Category: weight loss surgery

Relief

I was waiting on an insurance claim for my leave of absence from work in May. I expected it to be a formality that would be wrapped up in no time at all. I was wrong. I was stressing out over the open case the whole time and when I say I was stressing out… it was really stressful, you know?

I’ve been waiting for about a week now for the final document to come in the mail. Every day I was running up stairs and checking the mail box and every day I was left disappointed.

Until today.

I am so relieved. I am so happy that it’s all over. What an ordeal. Here’s hoping I never have to do anything like that again. At least if I do, I’ll know what to expect ahead of time. I won’t be this naïve again.

Sigh
of
Relief

Hungry

This is a new one for me in this new post-gastric bypass world. I had 5.4 ounces of salmon for dinner. Jen made it. She used the air fryer. It was perfect. Five ounces is generally my max for a meal. Today I chased the salmon with a little 3.5 ounce cup of sugar free pudding. That’s 8.9 ounces of food. That in and of itself is unheard of, post-op, but it gets worse, and the worse is what I am actually writing about…

I’m still hungry.

No, n-n-n-n-no. This will not do. My new stomach pouch is tiny. Five ounces should be enough. I don’t want more. I don’t need more. Why the hell is my brain screwing with me and telling me that I am hungry? My daily protein goal is 60 grams. I broke 100 today (barely). Why am I feeling anything other than pleasantly full?

Stupid brain. Stupid, stupid brain.

Weigh In Day

As of today I am nine weeks post weight loss surgery. That means today is weigh in day. How’d it go? It went really well. I lost seven pounds in the last week. That’s a pound a day, on average, if you’re keeping track. File under: Holy Shit Burgers.

The 10’s column in my current weight changed again. That is such a magical sight. Last week the 10’s column was a six. Today it’s a five. Brilliant.

Now I don’t want to get ahead of myself, but over the last five weeks I have averaged about 5.5 pounds lost each week. If I do that again next week, my total weight loss since the first check in on January 19th will top 100 pounds. Again, I am not getting ahead of myself. That is just some intellectual thing that the analytical part of my brain sussed out. It is not me getting excited or looking ahead or getting over confident or any of that crap. It’s just a number.

However, if that happens next week… there may be a marching band roaring up and down my street all day. Just saying.

  • Weight Loss Since (a few days before) the Surgery: 76.6 pounds
  • Weight Loss Since the First Check In: 97.2 pounds

Holy shit, dudes. Holy. Shit.

Two Months

Today marks two months since surgery. I didn’t weigh myself to celebrate. I thought about it but decided to keep my Wednesday rule and wait two days.

I feel great. The only issue I have is scheduling liquids. A couple times a day I find the dehydration taking over. There was one time when I was visiting mom that it was bad enough to make me a little light headed. Another time, also during a mom visit (pattern?), my mouth was so dry I couldn’t form some words.

Other than that, it’s been aces. The weight is falling off and I haven’t felt this healthy in over a decade. I have millions of miles to go, but so far it’s all good.

So looking forward to whatever comes next.

I Wimped Out

I guess there is a limit to how much in-person social interaction I am comfortable with in this Covid nightmarescape.

I went to a doctors appointment. I was told that I am a little ahead of the norm as far as weight loss is concerned and that I am doing great. Also, when it comes to food selections the gloves are off, babie! Sort of. They said it would be a good idea to hold off on pasta, rice, bread, and crackers for another month, but otherwise I should feel free to eat things that don’t have sugar because sugar will make me super sick.

After the appointment I was going to go to Guitar Center to see about selling my Strat, then to Best Buy to get a camera bag for Dad’s camera, then to visit mom. When I left the house I chose to leave my Strat behind and when it came to Best Buy I bought a camera bag from Amazon. I did see my mother though. She was a little more with it than the last few times I’ve seen her, but also confused about her situation. That means the visit was equal parts happy and painful.

Another potential stop would have been the Goodwill store in Salem. I spent a couple of hours last night watching YouTube videos of a photographer going to thrift stores searching for cameras and finding kick ass film SLR cameras and I want in on that fun. Not today though. I chickened out, and the chicken was seasoned with Covid.

So maybe I’ll feel more confident over the weekend. Maybe, but probably not.

How Much Did I Weigh Back Then?

