Post Christmas Afternath: The Good, The Ugly and The Taboo

I really hope you all had a great Hoiday! I know that I did, it was wonderful spending time with family, friends and being thin. It was nice not looking at the pictures and hating myself. It was nice being able to move around the kitchen, cooking, doing the dishes without back pain and exhaustion. It was nice not to have my formerly fat ass knock stuff over. It was nice! 

So I am going to talk about my first Post WLS Christmas 

The Good: 

The good was everything that I had been given a second chance at life this year. It was amazing opening clothes from my Mom and knowing that they were going to fit. It was amazing knowing that I might have to return two sweaters to Kohls that I know are going to be too big and a fabulous CK coat in Houndstooth finally a Houndstooth coat. 

Being able to move, I did not realize how much my obesity had not allowed me to move freely around the house, kitchen etc.. After my Mom got sick with her auto immune disease it left me to take care of a lot and I did it all without complaint now. My energy has tripled and watching myself being able to do that is amazing. Also, on Christmas morning moving around cooking and doing laundry its fantastic. 

Eating, it was not hard I knew my parents would ensure they had sleeve friendly foods for me and my Aunt who has a VSG as well. I am happy to report she lost most of her regain. She looks great. It made my life easier. 

The Bad: 

Grandma was not with us this year. So weird to have X mas without my amazing Lala. But she was there in spirit and cooking. Her directions on how to clean and cook will always stay with me. She just missed a really good meal. 

The Taboo: 

Alright here is where I am gonna get down dirty and real! Did I eat cookies YES did I eat cheesecake YES! Did I enjoy it YES I DID! Did it repeat on me? NO WOULD I DO IT AGAIN YES! Was I scared to eat them NO! That is my CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKE! I make it every year its decadent its fattening and damn its good. I worked my ass off to make this cake. 

So here is where the taboo is broken. People assume after WLS you can never have cake again. For the first few months yes you really cannot break plan. But are you allowed on Holidays yes you are! For gods sake its one day a year. I had a sliver of it and I was happy with that. One cookie I was happy with that. In the past it used to be three pieces of cheesecake, six cookies and then once I digested that I would go back for more.  It is TABOO talk to discuss this after WLS. 

I asked my NUT if I can one piece of cheesecake and she goes Katie you are 22lbs from goal you are compliant yes you can. I did and I enjoyed it now onto cleaning my room!

I Stopped Taking Pills But I Take SO Many Vitamins... WHY

This picture below brings fear to most WLS patients eyes. I know for me it does, Vitamins are the bane of my existence. I am going to admit I HATE taking them. No one likes taking them, they make you sick, they taste nasty and most of all their horse pills. I have been through so many Vitamin Regimens since beginning my WLS journey. 

This all starts after seminar when you have your first blood draws ( or at least did it did for me), I was anemic, deficient in Zinc and other stuff. I cannot remember the last time I had taken this many vitamins. 

Now I am only down to calcium and a multi and some other supplement I cannot even remember the name of it, all I know it is orange and helps w my back and inflammation and it does not hurt me. 

Lets use my last blood work as a prime example of vitamins, my Vitamin D was high and they wanted me to stop taking Vitamin D? Well where do I find calcium without it!!! Luckily, my WLS center started to carry Calcium Powder without it. So instead of taking my citracal which I think I bought stock in, I mix this powder into my water bottle twice a day and I get my calcium not a bad deal at least it goes down ok. Anyway now my multi has to be taken three times a day. I do it breakfast lunch and dinner or around then depending on when I can drink. 

Alright after my rant Why do we have to be tortured the rest of our lives? 

