It has been a long time. I got down to 240 pounds back in March. In April, I finally hit 235 pounds – which was the magic number of 200 pounds gone! And since that time I have fluctuated up somewhere between 5 – 7 pounds. I have worked very hard on not being depressed by that! I have upped my exercise. I have done what I thought I needed to do. I had even resigned myself to staying at this weight. It’s not really where I WANT to be – but it is so much better than where I WAS BEFORE! And I was OK with that, even if I wasn’t entirely happy. For the last two weeks, there has been steady, if not dramatic, progress in the right direction. Just a few ounces each day – and I have to admit, I was afraid to look at it as progress. Today, I am back down to those 235 pounds.
Plateaus are the most difficult thing for me on this journey. The early weeks and months of rapid weight loss are long gone. I knew that would happen. I went further than most on that segment of my trek. (According to the doctor, it was reasonable for me to expect to lose about 60% of the weight I needed to lose in the first year following surgery. I lost over 70%.) It doesn’t mean that I CAN’T lose any more weight – but the mechanics are very different.
To reach my goal, I still have about 55 more pounds I want to get rid of. It may take me a long time to get there. I may have to shake things up – varying my exercise – and my food choices. But I am as committed to this goal as I was back when I first decided to have the surgery. I don’t have to be on anyone else’s time frame. This is my body – and my health – and if it takes me two years to get where I am going, I will be OK with that. Even small progress is better than standing still – or going backwards!
One thing does amaze me, though. I do not have to be at the END of my journey to help someone else on his or her journey. I have NOT arrived - but I have reached out to people in very different stages on their journey. I don't think I have all wisdom - or all the answers - but people seem to be sincerely asking my opinion and advice. And helping someone else ultimately helps me. It reaffirms my commitment. It helps me be patient with the plateaus (it is really hard to advise others they have to be patient with their plateaus, if I'm tearing my hair out because of my own plateau). It makes me more aware of the food choices I make - because someone might be watching me - not in a creepy, accusing, "caught you" way - but they see me doing something right and it helps them make good choices.
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