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As of 5/28/2012 I will be eight years post op. I can’t believe it. Where has the time gone? Surgiversary days are times for reflection, for looking back at successes, failures which have turned into successes, and reassessing goals. Let’s start with goals. When I started this journey I weighed 424 pounds. I knew that the average weight loss with a lap band was 50% of excess weight so at the time of surgery I was happy to set 299 as my goal. That would be 125 pounds down and 2 big scale numbers down- the 4’s and the 3’s. This seemed reasonable and attainable. I knocked that one out of the park in about a year and just kept right on going to double it to a 250 pound total weight loss. Results not typical? YOU BET!
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What are my current goals? Well, I got on the scale for the first time in a while this week and, as I was well aware, I am 19 pounds over my lowest weight and I am no longer satisfied with that. So, my current goal for weight is to lose those pounds and reassess by mid-May. Where did those pounds come from you ask? Mindless eating I answer unequivocally. Reflection has me looking at what I ate and why…I allowed myself to fall back into very old habits and feed my stress, and then create more stress, intentionally or not, to have something to feed. And, guess what I was feeding my stress with? Not carrots or celery, not apples or bananas…yup, you got it pretzels, potato chips and chocolate. Where did I get it from you ask? Easy answer, the store…There is a convenience store across the parking lot from my office and there are supermarkets all over the place so there are no shortages of places to procure this particularly perilous portions. Okay, enough about weight. I have a plan and I am following it. No more junk food allowed is only part of it. Walking around my building (away from the convenience store) is another part of my plan, as is having tasty, aromatic teas and chicken broth available for me to use in lieu of noshing on chips or pretzels.
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So 19 pounds gone by mid May - that gives me 90 days to reach my goal. When I do the simple mathematics it means I need a calorie deficit of 739 calories per day to achieve my goal. (one pound is 3500 calories, etc, etc). A small bag of Sun Chips is about 210 calories, a single serving of pistachio nuts is 170 calories. When I went to the convenience store I wasn’t satisfied with just one of these- I would get both….easy way to cut 380 calories out of some days. Limiting my fancy coffee to one day per week- it had crept up to about 3 allows me to cut out 200 calories a couple of times a week. Adding time at the gym, in the pool, or on the bicycle is good for burning at least an extra 200 calories per day. I am there already so it’s not difficult to push a little harder; as a matter of fact it will help me get to a new level of fitness which is another of my goals. I refuse to get older, I’m just getting fitter! There we go, new goals stated and plan in action to make them happen.
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Now let’s look at my health and quality of life. The gains I have made in these areas with each pound lost are absolutely, positively, AMAZING, INCREDIBLE, WONDERFUL, AWESOME!!!! My health and quality of life are what I wake up grateful for each morning. These are the NSV’s or non-scale victories that we get to celebrate each day. Here’s a list of the significant NSV’s I have attained over the past 8 years:
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I could go on for hours, or days, or, after 8 years, probably weeks. Enough said. I have resolved many medical issues, reclaimed my life and am currently fitter at 63 years old than I was at 35 years old. While I have 63 years behind me, I have an incredible number of active years to look forward to, and so many things I want to do, and so many places I want to see. The best part of it all is I CAN!