octoberain

Send Message

Block

Add Friend

Well here it is 1 year since I had the one thing that has completely changed my life forever!  I still can't believe that a whole year has went by!  A year ago I was in my room thinking wow, how is my life going to change?  Looking back I couldn't have answered half of the questions that have actually happened in my life!  Health wise, my life has changed significantly I can do things that I haven't been able to do in over 10 years!  I went to an amusement park with my daughter and niece last weekend and was able to get on every ride with no problem, WOW that was wonderful!  I can breath with no problem, I can walk with no pain in my knees or back, I can RUN (that is amazing)!  All of my labs have been great and I have reduced so many co-morbidities, that I have surprised myself!  Outside of my health, everything else in my life has changed drastically!  Socially I am more alive and accepting to people, more outgoing and excited about life!  This is the single choice that I have made in my life that I am most happy about doing for myself!  I am down 120 since surgery date and 135 since my highest weight, when I look at those numbers even I can't believe it!  I still want to get down about 37-40 pounds and I feel I will have reached my personal goal, which I know is completely obtainable!  I still need to work on my exercise and eating is still a chore for me, but I feel everyone goes at their own pace and will get down their own routine and comfortabliltiy.  I also am having an issue with the loose skin which I kind of expected but I will worry about that in another year!  I know the more exercise I do the more it will help with that issue!  I look forward to another great year of weight loss and healthy living!

Kimbra

Well here I am 8 months out and I am down 113 pounds since my first consultation and 97 pounds from my surgery date!  This has truly been a life changing experience in every sense of the word! Everything in my life has changed from the way I think and see myself and how I see everything else!  I am happy with the decision I made to have surgery and if I had to make the decision again I would do it all over again.  I am still learning how to eat and still trying to get use to the idea of exercise.  I really hate the extra skin and it seems to be very dry I guess from being so stretched out.  I use a lot of cocoa butter but that doesn't seem to work.  I hope that will more intense exercise this skin begins to tighten and disappear.  I feel 100% more healthy and happy.  I am able to walk up and down steps without stopping or grasping for breathe.  I am able to run and walk for long periods of time without my back or knees hurting and just that was worth the surgery in itself!  I am looking forward to the summer and being able to wear nice clothes and going out and actually enjoying life!

So here I am 3 months since surgery and what a long way I have come as far as my weight loss!  I have made to under the 300 lb. mark, I am at 298!  I can't remember the last time I was under 300 lbs.  I know that it has been at least 10-12 years and that is a really long time to carry around 300+ pounds everyday!  I can't believer I am actually losing weight and it is really coming off!  There were times when it was slow and had stopped but I didn't let that discourage me!  I did call the dietians and ask a few questions but they kept me on track and encouraged.  It also helps that I work at Nutrisystem and it's my job to keep people motivated and encouraged about losing weight!  Some things have been hard like realizing when I am full and what I can eat and can't eat!  Some things like burgers that I use to could eat, I can't tolerate at all and that is amazing to me!  I also have extreme dumping when I eat anything that is fried, which I should stay away from anyway!  I do need to increase my exercise, that has been a challenge because at times I am very motivated and others I simply just don't feel like it!  A couple of friends from work really helped me to boost my self esteem I went over to one persons house and got my hair and makeup done and we took a lot of pictures, which is what you see here, so that was really exciting because I always hated to take pictures!  Now I don't run at the sight of a camera, I actually get excited and want to be a part of the photo process!  Now my daughter can finally have some nice pictures of her mom to hang up in her room and I will take more with her!  All I can say is Thank you Jesus for this oppurtunity to have this surgery and for saving my life!   

Well I am out of the dark into the clear!  The past 6-7 weeks have been very interesting since having this surgery.  So many things are different concerning food, eating, and weight loss!  Since my weighin in February where I was at my highest weight I am down almost 60lbs., which to me is amazing!  I know that I could have never done that without WLS!  But ofcourse the biggest challenge is still food and I really hate that!  So many things I can't eat, getting use to things I can eat and in the way that I eat them, having feelings that I wish I didn't have to eat at all!  Food is no longer exciting and eventful, I guess I have come the conclusion that I no longer live to eat, but I now eat to live!  I am excited to be able to start going to the gym and doing exercise instead of just walking and start toning my body and I am finding other avenues rather than food to pass my time!  I have to admit the last 7 weeks have been the only time in my life where I truly had a chance to look at the real me and find out about myself and who I am!  Not eating to push things away, not eating to hide behind the food, and not eating to stop my feelings!  I thank God for this surgery and the recovery, where would I be without it?

Well it has been 4 weeks since I had surgery and things as far as the surgery are concerned are going well!  I was blessed to get disability so that was a true blessing!  However it seems like as the weight is coming off, everything else in my life is falling apart and with the more stress and depression I have, I am not eating so it's becoming a mental challenge!  I didn't expect that everything else in my life would be going this way but they are.  I am really struggling in all aspects of my life except for my weight for once!  I still find eating difficult and sticking to what I am suppose to eat and getting enough protein, but I do manage to get the liquids down.  I am turned off by so many other drinks that I really just stick with water because everything tastes so different now.  I am so thankful to have had this surgery now I am just praying the rest of my life will fall into place.

I have been home from the hospital for about 5 days now and let me say, it's been no easy thing!  This surgery was much more than I had anticipated but I am still happy that I finally did it!  The biggest problem has been pain management.  The medication makes me extremely nausious so I don't like, so that makes it harder for me to take.  I hope to change it!  I am constantly walking and trying to sip!  I was never a sipper so that has been a tremendous challenge for me.  I am remembering as much as possible.  I am anxious to be better and I just need to remember that this is a major surgery and I need just let the healing take it's time!  Thank you to everyone for all your prayers and support, they are all greatly appreciated.