I have learned over the years that when one’s mind is made up, this diminishes fear; knowing what must be done does away with fear.–Rosa Parks, American civil rights activist
I am less than two months away from surgery and the reality of what I am about to do to myself is rapidly sinking in.
I am about to ask a surgeon to remove 80 percent of my stomach. On purpose.
Posted in vsg, weight loss surgery
Tagged changes, fear, head trip, reactions to WLS, reflections, sleeve gastrectomy, surgery, VSG, WLS
I went into a clothing store, and the lady asked me what size I was. I said, ‘Actual.’ I’m not to scale.–Demetri Martin, comedian
The biggest thing politically within fashion is that the clothing should be displayed on different body shapes.–Zac Posen, American fashion designer
If you’ve ever had the privilege of having to buy plus-sized clothing, then the two quotes above probably resonate with you in some way.
I’ve been saving since the beginning of the year for the new clothes I know I will need once I’ve lost a significant amount of weight. What you see here is the result of saving a dollar a week, increasing by increments of $1 weekly. The idea here is that I’ll put away money weekly and by year’s end, there will be over $1300 in the jar–plenty for a great new wardrobe!
I was dumping a load of laundry in to wash while my husband put away the groceries this afternoon, and after I finished filling the washer, I said to him, “You know, once we have surgery and start losing a lot of weight, we won’t have to run the washer as much.”
He said, “Yeah, this is true.”
I said, “We’ll be able to fit more clothes inside the washer and then we’ll have less laundry to do at a time.”
Then he went on to say, “And our grocery bill won’t be as much either.” I said, “Well, it might be the same since we’re going to buy protein powder and stuff, but the types of things we’ll be buying will be different–we’ll still buy milk and meat and veggies, but not breads and pastas and stuff like that.” Then I thought about it: we won’t be eating nearly as much, so yes, we will save money there too.
That conversation got me to thinking: what else will we save money on? Continue reading
Posted in economies of the scale, weight loss surgery
Tagged costs of being obese, economies of the scale, money, saving money, VSG, WLS
“Spectacular achievement is always preceded by unspectacular preparation.”
–Robert Schuller
Think about it. The preseason of any sport is never as exciting as the season itself. When a favorite television show is shooting a new season, no one gets as excited for that as they do when the new episodes finally air. I mean, I was chomping at the bit for the season premiere of Mad Men last night (finally!) and I was not disappointed! But all the prep that went into a spectacular 2 hour program? I never saw any real news about it, never heard anything of note regarding it, and didn’t hear anything of it until a couple of days ago.
I am discovering that my preparation for surgery is about like that. So far I have felt like I have jumped through multiple hoops to get to the place I am now–the insurance company has a way of making you feel that way, for sure. Now that it is going on the second week of April, and I am anticipating a surgery date during the second week of June, I am beginning to think about all the prep that I’ve done so far, and the prep I have yet to do.
I’ve been thinking about this surgery and all the changes that will follow. There is so much I’m looking forward to. Some of the things I’m looking forward to are things I used to be able to do, and some of them are things I’ve never been able to do or enjoy because of my weight. Does that mean I’ve put my life on hold?
Hardly. If I had done that, I would not have accomplished half the things I have in my life–a marriage to a loving, supportive husband, solid friendships with legions of the best friends a girl could ask for, and a professional career in education that has so far exceeded any expectations I had going in. This life has been good to me indeed, but I firmly believe that post-surgery, life will be even sweeter than it already has been. And I anticipate being able to do and be so much more than I already am. So I thought I’d start a list and just add to it from time to time.
La Guerra de La Gorda 