A Big Milestone – the Sixth Monthiversary

I figured I’d better get this posted before I hit my seventh monthiversary from weight loss surgery. I don’t know what it was about this monthiversary, but I have postponed writing it up. Maybe it was the holidays, or some of the crazy curves life tends to throw in my direction. Or maybe it’s that I’m not as happy with my picture this month, because I’m retaining water and look a little puffy. I hope it is not for that reason, because I still think I’m improving and would hate to think vanity was the cause of my reluctance. But, to be quite cliche, better late than never.

It seems significant somehow that my six month anniversary for weight loss surgery fell on the epic eating holiday of the year. Thanksgiving. Talk about food running rampant in front of you, how’s that for irony? The good news is I didn’t have any problem with it. Did I eat more than I should have? Sure, a bite or two. But while others stuffed themselves to the point of being extremely uncomfortable, and having to loosen pants, I had a bite of everything I wanted to and didn’t feel deprived. More importantly, I spent time with family having good conversation.

So, how have the last six month gone? Overall, I’d have to say they have been very good. I’m losing weight, I’m feeling great, and I’m more active and have more energy. Does that mean that it has all been smooth sailing? No. But the moments of rough have been short in duration, and the positives have more than compensated for any minor discomfort. And, I think it is important to emphasize, the rough moments have all been due to non-surgery related issues. Or to put it more plainly, with the exception of one incident – my fault. If viewed from the proper perspective, what I’m really saying is the surgery is doing its job.

Let me illustrate some of the (very few) unpleasant experiences I’ve had.

1. Allergic reaction to one of the ready-to-drink protein products. This is not something I could have forecast. I did read the ingredients very carefully before trying and did not see any red flags. I have been extremely cautious since, and figure since I know what works for me, and I’m happy with it, adventuresome is not the avenue I want to pursue.

2. Eating mistake # 1: Swallowing without chewing well enough. On a normal basis, I chew my food extremely well, so didn’t have a huge learning curve when it came to post-surgery life of ensuring that I do chew my food well. It has to be of a consistency like mashed potatoes before swallowing. Every once in a while (I think three times in the six month period), I get tripped up and swallow too soon. Talk about painful. As I wait for the feeling to pass with tears in my eyes, trying to keep myself from vomiting, I keep reminding myself not to be such an idiot. This is a controllable factor. What happened? In each case, I stopped paying attention to what I was doing because I was distracted by a question, a phone ringing or something else equally mundane and swallowed before I realized what I was doing. Resolution? Don’t be such an idiot. The question, phone, or whatever else, can wait. It is not worth the pain of swallowing that bite too soon, or potentially ruining the surgery if I do it too many times.

3. Eating mistake # 2: Eating too fast. I have a marvelous little device call the Gymboss which lets me set a timer at whatever interval I choose and will keep going off to remind me to take the next bite or next sip. Foolproof method for not eating too quickly, right? Wrong. When you have a bullheaded person (me) who has developed these quirky rules of eating to help sabotage herself, even having the buzzer going off, doesn’t help me stay on track sometimes. MOST of the time, I am very good and stick to the regimen of one bite every ten minutes or one sip every five. But apparently there are foods which my brains deems as being outside of these parameters. Could I have the normal ones, like desserts, or something else equally yummy? No. My trigger foods for eating too fast are soups and crackers. So, right now, I stay away from those things. I’ll give them a try again in another couple of months. I’m sad because I really enjoy soup, but since I can’t seem to regulate how fast I eat it, I have to stay away. I’m very uncomfortable after eating soup because I ingested too quickly.

4. Eating mistake # 3: Not eating or drinking enough. On two occasions during the past six months, I have inadvertently not eaten enough or had enough liquids. Both times were due to extreme circumstances and I found out that I am much more delicate than I would like to believe. I became extremely light headed (to the point of nearly passing out) and then got a migraine. This is also something within my control. I have to remember to be a little more assertive about my need for regular meal times, especially with others who can stretch the limits a little more easily.

From top weight to current

As I said, most of the time I have been getting healthier and feeling better. Sometimes it is important to reflect on what you have done wrong so you do not continually make the same mistakes. All of the points above, with the exception of the first, underscore the fact that the surgery is doing its job. It is reminding me in an unpleasant manner when I make a mistake and quickly brings me back into line (something which is difficult to do in any circumstance). During my six month check up with the surgeon’s office, they were once again very pleased with my progress. I am ahead of schedule with the weight loss. The PA (Physician’s Assistant) even told me I am one of their few low maintenance patients. I told him there had to be one thing in life I was low maintenance in. While the being ahead of schedule delights me, I have to keep reminding myself this is not a race. I am in it for the long haul and need to keep taking one step at a time toward my goal. Could I push myself to lose weight faster? Of course I could, however, the surgeon’s group I’m with is actually concerned if you’re losing too fast. Would that lifestyle be sustainable? Absolutely not. And that is the ultimate goal – to achieve a healthy, sustainable lifestyle, with a new and improved me.

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