It is strange to believe in 21 (+2 pre-op) weeks I have lost 35kg. No words or photo can completely describe how over the moon I am with these numbers. I still have lots of weight to lose, and within that weight I need to shed fat and tone up a lot more. Regardless, I am happy! Some of my oldest and closest friends tell me that they have never ever seen me so happy in all the time they have known me, and I have to say that I agree with them. So in true Twenty Six Bites style I headed to the local shopping centre to take some photos of what I have lost. Nowadays, I can't lift the groceries as a guide, but the images below should give you a pretty good idea of what I was carrying around with me every minute, of every day. No wonder my knees and ankles hurt so badly!
Me standing beside 3 packs of 30 x 375ml cans of Coca Cola, the equivalent of the 35kg I have lost!
Oh I am so happy!!!
The funny thing is that when I look at the above photos, I don't even think I look like myself. I guess after 28 years, you get used to seeing yourself in a certain way and it doesn't automatically compute that you have changed. I was recently trying to explain to a friend how I still feel like the fat girl inside. Despite my confidence increasing, it doesn't take much for me to flip back into my old self-conscious ways. So how do I remember that I have changed? Photos, looking at my reflection in shop windows when I walk past, or by seeing peoples reaction to me when they bump into me. Anyway, I decided to see how much I have lost since July and the image below is what I came up with! Pretty cool, huh!
Oh, how times have changed!
Do you recall I said that my Personal Trainer was hosting an end of year event so that all her Clients could meet one another? Well I attended that event and it was great! I got to meet other bariatric patients, some of which have been 7+ years post op etc. It was great speaking to other people who have actually been through all the phases I am going through. I am going to catch up with few of them over the next few weeks and make sure I stay in touch. Although I wish I met these people before I had my surgery (it would have given me some peace of mind), I think I met them all at a perfect time. The basic metrics have been met and now I need to keep pushing through and being strict with myself so I don't slip up.
One of the things that was mentioned a lot at the dinner party was excess skin. A majority of the people had already had skinfold surgery and others were about to have it. It is one of those things that I am asked about all the time and I generally hate it when people ask, but it was always going to be an issue I would have to deal with. Up until the night of the party I had always said that I would not do any skin fold surgery of any kind, and this was further reinforced by the fact that my surgeon said it was unlikely that I would need any due to my young age. Although I know I will have to wait a few years to see how my skin reacts to the weightless (skin tightens at a slower rate than we lose weight), I do now think that I may need to get my inner thighs tightened up...and if I am there, I may as well get my boobs done too! I don't tend to have any other problem areas at this time... my stomach and arms seem to sitting fine with my skin pulling back into shape well. But as a look at my boobs and thighs I realise that I will never be able to wear shorter shorts if I don't fix the skin. It is unfortunate, but I am not so against it now. More unfortunately still is the cost. I know I will need to save $12-16k to fix these two problem areas, but I know that it will be worth it should it come to that time. In the meantime, I am moisturising, dry brushing, oiling up, and moisturising some more. Let's hope that I don't need to have another surgery!
Despite the concerns of skin, these areas are always covered up when I go out, and that seems to be working fine as I have never had so much male attention when out on the town. Don't get me wrong, it is not like I am drowning in attention! Far from it! But when you go from having pretty much no attention (unless it was negative/insults), to suddenly having people look at you and ask you to dance etc, it is strange! I am trying to get used to it still, but think this might take a bit of time yet....baby steps!
Speaking of covering up, thank god for hand-me-downs! I have spent so much over the last 6 months on surgery, fitness classes, vitamins, supplements, doctors appointments and endless clothes. I am loving the shopping, but my credit card begs to differ ;) So I now have a huge pile of clothes that I need to get rid of and an even bigger list of items that I need to find. If anyone out there has clothes they no longer want/fit and they would fit me...hit me up! Similarly, if you need some bigger clothes.... I have not gotten rid of them yet, so just let me know!
Wishing you all a very merry Christmas and a lovely festive season! I will speak to you all soon, hopefully no heavier from the yummy Christmas feasts and drinks!!!
xT
