Looking into WLS

Hiya!

I’m back!  Hopefully this isn’t a one-off post.  I’m trying to get better about making sure that my blog, Instagram, Twitter, etc. are updated at least regularly.  Here’s to hoping!  It’s just hard to create a schedule, stick with it, and really take the amount of time necessary when you’re a full-time school teacher.  I mean, I’m not trying to make any excuses but it’s true. Being a teacher takes up SO much of your time that it’s hard to fit other things in.

Ok, so here’s the update:

I have decided to look into the route of having Weight Loss Surgery.  This has honestly been such a hard time in my life because I have felt like such a failure in every respect when it comes to losing weight.  I’m sick of knowing that I have followed a program to a T and still gain weight.  Not to bash the program, because I know that so many people have succeeded with it, but the 21 Day Fix set me back big time.  I spent all of this time and money on the program, which promises up to 15 pounds of weight loss, and I did the exact opposite by the end of the program… I gained 15 pounds!  Am I wrong for being so overly frustrated?  I don’t believe that I am wrong.

Anyways, this whole process of looking into WLS came about because of my sister, who underwent Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass in September of 2016.  She and I had a “conversation” about the possibility of me looking into a bariatric program back in February; however, I was not ready to listen with an open mind.  I told her, “I’ll think about it” which in Adrian-speak is, “Leave me the hell alone.  This conversation is over.”  She knows me well enough to know that when I say that I’ll think about something that I am just not ready to discuss the topic at that moment, so she let it drop.

Things changed on March 15, 2017.  I stepped on the scale and saw that my weight had gone up again.  I am now at my highest weight of 250 pounds.  **For reference: I’m 5’3″ tall, which puts me at a BMI of 44.3**  It was 5:00 in the morning and I started my day off in tears.  Needless to say, I took my prep time that day to look into my local bariatric program (the same one my sister went through) and researched what it’s all about.  Is it a “quick fix” that people assume it is?  Is is a “tool”?  What is bariatric surgery?  I got some of the answers that I needed, and also discovered that I had to attend a seminar in order to even be considered for the program.  I texted my sister asking what she was doing that night.  When she responded that her schedule was free, I told her to meet me at the hospital at 6:00 and that I was going to go to the seminar.  She was honestly happy for me for taking the initial steps to look into getting help.

That’s what I need: help.

The seminar was mind-blowing.  I was so wrong about everything regarding bariatric surgery.  I mean, I saw everything that my sister had to go through before her surgery; however, I didn’t really know.  It truly isn’t a quick fix.  It really is a tool, and if you misuse that tool, all of that work will be for naught.

Needless to say, after that I really became passionate about getting the help that I need.  It took 2 weeks to schedule my initial consultation appointment, but they were awesome and were able to find me an appointment for Monday, April 17th (because it’s spring break, and I can’t justify taking time off of school for a 2-hour appointment).  I am so excited about this journey.  I’m also absolutely terrified!

This blog will be transforming throughout this process, I’m sure.  What started as a blog to chronicle finding a more sustainably healthy lifestyle the “natural” way (lawd do I hate that phrase), is now becoming a blog that chronicles the process of a bariatric patient.

Won’t you join me on this journey?

xx,

So, here’s the skinny…

“What are you going to do to get fit/healthy/skinny?”

I get some form of that question far too often… even from my own mother (sorry for throwing you under the bus, Mom). Let me just tell you: It sucks. No one sees how hard I try, except, maybe Dudelove. Even when I was actually losing weight, I would still get asked what I’m going to do rather than what I’m doing. Needless to say, the fact that no one ever really saw any change in my physical appearance is what led to me just falling off the wagon and not dusting myself off and getting back on. It’s been a difficult road that I was never really ready to walk down.

I am unimpressed with your question. :p

What am I going to do this time?

Start small.  Historically, I have always tried to approach my weight loss in an “all or nothing” mindset which has only led me to failing. I could never reach even the smallest goal (in my eyes) because I did something like eat some cake when I should have probably had a carrot. I’m really keeping my focus on the small changes I know I need to make in order to be successful.

1. Start meditating; 5 minutes a day to start.
2. Work out 2x per week for the first month, 3x per week for the second month, and so on.
3. Phase out the processed garbage and the fast food!
4. Be kind to myself and know that there will be bumps in the road, and accept them with grace. I’m only human.
5. Celebrate the small victories! The non-scale victories! Celebrate every single step in the right direction.
6. Be mindful of why I might be “hungry” – Is it really hunger, or am I bored?

Perhaps these are the most fundamental steps one can take… but for someone like myself, some of these are huge steps for me to take, and I finally believe that I’m ready to take them.

xx
-A