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Portion size is so surprising

Although the whole point of having surgery was to restrict portions, I’m still constantly surprised at how much less I eat. I ordered a fancy meal yesterday: lobster tail, green beans, cole slaw, side of crab/artichoke/spinach dip. I was able to eat 1/2 of the tail, 2 green beans, about 2 tablespoons of cole slaw, and about 1 tablespoon of the dip with 1/3 of a pita chip. I was literally too full to eat one more bite! In the past I could have eaten most, if not all, of it.

While this is great, it’s actually frustrating! It was all so good I wanted to eat more!

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NSV: Small Drape

You know the drape that the hairdresser puts around you when you get your hair cut? I went and got my hair done today, and my hairdresser said I was now in the smaller side drape. I used to be in the largest drape!

These non-scale victories aren’t huge, but with the weight coming off so slowly, they lift my spirits.

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Face to Face

Many of the applications I use at work ask for a picture. I provided a picture when I started at this company 2 years ago. I think I need to change it now, because I look different after losing 73 lbs since joining the company.

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NSV: Trash

I took the trash out today. This may not sound like a big deal, but for many years now, taking the trash bag from the kitchen to the trash cans outside has been a job for the kids or for Rio, because my back hurt so bad to even walk that short distance. Today I chose to take the trash out. It is about 30-40 yards from the front door to the trashcan. Not far, but normally that would cause me enough pain that I didn’t do it. Today I decided to do it because I was having a lower pain day. My back started hurting more right as I got back to the front door. But I did it, and it was another step in my mobility journey.

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Reduction in Medication

Every morning I check my blood sugar. Depending on the level, I take a Metformin pill. Almost every day since surgery I’ve had to take one. However, this week there have been three days when I didn’t have to because my blood sugar level was low enough. Another NSV!

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Goals and milestones

I’ve been asked many times if I have a goal weight. I’m in a Facebook group for women who are on the bariatric journey, and it seems most of them have a goal weight. As I’ve said many times, the most important thing for me is being mobile, not having back pain. But since I look at the scale, of course I’ve thought of milestones. I’m not setting a weight as a “goal” because I am goal-oriented, and don’t want to feel like I will fail at my goal if I don’t get there. But here are some interesting weights in my history:

  • 278: Weight at which I got pregnant the first time
  • 265: Not sure what was going on, but I distinctly remember being this weight, maybe in my 30’s
  • 225: Weight I was when I graduated college
  • 199: Just a big transition. On my FB group we call this “getting to onederland”.
  • 185: Weight in my freshman year of college. (Very sad because at this weight I thought I was the fattest, most disgusting thing on the planet. Felt that way all through high school too, when I likely weighed less.)

I don’t know what my actual goal weight is. I think I would be thrilled to be below 200. I might end up at a higher weight, but will be satisfied with that if my mobility is significantly improved. So this is an interesting journey, without a specific endpoint. An adventure!