Vanishing Velez

Highest Weight: 267 lbs.
Weight At Surgery: 253 lbs.
Current Weight: 188.8 lbs.
Total Weight Loss: 78.2 lbs.
Weight Loss Since Surgery: 64.2 lbs.
Goal Weight: 140 lbs.
Pounds to go: 48.8 lbs.

Today was my 3 month follow up from my surgery. I was kind of expecting this to be a bigger deal than it was. I was expecting Dr. Shetty to be going over a lot more things than we did, but I think it was a good appointment.

It was about 15 minutes long. I went into the office, and they took my weight and then brought me into a room. A few minutes later, Dr. Shetty came in and commented on how I’d lost over 60 lbs. which was amazing. Originally he thought I was in for my 6 month appointment, but then realized it was my 3 month follow up. He said that usually he sees people lose 20 lbs. in the first 3 weeks, 40 lbs. in the first 3 months, and 60 lbs. in the first 6 months. I’m 20 lbs. ahead of that goal.

Dr. Shetty then asked me what I was thinking for a final goal weight. He recommended between 150 and 160 lbs. I told him that I was thinking my goal would be closer to 140 lbs. 140 puts me at a BMI of around 25, which is the very high end of normal. Again, recognizing that BMI is a flawed calculation system, I still think that 140 is a good weight for me. I could maybe set a goal for as low as 120, but that might be pushing it.

He then asked me if I had any concerns. I brought up that recently, I had not had much interest in food. He asked if I was a big carb person before, and while I was, it’s not even that. I’m just not really interested in eating. Food is not appealing. He encouraged me to at least hit 60g of protein a day, even if that means supplementing with protein shakes. This reminds me that I have to get better about tracking my food regularly. I don’t think that I’m getting 60g right now.

I also talked about hydration, explaining that I drink way more when I can use a straw. Dr. Shetty said that at this point, I can start using straws again without any problems. I can also start using gummy vitamins if I wanted, and can lower my heartburn meds with the intent of stopping them. He said my GP would handle my other meds, and I told him that I am already lowered on my metformin because my A1c went from 7.6 to 5.3 since surgery (5.7 or less is considered normal). He said that he expected that I would be off my cholesterol medications soon, and I told him that I had bloodwork scheduled before my next GP appointment.

Once we went over all that, he looked at my stomach briefly to check my incisions and make sure that everything felt alright. Since it looked good, he said that he would see me in January (6 months post-op). He then gave me a short term goal of hitting 160-165 lbs. by that appointment. I think that that is actually doable if I keep up at this rate. Right now, I’m averaging 2 lbs. a week, so hitting 160 would take 14.4 weeks at that rate-and my appointment is in 14 weeks. That being said, I will also have to deal with the holidays, so I will not be devastated if I don’t lose that much. I’m already ahead of where I wanted to be by this point.

Anyways…That’s all. Part of me wishes I had more of an update for you, but I’m also glad that I don’t have more-because that means that everything is going well. I’m going to try to start writing more posts about food, exercise, etc. to give you more content, and I’m always posting on my Instagram (@vanishingvelez), so go ahead and follow me there.

See you next time.