A year ago I was lying in a hospital bed, having just had gastric bypass surgery. Over the last three hundred and sixty-five days I've lost half my body weight. Half. To be exact, one hundred forty pounds. Actually, I lost 40 lbs before the surgery, so technically I've lost 100 lbs since surgery. I can remember the first painful days following surgery. Having five incisions in your tummy is not fun. I distinctly remember, after an extremely painful attempt at getting out of bed in the middle of the night, making Ron check to make sure the largest incision hadn't burst open. Like a knife, it was.
I remember my first solid food. A few small bites of a scrambled egg. And then some cottage cheese. And refried beans. And water. Lots and lots of water. Those are distant memories, but ones I revisit from time to time to remind me how radically my body and mind have changed. I can now eat a wide variety of foods, although the portions are still pretty small. I still have to stay away from caffeine (soda, chocolate, coffee), and limit sugar and fat. We shop and cook differently, but it's still tasty. Ron's lost 30 lbs and has the body of a 35-year old (I'm not kidding). I didn't realize that my lifestyle changes would affect him, but we're both healthier and happier, so that's a good thing.
I won't lie to you. I got skin issues. Today at my one year check up I got a brochure about plastic surgery. I still haven't decided if I'm going to have any procedures. But in the back of my mind I keep thinking, "It's only gonna get worse!" So we'll see. I think we need to get Ty out of school before I think seriously about it. I do have some tailbone pain. As a beautiful young lady from Arkansas put it, "Honey, you ain't got no trunk in that Honda!" Never in a million years would I have ever thought that someone would say that about my behind! But it's kind of true. There's not a lot of padding left back there and if I sit too long, I get kinda fidgety.
Then there's the walking. I had started walking on the treadmill at home before surgery. I think I was doing about 30 minutes a day. A week after surgery I was back on the treadmill. Then, one day I decided to walk outside. The first day I did a mile and it probably took me 30 minutes. Now I'm up to six miles a day, five times a week. I LOVE it! I put my iPod on and hit the streets. I used to just walk on the track at Shawnee Mission North, but now I have three different routes that take me all the way to the farmer's market in Overland Park to Shawnee Mission East and 67th & Roe. I still do the track once a week, for old times' sake. I've left a lot of pounds around that track.
As I think back over the last year I can't help but be grateful to the Bariatric Center of Kansas City. They have a top-notch team and an equally impressive program. I had to meet with a nutritionist, cardiologist, pulmonologist and a psychologist to be cleared for the program. It took six months from the time I went to the initial informational meeting to my surgery date. The hospital staff at Shawnee Misison Medical Center were also tremendous. But my biggest thank you has to go to Ron, whose support has never wavered. He has encouraged and cheered me on every step of the way and I could not have been successful without him. Kate and Tyler have also been great supporters, as have my mom and dad (although they think I'm too thin!)
So, what's next? I have no idea. We'll just have to wait and see. Whatever it is, it will be fabulous.
I remember my first solid food. A few small bites of a scrambled egg. And then some cottage cheese. And refried beans. And water. Lots and lots of water. Those are distant memories, but ones I revisit from time to time to remind me how radically my body and mind have changed. I can now eat a wide variety of foods, although the portions are still pretty small. I still have to stay away from caffeine (soda, chocolate, coffee), and limit sugar and fat. We shop and cook differently, but it's still tasty. Ron's lost 30 lbs and has the body of a 35-year old (I'm not kidding). I didn't realize that my lifestyle changes would affect him, but we're both healthier and happier, so that's a good thing.
I won't lie to you. I got skin issues. Today at my one year check up I got a brochure about plastic surgery. I still haven't decided if I'm going to have any procedures. But in the back of my mind I keep thinking, "It's only gonna get worse!" So we'll see. I think we need to get Ty out of school before I think seriously about it. I do have some tailbone pain. As a beautiful young lady from Arkansas put it, "Honey, you ain't got no trunk in that Honda!" Never in a million years would I have ever thought that someone would say that about my behind! But it's kind of true. There's not a lot of padding left back there and if I sit too long, I get kinda fidgety.
Then there's the walking. I had started walking on the treadmill at home before surgery. I think I was doing about 30 minutes a day. A week after surgery I was back on the treadmill. Then, one day I decided to walk outside. The first day I did a mile and it probably took me 30 minutes. Now I'm up to six miles a day, five times a week. I LOVE it! I put my iPod on and hit the streets. I used to just walk on the track at Shawnee Mission North, but now I have three different routes that take me all the way to the farmer's market in Overland Park to Shawnee Mission East and 67th & Roe. I still do the track once a week, for old times' sake. I've left a lot of pounds around that track.
As I think back over the last year I can't help but be grateful to the Bariatric Center of Kansas City. They have a top-notch team and an equally impressive program. I had to meet with a nutritionist, cardiologist, pulmonologist and a psychologist to be cleared for the program. It took six months from the time I went to the initial informational meeting to my surgery date. The hospital staff at Shawnee Misison Medical Center were also tremendous. But my biggest thank you has to go to Ron, whose support has never wavered. He has encouraged and cheered me on every step of the way and I could not have been successful without him. Kate and Tyler have also been great supporters, as have my mom and dad (although they think I'm too thin!)
So, what's next? I have no idea. We'll just have to wait and see. Whatever it is, it will be fabulous.
