My experience nearly one year post-op, low bmi'er, success!

[Butterflyhigh 504]

Hi everyone!

Thought I should log in an update. I am now 11 months post-op. I've gotten through all the challenging transitioning and healing which takes place for a good nine months or so after surgery.

Before/After Stats: (Surgery was performed on June 9th, 2014)

Height: 5'6

Before Weight: 210 lbs (highest weight was 240)

Current Weight: 127

Before BMI: 34

Current BMI: 20

Surgery Day Pant Size: 16

Current Pant Size: 2 or 0

Things went like this:

I had my surgery. I followed my doctors orders. I didn't pay attention to stalls. I focused on Protein and hydration. I weighted myself daily but honestly didn't pay too much attention to the number, just checked to see that the pounds were still dropping. I never obsessed over anything, just enjoyed my journey into this new lifestyle, even the tough days.

My biggest challenges:

Definitely drinking enough fluids. I still struggle with getting 64 oz in!! Also I should do better about tracking my food consumption every day. (If I don't track, I don't eat enough)

The hardest time for me:

Even months after I added solid food it seemed like eating would never "feel" normal again. Always too full, always slightly queasy after eating, always getting things stuck in my esophagus, always dealing with heartburn. There were nights when I would just be so tired of feeling sick from eating food....but I always kept in mind that this was a temporary stage and that it would pass. It did. Now I can eat anything including Pasta, bread, red meat, chicken, and lettuce. Just very little amounts.

What I wished I had done differently:

Added strength training as soon as I was cleared for exercise. After loosing all of this fat I also lost a lot of muscle mass which led to that gaunt post-wls sickly look for a few weeks. Now I do yoga nearly 7 days per week. It would have been waaaaay better to have started earlier when I still had muscles to work with.

Here is the most important thing I did:

I worked very hard in the beginning to reset my entire relationship with food. I had to find new ways of coping with stress and new ways of rewarding myself. I did a lot of personal detective work to understand the why's and how's of my food addiction. Food to me now is just a tasty fuel for my body. Do I add good or bad fuel to my machine? Without having so many emotions interwoven with the act of chewing, swallowing, and stuffing food inside my stomach, it is now easy to choose the healthy fuel.

The coolest thing so far:

Honestly, it's the knowledge that I have just increased my life expectancy and long-term quality of life. That's a huge deal. I can see myself as an active, engaged, healthy, and youthful senior citizen. I'm only 37 but I feel like I've given myself the most loving gift possible...a healthy future.

Other totally awesome things:

I take up sooo much less space in the bathtub. I spend much less money when eating out. I am oftentimes the thinnest person in the room, which is so so weird. I no longer want to hide myself inside baggy sweaters. I am wearing tank tops without an added cover-up. I look 10 years younger!! I have beautiful cheekbones which were formerly hidden underneath a plump and chubby face. There is such a thing as a clavicle bone and I LOVE running my fingers along the ridge! Getting up off the floor is so much easier. Walking though a parking lot or up the steps is much easier. I CAN LEAVE FOOD ON MY PLATE which is something I could never do before and is now one of the most empowering choices I make on a daily basis.

The downside:

This cost a lot of money, $14,000 out-of-pocket. I went from a C breast cup to an A. I lost all my butt. Seriously, it's a sad situation about my ass...there is none. I lost all the excess fat, but also my womanly curves. I have a very loose wrinkly stomach and a saggy place where my butt used to be. I've spent a fortune in clothes and Protein drinks. It's been tough having to explain myself to family members. The downside in no way compares to the positive things that happened as a result of my wls.

My current goal:

Is to consume between 1500-1800 calories per day. My nut said to change gears and fatten up my diet. I am supposed to add carbs, calories, and fat. If I don't track I am only hitting about 900-1200 calories per day. I can only eat about 1 cup of food at the most. Now when I'm stressed I find it difficult to eat as opposed to binge eating my stress away like I used to. So believe it or not, my biggest goal at the moment is to stop the weight loss and maintain my current weight.

I hope this can be helpful to those out there who are considering getting a wls, are struggling thorough those early days when all you can focus on is sipping broth and forcing down Protein shakes, and those who are scared to take the plunge. I feel this is the best decision I could have made for my current happiness, future health and quality of life, and to model healthy eating habits/behaviors/relationship with food for my two daughters.

Good Luck to all of you beautiful and brave people!

[JamieLogical 8,684]

Thank you for this amazing post! I love the way you organized it and addressed so many of the thoughts and concerns we have throughout this journey. It sounds like you are doing great and you really prove that this is an ongoing process, not something that we will ever be "done" with. Congratulations on your progress and I wish you much health and happiness!

[Babbs 14,680]

Amazing post! Thank you so much for posting!

[☁️9⃣B???? 55]

Thank you so much for your lovely and elaborate post. Makes me feel positive about my future????

[ad1203 85]

Great post and great job! Congratulations!

[Chrystee 838]

Awesome! Do you have pics?

[Stephanie Salsera Perrott 85]

Fantastic post you just helped a lot of people including myself.

[robym123 8]

Awesome awesome for you to share that YOU TOUCHED SO MANY ISSUES I HAVE and have just helped me realize that I can do this !!!! Thank you I had sleeve surgery on 4-8 and I have so many bad days and to know that IT WILL GET BETTER WITH TIME is something I say to myself everyday

[VSGAnn2014 12,992]

Thanks for your post. I'm 5'5" and reached my 150 pound goal about two weeks ago. I'm now 148 and SO ready to stop losing weight. But getting my calories up to 1400 is harder than I'd imagined. Tonight, I'll be eating pasta--I need the calories.

Boy, this is different. My body and my head got so used to 1200 calories. How did THAT happen?

[borg/assimilated 576]

Thank you for that positive post, and congratulations on your accomplishments!

[Need4Change 26]

Great post! It's encouraging, yet realistic. I, too, would love to see before and after photos, as our starting stats are quite similar.

[leag78 469]

Thank you for posting your story. I am officially 1 month post op today and I think I really needed to hear that.

[justbeingme1972 27]

Oh my gosh, tomorrow I will be two weeks post op. Also a low bmi'er I am second guessing my choice. I wanna phucking eat, it's what I do, nice restaurants and bottles of wine are my MO. I guess I should say were my MO. Omg I am in mourning, trying to settle in to my new life style. This post was just what the Dr ordered. Thank you for sharing

[liannatx 897]

Congrats on your success and fabulous attitude! I love this entire post. I am going to go re-read it now : )

[ProjectMe 909]

@@Butterflyhigh I truly appreciate your thoughtful, realistic post. Words like yours are invaluable. Thank you for taking the time to share.