Thought I would share this....
After a 16 month process I am finally having RNY on Wednesday! Yey. Just wanted to share one of my last Blog entries before my surgery. Warning, its a bit long. Thanks for reading!
Weighing over 270lbs pretty much means that every day is a struggle for me. For a majority of my adult life, I weighed right around 220/230lbs. At that weight, I never felt completely dissatisfied with my looks or my weight, like I do now. Actually, I remember feeling pretty confident about my looks. But even at a weight of 220, I struggled with day to day life. It was always hard to keep up with my friends or do physical activities. Now, at nearly 280lbs, I feel that ANY physical activity is a great challenge. I will say though, that I do push myself, and I try not to miss out on life just because some things are so physically hard for me. At 220 lbs, I climbed the 180ft high Mayan ruin, Lamani, on a school trip to Belize. At 280lbs, I traveled through Europe alone by train, public transportation, and walking. It was very difficult and physically demanding. I’ll never forget having to haul my laundry across the city of Amsterdam, totally out of breath by the time I reached the laundry mat. Also at 280lbs, I hitchhiked with a group of people that I only recently met and remember how hard it was “not" to keep up with them. I guess my goal has always been to never miss out because of my weight, to never hold back. But the fact of the matter is that I have missed out. I cannot help but wonder how some of my life experiences would have went down had I been a normal weight and had I been fit. I don’t want to go on living my entire life wondering “what life would have been like as a healthy, thin, fit person." I don’t want to go on like this, struggling with everyday life.
Every time I take a shower, I get winded washing my hair. I can make it up to the third floor to my apartment but not without at least a little bit of struggle each time. And if I have to carry something, say a basket of laundry, up to my apartment, forget it – I get completely winded. I used to be able to reach the release button to my gas tank cover of my car with ease, but now, I have to first open my door to reach it. One thing that I REALLY hate is having to judge in stores if I can fit through a certain spot, say, a carriage in the isle and a display. Sometimes it’s really embarrassing when I misjudge. And I can’t count the times I have knocked something off a shelf with my oversized rear-end…..totally embarrassing!! I rarely go shopping for clothing anymore – I feel that nothing looks good on me and can’t ever even find something that is even the least bit slenderizing. I don’t enjoy sex that much anymore – its physically demanding and I can’t move with ease. And maybe one of the hardest things of all is reaching my toenails when I have to cut them or want to paint them. I have been on a few short backpacking trips (again, weighing 280lbs.). They were so physically demanding, carrying all my excess weight plus around 60lbs of gear (I never travel light), but each experience was truly pleasurable. My last backpacking trip was a few years ago because it was just something that was too physically demanding for my weight and lack of fitness. I would love to go backpacking again, maybe this time I’ll be 100lbs lighter, will be able to go on more than just a few mile trip, and will be more fit and up for the challenge.
When I think of my upcoming weight loss surgery on August 8th, I am scared to death. I think I may miss shoveling food down my throat but I keep reminding myself that the doors that WLS will open for me and the possibilities that an active life can hold are more worth it then any amount of “comfort" food. The lowest that I have ever weighed in at in my adult life was 200lbs, and I felt so great about my body and the way I looked. At that time I was very ill with Lyme disease so I never felt fit or healthy but I can only imagine what 160 might feel like (my goal weight), especially if I am living an active, healthy lifestyle and am not ill. I am so afraid that once I lose the weight I will forget what life is like as a severely obese person. I never want to forget because I never want to let myself get to this point again. I hope I will be able to look back at this blog entry in the future and remember all the struggles that my weight carried. I NEVER want to let myself get this way again….because this just isn’t living life to the fullest and that’s one of my main goals in life.
