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Wishing everyone a Happy New Year and a successful journey to better health. On March 1, 2023 before heading to the airport traveling to Piedras Negras, Mexico for my scheduled March 3rd VSG with Dr. Alvarez at Endobariatric; I logged my weight and recorded my measurements. I have kept a running spreadsheet, updating the stats the 1st of every month. Ten months later, I am down 75 pounds and fitting comfortably in a size 6. I am not finished. I had set my goal at 112 which in reality is too thin for me but I wanted to allow for the common 5 to 7 pound regain from the lowest weight, hopefully settling in the 117 to 118 range. I have not had one moment's regret. This is the greatest gift I have given myself and look forward to a healthier and more active 2024.

(Also my status update, btw) It's finally here!! My last day with a "normal" digestive system. Tomorrow morning I go in at 10:15am to check in, go through all the pre-flight checks (IV, vitals, sign consents, talk to anesthesia and my surgeon, etc), then into the OR I go! This process has taken what seems like forever. Way back in April of 2022, I saw a general surgeon to have a Nissen Fundoplication to deal with my (horrible!!) reflux and repair my hiatal hernia. Problem was....my weight made it so there would be a high risk of both failure after a couple years and potential complications. He then suggested I see a bariatric surgeon (which was the first time anyone had ever made that suggestion. So off I went to see bariatrics. From the first appointment, Dr. Beekley was nothing but supportive. He never once belittled me over my weight, or made me feel like I was making excuses for my health. The entire team has been awesome. They keep up with me in myChart, letting me know what Pre-op clearances I needed, or if anything extra was needed from other providers (which, given all my health issues, there was always something extra that was needed lol). But all that hoop jumping was worth it. Now I'm packing my bag and getting ready to have my life completely changed for the better. While I may be increasingly nervous the closer I get to that OR, I'm also excited beyond belief. I've been stuck in this messed up body for entirely too long, and I can't wait to start leaving it behind and meet the woman I know is inside.

I signed up on here awhile back and waited to post anything until now and hope I can give some of my experience. March 1st of this year I had my gastric sleeve. I went in with a weight of 363 pounds and am 6’1. As of today posting this I am 225 pounds. Definitely was one of the smartest decisions I ever made for myself. Everyone’s journey is different. I was met with immediate energy following my procedure, like waking up everyday and ready to take on the world. And it’s still like that. For whatever reason for me, my eating habits and likes and dislikes immediately changed. I hated fish my whole life and now find myself craving it. Once loved ranch dressing, not it makes my stomach feel yuck. You hit these plateaus where your weight doesn’t change, sometimes for a couple weeks at a time, it’s easy to get discouraged but trust me, stay the course, don’t go back to bad habits and then bam! Next thing you know, you’re dropping a pound or two a day, followed by another plateau. This will happen repeatedly. For me I’ve noticed that walking 4 or 5 miles a day and being as active as possible REALLY makes it come off even quicker and maintaining a diet with no sugar for me has seriously helped. I treat myself to a little bit of carbs daily but mainly all proteins and it has worked great for me. Again, these are just the things that have worked in my journey and no two are the same. I’m fortunate that my job is pretty active so I keep track of my steps climbed and steps to get my exercise minutes in while I work. I also find a reason to be active when I’m not working. I wish everyone luck that is or has had this procedure done. And like I said, it’s the best thing I ever did for ME.

Tomorrow will be my 1 year anniversary since my gastric bypass surgery. I have lost 86 pounds. I’m not going to lie, I honestly thought I would have lost more by now. Although weight loss has slowed down tremendously, I have yet to see a gain on the scale so I take that as a win. I would like to lose at least another 50 pounds so I have to remember this surgery is not a cure-all, it’s simply a tool. I’ve been extremely lucky and have had no complications whatsoever. I don’t experience dumping syndrome at all (well I did once when I ate some ice cream and have steered clear ever since) but other than that there really isn’t anything I can’t eat, I just eat a whole lot less. I can definitely be better about my diet, like always, but one thing I’ve incorporated into my life that has stuck is exercise. I don’t feel good unless I exercise so it’s become addicting (in a good way). Anybody who is reading this and contemplating this surgery, or is in recent post op and struggling, I have absolutely no regrets about having this surgery. The first 2 months were rough, but I got through it and so will you!

My gastric sleeve surgery date is 12/19/23 and would love to connect with others having surgery in December so that we can support each other on this journey. 😊

I was curious what causes the 3-week stall, and this is what I found out in doing a little digging. When we experience calorie deprivation, whether a diet or after surgery or just not having the usual amount to eat for a bit, our bodies first turn to our store of glycogen to keep things running. Glycogen is a form of stored sugar, and for each gram of glycogen in the body, it's bound to 3 grams of water. So, if you burn a gram of glycogen for energy, you lose 3 additional grams of water as a bonus. Your body will always burn glycogen before it burns fat because that's how we've evolved to handle brief food shortages. Which means most of the weight you lose right after surgery is not actually fat, but water (and that's fine!). But after a few weeks, your body is low on glycogen and you still haven't hunted down a wooly mammoth to eat, so now it starts burning fat to keep running. At the same time, it does what it can to replenish those glycogen stores with whatever calories you have coming in, because it's a little worried you won't survive the next famine. Glycogen makes me think of the $100 cash my mom always kept stashed in her sock drawer for an emergency. If she used any of it, as soon as she got more cash, she replenished that first before putting anything in her wallet. Remember, each gram of glycogen comes with 3 grams of water. So you might burn 4 grams of fat, but also replenish 1 gram of glycogen (along with the 3 grams of water that tag along for the ride), and the scale shows you the same weight. Now you feel like nothing has happened and start to panic. But you still lost fat, which is the goal. And once your body does what it needs to do to replenish that glycogen, it'll start showing on the scale again. I really wish doctors would explain this process to patients before surgery! Some mention plateaus in general, but they rarely explain what causes them, and the 3 week stall is the type of thing they really should explain in detail so we know what's going on because it's basically a given.

I have a surgery date 10/18/2023!!

It is 1000000% normal and generally unavoidable. Your hair naturally goes through growth and shed cycles and any major trauma to your body (surgery, stress, pregnancy, etc.) can impact that cycle. You just had major surgery and now your body is losing a significant amount of weight in a very short period of time, which triggers that shed cycle to accelerate. For most folks it lasts a couple months, slows down, and then you start to see regrowth. Take your bariatric vitamins, hit your protein goals, and stay hydrated. Those are your best tools for helping minimize it and ensure regrowth comes in strong. Some people also supplement with collagen and biotin, which certanily can help, but they won't stop the shed. Hang in there, its totally normal and doesn't last forever!

I'm so excited, I got my surgery date today and we finalized all the details of the surgery!!! I'll be doing the duodenal switch with a longer common channel since I have a history of vitamin D deficiency and anemia. The surgeon talked to my GI specialist and they signed off of on it so everyone is on board thankfully. We picked December 13th, since I'll be in New Zealand for most of November. He said 2 weeks is standard for their liver reduction diet but if I added in a gradual 3rd week it would probably help as a bonus week. Their liver reduction diet is 2 shakes, 2 snacks and a lean, green dinner until one week before surgery, when it switches to all fluids. So basically I'll be starting the diet as soon as we get back from traveling... I already have 7 flavors of premier protein shakes in my closet. LOL (They require the shakes be either those or the bariatric advantage powder as per some study they are following). I'm really happy to be at this stage of everything, I know the 2 months will fly by fast!