Countdown to 3 months

On March 20, I will celebrate my 3-month "surgiversary". I can hardly believe it's been three months already, but I can also hardly believe that it's -only- been three months. YKWIM? So much has changed in my life for the better in those three months, that it's difficult to believe that it's all happened in such a short amount of time. Since I hit the weight that prompted me to seek out a tool to assist me with taking off my excess weight, I've banished 64 pounds. Since surgery, almost three months ago, I've banished 35. I'm off medication for blood sugar, I can walk for an hour at a stretch without feeling like I'm going to d-i-e. I'm down two sizes, including fitting into a pair of jeans I've not worn since 2007, which are a size withOUT a W! It's really pushing the bounds of possible, I'm sure, but I would LOVE it if I could banish enough this week to be down a round 40 pounds by the 20th. I'm going to give it every effort and know that, even if I fall short of the number on the scale, I'll have done everything I can this week right.

* I will walk every day it's not raining, for at least 45 minutes.
* If it -is- raining, I will utilize my pedaler for at least 1 hour.
* I will stretch my muscles.
* I will drink (sip, sip, sip) at least 70oz of fluid.
* I will take in at least 70g of protein.
* I will keep my kCal between 600 and 800.
* I will limit my carbs, particularly refined ones.
* I will meditate or utilize some other method for stilling and centering my mind.
* I will make mindful choices regarding everything I take in, whether that's food, drink, or information.

For any of you reading who may be thinking that weight loss surgery is a "quick fix" or "the easy way out", let me disabuse you of that notion. My surgeon operated on one of my internal organs. He removed 85% of my stomach, leaving me with a banana-shaped stomach that will hold roughly 6oz of food. I try to keep my intake/meal to around 4oz to prevent pain and indigestion, which means that I need to eat about every 3 hours or so to ensure I take in what I'm supposed to daily. I have to, daily & for the rest of my life, take vitamin supplements. I have to have follow-up blood work/visits with the surgeon every three months for the first 18 months post-op and then annually FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE. I think I may eventually have my protein/carb/kCal/fluid balance so firmly entrenched as a habit that I don't have to constantly think about it, but right now, I have to think about every bite of food and every sip of liquid that goes into my body. Yes, the surgery did help me lose a lot of my hunger and cravings and it physically stops me from over-eating. However, the surgery was on my stomach, not my head. I have to always be aware of my motivations for eating. I now have to eat to live rather than living to eat. As a food addict, that is a ROUGH transition.

I'd decided when I started the journey towards surgery, that I wouldn't hide the fact; that I'd be open about my decision. Frankly, I figured that if people I see every day knew I was having surgery, they wouldn't start to wonder if I were dying when I started losing weight as quickly as I have. :-) I told my MIL early in the process because she is a nurse at the hospital where I had my surgery, and I wanted to get her take on my surgeon. I waited to tell my mom until I had my date, not because I thought she'd try to talk me out of it, but because I have met my mom and know that, were the Americans to enter a "worrying" team into the Olympics, she'd win the gold, for sure. ;-) I also wanted to be open about it, so that if anyone around me were considering surgery, they'd KNOW someone who'd had it, and they could ask questions. Also why my blog is open to the public, as it were. Hiding in the dark does nothing but make you afraid of the light.

If you are a person who can just cut back on soda and lose the weight you need to lose, good for you! If you believe that, for you, you need to go to Weight Watchers or Overeaters Anonymous and sweat for each pound, I'm here to support you the whole way! I've tried everything and have realized one thing about myself: I can follow -any- diet you put in front of me, so long as I'm not hungry and so long as nothing is completely off limits. The VSG has removed the hunger component and since there isn't any malabsorption/dumping, nothing is completely off limits. I -choose-, however, to limit foods that I know are triggers for me and/or are slider foods that make me make poor choices. The Sleeve is nothing more than a tool. I'm still having to do the hard work with my diet and exercise that anyone else has to do. I just have internal support. :-)

So, that's what I've learned in the past 3 months. I can't wait to see what the next 15 months has in store.