Take your Vita Viga Vetamin

So why do we have to take them? Well before we were operated on our stomachs were quite large, I know mine was by the sheer amount of food  I was able to stuff in it. Now, that I am sleeved I am lucky if I get the proper amount of nutrients in. Vitamins are taken as extra support and then ensure that we are ok

Thats all take your vitamins 

The Best Gift You Can Give

I have just had the most amazing 24 hours, last night I was up late as usual and saw this amazing post about a Christmas Elf type of exchange one of my FB friends was doing. I decided this year in honor of my Grandma I wanted to give back to those less fortunate than me. Who am I to complain about it in this life. 
I messaged my friend and she was so happy as this family of siblings had just been added onto the list in this group home. These four siblings want to stay together after the death of their parents. I felt CALLED to do this this year. 
So today I got up and looked at what I had to do, I needed to run errands today. I had tons of clothes I needed to send to the Good Will in my car so I figured I would look there for nice clothes. Well I did great, Target had stuff as did Kohls. This 13 year old girl named Samantha or Emma will get it. Their a team of siblings. 

The tree above pictured is what I have woken up to my entire life on Christmas morning, I am going to admit it now I do not know what it is like to be poor, I do not know what it is like not to have food on the table, I do not know what its like to have no money. Well I personally do but I always have my parents to fall back on. I do not know what its like not to have any clothes. In the scheme of life I have had it pretty easy, I mean I complain if my WIFI does not work right. These are what I like to call first world problems, that most people in the world would kill for.   

As Americans we often do not realize there is poverty in our back yards. There are people every where that seem ok but they are not.  Its terrible that we do not know this. Ever since the economy collapsed many people are dealing w poverty. 

So where do I go from this with myself...
This year my grandma died, I knew her well but learned a lot more about her this year than I ever did. More in death than in life. As I was aiding my aunt in cleaning out her stuff I never realized how much giving she did. In her honor i decided I was going to be the same way. 
And it has been such a blessing to be giving to those less fortunate. 
 HO HO HO MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Holidays and WLS

I really hope you all are enjoying getting ready for Christmas, Hannukah, Kwanza and whatever else you celebrate this time of year. I know that I have a lot to celebrate this year, 114 weight loss, a new lease on life, completing my Masters in Public Health and in January starting my social work degree and a new job starting on the 22nd. 

I have been truly blessed by God and the entire WLS community, I have made so many amazing friends and have expanded my social circle because of this surgery. I am invovled in my local support group and speak at bariatric seminars often. I am truly greatful to my surgeons for giving me this new life. 

This time last year I was fat, miserable and depressed. I was happy with my life but I was really not happy with the person I was about to become. I was a size 24W and teetring on 300lbs. I am now 184 lbs and a size 12/10 and Large in shirts. 

I cannot believe it! I cannot believe the person I have become, I am a shadow of my former self. 

What has really changed for me? 

Lets see I sleep better than ever, I take more vitamins than ever and I still drive the same car :) 

I still love my gritty television shows. 

I still love the gym 

And a facebook addiction 

Now the Holidays...

It used to be so scary when I the holidays came for me in the past because now it meant food. I am not going to be about celebration 

Fat Shaming... These Feelings Cant Be Real How Do I Deal?

This topic came up today in one of the Facebook Groups that I am am moderator on, and it got me thinking aren't we all guilty of it?? 

Fat Shaming is the practice of shaming a person based on their weight, its a terrible practice and I do not condone it. I was thinking about it while I was plugging along on the treadmill today at the gym? 

After surgery I look at obesity in a completely different light, its a chronic dangerous medical condidtion that kills. It is along the same lines of drug addiction, heart disease etc.. Obesity kills. 

The post that spurred on this discussion was my friend Bella, mentioned that she was at Costco today and someone of  eating pizza and they were over weight and it grossed Bella out. 

I had to admit it but I have been victim of these feelings many times since I had surgery. It is a side of me I do not like but to err is human and I would rather admit these feelings than keep them in. But I am going to be honest and admit that I have them too. 

The other night Friday in fact I was at Buffalo Wild Wings, yes I know such a healthy place. If, you look closely on their menu they have a small grilled wings its grilled chicken cut up w spices on it and you celery and carrots on the side its very good. I saw a woman sitting near my table at the bar she was rather large and she carried her fat where I used to carry mine. I started tearing up and go to my friend Danielle who has known me through fat, thin and then some and I go to her that woman could have been me. I saw her gorging herself eating all the food and I found myself cringing as she ate stuff off her shirt, I saw others staring at her making comments. Some lady goes to me look at her over there and I did not respond. 

