corinnaq
Six years and counting!
Nov 11, 2012
Once again I remember searching in vain through profile after profile to find folks who were further than a year or two out. I never found more than a handful. So I am determined to continue posting a yearly update here for those who are at the beginning of their journey.
I am still at my goal weight. I maintain between 150-155 pounds which is 98% of my excess body weight lost. Yes, technically I'm still overweight but at a size 4/6 I'm pretty darn happy with where I am.
Is it a challenge? Do I have to work at it everyday? Absolutely!!!!! Every bite of food I put in my mouth comes with an internal conversation about whether I'm making a good choice or not. I still have to ask my husband about half the time to take my plate away from me because I'm full but keep eating. There are days I want to eat everything in sight and none of it good for me. There are days I give into that desire. It's a tightrope walk most of the time and I have to always keep in mind that my surgery is only a tool and I can use it or not. I do not always succeed. But in the end it's worth it for me to keep fighting. I never want to be who I was when I weighed 292 pounds again so that means I fight and work at it every single day!!! I just want folks to know that although this surgery can be incredibly successful it still comes down to your personal determination and hard work to make it stick.
One thing I did not realize until recently how rare I am to have maintained my level of weight loss this far out from surgery. The statistics are not pretty!!! So talk to your surgeon and get real answers about their maintenance statistics at three years, five years and on. Those are the stats that matter. Not the one year mark where unless some thing goes terribly wrong (or you are completely self-destructive) the surgery does all the work. Be realistic about what doing this surgery means long-term. It is NOT a magic pill. I always feel a little guilty when I tell people I lost the weight because I did gastric bypass surgery. I feel like I somehow "cheated" because I didn't do it on my own. But if I look at it now and the work I put into maintaining it I'm VERY proud of myself and what I've accomplished and will continue to accomplish.
Now for the good news (besides maintaining my weight)...I am officially a managed opera singer as of this September. Basically it means that I now am at a level where I can be considered competitive at big opera houses. I have access to auditions that would NEVER have been a possibility a year ago because they won't even consider hearing an unmanaged singer. So big kudos to me :-)
I hope my words are useful to those out there at every level of their weight loss journey and I'm always happy to respond to questions or well anything.
Best to all!
