post surgery - life so far

Dec 13, 2010

It has been a bit over 8 weeks since the RNY surgery, and I must say I am pleased with the results already.  I do have to keep telling myself that I don't want to slip back into any of my bad eating habits.

I have officially left the "super morbid obese" section of the BMI chart.  My BMI now (according to the OH calculator) is 48.3.  I actually laughed when I told the doctor at my one -month-follow-up that, with just 40 more pounds, I would weigh what I did when I graduated high school.  Odd thought, that.  My official weight loss so far (since August 2010) is 102 pounds.  I usually don't differentiate between the pre- and post surgery weight loss, but I have noticed that most people do.  So, for those of you who care about such things, it was 50 pounds before the surgery (August through October 18) which leaves 52 pounds after the surgery.

Things have been progressing nicely.  I am still mostly in the "miss" category when it comes to what I can eat.  WAY more "misses" than "hits" there.  I am just thankful that I learned the actual amount I can eat fairly quickly.  LOL, it only took one episode of "chest pressure" to ensure that I was not going to go over the 1/4 to 1/2 cup mark for a very long time to come.  I have found that my new stomach pouch is extremely temperamental with what it will deal with at any given moment.  Many times I have eaten something that went in fine on Monday only to try it on Wednesday and have it come right back out.  After the initial feeling of "why did I do this to myself" while I'm leaning over the toilet, I usually pull out my trusty notebook and jot down the "uncooperative" food and what happened when I ate it.  I just make a note for each food so I can keep trying them at a later time (per doctor's instructions).  I have to admit to a great reluctance to try the things which made me ill.  I am NOT a fan of feeling unpleasant and tend to avoid things which bring that on.  - Almost forgot about the meds....I'm off all my diabetes medications...Yes...ALL OF THEM.  I only take my vitamins and one blood pressure pill (which will probably stop once I go down a bit more).

My main complaint about the whole process, which may seem a bit stupid to some, is now I am cold.  I'm cold all the time.  I realize that fat is an insulator, but gee whiz.  I actually had to buy long-sleeved shirts to wear because I couldn't stay warm.  One of the nurses at the Bariatric Center explained that this is normal; that my body is getting used to have to regulate things in a different way.  I laughed and told her no one warned me.  I was so used to being hot, overheated, and sweating all the time that being cold still comes a shock to me.

Other things are looking up as well.  I catch my significant other staring at me sometimes and he'll make some comment about how beautiful I look now....and I start cracking up because he then starts stammering about how I was beautiful before and that didn't come out like he meant it to.  I have already achieved several goals I had set for myself (bought pants at a WalMart, tee hee).  I still complain to my significant other that I don't notice most of the weight loss until something really smacks me upside the head.  I was walking next to him in a department store when I happened to glance at one of the mirrored columns....got a good view of me head to toe.  I actually stopped walking and took a step back because I didn't believe what I had seen.  It was actually the first time I had looked at my whole self and thought "I look good".

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