Weight loss at nearly 13 years out

[DianaCox]

Just thought I would post this summary of my weight loss history.

• First year: 293 to 205.
• Year 2-3.3: 205 +/- 5 lbs.
• Years 3.3 - 6: Slow drift down to 170 - after getting to 190 without doing anything in particular to "earn" it, I started working out with a personal trainer
• Year 6: Got to 169 and had arms and lower face done as a first procedure of getting circumferential body lift, thighs, boobs, and mid-abdomen do-over - but had a horrible reaction to Reglan given post-op and basically had a breakdown; ended up having panic attacks, suicidal ideation and depression (and never had the other procedures). I was put on an antidepressant that wasn't supposed to cause weight gain, and quickly gained back to 205.
• Years 7-11: pretty steady at 205.
• Year 12: I'm 62, and it's been a rough year emotionally - we're selling our house because we can't afford it, and planning to full-time RV for a year or so, and then settle down somewhere cheaper and away from our family. I became VERY sedentary and lost my appetite. For the last 8 weeks I've been living essentially alone in our old RV with the cats while my husband readied the house for sale. I've tried with mixed success to be more active (some of which I can't avoid because of my circumstances), while trying to make sure I'm eating mostly properly.
• Today I weighed 179.6 - first time in the 170s and more importantly, first time merely overweight rather than obese, since early 2010. But I'm worried that most of what I have lost is muscle mass.

That is my experience.

House will be listed tomorrow. Hoping once it sells, our new traveling life will be happier and more physically active. And I'll lose a bit more, and get a lot more fit.

 

[Munchkin]

Jealous! If I stay in an RV alone in the middle of the desert will I lose too?

Best of luck with the house! I am sure you will make out like a bandit!

 

[southernlady]

Good luck with selling the house and getting a boatload for it.

It's hard not to be more active in an RV.

 

[hilary1617]

Diana, Congratulations on your successful weight loss maintenance. You certainly have rocked your DS. Can't wait to hear about your travels!

 

[Razbry]

It was courageous of you to share the details of your life. It is a powerful message that while weight loss can bring better health, it doesn't "fix" the realities of life. I identify with you. I'm 62 and am fourteen years out from the surgery. I lost the weight, but along the way my husband committed suicide (a protracted 6 month search for him, with the heartbreak of our 11 year old son...it came close to breaking me). I believe that the choice of surgery is a defining moment. We are warriors, ready for battle, no matter what life throws us. We persevere. I know several people who are giving up their homes for the RV lifestyle. They love it, and I hope you will find that as well. I'm in the process of selling my home and berry farm (no buyers yet!). Transitions are tough, but we are strong. You have a community here who truly love and care about you. We are portable! Take my encouragement and fortify your strength with it. You have got this!

 

[aaa]

Thank you for sharing your story.

Have you thought about taking small weights with you? Perhaps that would help alleviate your concerns regarding muscle mass.

 

[DSRIGGS]

It was courageous of you to share the details of your life. It is a powerful message that while weight loss can bring better health, it doesn't "fix" the realities of life. I identify with you. I'm 62 and am fourteen years out from the surgery. I lost the weight, but along the way my husband committed suicide (a protracted 6 month search for him, with the heartbreak of our 11 year old son...it came close to breaking me). I believe that the choice of surgery is a defining moment. We are warriors, ready for battle, no matter what life throws us. We persevere. I know several people who are giving up their homes for the RV lifestyle. They love it, and I hope you will find that as well. I'm in the process of selling my home and berry farm (no buyers yet!). Transitions are tough, but we are strong. You have a community here who truly love and care about you. We are portable! Take my encouragement and fortify your strength with it. You have got this!

Oh my gosh Honey I am so sorry that you, your son and the rest of your family had to go through that. You are obviously a very strong woman. Good luck on the sell of farm and home!

 

[DSRIGGS]

Great stuff Diana. You have done well but more importantly you are happy and going to get to enjoy retirement (not sure if you are fully retiring or are still going to work some).

 

[Jbandmmomma]

Good to hear that you and Charles will be back in the same abode soon. Amazing DS story too! Continued wishes that your house sells, your family does well, and health for you all!

