Happy 5 Month Surgiversary to Me!

Aug 11, 2009

Wow - only 5 months ago, I was up bright & early to take my shower with my lovely surgical scrub brush. Truly hard to believe how my life has changed for the better!! And how using the tool my surgeon gave me has allowed me to make so many changes to my life - both in eating habits and styles to coping strategies, etc.

So here's some quick stats:

HW: 339
SW: 228 (saw this in my surgeon's notes this past week)

1 mth post-op: 290 (-36 lbs)
2 mths post-op: 279 (-11 lbs)
3 mths post-op: 269 (-10 lbs)
4 mths post-op: 256 (-13 lbs)
5 mths post-op: 242 (-14 lbs)

TOTAL WEIGHT LOSS:  97 lbs

Using MY GOAL (of 175 lbs), I still have 67 lbs to lose.  Anything beyond that for me is vanity poundage!!  

So to use all the doctor-speak, I have lost to date 59% of my EWL as of today.

And as much as I wanted to get there before today, I am not quite at the Century club yet... hopefully this week!  3 lbs to go to hit the Century Club. It feels so close and yet so far right now. Two weeks of vacation away from home and eating out more probably slowed me down a tad but when I look at those monthly figures, my WL per month has INCREASED instead of dropping each month. LOL

Clothing:

All over the map now but I can say I'm solidly in a size 24 and not for long. I was told by the sales gal in Lane Bryant this week that my capris were far too loose! But I have 22's sitting all ready to go but they are just slightly too snug - does anyone make a 22.5?  LOL  I inherited an inordinate amount of clothing from 2 other very generous sleeve sisters this past week with lots of 22 & 24s in there and they will get some use for sure - the shorts have been a wonderful blessing now that summer's heat & humidity has found us.

Bra - my 40G is getting large - esp in the top half of the cup. Looks like the air is coming out of the balloon but there's still enough skin to justify the cup if that makes sense. Sad girls these days.  I did buy a 38H (different style & manufacturer) and depending on the day, my cup runneth over so like the pants, I'm right between sizes.

I did finally buy new undies though - first time since I started this journey and I bought some LB 22/24's (I had a few pairs to slim down to at home and they are now fitting really nicely) and 1 pair of 18/22 to slim down into - probably by Sept at the rate I'm shrinking right now.

Shirts - Definitely now into small 2X or an XL. My sleeve sisters and I went to Old Navy on our road trip to Ypsilanti this week and I bought a new t-shirt there (we all bought the same shirt in various colours) - was the deal of the week for $8 or something - can't pass that up. Well - I was skeptical and tried on the 2XL and it was billowy so I decided to work my way down to the XL so I can wear it into the fall as it's a 3/4 sleeve.  So as we shopped the clearance racks, I picked up a new nightgown and felt that for now, I still needed the 2XL... and the roll-waist yoga pants. Knowing my bottom half is still larger than my top, I again bought the 2XL and thought they'll be super snug but won't be for long. Um wrong... I tried the pants on yesterday and in the thighs they are almost baggy. I probably could have purchased the XL - holy crap!  And the nightgown is similar - the 1XL would have been just fine.  So now I know - I can shop in Old Navy with relative ease. If you'd told me that even 2 mths ago I would have laughed at you!

Some NSV:

* I can cross my legs and sit that way for awhile! I feel very lady-like that I can now do this!
* my wedding and engagement rings are barely staying on. My mom had to give me my great-grandmother's "keeper" ring which I wear between my e-ring and my knuckle to keep it all in place. A short term solution for now.
* I had my picture taken in a bathing suit this week and I didn't have a panic attack when I saw the camera (and that my mom sent the picture out to all my aunts & uncles!)
* Posting again - I can shop in many "regular" stores now if they have XL and 2XL sizing without having to go to specialty stores (apart from my bras).
* Started the C25K program again this past week - it's been 2 mths and almost 30 lbs since I first tried it and it was almost easy (comparatively speaking). I walked/jogged just under 2km in the 30 min I was exercising.
* Enjoyed the day at the African Lion Safari with my family in the heat & sun 10 days ago and didn't feel the need to sit at every park bench and look for an escape from the heat (or a/c!). Even splashed in the splash pad with the kids!

And a not so pleasant NSV, my hips & outer thighs hurt when I wake up in the morning - no more (or certainly not as much) padding to lie on!!!

And lastly, I'm starting to notice that I can (if I want to some days) eat more food. Until this past week or so, I've been "stalled" in that I could only eat 2-2.25 oz of solid protein at dinner, etc and barely get in a bite or two of veg on the side. Well - I think (I didn't have my food scale) I ate 2.25-2.5oz of chicken (BBQ chicken thigh!) with a small boiled "new" potato (prob an inch in diameter) and half an ear of freshly picked corn on the cob. Thought I'd died and gone to heaven. Am mildly pleased and yet concerned that I can now eat more but looking at the numbers ending the week of my vacation, I'd say for now it's not affecting my loss... it might actually be increasing it (meaning I can eat my 70g of protein instead of still needing a protein bar or shake). So we'll be keeping a close eye on this!

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