Skip to main content

In the beginning...

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 various tests and insurance requirements. The first being 6 monthly nutrition sessions documenting my weight and logging my food and exercise. I'm required to lose 5% of my starting weight (about 11 pounds) in the next 6 months. I have an endoscopy scheduled, a 90 minute meeting with a nutritionist, and a 2.5 hour appointment with a psychologist.

This blog will pretty much be a running documentation of the process, as well as my thoughts at each step of the way.

I have several friends who have had this surgery, and they have all lost a lot of weight. I'm trying not to just lose weight, but to change my relationship with food and exercise.

Stay tuned...below, is the requisite before pic. As you can see, I have a long way to go. Hoping to have an ass-kicking after pic in a few months.


Comments

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'm excited for you Sharon- it's a life-changing decision but one that I never regret!! I can't wait to follow along with your success story!! :)

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Bypass (RNY) vs Sleeve

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...

First nutrition class & July 4th

So yesterday was my first nutrition class. The subject was meal planning. It starts with being weighed in and then I was shown to a conference room where the day's class would begin. I have 5 of these and then the last month I have a 1 on 1 with a nutritionist.  One hour of some good information and discussion. At the end you have to come up with 3-4 goals for the next month. Mine is drinking 8 glasses of water, tracking my food and exercise, putting aside 30 minutes to plan meals and walking 30 minutes 3 times a week. I tracked my breakfast this morning and drank 2 cups of water. Saturday I will plan my meals for the next week. I will get 30 minutes of walking in this evening after it gets cooler. It's the 4th of July. I'm going to a get-together at my sister-in-laws today and there will be lots of delicious and fattening food. I plan to bring chicken and a veggie platter. Fortunately, they are trying to eat better as well and will have fruit and meat platters.  Hoping...