Who am I to judge? Or am I judging? 

Did I become Lindsay Lohan in mean girls? Am, I the Mean Girl, the ones I hated in High School. The girls who would stare at me and look at me cause I was fat, the ones at my reunion last year that judged me cause I still was fat?

Was I always going to be the fat girl?

Hayley Morris Caffiero is  a Photographer from the South who was featured in Huffington Post and other National Publications for her emotional, honest and rather amazing work on her weight. She is not a skinny girl, she is fat and did this entire photo exhibit called " Wait Watcher" she took pictures of herself in rather hilarious poses and the reactions of people. Now, I wonder if any of those people that stopped and stared were WLS patients? 

I think her work is provocative, daring and interesting and confronts the issues head on. Shes fantastic and has a great sense of humor about herself. Reminds me of how I dressed and acted when I was over weight Pre Op. I find her inspiring and hilarious at the same time. 

Do I fat Shame? 

I am going to admit it here, now that I am thinner and look normal per say? If, you saw me in a crowd I would be Katie not the fat person. Or would I am be Katie the thin person. People from my past do not recognize me anymore and I am fine with that. 

I did fat shame once, I saw a fat guy and was like OMG hes so fat and I said it outloud my Mom was with me and goes Katie... I expected more from you. I had to catch myself the attention was now off of me and on others. My rolls no longer were coming out of my shirt, my pants no longer too tight. I was an average person walking down the street and under neath it all I was fat in a former life. Now that I am close to goal, I am really feeling it. I see fat people and want to smack them tell them WAKE UP YOUR KILLING YOURSELF YOUR GOING TO DIE YOUR GOING TO GET DIABETES. 

I see people eating bad food who should not be eating it and instead of a glance of one fat person to another as it used to be I now look in utter disgust. They are probabaly thinking who is this skinny bitch commenting on me. Little do they know if they looked closer that skinny bitch has a Med ID alert saying VSG. 

A Very Weight Loss Surgery Thanksgiving

First of all I would love to wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving and hope you enjoyed with your family as much as I did. This year was very different for me as my Grandma had passed away and the family we usually spend it was spread out throughout the country but it was wonderful. It was small and lovely. My Mom and Dad and my Dad's sister. 

Thanksgiving was always one of those holidays were I would gorge on food, eat everything and then apologize later. I would go home 

and then worry non stop about how much weight I had put on. The entire cycle would repeat itself year after year until this year for the first time ever. Now I was a nervous wreck and had luckily seen my NUT on Monday and worked out a game plan. It was the same old game over and over. Now finally this year it was different. 

I was actually able to enjoy the holiday! I cooked and spent the entire day before with my Mom and cooked with NO URGE TO eat it was so weird.  

I look like one of those Pinterest bloggers trying to be all perfect. Cracks me up. Because I am such a non cooking type of woman. Anyway the way it worked for my plan was as follows 

Janet my amazing NUT had me do the following 

One Appetizer 

3oz Protein

1/2 veggiees

One tablespoon or stuffing, yams or potatoes ( pick 2) 

It was so easy because I cannot physically eat all the food. 

So I had one stuffed mushroom, three ounces turkey, 1/2 string bean casserole, one tablespoon and one tablespoon yams 

I was laughing because I was unable to get the food down. Janet my NUT had told me you better eat it and enjoy it you have worked hard Katie. 

Well I did eat it and enjoyed every bite of it, I savored the food and listened to my sleeve. 

Well when I was done I was done I finished everything but the yams. My dog enjoyed them...  

Anyway after that was the scary part for me dessert, I used to have a huge sweet tooth and since I had my sleeve my sweet tooth had gone away. But I wanted to enjoy the Low Carb Pumpkin pie I made. I was given permission to have a taste of what I wanted. I did that and I was ok. 

