The beginning.
by
, 05-30-2014 at 09:19 PM (876 Views)
So I've decided to document my journey and this site seems to be a pretty good place to do so
I have been overweight my whole life, and obese as long as I can really remember. My mom is obese, suffers from diabetes, high blood pressure, has had two major heart attacks and is in pain all the time from the stress on her joints. Did I mention she is only 54?
I do not want to go my whole life suffering from lower back pain, ankle and knee pain. I want to be able to walk my dog to the park and not feel like crying by the time I get home. I do not want to make compromises in what I do or places I go because of my weight. I am tired of having to spend double the money on clothes just to get something that fits well. I am done feeling like food controls me. I am ready to make a big time change and commitment.
In February of 2013 I got a rude awakening when I went to the doctor and found that my weight had gotten to a high of 310 and I had pre-diabetes and borderline high blood pressure. I went home and decided that I would make a change for the better and I lose the pounds and never see 300 on a scale again.
It took me a full year of counting calories, walking in the morning and making healthier choices but I managed to lose 20 pounds and get to 290 by the time I switched insurance providers to Kaiser this April. In talking with my new PCP she went over all my efforts to lose weight and determined that from all I was doing I really should have lost more than I had. She then prescribed me Phentermine which I used for a month and lost 10 pounds but the day I stopped taking it I was absolutely miserable, not worth it in my opinion. In the two weeks between stopping Phentermine and going back to my PCP I gained 5 pounds back Bummer and proof that the meds were definitely not worth the little loss if I was just going to gain it back.
I asked my PCP what else there is that may help me as I am in pain every day and I have done every diet out there in my attempts to better myself. We talked about the benefits of WLS and she told me that she would send me a referral to the Bariatric department and told me to research the different methods. I have actually thought about WLS for years but had never heard of the sleeve, as soon as I learned more I knew that the sleeve was for me.
I have my orientation appointment this coming Tuesday and I am so very excited! I have already gone over what the process looks like and if all goes smoothly I will have my surgery sometime before October, that is so quick but I am ready.
I have already changed my diet and way of eating. The most difficult thing for me has been slowing down and chewing more but I am getting there. I have given up soda and carbonation (that was a little tough but I had already cut back a ton) and the only caffeine I get is from an occasional cup of iced tea. I had been doing smoothies for breakfast for a couple months and so I decided to see how replacing two meals a day worked and I am feeling pretty good at my lowest weight in years at 279! I am very happy to have found the Isopure powders, I tried the dutch chocolate and creamy vanilla and they are both soooo good!
Anywho, this has been a pretty long first entry but thanks for reading. I plan on documenting every step of the way for my own knowledge and so that others may see how it goes
Thanks!