Two years ago this morning, I gave myself an unusual gift: I asked a doctor to knock me out and remove 75% of my stomach in an attempt to get at least another 40 years of life. It hasn’t always been an easy process, but it has been worth it. I have no regrets, even though I’ve struggled this past year, and I have developed other health issues (gallbladder, joint issues).
I’d do it again in a heartbeat.
Posted in celebrations, challenges, la guerra, post-op, post-op life, reflections, the sleeve, vsg, weight loss surgery
Not terribly pleased with the scale this week, but it’s all my own doing. And it needs to stop.
Posted in celebrations, challenges, choices, exercise, fighting biology, frustrated fat, goals, habits, head trips, la guerra, oh behave!, post-op, progreso, progress report, reflections, support, the sleeve, therapy, vsg, weight loss surgery, werk!
Tagged aspiring runner, being active, being authentic, being real, challenges, exercise, fighting the fat girl, frustrated fat, goals, head trip, I work out, Jameson 5K, keepin' it real, la guerra, NSV's, planning for success, post-op life, progreso, progress report, reflections, runner wannabe, self-care, self-doubt, self-sabotage, she's got skillz, shit is hard, sleeve gastrectomy, so many questions, travel, VSG, vsg realness, WLS, work that head game, workin' on my fitness
Slowly headed back down toward my lowest adult weight again this week. I’m not stressing about the scale this week because I took measurements today and I’m down another 6 3/8 inches all around for a total of nearly 125 inches lost. So I guess when people say ‘you are really tiny,’ I really AM tiny. I have a tough time conceptualizing this about myself because I’ve never been small. And now I am. It’s trippy.
Posted in celebrations, challenges, exercise, frustrated fat, habits, la guerra, NSV's, oh behave!, post-op, progreso, progress report, reflections, self-image, success, the body is a funny thing, the sleeve, vsg, weight loss surgery, werk!
Tagged appearance, benefits of wls, challenges, exercise, frustrated fat, I work out, la guerra, life happens, my trainer G, NSV's, oh behave!, one pissed off Mexican, post-op life, progreso, progress report, reflections, she's got skillz, shit is hard, sleeve gastrectomy, sorry for sleeve rocking, swimming, the body is a funny thing, the sleeve, VSG, vsg realness, werk!, WLS, work that head game, workin' on my fitness
This week saw me lose most of the gain I had last week. How, I don’t know. This was a good week for the most part, though.
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Posted in celebrations, challenges, choices, exercise, goals, head trips, la guerra, oh behave!, post-op, progreso, progress report, reflections, self-image, success, the little things, the sleeve, therapy, vsg, weight loss surgery, werk!
Tagged being average, being real, benefits of wls, big things, body image, celebrations, challenges, choices, clothes, exercise, fitness goals, head trip, I work out, la guerra, little celebrations, milestones, my trainer G, NSV's, photo post, post-op life, progreso, progress report, reflections, self-image, she's got skillz, shit is hard, sleeve gastrectomy, sorry for sleeve rocking, stress, stress eating, stress management, the little things, the sleeve, things of win and awesome, time management, VSG, vsg realness, werk!, WLS, work that head game, workin' on my fitness
This week’s progress is surprising. I didn’t expect to lose this much! Guess I am finally off the plateau I was on for so long. Perhaps it is all the stairs I now take, or the fact that I’ve changed my supplementation a bit (I now take a potassium tablet and have increased my magnesium intake), or the fact that I walk so much more each day, and that when I walk, I walk very fast.
Posted in celebrations, exercise, goals, la guerra, post-op, progreso, reflections, self-image, success, the body is a funny thing, the sleeve, vsg, weight loss surgery, werk!
Tagged being active, being authentic, being real, being thankful, benefits of wls, exercise, goals, I work out, IDGAF, keepin' it real, la guerra, mental health, photo post, post-op life, progreso, progress report, reflections, self-image, she's got skillz, shit is hard, sleeve gastrectomy, sorry for sleeve rocking, swimming, the body is a funny thing, the sleeve, therapy, things of win and awesome, VSG, vsg realness, WLS, workin' on my fitness
This happened today:
Last week, I’d put out a call to my peeps online asking where to buy a winter coat. I knew that I would need one, as the two winter coats I currently have in my possession are 4 and 6 sizes too big for me, respectively. My requirements for a winter coat were that it had to have a hood, a zip out liner, be long enough to cover my butt, and be water repellent if possible (this was not an absolute necessity).
So today we had gone to the mall so that I could drop off my recyclables at Kiehl’s (and pick up some more body butter; theirs is awesome). At this particular mall, it is easiest to go through Nordstrom to get to the Kiehl’s, so we did. I stopped to browse in the women’s section because I just wanted to look around. I picked out a couple of long-sleeved blouses to try on, which fit and looked great so I decided to get them since it was triple points day (!!!!). Then I saw The Coat.
I was not expecting to buy a coat today. I wasn’t expecting this one to fit. It was a misses size large, and I’ve been wearing extra large in my shirts and sweaters because that is what fits. I looked through all the coats on the rack and no extra large was to be found, so I was a bit disappointed. I kept looking at the coat thinking the shoulders would not be wide enough for me.
