Bariatric Ballerina

This is a big question for me. So RNY (bypass) is what most people think of when they think of bariatric surgery. It's redoing the plumbing so that some calories are not absorbed (bypassing the stomach) and attaching a small pouch to the intestines so you can eat less. It's considered the "gold standard" in weight loss surgery. The sleeve (Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy) or VSG is reducing the size of the stomach (and removing 80% of it) making it the size of a small banana. This, of course, reduces the amount of food you can eat and prompts hormonal changes that aid in losing weight. (See drawing below) There are benefits and drawbacks for each. The drawback for the bypass is there are some people who have absorption issues and some have issues with dumping (sweats, diarrhea, vomiting, nausea). The benefit is that you lose slightly more weight with the bypass (50-80% on average of excess weight). The sleeve has the drawback of increased reflux and is not as effe

I used to be Young and Skinny: I grew up skinny and was pretty much thin into my 20's. When I looked good (as in my teens above) I weighed in the area of 110. I still thought I was fat. I don't know what fun house mirror I was looking into, but I dieted my way to 220. I would lose (getting down to an anorexic 95) and then gain back and then some. Yo-yo dieting was the end of my lean years. After a while, I stopped caring about how fat I got.  This is me 5 1/2 years ago at my wedding, looking nothing like the skinny girl above. I know 110 is pretty much an impossibility at this point, so my goal is to get myself down to a BMI that is "normal" and not "morbidly obese" or "Obese" or even "overweight". Like I said before, I need to change my relationship with food, with exercise and with my self.  Definitely need to work on the self-love part.  There is a lot of work in front of me and it doesn't stop when I enter t

I started this blog to document my journey to weight loss surgery.  I started this journey once before about 5 years ago, but never went through with it. I wasn't ready. I am now. I'm ready to stop being 220 pounds and 5'2". (BMI 40, BTW) I'm tired of never having any energy for the things I love, most of all dance. I have always been a dancer. I plan to do it the rest of my life, but at 220 pounds, it's tough. I am in pain all the time. I am out of breath, I don't have energy for dance or my dancers (I teach dance part-time). My legs and feet are always swollen, I am pre-diabetic as of my last yearly physical. I am on 2 BP meds and have fierce reflux if I don't take a daily pill. Plus, I'm tired of being the fat dancer. I'm tired of hoping costumes will look halfway decent on me and that they will cover what needs to be covered. So Monday, I met with my bariatric surgeon and started the process. It starts with making 8-10 appointments for v