I have had a lot of people ask me over the past 3 months about my weight loss and I have been very vague about it. Today I am going to share with you my full story.
Please note up front and you will read this towards the end of the post that I am worried about judgement and people not properly understanding why. But I want to share my story to motivate anybody who is struggling with their weight to make a decision to do something about it. There is more to this story than just one blog post, I will continue to share more if you want me to.
Back in April I visited my doctor to see if she could help me find a solution to why I was constantly feeling tired and also to get my cholesterol level checked again. My doctor was very blunt with me, she was concerned about my high cholesterol and poor energy, all factors of being so overweight. She told me that if I was to continue as I have that I would be dead before my grandchildren were here. Talk about a smack of reality.
- I was not exercising because I kept giving the excuse I was too busy.
- I thought I was eating OK (looking back, no I wasn’t).
- I was out of breath when walking very short distances.
- I was a bad snorer and my husband was scared one night, he thought I stopped breathing.
- I was drinking 2-3 cans of coke a day and sometimes no water
- I was rejected for life insurance because I was severely obese
- I was not looking after myself and putting other things before my health
Yep, the doctor was right, if I did not improve my health I would miss out on many valuable years of my life.
She knew my history, she knows that I have tried many diets (Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, Tony Ferguson, the list goes on), that over the years I have exercised with personal trainers. For I don’t know what reason no diets or exercise seemed to shift my weight. Perhaps I just didn’t put in enough effort, perhaps I wasn’t motivated enough. But she told me how it is and said I don’t think there is any other option for you but to have weight loss surgery. I walked out of her office and cried. I called a friend and we cried together, she knew how much my weight was setting me back and talked me out of my hysteria. I was so embarrassed that I had let myself become so overweight that this was suggested. You see as an overweight person, I never felt how other people saw me, despite being a size 22 I felt like I was a size 18, I was in denial.
This was me in June 2013 at a Dettol Mission for Health video shoot
It took me a few weeks to actually make sense of what she recommended, weight loss surgery, is this really the only option for me? I researched other options, googled, researched the surgery, read testimonials… and then made an appointment with the surgeon. From all that I read I was excited, excited to make a healthy choice to live a longer life. It wasn’t an easy decision, I was constantly thinking in two minds. I had been overweight for over 10 years, what was I going to do differently?
On 4th June 2013 I had Gastric Sleeve surgery. Basically Gastric Sleeve surgery is having 3/4 of my stomach removed, therefore restricting the amount of food I eat. As an obese person my stomach was much bigger than the average healthy person, that is why it’s so hard to lose weight, because our stomaches have stretched we feel like we have to eat more before we feel full. If I continue to eat healthy and exercise it is realistic that I will lose over 45kg with the help of the surgery.
I took 4 weeks to recover from the surgery, the first 2 weeks were extremely emotional. I had days were I was depressed and regretted my decision. It was around the same time Angelina Jolie decided to remove her breasts to prevent cancer. I used her analogy to help me through my time, I removed 3/4 of my stomach to prevent my body giving away from me earlier than it should. Ultimately what got me through it was my kids. I was doing this all for my own health, but mostly to be here with them as long as I can to spend with them.
It has been just over 3 months since the surgery and I have lost 24kg. I have no regrets and am so pleased with my decision. I am exercising 3 days a week (working my way up to 5), 2 of which are with a personal trainer to help me exercise properly to help reduce the amount of skin I will have left over when I lose all my weight. I am no longer tired, I have a more positive attitude and am enjoying eating healthy. For the little food that I can now eat, I want to fuel it with nothing but the best.
To date I have lost 24 kig
Why share the story now?
Originally I didn’t want to share my story because I was embarrassed I allowed it to get so out of control, I was afraid of judgement and people not understanding why I took such drastic measures. I imagined people saying, ‘just stop eating so much and exercise’ and it being seen as the cheats way out. But I tell you now, this is no cheats way out. I was in such an emotional state I couldn’t bare the thought of negativity.
I only told my husband, a few friends (last night I shared this story with my kids and other members of my family). I wanted to share my journey with you, why I decided to do it and the process, because as a blogger naturally sharing is what I do, but I couldn’t because I hadn’t even told the people most closest to me. So I hope you can understand.
But why tell you now? I had a friend contact me recently asking, ‘Kat you are looking amazing, what are you eating, I am trying my absolute hardest and can’t see a change on the scales, what is it you are doing?’ I called her straight away and told her my story without hesitation. She in so many words told me I should share my story because people out there are reading and watching me lose my weight, yes I am now eating healthy and exercising, plus there is another reason why it is coming off so easily, the surgery.
There is still so much to share about my story and how now 3 months in how Gastric Sleeve Surgery has affected my life, I will share it if you are interested.
But I truly hope that sharing my story can help anybody struggling with their weight. Either considering weight loss surgery or to do something about your health before it gets to the point that surgery is the only option.
