Gastric Sleeve Journey – Three Month Update

Hey Loves, I hope you are all doing well. I am excited to finally be sharing my 3 month post op update. I had a vertical sleeve gastrectomy (weight loss surgery) April 28th, 2022 and I am so happy that I did. If you missed my first few updates, you can catch up HERE.

Weight and Measurements:

• Starting Weight 309.3
• Current Weight 257.6
• Neck: starting 14.5 in; current 14 in
• Chest: starting 55.5 in; current 46 in
• Upper Arm: starting 14.5 in; current 13 in
• Wrist: starting 6.5 in; current 6 in
• Waist: starting 50 in; current 42 in
• Hip: starting 59.5 in; current 53 in
• Thigh: starting 23.5 in; current 23 in
• Calf: starting 17.5; current 17 in
• Total Pounds Lost = 51.7 lbs
• Total Inches Lost = 27.5 in

How I’m Feeling:

In regards to my surgery and my weight loss progress, I am so happy. I still struggle with seeing the differences at times but that is just the mind playing tricks, it can be tough to see things clearly sometimes. But I am so thankful that I made this decision and would 100% do it again.

I am currently walking through a very difficult time in my life and that has made it hard for me to focus on my health as much as I have been. It is a reminder of how much I have used food in my life to cope with trauma and stress. Fear has crept in that I will fail again and not be able to make it to the other side of this. I share because I know that am not alone in this. And this is part of the process. You have to heal more than just your body.

Positive Changes:

• More energy
• Less joint pain/overall pain in back and hips
• So much more comfortable in clothes
• I can move and play easier with my children
• I just feel more like myself than I have in a long time

Struggles:

• It has been difficult for me to stay hydrated in this Texas heat – remembering to sip water all day is hard. I am a busy work from home mom of 3 and I forget!
• Like I mentioned above, I am going through a difficult time, and it has been hard to eat enough. My appetite is low, so it is hard to meet my protein goals.
• Slider foods – these are foods that don’t fill your stomach as quickly so you can eat more of them. Chips, cookies etc. I have been snacking on a few slider foods lately and that is not ideal. I am working on finding a balance by pairing it with a protein. I love Simple Mills crackers with cottage cheese or hummus. This helps me limit how much I can eat and I get protein in as well.

Favorite Eats:

I keep things very simple and easy to maintain. Lot of grilled protein and veggies. Simple breakfasts and snacks too. I share a lot of what I eat on my Instagram too. Here are some of my faves:

• Breakfasts – I do 2 shots of espresso with a vanilla protein shake every day but then a few hours later I do scrambled eggs, greek yogurt, egg bites or something easy like that
• Lunch – a lot of times I do meat and cheese roll ups or leftovers from dinner. Or if I am out, I get a grilled chicken club from Chik-fil-A with no bun, a mini bowl from Qdoba with just black beans, chicken and salsa (no rice) or a lettuce wrapped burger
• Dinners – we love to grill a batch of chicken thighs (boneless, skinless) for the week along with some green veggies (asparagus, zucchini etc) I also love hearts of palm noodles with sauce and ground turkey or a chopped salad
• Snacks – I LOVE PaleoValley meat sticks. I also enjoy greek yogurt with fruit and chia seeds (good protein and fiber), veggies and hummus, sometimes I eat protein bars but I try to limit them, and hard boiled eggs with everything bagel seasoning

That is it for now, but please let me know if you have any questions or what else you would like to see from me! Love you all,

Sara