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On Sept. 4, 2008, I underwent gastric bypass surgery. I'd already dropped 25 lbs. on my pre-surgery diet; as of today, my one-year "surgiversary," I've lost a sum total of nearly 150 pounds. I'm down 8 sizes (and no, that's not a typo) and am now wearing clothes I haven't been able to fit into for 12 years. My sleep apnea is gone, my Type II diabetes is in remission, and my blood pressure is perfect. If it weren't for the wacky hormonal fluctuations I've been having the past four months, I'd say I feel the best I have in my entire life.

This is all of the good stuff.

There is some not-so-good stuff. Like the fact that good bras are expensive, and right now I'm needing a new size at least every two months. Ditto for panties. Yes, I know there are worse problems to have. But money is tight, and I cycle through clothes so quickly that my wardrobe is very limited at times. Either that, or I end up wearing things that are two to four sizes two big, which just makes me look hulky.

Vanity Gripe #1: The last time I was this size/weight, I did not have a double chin. WHY DO I STILL HAVE A DOUBLE CHIN? I hate the double chin with a fiery and irrational passion.

Vanity Gripe #2: Skiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin. As in, loose skin. As in, crepey skin. As in droopy, saggy, riddled with tiny, nude-colored stretch marks skin (because yes, you get stretch marks when you lose a lot of weight in a relatively short period of time). If I lay on my side and kick my leg straight up, I have athletic-looking thighs. When I stand, loose flesh and the remaining bits of flub droop down around my knees. And don't get me started on my boobs, which look like tube socks with tennis balls at the bottom of them. Joe will kill me for admitting this, but I can smack my own face with the right boob, which cracks me up and makes him shriek "Stop!" like a little girl.

Lastly, after a year of losing weight and inches very, very quickly, all of it has slowed to a crawl. My surgeon says I should be shooting for a 1 lb. a week weight loss. Say wha? I still have 75 I'd like to lose, and about 40 that I should lose before attempting the bun-in-the-oven thing. I'd like to drop two more pants sizes and three more tops sizes. I WANT TO FIND A WAY TO GET RID OF THIS DOUBLE CHIN.

The upside: even though the weight is coming off more slowly, my body composition is still changing pretty frequently. For instance, I've only lost about 10 pounds since early June, but I've dropped an entire clothing size (normally, I have to lose about 20-30 lbs. to switch) and one whole bra size. I can do more physically than I have since I was in middle school - and feel (mostly) good while doing it.

So, yeah. Mostly good things (chin not included).

And oh! Here's a really good thing: to mark the occasion of my first ever surgiversary, Joe got me a little silver scale charm for the bracelet he gave me at Christmas. (He also got me a book charm, as an overdue congratulations gift for SWEET LIFE's pub date.)

Best. Fiance. EVER.

Hope everyone has a great Labor Day weekend! I'm off to labor right now in our bonus room, which is in desperate need of purging and sorting.


P.S. I posted updated progress pictures on my Facebook page, but they're accessible by friends only. At least, they're supposed to be.