Sizzlin’ Summer Weigh-In: Week 4 Post Op VSG

Summer’s here! Which means that fun in the sun is a daily way of life. Getting outside and getting active is easy, and it’s on my agenda for each and every day this summer. Being on summer vacation means I don’t have any of the workaday responsibilities that can get in the way of my plans. Now that I’ve had the VSG surgery, achieving my weight loss goals is only a matter of time, and this summer is going to be HOT. Sunday weigh-ins will keep me accountable through the weekend, and will give me a positive goal to begin each new week. I’m not on a diet, I’m establishing a lifestyle – my new life. My Sunday progress updates will be called Sizzlin’ Summer Weigh-Ins.

Week 4 brought with it lots of over-thinking. One of the top rules they tell us in my WLS support group meeting is not to compare your progress to anyone else’s, but that seems to be ALL I did this week.  Am I eating too much?  Should I stop eating veggies and fruit and just stick to all protein?  Am I losing enough weight?  Am I taking full advantage of this first 6 month “sweet spot?” As you can see, my mind swirled with questions all week.

So, how’s the scale looking?

I weighed in this morning at 259.4, which is a loss of 1.6 pounds this week, and a loss of 17.6 lbs since surgery. I’ve lost a total of 55.6 pounds from my highest weight. This week’s meager loss was the result of beginning weight training.  I was prepared for this, because my body always reacts this way as soon as I begin working with weights.  It’s the reason I stopped strength training while I was losing the pre-op required weight.

My main focus for this week is to continue the weight training, working out, and eating a well-balanced diet.  I have my 6-week post op appointment on Friday (a few days early), and I’m sure I’ll have more to report then.

Even with all the questions I had going on this week, here are a few things I know…

• I haven’t hit an actual stall yet, and for that I’m grateful.
• I’ve been following Kaiser’s pre-op eating plan to a T, which is a well-balanced approach.
• Including weights into my workouts will be good for me for the long run for so many reasons.
• When I’m comparing my weight loss to others’ on the FB groups, I have to keep in mind: that I lost 38 lbs before I ever had surgery, most of these people only lost 15 lbs or less pre-op; I have no idea what their starting weights were; and everyone’s body loses at different rates.

So, after a lot of questioning and kvetching, I’m actually feeling calm now.  I know that I’m a perfectionist, and I always strive to be the best I can be, even as a VSG-er.  LOL.  And I just have to remind myself that I am being MY best.

Until next Sunday, my friends. I hope the scale treats you well, and that you have a wonderful week!

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Support Group = Super Motivated!

Last night I went to a Kaiser WLS support group, and it was the best 2 hours I’ve spent on a Wednesday evening all year.  I walked out of the meeting completely inspired, totally pumped up, and willing myself to get to my “within 5 lbs” phone call by the next meeting (next month).

My other experience with the Kaiser WLS support group was the completely opposite of this one.  The only good thing about that meeting was that I met BeautyJunkie824 for the first time, and our friendship grew from there.  Most of the people in the meeting that time had been post-op for months, all of them having RNY.  The leader spent the meeting knitting and making less than useful comments.  It was so underwhelming that I never went back.

Until last night.  Tinkerbell and I had been chatting about how we’re really supposed to go to the support group meetings and that neither of us had gone to one.  So, we decided to go to this one last night, which was at a different location than the other one I’d gone to.  It had the same leader that I wasn’t impressed with, but this time the big difference was in the support group members.

There were about 10 people who were pre-op, 7 of whom, including me, where getting the VSG.  Two other members were 1-week post-op, and doing great.  The fact that both of them were feeling well enough to get out of the house and attend a meeting was really encouraging.  There were also a few “old timers” who’d had surgeries 1-2 years ago who were giving sage advice to a few people who’d reached plateaus or were experiencing other struggles.  And there were three others who were scheduled for surgeries within the next two weeks.  So exciting!  The combination of new and old really lent itself to lively discussions, advice, and inspiration.

One of the things that really helped me was hearing from a few people who had similar tales as I did.  Two of them had been within 5 pounds of their pre-op goal weight and then gained it all back and had to re-lose the weight, which they did, and were now post-op.  That motivated me more than anything else, because I know that story.  I’ve never been that close only to have it taken away, but I have been striving for this pre-op goal for longer than most.  But as one of the OGs said to me, “you’re on your own journey, going at your own pace.  You were meant to be at this place now so that you could learn more about yourself.”  And that’s exactly it!

Yes, I’ve been enrolled in this WLS program for 2 1/2 years, and it’s been frustrating and challenging.  But it’s also been a way to learn so much about myself and how I handle adversity, food issues, etc.  At one point last night Tinkerbell leaned over to me and said, “Bella, you were meant to be at this place right now so that we could go through this experience together.  To support each other, and to push each other to get to our goals.”  And she’s so right!

Both Tinkerbell and I are within about 10 lbs of calling for our “5 lbs left to go” notification.  At that point, I can call into the bariatric department and start the ball rolling with getting a surgery date.  I have 11 pounds to lose before I make that call, and I am feeling incredibly inspired to make that goal by February 20th, the date of the next support group meeting.

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