One Year Surgiversary- 365 days and 119 pounds gone for good

Weekend before Surgery

One Year Post-Op

A year ago today I had the gastric sleeve surgery.  It has been 365 days of trying to figure out who I am and deciding who I wanted to be.  I know it sounds ridiculous considering I am 30 years old and that I should have been figuring that out before now but for the prior years of adulthood I have been hiding behind my excessive weight.

Food was my drug of choice.  I used it to celebrate, fight back emotions, and in general cope with life.  As I look at the photos side by side I am amazed at the transformation.  Honestly, until today I have not looked at the pictures side by side.  It is humbling, shocking, scary, heart breaking, and joyous all at the same time.  I don't recognize the woman on the left but I don't see the woman on the right in the mirror.

In this year I have found my own sense of style in clothing that does not hide my body behind layers and larger sizes.  I have worn dangle earrings and cut my hair short.  I always felt like dangle earrings drew too much attention to my face and that super short hair made my face look fatter.  In a year I went from huffing down the hallway at school to being able to complete a 5k in less than an hour with energy to spare.  From insecure of my attractiveness to completely confident that I am worthy of my husband's flattering compliments.  I went from trying to teach from a chair to walking a trench in the carpet around my classroom.

I have learned how to channel my emotions into something other than carbs and sugar.  I have become more open about my past and my present in hopes that I might help someone else along the way.  I took a huge leap of faith and gained so much.

From the bottom of my heart I owe so much gratitude to a multitude of people.  I appreciate God opening the doors and windows through which this was possible.  For my amazing husband who did nothing but encourage me through this whole process.  To my boys who were patient in my transition to healthier eating for the whole family.  My parents have been hugely supportive from my beloved ice cream maker to encouraging words.  My extended family has been so encouraging through this change also.  My in laws have been so uplifting in this desire to change my health.  To My Jennifer, I can't say enough how grateful I am for our friendship.  My school family has done nothing but encourage me through kind words, workouts in my classroom after school, answering random health questions, and in general just flat out loving me.

I went from type 2 diabetic with high blood pressure and cholesterol to a young at heart and smokin' hot bod of a 30 something mother of two boys and wife of a Stud Muffin.  This has been one of the hardest years of my life in dealing with all the demons that made me feel like it was acceptable to hide inside my own body.  I wouldn't change it for the world.  I would wake up every single day and make the same decision to alter my body to get what I have gotten in return.  I have added years to my life and a new sense of self.  For these 365 days and 119 pounds gone I have been blessed beyond measure.