Friday, August 31, 2012
Things I want to do when I lose weight
Parasailing – Weight limits have always kept me away from this, it looks like amazing fun
Go rock climbing – similar reasons to parasailing, I think it would be so much fun yet my weight has held me back
Take some dance classes – I love dancing but as I’ve put on more and more weight, I don’t do it anymore because I feel like a fat whale flopping about. I love hiphop dancing, but flamenco sounds pretty awesome as well.
Finish the couch to 5k program – I always start the C2K program but by week 3 my feet and body are so sore that I just give in and head back to the couch with an ‘it’s all too hard’ attitude. I want to be able to run 5km’s and be able to do it on a regular basis.
Shop at normal clothing stores – I love the look of clothes in Portmans, Cue, Sportgirl, Tokito but I’ve never been able to wear them. I’ve been a size 18 for most of my adult life, and recently expanded to a 20/22/24 pant size, which as you can imagine is very limiting to the clothes I can buy. I’d love to be able to walk into one of these stores and be able to try on a dress knowing that there will be something there that fits.
Wear a bikini – Do you know I have never worn a bikini? Not as a child or teenager or young adult. I’m 26 and I’ve been ashamed of my body for most of my life. I know my body isn’t going to be perfect after this operation, and I know that my self-image isn’t going to miraculously fix itself, but I want to be proud of myself, and one day where a bikini. Not necessarily in public, at the beach or pool, but at least around friends or family in a backyard pool.
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Surgery is booked
So I have a date. And it's soon! September 21st I will be going to Mount Hospital to have the gastric sleeve done.
My appointment with Dr Valibhoy went really well. He works with Dr Cohen at Mercy Bariatrics and they do the surgery together as a team. We talked about my history with being overweight, my medical conditions, and what brought me to see him. He explained the lap band and the sleeve, although they don't usually perform the band anymore.
He also ran through the potential complications, mainly bleeding from the staples (which can be addressed straightaway) and a leak which is quite dramatic and means a long hospital stay. Apparently the leak rate is around 2%, but they haven't had a leak now for two years which sets my mind at ease.
He did a physical exam to check my stomach and groin which was easy. Then the weight and height - I gained a kilo and lost a cm on his scales! So my weight is 126.1kg and only 171cm, putting my BMI at 43. It's never been that high before.
I got to meet Dr Cohen, and together they said I was a very good candidate for the surgery and they waived the normal two week waiting period to make a decision, so I was booked in there and then. I had brought my friend along who has had the sleeve done and I had done a lot of research, so they were comfortable that I knew enough about it all, and it was what I really wanted. I'm so grateful I didn't have to take the two weeks, I think it would have played with my head.
Originally I was planning a November surgery as I have a busy work period at the end of October and uni would be over for the year, but they basically took it out of my hands and booked me in to the first available which is Friday September 21st! 4 weeks from my first appointment!
So now the race is on to get access to my super to be able to pay for the operation in time. I've completed all the forms, I'd checks and gotten letters from my doctors to verify the need to access my super. The only thing I have left is to get a quote from the hospital and my private health insurance to say they will cover my hospital stay.
Iam booked in on Wednesday September 5th for my appointments with the dietician, exercise physiologist And Bariatrics assessor. I will have to do a shake diet for two weeks before the op to reduce the size of my liver, to give better access to my stomach.
It's all happening very fast but I feel very much at peacetime my decision, and am really excited to see where this leads me to.
My appointment with Dr Valibhoy went really well. He works with Dr Cohen at Mercy Bariatrics and they do the surgery together as a team. We talked about my history with being overweight, my medical conditions, and what brought me to see him. He explained the lap band and the sleeve, although they don't usually perform the band anymore.
He also ran through the potential complications, mainly bleeding from the staples (which can be addressed straightaway) and a leak which is quite dramatic and means a long hospital stay. Apparently the leak rate is around 2%, but they haven't had a leak now for two years which sets my mind at ease.
He did a physical exam to check my stomach and groin which was easy. Then the weight and height - I gained a kilo and lost a cm on his scales! So my weight is 126.1kg and only 171cm, putting my BMI at 43. It's never been that high before.
I got to meet Dr Cohen, and together they said I was a very good candidate for the surgery and they waived the normal two week waiting period to make a decision, so I was booked in there and then. I had brought my friend along who has had the sleeve done and I had done a lot of research, so they were comfortable that I knew enough about it all, and it was what I really wanted. I'm so grateful I didn't have to take the two weeks, I think it would have played with my head.
Originally I was planning a November surgery as I have a busy work period at the end of October and uni would be over for the year, but they basically took it out of my hands and booked me in to the first available which is Friday September 21st! 4 weeks from my first appointment!
