In some ways it doesn't seem like it's been nine months since I had surgery, yet in other ways it seems like it was forever ago. Regardless that's what it's been. Nine months. (Well, it will be on Saturday at least.)
I've said it before, but the staff at bariatric center is truly amazing. They are so kind and genuine there. I always see RN first. She gets to do the fun stuff like weighing me and taking my vitals. Should I consider it an NSV that I didn't take off all my jewelry before I weighed? Previously, I would have - it was one of my "try to fool the scales" tricks. Every little kilogram made a difference in my mind. But today, I didn't care. I didn't remove jewelry and I was down another 20 something pounds since November. RN noted that I've lost just over 100# since surgery. (Remember their scales typically weigh me 2.5# more than my Wii. I like my Wii better! LoL) My BP is was 96/60 which seems to be a new "normal" for me. Most days, the lightheadedness reflects the much lower BP for me. It's worse if I don't get in all my water.
MD was very pleased with my progress. I'm not sure if I remembered this correctly but he said something like I had surpassed the "litmus test"(???) on my weight loss. I think what he was saying is that I've exceeded the standard expectations. He went on to say that on average, patients tend to lose 80% of their excess weight which was about 88# for me. He said that he didn't recommend that I "try" to lose anymore, but if I were to lose more to make sure it doesn't affect my energy/strength. He mentioned that the BMI charts are "rough" and that they don't take into consideration gender or age or muscle. So he said he really advises his patients not to push themselves to get to a certain BMI/weight, but to learn to listen to their body and monitor things like energy levels, activity, etc. So I guess it comes back down to what I've said recently...if I lose more, I'll be happy; if I don't lose any more, I'll be happy.
I mentioned my not-so-good food day on Sunday. Though he wasn't concerned, he did note it in my chart. He asked me if I had any alcohol. I laughed, said I couldn't lie and told him my NyQuil story. He seemed to get a chuckle out of that too and said, "that's like 10% alcohol! Guess you see how fast alcohol affects you now." :) He asked if I was having any issues with the excess skin other than it "being there." Which I'm not...mixed blessings there! We talked about the importance of exercise and healthy options going forward. He reiterated the fact that the reason some people gain weight back after surgery is because they never changed their habits - going back to making poor decisions on eating and stopping exercise. That leads to people thinking that the surgery didn't work. It did work...the person just didn't make the necessary lifestyle changes to maintain the loss. I. will. not. let. that. happen. Just sayin...
RD was as nice as always. We chatted a bit, talked about my insane love of shrimp now; my PB2 vs reduced fat PB adventure; that I'm drinking coffee again; oh...and coconut. She's going to send me a recipe for a coconut base soup. Yum! I'm going to send her the creamy taco soup recipe I made a couple weeks ago. She told me to keep doing what I'm doing. Listening to my body when I have days like I did on Sunday - which she said wasn't uncommon. She said many patients have stories like that and if I don't get in all my protein one day, it's okay. She did say to make sure to let them know if it's more frequent, but the occasional off day is just my body being my body.
My appointments always end with a little time with LCSW. We talk about how things are emotionally, how I'm feeling, how I'm coping etc. I told her that I've now personally connected with two different people because of my blog - which I find to be a cool way God is using this part of my experience! She noted that I always give praise to God when I talk about this journey. With tears in my eyes, this left my mouth before I knew it... "I've tried for so long to do this on my own. When I finally turned it over to God, He has been faithful to see me through it. How can I not give Him the praise?" And I mean that wholeheartedly. For over 25 years I have been clinically obese. For over 35 years I've been overweight. I have struggled so long. I have tried it on my own and have repeatedly failed. I never fully let God have this part of my life. For whatever reason, I held on to it...trying to prove that I could do this. I was wrong. God has truly transformed me...from the inside out. Praise God!
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"I praise you [God] because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well." ~Psalm 139:14
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