Weight Loss Updates – 70 pounds and counting

Warning: Detour Ahead

I’m sitting here trying to think of a catchy first line for my new blog article. Then I figured I would start with telling you all how busy things have continued to be. A time or two I have thought about putting this to rest for a while. Then, I realize that life will almost always be busy. Telling others about my journey has been good for me and I hope will help someone else along the way. I’m also guessing many of you find yourselves in that same category, so offering what I’ve learned hopefully will inspire you too.

I am relieved life is getting a little back to normal as we once knew it before COVID. In my work as a nurse manager, I have seen a lot of positive steps in the right direction. As healthcare continues to learn new ways of doing things, this has continued to keep me on my toes.

My newest personal journey has been getting to know myself all over again. Right after Thanksgiving, my daily calories starting trending up. I shared in the past when this occurred I would focus on trending back down over the course of a few days until I was back on track. What I noticed this time is a harder time trending back down and forcing myself to eat more than what my stomach felt comfortable with.

My surgery was a tool and definitely not a quick fix. People with bariatric surgery can still gain weight. Our brains are still wired just as they were before surgery. My smaller stomach wants to stop me from overeating, but my brain conspires against me. I will state surgery did help my food brain understand that I can do this. My brain remembers what I went through before surgery and after and this journey won’t easily be erased. That is my saving grace.

My weight trended from about 164 to 174 between Thanksgiving and June. I saw 163 for about five minutes, literally. Putting my numbers on paper might make you think I only focus on those. My weight number is important to me because I worked hard to lose almost 100 pounds in order to save my life. In that sense, the numbers do mean something. I will not let those numbers define who I am, where I’ve been, and where I can still go. What it does mean is that I need to re-focus. It’s a small bend in the journey, does not mean I’ve completely derailed, just a momentary pause. Like the title of my article, it is a detour from my plan. It’s life, I’m human, and this is going to happen.

Gaining weight made me feel poorly at times in terms of a disappointment in myself, feeling sluggish again, and stuck in my old habits. I could not get myself to keep trending those calories down more than day or two before they were right back up again. In June, I decided to go back on WW. I consulted with a close family member who lost a lot of weight on WW. I have done WW in the past and at one time lost over 45 pounds. I know it can be successful. Combined with my tool of surgery, I’m setting out to re-focus, lose those 10 pounds I gained, work on my activity level, and re-energize.

I started on WW a few weeks ago and I have to admit getting started again has been a struggle. I am determined to start heading in the right direction again and will not give up. This does not mean I won’t have desserts, gain a pound or two now and then, not do the activity level I should, or not track every single day. What I can focus on is taking more steps in the right direction than in the opposite direction. It’s not about perfection. It’s about recalling those tools I learned before and after surgery.

Next time I will post an update, share some new foods I have tried, and any other tricks and tips. So far in the last few weeks, I am back down three pounds, and feeling better about this goal. This is perfect timing also as my stomach has been really reacting to not having the protein and good food it needs.

Until then, wishing you all well on your own journey no matter what your goal.

Mandy

8 Month Follow Up

Happy Tuesday! I hope you are all doing well and finding good health. I made the journey yesterday for my 8 month post op follow up. It is always a long drive and I use it as time to reflect. I reflect back to the date I first went for the conference and decided to pursue surgical weight loss. I think about the process leading up to the surgery and my journey since. I quietly pray for all of my friends and family as well as hold gratitude for those who have walked this journey with me.

Yesterday was an interesting drive. It was snowing at my house when I left and I had some snow for a few miles. Then it turned to rain, then to fog, then to hail, then to rain, then to snow, then to fog, then to sun, back to snow, and then to sun again. I admit I really enjoyed the time to myself, reflecting, and listening to my book on Audible.

My appointment went well. I saw my surgeon and dietitian. My weight went from 260 prior to surgery to 173 for a weight loss of 87 pounds. My BMI went from 41 to 27 and I’m now overweight instead of obese. I’m about 8 pounds from the goal they have set for me and I’ve lost more than 60% of my excess body weight. My blood sugars are consistently 100-145 on oral medications only. My blood pressure has gone from 150/90 to 105/68. Dr. told me yesterday my metabolic syndrome is no longer on my diagnosis list! He is pleased to report my statistics to the medical accreditation program they report to in hopes of continuing to show bariatric surgery is right for some patients.

