Three years tomorrow!

Three years!  I remember so clearly my pre-WLS decision making and all the stress involved in researching options and making the choice for type of surgery and who the surgeon would be. If that's where you are right now, I wish you all the best.  I hope your journey is successful and peaceful.

In 2011, I actually was scheduled for an RNY, but SO lucked out that a friend of mine is an anesthesiologist working with very experienced sleeve surgeons.  When I called him to ask some anesthesia-type stuff, he encouraged me to check out that practice and their success rates with the sleeve.  I had to decide to become a self-pay to have it--and the RNY would have been covered by my insurance.  That was a very difficult choice, but as I look back I know that it was absolutely the right one.  And now it is three years later…how does that happen??

The practice I chose for my surgery (I highly recommend them) included 2 years of nutrition and exercise support.  I followed the recommended plans for diet and exercise, and was able to reach my “normal BMI goal” in about 8 ½ months.  The fitness part consisted of building up strength for upper body and core; I was already a bicycle commuter getting good lower body workouts daily.  I started doing push-ups standing against a wall, building up repetitions until I could switch to leaning on a high counter, then lower counter, then hands/knees pushups on floor to finally full-on pushups.  The core work involved planks—building up length of time holding—and a couple of different abdominal exercises, that I increased in difficulty and reps over time.  I have done workout routines in the past, but for some reason this time I noticed incredible increases in strength. 

My original weight loss goal was 150 pounds, the top of the normal BMI range for my height.  Once I got there, I kept following good nutrition principles, and got down to 134 pounds for a short time, then seemed to be settled in at 137 for a good long while.  Suddenly, in the late Fall of 2012, I noticed a marked increase in the amount of food that I could eat.  My weight jumped very rapidly to 142 pounds.  Still normal BMI, and I had friends tell me that they felt so much better about my weight, that they thought I had been too thin for them to feel that I looked really healthy.  Well, grain of salt and all, 142 seemed to be where I was staying.  Last Fall I had another period of gain and I actually saw the number 150 on my scale (at night, all my recorded weights are first thing in the morning!).  I was really freaked out and vulnerable feeling.  I had lost just about 100 pounds and yet I felt helpless to stop this creeping gain.  Helpless????  NO, not helpless. I ended up following (most of) the guidelines of an anti-inflammation diet—proportions of 1/3 protein/grain, 2/3 fresh fruit and vegetables.  I had to fudge the proportions a little so I get enough protein, but I quickly lost back down to 142.  I’ve been stable since January at 141 to 143 pounds, and I feel strong and healthy.

When I had lost down to about 175 pounds, a woman bicycle commuter invited me to join her women’s road riding group that did 20 mile rides on Sundays.  I started doing this ride in the fall of 2011.  What I discovered was that I am strong as a horse on a bike.  Who knew?!  I guess daily bicycle commuting with hills at 244 pounds may have had something to do with that!  Anyway, fast forward to now.  I do a regular 45 mile ride on Saturdays and a 20 mile ride on Sundays.  I am about to start training for the Ride Around Mount Rainier in One Day (RAMROD), 152 miles and 10,000 feet of climbing.  My coach just let me know that my training plan will involve working up to 10 hours of riding every weekend.  Ouch.  Who has time for that??  Well, I’m going to make time.  The woman who invited me to ride with her when she didn’t even know me is now my dear friend, and she has asked if I will ride RAMROD with her for her 60^th birthday.  I am totally psyched at being in that kind of shape.  I am about to turn 54 next month, I have never been in the kind of shape I’m in right now, and I’m about to turn the dial up even higher.

My emphasis for health is not necessarily low carb.  If I’m going to be riding a heavy-duty ride, I focus on carb intake to store up the glycogen I’m going to need.  I do focus on unprocessed foods to be the bulk of my diet most of the time.  I am a sugar addict, and try (and sometimes fail) to stay entirely away from sweets.  I try not to get any calories from drinking, and avoid all artificial sweeteners.  Well, recently I’ve restarted Premier Protein shakes again, so two principals are shot for the time being, but for some reason those are working for me right now. 

Things I really appreciate about being normal weight:

•          Comfort in my body
•          Clothing!
•          Not being ashamed re mirrors and photos
•          Being able to wear dresses and skirts without tights--no painful thigh rub
•          Feeling healthy and strong

I'm wishing everyone success on your journeys.  I don't come to the boards anymore, but came multiple times a day for at least a year and a half.  I hope you get as much comfort and information and inspiration as I did!

You've had a wonderful journey, I envy you. You really are an inspiration.

Im certainly very happy to see you pop in here to share this! I just came back here after a long break too so it was good timing. 

Thank you for sharing this!

What a great 3 year post!  You clearly were one to take the recommendations of your surgeon/nut/exercise guru to heart and it has led you to a life of health and happiness.  Congratulations!

hi..i see in your description it says carb eating loose sleever...what does that mean?

Hi, where does it say that?  Is it in a description about me?  

It was a reference to my signature line

I do not subscribe to the under 40 carbs plan that is popular on the board. Mangaged carbs, yes- but nothing extreme due to being hypoglycemic.  I have a large sleeve that is loosely sewn.  If you read the boards long enough one could get the impression that these choices would make reaching goal nearly impossible, so I have it in my signature so folks know that different appraoches indeed work and it is worth finding the approach that is the best fit. 

Happyteacher...so i'm just curious is having a looser sleeve something you decided with your surgeon before hand?...I've thought to myself, I dont want to be a size 2...I just want to be more comfortable...size 10,12,14ish....not 22/24...i was unaware that this option of a looser sleeve was possible...I would love to hear more about this...