I remember laying in hospital bed before surgery as they were preparing me and thinking how crazy it was that in a matter of hours I was going to be drastically, surgically altered for the rest of my life. I’m not going to lie, it was scary, but at 2 years out I am so glad that I “kept on keepin’ on”. I have never looked back, and WOW, what an amazing ride it has been!
There are so many parallels in this journey to how children are born and grow up to become what they/we are today.
In this journey you are actually born again in so many ways. You start out on liquids like an infant, you have some bad days so you cry, you have good days and are so content.
As you “grow” you begin, like a toddler, soft foods and not drinking with your meal. You eat cooked vegetables, soft meats, and dairy products. You learn quickly that you may not be able to eat certain things and you introduce your foods in stages to make sure that what you eat “agrees” with you. As you move to your long-term bariatric diet and start eating solid foods, you find that your palate has changed and you are actually enjoying some things you have never liked before this process.
You start your weight loss surgery exercise program, something you couldn’t do much of because your weight hindered it, just like a baby learns to walk. You are constantly learning how to live in this big world with your tool and you see to it that you do what’s best for you, just like kids, you are looking out for yourself first and foremost.
You are running the marathon of weight loss as the pounds just fall off for the the first year and a half. After the marathon comes the “cool down” phase where the weight loss tapers off, there is this huge sense of accomplishment (and rightfully so), and being proud of what you just did.
Now what? You have learned and continue to learn so much about who you are, how to eat, and how to exercise. You look in the mirror and hardly believe who is staring back at you, it’s someone you have never met before. Guess what? That someone is healthy, happy, and ready to get in touch with you. That someone is the NEW HEALTHY REBORN YOU! With WLS we have been given a second chance at life that most people will not ever get.
We have been given freedom to be healthy, get on a roller coaster or in a go-cart and feel the rush that we have never felt (or it has been so long that we have forgotten). We have been given freedom to mount up on a horse and feel the wind in our hair. We have been given the freedom to get in a Hot Air Balloon and soar over God’s creation and marvel at it’s wonderfulness. We have been given new hope, friendships, self-esteem, self-awareness, and the ability to finally appreciate ourselves for what we have always been. It has been hidden under layers of obesity and self doubt for so long.
I am here to tell you that at 270 pounds, I was not living. I have shed 140 pounds of physical and emotional layers that have left me feeling alive now more than ever! I encourage you to get out there and find your place in this world because you are worth it! Get out and do something you have always wanted to do but couldn’t. You have been given the gift of weight loss surgery, now start LIVING and LOVING yourself!
Finish Well,
Emily
Patient Responses to the Question Above
Incisions and weightloss
by: Paula
I had my sleeve 3 weeks ago, it went well and I have 5 small incisions on my upper tummy most of them no bigger than an inch and 1 maybe 2 inches on my right side. on an other note I am losing maybe 2 lbs a week and am very frustrated. I am not exercising yet but will be soon, and I am hoping that is the key. Can someone tell me what is typical in the first few weeks, I was expecting the weight to just fall off.
Incision?
by: Uncertain
Your post spoke to me because I'm a mom of 2 grown children and remember the baby/toddler phase of feeding. Thank you for writing your experience down so well. My question is this... where are the incisions? How big are they? I cannot seem to find this information anywhere. I look forward to your reply. Kind regards
platau
by: Anonymous
Hi please keep going on this, I am in the UK and been asking my GP to refer me for a long time, lots of excuses why not, all rubbish.
Today I had an appointment with my endocrine consultant, well we were chatting about my meds for auto immune disorder, she noticed I had always been a big girl and even bigger recently, I had a little break down and said I thought it may be a combination of the triple therapy meds, my amazing dad passed away last June and I stopped smoking. She asked if I would consider WLS, I cried like a baby, I said I couldn't as I am too obese, words of my GO, then I said there was no funding released yet for this year, apparently another lie, then I told her I couldn't as I hadn't had a psychiatric assessment, bigger me another lie, although I don't have any health related issues related to being very over weight I do have connective tissue disorder which will mean hip replacements etc etc.
If I don't lose the weight, I am so excited to be on the road now, I am 47yrs old and never been slim, at 10yrs old I went to a family wedding and was so large the only thing decent they could find for me to wear was a maternity dress, how I still cringe when I see these photos, I know it's still a long road yet but one I am willing to walk and then run, good luck and keep going
You will get UNstuck! I promise!
by: Emily Gomez
You are 4 months out and down 45 pounds! That is an accomplishment, celebrate it!! Do NOT focus on the 100 you have to lose, that will define you and can hinder your moving forward. I will say make sure you are journaling all your food, drink, and exerise. Get a good 2 weeks of journaling under your belt and then revisit with your dietitian to see where changes can be made when he/she looks at your journal.
Make sure your liquids are as close to 64 oz. a day as possible, and 60-80 grams of protein. These two things will make all the difference in the world. Are you exerising 3-5 days a week? Remember that the rule of thumb is calories in vs. calories out and your body could be doing one of two things:
1) Storing up the calories due to lack of exercise or
2) In starvation mode because there aren't enough calories for the amount of activity.
I hope this helps! Keep on Keepin' on! Remember that you cannot or should not compare yourself to anyone else. Your story is not their story and vice versa. Believe it or not plateaus are healthy, it is your body's way of catching up to all the metabolic changes and weight loss that has occurred up to now.
I believe in you and your journey. Keep that head up!! ;-)
I'm stuck
by: Anonymous
I am only 4 months out of bariatric surgery and am at a plateau! I lost 45 lbs w/another 100 to go!! Ughh....I'm so disgusted.I never thought it would be this slow. Everyone else seems to be so much faster and I'm getting VERY depressed. I don't know what to do.I exercise, I stay at about 1,000 calories a day. They even gave me another Upper GI to see if the pouch was ok. It is!! Apparently the dimensions of 6 by 4 centimeters is good.I don't know.....please help me! Did anyone else experience this?Thanks.