 

[DianaCox]

Nope, not retiring - hoping to continue working remotely, part time, for the next 7+ years, which I have been doing for the last six years - so long as I have an internet connection, I can continue to do this.

 

[KathrynK]

Diana, I hope you know how important your contributions to the DS world have been. I would not have had it if I hadn't followed you on OH 11 years ago. Your intelligent analysis of the risks and benefits of the choices led me to this important decision that has changed my life so significantly. A lot has changed in my life too, other than the weight loss, kids out of college, being laid off at 62 and retiring not by choice but by such limited opportunities. I am not surprised you are able to find steady remote work, given your obvious analytic mind. Through it all I know I am alive because I had the DS. You have to know that many of us were profoundly influenced by your contributions. As to life's ups and downs and weights up and down, you remain a role model for riding the waves of change. We all get hit by crap along the way, and we all get through it with our loved ones (and that includes a cat cuddle) and with seeing how others bounce back. May the road rise up to meet you in the RV, may the connection to the internet always follow you, and may the sun rise to find you enjoying bacon and eggs. Thank you.

 

[DianaCox]

Omigosh Kathryn - what a lovely comment! It makes me feel very privileged to be able to help (sometimes by being a good example, sometimes by being a dire warning), and being able to fulfill my ethical obligation to make a pro bono contribution as a lawyer in this way has been deeply rewarding (and it's not like there are a lot of indigent biotech inventors hanging around waiting for me to help them file patent applications!). Plus, hating the insurance companies and tilting at them like a deranged Don Quixote suits me - especially when we win (and by we, I mean Larra and the person who we are working with, because it is always a team effort).

As for how I live my DS life, I have always tried to combine a scientific view, along with a realistic one. I never tracked my carbs carefully - I was so thrilled to be losing weight relatively effortlessly, that reaching particular goal weight was not that important, and my attitude was "as god is my witness, I will NEVER diet again!" But I can't say I wasn't disappointed to land at 205, and get stuck there - twice. That has been my reality. The main thing was that my HEALTH has stayed very very good - cholesterol, triglycerides, blood pressure, protein, and all the other stuff. I am not fart-free, and don't go out of my way to avoid that problem, because I don't have to - and I know HOW to, when the need arises (I am a model of clean eating before cross-country plane flights, believe me!!).

I'm almost 63, and (knocking formica) my knees and feet and hips are still OK - at my weight just before surgery, my feet would hurt SO badly after walking more than 20 minutes it was nearly unbearable. I've got saggy skin everywhere, but at the moment, no rashes, and no interest in going through the pain and disability of surgery to fix that (even assuming that's what I would want to spend any of the profits from the house on). My husband is not troubled by how I look (not that he would dare ...), so I'll probably never have that fixed. (OK, maybe the bags under my eyes and the neck that never was finished after the first procedure.)

I want people to be happy, and to not set impossible standards for themselves that keeps them from getting there. For too long, most of us lived our lives telling ourselves how much better things would be "when I lose weight." While the DS gives the HOPE of losing it all, it does not give that as a promise. Most of us are just a bit too broken for that. But 75% better is REALLY a lot better, and we need to embrace that. Is it worth suffering having to live on a perpetual diet to get to 100% EWL, or to only have to pay modest attention most of the time, and live at 75%, and in good health? That's my "DS math," and everyone needs to make up their own minds if that is enough. I just want to be one who says "it's good enough for me, and yup, I'm still healthy and more importantly, happy, even though I'm not skinny." If it makes someone else "get" that that's OK, that makes me feel pretty damned good too.

 

[ampt]

I want people to be happy, and to not set impossible standards for themselves that keeps them from getting there. For too long, most of us lived our lives telling ourselves how much better things would be "when I lose weight." While the DS gives the HOPE of losing it all, it does not give that as a promise.

TOTALLY AGREE!! I was one of those people that said those exact words! What it boils down to is we all need to be happy NOW, living NOW, and loving NOW. There is no promise of tomorrow (although the DS definitely makes tomorrow more possible)!

And I echo @KathrynK 's sentiments... you (and Larra) have done so much for me, personally, and this community. Thank you!

 

[kirmy]

Hey you....fucking awesome. Sorry I've been caught up in my own rubbish and not been paying attention. I'm proud of you.