Weight Update

This morning, I got on my home scale and it said 231.0.

That is a loss of 107 pounds from my highest measured weight of 338, in the spring of 2002. It is 76.6 pounds down from 307.6, my weight when I started my last go-round with Weight Watchers on October 31, 2008. (I did Weight Watchers as my pre-surgery diet, but I only lost a total of about 3.5 pounds in about 4 months!) Today's weight is 73 pounds down from what I consider to be my official surgery weight of 304 pounds, and it is 67 down from what my surgeon considers my official surgery weight of 298. (I had a stomach virus immediately before my last check-up with him, so I lost about 6 pounds in one day before they weighed me. Given all the carbs and fat I consumed between the surgeon's weigh-in and my surgery date, I think 304 is a more true representation of my "real" pre-op weight.) Also, I'm 23 pounds away from reaching my lowest weight as an adult. Right before law school, in August 2005, I weighed 209 pounds. Losing 23 more pounds would put me at 208.

In sum: I've lost 73 pounds since surgery on April 13, 2009, roughly 4.5 months ago, at about 22 weeks out, and I'm 23 pounds away from my next major goal.

I'm happy with how things are going, but I'm not thrilled for two reasons. First, I wanted to be in the 220s now. When I left for my hometown two weeks ago, the scale said 238 (up a bit from my previous low of 237.4.) Yesterday afternoon, it said 229.9, but I think that must have been some kind of error because it hasn't given me a number in the 220s since. 231 is a 7-pound loss in 2 weeks, which is great, but...still. I wanted to be in the 220s now.

Second, I really wanted to hit the "century mark" (100 pounds down) by my six-month "surgiversary" on Oct. 13, 2009. At this rate, I'm not going to make it. I've been in the 230s now for nearly a month.

Hopefully, getting into a routine will quicken my weight loss. For the past 5 weeks or so, I've been all over the place: I took the bar in Oakland, moved from New Haven to Columbia, traveled around for weddings, and then went to my family's home in Anderson, SC for two weeks to relax and attend my ten-year high school reunion. At least when I was in Anderson I joined Gold's Gym and worked out nearly every day, but I still haven't gotten a good workout routine going in Columbia. My job starts on Friday, and there's a gym at the courthouse. Hopefully that will be my gym home-base.

Of course, even a somewhat faster pace of loss would be unlikely to put me at the 100-pound mark by six months out. I'd need to lose 27 more pounds in 6 weeks, or 4.5 pounds each week. Some RNY people lose weight at that rate, but not me.

Despite this slight disappointment, I know I'm doing well. I'm totally thankful for this surgery!

And I should put things in perspective. I've been morbidly obese most of my life. When I graduated from high school, I was denied health insurance for the first time because I weighed 330 pounds at the age of 18. When I was 15, I weighed 250, and engaged in all kinds of unhealthy dieting behaviors only to lose 25 pounds--and then gained it right back plus a whole lot more. Later, I lost down from about 350 to 209, only to regain nearly 100 pounds during law school. Given all of the DRAMA of dealing with weight issues for most of my life, I really should not be complaining about a slight delay in reaching the century mark.

It's just . . . I'm so eager to experience what life is like for people of a normal weight. I can't wait to take a walk on the other side. Hopefully, I'll get there soon.