The end of the gastric bypass trail

Without a doubt, the end of the gastric bypass trail is approaching.  It might have already arrived, and I might not have accepted it just yet.

Those who read this blog know that I went through damn near a year of preparation for Gastric Bypass surgery.  This included 6 months of "education" and "training" course.  The nurse/dietitian who ran this program drilled one point into our heads repeatedly.

We would have a relatively short window to loose all our weight.  That window would most likely be 9 to 12 months.  After that, we would "return to normal".  What does that mean?  It means we would feel hunger again.  It means we would be able to eat pretty much anything again.  It means we would be able to consume relatively normal portions of food.  It means that we would be able to face the idea of eating more than one solid meal per day without cold sweats and fear.

When the day came that we could feel hunger again, eat anything, consume relatively normal portions, not throw up, and eat more than one solid meal a day, this day would signify the end of the gastric bypass trail.  After this day, all weight loss would come at a costly premium again.  It would come slower and be more difficult to obtain.  We would have to fight through hunger to get it.

For some of the more severely challenged members of the class--the people over 400 pounds--that was a scary thought.  These folks needed to loose damn near 200 pounds in less than a year to get the job done.  I didn't feel particularly threatened at any point by this talk.  I felt a round figure of 100 lost pounds would be sufficient for me.  If I reached 231, Dr. Bachner said I would avoid the wheelchair.

I went considerably further than that.  I've lost 135 or 136 pounds in just about 8 months.  I am probably around 21-22% body fat right now, so I am within striking range of my final goals:  17-18% body fat.  I haven't got a lot to fear if I am reaching the end of the gastric bypass trail.

Still, it is with a feeling of impending doom that I tell you I haven't thrown up in the past 7 weeks.   I do feel hunger again.  I have felt it several times in the past 5 to 8 days.   I can eat anything.  I ate most of a Wendy's cheese burger at lunch, and most an In-N-Out Burger for dinner.  {I was particularly bad today because I went down to Hollywood to see an old friend play at the Viper Room.}

As you know, I have been drinking some chocolate milk lately.

At length, you know well that the weight loss has not only slowed down, it has gone in reverse.  I am around 194 now, after reaching a low point around 190.7.  This isn't necessarily a bad thing.  People were beginning to inquire about my health.  They were wondering if I had cancer.  Several have told me that I have gone too far.  Many have told to slow down or quit entirely.  They feel I hit the goal a month ago or more.  Of course, they don't know about (or understand) the results of the body composition tests.

I didn't really want to go under 190 pounds.  I was hoping that I could add lean and reduce fat at the same time to get all the numbers to settle up at... say... 15% body fat around or about 195 pounds.  To achieve this objective, I would have to raise by body lean to 165.75 pounds.  I still believe this goal is achievable.  I hope I am blazing the trail to this goal as I write.

We'll have to see.  Phase II of the program may be beginning very soon.  This will be the honing phase, where scale weight doesn't change much, but my physique hardens.