So Long Thunder Thighs!

Sometimes life presents opportunities that allow us to be brave and do something outside of our comfort zone just to show us we can.

Last night was my youngest daughter's physical education open house at her elementary school. They had different activities for the kids and parents could participate too. One of the activities was a tarzan like rope swing. Stand on the platform, grab the rope, swing and drop on a big mat.
And guess who got in line. Yep, I did. I DID the rope swing! Not once - but twice! It was fun and thrilling and scary all at once. I bet I was grinning like a goofball.

A year ago I can't say for sure we would have even gone to physical education night and tonight - rope swing! What a great Wow! moment for me. I can do this stuff now. This is why I had surgery. I will not be held back by physical limitations.

In the Star Tribune this weekend there was an article about a University of Minnesota surgeon who is looking at a new way to do weight loss surgery. This less invasive version actually goes down the patient's throat and performs surgery without any external incisions.

For me, the recovery time and the minimal scarring from the surgery I had in March seems like a good trade off for how great I feel now.

Before surgery I would drink soda daily, all day. Since January 2008 I haven't had a single soda.

Before surgery I wouldn't touch coffee - blech. Now I have a daily latte habit. I must admit it is my new transfer addiction. Im a Starbuck junkie - Venti Iced Skinny Vanilla Latte (Quad).

However, I recently discovered a way to get more protein and less guilt in drinking my daily espresso. (Thanks LJ).

Now I get the Quad Espresso on ice and I pour in a protein shake instead of the sugar-free syrup and milk. It doubles the protein intake. And makes tasty breakfast.

So this morning I am drinking a Pumpkin Spice Iced Latte
4 shots espresso
1/2 venti cup of ice
1 scoop Lean Dessert vanilla creme protein powder
1 oz of DaVinci Sugar Free Pumpkin Pie Syrup
1/2 tsp of pumpkin pie spice

Yum!

PS - Check with your doc if they don't recommend coffee/caffeine - I drink plenty of water to counteract my java fix.

The physical changes are amazing - beyond my imagination at 8 months out of surgery. However, my brain hasn't necessarily caught up with those changes.

If someone meets me for the first time or sees me out in public - they don't know anything different than what they currently see. They don't know that i weighed nearly 300 pounds only 8 short months ago. They don't know that I feel like I am wearing a mask now - that I am still that 300 pound woman on the inside - that I haven't accepted my new "skin" yet and can't identify in being a "normal" size person.

Here is a great article from Newsweek about another woman that had a gastric bypass and she talks about feeling like an imposter and how others accept her as always being part of the skinny side of life. http://www.newsweek.com/id/74075

It seems that sometimes it takes little sparks in my day to make realize that changes are happening in every aspect of my life:

- When I see someone looking my way - I know before I would have looked away or looked down, and now i meet their look with a smile - and you know what is still amazing to me - they smile back.

- I skip whole rows in the grocery store - I don't know that I have been down the pasta row in 8 months. And i read every label. And we seem to go to the store less often.

- I can get down on the floor - and get back up - I just retrieved the remote from under my bed and didn't get stuck or hurt trying to get down there. I can do that now!

- The clothes I wear now do not have x's in their size label - I can shop in any store now - not that I do - I still have issues with that - but that is another blog entry.

Ok - i honestly forgot all about this blog - so let's fast forward a little bit

Originally had my surgery scheduled for the end of March 2008. Got a call one Thursday - Hey want to have surgery next week we had a cancellation. So I ended up having surgery moved up two weeks to March 17, 2008.

My surgeon was Dr. Raymond Drew from Minneapolis Bariatric. I had my surgery at Abbott Northwestern Hospital in South Minneapolis. To me - Dr. Drew is a hero - he has been changing people's lives for the better as a bariatric surgeon for years - over 1500 surgeries under his belt. He is an expert in his field and I would highly recommend him to anyone. However, if my insurance would have covered the clinic I would have preferred (and still do) to have gone through Health East Bariatric in St. Paul for the follow-up care.

My surgery went well - he did have to put in a few extra stitches in one spot cuz he found a leak when he tested my new pouch. So needless to say I ended up with a dye xray so they could make sure I didn't have a leak before i went home from the hospital.
Im going from memory here - but I really felt like my recovery was pretty easy - I think my gall bladder surgery in 1996 took longer to recover from than having my digestive system completely rearranged. I did take 6 weeks off of work - only because I had enough sick time to cover it. I could have gone back after about 10 days if I hadn't had the sick time.

On my surgery date - I weighed in at 265. Down 31 from my highest of 296. And drumroll please, today I weigh 174.6. I am down over 120 pounds.

Current Photo: Taken November 2008

Before Photo: Taken December 2008