One Year Plus

It's been almost 13 months since I had my gastric bypass surgery. Weight at first surgeon's visit - 198 pounds (I am 4'10.5") Weight on day of surgery - 178.5 pounds Today's weight - 117 pounds Total loss - 81 pounds I am way, way overdue on seeing my surgeon and getting my blood work so no update on those. How do I feel? Physically...I haven't run in about 3 weeks which means "stuff" hurts more. I also need to see my regular doctor because I think I have tendonitis in my arms and shoulders. So, I wouldn't say I feel great, but definitely better than before. Psychologically I'm doing pretty good...most days. I believe my body is near (if not already there)to my lowest weight. There is usually some "bounce back" gain, so I need to be prepared for that. When I look at my old photos I can't believe I was that...puffy. I knew I was overweight, I just didn't see myself as large as I actually was. Now I have the opposite problem. Sometimes I see my reflection and I'm satisfied, but there are plenty of times where I think, "Ugh, I still look fat. I'll never look good!" I'm a work in progress in many ways. But I am a happy person. Two years ago I was coming out of a diagnosed clinical depression, now I'm a healthier, happier person. This whole weight loss surgery process is the cliched "journey." I think it is always changing and that I will never "arrive." Which is cool and interesting to me. I am drinking a lot of hot tea, eating greek yogurt, tomatoes with goat cheese, and simple sandwiches. I do go out to eat and generally stick with seafood and salads, mostly because it's what I crave and sits well in my redesigned stomach. I can and do eat regular food. I track everything I eat on MyFitnessPal.com I worry that I will regain weight, but that helps keep you on top of things. I've had to buy all new clothes, which mostlyI get on Good Will's online auction site and Ebay. I FINALLY bought and started wearing new underwear last week. That was tough for me because, in the past, tight (or fitted) clothes pointed to me being overweight, now I'm just wearing panties that are my size. I also cut my hair a couple weeks ago because all the post-surgery hairloss finally caught up with and my tiny pony tail looked terrible. If you have any questions you can either leave a comment or email me at dunesummer@aol.com. I have decided to use this as my regular blog so I hope to update more frequently.