So now the race is on to get access to my super to be able to pay for the operation in time. I've completed all the forms, I'd checks and gotten letters from my doctors to verify the need to access my super. The only thing I have left is to get a quote from the hospital and my private health insurance to say they will cover my hospital stay.
Iam booked in on Wednesday September 5th for my appointments with the dietician, exercise physiologist And Bariatrics assessor. I will have to do a shake diet for two weeks before the op to reduce the size of my liver, to give better access to my stomach.
It's all happening very fast but I feel very much at peacetime my decision, and am really excited to see where this leads me to.
Why weight loss surgery?
Weight loss surgery is a big deal. I wish I didn’t have to go down this path. But I do. At my last weigh in (after which I was too scared to weigh again), I was around the 125kg mark. At 172cm tall, that’s a BMI of 42.
Morbidly obese.
I have high cholesterol, PCOS, and I can’t conceive, even with 16 attempts at IVF. We were rejected from being able to adopt due to my weight. My self-esteem is through the floor.
But now that I’ve opened my mind to this possibility, I have hope about what my life could be. Being able to walk into a clothing store and know that there will be something that will fit me. Being light enough to exercise properly, to run and take dance classes. Being eligible for the adoption process if we wanted to try that path. And maybe, just maybe, being able to have a baby.
That’s the crux of it. I want a child of my own to love and adore. We’ve been down the IVF path and it didn’t work. But if I get to 35 or 40 and know in my heart that I didn’t try absolutely everything within my power to have a child, I think I would be incredibly disappointed in myself. So this is me throwing everything I have to try and bring our baby into the world. Significant weight loss is meant to help obese women regain their fertility, especially in PCOS patients. I’m counting on it.
Morbidly obese.
I have high cholesterol, PCOS, and I can’t conceive, even with 16 attempts at IVF. We were rejected from being able to adopt due to my weight. My self-esteem is through the floor.
But now that I’ve opened my mind to this possibility, I have hope about what my life could be. Being able to walk into a clothing store and know that there will be something that will fit me. Being light enough to exercise properly, to run and take dance classes. Being eligible for the adoption process if we wanted to try that path. And maybe, just maybe, being able to have a baby.
That’s the crux of it. I want a child of my own to love and adore. We’ve been down the IVF path and it didn’t work. But if I get to 35 or 40 and know in my heart that I didn’t try absolutely everything within my power to have a child, I think I would be incredibly disappointed in myself. So this is me throwing everything I have to try and bring our baby into the world. Significant weight loss is meant to help obese women regain their fertility, especially in PCOS patients. I’m counting on it.
Saturday, August 25, 2012
How did I get this fat?
I like to think I was a pretty normal looking kid and teenager. I don’t think I was ‘fat’, yet looking at photos, I definitely had puppy fat and was bigger than others. I was a size 14-16 throughout my teenage years, so bigger than a lot of the girls, yet not what I now think ‘fat’ looks like.
In my first year at uni, I lost a lot of weight and was around a size 14 when I met my husband. We jumped into things straight away, moving in with each other just two months after meeting. We lived about an hour away from where my family and friends lived, and it was isolating and lonely. Our favourite evening activity was going to the service station and buying a one litre tub of Connoisseur icecream which we would eat with two spoons on the couch. Over a couple of years, my weight had ballooned out to 116kg.
In 2006 when we first started trying for a baby and knew that we had fertility issues, I was told that I could not do IVF unless my BMI was under 35. So I worked my butt off and got down to 98kg within 3 months to be able to start treatment. I guess you can do almost anything when you have motivation! It was also the first time that I had joined a gym or really tried to be healthy, so the novelty of it all probably helped me to get through.
However over the subsequent years and through many IVF attempts, the weight crept back on, plus more.
So here I am. My before photos. I cant wait to see what my after photos will look like.
In my first year at uni, I lost a lot of weight and was around a size 14 when I met my husband. We jumped into things straight away, moving in with each other just two months after meeting. We lived about an hour away from where my family and friends lived, and it was isolating and lonely. Our favourite evening activity was going to the service station and buying a one litre tub of Connoisseur icecream which we would eat with two spoons on the couch. Over a couple of years, my weight had ballooned out to 116kg.
In 2006 when we first started trying for a baby and knew that we had fertility issues, I was told that I could not do IVF unless my BMI was under 35. So I worked my butt off and got down to 98kg within 3 months to be able to start treatment. I guess you can do almost anything when you have motivation! It was also the first time that I had joined a gym or really tried to be healthy, so the novelty of it all probably helped me to get through.
However over the subsequent years and through many IVF attempts, the weight crept back on, plus more.
So here I am. My before photos. I cant wait to see what my after photos will look like.
