GloryGirl
Seven Things in Seven Years
Oct 04, 2011
If you are overweight or obese or morbidly obese, there is no short-cut to losing the weight. I thought I had discovered one, though. I had gastric bypass surgery seven years ago. I weighed 430 lbs. The cardiac doctor told me if I didn't lose weight, I'd be dead in five years. So I had the operation. It was a success. I actually lost 230 lbs, then gained about 50 back and have since lost 20 of those. I have 75 more I would to lose. Finally, I know that I will be successful with that goal.
For those of you who believe gastric bypass surgery will solve all your problems, I want to let you in on a secret. It won't. It will buy you some more time here on the planet. But if you do not learn how to control food rather than letting food control you, you will be back in the same shape (literally) or worse than you were before.
After seven years I have learned at least seven key things.
1. Exercise. I have to do the hard work of exercising. I lost weight but it was mostly muscle. Now I'm not only exercising by walking in the water about an hour a day but I also go to a fitness trainer to strengthen the muscles that I lost. Exercise is so very important. I finally realized in April of this year that it was time to start exercising and do it every day. I lost weight but there came a point where I was taking in more (in terms of good old-fashioned calories than I was expending in exercise. Because of difficulty with my knees I walk in the water. Anyone can do that. There are ladies who walk with me in the morning who come into the pool using a walker. One lady walks four hours a day twice a week. She has lost 75 lbs in a year doing just that
2. Emotional Eating. I had to be honest with myself and realize I ate out of an emotional need: loneliness, boredom, frustration, anger, joy. It didn't matter what the emotion, I took care of it with food. Probably because I learned early on, it was available when people might not be. And it always took care of whatever emotion I was feeling. Prior to gastric bypass, I would say I was not an emotional eater.
In the first year after surgery, I learned I was an emotional eater. There were many things I not only was advised not to eat but I couldn't eat. They would make me sick or they wouldn't go down right or I didn't chew them enough. The smell of certain foods would gag me and I couldn't eat them. And, of course, I couldn't overeat. I realized that stuffing myself was one way I filled my emotional lack. Even now sometimes I get frustrated that I can't just go to food and get my need met. I have to actually work through whatever I'm feeling.
3. Be healthy. To be healthy I need to put healthy foods in my body. That means my diet needs to be high in protein and low in carbohydrates. At about five years out I begin to find I could eat some concentrated sweets like candy. That plus not paying attention to what I was eating was responsible for putting weight back on when I still needed to lose more.
4. Lifestyle change. I finally realized there were some lifestyle changes that would need to be for the rest of my life. A recovering alcoholic makes a decision to not drink alcohol for the rest of his or her life. So, I made a decision not to eat candy for the rest of my life. In other words when I reach my goal weight in another 75 lbs., I will still not eat candy. With past "diets" I have always said I will do this until I lose 100 lbs or whatever and then I will eat like I want. I am also cutting down on carbs although I am not cutting those out completely, I know for now I need to decrease those and once I get closer to goal I can increase accordingly.
5. Food journal. I keep a food journal. I resisted this until about three months ago. It is too easy for me to guess at what I have eaten and what my calorie intake has been. I found a wonderful free ap called myfitnesspal. It is also available online at myfitnesspal.com. The ap on my iphone updates to the desktop application. And both are free. I put in the amount of weight I want to lose each week and it tells me many calories I need to eat. I put in my food, exercise, water. It subtracts the exercise from the food I eat and tells me how many more calories I have for the day. It is amazingly simple and has many foods from restaurants, as well as namebrand foods listed. It not only will put the calories but protein, carb, fat and other stuff like that when you add to what you've eaten. It has been very helpful to keep me on track and since it is on both my phone and my home computer I am able to update it as I go about my day.
6. Vitamins. Gastric bypass patients need to be sure to take B12, omega3, calcium and iron fumerate (chewable if possible). Recently my iron went extemely low. I was told by other gastric bypass patients that it is not unusual for this to happen to us post-post op patients. Use a colon cleanse product every so often. Because my family's propensity toward colon cancer I take a colon cleanse product daily. Protein shakes and protein bars are still good for post-op patients or anyone wanting to lose weight.
