250lbs Missing

I will never stopped being amazed at how good and efficient the human body can be when it comes to healing itself. Just four weeks ago today, I was under the knife and being cut and trimmed. 10lbs of skin and over 100 sutures later I was laid up and quite out of my mind in a hospital bed. Now, I'd hazard to say I'm doing really quite well when it comes to my recovery. This has been the first week where I would say that I really feel like myself and my strength is returning finally. Being able to pick things up from the ground, carrying a 24-pack of soda, or just walking around a store for a bit are things you quickly miss when you can't do them anymore. This week I had my last JP drain out and a checkup where the surgeon said the scarring is looking good and there is good early signs of nice body contouring. He wants me to start walking more and getting active in moving around, it pains a bit after a while of being on my feet but I understand it's good for recove...

Well, this is the first true week after my operation that I actually felt like a functioning adult. That first week was pretty much just a blur, didn't really do or remember anything I did in that time. I can't say it was from pain, as my surgeon did an amazing job with pain management, but more from the exhaustion of the whole event. Second week was better, but I had felt pressured to get back to work. Looking back though I should have stayed home that week, it was a mistake to push myself that hard as my body really needed that time to recover. But thankfully that brings us up to week three. I did complete a full week of work, and made it out on my own multiple times to pick up food/items that I needed at shops. Yes, I still have a JP drain in. And yes, the scaring and incisions really don't seem to have changed much since the first week. I have a lot of tape still on my body, but my surgeon want's me to leave it there till it falls off or peels off accidentally...

To start out with; WOW! This whole process has just been a flurry of adjectives. Exciting, worrying, humbling, tiring, painful, surprising, itchy. Just to name a few. Week two was not what I expected, being rougher in my opinion to go through than the first week. In the first week I had the worst pain (though when it was bad it always seemed to be relatively brief), and I was more or less immobile and dependant on others. My mobility, independence, and being able to stand up straighter has drastically improved in week two, however it's also brought some of the roughest parts of my recovery so far. Pain-wise I got hopeful for a few days. My abdomen muscles stopped hurting as bad and I started getting a lot of itching. The itching itself I thought was a sign of the end of the pain, however after a few days of intense itching I started getting pain from the incisions themselves. I think most of the pain comes from the incisions being irritated by pressure and contact in various wa...

(Click on photos to see them larger.) Things start pretty fast if you are scheduled for a morning run. You get to the hospital and into the surgical pre-op staging room. Here you get to meet all the wonderful people like your nurses, assistant anesthesiologist, anesthesiologist, surgeon and more. Each of which you will end up forgetting. They ended up putting the IV in my foot, which I hear is rare, as they would be flipping me around like a short order cook making pancakes through the procedure. One of the final things that happened is my surgeon came along with his purple crayons and did some impressionistic art on me. Anyways, shortly after this I was wheeled away and honestly taken to what I assume was the surgical theater, after this photo was taken, I don't remember a thing that happened to me. It's one of the most jarring things I can think of in life, coming out of a fog where you just feel lost and cheated of your time on earth. Before you open your eyes...

As many of you reading this may know, I am going in this Friday (1/12/18) to have skin removal surgery done after my weight loss of 250lbs. They will be reducing the extra skin on my arms, chest, abdomen, and then the beltline (which pulls some of the buttock). It's not an easy surgery to go through and recover from. Recovery itself seems to lay you out from normal life activity for a week to two, and you are not back to pre-procedure levels for six or more weeks. The scars themselves are  pretty gnarly (though much less visible than your extra skin), and the cost is often prohibitive for most (or at the very least puts you into medical debt for a few years as insurance will often cover just a portion or none of the surgery). So the question really comes to mind as I count down the days and then hours to this surgery. Why? I'll start with the more upfront and simple reason, medical issues. It's a little gross to talk about, but skin irritation and rashes are a real and...

It’s not something you often hear people say, but I’m about to throw these words out there. It’s possible to learn to enjoy your weight loss and dieting! Please, stay with me and hold off on clicking back to that YouTube video of goofy animals you were watching. I’m not crazy. Call it stockholm syndrome or hardcore denial but it’s possible to have fun along the way and enjoy the process! Here are some tips to enjoy your work: Have fun cooking your meals. Get creative and freestyle a bit. The great part about cooking is that it’s like an art (nothing like that strict science magic that is baking). Meal prepping can start to feel like your staring in your own cooking show. Who knows, you might be able to get some views if you start filming it! New and exciting options are going to open up for you in clothing as you slim down. Build up lists on Amazon or other websites with styles and clothing you’d like to try. It sounds cheesy, but a 90’s shopping montage with some friends can b...