VSG Update: Eight-Month Follow-Up

February 23, 2015, 320 lbs. versus February 9, 2016, 192 lbs.

Update time! I'm eight months out from surgery today, and though things have slowed, I'm still moving in the right direction!

• Highest Weight: 320 lbs.
• Pre-Op Liquid Diet Weight: 314 lbs.
• Surgery Day Weight: 292 lbs.
• Current Weight: 192 lbs.
• Overall inches lost: 100"
• Body Fat % (Navy Calculation): 37% (down from 56%)

I'm down 128 pounds total and 100 pounds since surgery. Yay! Now that I've gotten into Onederland, something weird has happened... I feel "done." Not "done" as in "my journey is finished," but "done" in that I'm finally back to a me I used to love. I could stop here, but I won't, because I'm excited to see where my new energy levels and my little tummy take me.

I had a pretty long stall this month, and it was broken just prior to my gallbladder throwing a fit and needing to be removed from the party that's my body. It was a pretty nasty headgame, that stall, but I had picked my yoga practice back up regularly and it helped sooooo much in keeping me focused and calm. There's a lesson here: Yoga fixes everything! :P

Anyhow, it's been an eventful month and weight is creeping back on because of the surgery (I plummeted down 18 pounds right after surgery and my body is rebelling and holding onto every last calorie I stick in it now. I think I'll get back to normal in a couple of weeks, especially once I get back to yoga.) But I'm in Onderland now and I don't ever plan on going back over 200.

I want to spend the next few months until my surgiversary in June just letting my sleeve, my yoga, and my food choices decide where my weight will go. The remainder of 2016 will be trying to firm up and strengthen up. My long-term goal is to do what I'm doing now and maintain using yoga and a more active lifestyle (commuting by bike or jogging to work, lots of walking, active pastimes, etc.), but I'm not against using some more hardcore HIIT and cardio to get me to where I want to be faster. We'll see. 

I've always been of the opinion that I need to make changes that I can keep. It's great to start jogging and weight lifting, but if I hate jogging or the gym, I won't keep doing it. Life is too short to spend an hour of your day (already eaten up by work, sleep, commutes, family time, etc.) doing something you hate. Plus, if you hate doing it, you won't keep doing it. 

I'm not much of a jogger and I do dislike the gym, but yoga is life and swimming - well, I'm a Pisces. I'm doing things and working towards other things that I love and that I will keep doing. I'm enjoying food, but not overly enjoying food. I'm not as active right now as I like to be, but it's winter and even bears hibernate. Still, I'm progressing towards my goal and that's what counts.

I'm feeling a bit all over the place today in this post, but it was more of a train-of-thought rambling today.

Speaking of which: I've been getting a lot of questions recently about my particular journey, so I thought I'd put a list of things I went through to get to this point for anyone interested. This is all Veteran's Administration-centric, so if you are self-pay or have regular insurance, your path will vary (if interested, I have a more general VSG overview here):

• May 2014: I made the decision to be a better me and spoke to my doctor about how to get approved for weight loss surgery. 
• May 2014: I was referred to a nutritionist to start a diet and exercise program
• June 2014: I started a diet and exercise program which I had to remain on for one cycle (12 weeks) prior to being able to move forward.
• October 2014: I was referred for my psych eval and various testing.
• October 2014: I was approved for surgery and told that it would probably occur in early December.
• December 2014: I was notified that my doctor was having a surgery of his own (not WLS) and all of his surgeries were being pushed back 8 weeks or more.
• December 2014: I received my official surgery date of April 9, 2015. UGH!
• March 2015: I was told that since they had to send me to WV for surgery (I live in Ohio about 5 hours from the center) and VA was getting a lot of pushback for sending people so far afield for care, I had to reschedule surgery with someone local and the VA would pay for it. Unfortunately, this made an April surgery date impossible.
• April 2015: I spoke to UC Health Weight Loss Center about surgery. They went through my records, requested one additional round of blood work and required me to attend their orientation before scheduling me for surgery.
• May 2015: I was approved for a new surgery date! June 9, 2015. Exactly two months after I should have been sleeved.
• June 2015: Surgery time! New life time!

And here we are now. It's been almost two years since I made the decision to do this and I'm healthier than I've been in nearly 20 years. I'm excited for 2016, as much as I was for 2015. Everything is looking up and the future is bright!