My husband, ever helpful and optimistic, said, “Try it on.”
I said, “I don’t think the shoulders will fit.”
He nudged gently and said, “Just try it.”
Posted in big things, celebrations, goals, la guerra, NSV's, post-op, reflections, self-image, success, the sleeve, vsg, weight loss surgery, werk!
Tagged celebrations, fighting the fat girl, head trip, la guerra, little celebrations, milestones, NSV's, photo post, post-op life, reflections, self-image, she's got skillz, sleeve gastrectomy, so many questions, sorry for sleeve rocking, success, the little things, things of win and awesome, VSG, vsg realness, werk!, WLS, work that head game
Completely surprised by this week’s progress. I don’t know what could have been the cause, because there were so many things I was changing at once (bad scientist, changing more than one variable at a time!). Whatever the reason, I hope this means I’m finally off the plateau I seem to have been on for the past 3 months.
Posted in big things, celebrations, challenges, exercise, goals, habits, la guerra, oh behave!, post-op, progreso, reflections, self-image, support, the body is a funny thing, the sleeve, therapy, vsg, weight loss surgery, werk!
Tagged benefits of wls, challenges, choices, eating, exercise, fashion, fatgirlslimproblems, goals, I work out, la guerra, love thyself, oh behave!, post-op life, progreso, progress report, reflections, self-image, self-improvement, she's got skillz, shit is hard, sleeve gastrectomy, sorry for sleeve rocking, success, the body is a funny thing, the sleeve, things of win and awesome, VSG, vsg realness, werk!, WLS, work that head game, workin' on my fitness
Achievement unlocked: fitting into an airplane seat and not needing a seatbelt extender.
This is a big deal.
The last time I flew on a plane (American Airlines from SEA to DFW, BTW), I had to buy an extra seat, use a seatbelt extender, AND the seatbelt extender was just barely long enough to buckle me in. It made for a very, very uncomfortable flight in more ways than one. It was pretty much the worst travel experience of my whole life, which I’ll write about another time.
Posted in being thankful, big things, celebrations, head trips, la guerra, NSV's, post-op, reflections, success, the sleeve, vsg, weight loss surgery, werk!
Tagged achievement unlocked!, benefits of wls, big things, celebrations, fatgirlslimproblems, fighting the fat girl, head trip, la guerra, NSV's, post-op life, reflections, she's got skillz, sleeve gastrectomy, sorry for sleeve rocking, success, the sleeve, things of win and awesome, VSG, vsg realness, werk!, WLS, work that head game
Today was the first day of school around these parts. So naturally I dressed up–I find that I do that a hell of a lot more these days, but even more so for work than I ever did before.
The photo above is the difference a year makes. On the left is my first day of school outfit from last year. On the right is what I wore today, five sizes smaller.
I’m hopeful that as I begin this second year of life with my sleeve that each meal and each workout gets me closer to my goal.
It also dawned on me that my students will never know the me from the left photo. They won’t see the gradual change in my appearance that my last year’s bunch got to see. I’m hoping that with the addition of new workouts, they see a refinement of what I’ve gotten myself down to.
This is my New Year, and it’s on, bitches. I will get to my goal.
Posted in celebrations, la guerra, post-op, success, the sleeve, vsg, weight loss surgery, werk!
Tagged benefits of wls, la guerra, post-op life, reflections, she's got skillz, shit is hard, sleeve gastrectomy, sorry for sleeve rocking, the sleeve, things of win and awesome, VSG, vsg realness, werk!, WLS
I had a one-year follow up with my primary care doc on Tuesday, which turned out to be fabulous. My labs came back beautifully:
My fasting blood glucose was 81 and my a1c? Completely normal. Liver enzymes were back down to normal levels after having been high the first two months of this year. My iron levels are great, and all my electrolytes are normal. Blood pressure is fantastic and better yet–my doctor used a REGULAR SIZE CUFF to take it! No extra large cuff this time! She was thrilled that my health was vastly improved, and we started talking about mammograms and all that jazz…yep, it’s time for me to start doing those on the regular as now I am a lady of a certain age. Since my gyno isn’t practicing any more, I got a recommendation for a new one (who ONLY does gynecology, no obstetrics–thank goodness) who I will be calling to see in the fall once school starts. I have to figure out if she is on our new insurance that goes into effect September 1. UGH INSURANCE.
That was the first doctor’s appointment of the week. Today’s appointment was the bigger deal since it was with my surgeon, who I had not seen since last August when my husband had surgery with him.
I went in prepared. Like any other ‘A’ student, I had a list of questions to ask.
Posted in big things, celebrations, challenges, expectations, goals, la guerra, post-op, progreso, reflections, success, the sleeve, vsg, weight loss surgery, werk!
Tagged benefits of wls, challenges, dr. nicholson, goals, la guerra, little celebrations, photo post, post-op life, progreso, reflections, self-image, she's got skillz, shit is hard, sleeve gastrectomy, sorry for sleeve rocking, success, the sleeve, things of win and awesome, VSG, vsg realness, werk!, what's up doc?, WLS
La Guerra de La Gorda 