Peggy B.
Five Year Anniversary!
Jan 14, 2008
Wow, it has been five years! It is amazing how fast the years have past and I am feeling wonderful. I am now 62 years old! Oh my gosh, never thought that I would get this old. Guess what , I look and feel a lot younger then many my age.
Two years ago I went to work for an event planner and what a blast. I would have never considered it a possibility before the surgery. I gave myself only a few years to live. I knew at that point that I would be sitting on the sofa in pain with the weight and problems that I had. Now I am involved in a job that keeps my mind busy and my body active.
I move and I am not in pain most of the time. Reality is that not all problems disappear completely. I damaged my spine from years of extreme obesity, but most of my days if I am careful I am without pain. Age can create its own problems and there is a difference in the way my body recoups from extreme activity or doing something that I know is not good for me.
I want to give you all a look into some of the changes in my diet and the way my body reacts to food since the early days.
I was a very lucky person. I started at 320 pounds and ended at 140pounds. I lost 180 pounds, which the doctor told me is really very good. I just know I was on a mission and I was going to use the operation to help me obtain a normal life. I worked hard. I exercised and was careful with the foods I ate. If the doctor told me not to eat a certain food I didn't. He guided me well and that is what I wanted.
I had adomoplasty, which helped in 10 pounds of the loss. I never did the arms, legs and bottom, although I wish at times I had. I would have been able to fit into a more styles of clothing. The face bothers me the most. I found at my age that having a full face kept the lines and wrinkles from starting, but after the operation my face was so much thinner and there was an instant aging that to this day frustrates me to no end. Most of the time I am ok,but there are days if I had the time and money and believed in face lifts and the such I might do a few proceedures. I have in the last three years put the ten pounds back on that I had lost from the adomoplasty which I am told is not at all unusual, so don't believe that it is a permant way to loose weight. It is not. The doctor said most people go back to the weight they were before the surgery, altough my stomach is still very nice.
My weight fluctuates up and down about 7 pounds. As I get older and my metabolism has changed. It is becomming more difficult to maintain, but not impossible.
I am hungrier now and get urges to eat certain foods, but there are still certain foods that I can not eat. I don't like some of the foods I used to eat and now I enjoy others I didn't like before the surgery. I have difficulty with some foods, just the way I did before the surgery. My stomach has certain problems digesting some foods, but I am more then happy to be careful and work with these problems then the way I was in my other life. I would never want to go back. I am a happy post surgery patient and happy with my life and the choices I made. I am successful and that is a feeling I never had before! I have begun to have a glass of wine in the last year. I enjoy sitting and relaxing after work with my husband with a glass in hand. I never went back to my coka cola addiction. I don't drink carbonated soda. I can eat candy, but try not to. Some do bother me, but most of the time it is hard to resist. It is a constant struggle for me. I do not eat much bread. I drink to this day before each meal and about 64 fluid ounces a day. I believe this really helps me. I have tried icecream and it doesn't agree with me, which is great. Some meats are still too dense for me to digest. I love soups. I make a lot and always did. I eat cheese and can eat crackers.
I am sure I could go on and on about all the foods, but if anyone is really in need to know you can always contact me to find out.
One last comment. There are times I see a person that is suffering in the store or when I am out and I wish I could run up to them and tell them my secret, but I have come to the realization that every one has to come to the point of surgery on their own. I don't recomend this surgery only tell my experiences, because this isn't for all and I have to respect their choices. I just know that I am alive and for me life is Great! Problems don't go away and new ones appear, but at least I am alive to experience them!
Thank you to all the early pioneers that had this surgery and posted their comments so that I could make an informative decision. I am grateful to you all for your bravery and the knowledge you provided the medical field and all of us!
Two years ago I went to work for an event planner and what a blast. I would have never considered it a possibility before the surgery. I gave myself only a few years to live. I knew at that point that I would be sitting on the sofa in pain with the weight and problems that I had. Now I am involved in a job that keeps my mind busy and my body active.
I move and I am not in pain most of the time. Reality is that not all problems disappear completely. I damaged my spine from years of extreme obesity, but most of my days if I am careful I am without pain. Age can create its own problems and there is a difference in the way my body recoups from extreme activity or doing something that I know is not good for me.
I want to give you all a look into some of the changes in my diet and the way my body reacts to food since the early days.
I was a very lucky person. I started at 320 pounds and ended at 140pounds. I lost 180 pounds, which the doctor told me is really very good. I just know I was on a mission and I was going to use the operation to help me obtain a normal life. I worked hard. I exercised and was careful with the foods I ate. If the doctor told me not to eat a certain food I didn't. He guided me well and that is what I wanted.
I had adomoplasty, which helped in 10 pounds of the loss. I never did the arms, legs and bottom, although I wish at times I had. I would have been able to fit into a more styles of clothing. The face bothers me the most. I found at my age that having a full face kept the lines and wrinkles from starting, but after the operation my face was so much thinner and there was an instant aging that to this day frustrates me to no end. Most of the time I am ok,but there are days if I had the time and money and believed in face lifts and the such I might do a few proceedures. I have in the last three years put the ten pounds back on that I had lost from the adomoplasty which I am told is not at all unusual, so don't believe that it is a permant way to loose weight. It is not. The doctor said most people go back to the weight they were before the surgery, altough my stomach is still very nice.
My weight fluctuates up and down about 7 pounds. As I get older and my metabolism has changed. It is becomming more difficult to maintain, but not impossible.
I am hungrier now and get urges to eat certain foods, but there are still certain foods that I can not eat. I don't like some of the foods I used to eat and now I enjoy others I didn't like before the surgery. I have difficulty with some foods, just the way I did before the surgery. My stomach has certain problems digesting some foods, but I am more then happy to be careful and work with these problems then the way I was in my other life. I would never want to go back. I am a happy post surgery patient and happy with my life and the choices I made. I am successful and that is a feeling I never had before! I have begun to have a glass of wine in the last year. I enjoy sitting and relaxing after work with my husband with a glass in hand. I never went back to my coka cola addiction. I don't drink carbonated soda. I can eat candy, but try not to. Some do bother me, but most of the time it is hard to resist. It is a constant struggle for me. I do not eat much bread. I drink to this day before each meal and about 64 fluid ounces a day. I believe this really helps me. I have tried icecream and it doesn't agree with me, which is great. Some meats are still too dense for me to digest. I love soups. I make a lot and always did. I eat cheese and can eat crackers.
I am sure I could go on and on about all the foods, but if anyone is really in need to know you can always contact me to find out.
One last comment. There are times I see a person that is suffering in the store or when I am out and I wish I could run up to them and tell them my secret, but I have come to the realization that every one has to come to the point of surgery on their own. I don't recomend this surgery only tell my experiences, because this isn't for all and I have to respect their choices. I just know that I am alive and for me life is Great! Problems don't go away and new ones appear, but at least I am alive to experience them!
Thank you to all the early pioneers that had this surgery and posted their comments so that I could make an informative decision. I am grateful to you all for your bravery and the knowledge you provided the medical field and all of us!