Yes, I am heading back to the 80’s and I did this without needing a time machine. The 90’s and beyond are gone for good, weight-wise. Gone too are the pills for diabetes. Gone are most of the pills for blood pressure and gone too is the CPAC breathing machine for sleep apnoea. I hope to stop using cholesterol drugs too soon.
Do I have any regrets about my bariatric surgery journey? No---I thought that I would really miss my food and that I would find it hard fitting the much reduced portions into my new life. It seems that I don’t crave particular foods; if anything there is a list of foods that I just don’t want anymore and among them, I include wine. The latter quite surprised me, but other than a very small sip of a good red, I don’t really appreciate it anymore, although strangely, I do enjoy reading about wine and its production. Thankfully, coffee is very much a beverage that I seek out--- only the best! (Eden Coffee).
I still watch the Food Channel on TV and I try out some of the recipes. I most definitely enjoy cooking for people and I still put recipes in some of my blogs. I find it quite easy to cook a nice meal for friends and family and then go on to eat only very small portions for myself.
I think that my weight loss will slow down now, but that too is not a concern. I may get away with having to face that haggard look that people often get when they lose a lot of weight quite quickly. Time will tell. I think that my weight will settle somewhere on the 80’s and that is when the increased physical activity may play a part to either continue a small amount of weight loss or mean a stabilization around there. That’s fine with me.
My food bill is very small now. I think I can easily keep it under $40NZ a week and that is a reduction from about $100. Of course I haven’t factored in my visits to cafes in that figure.
I am spending a lot of money at the moment on new clothing. I am about to have a huge ‘throw-out/give away session for the clothing that now hangs like a sack on me. It is great fun, going into a shop and being able to fit ‘normal-sized’ clothing. Hell, I even think about what I am going to wear each day. That feeling is super-retro for me. For the last 20 years, I actually didn’t give a stuff about what I wore.
But the cold! I feel it now, so it’s wrap up time and making sure that my next is well covered. Scarfs (OK, the one scarf I have at the moment) are a necessary part of my wardrobe now. Some days I feel like that Isadora Duncan. If you don’t know who she is, then I am showing my age and you are showing your youth, so –all good.
Energy levels are good for me. I don’t feel tired, but the surgeon did ask me to start taking ‘supplements.’ He’s correct of course. I cannot fit enough food in to be able to get everything I need. Vegetables come last when I eat (carbs are minimal too) and it’s all about protein with each meal. Sleeping is no longer interrupted by those ‘wakeful/can’t get back to sleep moments.’ Wow---that is indeed a return to times past.’ So, if you are thinking about embarking on your own journey, please have a long and hard discussion with your doctor and specialist and remember---bariatric surgery is a last resort and it does not work for everyone. Feel free to chat with my, via my email.
