Today is my 6 month surgiversary! Life overall is pretty dang good. There continue to be tradeoffs, of course, and I still have moments of self-pity that I can't eat x,y or z. Still not one day of regret.
I'm down a total of 85 lbs and am now fitting comfortably in most size 14 clothes and size L/XL shirts, depending on cut. My daughter gave me a pair of her Jr. sz shorts yesterday and they were a bit too big.. It's still weird to put my hands on my hips and feel hipbones instead of rolls of fat. Well, I still have fat, just a lot less than before. I don't look quite like a melted candle but I definitely have loose and wrinkly skin in places. The only place it really bothers me is my arms because those are pretty visible every day. And I have a bit of a wattle forming where I used to have a double chin. Not crazy about that either. Still, WORTH THE PRICE. :)
Oh yes, the hair loss started in month 4 and continues on. I'm pretty confident it will grow back but it's very disconcerting to brush one's hair and see such a huge handful come out. My hair was so thick before I couldn't use a small ponytail holder and now I can wrap it around my tiny pinch of hair a couple times. To most people, though, I imagine it doesn't look bad. At least I hope so. Many people have said their hair loss stopped around 6 months so I'm really hoping that's the case for me too.
I've been getting on the treadmill sporadically, not as regularly as I would have liked. In 10 days, I'm doing my first 5k. I may not be able to run the whole thing, but I'm going to run as much as I can. I would love to finish it in 45 minutes but that may be a stretch. I'll update how it went!
13 August 2012
27 June 2012
4.5 month update
The good news is that I continue to feel great. I bought a bunch of sz 14 pants at Goodwill yesterday and decided to see much they would not fit. Well, I actually got them zipped up and buttoned. They do not look good enough to wear anywhere outside of my own bathroom, but I still felt pretty happy about it. The size 18s are definitely a thing of the past, they are all baggy in the seat and waist. I'm down 70 lbs as of today. Just 3 more pounds and I will have lost 50% of my excess weight. For a while the scale was moving so slow I was really afraid I would not make that goal by 6 months out, but needless to say, with 3 lbs to go I'm pretty confident I'll get there by next week.
I started a new job a bit over a month ago, which really took a toll on my exercising, but this past week I have recommitted and have been on the treadmill every day except 1. I hope to keep it up.
The bad news is that I got my first set of labs and they weren't so great. D is within the normal range but at the very bottom of normal. A is low, protein is low and all the iron markers are low. I haven't talked to my dr yet so I don't know what the plan will be. I have been getting in 100 grams of protein a day but evidently that is not enough. I will be trying to add one more shake a day at least so that should help.
I started a new job a bit over a month ago, which really took a toll on my exercising, but this past week I have recommitted and have been on the treadmill every day except 1. I hope to keep it up.
The bad news is that I got my first set of labs and they weren't so great. D is within the normal range but at the very bottom of normal. A is low, protein is low and all the iron markers are low. I haven't talked to my dr yet so I don't know what the plan will be. I have been getting in 100 grams of protein a day but evidently that is not enough. I will be trying to add one more shake a day at least so that should help.
12 June 2012
4 month surgiversary
Well it has been almost 4 months since my surgery. In some ways I am disappointed with my progress and in other ways I can't believe how far I've come. I'm down 65 lbs and I'm comfortably wearing almost all size 16 pants and size L/XL shirts. I even dared buy some size 14 pants which I anticipate fitting into soon. I saw a cute sleeveless dress/jacket combo at Goodwill, size 10 and in a moment of rashness I bought it. And while I can fit into it, it's unflatteringly tight at the waist. It'll be quite a while before I would actually wear it anywhere, but still it was kind of a thrill to actually stand there wearing a size 10 anything.
For a while, I was exercising every day and got up to the 5th week of the couch to 5k program. Then I went back to work and the exercise went by the wayside. I'm really hoping to get back into the routine very soon as I know I felt a lot better when I was exercising every day. The skin issue sucks a bit, my flappy arms are not pretty nor are the wrinkly thighs very attractive. However, I wouldn't trade back for anything.
Eating-wise, I'm doing pretty good. I haven't found much that disagrees with me. That said, I have not been super adventurous because I'm trying to stay committed to the party line, i.e. high protein, low carb, lots of fluids. Of course I can still only eat small quantities. Sometimes its hard for me to finish a single scrambled egg and other times I can eat a bit more.
Overall I'm feeling really good and energetic. This next week I will get my first set of labs and then I will see what adjustments I need to make to Vitalady's basic DS plan.
For a while, I was exercising every day and got up to the 5th week of the couch to 5k program. Then I went back to work and the exercise went by the wayside. I'm really hoping to get back into the routine very soon as I know I felt a lot better when I was exercising every day. The skin issue sucks a bit, my flappy arms are not pretty nor are the wrinkly thighs very attractive. However, I wouldn't trade back for anything.
Eating-wise, I'm doing pretty good. I haven't found much that disagrees with me. That said, I have not been super adventurous because I'm trying to stay committed to the party line, i.e. high protein, low carb, lots of fluids. Of course I can still only eat small quantities. Sometimes its hard for me to finish a single scrambled egg and other times I can eat a bit more.
Overall I'm feeling really good and energetic. This next week I will get my first set of labs and then I will see what adjustments I need to make to Vitalady's basic DS plan.
10 May 2012
One week later
Just a week ago I was crowing about the fact that I could fit into size 18. And then I decided on a whim to try on a pair of size 16 capris. And wouldn't ya know, they fit. Perfectly. So then I tried on a 2nd pair of 16s. They fit too but give me more of a muffin top than I would like so I'm not going to say I'm an actual size 16 just yet. Still, I went out and about today rocking that first pair of 16s.
02 May 2012
Size 18 baby!
My teenage daughter who was a bit overweight recently lost some weight and donated all her size 18 pants to me. They've been sitting in a pile in my closet.
I also had gotten some sz 18 dress pants at a thrift store last week, I wasn't going to buy them, but they were only $1 so I said what the hell. So I see them sitting there, and I decide to see how close they would come to fitting. They looked impossibly small, but somehow, they went on with ease and fit perfectly. So with some trepidation, I looked at the pile of jeans, thinking these are probably not going to fit, the other pair was just a fluke. But once again, those jeans slid right on, zipped and buttoned up with no problems. And they were comfy! Naturally, I then had to try on the whole stack of jeans. And they *all* fit! How is this even possible? Less than 3 months ago, I was wearing tight 24/comfy 26 sizes. And now I'm in an 18??
It's so strange because when I look in the mirror I don't see a lot of change. My thighs look as lumpy and dumpy as ever and the booty looks large enough to knock down a house.
I also had gotten some sz 18 dress pants at a thrift store last week, I wasn't going to buy them, but they were only $1 so I said what the hell. So I see them sitting there, and I decide to see how close they would come to fitting. They looked impossibly small, but somehow, they went on with ease and fit perfectly. So with some trepidation, I looked at the pile of jeans, thinking these are probably not going to fit, the other pair was just a fluke. But once again, those jeans slid right on, zipped and buttoned up with no problems. And they were comfy! Naturally, I then had to try on the whole stack of jeans. And they *all* fit! How is this even possible? Less than 3 months ago, I was wearing tight 24/comfy 26 sizes. And now I'm in an 18??
It's so strange because when I look in the mirror I don't see a lot of change. My thighs look as lumpy and dumpy as ever and the booty looks large enough to knock down a house.