It's My Surgiversary! Where I Am 2 Years Later

By Jennifer DeMoss

Oh my goodness, has it REALLY been two years?? TWO YEARS!!
It's gone by so fast!

It's odd, because I really can't remember what life was like 100 lbs. ago. I look in the mirror and I really feel this is how I've always looked. Then I look back at old pictures and videos .. WOAH.

So I think I need to do a re-wind! What did the last two years look like for me? What have I learned?

First off, the first six months went exactly as I thought. I lost weight fast and couldn't eat much.
Honestly, I loved it

The second six months, the weight-loss started tapering off.
I was told I could have carbonated beverages again (this started a cycle back into bad habits for me!)

At one year I was almost exactly 100 lbs lighter!

I then realized there were things I could eat that I couldn't eat before: rice, bread, pasta, sugar ... Oopsie. See where I'm going with this?
So I succumbed and allowed myself to fall back into bad habits and started putting trash back into my body!

Then 7Bites came along!
The next year has been spent writing, researching, learning.
I have learned so much about nutrition and health and well-being!

So, here I sit 2 years later. Where am I at now?

• I am still 100 lbs lighter, which puts me just under 200 lbs. (and yes, I'm totally okay with this).
• I have lost 74% of my excess body weight. 74%!!! Considering the average is 50-60% I think I'm doing pretty well! 
• I can still eat junk. I'm trying to get off that wagon.
• I am taking a health and nutrition course by my friend Audra Baker on mind-body nutrition. This is good stuff people. I'm blogging about this later.
• I've learned that while I CAN eat things like carbs and sugar and junk, my body responds to it in a totally different way than it did before. Well ... Maybe not. Maybe it's that I'm just now noticing my body's response to it. Either way ... I notice now how I feel after I eat a handful of Doritos rather than a cucumber. Trust me. The cucumber makes you feel WAAY better.
• I have actually gotten some food sensitivities. I am wheat and gluten sensitive (yes, I still eat them in moderation.) I am also now lactose intolerant (I can eat small amounts of cheese and cultured dairy). And I still can't tolerate high fructose corn syrup. 
• I can eat more now than I could before. Whereas in the beginning I could only eat about 1/4-1/2 a cup of food, now I can eat up to a cup on some days. This does NOT mean my sleeve has stretched. It means that it's no longer swollen and has relaxed into the size and shape that it's going to be from now on (this is normal and will happen to everyone!).
• Sometimes I still eat more than I should, and yes I still slime (if you don't know what that is, Google it. Not pleasant). I am learning that it's okay to eat off of other people's plates instead of ordering my own food to prevent this phenomenon. Most of the people I hang out with are okay with this.
• I still have issues with reflux and indigestion. I have pills for it that I don't take that I really need to ... I should go do that now. Hang on. Be right back ...
• B12 is your friend. Trust me on this.
• So is coconut oil.
• I have some loose skin, but it's not terrible. Plastic surgery is not in my immediate future.
• GROSS ALERT (but I've been asked to reveal this so here goes ...) I have alternating IBS and Constipation, depending on what I eat.

Wow ... that's really all I can think of! Of course, if you have any questions, you can always come visit our Facebook page and our Facebook group! We're always happy to help.And check out my update video as well! I dive into a little more personal reflection there (link coming up as soon as YouTube's trained monkeys fix it!)

If you haven't undergone bariatric surgery yet, and are just in the research process, I encourage you to check out our new book the 7Bites Pre-Bariatric Surgery Guide. It will walk you through all the steps including:
Figuring out what surgery is right for you, finding your doctor, getting insurance approval, and recovering from the first few days after surgery. Check it out and let us know what you think!