Hello all! This is the first discussion post I was inspired to make, so forgive me for being rusty at forum decorum. 😅 Nevertheless, let me proceed.
Hello, it's nice to meet you, I'm Emily. 👋🏼
I'm 28, and have been navigating a new lease on life over the last few years.
My struggles with weight have been prevalent throughout the span of my entire life.
I became body conscious from a young age, and never really found the balance between owning my worth as is, or working towards crafting my body, fitness, and health to reflect my ideal self.
In early 2019, I took action towards improving my quality of self. At the time, I was not aware my exact weight, so I was unpleasantly surprised when the scale read 440 pounds. To make a long story short: I reached the end of a rope, and threw all my chips into following a diet a loved one of mine was professionally recommended to follow. It was the ever trendy 'Keto' diet. Thought a bit tricky to understand at the beginning, I grew into following a consistent eating pattern and timeframe: a 16:8 Intermitted Fasting routine, paired with a repetitive set of meals I enjoyed. I was not being monitored by a medical professional, but was rather just following the diet voluntarily. In total, I lost a significant amount of weight through the span of 2019. I had gone from 440, to 320 pounds. So, I found pleasant results following that combined course of action.
However, November of that year, I hit a bump in the road, which was the holiday season. My loved one following the diet and I both caved. We live with individuals who were not on any diet or food restrictions. Temptation and lack of resistance led me to break my diet and gain 50 pounds back, by the end of the year, rolling into the next. Falling off a routine is difficult for some to jump back into, but I didn't want to ditch all my previous progress. So, early 2020, I met with my primary care physician for a standard doctor visit. I was then asked if I wanted to seek out professional help form a bariatric specialist. Years prior, I was offer but denied treatment for pursuing weight loss surgery, due to preconceived notions I was uniformed about. This time around, I accepted the offer and was referred to a bariatric surgeon. The span of 2020, I was fulfilling all medical requirements my insurance standardly demands one to take before being approved for surgery.
November 28th of 2020, I underwent bariatric surgery. I did not, and still don't, regret that decision. I came to that decision myself, and was given sufficient time and resources to decided whether to follow through with it or not. While my immediate medical issues had been resolved, and I was recovering very well, I lost a pleasant amount of weight, due to the incredibly strict diet I was permitted to follow in preparation directly before and after surgery. I thought I knew how I was going to navigate this new journey, with my now modified body. I underestimated it. To spare the fine details--I thought cutting corners pre-op was going to be fine, to simply reach the end result of surgery, and the rest was going to be easy, assuming my body would 'kick itself into supersonic gear.' It did not, and I am now reaping the consequences of my own failed actions. Medically, the professionals have given me all the correct resources and advice they can. It is my own unresolved impulses and habits that have caused my post-op recovery to fluctuate, or 'yo-yo'. I am currently about six months post-op, and have reached a lowered weight of 305, only to sneak in some foods I knew were not permitted to eat. That irresponsible pattern has left me climbing back to my surgery date weight of 326. As we speak, I have a routine appointment to discuss where I am at, in recovering from surgery.
I don't know why I wrote this now, or if this is not an standard kind of post someone on here would present, but I figured it was worth sharing, at the least. It gives me a format to really assess my personal actions, whilst being able to potentially sharing advice to others in similar situations. As of now, I'm in the process of communicating with my surgeon to help assess what actions I can do to turn my actions and results around in a more favorable outcome. Thank you for taking the time to listen and read my story. I hope to share potential updates on this journey of mine. Whatever journeys you may be on, I am wishing you all nothing but strength and positivity. You absolute have this! 💪🏼
