Tag: <span>Clothes</span>

8 months after surgeryeight 3088896 1920
Published Tue, 27th Apr 2021

8 months after surgery

Today marks the 8-month anniversary since my gastric bypass surgery, so I thought I’d give a quick update.

Since surgery I’ve lost a total of 41 kg so far – that’s nearly 6 and a half stones, or 90 lbs. I’m delighted with the progress so far, and am continuing to lose weight – albeit more slowly than in the first 6 months.

My BMI has also dropped below 35, so I’m officially not ‘morbidly’ obese any more!

Food

I’m eating normally now, and there aren’t any foods that I can’t tolerate. I’ve also not experienced dumping at all. I asked the dietician about it, and she said that I’d definitely know if I had it. So I guess I’m lucky to avoid it.

My tolerance for all foods means that I have to be careful not to slip into old habits and buy lots of sugary and fatty treats. I physically can’t consume as much food as I used to – because of my smaller stomach – but I’m sure I could do a lot of damage to my weight loss if I’m not careful.

I’m currently not tracking what I eat, which is potentially risky, but I want to see if I can make my eating more normal – without the obsessive tracking of calories and protein. I want to get used to the ‘new normal’ of eating.

Clothes

My clothing sizes have definitely dropped. My jeans have gone down from a 42 inch waist to 36 inches, and my shirts have gone from 4XL to 2XL. So I’m finally able to dip into the half of the wardrobe that previously held the ‘too small’ clothes. I have some items that have never been worn and still have the tags on them, so it’s like going on a shopping trip, but everything is free!

Exercise

As I’ve talked about before, I’m trying to exercise at least once a day. Not just for my physical fitness, but for my mental health as well. I’ve found that a walk or cycle is a great way to clear the head, and earn some Active Zone Minutes on my Fitbit!

I also had an appointment a couple of weeks ago with an Exercise Physiologist at Medfit Proactive Healthcare to get assessed for some strength training to help with my upper body strength and condition. I wanted to work with a specialist who has good experience of obese people and bariatric patients in particular, as I’ve had a bad experience with a personal trainer in the past who didn’t make any allowance for my body size and weaknesses.

Anyway, I now have an exercise plan to do at home, until the gyms open at least. Although I’m having trouble finding somewhere that sells dumb-bells, as they seem to be sold out everywhere!

My Story Surgery

Clothes Exercise Food Progress Weight Loss

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Five weeks since surgerySlate 3323693 1920
Published Thu, 1st Oct 2020

Five weeks since surgery

It’s now five weeks since I had my gastric bypass surgery, and I’m back for another update.

My progress so far is that I’ve lost a total of 12.2 kg in the last 5 weeks – which is 1 st 13 lbs or 27 lbs in imperial measurements. I pretty-much use metric all the time to record my weight now, because that’s the scale that all the medical staff in my hospital use.

I’m pleased with my results so far. The weight loss of 12 kg is equivalent to the weight of six 2-litre water bottles – which would feel pretty heavy if you were carrying them all home from the supermarket! But I guess it’s more the non-scale victories (NSV) that I’m more pleased with.

I can now fit into shirts that I had to abandon about 9 months ago because they were too small. My wife also says she can tell I’m shrinking when we hug. But as well as that, I feel a lot better. Simple things like putting shoes and socks on, or getting up off the sofa are so much easier now. The pain that I used to get in my legs and feet when walking has also diminished a lot.

But it’s not all good news. I find now that I feel cold a lot more often, especially in my extremities like my hands and nose. I guess that’s just to do with eating a lot less than normal. And it just means that I have to put on an extra layer to keep warm.

In a week I’ll have my first follow-up with my surgeon, and hopefully she’ll confirm that I’m doing well.

My Story Surgery

Clothes Feeling Cold Hospital Appointments Progress Update Weight Loss

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I didn’t expect to feel so cold after my gastric bypass!Person 731467 1920
Published Wed, 30th Sep 2020

I didn’t expect to feel so cold after my gastric bypass!

As a larger person I used to look on bemused when thinner colleagues in the office used to complain about being cold. I would check the thermometer and see that it was in the 20s, and wonder why they complained so much.

Now I understand what it’s like a lot more, because I’m cold all of the time!

I have a thermometer in front of me in the room, and it’s currently 23.5 degrees celsius – and yet my hands are like blocks of ice, and I’m contemplating putting another jumper on.

In the past before my surgery I used to eat between 3000 and 4000 calories a day, so I was consuming plenty of energy to convert into heat. Whereas now – five weeks after my weight-loss surgery – I’m only consuming about 600 – 1000 calories. My body seems to be thinking WTF and not wasting any of that precious energy on keeping me warm.

