Eight Years - Time Flies

Feb 20, 2013

Good health, energy, self-confidence and excitement are words that come to mind today as I reflect on the past eight years.  I still remember the day I went to my first consult and the day of surgery like they happened yesterday.

I’ll always be grateful for an amazing surgeon who expected me to give it 100% to be successful.  I remember the shock I felt when he said his goal for me was to be 130 lbs.  I’m sure he could see the expression on my face; I didn’t think that was doable.  Well let me say it was not only doable but I did it within 10 months and another 10 lbs. in the next two months.  So by January 15, 2006 I was weighing 119 lbs. from a high of 260 lbs.  It was exciting, amazing, and so rewarding.

I did gain a few lbs. back rather quickly by adding other foods to my day.  Let me back up here, for 10 months I literally ate nothing but lean meats and green leafy vegetables with an occasional egg or some cottage cheese and protein shakes.  The shakes were against his wishes as he didn’t want us to get our nutrition from shakes but it was necessary to be able to get in calories and protein.

In April 2007 I had plastic surgery.  I had a fleur de leis tummy tuck, brachioplasy and breast lift with implants.  I had a fair amount of skin but nothing that bothered me medically.  However, mentally I needed to proceed.  It was another AMAZING moment to see my plastic surgeon reveal the results,

Then in 2007 I was laid off and moved back to Louisiana.  With all the changes and not taking care of myself I gained a little weight, actually saw 137 lbs. for one day and thought nope I’m not going there.  Thankfully I took control and lost back down to 130 lbs. (goal weight) rather quickly.

Lots of other things have happened in the past couple of years including going through a divorce and losing both my father and grandmother within 4 months.  These contributed to me losing additional weight, getting to an all-time low of 109 lbs.  I looked sick; no matter how much I tried to eat I could eat a couple of bites and be done.  This started in March 2010 with the last family death in April 2011. 

Today I’m very happy to say I’m maintaining between 119-121 lbs. fairly easy.  My restriction is still good and I don’t struggle with food much, when I find myself wanting to graze it is definitely in the evenings so I allow myself to eat smaller portions in the day and eat the majority of my intake in the afternoons and evenings.  This works for me.

So in closing, I’m very grateful for WLS and the wonderful people I’ve met through the years.  I’ve met many, many people from OH from California, Colorado, Texas, Louisiana, Tennessee, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island just to name a few.    

I have zero regrets about having surgery.  It was one of the BEST things I’ve ever done for myself.

0 Comments