My Risk Factors Are Improving
My new life began 60 days ago.
Nearly two months ago, my life changed drastically. Of course, that sounds much more dramatic than it is, but my surgery was a significant change.
I underwent a sleeve gastrectomy on September 1st, and things are going well. However, I’m not going to say that it’s been easy. Food is a massive part of life and developing a new relationship with food takes time.
The first weeks after surgery are a big challenge. Week one, I was on a clear liquid diet consisting of clear protein drinks, sugar-free jello, broth, sugar-free popsicles, and G2 Gatorade. I’m still enjoying the jello and popsicles, but I gave away the clear protein drinks, and I don’t plan to have broth for a long time!
Since then, I have progressed each week, and currently, I can have a wide variety of foods. However, I have to wait a few more weeks for raw fruits and vegetables, and I can’t have any bread, pasta, or cereal until I hit the three-month mark. When I resume eating grains, they need to be a tiny portion of my meal.
Here are a few important lessons I’ve learned.
Eat slowly
Years ago, I took a Mindfulness class at Aetna. The first thing we did in the class was to eat a small piece of candy mindfully. While eating the candy, we had to take time to notice the taste and the texture, smell, and any physical sensations we got while eating the candy.
I didn’t embrace Mindfulness then, and I still struggle to practice it, but I have focused on those principles when eating. For example, I am supposed to take 20–30 minutes to eat a meal. I’m not sure why eating was such a speedy event for me in the past, but it is tough for me to eat slowly.
I realize that I was probably full before I realized it when I ate in the past. If I had taken my time eating, I would have likely consumed much less food. Slowly eating my meals is vital now since I have a much smaller stomach. My meals are supposed to be no more than 1/3 cup, and if I ate more, it would be very uncomfortable. By eating slowly, I realize I am full before I have overeaten.
Make meals count
Since my meals are small, I need to make sure they are packed full of what I need. I was thrilled to eat mashed potatoes again, and I still love having them because I feel full afterward. However, I have learned that I need to add protein to them. So now I will add a little bit of grilled chicken, and I feel satisfied for longer.
My most satisfying meal so far has been scrambled eggs with bits of bacon, cheese, bell peppers, and avocado. I couldn’t eat much of it, but I felt full for a long time afterward.
Non-scale victories
There are different opinions on how often you should weigh yourself. I weigh myself daily. Weighing daily is fine as long as I don’t let those numbers define me. There will be days when I felt I did everything right, and yet I gained a pound. I don’t let this get me down.
I did body measurements at the beginning of this journey. My second measurements were 11 days after surgery, and I had lost 8 1/2 inches at that point. My next few measurements were also approximately ten days apart, and there was little change. I felt a little defeated.
My husband encouraged me to do my measurements again two weeks later, and I lost 9 1/2 more inches! As of today, I have lost 23 inches total.
I’ve also been able to wear some of my clothes that I haven’t worn in a while. I’ve gone down three sizes in pants! And I’ve been enjoying how loose and comfortable some of my other clothes are. I haven’t quite progressed to clearing out my closet, but I know that I can start soon.
My surgeon almost stopped my surgery due to an enlarged liver.
I believe this surgery increased my life span. My surgeon told my husband she almost stopped my surgery because my liver was enlarged. I am embarrassed to say that I was eating Ben & Jerry’s ice cream almost nightly. I believe this is a big reason I put on so much weight and is likely why my liver was so large.
As of today, I have lost 45.4 lbs. I am amazed that I can have these results so quickly and still feel healthy! Two weeks ago, I went back to my gym and started doing high-intensity interval training again. The first week was rough, but week two was much easier, and I feel great! When a workout is challenging, I imagine how much harder it would be if I weighed 45 lbs. more!
I hope my workouts will help with toning, but I know they can’t eliminate sagging skin. However, the benefits of carrying around less weight are worth having some extra skin.
Having weight loss surgery is a very personal decision. For me, it has improved the quality of my life. I miss eating what I want, but I am happy, and I feel healthy—feeling healthy means the world to me. Stay tuned for more updates!
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