My Boring Life

Let's see - my boring life. I am post-op fifty months or a little over four years. I knew about weight loss surgery for years thanks to the girl from Wilson Phillips who made it a house-hold name, but I wasn't ready until I learned about the DS. It was love at first sight. I was so sure that this was the right surgery for me that I actually TURNED DOWN a RNY Gastric Bypass paid for by insurance, and instead travelled to Brazil, and went the self-pay route. I was fortunate at the time to have the means to do so.

Before surgery, I had high cholesterol, and had topped out at 277lbs. Bear in mind - I am UNDER five feet tall, so despite the low number, I was still Super-Morbidly Obese. I also had/have hypo-thyroid, a genetic condition I inherited from my mother. Within 6 months of surgery, I no longer needed ANY cholesterol medication, and my stats are enviable. In fact, one of my blood tests actually showed my good cholesterol level HIGHER than my bad. My doctor had never seen that before. My triglycerides dropped 90% from 650 3 years pre-op without medication (when I was first diagnosed) to 76 post-op without medication. I have lost and maintained a 100lbs and am regularly at about 160lbs.

This is about 15lbs higher than my lowest continual weight, and it's weight I would like to lose. To do so, I'm working out and watching carbs. I am not, nor have I ever been, at all interested in moderating carbs in any fashion. I keep a general eye on carbs with the idea of keeping it between 100-150g a day, that's all.

A couple of years ago, the stars aligned, I lost about 10lbs of water weight. Looking back, I believe this was related to one of three things - I was anemic at the time, had recently upped my Vitamin D, and had changed my thyroid prescription. At that same time, I was working out quite a bit as well (although I have done this before & since with no such diuretic results), so I had quite a bit of muscle mass. My body fat at that point was under 15%, which is Olympic athlete levels, yet my BMI still showed me in the "overweight" range. My lowest weight ever was 141 lbs. BMI charts want me at 118lbs. Had I lost EVERY ounce of fat, I STILL would have been "overweight" per the BMI charts, so a good bit of that extra weight is just excess skin.

I have not had plastic surgery, yet, although I DEFINITELY want to. Based on conversations with a couple of plastic surgeons, I can expect to lose 15lbs of excess skin through a LBL. I'm also not interested in augmentation, but do want a breast lift as well. I have enough stuffings for a C-cup, which should be more than plenty on my tiny frame.

So what is my life like today?

I have a great job, working for a large well-known telecommunications company. I'm a NOC manager, with a good group both under me and above me. Was it just being in the right place at the right time? Who knows? But I have always been a hard worker, a go-getter, and the kind of person who does things well.....but it was only AFTER I lost 100lbs that this opportunity presented itself. There are other managers here who are overweight, some significantly, so it may be just coincidence. Or it may be that the change it had on ME gave me that extra oomph to get the job.

I have a vitamin sorter that I keep next to the toothpaste, and my morning routine includes teeth, vitamins (1 dose of prenatals, 20 MEQ of Potassium, 100,000 Units of Vitamin D, and Synthroid for thyroid), and a good healthy bowel clearing. I actually weigh myself before and after, and generally lose about 2lbs!! It's one of the ways I can tell if I'm done. *heh*

I bought a motorcycle a couple of years ago, which I love to ride. I actually ride year-round as long as the roads aren't icy. This uses a lot of muscles, especially on long rides. I would like to do an iron-butt ride, which is a minimum of 1000 miles in 24 hours. I found a freeway in Texas that would be great for that - speed limit is 80mph, so I can go fast LEGALLY. The longest I've ever ridden is 19 hours, but that included a lot of rest stops to warm my hands. Now I have heated gloves.

I also learned to rock climb, although I haven't done as much lately because it's expensive and I've been cutting back. To really rock climb well, you need to climb at least 3x a week. Twice a week you'll maintain but not improve. Gym membership is either $100/mo or $15-18 each time. So, I'm rearranging some expenses so that I can afford it.

I'm in two pool leagues, 8-ball and 9-ball, so I play twice a week. Andre usually has iced tea waiting for me when I arrive, and I typically order the mini-corndogs. For 8-ball, I have to get to the bar before 7pm to get breakfast. Pre-op i often ate dinner foods for breakfast. Now I eat omelets for dinner, and will go out of my way to be there on-time to get one. My captain refers to my meal as "the plate o'cheese". I get a ham & cheese omelet with cheese on the hashbrowns. Yum!!

I buy Premier Protein RTD shakes, which I love. They have a decent flavor (similar to Muscle Milk Chocolate), but they have 30g of protein and only ONE gram of carbs.

I have developed hypoglycemia post-op, and that actually gives me more trouble than anything else DS-related. It means I *have* to carry food with me at all times. This is especially problematic when travelling. I need a) protein & carbs that will b) pass TSA regulations that c) doesn't need heating, refrigeration or d) any kind of implements that wouldn't pass TSA restrictions and e) won't drip, leak or explode in flight. Since the airlines don't feed you anymore, and the food places in airports close at night, I cannot depend on them to make sure I'm okay. My solution? A peanut-butter and jelly sandwich. I even managed to get one to Hawaii and back. It was a little smushed, but hey.

I still don't like how I look in a bathing suit (too much flabby excess skin), but I can buy a pair of jeans or a shirt without trying it on, and find them in almost any shop I go into. I can also buy stuff off the cheap racks, in the discount bins, or the consignment shops. One time on the way to the gym, I realized I didn't have a clean shirt - it was actually cheaper for me to run by Plato's Closet (clothing thrift shop) and buy one (for a dollar!!) than it was to spend the gas to drive home to get one I already own.

I get more attention in stores, restaurants, malls, movie theatres, etc from the staff than I used to pre-op, and it's easier to get waited on. I'd like to find a boyfriend, fall in love again, maybe have a family. I'd like to make more money, but I'm happy to be working in an environment where I'm appreciated and am less likely to be laid off. (No one is safe, but some areas are safer than others). I'm not gorgeous, or beautiful or anything out of the ordinary.

I'm just a normal healthy middle-aged woman who doesn't look half bad in a sweater and jeans - and I paid a lot of money out of pocket to be able to say that.

--BT

Record Setting

It's 103 and counting in Seattle today. In 119 years of weather keeping, this is unheard of for the temperate climate of the Pacific Northwest better known for its near daily rain. Prior to today, the record was 100 degrees set in 1941 and matched degree for degree on July 20th, 1994.

Now, I know there are those of you who live in areas that regularly hit the 100's and then some, and you may be thinking "What a bunch of whiners - we deal with that all the time!!". But there's one thing you gotta understand:

We don't have air conditioning.

At least not at home. Just as we have no snow plows to handle the freakish amount of snow we got last winter, none of us are prepared for the unseasonably hot weather we're experiencing now. Why would we? Year round, the weather here is normally between 40 and 80 degrees. Fluctuations outside this zone are anomolous freaks of nature.

In the immortal words of L. Frank Baum's infamous Wicked Witch of the West...I'm melting!