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| 2010, I'd lost a bit of weight here |
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| At my biggest a few years back. This photo shocked me |
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| Heading to a 20's ball |
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| March 2012 next to my sister-in-law |
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| Trying to feel pretty |
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| October 2011 in Paris |
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| Trying to look classy in London |
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| Loving the Paris life, yet this photo made me cry |
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| Macaroons??? Isn't that how I get in this mess in the first place? |
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| Bali March 2012 |
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| My wedding day - November 2005 |
Thursday, August 23, 2012
What is a sleeve gastrectomy?
I've decided to have a gastric sleeve done, which is a relatively new technique. A lot of people have heard of lap bands but not as many people know about the gastric sleeve. Basically it involves cutting out 3/4s of your stomach to create a small tube instead. From then on, you cant eat anywhere near the volume that you once could, which obviously is how the weight loss comes about.
The other cool thing about it is that it helps you feel less hungry. I don't understand the full science of it but there is a hormone/thingy called ghrelin which is basically your hunger impulse, and the removing of a big chunk of the stomach significantly reduce the amount of ghrelin, thereby making you feel less hungry.
The other cool thing about it is that it helps you feel less hungry. I don't understand the full science of it but there is a hormone/thingy called ghrelin which is basically your hunger impulse, and the removing of a big chunk of the stomach significantly reduce the amount of ghrelin, thereby making you feel less hungry.
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| Image from http://www.robertsewellmd.com |
What weight am I aiming for?
Current weight – 125.8kg
Height – 172cm
BMI - 42.5
In the short-medium term, I’d like to get under the 35 BMI mark, which is 104kg
Long term, I want to no longer be obese which means under a BMI of 30 – 89kg. I think 85kg is a good long term goal for me to aim for – 40kg to lose.
I can’t imagine being under 100kg, let alone under 90kg.
My health weight range (BMI 20-25kg) is 60-74kg. I doubt I will ever be in that weight range, but using the gastric sleeve as a tool, I feel I will be a lot closer to that than my current weight.
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
What's the next step?
I saw my GP yesterday who was more than happy to give me a referral to my chosen surgeon. I have decided to go with Mercy Bariatric Centre, mainly because it's a holistic approach to weight loss surgery. They do all of the major bariatric procedures, not just lap bands or sleeves, and they have a gym specifically designed for bariatric patients which I think is awesome.
They have exercise physiologists and nutritionists, and a whole team working together for you. They are also involved in a lot of research, all of which makes me very comfortable on the whole.
The video below is from a news story a couple of years ago, and Dr Cohen is the surgeon who I am planning on doing my procedure.
My surgeons appointment is this Friday. To be honest I'm not quite sure what to expect, but I am taking along a girlfriend who has been through the procedure herself who will hopefully be able to keep me on track.
They have exercise physiologists and nutritionists, and a whole team working together for you. They are also involved in a lot of research, all of which makes me very comfortable on the whole.
The video below is from a news story a couple of years ago, and Dr Cohen is the surgeon who I am planning on doing my procedure.
My surgeons appointment is this Friday. To be honest I'm not quite sure what to expect, but I am taking along a girlfriend who has been through the procedure herself who will hopefully be able to keep me on track.
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
The post where I tell you who I am
My first post of a new blog. A fresh start. How cliche, yet it gives me butterflies in my stomach as I read those first few words. I'm about to embark on an adventure. I've been blogging for around five years about my life, but I want to start again with a clean slate.
You see, I've made a decision. Actually, I feel it needs capital letter. A Decision. I am going to have weight loss surgery. A Sleeve Gastrectomy to be precise. I only made this decision a couple of weeks ago, so it's all very fresh and I have a lot of thoughts that I want to get down.
So what is this blog going to be about? I still intend to blog at my current location, but I want to focus this blog on my health.I am hoping to blog everything pre-surgery, the procedure itself and my immediate recovery, and then onwards to seeing how my weight loss progresses and the improvements in my health, through a focus on diet and exercise.
Lose and Hope. The weight loss surgery is about losing part of me. Losing the physical fat that has hindered my life. But this is also about hope. About losing other parts of me that are holding me back, and hoping to gain my true life.
You see, I've made a decision. Actually, I feel it needs capital letter. A Decision. I am going to have weight loss surgery. A Sleeve Gastrectomy to be precise. I only made this decision a couple of weeks ago, so it's all very fresh and I have a lot of thoughts that I want to get down.
So what is this blog going to be about? I still intend to blog at my current location, but I want to focus this blog on my health.I am hoping to blog everything pre-surgery, the procedure itself and my immediate recovery, and then onwards to seeing how my weight loss progresses and the improvements in my health, through a focus on diet and exercise.
Lose and Hope. The weight loss surgery is about losing part of me. Losing the physical fat that has hindered my life. But this is also about hope. About losing other parts of me that are holding me back, and hoping to gain my true life.
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