HALF MY SIZE AFTER BARIATRIC SURGERY

“Why is my food so far away from me?”, I asked my friend sitting across from me in the restaurant booth. For as long as I could remember if I was able to squeeze into a booth, the table was squished up against my chest so tightly, the plate of food was practically in my mouth. Now there was over a foot distance between me and the table.

“Ah ha!”, I thought. That’s the reason for placing a napkin on your lap. So in the trip between the table and your mouth, if the food falls onto your legs, your clothes won’t get dirty. Well, I never knew that before. There was never any space between me and the table; there was never any lap.

In this segment, I am going to share with you the joys of discovery related to my new “thinner” life after my bariatric sleeve surgery. There are many psychological as well as physical adjustments that have to be made, none of them as easy as you may think. I will delve into the psychological aspects in future segments, but for now, let me tell you about some of the fun stuff:

1. Clothes shopping – Of course, this one would top the list. As I was losing weight, I supplemented my wardrobe with a few inexpensive Walmart outfits to get me by. I certainly wasn’t going to spend a lot of money on clothes that I would “outgrow” (undergrow?) every few months. But after losing 100 lbs, it was CHICO TIME.

I have no idea why, but Chico’s has weird sizing. Instead of the usual 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, they label their clothes Sizes 00, 0, 1, 2, and 3. (Only recently have they acknowledged heavier women and increased their size selection to a 4, but very few stores carry it.) Their size 3 had always been so far out of my size range that I couldn’t get my arm into it. I had been a Plus Size 4/5X, so no Chico shopping for me before my surgery.

You may recall that in earlier segments, I discussed how I never saw myself as “morbidly obese”. Fat, yes, but never as fat as the scale and charts indicated. Never as fat as strangers’ stares and comments indicated. I couldn’t see it in the mirror. Only when I saw pictures of myself did I realize the extent of my obesity.

Now, it was the opposite. I could not see myself as “thin” or “thinner”. I started trying on their largest size - 3 (regular size 16) and found most of them to be too BIG. I left that store with a bag full of Chico’s size 2’s with a few size 3’s, depending upon the style. I was walking on air.

The confusion I felt at not realizing my actual size will be addressed in the future segment I mentioned on the psychological effects of the surgery. But for this shopping trip, I was ecstatic! From a size 4/5X to a size 14/16.

2. Driving – Where is the road? My lack of height is a well-known fact. The seat in my car was adjusted as high as it could go. It was adjusted as close to the steering wheel as it could go. As I was losing weight, I kept pulling the seat closer to the wheel. But now I was noticing that I couldn’t see over the hood. When I looked to the left, I could not see over the side-view mirror. In losing all that weight, I had lost the huge cushion on which I was sitting – My tush! Who would have thought? I had to buy a new one. Cushion, not tush.

3. The Airplane – the aisles; the bathroom; and the seat belt extender. I no longer had to turn sideways to walk down the airplane aisle or maneuver myself into the bathroom. Not that I consider those such great accomplishments, given that the width of those places was built to accommodate stick figures. (At least that’s how it always seemed to me. And still does.) But the greatest thrill was being able to ditch the seat belt extender. If you have never experienced it, you cannot imagine the humiliation of having to ask for one. I could now pull the seat belt and have some strap left over! JOY!!!

4. Restaurant Booths – I mentioned this at the beginning of this story. I now had a lap and a reason for placing a napkin on it.

Do you know what the best part of my initial post-surgery life was? I was ignored. No one paid any attention to me. You may find that odd, but in my “morbidly obese” world, I was stared at, whispered about, and snickered at. No, it was not my imagination. Anyone reading this who is obese understands the truth of the situation.

I had finally achieved my greatest wish – to look so normal that no one paid any attention to me.

Here are a few more post-surgery pictures. It was difficult for me to believe that I looked so obese pre-surgery. It's just as difficult for me to believe that I look so normal post-surgery.

It wasn't easy. It's still not easy. I work at it every single day, but it is so worth it.

UPDATE - It's three years post-surgery. I am maintaining my weight loss. I am not a medical professional and am not recommending weight loss surgery to anyone. I am simply telling my story and the story is that this was the best thing I ever did for my life-long weight issues.

Part 1 - The Life That Led Me to Bariatric Surgery

Part 2 - The Road to Bariatric Surgery - Full of Potholes

Part 3 - Struggling Through the Pre-Surgery Medical Requirements

Part 4 - Failing the Pre-Surgery Psychological Clearance

Part 5 - Pre-Surgery Education Class - The Fattest One in the Room

Part 6 - Starving for Surgery - If I could stay on a starvation diet, I wouldn't need the surgery

Part 7 - Bariatric Surgery Finally Arrives - with complications

Part 8 - Post Bariatric Surgery Life Begins - Liquids, Pureed food, and NO HUNGER