Cindy F.
Blood Work Follow-up Appointment - June 9, 2014
Nov 24, 2015
I had my follow-up appointment for the blood work taken at my last appointment in March. I met with Monique (sp?) first of course and that went well, I was down a few more pounds since my last appointment (up and then back down again!), I then seen Dr. B. His meetings are always short and to the point but he's always very kind. My blood work results were all great, he told me I could stop taking my monthly B-12 injections. He asked if I wanted to proceed with the plastic surgery referral but I decided to wait until my next appointment as I'm still losing and wanted to be a little further along before meeting. He asked if I wanted to come back in 3 or 6 months, it was up to me but after, it would probably be every 6. I said I'd like to come back in 3, probably make the referral at that time and then continue with bi-annual appointments. He was fine with that so my next appointment is September 22nd.
On another progress note, my sister and have started a 12 week (but was given a bonus week so 13 weeks) challenge with a lady here in town who has lost weight and is now offering a meal plan / guideline and weekly weigh-in's. My sister decided to join and said I could just follow the meal plan with her but I wanted the accountability of weigh-in's so joined as well. The first two day was a cleanse with protein, green veggies and lots of water. After that it was x number of starches, protein, veggies, fruit, and fat. I'm not following the meal plan to the letter because I can't get 4 ounces of protein in at a meal but I'm basically just trying to make better choices, eat this / not that kind of thing. For me, upping the exercise has been a big benefit. I've been walking almost every day since about 4 - 6 weeks after surgery. My sister and I walk 4 mornings a week at 0530 for an hour and in addition to that, I've just started walking for an hour and a half in the evenings a few days a week as well. Occassionally walking 2.5 hours a day is definitely yielding results in both weight loss and body shaping. I definitely think the weekly weigh-ins for the summer will help keep me on track. Summer is always a hard time for me, too many barbeques, desserts, cheesies and chips at the beach, and just too many temptations in general make it a challenge.
I keep saying weight-loss is a never ending battle and it's so true, for me anyway. The honeymoon, craving free phase is a godsend post-surgery but then the cravings come back, the effortless weight loss slows down and you have to buckle down and do the work to keep it going. I'm not where I want to be size / weight wise yet but I'm slowly getting there. Someone gave me a few articles of clothing that they no longer needed in a size 14 and I laughed and said 'yeah right, maybe next summer' and they said 'I'm not sure, you're getting pretty narrow, just try them' and sure enough, they all fit! I started out a size 30-32 and tight 5X, and 16 months later, I'm a 14-16 and XL. It seems like it's slow going but then I have the moments where I see it's paying off. I never try to forget what a blessing this surgery truly is.
