361 Days Later: My Story

[OutsideMatchInside 10,166]

This is going to be long so if you don’t care about the story part, skip to the bottom for the numbers.

I never thought I would be here, post-op from WLS surgery, especially a surgery that removed most of my stomach but here I am, and I am thrilled to be here.

I grew up in a healthy, athletic family, really athletic, at the Professional level. We had healthy food and some not so healthy comfort food, but always real food in the house. I was always athletic, but slightly overweight growing up. Then in college, I started to yo-yo. My weight would change between 20 and 40 pounds. Then I had a baby, BOOM. I gained 70 pounds with the pregnancy and never lost it. I started working with Tech Startups in the dot com era and we had all the perks. Free food, free alcohol, all day every day. I moved up the ladder and with all the five star hotels came high calorie free meals. Extensive business travel meant eating out 5-6 days a week 3 times a day. On the days at home the eating out continued because I was so exhausted from the work week.

I was healthy with low to normal blood pressure and not diabetic most of this time. I was a healthy fat person for a long time until I wasn’t. I was active. I exercised, I could walk circles around even my thin friends in a mall. Then 10 years ago, diabetes. It was easily managed with pills and diet, so it didn’t create drastic changes. I never took it very seriously because I was never really extreme in my high sugars. Then about 4 years ago it seemed like things took a turn, I could never lose more than 20 or 30 pounds. My ability to exercise and be active seemed to diminish. Carrying all that weight was finally catching up to me and my body was breaking down and suffering. Then last year, high blood pressure came. After taking high blood pressure meds for 2 weeks that made me sleepy and made it almost impossible to run my business. I decided to have WLS.

I had researched and looked at WLS for years. I read WLS forums and talked to people, but always talked myself out of it. I finally decided that even if I died on the table that was better than dying slowly. So I knew I was ready. I went through the process very quickly. Almost not trusting myself to drag it out and I felt a real necessity to get the weight off quickly. I went from my first visit with the surgeon to surgery in 8 weeks. BCBSIL was wonderful and the whole process was fast and easy for insurance approval.

Another deciding factor that WLS would work for me, was because the post-op diet was something I was already familiar with. Low carbing? Sign me up. I had been an avid low carber off and on with varying levels of success for years. I realize now that the reason I was never successful was I gave up in stalls, but with the sleeve there is no giving up during a stall. I have always enjoyed low carbing because for me it makes my mind sharper, it is like doing coke or Adderall (no, I have never done either but I have been told the experience in great detail multiple times from multiple people). I have never viewed it as a punishment but a perk.

My issue prior to surgery has always been Portion Control. I skipped meals, focused on work and then would be ravenously hungry, and consume a whole days plus worth of calories all at once, or maybe in 2 meals. Even low carbing and eating healthy I would eat huge amounts. A 12 to 16 ounce ribeye is 900-1300 calories.

I was lucky to have an uneventful, rapid and easy recovery. I had very little pain, went back to work as soon as I came home (I work for myself), and stopped taking the pain meds within 36 hours of surgery. I met my Protein goals after the 2^nd day. I eat all of the foods I enjoy, just in small quantities. I was lucky in the sense I never ate or liked a lot of the things that people have issues with giving up post-op. So I don’t have issues with avoiding them. I gave up sugar years ago to try and control my diabetes. I gave up alcohol for the same reason. I was already years out from either of these things when I had surgery so I didn’t have to give them up post-op.

Okay that is by backstory and how I got to the point surgery and why I felt it would work for me. This is where I am now.

Numbers

The weight I have on here is the weight when I first went to the Dr. It is not my actual highest weight.

HW 377

SW 358

CW 231

Total weight lost 146, 134 since first surgeon visit, and 127 since surgery.

Inches lost

Measurements in Inches

Bust (fullest part of bust):

20

Pecs (just above the bust line):

15

Ribs (top of rib cage just below the bust) :

21

Waist:

25.5

Abdomen:

22

Hips:

17

Right Upper Thigh:

8.5

Right Lower Thigh:

9.5

Left Upper Thigh:

8

Left Lower Thigh:

10.5

Right Calf:

2

Left Calf:

2.25

Right Upper Arm:

6

Left Upper Arm:

5.5

Total 172.75

I wore a tight size US Womens size 28 plus and a comfortable size US Womens size 30 plus. Now I wear a Misses 14/16 I am almost to a 12.

I have boundless energy to match my personality. I am so active in my everyday life in big and small ways. I don’t hurt all over anymore at the end of the day like I did before. I thought that was natural, because I had been so heavy for so long, I didn’t think there was a different way to feel, I thought that was norm. Now I know the difference. I feel like I have taken 20 years off my age.

So that is my story, if you read it all, thanks. I hope it can help someone. Obviously I am still not done. I need to lose at least another 50 pounds and once I get there I am going to evaluate and see if I want to lose another 20 or 30. I never thought that would be an option, to get my weight that low, but I think now it is a possibility.

Edited July 11, 2016 by OutsideMatchInside

[KristenLe 5,980]

Thanks for sharing! Your story is very encouraging as I am just starting out on this journey. Congrats on your success!

[MarieLouise 31]

Thanks for sharing. I'm getting sleeved in the morning and having a tough time with doubt and nerves right now. Your story is just the thing I need. Great job! You sound so happy.

[Kathy812 794]

Thanks for sharing ( I read it all) continued success and you have done a wonderful job!

Were you able to get off your diabetic meds?

