Celebrating the Start of the New Me! My Weight Loss Journey.

All my life, I have struggled with weight issues.  I could never seem to get off the yo-yo string of weight loss and weight gain. It was always a pattern of 1 step forward and about 20 steps back. I would be successful to a point, then end up gaining everything back then some.

In high school my weight constantly fluctuated. I was always chunky, but when I look back at pictures from those days, I was far from being huge.

I'm in the acid wash
denim jacket.

That's me in the black hoodie
and blue jeans.

 In my mind, I always thought I was so fat, but as you can see from the pics, that was far from the truth.  I was fairly active and full of energy and a wee bit chunky, but definitely not fat!



When I was 20 I had my 1 and only child. I put on so much weight with him.  I remember sitting in the Doctor's office crying about how much weight I was putting on...it was way more than the average.  By the time I gave birth to my precious bundle of joy, I was 262 lbs, and that was AFTER I gave birth.

Me in yet another black hoodie
with  my friend \Cherish.

Justin and I when he was 2.

I did manage to drop another 20 or 30ish pounds, but the weight just didn't seem to want to go less than that range, I also managed to put that back on too. My son is now 18.  I have spent the last 18 years hanging on that yo-yo string.

Justin and I Christmas 2010.

So, here I am, at 38 years old and after a discussion with my Doctor just over a year ago, we came to a decision that I could benefit from Gastric Bypass Surgery.  I spent 1 year travelling from Northern Ontario to Toronto for various appointments all to help prepare me for my weight loss journey.  I feel a wee bit vulnerable to tell you all what my starting weight was, but I will anyhow.  My very last appointment for pre-surgery, I weighed in at 300 lbs.  So, now you know..and you know what?  That was the old me, so its not so bad that I outed myself!

Before the surgery is done, we are required to drink these special shakes that help reduce the amount of fat that surrounds the organs.  It also helps you to lose a bunch of weight fast.  Usually the surgeon will prescribe shakes called Opti-fast. A typical person would consume 4 shakes per day. The Opti-fast Shakes contain aspartame.  I am allergic to aspartame so the alternative to that for me was to drink 4 Boost Diabetic with 2 scoops of Unflavored protein powder per day.  The surgeon also will tell you the period of time to drink them. I needed to consume them for a period of 3 weeks. It was really hard at first. I went through caffeine and sugar withdrawal for the first few days, but after it passed, it wasn't so bad.  The results were too exciting to ignore.  I started drinking the shakes on August 28th (oops a day early) and finished drinking them on September 18th.  I lost a total of 25 lbs pre-surgery.  On September 19th surrounded by my parents and some pretty great friends, I took the brave step of having the Gastric Bypass Surgery done.  This is me, all prepped and ready for surgery at Toronto Western Hospital.

Day of surgery, 25 lbs down!

I was very excited, but only a wee bit nervous at this point.  I think my mom (black jacket) and dad (grey sweater) were more nervous than I was.  The surgery was successful.

It is now 2 weeks post surgery, I feel pretty great!  My scars are very minimal due to the fact that it was done laparoscopically.  My surgeon and his team did a wonderful job and the nurses took great care of me. I am down an even 40 lbs and very excited that most of my clothes are getting too big!  (Dont worry, I stocked up on some smaller sizes for the journey!)  I will post a progress pic just as soon as I figure out what I want to wear for the picture!