bhern
2-Months Post Op
Jan 04, 2013
...give or take a couple of days of course. Since having the VSG on November 7th, I have lost 39 pounds (plus I lost 48 pounds before surgery) with a combined weight loss of 87 pounds. So I want to just reflect on the past two months for anyone who may be deciding to have this surgery. This is only my personal experience. I thought I was prepared for life after, but soon realized I was not. I can't just go into my fridge or pantry and pull something out and just eat a couple of tablespoons of it. I have learned to become so conscious of everything that goes into my mouth. I thought I was already doing this before surgery...haha not even close. Now I am reading labels on everything, if I try a new recipe I'm reading the nutritional information. If it doesn't benefit my body in some way, ie. high in protein, good source of calcium, low in fat, low in carbs... then I am not putting it in my mouth. Sure I had a bite of pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving. It doesn't mean I'm going to do that everyday. And journal your food. Oh my god this is so important. If it isn't written down somewhere you tend to forget that you ate it. I use the oh-so-wonderful MyFitnessPal. Amazing site it has every type of food you can imagine, and if they don't you can add it yourself. So there is no reason not to journal your food. ok, now I'm going to be a big hippocrite when I say, Water is so important. You have to drink, drink, and drink some more. They tell you that 64 oz is the minimum amount of water to drink everyday. I SUCK at drinking water. If I'm lucky, I'll get in 32 or 40, but I've never been able to hit 64. The other thing I'm horrible at is my PROTEIN. You have to take in a minimum of 60 grams of protein everyday (this is what my surgeon recommended for me, others may be different) When it comes to protein, I'm trying my hardest, but I'm coming up short and only getting an average of 40 gr. per day. I know this could change if I could only find a protein shake that I like. Not even like...heck if I could just tolerate one, I'd buy them by the case. Oh yes and Exercise is another very important component of my weight loss journey. When I first came home from the hospital I was surprisingly energetic. About a week out, I was moving my butt. Walking and cleaning house and walking again. It was great! Then out of no where I starting having really bad pain in my right hip and knees. Now its my left and right hips. I can not walk for more than 5 minutes, then I need to sit and relieve the pain on my hips. I would love to be in the pool, unfortunately its January and 35 degrees outside.
So needless to say, there is a lot more work involved than I had imagined. But it is all very doable. After all...we decided to have this surgery to change our life. Our surgery is a tool and we must learn to use our tool properly. It isn't going to work itself. I wish I would have lost more weight by now, but I'm not going to beat myself up over it. I'm losing, (albeit slowly) but it's better than gaining. People are telling me how great I look, even though I don't see it. My clothes are falling off, so it must be true.
I meet with my nut and exercise people next week, so I'm looking forward to that. I want to get a list of exercises I can do without putting strain on my hip joints. It should be an interesting appointment.
HAPPY NEW YEAR OH FRIENDS!