Weighing over 270lbs pretty much means that every day is a struggle for me. For a majority of my adult life, I weighed right around 220/230lbs. At that weight, I never felt completely dissatisfied with my looks or my weight, like I do now. Actually, I remember feeling pretty confident about my looks. But even at a weight of 220, I struggled with day to day life. It was always hard to keep up with my friends or do physical activities. Now, at nearly 280lbs, I feel that ANY physical activity is a great challenge. I will say though, that I do push myself, and I try not to miss out on life just because some things are so physically hard for me. At 220 lbs, I climbed the 180ft high Mayan ruin, Lamani, on a school trip to Belize. At 280lbs, I traveled through Europe alone by train, public transportation, and walking. It was very difficult and physically demanding. I’ll never forget having to haul my laundry across the city of Amsterdam, totally out of breath by the time I reached the laundry mat. Also at 280lbs, I hitchhiked with a group of people that I only recently met and remember how hard it was “not" to keep up with them. I guess my goal has always been to never miss out because of my weight, to never hold back. But the fact of the matter is that I have missed out. I cannot help but wonder how some of my life experiences would have went down had I been a normal weight and had I been fit. I don’t want to go on living my entire life wondering “what life would have been like as a healthy, thin, fit person." I don’t want to go on like this, struggling with everyday life.
Every time I take a shower, I get winded washing my hair. I can make it up to the third floor to my apartment but not without at least a little bit of struggle each time. And if I have to carry something, say a basket of laundry, up to my apartment, forget it – I get completely winded. I used to be able to reach the release button to my gas tank cover of my car with ease, but now, I have to first open my door to reach it. One thing that I REALLY hate is having to judge in stores if I can fit through a certain spot, say, a carriage in the isle and a display. Sometimes it’s really embarrassing when I misjudge. And I can’t count the times I have knocked something off a shelf with my oversized rear-end…..totally embarrassing!! I rarely go shopping for clothing anymore – I feel that nothing looks good on me and can’t ever even find something that is even the least bit slenderizing. I don’t enjoy sex that much anymore – its physically demanding and I can’t move with ease. And maybe one of the hardest things of all is reaching my toenails when I have to cut them or want to paint them. I have been on a few short backpacking trips (again, weighing 280lbs.). They were so physically demanding, carrying all my excess weight plus around 60lbs of gear (I never travel light), but each experience was truly pleasurable. My last backpacking trip was a few years ago because it was just something that was too physically demanding for my weight and lack of fitness. I would love to go backpacking again, maybe this time I’ll be 100lbs lighter, will be able to go on more than just a few mile trip, and will be more fit and up for the challenge.
When I think of my upcoming weight loss surgery on August 8th, I am scared to death. I think I may miss shoveling food down my throat but I keep reminding myself that the doors that WLS will open for me and the possibilities that an active life can hold are more worth it then any amount of “comfort" food. The lowest that I have ever weighed in at in my adult life was 200lbs, and I felt so great about my body and the way I looked. At that time I was very ill with Lyme disease so I never felt fit or healthy but I can only imagine what 160 might feel like (my goal weight), especially if I am living an active, healthy lifestyle and am not ill. I am so afraid that once I lose the weight I will forget what life is like as a severely obese person. I never want to forget because I never want to let myself get to this point again. I hope I will be able to look back at this blog entry in the future and remember all the struggles that my weight carried. I NEVER want to let myself get this way again….because this just isn’t living life to the fullest and that’s one of my main goals in life.
MegSurgery Date: August 8th, 2012
HW: 285 / Surgery Day Weight: 274 / CW: 237.5 / Goal Weight: 160
"BE THE CHANGE YOU WISH TO SEE IN THE WORLD"
-GANDHI
Thank you so much for posting this. I can relate so much. I am waiting for my bariatric center to send a request letter to my insurance (and waiting and waiting and honestly, how many times can they lose my mental health eval anyway?) I too keep active but am with you, it is harder, it isn't as fun, it is HARD sometimes. You sound like you are in the right place to be doing this. Good for you for waiting this out and hanging in there and being so honest about where you are. I will be thinking of you wed and waiting to hear about your progress. It takes so much couragous to do this but it sounds like you have plenty!
I know exactly how you feel, but I am not active at all. I have had my surgery and am down close to 50 lbs. but I am still very big. I can move around a little better, and am slowly getting more energy. My biggest problem is not drinking enough water, sometimes I swell up because I am retaining water. Makes it even harder to move. I am trying to teach myself to carry a waterbottle with me all the time. Good luck with surgery. you are doing the right thing. It Works
Dr. Jamie Ponce de Leon - Medical guide Laurie Wolf Received money Never showed up - Only thing booked were flights. Surgeon and Medical team, and hospital were awesome . There is another Medical guide named Trish she is good. PM me for info. 
