Milestones minus some stones

It’s been four months since I had gastric bypass surgery and last week I reached a magnificent milestone. I am below 200 pounds! 197 this morning to be exact. I have lost 60 pounds in the past year, most of it since January. I’ve gone from a size 20/22 to a 16 and that’s getting loose now. I have another 50 pounds or so to go before I reach my realistic goal. I don’t think I am meant to be extremely thin, like my 105 pound mother. I didn’t have surgery to be skinny, rather to be more healthy.

I am able to do so many things that I couldn’t do before. I can climb through the Suburban without any effort. I can cross my legs – both ways! (I used to only really be able to cross them with my left leg on top of my right. Even then, my legs would quickly fall asleep.) I can dance around the living room with the kids without immediately sweating profusely and losing my breath.

I have also injured myself. Or re-injured. When I was a junior in high school, I hurt my left knee in a freak dance accident while on choir tour. *cough* I am a klutz, OK? Anyway, I didn’t have said knee fixed for quite a long time… like 7 years. By that time I needed surgery on both knees because the right one compensated for the left and I had gained 40 pounds or so. So, both knees were scoped and all was well. Only now, they are grinding again and my left knee is in some serious pain.

Also, the hips are loose. Like when you’re pregnant and things are spreading down there and all of the sudden you’re not really being held together and only the grace of god is keeping your legs upright. I am supposed to do exercises for both of these issues. Building up muscle to make these joints superhuman… or just a bit stronger and not so wonky.

Here’s the most surprising thing, I want to run. I have never been a runner. Never. Ever. No. I haven’t given into my dreams (yes, I have had dreams of running.) until my knees and hips are back to not feeling like they are on a 85 year old woman.

I don’t want this all to seem like a foggy dreamland. The surgery doesn’t make your automatically lose weight. You could still eat like total crap and you’d gain back the weight you lost quickly. It’s been work. I have to talk to myself at night when I want a bowl of popcorn. Luckily James knows I am a loon already, so he just ignores it when he hears me say “I am not hungry. I just want to eat popcorn because I am bored.” Then he goes to the kitchen and makes himself a bowl of cereal.

The doctors and nurses drill into your head that the surgery is a tool, one of many, to help you lose weight. You, the patient, are ultimately the one in control of your weight loss. I like being in control. *ahem* I didn’t have control of my eating before. I do now.

No related posts.