2 Year Update With Pictures! :)

Hello, Lovelies :)

I hope this post finds you all doing well. I just passed my 2 year surgiversary on July 1st and wanted to stop in and do my due diligence by posting an update. 

Since my last surgiversary, I've had a TON of changes in my life. I met the man of my dreams, fell in love, moved two states away, and got married last month. I've got a new job, a new home (well, new to ME anyway!), and a new family in the form of my amazing in-laws.

I won't lie and sit here and say that I've been "on-plan" with my eating this whole time. That would be a big fat LIE, in fact. But you know what? What I have discovered is that new habits are much easier to stick to when the attitudes behind them are adjusted. For example, this time 2 years ago, I would have seen food as a means to comfort myself or to assuage boredom. Now? I see it as a way to be creative and to impress my new hubby. We eat a lot of chicken and we avoid red meat for the most part (just due to preference, not any moral dilemma). We've learned to make sushi, which we've turned into a weekly event in the form of "Su****uesdays." Sushi has become a fun bonding time for us when we're cooking together. We've also started using our new crockpot and my pizza stone to try new recipes. Nate is having fun learning how NOT to eat like a bachelor. He's lost over 100 pounds himself, so we encourage each other to use moderation on things that should be moderated :) We eat breads and desserts, but are pretty snobby and go for quality over quantity as a hard rule. Heck, on our honeymoon, we took an entire DAY to sample different snacks in lieu of eating actual meals (We had a blast trying new things and experiencing different cultures at Disney's Epcot World Showcase). It wasn't about stuffing our faces. It was about the experience as a whole... See? Attitudes!

Honestly, I don't really want to talk about my eating habits any more in this post. Over the last year, eating like a healthy person has just become a habit. I don't feel myself wanting to binge like I used to, nor do I want to eat to overfullness. When I do accidentally overeat, I pay for it later, so there's no reason to put myself through it intentionally. Gone are the days of stuffing myself into blissful oblivion. Come are the days of "I can feel my pulse in my sternum, why did I do that??"

So, eating aside! Over the last year, my confidence has done some serious maturing. The body-image issues that I had when I met my husband are all but gone. I mean, I still have (frequent) moments when I look in the mirror and think, "bleh. I hate my tummy," but nothing like I used to. Shame and humiliation have been replaced with general eye rolling and shoulder shrugs when it comes to my post-weight loss body.

Basically, I'm just living my life! I don't think about my surgery very often, other than when an AWESOME meal rolls around and I'll have a ghost of a bittersweet pang of wishing that I could eat more. In general, I feel like a "normal" person who just eats light meals. My stats have maintained steadily since I hit goal. I weighed this past weekend and was at 167 (with PMS in full swing). I'll update my ticker if I can remember how!

And now, on to the photo bragging! You know that's why you came to this post... don't lie ;)

 

This side-by-side gets me every time. The picture on the left was taken almost exactly one year before surgery, and the one on the right, almost 2 years after. What a difference a couple of years can make! That girl on the left was sad and lonely and not very kind to herself. The girl on the right is blissfully happy and finally knows what it means to take care of herself.

 

Because of this surgery, I had the courage to get on eHarmony and meet my best friend. My VSG was TRULY a blessing.

 

 

I LOVE THIS PICTURE! This was the moment when our friend/officiant announced us a Mr. & Mrs. 

 

 

Me and my hot, hot, HOT husband right after we left our reception... Why, YES. My hair WAS died pea**** colors. So nice of you to notice ;) #sorrynotsorry about my abundance of cleavage. Nate loved the dress ;)

 

And a few of us on our honeymoon. We spent a week at Disney World :)

 

 

Boo for construction!

 