Also it was my parents anniversary and my dear friend Lisa Berman of Bites, Sweets and Treats made my parents this incredible cake. Lisa's brother Andrew is a dear friend of mine from college Bites, Sweets and Treats, she runs with her Aunt Judy. 

I had asked Lisa to make something special for my parents as we had a tough year, I included her link as she is super talented. 

She makes these wonderful custom cakes! All in all a good day 

Six Months 105 Lbs Only 40 More to Go A Reflection

I cannot believe that it has nearly been half a year for me since I started this amazing journey. March 21, 2014 was seminar where I walked in notebook in hand and listened to the doctors speak, tonight for the second time I am going to be that person speaking. I am a shadow of my former self. It is really hard to believe that I am the person looking back into the mirror. 

Six months ago as I was being wheeled into the Operating Theater ( love the way the Brits do it), I did not know what it was going to entail. I did not know what was going to happen or how many lbs I was going to lose, what would become of me. Well I have to say the results are beyond anything I expected. 

May 16 2014 I was being wheeled into surgery and woke up it was pain... I just remember pain.  Below is a picture of me and my friend Jasmin we met at seminar we are completely different people. 

 A total of 175lbs lost between the two of us.  We Both were sleeved by Dr. Maffei. 

WLS has changed my entire life. It has taken a huge weight off of me.

Shopping While Sleeved

CONFESSIONS OF A WLS SURGERY SHOPAHOLIC 

Hey all we are now going to be talking about one of my favorite topics shopping. Even when I was heavier, I was still a shopper. I knew where to score the deals on handbags, accessories and my all time favorite shoes... ah shoes... 

Now that I am sleeved and 97lbs down as of today three more to go to onederland and 44 to goal. I cannot believe how close it all is. Anyway I got inspiration about this post from something that happened to me today. My Mom and I decided to start cleaning out the front hall closet and see what fit me and did not cause the weather is getting cold here in New York. I had about a zillion coats, all of them did not fit, they hung off me like a skeleton. I said to my Mom I have nothing to wear. I only had a white fleece I got at walmart and a fake leather jacket and neither one is warm. Ah the fleece is actually ok. So I ventured out today and decided that I needed to get my warm jackets for the winter where to go! 

In this post I am going to list my four most frequented shops and rewards programs they have. I DO NOT like to use store credit cards as I got in a lot of trouble with them back in the day but ah sweet memories. 

So I went about shopping today and got two beautiful coats! One from TJ Maxx and another one from Annie Sez. 

The White Coat is a Beautiful Chinese Laundry Winter Coat Size XL 

The Black Coat is From Annie Sez Ivanka Trump Size 16 

Please excise the yoga pants I was coming back from the gym. Anyway here is my experience at all of these stores. 

The stores I frequent the most are as following 
1. Kohls
2. Walmart 
3. Target
4. Annie Sez
5. TJ Maxx 
6. Old Navy 
7. ThreadUp.com ( this one rocks) 


So I am going to start with Kohls since I worked there in college and high school. 

Kohls: Kohls is an excellent place to shop, it is worth signing up for the email alerts as they give you head ups to sales. Also, their credit card is good decent interest rate this is the only store card I have, you get discounts and mailers all the time.  There is always a sale there and they carry a lot of good brands such as Lauren Conrad, Vera Wang, J Lo and Vera Wang. I always come out of there with something. I go to Kohls for work clothes mainly, I really love LOVE their clearance section. Their clearance can go as low as 90 percent in the off season great time to stock up on basics, like undershirt, shorts and gym clothes things you can use all year round. I go there when I need basics ie bras, underwear etc.. Kohls has a great selection in all sizes. 

Their return policies are legendary. You can return something years later for store credit. I know this because personally I have done this and seen many people use it. Its like the old Macys. You can return, even exchange without a receipt and even return from online in the store.  

Overall, Kohls is a great all around store. 


