I intended to get this written and posted on Sunday, but as they say,"The best laid plans...."
Last week was a good week. From Sunday to Sunday I lost 3 pounds. A few months ago that would have been a normal weight loss, but at six months out from surgery, 3 pounds in one week is quite a bit. Those 3 pounds dropped my weight loss enough that I now have less than 20 pounds left to lose before reaching my goal weight.
Tuesday last week was my monthly measuring day, and I found I had lost another 9-3/4 inches (along with a 10-pound weight loss) since mid-August. Those lost inches included a 2-1/2 inch loss around my waist! My waist is now smaller than my top and smaller than my bottom for the first time in years - woo-hoo!!! I tried on the clothes in my drawers and hanging in my closet and found that (drum roll, please) the size sixteen pants and few remaining XL shirts are just way too big and baggy now. I can fit easily into the size 14 zip-front designer jeans (Eddie Buaer, Ralph Lauren, and Style& Co.) and the size 12 zip up and pleated front dress slacks and the size small pull-on warm-up pants that were tucked away with the "not-quite-yet" clothes.
One day last week I went grocery shopping with my 39-year-old daughter and was asked if we were sisters. Goodness! I am 24 years older than she is and have gray hair! I guess if the flabby skin is covered and I am smiling, I don't look like I am in my sixties.
One more thing to report. I got my hair trimmed up on Friday, as I am leaving town tomorrow for three weeks to visit my children in Illinois and Wisconsin (and see my brand-new grandson!). As Linda was combing through and cutting my hair, she commented, "It looks like you have a little buzz cut going on here underneath your longer hair!" Yay! My hair is starting to grow back in - and it is all that nice silvery white!
Yes, it was a very good week.
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Six Months
It has been more than a week-and-a-half since my last update, so I need to add something here. This week, I not only had a new baby grandson born (welcome, Greyson!), but I also had my six month "surgiversary" yesterday, and feel a need to give a progress report. I have lost a total of 105.5 pounds, which is 43.5% of my original weight. My weight loss is now averaging 2 pounds a week. My clothing size continues to drop. The clothes I have now, are getting almost too loose to wear - guess it's about time for another DI (that's Deseret Industries, a local thrift store) shopping trip. My hair has stopped falling out, and I hope new hair starts growing back in soon. My health continues to hold good, and my strength and stamina continue to increase. I am still walking on an almost daily basis - no matter what the weather (when I set out on my walk yesterday evening, it was threatening rain and sprinkling a bit; before I arrived back home, the heavens had opened, and I was drenched!). I am gearing up to walk a 5K in the annual Utah Walk From Obesity, which is coming up the middle of October.
As my appetite has picked up a bit and my activity level has increased, I have been able to increase the amount of food I eat at each meal. I am now up to 3-1/2 to 4 ounces of food three times a day - still 70% protein and 30% vegetables, substituting fruit for the veggies a couple of times a week - with a 1-ounce protein snack (usually cheese or nuts) once or twice a day. I can eat basically any kind of protein and any kind of vegetables.
People whom I see on a regular basis have started asking me if I have reached my goal yet. I am getting very close. When I drop another 14 pounds, I will have reached a normal, healthy BMI of 25, and will have lost 50% of my original weight. I want to bring that BMI down to 22.5, which will mean losing an additional 8 pounds after that. So only 22 more pounds will bring me to my goal, which is 52.5% of my original weight gone.
Last Monday, I saw a picture my Mom had taken of her and her children on her 85th birthday, nearly a year-and-a-half ago. As I looked at myself so huge in that photo, I asked "Who is that woman?" My dear sister-in-law replied, "No one we know anymore." And that is really the truth. As I find myself again, I truly do not know who I was as that morbidly obese woman that I had been. I am so grateful for a doctor who said "Do it!" in response to my desperate question, "What do you think about weight loss surgery?", for the surgeon who talked to me about it and performed the surgery and all the follow-up, and for the wonderful family and friends who have supported me all the way. While I had to make the decision to go on this journey, it would have been a much more difficult undertaking to travel the road alone. Thank you all for everything!
As my appetite has picked up a bit and my activity level has increased, I have been able to increase the amount of food I eat at each meal. I am now up to 3-1/2 to 4 ounces of food three times a day - still 70% protein and 30% vegetables, substituting fruit for the veggies a couple of times a week - with a 1-ounce protein snack (usually cheese or nuts) once or twice a day. I can eat basically any kind of protein and any kind of vegetables.
People whom I see on a regular basis have started asking me if I have reached my goal yet. I am getting very close. When I drop another 14 pounds, I will have reached a normal, healthy BMI of 25, and will have lost 50% of my original weight. I want to bring that BMI down to 22.5, which will mean losing an additional 8 pounds after that. So only 22 more pounds will bring me to my goal, which is 52.5% of my original weight gone.
Last Monday, I saw a picture my Mom had taken of her and her children on her 85th birthday, nearly a year-and-a-half ago. As I looked at myself so huge in that photo, I asked "Who is that woman?" My dear sister-in-law replied, "No one we know anymore." And that is really the truth. As I find myself again, I truly do not know who I was as that morbidly obese woman that I had been. I am so grateful for a doctor who said "Do it!" in response to my desperate question, "What do you think about weight loss surgery?", for the surgeon who talked to me about it and performed the surgery and all the follow-up, and for the wonderful family and friends who have supported me all the way. While I had to make the decision to go on this journey, it would have been a much more difficult undertaking to travel the road alone. Thank you all for everything!
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