I can’t remember how much I weighed on our wedding day. It was a lot, but it was also less than it was when we got engaged. I just can’t remember the number. I didn’t write it down anywhere, so how can I figure it out? It’s like a weight milestone for me and I should be able to remember.

I found a way to make an educated guess.

The day after the wedding, my wedding ring slipped off while I was in the shower. For a while there I was taking it off when I showered because I didn’t want it to fall off again.

Back in January, my wedding ring was stuck. I couldn’t take it off anymore. My finger was just expanding around it. It didn’t hurt or anything, it just wasn’t coming off.

Today, post-surgery, it is loose. Not loose enough to come off on it’s own, but we are steadily getting closer to that point.

So… when I loose enough weight for my ring to slip off in the shower, then I will be approximately the same weight(ish) as my wedding day.

QED.

Thoughts on BMI

Two posts back I wrote a footnote about the possibility of my weight dropping below 200 pounds and how I imagine I would be unhealthily thin at that weight.

According to the site I go to when I want to calculate my BMI, that statement is actually super wrong. The calculator page includes this list of BMI Categories:

Underweight = <18.5
Normal weight = 18.5–24.9
Overweight = 25–29.9
Obesity = BMI of 30 or greater

I have spent my entire adult life in the Obesity range. I have a looooong way to go to drop below that category. With my height being 6’4″ I would have to get down to 246 to have a BMI of 29.9. I am so far away from 246 pounds that I haven’t even considered it a possibility.

In order to get below the Overweight category, I would have to get down to 204 pounds. That seems insane to me. Completely out of the realm of reality. Wow.

That means the range for me to be in the Normal weight category is 152 to 204 pounds. I can’t even imagine it. I feel like, at 152 pounds, if I turned sideways I would be so thin you wouldn’t be able to see me. I would be invisible. Really.

So if dropping from 200 pounds to 199 pounds represents entering Onederland… I guess that wouldn’t be unhealthy for me after all. It’s not a goal though. I don’t have a goal number in mind. My only goal is to be healthier and not have to constantly worry that the heart attack is right around the next corner.

I’ll get there.

Eight Weeks

Hello and welcome to the eight weeks post-op update. TL/DR: I feel friggin great.

I weighed myself this morning. It’s been a real mental struggle to stop myself from weighing in more than once a week. Obviously I am not going to tell you how much I weigh. Nope. I will tell you what the losses are though. Last Wednesday the drop was a lot bigger than I expected. Today was nothing like that, but it was still a little bigger than I expected and I am really pleased.

I was down 5.4 pounds today. It wasn’t enough to change the tens column in my current weight. Changing the tens column is a thrill. Changing the hundreds column… now that’s worthy of a celebration complete with circus animals and a marching band and a Blue Angels flyover. It’s going to be a while before that happens.* Still, I am happy today.

My total loss since a few days before the surgery is now 69.6 pounds. I’d really like to round that up to 70, but no. Let’s be literal with this number. I don’t mind being a little fuzzier with the other total though, but I don’t have to today. The total weight loss since my first check in at the weight loss clinic is now 90.2 pounds. Let me spell that out once more time. NINETY POUNDS!

NINETY POUNDS!

My next check up at the clinic is tomorrow afternoon. I assume they are going to weigh me when I get there. That number will be higher than today’s number (I assume), and I am wondering if I want to include it on my tracker or not. I think it would be a more “official” number than today’s due to the likelihood that the scale is more accurate, and because it’s the same scale I used for both my initial weigh in in January, and the last weigh in before the surgery… But I really don’t want to see that number drop below 90 due to some technicality.

So in summation, allow me to share that I feel fantastic. My energy level… I feel 10 years younger. I can exercise without feeling like I am going to die. I don’t have to stop and rest when I walk for 10 feet. It’s amazing. Yeah, my clothes don’t fit anymore and I look like a clown, but that will be at least partially addressed over the weekend. I still eat too fast and that has kicked my sorry ass a few times now. Nausea is not fun, but I have not been bad enough to take the nausea medication they prescribed for me at the hospital. I just feel great, and I can’t wait to see how I feel with each new week.

*On the Bariatric Surgery Facebook group I have learned that folks refer to the drop from 200 to 199 pounds as Onederland. If I reach Onederland I think I will look like an anorexic. That is too far for me to consider. I think that would make me unhealthy on the other end of the spectrum. Still… Onederland. Sounds pretty engaging.