Walmart
Yes I know I am a democrat that shocking I shop at evil empire. Anyway I am sorry their clothes are dirt cheap and I do not feel guilty about using them once. I love walmart for pajamas, basics and under clothes. Their selection is wide and they carry a variety in their stores. 

They also have generous return policies which you can usually get money back or a gift card. I also like it there because you can get beauty, products, tampons and other stuff you might need. Their credit card is terrible no real discounts. 

Overall, I like walmart for basics. 


Target ( Targe) 
Target is just the greatest place on earth, Target has wonderful clothes, often carries designer lines for a one time only. I LOVE THEIR JEANS! Mossimo skinny jeans go up to an 18 and just fit in all the right places. 

Target I cannot say enough High Class Walmart 

Annie Sez
Alright this place is a hit or miss. They used to be owned by an American Company back in the day. I went to my local one I had not been there in years and I had a gift card my parents got me there for my bday I wanted to use it. Their signs in the store say EVERYTHING UNDER 25.00 EXCEPT OUTERWEAR. I was like ooh bargains... 

Well I went in and I have to tell you they were just brought out by a Canadian Company and carry a lot of brands Americans would not be familiar with but their from our friendly friends to the North. Anyway they have a great selection of sweaters, tops,dresses, yoga pants and work clothing. And you cannot beat the prices. 

Here is where it gets tricky I always sign up for store credit cards if I am going to get a big discounts.  I signed up and got 30 percent off my first purchase. Now that was nice I discount so I bought some stuff. I went home and the jeans were too big so I put them in my return pile. I also had another pair of jeans that were not listed as petite but they were for munchkins I am 5"7. So I got them and put them in the bag and they the tags on them. So I go up to the counter and say I want to return these. 

Oh do you have your receipt I  said I did not but I had the credit card and could they look it up. The start fighting with me so I left cause it was not worth it. I then made a mental note that I need to make sure I keep receipt from there. So I went today and I got a retail me or not alert on my iphone that there were 30 percent off outerwear. I KNEW YES! 

So I went got my coat my new beautiful coat and I showed the phone coupon. Oh you cant use it because it has to be printed out... I was ready to scream. 

Their policies SUCK at Annie Sez but the prices and clothes are of good quality. So as a warning only go there and make sure you keep the reciept. Also, sign up for their email alerts I just did and got 20 percent off. 

TJMAXX
This is the place also Marshalls, they are owned by TJX companies. OMG I love this place. Designer duds for low prices. I still remember my best purchase from there. I got a Michael Kors bag for 45.00 originally 190.  

They are fair, their prices are good for what you are getting. I saw this amazing pair of Cowboy Boots I was gonna buy well they were 300.00 not happening. I just got amazing knee high boots from them omg I LOVE THEM. TJ MAXX is a place to go. 

Plus they have this new TJX Access program sign up for it. You get points each time yoi shop there. Its amazing.. sign up for that and emails. 

Their return policies are great. 

Old Navy 
This is still an oldie but a goodie. They have the best jeans I wear their Rockstar style jeans they fit me just right. Good quality, good prices and great selection. Also when I was a larger woman I shopped there all the time cause they had a lot of sizes and their plus size selection online is great.  

Their return policies are great order online return in store and they do not make a huge deal. 

Their credit card is not worth it. 

Thredup.com 

I thank my bariatric friend Breanna for this one! Go to www.threadup.com, its a consignment shop online with amazing stuff. Stores, people and others donate stuff to them and when coach wants to get rid of bags they send it to them. I am telling you deep deep discounts. 

They also have this great program called Clean Out Bag, you order it from the website and it is sent to you in the mail. Its a large bag that has a pre paid shipping label fill it up with as much as you can send it in to them. It takes awhile for them to process it and go through it but do not and I repeat sign up for return assurance cause that means all your clothes you do not want back to you.  They will donate them to charity and you never have to see the clothes again. The clothes they accept they credit you on their website and you can buy whatever you want. 

I LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS PLACE. I have done the bag thing twice and just ordered a third one. 