7. Master. I realized food had become my master instead of God. As a Christian for 50 years, that is hard to face. Paul says in Philippians that "their god is their stomach." He was talking about people who live their lives against God. My god was my stomach. I want my god to be God Almighty, my Maker, Creator and Redeemer. That only comes by surrendering to His will for my life. He wants my best and that is for me to be healthy and fit for the kingdom.
By the way, that means that I do have to say no to lots of things. I have set my sights on the greater goal of knowing my Creator. When flatbread calls my name, I remember that God has a greater purpose for me than being subject to a morsel of bread.
I think many of us are like Esau in the Old Testament. We have sold our birthright, our inheritance as children of God, for bowl of chili (insert your food of choice--mine would be Cinnamon Crunch bagels from Panera). At one time I would never say no to what my body was screaming that it wanted. I would give in to the food. I would literally roll over and die for it. I almost did.
God used gastric bypass surgery to teach me some tough lessons. I wish I could have learned them without having surgery but through the surgery I have had more time here on this earth to learn the lessons I believe God has been tugging at my heart to learn for years. One of those is that He is supreme. There is no short-cut to learning that.
0 comments
For those of you who believe gastric bypass surgery will solve all your problems, I want to let you in on a secret. It won't. It will buy you some more time here on the planet. But if you do not learn how to control food rather than letting food control you, you will be back in the same shape (literally) or worse than you were before.
After seven years I have learned at least seven key things.
1. Exercise. I have to do the hard work of exercising. I lost weight but it was mostly muscle. Now I'm not only exercising by walking in the water about an hour a day but I also go to a fitness trainer to strengthen the muscles that I lost. Exercise is so very important. I finally realized in April of this year that it was time to start exercising and do it every day. I lost weight but there came a point where I was taking in more (in terms of good old-fashioned calories than I was expending in exercise. Because of difficulty with my knees I walk in the water. Anyone can do that. There are ladies who walk with me in the morning who come into the pool using a walker. One lady walks four hours a day twice a week. She has lost 75 lbs in a year doing just that
2. Emotional Eating. I had to be honest with myself and realize I ate out of an emotional need: loneliness, boredom, frustration, anger, joy. It didn't matter what the emotion, I took care of it with food. Probably because I learned early on, it was available when people might not be. And it always took care of whatever emotion I was feeling. Prior to gastric bypass, I would say I was not an emotional eater.
In the first year after surgery, I learned I was an emotional eater. There were many things I not only was advised not to eat but I couldn't eat. They would make me sick or they wouldn't go down right or I didn't chew them enough. The smell of certain foods would gag me and I couldn't eat them. And, of course, I couldn't overeat. I realized that stuffing myself was one way I filled my emotional lack. Even now sometimes I get frustrated that I can't just go to food and get my need met. I have to actually work through whatever I'm feeling.
3. Be healthy. To be healthy I need to put healthy foods in my body. That means my diet needs to be high in protein and low in carbohydrates. At about five years out I begin to find I could eat some concentrated sweets like candy. That plus not paying attention to what I was eating was responsible for putting weight back on when I still needed to lose more.
4. Lifestyle change. I finally realized there were some lifestyle changes that would need to be for the rest of my life. A recovering alcoholic makes a decision to not drink alcohol for the rest of his or her life. So, I made a decision not to eat candy for the rest of my life. In other words when I reach my goal weight in another 75 lbs., I will still not eat candy. With past "diets" I have always said I will do this until I lose 100 lbs or whatever and then I will eat like I want. I am also cutting down on carbs although I am not cutting those out completely, I know for now I need to decrease those and once I get closer to goal I can increase accordingly.
5. Food journal. I keep a food journal. I resisted this until about three months ago. It is too easy for me to guess at what I have eaten and what my calorie intake has been. I found a wonderful free ap called myfitnesspal. It is also available online at myfitnesspal.com. The ap on my iphone updates to the desktop application. And both are free. I put in the amount of weight I want to lose each week and it tells me many calories I need to eat. I put in my food, exercise, water. It subtracts the exercise from the food I eat and tells me how many more calories I have for the day. It is amazingly simple and has many foods from restaurants, as well as namebrand foods listed. It not only will put the calories but protein, carb, fat and other stuff like that when you add to what you've eaten. It has been very helpful to keep me on track and since it is on both my phone and my home computer I am able to update it as I go about my day.