Oh, Lord. I could post pictures all day... I'll spare you and just conclude by saying this. If you are on the dance about VSG, think long and hard about it. It is a LIFE CHANGING SURGERY. I have heard of people having success and failure. It is NOT a magic solution. It is a surgery on your body, not your brain. If you cannot wrap your head around changing your eating habits, FOR GOOD, then take a moment to breathe and reflect before you continue. If you hate your body and think that surgery is going to magically make you a Victoria Secret Swimsuit Model, think again. You will still have those stretch marks, those bat wings (in all likelihood), and those cottage cheese thighs unless you have amazing genes and an even more amazing trainer. My body is far, FAR from perfect and always will be unless I decide to have plastics (maybe after kids one day), but I have a man who looks at me with wonder in his eyes when he tells me that he adores me. I'll take that over a perfectly smooth tummy any day of the week. It's about finding a way to love and take care of yourself. If that path includes surgery? Go for it. But remember on the days when it's hard to choke down another protein shake, or the days when low-carb means nothing crunchy, or the days when you JUST-WANT-A-DAMN-COOKIE-SO-GET-OFF-OF-MY-BACK-OK, or the days when the scale doesn't move as fast (or in the right direction!) as you'd like, or the days when you look in the mirror and realize your mid-section looks like a cake that's been left out in the heat (DID-SOMEONE-SAY-"CAKE"?)... On those days (which ARE coming, trust me), remember to love yourself. Find a way to reward to accomplishments, even on the days when it feels like there weren't any. Remember to acknowledge your NSVs. Those moments of victory when you can reach your toes to tie your shoes without feeling like you're going to suffocate, or when you can get your once-too-fat calves into cute boots, or when you see your long-lost-collar bones for the first time in YEARS, or when you get that "look" from an attractive member of the opposite sex and you don't know how to react so you just walk away as fast as you can because you're a geek with no game... Ok, maybe that last one was just me. But still. Remember to take it easy on yourself during the process. Hold yourself accountable, yes. But don't beat yourself up when you make mistakes. Instead, get up out of the pile of *fill in the blank "mistake-food"*, dust yourself off in the most dignified manner that you can muster, and move forward without looking back. Don't kick yourself any more. You've done that for long enough. And how did that work out for you? Or any of us? Not very well, given that we had to take such extreme measures to get our lives back.

So, now is the time to start a new chapter... Hell, start a new BOOK if you want. Throw the old draft in the trash. Title this one whatever you want. Just don't leave this one unfinished.

Take care, lovelies. Of yourselves and each other.

XOXO,

Chrissy

Hello, Lovelies :)

I hope this post finds you all doing well. I just passed my 2 year surgiversary on July 1st and wanted to stop in and do my due diligence by posting an update. 

Since my last surgiversary, I've had a TON of changes in my life. I met the man of my dreams, fell in love, moved two states away, and got married last month. I've got a new job, a new home (well, new to ME anyway!), and a new family in the form of my amazing in-laws.

I won't lie and sit here and say that I've been "on-plan" with my eating this whole time. That would be a big fat LIE, in fact. But you know what? What I have discovered is that new habits are much easier to stick to when the attitudes behind them are adjusted. For example, this time 2 years ago, I would have seen food as a means to comfort myself or to assuage boredom. Now? I see it as a way to be creative and to impress my new hubby. We eat a lot of chicken and we avoid red meat for the most part (just due to preference, not any moral dilemma). We've learned to make sushi, which we've turned into a weekly event in the form of "Su****uesdays." Sushi has become a fun bonding time for us when we're cooking together. We've also started using our new crockpot and my pizza stone to try new recipes. Nate is having fun learning how NOT to eat like a bachelor. He's lost over 100 pounds himself, so we encourage each other to use moderation on things that should be moderated :) We eat breads and desserts, but are pretty snobby and go for quality over quantity as a hard rule. Heck, on our honeymoon, we took an entire DAY to sample different snacks in lieu of eating actual meals (We had a blast trying new things and experiencing different cultures at Disney's Epcot World Showcase). It wasn't about stuffing our faces. It was about the experience as a whole... See? Attitudes!

Honestly, I don't really want to talk about my eating habits any more in this post. Over the last year, eating like a healthy person has just become a habit. I don't feel myself wanting to binge like I used to, nor do I want to eat to overfullness. When I do accidentally overeat, I pay for it later, so there's no reason to put myself through it intentionally. Gone are the days of stuffing myself into blissful oblivion. Come are the days of "I can feel my pulse in my sternum, why did I do that??"

So, eating aside! Over the last year, my confidence has done some serious maturing. The body-image issues that I had when I met my husband are all but gone. I mean, I still have (frequent) moments when I look in the mirror and think, "bleh. I hate my tummy," but nothing like I used to. Shame and humiliation have been replaced with general eye rolling and shoulder shrugs when it comes to my post-weight loss body.

Basically, I'm just living my life! I don't think about my surgery very often, other than when an AWESOME meal rolls around and I'll have a ghost of a bittersweet pang of wishing that I could eat more. In general, I feel like a "normal" person who just eats light meals. My stats have maintained steadily since I hit goal. I weighed this past weekend and was at 167 (with PMS in full swing). I'll update my ticker if I can remember how!