I guess as I continue to lose weight, I’m also going to lose the protective layer of fat around my body – my insulation – and so any heat I do have is going to escape even more easily.

I’ve heard that eventually the body will get used to the new weight and start to regulate temperature a bit better. But until then, I guess I’ll need to put on load of layers – especially as winter is on the way!

My Story Surgery

Clothes Cold Post-Surgery Weight Loss

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Published Wed, 7th Nov 2018

Non Scale Victories

When you attend a Slimming World class you are weighed every week, and your progress is entirely defined by the amount of weight you’ve lost.

However, the process of losing weight is not all about the number of pounds and stones you’ve shed. Sometimes it’s about things that don’t show on the scales.

It’s about how you now feel about yourself, how your health has improved, how you can do things that previously used to be a struggle, the inches that have gone from your waist, the dress size you’ve dropped and the clothes that you can now fit into.

These are called Non Scale Victories (or NSV for short). They are the achievements and progress you can see but that don’t necessarily show up on the scales. 

Everyone’s Non Scale Victories are different. They might be things like:

  • You can now fit comfortably and confidently into that amazing dress you bought for a special occasion
  • A friend that hasn’t seen you for a while notices and compliments you on your weight loss
  • Your health improves so that you can play with your kids
  • Your muffin top no longer spills out over the top of your jeans
  • All that body magic has helped you run your first 5 km without stopping
  • You have extra energy, improved confidence, and generally feel better

All these victories need to be celebrated, and your consultant will be delighted for you to share your Non Scale Victories with the rest of the class!

Slimming World

Clothes Health Non Scale Victory NSV Weight Loss

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Published Sun, 11th Dec 2016

The slimmer’s new clothes

One of the effects of losing some weight is that I now have to buy new (smaller) clothes.

Some of the shirts that used to only just fit me (we are talking straining buttons here) are now too big on me. And trousers that used to fit snugly are now falling down.

I’ve lost inches from all over, which is wonderful. And the best thing is that I am now beginning to fit into clothes sold in normal clothes shops – albeit the largest sizes they stock – instead of having to buy clothes from specialist ‘big man’ retailers.

Indeed, I was delighted last week to be able to go into T K Maxx with the misses and actually find a couple of things that I both liked and that fitted me well. It was a revelation to me, as in the past I’ve just concentrated on finding things that go around me, rather than worrying about how they looked!

I’ve also been suit shopping this week for an upcoming wedding. My original plan had been to wear the suit I got married in 3 years ago, but when I tried it on I found it was too big. So I’ve bought a new one that’s 6 inches smaller in the jacket, and 4 inches smaller in the trousers.

My Story Slimming World

Clothes The Misses

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Should I throw away my fat clothes?fat man with straining shirt
Published Wed, 12th Oct 2016

Should I throw away my fat clothes?

They keep saying in class that a 10 pound weight loss for women equates to a drop in one dress size. I’m not quite sure how that equates to men’s clothing, but in recent months I have dropped a jeans size!

Before I joined Slimming World I was positively bursting out of my clothes! All my trousers felt tight, and the shirt buttons over my belly were under severe strain. On some occasions, I’m surprised they didn’t ping off across the room and take someone’s eye out!

I was fooling myself that I still took the same size of clothes that I used to, but every day the number of items in my wardrobe that actually went around me were dwindling.

Thankfully, since losing a bit of weight, I’ve managed to bring a whole load of shirts and trousers back into regular use that were previously too small for me. I’m now wearing all those clothes – well some of them anyway – that I had kept hold of “just in case” I ever lost weight. And I’m also facing the prospect of having to buy some new smaller clothes in the near future!

But this is the thing… We all keep hold of smaller clothes, waiting for the day when we might – just might – fit into them again. But when losing weight, and inevitably some items become too big for us, should we keep them too?

I guess what I’m saying is, should I keep my fat clothes, in case I get fat again?

I don’t want to think that I’m going to fail with my weight loss and put it all back on again, but then again history has proven that I have done exactly that time and time again. I’ve lost weight on several occasions over the last 10 years, and have always regained the weight. So who is to say this time will be any different?

Sure, I feel positive and determined now, but who is to say what might happen in six months or a year’s time? And if I do throw away my fat clothes now, will I live to regret it if I end up putting on weight in the future? Should I keep my bigger clothes, just like I did with my smaller clothes, “just in case” I might need them again?

I really don’t know. I’m torn – a bit like the seat of some of my trousers!

My Story Slimming World

Clothes Losing Worries

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