My dietitian is pushing me to get my protein up a bit, although overall very pleased. She was excited to hear I’m still journaling. She states most patients have stopped journaling at this point and some then tend to creep back up with weight. Her observation and best practice is to continue journaling for many reasons and if only to track protein and carbs. She encouraged me to have healthy carbs like fruits and veggies. I got some more handouts on protein ideas which I will share with my readers. She was excited when I told her I journal ahead for special occasions so I can plan my meal and practice sticking to it. I told her my weight has stalled the last month and I go between 171 and 173. Her thoughts are my body is reconfiguring itself. My Secca scan showed I am not losing as much lean muscle mass as I was. Her thought is I’m gaining some muscle mass which might explain the stall. She again encouraged a push of protein, increase physical activity a bit, and then watch my carbs are not higher than my protein intake.

I’m waiting on my lab results to find out if my vitamin intake is sufficient. Overall it was a great visit. Of course I’m human so chocolate, ice cream, and cupcakes still play an important role in my life. Saturday I ate way too much ice cream and spent an hour being sick. I also had a relationship with potato chips on Sunday and they were oh so good. I won’t give these up entirely. Surgery was a tool and it really worked. At the end of the day it’s still up to me to keep making the decision to eat right, exercise, and stay on track.

My other personal areas where I would like to improve is my skin tone needs some work after shedding the weight. I’m also still working towards more variety for protein intake. I continue to celebrate many non scale victories as well.

Thanks for letting me share my journey. I’m open to questions or feedback you might have. Surgery is not the right tool for everyone. My goal is to support my readers in their desire to get healthy. If you are struggling and don’t know where to start, take the first step and start with something simple. Maybe try a small walk for a few days this week or eating off a smaller plate for a few meals. Here is a quote I made up that I say often to myself, “Any day of trying is better than a day of not trying or not caring and those days of trying do add up.” Blessings to all of you.

Mandy

83 pounds and counting

A person asked me last week what it’s like to be thin? I had to pause for a moment because she was asking me. She has watched my transformation and was curious what it is like to change especially so quickly.

First, I really do not think of myself as thin. True I have lost a lot of weight and am at 83 pounds down now. I am very proud of my accomplishment and do not regret bariatric surgery as a tool to lose weight. The weight loss has improved my health greatly. This is the first time that I really remember being 176 pounds. I weighed in at 178 pounds on my wedding day. I literally only weighed that for the day:) I ordered my wedding dress by accident in a teen size instead of adult and had to lose 40 pounds to get in it. After the ceremony and I took the gown off, I went out to dinner with my new husband and saw the last of 178. I do not have a goal weight yet and figured I will know when I get there. I purposely slowed down my weight loss and am happy with this.

Sure, I had always imagined when I was younger what it would be like to have a better figure. I won’t lie about that. However, the truth is that I did learn to love myself the way I was and accepted myself. I am in a size 12 now which stuns me every day. I still believe when I go to put on something new it’s not going to fit and then I’m surprised when it does.

So, I told the woman who asked me that it does feel good to fit in smaller clothes. I said though I stand by loving yourself no matter what your size. If you want to make a change then go for it. I say do it for the right reasons although I read a book once about a woman who lost a ton of weight and she said do it for any reason even if it is for looks. I do say don’t get stuck there though. If you need to make changes quickly, I don’t mind telling people to consider bariatric surgery. The initial stages though do go slow, but working with the dietitian and team, I started losing weight and making changes right away.

Some days go by and I’ve eaten well, got my protein in and had no nausea or vomiting. Other days are different. I am six months out from surgery and doing better each day. Even today though my lunch did not go down well and I got sick. When that happens, I pause, drink water when I can and avoid food for a few hours. It’s a new lifestyle.

I appreciate all of the positive feedback I’ve had. One thing I promised myself though is that I would not change my philosophy. Love myself no matter what. I still look in the mirror and know I could use a lot more firming after that weight loss, but it’s still me. I will always be a woman who stands by loving ourselves at any weight! Beauty is so much more than that. Plus curves really are beautiful! I got stuck with the body shape of an egg and had to deal with that. I also might have lost 83 pounds, but like I said my body needs some serious firming now.

If you look in the mirror and don’t like what you see, consider talking to someone whether it be a counselor or someone you trust. I honestly feel it is important to love and appreciate yourself at any size or shape. Then, when you want to make a change it’s all for the right reasons.

Please leave me a comment if you have something you want me to share or you want to share with me. Best wishes,

Mandy

Mandy’s Health Journey Update

Happy Friday readers! I have been trying to post all week. I’m sure you are all busy as well. My teenage son has transitioned from wrestling to football. He also plays in the band and so we had a band concert this week in addition to his wrestling practices. He also had a drama event last night and plans to audition for the school play. I am excited he wants to be so involved and do what I can to support this.

I am loving this blog journey too and hope to reach as many people as I can to offer encouragement and hope.