And now, on to the photo bragging! You know that's why you came to this post... don't lie ;)

 

This side-by-side gets me every time. The picture on the left was taken almost exactly one year before surgery, and the one on the right, almost 2 years after. What a difference a couple of years can make! That girl on the left was sad and lonely and not very kind to herself. The girl on the right is blissfully happy and finally knows what it means to take care of herself.

 

Because of this surgery, I had the courage to get on eHarmony and meet my best friend. My VSG was TRULY a blessing.

 

 

I LOVE THIS PICTURE! This was the moment when our friend/officiant announced us a Mr. & Mrs. 

 

 

Me and my hot, hot, HOT husband right after we left our reception... Why, YES. My hair WAS died pea**** colors. So nice of you to notice ;) #sorrynotsorry about my abundance of cleavage. Nate loved the dress ;)

 

And a few of us on our honeymoon. We spent a week at Disney World :)

 

 

Boo for construction!

 

Oh, Lord. I could post pictures all day... I'll spare you and just conclude by saying this. If you are on the fence about VSG, think long and hard about it. It is a LIFE CHANGING SURGERY. I have heard of people having success and failure. It is NOT a magic solution. It is a surgery on your body, not your brain. If you cannot wrap your head around changing your eating habits, FOR GOOD, then take a moment to breathe and reflect before you continue. If you hate your body and think that surgery is going to magically make you a Victoria Secret Swimsuit Model, think again. You will still have those stretch marks, those bat wings (in all likelihood), and those cottage cheese thighs unless you have amazing genes and an even more amazing trainer. My body is far, FAR from perfect and always will be unless I decide to have plastics (maybe after kids one day), but I have a man who looks at me with wonder in his eyes when he tells me that he adores me. I'll take that over a perfectly smooth tummy any day of the week. It's about finding a way to love and take care of yourself. If that path includes surgery? Go for it. But remember on the days when it's hard to choke down another protein shake, or the days when low-carb means nothing crunchy, or the days when you JUST-WANT-A-DAMN-COOKIE-SO-GET-OFF-OF-MY-BACK-OK, or the days when the scale doesn't move as fast (or in the right direction!) as you'd like, or the days when you look in the mirror and realize your mid-section looks like a cake that's been left out in the heat (DID-SOMEONE-SAY-"CAKE"?)... On those days (which ARE coming, trust me), remember to love yourself. Find a way to reward to accomplishments, even on the days when it feels like there weren't any. Remember to acknowledge your NSVs. Those moments of victory when you can reach your toes to tie your shoes without feeling like you're going to suffocate, or when you can get your once-too-fat calves into cute boots, or when you see your long-lost-collar bones for the first time in YEARS, or when you get that "look" from an attractive member of the opposite sex and you don't know how to react so you just walk away as fast as you can because you're a geek with no game... Ok, maybe that last one was just me. But still. Remember to take it easy on yourself during the process. Hold yourself accountable, yes. But don't beat yourself up when you make mistakes. Instead, get up out of the pile of *fill in the blank "mistake-food"*, dust yourself off in the most dignified manner that you can muster, and move forward without looking back. Don't kick yourself any more. You've done that for long enough. And how did that work out for you? Or any of us? Not very well, given that we had to take such extreme measures to get our lives back.

So, now is the time to start a new chapter... Hell, start a new BOOK if you want. Throw the old draft in the trash. Title this one whatever you want. Just don't leave this one unfinished.

Take care, lovelies. Of yourselves and each other.

XOXO,

Chrissy

You must be Chrissys' twin! OH needs to feed the hamsters again!

Really lovely words of wisdom.

Congratulations. You look great. I love the colors in your hair. You were a beautiful bride. Enjoy your husband and being a newlywed. 

Amazing transformation and wonderful story. Thank you for sharing!

Congratulations! Glad to see you are living life. Great job in maintaining...

Congratulations.. Great Job Chrissy.. 

Have fun...

That is a wonderful wonderful update and pics.   You have done a fantastic job.,  Your upbeat thought process of the whole journey (as of date of course because there is never a "finish" line) is fantastic and inspiring.  I love it.  Congratulations on all of your life changing happenings and your new (yes hot hot hot) hubby.  Many blessings to the both of you.  Pam

Wonderful news!