14-Month Sleeversary: Reflections and Focus
by
, 07-18-2017 at 01:38 PM (2305 Views)
After being sleeved for a few months, and struggling with hunger (real and imagined, mostly imagined I imagine lol!), and slow weight loss I kinda questioned if I was even sleeved, I found my medical records and read that my surgeon used a 40 French bougie.
According to wlshelp.com "depending on the bougie size used by the surgeon, the new stomach size will be about 60-80% smaller after surgery. The average stomach holds 30-40 ounces, or roughly 4-6 cups per meal. After surgery, a small meal of 1/2 cup to 1-1/2 cups will fill the new stomach pouch. The sleeve will stretch somewhat from the surgery size, but will get no where near the size of the original stomach."
So it explained why I was able to heal so well, but also start eating more "regular" food at about 2.5-3.5 months post-op. So afraid that I would get my appetite back, I sought professional cognitive therapy which really helped establish a strong foundation for reflection and stress management which can be huge culprits to why so many of us use food as a band aid and coping mechanism. Not so good for me, good food and wine were always abundant whether I was up or down. So learning to make better choices has been a key anchor ⚓️ to my WLS journey.
Losing 3 or 2 and even .5lbs every month eventually adds up to a lot of weightloss. So I am happy that while I questioned my rationale for WLS I never lost hope, and haven't lost sight of the reason why I needed WLS.
I feel that at 14-months out I am barely learning to adjust to my sleeved life, learning that what worked last month or three months ago is no longer serving me a purpose. I am learning that with each pound I lose I have to adjust my eating habits, caloric intake and exercise routines.
I am learning that I cannot deprive my body of nutrients, or even treats once in a while. My caloric and nutrient needs are still adjusting or trying to keep up with all the changes still going on at one year and two months post surgery. There is no new normal to get used to because it changes from week to week still. And I am okay with the new discoveries I am making, with adapting to change!
New discoveries have allowed me to lose over three pounds in these last four weeks! Something I had not been able to do for the last five to six months!
I discovered that Intermittent Fasting isn't going to make me feel deprived or that it was complicated to follow. I learned that adding good fats to my diet weren't going to kill me. I learned that adding calories wasn't going to make gain the weight back, in fact, completely the opposite!
So here us to all of US, newly and veteran Sleevers!
Here is to continued discoveries and staying true to our WLS journeys!
OhMGoodness I almost forgot! I discovered that Intermittent Fasting keeps my restriction in tact! And there is no way to over eat in your feeding window!
Here is a picture of my lunch today! And probably my snack shortly!
I ate a few bites of my delicious 1/4lb. salmon burger, and half of my steam Broccoli and grilled tomatos! It's all bout food choices! And I am loving mine!
Here is collage of pics of me feeling fabulous at 168-167lbs!
Thanks for reading!