I was just about 280 when I had my surgery as well. Eight years later, I'm 130 lbs down and just now doing a push to lose another 10 or so before a race I'm running next month.
That was a sentence I never, ever imagined typing. I remember feeling winded (and hating it) at that size. I'm impressed that you've let it hinder your life so little, and you are going to feel like you're LEAPING up mountains next time you travel. That's how I felt standing at Stonehenge, at the top of the Tower of Pisa, and at Prague Castle looking over the city. "How on earth did I walk here?" It's amazing. I can't wait for you to experience that because it is such an awesome feeling.
Best of luck tomorrow! It is a challenging road ahead, but the rewards are so very worth it.
That was a sentence I never, ever imagined typing. I remember feeling winded (and hating it) at that size. I'm impressed that you've let it hinder your life so little, and you are going to feel like you're LEAPING up mountains next time you travel. That's how I felt standing at Stonehenge, at the top of the Tower of Pisa, and at Prague Castle looking over the city. "How on earth did I walk here?" It's amazing. I can't wait for you to experience that because it is such an awesome feeling.
Best of luck tomorrow! It is a challenging road ahead, but the rewards are so very worth it.
Long-term post-ops with regain struggles, click here to see some steps for getting back on track (without the 5-day pouch fad or liquid diet): http://www.obesityhelp.com/member/bananafish711/blog/2013/04/05/don-t-panic--believe-and-you-will-succeed-/
Always cooking at www.neensnotes.com!
Need a pick-me-up? Read this: http://www.lettersofnote.com/2009/10/it-will-be-sunny-one-day.html
Awesome thread.... I can so relate to much of what you wrote .... You most definitely had participated in some awesome adventures ... think how much better it gets with nimbler limbs ... You ARE going to rock this journey .... and I am soooooooooooo Ditto-ing you on this that you said here "When I think of my upcoming weight loss surgery on August 8th, I am scared to death. I think I may miss shoveling food down my throat but I keep reminding myself that the doors that WLS will open for me and the possibilities that an active life can hold are more worth it then any amount of “comfort" food."
If I ever and I seldom if ever do since WLS think about eating something that I KNOW will set me back I remind myself of what it felt like when I could hardly make it up a flight of stairs to assist my daughter who had taken a fall due to impaired mobility ... I remember my butt barely fitting into a size 4-5 pair of loose slacks and I say to myself oh hellz no ...I do NOT need you! you shall NOT put an extra pound on my knees and you will NOT wear yourself on my rear ... LOL... and then I look around and sign up for whichever 10 or 20K that I can sign up for ... MOBILITY ROCKS! go for it....
You have shared some awesome experiences ... I am in awe.... CONGRATS! You have the perfect attitude and your fear is only normal. I wish you nothing but the best on your journey.
If I ever and I seldom if ever do since WLS think about eating something that I KNOW will set me back I remind myself of what it felt like when I could hardly make it up a flight of stairs to assist my daughter who had taken a fall due to impaired mobility ... I remember my butt barely fitting into a size 4-5 pair of loose slacks and I say to myself oh hellz no ...I do NOT need you! you shall NOT put an extra pound on my knees and you will NOT wear yourself on my rear ... LOL... and then I look around and sign up for whichever 10 or 20K that I can sign up for ... MOBILITY ROCKS! go for it....
You have shared some awesome experiences ... I am in awe.... CONGRATS! You have the perfect attitude and your fear is only normal. I wish you nothing but the best on your journey.
RNY 2/5/07 no regain having implemented lifestyle changes....
This was such an honest and heartfelt post thanks so much for sharing. I am having surgery on the 29th and I can't wait to get rid of this weight that is holding me back and making my life less than I want it to be! You will do great and I'll be praying for a quick recovery and a wonderful journey to a better you!!
I completely relate to your struggles. My weight would go from 230 to 290...back and forth for 30 years. If I had found a good nutritionist or weight loss supervised program I might have avoided this surgery but since I didn't, RNY has transformed my life into a positive experience. Good luck with everything.
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