6. Vitamins. Gastric bypass patients need to be sure to take B12, omega3, calcium and iron fumerate (chewable if possible). Recently my iron went extemely low. I was told by other gastric bypass patients that it is not unusual for this to happen to us post-post op patients. Use a colon cleanse product every so often. Because my family's propensity toward colon cancer I take a colon cleanse product daily. Protein shakes and protein bars are still good for post-op patients or anyone wanting to lose weight.
7. Master. I realized food had become my master instead of God. As a Christian for 50 years, that is hard to face. Paul says in Philippians that "their god is their stomach." He was talking about people who live their lives against God. My god was my stomach. I want my god to be God Almighty, my Maker, Creator and Redeemer. That only comes by surrendering to His will for my life. He wants my best and that is for me to be healthy and fit for the kingdom.
By the way, that means that I do have to say no to lots of things. I have set my sights on the greater goal of knowing my Creator. When flatbread calls my name, I remember that God has a greater purpose for me than being subject to a morsel of bread.
I think many of us are like Esau in the Old Testament. We have sold our birthright, our inheritance as children of God, for bowl of chili (insert your food of choice--mine would be Cinnamon Crunch bagels from Panera). At one time I would never say no to what my body was screaming that it wanted. I would give in to the food. I would literally roll over and die for it. I almost did.
God used gastric bypass surgery to teach me some tough lessons. I wish I could have learned them without having surgery but through the surgery I have had more time here on this earth to learn the lessons I believe God has been tugging at my heart to learn for years. One of those is that He is supreme. There is no short-cut to learning that.
Six years plus
Dec 29, 2010
It's been 6 years, 3 months since gastric bypass changed my life. The rough summary of those years include losing 200 lbs, gaining back about 20% of that and now beginning to lose again. I had double knee replacement surgery in August of this year and have been going through physical therapy to get up and going better from that. A pinched nerve in my back has been impending some of that recovery but all in all I am glad I had the knee surgery and of course very glad I had the gastric bypass. I would love to love another 60 lbs and keep it off. IF I could do that I would be extremely satisfied. Of course, there is always the hanging skin on my arms and around my belly and also on my thighs. All of these would be good to get rid of and I do find it tightening some with the physical therapy I have been doing for the kene replacement and back strengthening. I can't help but think that the back problem may be related to the extra skin I carry around my middle, not sure and I haven't really asked any physicain about it. Right now, though, I can walk better than I have been able to in years.
When I got the gastric bypass done and began losing weight, I was frustrated that my knee pain did not go away. The gastric bypass can't fix things I probably stressed and frustrated by carrying so much weight for so many years. Now I know I need to get off the rest of the weight so that I can get around even better.
There is always something to work on!
Also I do want to say to all my post menopausal ladies, estrogen-testorene shots saved my marriage. For some reason which no doctor can explain to me, the gastric bypass threw me in to full blown menopause. Prior to that I had been flirting aorund the edges with menopause but I didn't have a period after the surgery. Also my libido vanished. You would think the opposite would be true. I was losing weight like mad but the other part vanished. It took me until about a year and half ago to discover a gynecologist who presecribed the magic tonic! the shot deliver the same kind of therapy I was getting in a compounded sublingual made at a local pharmacy. the gyn finally prescribed the shots and I had immediate results. My husband is happy. I am happy. What more can I say.
I share this here to let you know that gastric bypass is great but sometimes you just have to keep going with the next thing. What we have done to our bodies may take a lifetime to cure.
Isn't it great to know that one day when this life is over those of us who believe in Christ Jesus will have a new heavenly body and we won't have to worry with all these aches and pains again. Praise Jesus!
0 comments
When I got the gastric bypass done and began losing weight, I was frustrated that my knee pain did not go away. The gastric bypass can't fix things I probably stressed and frustrated by carrying so much weight for so many years. Now I know I need to get off the rest of the weight so that I can get around even better.
There is always something to work on!
