Reflections A Year After WLS: 222.4 Pounds Lost (Pic Included)

I remember January 25^th, 2012 like it was yesterday because that’s really how fast I feel this year has flown by.  I had a strange sense of calm about me that day when generally I am an anxious worry-filled person but something inside of me whispered that I was going to pull through the RNY surgery I was going to have and everything was going to be ok.  I remember opening one eye with a squint in the post-op recovery room and then closing it again to take a deep breath and say to myself “I did it….I woke up”. Then I heard the nurses and other professionals in the recovery room using the word “sleeve gastrectomy” and then they would refer to my name.  I flashed open my eyes and started trying in my altered state to ask questions.  “What do you mean sleeve gastrectomy?” All the nurses would tell me is that someone would be along shortly to talk to me but a lot of time passed and nobody came.  I was having some problems with my oxygen levels and stayed longer in the post-op recovery room than anticipated but finally they wheeled me upstairs to my room and as I arrived out of the elevator to the floor where I would be admitted I came across my husband Michael and my mother for the first time since I had left them in the morning.  “What happened?” I asked them over and over again and they too said they would tell me once I got into my room.  It wasn’t even a few minutes after I arrived in my room that my surgeon arrived and explained what had happened. 

When they opened me up for surgery they discovered I had a condition known as a complete non-rotation of my intestines.  The condition combined with my severe morbid obesity made it impossible to maneuver the intestines into a safe position to perform the RNY surgery and after a long time of exploring and calling the head of bariatrics into my operation to consult…..my surgeon decided the safest thing to do would be to go with Plan B which was to perform the VSG surgery which I had signed off on as the back-up plan.  My doctor explained that in Ontario the results were not as solid about the sleeve gastrectomy surgery but that some people experience similar results to the RNY surgery and other people don’t.  He added that weight loss may be slower for me due to a lack of malabsorption but that if I didn’t make it below a certain BMI (35) that at some point they could re-evaluate to see if there was enough room in my belly to reposition my intestines and attempt a re-routing like in the RNY. 

I was upset.  I was so upset, pissed off, and sad because everything I knew in my head was about the RNY and in my gut and heart I felt the RNY surgery was the one that was going to help me “save my life from the clutches of obesity”.  I cried….a lot. 

It took me a couple of weeks to finally wrap my head around what had happened.  I was/am a type A personality who prepares hard core for everything…but I never prepared myself for the VSG surgery I was given.  I finally woke up one day and decided to stop feeling sorry for myself.  The VSG was a tool that I had been given and just like I had prepared myself for the RNY…I simply needed to figure out how to use the tool I was given to do the best work possible.  I jumped into what I now refer to as “just do it mode” and started researching everything I could about the VSG and messaged people on OH whom had had brilliant success with their sleeve.  I got a lot of advice and after much research I took the advice that made the most logical sense in my head and was based on real successful results and I got to work. 

My pre-op weight was 390 pounds. 

The day of my surgery I was 368.8 pounds

Today at exactly one year out from my unexpected VSG surgery I weighed in at 167.6 pounds. 

Here is what I have learned about myself through this process…

I am blessed to have had the VSG surgery.  It is a brilliant surgery and in my opinion if you use this tool correctly you can and will have all the success in the world with your weight loss.  I feel fortunate that I have a fully functioning stomach and that there are not many long term health and nutrition risks for me related to my surgery.

WLS is 5% about the food and 95% psychological.  The food and nutrition plans are dictated and handed out to you – the amount of success you will have with your tool is not about the food – it’s about YOU.  You are in the driver’s seat with the capacity to turn your car anyway you choose.  EVERY. SINGLE. DAY food will be everywhere tempting you, enticing you, begging you to be friendly with it….but EVERY. SINGLE.  DAY you have to be psychologically strong enough to stand up to it, stare it in the face, and say not today. 

Success is a staircase not a doorway.  WLS is hard work.  It is not the easy way out and quite frankly it is not the best way out of obesity for everyone.  Making the referral was the door opening but everything else since then has been taken one step at a time. 

I am still in “weight loss mode” and I will remain so until I hit a goal weight that for me will come sometime between 140 and 150 pounds but I suspect 150.  I am 3.6 pounds away from the top of a healthy BMI of 164 pounds. 

I have lost a total of 222.4 pounds of weight……

That number astonishes me every time I see it or say it.  222.4 pounds of weight…..I have lost two small women and still have a person standing in front of me when I look in the mirror. 

Every day I eat between 600 and 800 calories of food…….80-100plus grams of protein and keep my carbs under 40 grams but usually under 20 grams per day.  I do not track fat because I believe if I stay within the parameters I just mentioned the fat content will just fall into place….and it does.  I will continue with this plan until I decide that I have lost enough weight and then I will alter my plan for maintenance. 

From 390 pounds….to 167.6 pounds…..

I took this picture the other day when I bought my first pair of SIZE 8 jeans…and a size Small top!  I used to wear Size 32 jeans and tight fitting 5X tops…..I was somewhere between 170-172 pounds at the time. 

 

A truly amazing & inspirational story...awesome! 

Thanks for sharing your story...I hope to follow in your footsteps!!!

Happy Surgiversary to you!  I remember when you had your surgery a year ago, as I was just getting started in the process and reading everything I could.  You have really rocked your WLS, and I continue to look up to you as someone to emulate as I progress through my journey.  Congratulations!

Congratulations!!  I remember how upset you were with the VSG at first but it is wonderful how you have come to terms with it and are using your tool to the max.  Honestly, your dedication to your weight loss is very inspiring.  And the results are staggering!!  you look fantastic. 

Steph

truely inspiring!!!!

I have to say that you look absolutely INCREDIBLE!!!!!  You are truly an inspiration and for that I thank you. It is people like you who have given me the courage to stand up for myself and start making the right choices.  I am finally starting to put ME first and I know that with the support and inspiration from those that have your incredible strength and optimism I WILL DO THIS!!!!  Thank you!!!!! 

Great post. You are definitely an inspiration. You are much more disciplined than I have been and deserve all the success you have had. Good luck with meeting your goal

You are truly an inspiration.  A great example to follow!

i remember you posting about your surprise VSG.

I am so proud of you. You have done an amazing job. You look fabulous. kudos to you, lovely lady!!!

Well what a difference a year makes.

OMG I am so proud of you at what you have accomplished this year and what you continue to accomplish but I have always been proud of you no matter what you do.

There are times I look at you and say is that my daughter like the day I looked right at you and didn't realize it was you funny thing was I had just been with you 10 minutes before lol. But you are still the same loving person as you have always been just now you have a lot more confidence and it shows.

I can remember our trip to Disney 3 months after surgery and the excitement when you sat in the seat on the plane and when you went on the rides at disney world. Then when we went to Wonderland in the summer and you went on that crazy rollercoaster and started crying because you could go on them and you buying clothes for the first time not in a plus store. There was also days you would go and go and I would think where does she get all this energy from. 

This year you have also helped me go through my own journey and are there every step of the way and will be with me when I have my own VSG surgery on Feb 12th and will give me tips and encouragement along the way. 

Oh and yes I remember when you woke up and we told you you had a VSG instead of RNY but you have rocked your VSG and showed the doctors you can loose the weight with a VSG.

So Happy Anniversary I love you

MOM