Today is day 92 since my gastric bypass, and I've lost a total of 80 pounds.
I've been reading a great deal lately, in the book I mentioned in my last post, and also a book called Fat No More - Long Term Success Following Weight Loss Surgery by Gail Engebretson & Robert Magnan. What a great and oh, so reassuring book to read at this point in my process! Why, you might ask? Because I'm finally at the point when my weight loss isn't all singing and dancing with hardly any effort being exerted. It's suddenly gotten more difficult!
It all started a few days ago when I noticed more than the usual amount of hair in my brush. It happened the next day, and the next! When I washed my hair, even more was in the drain! I knew this normally could happen between the 4th and 7th month most often. I'm a little early (always the early bloomer), but there's no question - my decrease in hair is here. I'm telling myself that thinner hair is not as big a deal as walking around with 80 more pounds on me, and the health benefits are completely worth it, but geez.... my hair? ::Sigh:: bummer.
I'm also noticing that I'm hungry more often lately. I have been losing weight, but more slowly, and I am concerned that I've gotten lazy - I'm not calculating precisely the protein I'm eating, I'm more guessing. I'm eatting plenty I think - but I know I should be planning ahead, not counting backward and guessing at the protein amounts! Fortunately, Engebretson's book addresses these and many other obstacles that frequently befall post-weight loss surgery patients.
My plan: write it all down again before I eat it and think about the big picture, talk to (or write to the gang at the WMI online support group and get some online support). If I've heard it once, I've heard it (or read it) a thousand times: - "...we're all in this together, to improve our health and to let go of our old, harmful habits..." And, I have to admit that I have learned that identifying problems and not sharing about them isn't especially constructive. There's no questions that support is a key factor in weight loss success. So - back to some healthy habits with renewed vigor.
It's late - more later...
But I'll celebrate for a moment my successes - I guess it's helpful to identify that 80 pounds is pretty good! *high fiving my supporters who read this*
Good night.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Friday, November 19, 2010
Clothes, 80 pounds, and a smaller size
We all have something about ourselves that we wish we could change.
Sometimes you can, and sometimes you can't.
The important thing is to try.
by Kris Carr,
from Crazy Sexy Cancer
Somehow these words really struck me. Of course, the documentary Crazy Sexy Cancer was also really great, but these words, spoken by Kris at the end of the show, were so powerful I felt I needed to share them.
I *am* trying to make my efforts at losing weight really count. I'm down a little under 80 pounds (Yes, I said 80!) since my efforts to lose weight really started in June. I now weigh about 275.
So I'm getting ready to actually rejoin the work world, assuming I find someone who wants to hire me, and I'm facing something I hadn't really thought of. Clothes! I need something to wear for job interviews, and this morning I spent all of the very generous gift certificate that my mom bought me for this very purpose. Now normally, spending money on anything - even clothes - is not terribly difficult for me. I *like* spending money. But I have never really loved clothes shopping. That's probably why I've spent more time online shopping rather than going into a store and actually trying clothes on. What this whole experience brought up for me though, was recognizing that I've suffered from a lot of emotional pain related to the clothes topic. The struggle about how much I weight, what size I am, and often not being able to find anything that fits even in the "Big Girls" section, (or the "Big Girls store) store doesn't go away magically just because you've gotten a gastric bypass, I've learned.
This morning I was uncomfortable trying to figure out what to order! I had a gift certificate from an online/catalog clothing store to spend. I could guess what size I am. But I didn't really know. It didn't seem real that I could have lost sizes even though there was plenty of evidence that I've lost two sizes minimum. Finally I went in the bathroom and measured myself. I sat down and sent off my order with at least a little more data in hand, and at least I have some baseline measurements for future reference.
I'll plan to mention this at the support group, but I'm really glad that I bought the book by Connie Stapleton, Ph.D. entitled: Eat It Up! The Complete Mind/Body/Spirit Guide to a Full Life After Weight Loss Surgery. I'll provide a review once I've read it, but I'm finding that there are some emotional issues that are lingering from my still-fat mind. I knew this was coming, or something like this, it still caught me off guard, however.
I'm back in the saddle again, writing and thinking about the blog. I've got a few topics percolating, but I'd love some suggestions. Anyone have anything to discuss? Drop me a line if you do...
More soon!
Sometimes you can, and sometimes you can't.
The important thing is to try.
by Kris Carr,
from Crazy Sexy Cancer
Somehow these words really struck me. Of course, the documentary Crazy Sexy Cancer was also really great, but these words, spoken by Kris at the end of the show, were so powerful I felt I needed to share them.
I *am* trying to make my efforts at losing weight really count. I'm down a little under 80 pounds (Yes, I said 80!) since my efforts to lose weight really started in June. I now weigh about 275.
So I'm getting ready to actually rejoin the work world, assuming I find someone who wants to hire me, and I'm facing something I hadn't really thought of. Clothes! I need something to wear for job interviews, and this morning I spent all of the very generous gift certificate that my mom bought me for this very purpose. Now normally, spending money on anything - even clothes - is not terribly difficult for me. I *like* spending money. But I have never really loved clothes shopping. That's probably why I've spent more time online shopping rather than going into a store and actually trying clothes on. What this whole experience brought up for me though, was recognizing that I've suffered from a lot of emotional pain related to the clothes topic. The struggle about how much I weight, what size I am, and often not being able to find anything that fits even in the "Big Girls" section, (or the "Big Girls store) store doesn't go away magically just because you've gotten a gastric bypass, I've learned.
This morning I was uncomfortable trying to figure out what to order! I had a gift certificate from an online/catalog clothing store to spend. I could guess what size I am. But I didn't really know. It didn't seem real that I could have lost sizes even though there was plenty of evidence that I've lost two sizes minimum. Finally I went in the bathroom and measured myself. I sat down and sent off my order with at least a little more data in hand, and at least I have some baseline measurements for future reference.
I'll plan to mention this at the support group, but I'm really glad that I bought the book by Connie Stapleton, Ph.D. entitled: Eat It Up! The Complete Mind/Body/Spirit Guide to a Full Life After Weight Loss Surgery. I'll provide a review once I've read it, but I'm finding that there are some emotional issues that are lingering from my still-fat mind. I knew this was coming, or something like this, it still caught me off guard, however.
I'm back in the saddle again, writing and thinking about the blog. I've got a few topics percolating, but I'd love some suggestions. Anyone have anything to discuss? Drop me a line if you do...
More soon!
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