My Overall Opinion: 

Shopping while being a WLS patient is exciting.  Enjoy the process you will love the new beautiful you! I know I love the new me 

In to The Looking Glass: Meeting Katie Again

Each day another piece of me is chipped away. Revealing who I was all along. 

I look in the mirror and I do not recognize the woman standing and staring back at me. Who is she? Is she me? This is how I feel sometimes, and I feel like I need to meet myself again. 

It goes something like this I wake up eat breakfast, work out, take care of the puppy and then I get dressed. Standing there in my underclothes I admire this new woman in the mirror who is she? Is it really me? I then realize the voice is the same, the genetics are the same, but she is not the same. 

I had always wanted to be thin, I was 160lbs in my head my entire life. I was thin for a very short period in middle school until my PCOS wrecked havoc and ruined my body. This woman was always standing there inside of me. 

I was always the friend who went shopping and stood by as all my normal sized friends found clothes, I would sit there and and go ooh look earrings. I wanted those clothes, I would promise myself that I would need to make a change. The constant cycle of yes I will be good I promise myself I will be. I am going to be fine. 

As I am here now five months out on October 16, 2014 and over 90lbs gone I am shocked at the woman standing in front of the mirror. I am thinner the double chin is gone, I have beautiful long limbs, bones are felt in various places. Who she is... oh wait is me Katie. The hair is darker, the look is sharper she cares for who she is. Her make up is applied neatly, her hands are painted a daring shade of purple. Her complexion is clear, radiant glowing. The voice is no longer the same, she has confidence, strength, opinions, knows what she wants, she is goal oriented, less anxious. She knows she has arrived, her family notices the difference in her. 

What has become of the black sheep of the family as she always felt, now she is the one with the confidence and looks to kill. She always felt beautiful but as her weight spiraled upwards she felt ugly and not attractive. As she sat down at the diner and couldn't fit why not have the extra fries and dessert who cares.  It did not matter. 

Who has she become? She is evolving all I know is I love the person I am becoming. 

A Question I Am Going to Answer

Above is a picture of my stomach looks like now and I do not have a gallbladder. A friend of mine asked me the other day " Katie what does it feel like when you eat?"  I realized I think no one has ever asked me that and I have never been able to describe it. Well for times sake I sat down at home today and I figured it out with my breakfast, lunch and dinner? 

What did it used to feel when I ate?  An empty feeling I was never full and I kept on going until I got sick. 

What does it feel like now? Hmm.... liquids go down easy on most days but some days it hurts for them to get down and I do not want them. These are what I call my crystal light days where flavored water is all I can get down. 

When I eat it feeels interesting if it is a full liquid it goes down but when it gets to the bottom to my stomach it stops and I have to wait. 

It just is really a weird full feeling

Clothing Clothing Everywhere Not a Single Drop To Spare

Women and clothes ahh the oldest cliche in the book, we love to shop and spend money we do not have. Shows like Sex and the City, Confessions of a Shopaholic have really made the name game when it comes to women and their clothes. But when you are a WLS patient clothes take on a whole life of their own...

We might have started off with a substantial plus size wardrobe various sizes ranging from 20W and onward.. and then we make the decision to have surgery. Knowing these very clothes are going to be mere memories. But you still hold on to them for those first few weeks because you are swollen, your bloated, your still fat and you know they will fit. Then the first drop happens, this is what happened to me. I was walking somewhere and my leggings fell down and they were saggy in the ass. I knew I had made the next drop. So the first donation to Goodwill came around 6 weeks post op, at this point all my clothes were sagging and I was finding myself go to Walmart, Target and Kohls.

Now I am down almost 90lbs and hovering somewhere between a size 16, they are little tight but fit amazing. I have piles of clothes everywhere in my room I am not a messy person by nature but the sheer amount of clothing is insane. I realized that I need to get clothes for the Fall and Winter. So I went to Walmart yesterday and dropped around 150.00 on some shirts, pants and jackets.


