Along the way, I have met people who have had the same difficulties as I have; in fact, for the first time in my life, I did not feel alone anymore.And, one of my best friends took the journey with me. We did everything together; groups, tests, surgeries. I was there for her as she was for me.We laughed and cried together along the way.
I want to send out many thanks to the surgeons, who made sure we had every last detail down. To all the Nursing Staff at the Regional Medical Center; to everyone else who came our way, I never once felt like a number or that I did not have feelings. Everyone treated us with the utmost respect.
I started out weighing 262 pounds at 5’5” tall and a size 22-24. My life revolved around “what I was to eat next”…or where are we going to go to eat? I was a person who ate just for the sake of eating. I was not necessarily hungry. I JUST ATE…. And if I saw someone else eating, I did the same. I had no energy, nor ambition.
My Laparoscopic Roux en Y Gastric Bypass was on August 25, 2008.
That was my new beginning. The weight just “fell” off me. Since then I have lost 115 pounds. I feel great and I look great. I am a size 8 and am maintaining this size, weighing between 145-148 pounds. Now I have so much more energy. At first, it was hard introducing some foods back into my plan; but all is well now. I have no desire to eat unhealthy foods anymore. I run away when I hear the words “fried”or “greasy” or “fast food”. I still go out to eat with friends and family. We laugh at what my portion size is.
I have come to realize that it is all about portion size and exercise. I go for walks each day. I started out doing a little, and then realized I can now go much farther and not be out of breath. SO I DID! I never wanted to do anything unless someone was with me; now I just go on my own and take that walk. I now love to shop for new clothes; sometimes so much so that I have to work overtime to afford my new bad habit. I have one saying for anyone who has reached this point where I am now…or thinking about it: “LIFE IS GOOD” !!!!!
One last thought-
When I was at my heaviest I did not even want to go to the beach without being covered up; I was so embarrassed by my size. My son had his first child and we went to the beach. I did not realize that pictures were being taken; we were out on the water on the wave runners. Talk about BIG….. EEKS. I could hardly get the life vest to close. I wanted to cry. But this summer, we went to the beach again and oh, what a feeling it was to tighten the vest instead of trying to figure out how to even close it. I can hardly wait for people to take pictures of me now!
Many thanks to all who have helped me with my journey to a new beginning.
And, good luck to anyone who is going to take this journey!
Sincerely,
Gail Smith
October 1 2009