Soon, I'll be reaching 5 months post-op. I know this may be redundant but I am still elated to have had the surgery and with the results. I can basically eat anything I want but only a little of anything, which I'm fine with. I have a lot more energy than before and I'm more physically active also. The thing is I want and I like to do physical activities now. I'm a lot less self-conscious and I now shop in the "regular stores", i.e. I no longer need to shop in plus-size stores or departments. Maybe only for pants and jeans. I went from being tight in a size 26 to fitting in size 18 for pants and jeans and extra-large and large for tops. People keep telling me how much I changed/lost weight/look good/radiant/confident, etc. And truly, I feel amazing!! I started to read this wonderful book:Obesity Surgery: Stories of altered lives by Marta Meana and Lindsey Ricciardi to help me cope with the aftermath of the surgery. Because let's not kid ourselves, everything changes after the surgery. From how you look and feel to your coping mechanisms, your relationships (family, friends, romantic), your relation to your body, how you feel in your body and I could go on for hours. You need to learn to cope with all of that. Hey, I think I even saw a couple of guys checking me out in the last few weeks. Now that is something totally new to me. Before, I felt invisible in some ways (maybe it was one of the reasons why I was taking up so much physical space). Now, I feel alive and more confident and I think I'm emanating some of that.
I no longer have to worry about fitting in chairs with arms, or that the airplane seat belt will fit, or that I'll have to climb stairs or a small hill and be out of breath and sweating profusely, I can bend in all sort of ways that I couldn't before (to tie my shoes, to give myself a pedicure, etc.).
So, to sum it up, I feel great, I'm doing great and I'm incredibly happy!
