Almost one year post op UPDATE

[april042019 105]

Hello everyone!

I hope everyone's doing well. I'm currently bored at work and thought I'd give you guys an update of how i'm doing. I remember reading/ watching other people talk about how they're doing a while after surgery and it motivated me so much to keep going with the process and not be scared. So I hope this helps someone somewhere!

Anyway, I'm 11 months and 7 days post op RNY. I've officially lost 230 lbs. I started as 415 lbs and as of today I'm 185 lbs! As of today i'm a size 6-8 jeans/ Medium tops. I'm so grateful for this surgery and for myself for not giving up on myself when it could've been so easy to do so. I wish I had taken action sooner but it is what it is and I'm happy I eventually did. I still have about 60 lbs to go to get to my ideal weight for my height but i'm not in a hurry and i'm just going with the flow.

So, in terms of restriction and the size of my pouch now, there is none. LOL. At first, I was so scared to eat too much or to do anything that would stretch my pouch. I went to my nutritionalist and told her about it and how i felt like sometimes I was eating too much or i didn't feel the restriction as much and she told me not to worry and that my stomach will tell me when to stop. Unfortunately, I might've taken her advice too far. I stopped measuring stuff and just ate what I felt like. My pouch is regular sized now I think. Sometimes when I'm eating with other people I'll actually eat more than they do. But honestly I'm not too bothered by it. I know it would've been great to still have that restriction but I feel like i've learned so much about the type of food i should be eating and how to track it that I don't really need my pouch to keep me in control anymore. I started drinking soda about 2 months ago, diet of course. I know that's bad but it honestly helps me with hunger and cravings. For exercise, I do cardio about 2-3 times a week.

Now, loose skin. I have tons! My arms hang like crazy. My thighs remind me of my grandpas thighs 😂 My stomach doesnt bother me TOO much (unlike my arms) but it's still a presence. But no matter how much i critique myself or sometimes hate what I see in the mirror, IT IS SO WORTH IT. I remember how miserable i was before losing all the weight. I couldn't go up the stairs to our apartment without feeling like I couldn't breathe. I couldn't walk or even stand for longer than a minute or two. I couldn't find ANY shoes that were comfortable, everything hurt! It makes me so sad to just think about what it was like to live like that.

My social life hasn't changed much. I'm naturally really shy and I don't really put myself out there to meet new people. However, I have noticed how people treat me now. It's awful to say but I feel like I'm taken more seriously now that I'm not as heavy as I was. I'm treated better by people at restaurants, stores, and even at work. It's also true with people I knew before and even with my family. My relatives are suddenly so much nicer to me. Of course there are always the comments on how "beautiful i've become" and how "this is much better". I try not to let it bother me but it does. Not just the comments but their attitudes toward me as well. Why are they nicer now that I'm thinner? Was my weight really bothering them before? I can't imagine being mean to someone just because of how they look or how much they weigh. It really says a lot about them.

Oh, there's also the people that think losing the weight was SO EASY for me because of the surgery and that I put zero work into it myself. I'm not even gonna talk about that because YOU GUYS KNOW.

ANYWAY, that's me. I'm really proud of myself and all i've done. I hope i can lose the rest of the weight and then actually maintain it!

[FluffyChix 17,418]

Wow! Congrats girl! What a difference a year makes, right? That's an amazing accomplishment and a super happy post! WTG!

[lisafrommassachusetts 320]

Congratulations!! What an amazing accomplishment. It is so uplifting to hear these kinds of success stories. Unconscious (and probably conscious) bias against fat people is very, very real. Takes a little of the glow off losing all the weight, I would think, but you should revel in the work you did for yourself and your health! Way to go!

[Ev2020 1]

Congrats and thanks for sharing. Fairly new to procedure and got phenomenia to make it worst. Today I'm finally feeling a bit better but still have pain. Just trying to take day by day.