I made the decision to have gastric bypass surgery when my weight hit almost 500 pounds. Every day, I try to make choices for better health, diet, and activity to maintain my weight loss.
I was the chubby girl for all long as I can remember. Always the biggest kid in the class. I was an overweight teen and gained even more through my college years. Sometimes I would lose a few pounds. Sometimes, despite following everything on the diet, the scale wouldn’t budge. Sometimes I would even gain weight. It was confusing. I tried everything because I wanted to do something about my health and weight but there were so many mixed messages out there… high protein, low protein, don’t eat carbs, eat carbs, fast, don’t fast, and the world was saying losing weight is easy “all you need to do is push away from the table and move more”. But really if it was THAT EASY 650 million people in the world wouldn’t be obese.
Prior to weight loss surgery, I had been on every diet known to man, sought out medical advice, joined countless exercise classes, and even tried pills. After years of trying without success, I had given up all hope of ever losing weight. I had stopped ovulating because of my weight and my PCOS. Considering gastric bypass surgery was the very last resort, one I did not want to face, but more than anything I wanted to have a baby.
On July 8, 2002, I had a Roux-en-Y gastric bypass. This involves cutting the stomach to make a smaller stomach pouch about the size of an egg. The new smaller pouch was then directly attached to the middle part of my intestines, “bypassing” the larger portion of my stomach and upper part of my intestines. This is done to decrease the amount of food I can take in and also decreases the amounts of sugars and fat that can be absorbed by my body. I know this seems drastic but this is usually done on severely obese patients that are on the road to an early grave. I believe I was. I believe surgery saved my life.
14 months after my surgery I had lost 250 pounds and found out I was pregnant. Physically, I’m half the woman I used to be, but as a result of my journey with gastric bypass surgery, I’ve gained so much, including 3 amazing kids.
About the blog:
The blog is called “Still Losing It” because I am still a work in progress. I need to make good decisions every day to make sure I stay healthy not only for myself but for my family. I’ll share my personal experiences from deciding to have surgery to my recovery and day to day life 18 years later. Together we will tackle the challenges that come with bariatric surgery including head hunger, post-surgery pregnancy, dumping, and sagging skin. I will also share nutritious recipes for all phases of your recovery, health information, and more.
Having weight loss surgery was the best decision of my life. It’s not for everyone but it was the right decision for me. It was the head start I needed to change my life.
To read a little more about my journey check out my post When I Am Thin.
You can reach me on any of my social media channels if you have questions or need any support. I am always happy to answer questions. You can also email me at molly@stilllosingit.com. Also, be sure to follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Pinterest for the latest information regarding bariatric surgery. I’d love to connect with you!
