5 Years! FIVE YEARS! CINCO AN’OS! Post Gastric Bypass! :-)

Standing In One Leg Of My Old Jeans Five Years Post Gastric Bypass!

I am so sorry as I am a bit overdue for my official five year anniversary of my laproscopic  RNY surgery. Some days I feel I have been ‘normal weight’ for a long time, other days, I still have the thought process and outlook as I did when I was obese. It is strange, really…… surreal. So I will do a bit of walking down memory lane.

After ten months of jumping through hoop after hoop after hoop…. After months of test after test after test….After months and months of attending the bariatric support group…. After losing 26 lbs on my ‘own’ only to get delayed for my ‘official’ appointment to set my surgery, etc., I gained some back (of course, story of my life!),  had shown a twelve pound loss from consultation and they were happy enough with that! My initial appointment was set for later in February, but about ten days prior to my surgery, I got a call saying there was a cancellation and if I wanted, I could take the spot and have my surgery done in what would be just over a week! I was ecstatic! 😀 The only thing was, I would have to get in all my ‘last of’s’ in a week. Chinese buffet, Mexican, Ben and Jerry…. you name it! What I did not realize then, with the exception of Ben and Jerry, all my ‘last of’ foods after about a year, I can still eat, just in much smaller portions! And that is OK! Holiday dinners, down to the sliver of pumpkin pie I enjoy, is the same. A few bites of everything is all I can hold, but that is OK! Just because I cannot eat 3 times the amount than what I can eat now does not ever bother me in the least. Nothing tastes as good as being ‘thin’ feels.  It took me 2 years to get to my ‘sweet spot’ which was actually thirty pounds lower than my goal weight. While that sounds like a ‘long time’, it really did not take me that long to get to the point  where my blood pressure, cholesterol and insulin resistance was gone. Now, five years later, what I pretty much tell people is, I eat good and healthy. I eat as close to all natural and very little processed. I eat REAL Mayo (just use less), REAL salad dressing (same), REAL butter, lots of fresh fruit, etc.

The one thing I stand firm on is NO NSAIDS! If you are post RNY, don’t DO IT! DO NOT DO IT! Last July, besides the heart-break of missing my granddaughter’s 1st birthday party, I was busy having my intestine put back together where it perforated (where the bypass meets the pouch). I had a big ulcer which when perforated also gave me peritonitis (the same as if your appendix bursts). 3 days in ICU, a week in the hosspital…. well you know the drill! No… NSAIDS!

I have learned to not get too complacent because the weight can creep up for no apparent reason. I mean really! In December when there was cookies, candy, etc, and I did not gain anything and all of a sudden now, I am 7 lbs above my “sweet spot” (my weight is still well, well within normal range with a BMI of 22),

What have I learned in the five years since I had my RNY:

1.  The surgery is not an ‘easy fix’. As Dr. Tanachai Lucktong M.D., my surgeon said to me at one point, the surgery is a ‘tool’ and I am the one doing the work.

2.  Life does not ‘end’, in fact, I believe I enjoy food more now than I EVER did! Give me some fruit and cheese or some fresh pepper fajitas on whole wheat tortillas anytime over fast food! I am constantly looking for new ways to make yummy food! 😀

3.  NEVER EVER forget from where you came from! If someone makes a ‘fat joke’; anything sensitive to people struggling with weight is still near and dear to my heart.

4.  Life does not suddenly get ‘perfect’. In fact if anything, it gets more challenging as you have to be two steps ahead as far as not over-eating; making sure there are things at get-togethers that work for you, etc.

5.  Most important! You always have to stay on top! I have this 7 lbs that I have no idea where it came from  (UPDATE! As of this morning, 2 lbs is gone, so make it 5 ish!) and I really need to lose it. Now I will admit, when I was way down in the 120’s, I did not look well. I really saw it after bouncing back up to 140 lbs and seeing the difference in a picture. However, when I edge up too much, I really feel better at my ‘sweet spot!’ It is like a tightrope act. It is exactly like walking a tightrope!

FINALLY….. No, NO NO NO NO NO NSAIDS!!!!!!!!!!! Did I make that clear enough?

 

 

 

Before

 Still Kicking Ass! But Working Hard Every Day To Boot! Five Years Post Gastric Bypass!

My Recipe for today is one of my lunch FAVE’S!

Kelli’s mini whole wheat/ healthy Pizza’s!

Ingriedients:

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Whole Wheat Tortillas

Shredded Mozzarella Cheese (part skim/2% for lighter)

1 Jar Pizza Sauce

Assorted vegies (I love to use peppers, green, red, yellow, orange), red onions, etc. Any non startch vegie that you like!

Turkey Pepperoni, optional

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Preheat oven to 425 degrees

Put a very thin amount of pizza sauce on each whole wheat tortilla used. Very little sauce is needed. Use spatula or brush to spread. Cover the sauce with a thin layer of cheese. Approx. 2-3 Tbs. of cheese per tortilla. Load each tortilla with peppers and onions (go crazy here, it adds ton of taste and a small amount of calories…… lots of vitamins…. this is where you want to bulk up the food!). Can add turkey pepperoni if desired. Put on pizza pans and bake for about 5 minutes but watch very carefully. They are done when vegies looked cooked and cheese is melted and bubbly! Enjoy! 🙂 This is one of my favorite lunches! Can also do as ‘wraps’. I do mozzarella and turkey pepperoni for Paul in place of over processed and inflated in price “Hot Pockets”.

Healthy Pizza Ala Kelli! :-)