Also I do want to say to all my post menopausal ladies, estrogen-testorene shots saved my marriage. For some reason which no doctor can explain to me, the gastric bypass threw me in to full blown menopause. Prior to that I had been flirting aorund the edges with menopause but I didn't have a period after the surgery. Also my libido vanished. You would think the opposite would be true. I was losing weight like mad but the other part vanished. It took me until about a year and half ago to discover a gynecologist who presecribed the magic tonic! the shot deliver the same kind of therapy I was getting in a compounded sublingual made at a local pharmacy. the gyn finally prescribed the shots and I had immediate results. My husband is happy. I am happy. What more can I say.
I share this here to let you know that gastric bypass is great but sometimes you just have to keep going with the next thing. What we have done to our bodies may take a lifetime to cure.
Isn't it great to know that one day when this life is over those of us who believe in Christ Jesus will have a new heavenly body and we won't have to worry with all these aches and pains again. Praise Jesus!
3/27/09
Mar 27, 2009
This week I got the diagnosis that I have what the doctor is calling definitive multiple sclerosis. I am 4 1/2 years postop and have lost 200 lbs. It's kind of frustrating to have gone through the surgery and weight loss to basically rid myself of problems such as diabetes and extreme obesity to be faced with having to give myself shots everyday for MS so that the progression will be stopped or at least slowed. The good news is that my symptoms are not that bad. The doc says I have 25-30 lesions or MS scars in my brain. Some people with severe disabilities have only 2-3. My main problems is bladder retention. I retain urine instead of emptying correctly. This is easily corrected with a self-catherization process which is easy and painless. I have always (even since high school) not been able to walk a straight line. I do get tired easily and can't walk for long periods of time. The diagnosis has jump started me back to water aerobics and I'm reading about MS Diet which is basically eating more veggies and whole grains. I am also looking into whether or not I'm taking enough vitamins although both my protein and vitamin levels have always been fine even this last week the doc said B12, protein, copper, etc., is fine.
I am not complaining. It seems it has been caught early and it can be managed. With God's help I'm going to concentrate on making sure I am eating healthy, exercising and doing what I can to be whole and healthy.
0 comments
I am not complaining. It seems it has been caught early and it can be managed. With God's help I'm going to concentrate on making sure I am eating healthy, exercising and doing what I can to be whole and healthy.
2/3/08
Feb 03, 2008
I'm still holding my own on my weight but I am starting to be concerned. I can eat more now. I can eat sugar. I have started drinking Sprite Zero. But my stomach does hurt a bit. I don't know if that is the soda or something else. I need to stop the soda and check my eating. I've started leading a Celebrate Recovery group called Victory Over Food. It is a 12-step recovery group along the same thing as an alcoholic would attend. I know my problem with food is addictive and it can quickly become that again if I do not watch out. I can't eat as much but I can eat more than I could. I never want to go back to where I was before. The group helps to share our honest fears and temptations and help support each other.
Three years
Sep 16, 2007
9/16/07
Well, it's been nearly three years since my gastric bypass surgery. Hard to believe! I now weigh around 200 lbs, depending on what day it is! I weighed in on the day of surgery at 391 so that's officially 191 lbs. However, my highest weight was 430 so I am saying my weight loss is right at 230 lbs. I've lost more than I currently weigh. Right now my problem is hanging skin, especially under my arms and on my abdomen. I also have a bit of a bladder control problem. I think it may have something to do with all the hanging skin around my abdomen. So, we're going to see if insurance will pay for a tummy tuck. I'm praying they will but not keeping my fingers crossed! Today my family wanted to go to a buffet for lunch. As usual my eyes are way bigger than my tummy. I got a helping of everything I wanted and ate only a bite of each thing except I did eat a few popcorn shrimp and a cornbread muffin. Don't know why but that's what tasted good. I'm happy that at 3 years out I'm not able to gorge myself and the tool still works to keep me in check. I have no more diabetes or congestive heart failure. However, after about 2 years, my high blood pressure came back and I've been dealing with that for the last year. My doctor says I'm probably just genetically predisposed to HBP. I can now go and buy anything I want to wear at Walmart or any other regular store and not worry about plus sizes. It is wonderful. I am also not the largest person in the room any more. THat feels great as well. Well, that's my 3 year update.
About Me
Columbia, MO
Location
34.1
BMI
Jan 29, 2002
Member Since
Before & After
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