Edited July 12, 2016 by Kathy812

[OutsideMatchInside 10,166]

@@MarieLouise I am incredibly happy, but a lot of that happened before surgery. I removed negative people and unnecessary stress from my life. It made post op life so much easier.

@@Kathy812

Yeah my diabetes is cured. No meds, normal sugars all the time, and on the low end of normal.

I keep randomly testing it to make sure it is true.

[Ale Nunez 80]

Thank you so much for sharing your story. My surgery is next week and I'm so nervous and excited. I hope to be as successful as you!

God bless!

[Hello new me 153]

Thanks for sharing. You are doing a great job. Keep up the great work. You have got this.

[Wolfgirl78 266]

Thank you for sharing your story! You've done so well!

Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App

[chycky 671]

Thank you inspiration is such a gift!

[higher 966]

Great uplifting fucking story from one of the most consistently well informed and intellectual style posters here! You kicked butt and even better, your story just makes sense.

[higher 966]

@@OutsideMatchInside how long did it take you to first notice your mind was sharper from low carbing? I've heard this from other people as well and it fascinates me. And were you ever tested for celiac? One more: what is your threshold for low carb? On the Reddit Keto board people say under 50-60 grams, some need to go much lower to notice the positive effects. I'm curious for a WLS perspective to that question.

[VSGAnn2014 12,992]

@@OutsideMatchInside ... your one-year surgiversary post is so impressive!

You have shown every poster and lurker here at BariatricPal what is possible when WLS patients FULLY COMMIT to to their success post-op.

I know you will reach every WLS goal you set.

Congratulations and continued best wishes!

[excitedcyn 5]

Thanks for sharing....Great job on the weight loss.

Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

[OutsideMatchInside 10,166]

@@OutsideMatchInside how long did it take you to first notice your mind was sharper from low carbing? I've heard this from other people as well and it fascinates me. And were you ever tested for celiac? One more: what is your threshold for low carb? On the Reddit Keto board people say under 50-60 grams, some need to go much lower to notice the positive effects. I'm curious for a WLS perspective to that question.

I have been low carbing off and on since 2001, so most of my experience is prior to WLS. I would say once you burn off the sugar in your body and get over the sugar withdrawals you start functioning normally. Maybe 6 weeks you notice you are firing on more than all cylinders. It is subjective and I can only go by my experience and the experience of my friends. If you read the stuff by the Bulletproof guy he swears by it, but he is also into a lot of other bio-hacking, some based in science some whacky. The difference with post-op on WLS surgery is takes you a while to be able to eat enough calories to really be clear in your mind. At least 800 calories daily for me, to fuel working and just regular activities. When my calories were below that I was fatigued a lot.

I don't have celiac and I don't have a gluten allergy and most people that claim to have gluten allergies have never been tested. I mean think about it, if people were allergic to gluten, most of the population would be sick, it doesn't make sense. Most people are reacting to too much sugar.

I don't tolerate sugar more specifically HFCS. HFCS makes me sick. It is too much sugar too fast and it floods your system. People say sugar is sugar and that is kind of true, but how different sugars react in your body is very different.

I try to stay at 25 net carbs per day and no more than 75 on a carb day. I only count net carbs because I really need my Fiber and net carbs makes the most sense. Really with just eating meat and veggies, it is pretty hard to break even into 25 carbs. I really have no idea how people end up eating so many carbs. I had ribs yesterday so today I am just eating fish and a lot of veggies so I will post later what my carb count is with all the veggies I eat. If people are seriously just eating meat and green veggies is impossible to have a high carb count, counting net carbs or actual carbs.

I think if you seriously low carb for a long period like WLS patients should be doing you are going to have to carb cycle some, or your body just gets used to it and nothing happens. I am still experimenting with this.

This day is bad because I had a Fit Crunch Bar

I have one day a week that I usually have carbs, I had to add some carb cycling because I was stalling a lot. Saturday I had fish tacos and pizza all day and it was pretty glorious.

This is the nutrient break out for that day.

This is a high carb day for me and my net carbs are 32.5. I also went to Starbucks in the afternoon and had a Trenta Cold Brew, but I always order it black and add my own half and half.

This is a day I didn't really feel like eating much

/r/keto has been a really big help to me. I can't eat the fat they eat, but there are lots of good tips there. I use the Keto Calculator to calculate my macros to set in LoseIt. It is awesome because well most people can't handle the huge fat deficits that we can, they would be too hungry, but WLS patients can go on and take the max fat deficit. The weight loss forecast it comes up with there is also really helpful. It tells you at the points you have to increase your calories.

I want to add that I am not just coming up with how and what I eat on my own with stuff I have found on the internet. Things I have researched have lead me in this direction but I also am in contact with two University Professors.

My biggest issue right now is I don't eat enough calories for my RMR or my activity level. It is pretty hard to up my calories but I am trying to slowly. I don't have a diminished metabolism at all and I want to keep it that way. The best way to do that is to keep adjusting your calories higher as you lose. Leaving them low for a long period, lowers your metabolism.

[OutsideMatchInside 10,166]

Just to illustrate a point about greens. This is what I am having as part of my lunch.

http://www.earthboundfarm.com/products/salads/organic-spinach-spring-mix

A whole 5 ounce clam shell is 20 calories, 3 carbs and 2 of those carbs are Fiber. I will eat the whole thing today, 1/2 now and 1/2 later.

There is no reason for people to be "starving" when you can spend 20 calories on a huge volume of salad greens.