My shoes all fit again and, lo and behold, they don’t leave giant red lines in my feet anymore!
  5. No more binging. Not even close to physically possible anymore.
  6. Hey! Wow! Ankles!
  7. Getting in and out of the car in a tight parking space - No problem!
The surgery was the best adult decision I’ve ever made for myself.  It was a selfish one (since I didn’t have insurance that covered it, that was $$ straight from our bank account - I'm really very forturnate that we were in a possition to do that), and I struggled with this decision before I did it. It felt like cheating, it felt like I was just too damn lazy to do it the “right way”, I felt like I was a failure and pathetic that I couldn’t just lose weight.

I had a long talk with some friends. I also spent the last 2 years struggling to lose 10lbs, while another friend of mine who got a lap-band lost 150lbs.  Was she a failure? Was she too lazy? Was she cheating?  No.

I didn’t think of her that way. I was jealous of her success, yes, but I was also a good deal more proud and happy for her.  Why wasn’t surgery an answer for me too?  As another good friend of mine sad to me, “You are not taking the easy way out, surgery and changing your life is going to be difficult.  Would you not take help if you had a medical condition that required surgery or medication?”

I finally gave myself permission to be unsuccessful at weight loss. I finally gave myself permission to seek help.  I wish that I had this done years ago.  Hindsight is 20/20, perhaps years of struggling and the up/down has given me an appreciation for what I have now.

One of the biggest differences post surgery is this has helped me stop using my body like a trash can. I can’t eat to solve my problems anymore; I can't fill myself up when I’m bored, tired or cranky.

I’m still a work in progress and I’m looking forward to what I have learned in the next month, and where I’ll be.  Exciting stuff!!

For fun, here is a picture of our dog enjoying life to the fullest. Kind of how I feel today.

3 comments:

  1. 1. Awesome weight (and clothing size) loss!
    2. Your dog is too stinking cute!

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  2. Thank you! He is pretty awesome, rescue dawgs are the bestest!

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  3. Great job! It is amazing how much of a difference a loss of 30 pounds can make you feel. You are rocking your sleeve! Love the dog picture and all of your NSVs. :)

    ReplyDelete