VSG Update: One-Year Follow-Up!
And here are my stats...
- Highest Weight: 320 lbs.
- Pre-Op Liquid Diet Weight: 314 lbs.
- Surgery Day Weight: 292 lbs.
- Current Weight: 187 lbs.
- Body Fat % (Navy Calculation): 35% (down from 56%)
First, for the eagle-eyed, I took out the overall inches lost. That's because I'm paring down the number of points I measure from about 15 to about 5. So the number would no longer correlate unless I go back and get all the old ones (and I'm too lazy for that lol).
Now... Things have been creeping along, up down and all around. I've settled into a way of eating I enjoy which is helping me to maintain, but I don't want to maintain yet. So I'm going to have to buckle in and get this thing in gear again. I'm actually very happy with where I am and could see myself stopping here... I feel great and think I look pretty good... but I know that as I get older, there will be some regain, and I'd rather be maintaining at a weight that won't have me in danger of going back over 200 pounds.
Plus, it would just kind of be nifty to be in a "normal" weight range for once in my life.
Now... Things have been creeping along, up down and all around. I've settled into a way of eating I enjoy which is helping me to maintain, but I don't want to maintain yet. So I'm going to have to buckle in and get this thing in gear again. I'm actually very happy with where I am and could see myself stopping here... I feel great and think I look pretty good... but I know that as I get older, there will be some regain, and I'd rather be maintaining at a weight that won't have me in danger of going back over 200 pounds.
Plus, it would just kind of be nifty to be in a "normal" weight range for once in my life.
I'm at a spot now where the surgery and my smaller stomach isn't having as much of an impact on my loss. I refuse to rely on exercise for weight loss because that's actually not a smart thing to do. You can cut a single candy bar out of your diet or you can exercise hard for an hour... which makes more sense? Plus, exertion like you would need to lose weight makes you hungry. So unless you are (A) an exercise junkie or (B) have a ton of willpower (none of which describe me), exercise should be for muscle and cardiovascular health and not for weight loss.
I have been getting back to logging meals and working more veggies into my diet and that's helping the scale to move again. My fluid intake was also dropping, with snack intake rising, so once I got a handle on that, it helped. I'm also going to be careful of when I eat. I'm a night owl and I get hungry once the sun goes down. Very hungry. If left to my own devices, I can snack all night. So I've two new rules: On weekdays, no snacking after 9pm; on weekends, no snacking after 12am.
This gives me enough leeway that I can still eat something every three -four hours. Another part of those rules is that I actually wait to eat until it's been at least 3 hours past the last time I ate. Otherwise, I'm just thirsty and not recognizing the signals as such. Within 3 hours, I drink something.
The struggle is real. And it will always be there. For me, it's gotten easier as I get better at recognizing signals and triggers. And I do feel I'm cultivating a better relationship with food. There are still trouble spots here and there (SmartFood Kettle Corn... I [love] HATE you), but I'm making progress and not backsliding into all the habits that made me obese in the first place.
And that's what it's about: Progress, not perfection.
Life has been wonderful since my sleeve surgery, and it's only getting better. In fact, watch more more "non-sleeve" posts on this blog. My active lifestyle is picking up with the warmer weather and I have so much to share! Especially my new obsession: Hammock Camping!
Finally, I won't be doing monthly updates anymore. Instead, as I hit my final goals, I'll post about them. Here are my upcoming weight-related goals:
This gives me enough leeway that I can still eat something every three -four hours. Another part of those rules is that I actually wait to eat until it's been at least 3 hours past the last time I ate. Otherwise, I'm just thirsty and not recognizing the signals as such. Within 3 hours, I drink something.
The struggle is real. And it will always be there. For me, it's gotten easier as I get better at recognizing signals and triggers. And I do feel I'm cultivating a better relationship with food. There are still trouble spots here and there (SmartFood Kettle Corn... I [love] HATE you), but I'm making progress and not backsliding into all the habits that made me obese in the first place.
And that's what it's about: Progress, not perfection.
Life has been wonderful since my sleeve surgery, and it's only getting better. In fact, watch more more "non-sleeve" posts on this blog. My active lifestyle is picking up with the warmer weather and I have so much to share! Especially my new obsession: Hammock Camping!
Finally, I won't be doing monthly updates anymore. Instead, as I hit my final goals, I'll post about them. Here are my upcoming weight-related goals:
- A BMI putting me "overweight" instead of "obese." I'm only 3 pounds away from that.
- Getting to my Navy bootcamp weight. I'm 26 pounds from that.
- Getting to my sixth-grade weight. I'm 31 pounds away from that.
- A BMI putting me "normal" instead of "overweight." I'm 33 pounds from that. This also happens to be my goal weight (high end).
- Stretch Goal: This is one I'd like to get to, but I refuse to kill myself to get there - 145. My ideal is to have a nine-pound maintenance range of 140-149. I don't know if it can happen, but we'll see!
So four (maybe five) goals left to hit! I've already hit all of my NSV goals. Well, all but one - but my last one is scheduled for the day-after-tomorrow. Woo! The Wild Cave tour at Mammoth Cave. I'll be sure to post all about that when I return.
Anyhow, thanks for following my blog. If you have any questions on my journey, please leave me a comment. I'd be happy to answer it!
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