Ugh.... clothes

My 600 Lb Life This Was The Path I Was On and We All Were On My Opinion

My 600LB life is a rather popular show shown on The Learning Channel here in the United States of America. The show follows a set of morbidly obese people severly morbidly obese people in their journey towards WLS. 

There is a lot of controversy about this show in the weight loss surgery community, some people feel they are lazy others see them as inspirational so on many of the boards that I am part of I do not discuss this show but since this is my personal blog I am going to discuss how I feel towards this show. 

This above is a poster from the show. I could not find anything without a picture. Before I entered this journey of becoming the new healthy me, I often thought this show exploited severely obese people and made a circus out of it. That was until my wake up call, I happened to come across an episode of this on netflix in March right around the time I decided to possibly consider medical intervention. I saw the episode and in that episode I SAW MYSELF. I saw the huffing and the puffing, the food addiction, the denial, the constant ups and downs. For some reason the show hit home for me that day. I understand why now I knew I needed to change my life because I was on the path of becoming a 600lb life person. At that moment I knew surgery was going to be the answer for me. 

I can still remember the moment when I decided to have surgery. I was with my Mom and my Grandma was recovering from a injury. We were visiting her and I said Mom I am having weight loss surgery and she said Katie you go for it. At that moment I started the process. 

As I look back on the moments all these months ago and my sagging jeans this surgery saved my life. 

The current episode I am watching of my 600lb life is Domonique. She is a lovely character who sitting right in her bed on her clear fluids I FEEL HER PAIN. I dont care what anyone says these people are us. They are all of us. 

The scene they are showing now she is complaining about her pain, I remember the pain post op and I was nearly a quarter size of her. I was only 300 when I started now I am 218 last I weighed. I weigh every two weeks. I have never been this small in my entire life. 

Another scene in this episode of the surgery they go in through the key hole and talk about the fat they found around her liver and organs, they found that same yellow fat in me. 

We are a community of people that are close whether we are 400, 300 or 500 lbs when we begin we all take that first step into a new journey. 

Remember the people on this show are our sisters and brothers, they are us. We are a community. 

Four Months To The Day

May 16, 2014 was the day it changed for me. I was staring down  rabbit hole and looking into my new life. Four months ago to the day I was sitting in the Operating Room Prep Area, with my Mom waiting for them to wheel me in. I was 293 lbs from a whopping 300lbs thank god my insurance did not require a lot of pre weight loss. I sat there on the gurney just waiting for them to bring me down. As all the doctors and nurses came in and prepped me, the IV lines were started everything was double checked and I continued to sign my life away for all the hospital paper work. All of a sudden it was time, as the versed was injected into my IV line I was okay and then all of a sudden I started to feel woozy. I remember kissing my Mom good bye and Dad and was wheeled off down the corridor, after that it where it gets blurry. I have a remember the sensation of be transferred to the operating table and vaguely saying hi to the nurses and doctors in the room. I then fell asleep but was in this state between awake and deep anesthetic sleep. I remember the lovely anesthesiologist going to me more propofol please. After, that the next thing I remember is Katie wake up wake up its over your surgery is over. In the haze of the drugs and coming back to life I was groggily I thought to myself did I have surgery?

As I started to breathe on my own I felt sore all I remember is feeling like someone had hit me on the stomach but I had my gallbladder out before that two years ago and I knew this feeling. After this I went to recovery and barely remeber much.

Fast Forward Four Months

I am now down 82 lbs to 218. I DO NOT REGRET A SINGLE DAY

The Story of my Weight Loss Surgery Journey

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The picture above describes how I am feeling. This is not a race its the journey, it is a series of steps to the ultimate goal of living a healthier and better life. I am actually going to share with all of you my entire store how I got to this point. It was not a short story but I feel here I can actually share it. 

