Life is very good. My self-esteem is so much better these days. I feel good about myself, and my body. I’m proud of the progress I’ve made toward achieving my weight loss goals. I can look at myself in the mirror and not hate the person I see looking back at me. My energy level is higher and I don’t get winded as easily as I used to. Lots of people are able to notice that I’ve lost a significant amount of weight, but especially those who don’t see me on a daily basis. My relationship with food has changed in a good way. No longer do I live to eat; I now eat to live.
I still have a lot of restriction (the feeling of fullness I achieve) while eating. I can eat a few ounces of dense protein and maybe a little bit of something else. Food-wise, I’m back to eating pretty much anything except steak and pork. I’ll be able to add those in a few weeks. My main priority when eating is still and will continue to be making sure I eat enough protein. My surgeon’s goal is for me to get at least 70 grams per day.
Some days I still have trouble getting in enough fluid and taking all of my supplements. My labs have been good for the most part, but my ferritin level is low. I saw my PCP about this and right now he just wants me to do better with my iron supplement and try to eat more iron rich foods.
Where the numbers are concerned, I am more than halfway to my goal weight. I started this journey out at almost 230 pounds. My goal is to reach 140. I have lost 50 pounds, and have just under 40 pounds to go. My starting BMI was about 37, which is considered “obese”, and is only 3 away from being “morbidly obese”. Now my BMI is in the “overweight” range at 28.9. Each week I’m moving closer and closer to having a BMI in the “normal” range, and I couldn’t be happier!
Clothes shopping is much more enjoyable now because I am finding cute clothes without going to the plus-sized stores and departments. Just last night I bought an XL size wrap blouse (the “girls” are still there, thank God!) and a size 14 pair of pants. Just a few weeks ago, I was only able to swing a size 16. I’m also down to a size 14 in jeans. Last week I was going through some clothes that I had planned on donating and never got around to doing. In that box, I had a size 12 pair of khakis. Just for the heck of it, I tried them on, and they fit!
Now for some pictures!
This is a set of two self-portraits I took with my cell phone. The difference is mind-boggling! And look, I have collarbones now!!!
I’ll try not to take so long to post my next update. Summer is always busy and there are a million things going on. Anyway, thanks for reading!
