Boobs

Since having bariatric surgery in Sept things sure have changed in my life.  Some really good things, but like anything else in life, you have to take the good with the bad.

I have lost a little more than 90 lbs, I have gone down 12 sizes, and have lost my boobs...yes, they are almost completely gone....not a tragedy in my life, but a loss none the less.  I will miss them, to some degree, but am grateful for what I have.  Believe me, it is a very small price to pay, there are people close to me in my life currently fighting for their life, losing my boobs in nothing compared to what they are going through.  So, goodbye boobs, I will miss you but am thankful for what it all means.

Since having surgery I have learned more about me than I ever thought I would.  This has opened my eyes up to the person I never thought was inside of me.  I have realized just how much I held back before, both personally and with others.  I used to think I couldn't do things, simply because I couldn't manage, now, well there isn't anything I don't feel I can do...the world is my oyster, I just have to crack it. 

Being out with people has also changed dramatically in my life.  I am not afraid to talk, get involved, be present in the lives of others.  I look forward to meeting new people, where before I used to hide behind my partner, letting her make the connections.  There was always this feeling that if I were to bring attention to me no one would want to be around me, so I hid, hoping they would stick around without really seeing me.  Today I want them to see me, I want to see them, and look forward to my daily encounters with others.

I joined the gym, and have made it a daily activity.  One of the least talked about issues faced by a bariatric patient is that of muscle loss.  Very few professionals, as well as other bariatric patients talk about what this really means.  The average bariatric patient can lose up to 80% of their muscle mass during their weight loss.  This is very scary, as your heart is your biggest muscle.  Weight training and doing regular cardio workouts are very, very important.  I have made it my goal to not only lose the weight I need to lose, but to be in the very best shape I can be in...for once in my life.  I feel sorry for those who have used this tool simply just to lose the weight, but never working on muscle gain and cardiovascular wellness...as it's inevitable that they will find that the scale will creep back up and also will not find the true health that is within their grasp.  I have never been an athletic person, in fact, I have always been the least athletic person I knew.  Not now, this has been my goal from the day I had surgery, by getting out of that hospital bed three hours after surgery to walk the halls and never sitting down, to walking  5 k two weeks after surgery, to today where on the average I am walking 6 to 7 miles a day.  It is what I wanted this surgery for, and I am proud that I have stuck to it.

There is little that can slow me down now, apart from the aches that I experience from working my muscles hard everyday, there really isn't anything.  This surgery was the best thing I have ever done for me, it's given me a life I never knew I could have and it's open my world up to so many new and exciting things.  Finally the future is bright, I have so much to look forward to, and I can enjoy my child in a way I never have had the energy to before.  I am grateful beyond belief and couldn't be more thankful!