Six Months Post-Op!

It’s my 6-month surgiversary! My 3-month update is here. Many more things have happened in these last three months, but here’s a list of the important-to-me stuff. One of the coolest things is that I’m down 100 pounds from the start of the year, which is when I a) hit my high weight of 319 and b) started all of my lifestyle changes.

6/15 – I signed up for a 5k! OMG. It’s in October.
6/20 – had to go back to liquids to deal with a complication, also took an anti-spasmodic
6/25 – switched to skirts since finding pants that fit is too annoying
7/9 – made it to 5k for the first time during my 65 minute treadmill session
7/22 – shared my surgery on Facebook and was overwhelmed by the support I got
7/29 – decided to change my running schedule to better fit in with my other activities.
7/30 – got the new fitness class schedule and decided to add zumba, bhangra dance, and water aerobics to my schedule – also lost one of my yoga classes
8/2 – Obese! With no adjectives!!
8/6 – able to wrap a towel around myself!
8/7 – dyed my hair blond. Whee.
8/14-8/17 – GenCon! No seatbelt extender! I walked to a restaurant a mile away! I exercised at the hotel gym! Tons of amazing things.
8/24 – ran outside for the first time ever, and didn’t die
9/7 - finally "got" running outside and stopped going to the gym to run on the treadmill, also switched from the normal C25K program to Zombies Run 5K Training because it's much better for me – significantly more engaging.
9/12 – 100 pounds down! OMG YAY!!

At the three month mark, I was doing 3 hours of walking a week plus 6 hours of fitness classes. That went to 4 hours of classes when I dropped my unpleasant pilates classes. Now I’m doing 3 hours of run/walking plus 6 hours of fitness classes and a lot of yoga on my own at home.

Now for the numbers! These are my surgery day numbers, followed by 3-month numbers, and ending with current numbers, which I've put in bold.

Bust 49.5 to 46.5 to 42
Chest ~43 to 40.25 to 36
Waist 50 to 44 to 41
Hips 59.5 to 54.5 to 51
T-shirts tight men’s XXL to baggy men’s XL to tight men’s M
Jeans tight 28 to baggy 26 to no idea - switched to skirts
Weight (actual) 292.4 to 253.1 to 219.4
Weight (trend) 295.5 to 256.6 to 222.4
Fat % (trend) 54.5 to 48.6 to 42.9
Fat Mass (trend) 161 to 124.7 to 95.5
Lean Mass (trend) 134.5 to 131.9 to 126.9
Percent excess weight loss 13% to 33% to 50%

All of these numbers are amazing. I can’t believe I’m under 100 pounds in fat mass – I’ve lost 65 pounds of fat since surgery! My lean mass, on the other hand, is staying fairly stable which is also wonderful. I’ve also lost 32 inches from the four places I measure. I think I’m wearing a size 16ish, but I haven’t worn pants in forever, so I’m not entirely sure.

I'm eating 3 meals a day, one of which is a protein shake.  Sometimes I have a snack, but a lot of the times I don't.  I weigh my meals to be 4 ounces and I journal everything I eat although I don't track calories, I just make sure I'm eating protein forward.  I don't worry about fat, I avoid low-fat products like the plague.  I don't drink liquid calories aside from my daily shake.  The only time I feel deprived is when I prepare some awesome vegetable dish for dinner and can only have a bite or two!  

The last three months have been fantastic. My life seems to get better every day. My relationships with friends, family, and partners are all better because I enjoy doing things more – I enjoy walking places, I enjoy being outside, I just enjoy things that don’t involve sitting around and that changes how I interact with the world around me in myriad ways. I love it.

And even though I’m still obese, and will be for another 45 pounds, I just feel like I fit into the world better. It’s easier to exist in society at 219 than it was at 319 and I’m grateful every day for all of this hard work and all of the choices I’ve made.

I think we probably all go into this process with that niggling thought of, “I’m the one person this isn’t going to work for” or, “I’m going to fail… again.” So every day is new and amazing to me. I’m not failing. This is working. “Everything Is AWESOME!!!”

I can't wait to see what the next three months has in store for me!

You are doing AWESOME! Keep it up.

GREAT JOB!

Congratulations Gwen. You have much to be proud of.   

Gwen I am so happy for you, that is marvelous and you have done an outstanding job working your sleeve! 

Congrats. You've had a great 6 months. Love the whole list you have kept track of. 

You are doing awesome! !! You go girl you got this! !!

WTG! SO HAPPY FOR YOU!

THIS IS SO AWESOME! I cant wait till my 6 months surgiversary! I want to be as active as you! Keep up the great work!

Gwen you like so many on here are the prime example of how I want to be with my sleeve when I hit 6 months and beyond. Not only have you rocked it but you've gained so much knowledge that you've shared so much with us. I just wanted to thank you for all your help and advice! Congrats!!