Nine Months Later and All is Well

May 22, 2013

Today is my nine-month surgiversary. I have hit quite a few milestones without many problems and I am getting pretty close to all of my final goals. I am very, very happy with the choice I made to have a VSG and not a band or a bypass. I am sure it was the correct route for me. I didn't need the physiological rebuild that a RouX-N-Y gives you or the accompanying malabsorbtion, and I lacked the discipline and, therefore, would have cheated the lap-band. No doubt about it, I'm a sleever. Even better, it's taken nine months and I still haven't figured it all out, but I think I'm reformed too.

Reformed? Yes, reformed. You know how people always say, "in order to lose weight you need to make a lifestyle change."? Well, My lifestyle has changed. I would be outright lying to you all if I said I hadn't played around with the dark side over the last nine months either. You see, I'm like a 16 year old living in a 42 year old body. I still need to make mistakes in order to learn anything and eating with my new stomach is no exception. But despite my misgivings and mistakes, my sleeve always straightened me out.

So... what have I learned? I'm going to make this into a list format, because I skip over the fat and go to the numbered instructions, so if anyone like me (interpret as most men) reads this, maybe they won't be bored out by the most important part. 

1. My weight problem was never about food choices or activity levels. It was about portion control. I have literally dieted for 20 years. I have eaten everything and anything that was supposed to keep me lean, fill me up, burn fat, burn sugar, etc, etc. I know - now - that it wasn't what I was eating, just how much.
2. I can eat carbs again but they remain my weight loss/gain enemy. I have been able to eat most carbs, with the exception of soft breads, for about three months. After almost completely depriving myself of carbs as a part of my post surgical plan, my body didn't like them for quite some time. Well, I can now eat almost anything. About the time I started getting brave and trying some "new" foods, I also stopped losing weight. I brought the carbs back in check and whaddya know? back on the slide.
3. I can tell you exactly how much 6oz of food is! That's what I can eat. Any combination of almost any food about 6 times a day. I don't usually do that, but I could if I wanted to. This is important to know because, in theory, I could eat a solid 2+ lbs of crap if I chose to go back to my wicked ways and force a weight gain. Please - Sleeve Police - don't worry, read the next one before you put an APB out on me.
4. I care about what I eat. I can eat much more than I do. I can also eat a lot more bad foods than nutritious ones. I make better choices than I ever have.
5. I no longer feel the dieting deprivation and resentment that I felt pre-VSG. When dieting, especially when I was rocking, I often would "reward myself" with a snack or a cheat because "I'd been so good" or one of these "wouldn't kill me."  Well, we all know how that goes. Now I treat it differently. I don't feel like I'm on a diet, I eat when I'm hungry and I fill up fast. Bonus. If I feel like a treat, I review my options and if I have a craving that only a piece of chocolate or a gummy bear will satisfy, I act like an adult and have a Hershey Kiss or a couple of gummies and then I go about my business. I'm not on a diet, I eat the right amount of balanced, nutritious foods and therefore 50 calories of a sweet once or twice a week isn't ruining my life. Funny how it works.
6. I write things down. I weigh myself every day. I take my BP every day. I keep a comprehensive food and activity log every day. Any time something is out of line, I cross check it against my journal and it's very easy to put my finger on what I changed - for better or worse.
7. The most important thing I've learned about myself is that I am a happy, kind and energetic person. I used to be everyone's BFF. I used to be the life of the party. I was the first one on the rope swing, the first one to make the sad person laugh, the first one to talk to the new guy... then I got fat and I was just miserable. In turn, I made everyone else miserable too. It was how I coped. I haven't had a fight with my wife in nine months. My daughter loves me and I just get along with everyone. I love this about myself.

So, to get to the numbers, I'm at a skinny 205 (204 point something) and down 95lbs from my surgery weight of 300. My BMI is 27.1, still overweight but not obese and my body fat is 20% - in the healthy range (>22% for males 40-59) for the first time since I was 21 years old. I am down 13" in my waist and two or three sizes in everything else - I had to buy a new race car helmet because even my head is a full size smaller!

I am off of all of my meds except for my acid blocker, and my appointment with my GI doc is in July so that's coming too. My BP is a steady 108/73 and my resting pulse is around 50 BPM. I do a lot of funky things like kayaking, race cars and climb poles for work so my exercise hasn't really changed other than walking the dog 2 miles about 4-5 times a week. I still don't go to the gym. 

As for my diet - what diet? I eat whatever the people I'm with are eating with a few exceptions. Like I said earlier, I can't digest soft bread, it stops at the top of my skinny little stomach tube and acts like a cork that holds everything else and causes great pain. Many white carbs cause the same discomfort/pain and therefore I pass on them. I choose to avoid sugary snacks, fatty foods, fried anything. I will enjoy a snack or a sweet treat now and then, but my limited carb intake accounts for limited carb cravings. I have not had a sip of soda or beer. I have had wine on a few occasions, but a glass gets me drunk so I stop at one, or even 1/2 a glass.

Now that I am flirting with 100lbs of weight loss and as healthy as I've been as an adult, what else is there? Well, I am fitting into the coolest clothes I have ever even wanted to wear. I am running around like a teenager doing cool stuff all the time. I participate with my daughter actively in her sports and school events instead of just being a spectator (this has been a blessing for both of us). I have squeezed myself back into a race car instead of just being a builder. I've mentioned this before but I don't snore any more. My businesses are both thriving - because I'm fully engaged and attentive as well as energetic and patient. And, perhaps best of all, my wife says I'm as good in the sack as I was when I was 19!

I guess I'll be back in August for my one-year check in but I promise I'll post as soon as I get to 100lbs. I love you guys and I love this forum and I can't say enough for the support it has provided throughout my entire rebuild. I pray that all of you reach your goals and learn about yourself the way I have. It has truly been my greatest reward.

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