On Monday I took the three plus hour drive to the bariatric center where my weight loss and surgical team work out of. Every time I make this trip I give time to pause and think about my journey. I struggle with eating daily although do find many foods I can tolerate. I will never regret my decision though to save my life. This was the right journey for me.

I saw my dietician on Monday. The bariatric weight loss center has very fancy scales that give you your body weight, fat loss, lean muscle mass, BMI, water weight, and so much more. I’ve done this three times and have been able to compare along the way.

I have lost 76 pounds according to their scale. Ten of those pounds was lost pre-surgery from October of 2018 to May of 2019. From May of 2019 until this November, I have lost 66 pounds. I have lost approximately 72% of my excess body weight. My dietician and I talked about how to get my protein up. I know that keeps coming up right? I am still trying and finding it challenging, but last time was really only hitting 40-50 and now I’m hitting 60-70 consistently with a goal of 80. I’ve lost some more lean body mass, but it has slowed from last time. Another reason to keep the protein up. I have gone from a BMI of Obese Class II to just being overweight! BMI from 41 to 29.

I did ask her about my hair loss. Some GI surgery patients lose hair in this process and that is listed on the information I received before surgery. It is happening to me and fairly significantly. I told my niece I may need to get a wig or weave. I am really self conscious about it, but at the same time I do have a good body image. I try not to let it bother me. Many people in my personal life have told me when I wear my hair up, it’s not noticeable. It has given me new understanding though of what some cancer patients go through. In the large scheme of life and things that can happen, I also feel this is a small thing. It will grow back though according to my dietician.

We talked about the importance of vitamins and I’m grateful she is letting me take one less supplement a day. We reviewed my average eating log for a day and she gave me some tips. She actually gave me another sample meal plan which I happen to love these and have posted about those before. I’m working on a sample meal plan to share with all of you soon as well. Sometimes when you just don’t know where to begin, these are so helpful.

I shared with her my experience of being able to eat small bites of sweets now and then, but large quantities make me ill which is part of the surgery process. She said her goal for me is to get to about 160 pounds and see what that feels like. I’m getting closer every day. The weight loss does feel great, but just knowing I have drastically improved my health is the best reward for me.

Although the drive up and back is long, it is reflective. I thought about the beginning of the journey and commitment I made, the trips in between, my visits to the Psychologist, my pre op training, my post op training, and surgery day. I consider this a life journey because the surgery was a tool. It is not an instant cure for my eating disorder. I will need to work forever at this. I am taking each moment by moment and giving myself the credit for getting this far. I’ve learned many things along the way.

I thank you all again for reading. I will post again sometime this weekend a sample meal plan that is basic, but maybe something easy to start with. Tonight I am off to the theater. My son and I have season Broadway tickets. Tonight is Miss Saigon. Doing these little events when I can also helps me stay on track and keep me excited about this process. Tare care.

Mandy

October 10, 2019 – 70 pounds today

Today is the perfect day to launch my blog! I started this process a week ago when I had lost almost 70 pounds. This is why my blog is called 70 pounds and counting. Today I hit 70 pounds exactly! I will post a snapshot of my weight loss app. It says I’ve lost the weight of a Leopard. I love this weight loss app so much and along the journey it has compared my weight loss to animals.

I still have more of this journey to get through and I imagine it will be lifelong. I’ve made it back into the 100’s. Check out my story by clicking on the sidebar menu that says “Mandy’s Story”. It will give you more information about myself and this surgical weight loss journey I’ve been on.

Over the next several blog posts I will tell you more about my journey over the years and of my recent bariatric surgery. In May of 2019 I did choose to undergo an RNY Gastric Bypass. Today a person has a few choices in weight loss surgery and again surgery is not for everyone. Surgery is not an easy fix, it is a tool. I’ve had many ups and downs on this journey.

The goal of my blog is to get my story out there because in my case with my body shape and my health problems I think I could have had surgery earlier. I want to support other people who want to lose weight both surgical and non surgical. I also want to support others who’ve experienced these health problems I talk about in my story. If you know anyone who needs to know someone has been through what they are going through, send them a link to my Facebook page or my blog.

I am new to blogging and excited to share much more with you in the coming weeks. You can sign up to receive e-mails from me as well. I will be working on my first newsletter in the coming weeks to share with my e-mail subscribers!

I still have more weight to lose although I do not have a magic number in mind. My guess is at least forty more pounds if not a little more. Right now my weight loss has slowed down and I’m taking time to get to know my new body and enjoy my new health. I’m also starting to work out a bit more to get some muscle mass built up.

Thank you for taking time to join me today and I will write again in a day or two. Best wishes to all of you.