I have struggled with my weight my entire life, I was diagnosed with PCOS at the age of 18. PCOS is an endocrine disorder in women that makes the regulation of cycles and hormones go all over the place. One of the nasty side effects is massive weight gain and nearly impossible to get off. I have worked out and eaten right and the weight would come off for a bit and it would come back. Its nearly impossible with PCOS to lose a massive amount of weight.  I was then put on medication for my PCOS and it regulated the symptoms but the weight kept on piling on. In 2011 I got to a point where I knew something had to be done. Something drastic had to be done. I started looking into surgery I went through the entire process and then was literally on the operating room table and I was then denied. I tried appealing and various other things and then I was denied. But I was still FAT! I then looked into other diets and began the Optifast Weight Loss System. I lost 81lbs and looked amazing, I am not bashing optifast because it really did work. But the problem with it was that my health started to suffer. I had NEVER been in the hospital my entire life except for some stitches and ER runs throughout my life.  I was put in for my back and for my gallbladder. I then stopped Optifast and tried Weight Watchers all of last Summer and into the Fall of this year. I gained weight instead of losing it. 

I got to a point this past Winter that I could not stand the effects of my Obesity on my health. My back was hurting and my PCOS had come back. I then began the process to have WLS. 

I had saved all the paperwork from the first time I went through with it. I knew the surgeons I wanted to use and the hospital where I wanted to have it done. I immediately began the process of going to the Seminar. 

Each bariatric center is different. I attended a Seminar and learned about all the different medical options which I will discuss and post later. 

I had a choice between the gold standard Gastric Bypass, LapBand, Vertical Sleeve and Duodenal Switch. The idea of a band that literally fails majority of the time was my nightmare. The RNY was too drastic and the DS was not even on my radar. I decided on the VSG it was the best option for me. Drastic like the RNY and purely restrictive like the Band.  The wonderful thing about this was that if I did not like my weight loss with the VSG I could turn it into an RNY or DS. 

After the seminar I met with my surgeon who explained to me the risks, benefits and all of the options that I had with surgery. We agreed the  VSG was the best option for me and I was then told to get my clearance reports in. 

Getting cleared for surgery is an entirely different ballgame. I had to see my GP, a Cardiologist, Psychologist etc.. and a dietician. Once that was in I then decided to schedule surgery and on May 16, 2014 my life changed forever. 

I was scheduled for 6am that day. My entire family came with me Mom, Dad and my Aunt who had the bypass a few years ago. I then was taken right up to the operating room staging area. My Mom staid with me and doctors and nurses came in and out. I was then hooked up to an IV and given Versed. After that I was wheeled into surgery and did not remember a thing.  When I awoke in transport to recovery I was told all went well and I was in pain. I was then told later on that if I had not had bariatric surgery I would have been Type 2 diabetic by 31.  

I knew at that moment I made the right decision for me. THIS IS NOT THE EASY WAY OUT! IT IS ONE OF THE HARDEST THINGS SOMEONE CAN DO. 

My stomach is now reduced to a 2.5oz sleeve and when fully healed it will be 3oz. That is it for the rest of my life. I still have to exercise and watch what I eat but my after care team is where that comes in place. When I am an 80 year I will still have to follow these guidelines. Its a life changing decision but it was worth it. 

Now I am going to post links and pictures of all the procedures. 

The LapBand 

http://www.lapband.com/

The Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy ( What I Have) 

http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/vsg/about_vertical_sleeve_gastrectomy.html

The RNY 

The DS 

The Sleeve is really replacing the RNY and Band. The sleeve is having amazing results and is quickly becoming one of the most common weight loss procedures. The DS is preformed rarely only in high weight people. 

Why I Did This Blog

I decided to start this blog today its been almost a month since I had my Weight Loss Surgery. It has been a whirlwind and the weight loss is flying off. I am back to working out and I feel amazing. 

About Me: 

I am a 28 year old young woman who has dealt with her weight problems her entire life. Despite working out and doing various things to keep myself healthy I have gotten to the point in my life where something drastic needed to be done. I had toyed in the past with Bariatric Surgery do I do it or do i not do it and I have decided do it finally. 

So i am going to be doing this blog to be documenting my bariatric journey.