I'm
going to start part of this story way back on New Year's Day… After a fun night
eating tons of pizza and garlic bread with my amazing cousin and her friends, I
officially started my diet on 1/1 weighing in at 325lbs. This was the heaviest
I recall ever weighing and I felt like absolute garbage. On a good night, I
slept maybe 4 hours tops; my back was always in pain from neck all the way down
to my ass; I would get sick more often than I would like to admit, and I'm told
that I snored so loud that my mother could hear me all the way upstairs.
With the plan of weight loss surgery ahead of me, I had to prove that I could
lose some weight on my own before I could get approved for the operation; so I
cut out about 90% of carbs from my diet. Sandwiches were now eaten rolled in
themselves without bread, I stopped eating pasta (a feat which nobody in my
household thought I would pull off), I cut out chips and candy bars, and
started eating salads, grilled chicken, leaner cuts of meat, etc. It was
a hard task, but with the help of my wife and parents, I was able to get
through it.
Fast
forward to March 26th… my surgery date came quicker then I imagined
it would, and I was beyond excited. I was down to just over 280lbs, and the
45lbs loss was already improving my quality of life. I was starting to sleep
better, my back issues were slowly easing down; and I could breathe clearly
after walking up a flight of stairs. As I walked into Huntington Hospital, I
could barely hide my excitement about the amazing next set of changes that were
coming to my life.
The
first few weeks after surgery were actually better than I expected they would
be. I had mild pain here and there, mostly discomfort when trying to sleep as
I'm typically a stomach sleeper and I find it extremely difficult to get
comfortable enough to sleep on my back. However by two weeks post, I was able
to sleep in just about any position I liked and found new comfort laying on my
side. As time continued, I suffered from some mild post-op effects that still
occasionally cause me some issues with keeping certain foods down (I'll spare
the details here because nobody wants to read about that.)
Long
story short, as of this writing, 7 weeks post-op, I am down to 235lbs. Every
time I get on the scale and see another drop of that middle digit, I get a
little misty eyed, thinking of each major landmark weight. I think about the
90lbs that I've lost in just over 5 months and wonder how I ever let myself get
into such bad shape. I still have periodic back problems, but with
herniated discs, scoliosis, and stenosis, that isn't an issue that's going to
be resolved anytime soon. I have a ton more energy on a regular basis, and
almost always sleep through the night with little help from sleep aids. And
best of all, at least according to my wife, I apparently no longer snore (at
least noticeably.) This week's scale update was especially meaningful to me,
because at my height of 6'2", the body mass index considers anything over
233 as clinically obese. That means that for the first time since I don’t
remember when (probably middle school if not earlier), I am only 2 pounds away
from not being obese anymore. I'll admit, I did slightly more then get
misty eyed at that one.
A
few quick extra updates on my numbers since weight loss… When I began this
journey on January 1, most of my clothes were 3XL, my waist measured at
52", my neck at 20". Just yesterday I purchased new undershirts
in a XL; I'm wearing a dress shirt with an 18" neck, and a brand new suit
in a 44 waist that actually has a little room in it. Part of me never thought I
would see such sizes again, and I am overwhelmed by the fact that I will now be
able to go clothes shopping in actual stores instead of having to buy
everything from websites or overpriced big and tall shops.
Speaking
of clothes and finding sizes that fit me nicely in a store. I suppose this is a
good place to move into the subject that caused me to have such an emotional
meltdown that I decided to pursue weight loss surgery.
As
some may remember, back in November I attempted to go shopping with a friend
for Crystal clothes. None of the stores we went into, which each cater to plus
size girls, had a single thing in my size and I absolutely lost it. I was half
tempted to purge everything I had purchased online and just bury Crystal once
and for all; however with the support of my family and friends, I pushed on.
Although, since the TRCLI party that weekend, I have only been out as my
authentic self once.
Now
that I'm down a significant amount of weight and inches, I'm ready to start
trying to shop again and begin building Crystals wardrobe. Obviously this is a
matter that I have to be slow with, as tempting as it is to go on a shopping
spree and get everything I've ever wanted. With roughly 30-40 more pounds to
lose before I hit my actual goal weight, I can't even allow myself to shop too
much for Craig. In addition, I did hit another major milestone in the
last 2 months… on April 26th; I was officially prescribed my
hormones. I'm now 3 weeks in on standard low starter doses of Estrogen and
androgenic blockers. So obviously it makes no sense to buy too much now, when
in a few months, after some body fat and muscle mass have redistributed
themselves, I'll likely need a whole new wardrobe again. I'm hoping in
the next few weeks to get out shopping for just a few basic necessities like
jeans and a few tops. I am dead set against attending next month's LGBT Pride
events as my old self… because after all, what's the point in attending Pride
if you can't show that pride.
