13 Year update!

Hello WLS family, the timing of this update is oh so special.  As of today I am 13 years post op of RNY.  I started my journey at 327lbs and lost 157lbs, including my tummy tuck.  That brought me down to 170lbs.  About 4 months after my tummy tuck, we found out we were pregnant with our 3rd child.  That was a bit of a blow, but I was so gloriously happy with that pregnancy because it was the first pregnancy I had that I wasn't super morbidly obese. 

After the pregnancy I had gained about 20lbs and maintained that weight for 6 years.  I truly believe my maintenance was due to the support group I founded in Connecticut.  I was not only accountable to a few people, I was accountable to over 100 people.  It fueled my motivation, and kept me on track. But then we moved to Florida, and I no longer had the support group.  Everyone here knew me at the new weight and I could eat whatever without any eyes watching over me. I was no longer accountable. 

In the years since moving to Florida, I've gained and lost another 30-40 lbs a couple of times.  I even got back down to 190, at one point and was thrilled.  Although, once again, I lost track and didn't pay attention.  Finally, this past April a cousin of mine decided to have VSG and it opened my eyes to this gift of a tool that I had just been letting sit there, and not picked up.  I decided to get on the scale, see how much damage I had done, and start my journey again.  I was dreadfully shaken to reality when I got on the scale and saw that I had ballooned up to 254.8 lbs.  How could I have let this happened?  I remember thinking all the things I had thought of myself prior to my wls. Yet, I somehow mustered up enough courage to say, "no more!" 

I was eating way too many carbs, eating Bugles for snacks and have popcorn almost every night.  I decided that the only thing I would change was to cut those 2 items out of my diet first.  I started in March and the following month I had lost 5lbs.  I knew that if I did what I had to do I would lose weight again and it would come off like anyone else.  In April I went back to hard core no carb eating, basically following an Atkins type eating lifestyle.  I'm ecstatic to say that since March I have lost a total of 30lbs and am now at 224.  Still, what seems like a world away of the 170, I had been but I'm doing it.  Everyday, one day at a time, sometimes 1 hour at a time, but I'm doing it.  I've given myself a goal of losing 52 more pounds by my birthday next August, when I turn 45.  And I truly believe I can do it.  I have the same motivation, I had when I had my wls, because I've become accountable to people again.  I've posted my journey to all my friends/family on facebook, and plan to keep coming back to OH so that I have a place to feel supported.

This Monday I will be taking a 4 day cruise and I'm a little concerned about it, but I've been reading a lot about what one can do when they are cruising.  I plan to stay on track, by making better choices and prioritizing what I want to truly try on the ship, verses what I can eat at any other time. Planning and awareness of what I'm eating will be key, and I think I can get through this, and still have a fabulous time.

Thank you all for reading my long post.  It's been a long while since I've posted on OH and it feels really good to be back. 

Muah! Liza