2 Year surgiversary this week....(with pics)

My two year surgiversary is coming up - and I can hardly believe it.  I wrote the blog post below and thought some of you might be interested in reading it...


About three summers ago, my husband took a picture of me sitting on a dock  on a lake, in my bathing suit.  I didn't know he was taking the picture - until we got home and I saw it as the desktop image on his laptop!  He loves me how I am - and thought it was a sexy picture!!  I was mortified. I asked him to delete it - and thought he did until recently.

Just after that trip, I started to investigate surgery.  I looked into lapband, and then found OH.  I heard about OOC, covered by OHIP, and headed to my doctor for a referral.  On June 10, 2009, Dr. Pop changed my life forever, by giving me my little sleeve.  In the time since, I've gone from almost 300lbs, to 150lbs and staying...

How has my life changed since that summer?  I spent most of those camping trips sleeping or sitting in chairs back then - now I hike and swim and run and enjoy the outdoors!!  I used to spend those trips in a carb coma - eating bags of candy and treats.  Now I plan for a nightly S'more, and otherwise plan healthy meals with a protein focus. 

My life today is about balance.  I watch what I eat - but I do allow myself treats sometimes.  I exercise regularly, hiking, running, boot camp this month etc. so that I can afford those occasional treats.  I try not to label food as "bad" or "good", but as "everyday" and "treat" foods.  Both are fine - the labels help me to know what foods I can eat pretty much whenever, and which are saved for  special occasions.

I follow a few "rules".  I don't drink when I eat.  Or within 30 minutes of eating.  I eat protein first and then my veggies and then carbs if I have room.  I try to track my food each day and stay within a calorie goal (mine is 1200 cals), regardless of whether or not I'm eating "everyday" or "treat" foods.  I try to avoid grazing by planning 5-6 small meals and keeping them 2-3 hours apart (min.).  I eat breakfast every day.

Surgery is the best thing I ever did for myself.  I barely recognize that fat girl in the bathingsuit.  I am starting to have trouble remembering what it was like being fat and uncomfortable and restricted in my life.  I still sometimes think I look fat...I'm working on the body image thing.  Some days are better than others.

Today I was sitting on our deck, getting some sun.  My husband snuck a picture of me.  At first, I looked for flaws...my plastics scar, a lump or bump etc. etc.  And then I thought back to that original picture that started this whole journey.  And realized how far I've come.

I put those pictures side by side here for those of you that weren't around when I started.  I looked at before-after pictures obsessively in the beginning, trying to imagine what it would be like.  Hopefully this will help some of you stuck with that long wait...

wow. You truly are an inspiration. Thank you for this post, and the pictures. Your post brought tears to my eyes. Every day, after having had this surgery, i see the self that i  know am inside, come out a little bit more. I am becoming the person i want to be.

I hear you Monica.  Sometimes when I look at old pictures like this one - I imagine who I am now...hidden underneath all that flesh.  Watching the world go by, but only participating on the periphery.

Thank god for this option...

WOW. What a transformation. Congrats on your 2 years surgiversay. You are definitely an inspiration.

Fantastic job. You've done amazingly well. Congratulations!

Way to rock your WLS, Erica! Thanks for sharing with and inspiring another VSGer.

Thanks!  I love my little sleeve.  Sometimes I think that I've had to work harder with my sleeve because I don't have dumping/malabsorption....but this far out, I think that has been a good thing for me.  It really has forced me to examine the "head" side of things...and that has helped with maintenance for sure!

Congratulations Erica and thank you for a beautifully inspirational post.

Erica, you look amazing!  Congratulations on all of your hard work. 

Jodi

You look great Erica. Thanks for sharing the pictures.