6th Month Evaluation

Well yesterday I went to my 6th month WLS evaluation with Dr. Landers at the Bellevue Group Health Hospital. I had all my blood tests the week before and basically the Doctor and myself went over the results and he gave me time to talk about my experience and any problems or questions that I may have had. He said I had already meet the 80 percentile figure that he wanted and expected me to lose because of the surgery. All the tests results were excellent and he and I were very happy with the outcome so far. 

He said something to me that was a little different. He is now describing the WLS as a “kick start”. Not a permanent fix for weight loss but a way to get your life style in order and give you a tool to help you keep the weight off for a lifetime. But he talked about many patients who do not keep the weight off past 5 years and in his experience most of these people just could not keep the rules as provided for them and life kind of got in the way and they started eating more and more each day and eating things that they shouldn’t like foods that are high in carbohydrates. He also told me that people like me who lost fast or most of their weight in the first 6 months or so are the most successful. We both feel that because of my past problems of just eating to much at each meal and no history of grazing in the past, that my chances of keeping the weight off is much better than most. He also likes the idea of how supportive Jackie is to me, including that she has lost weight herself just eating along with me and not getting things in the house that would cause me a problem.

He said the best thing I have done for myself, is to get rid of diabetes. It is now gone from my life. No meds at all and my A1C is way down and falling. He feels in my case that this will be the biggest factor in me having a good health life in the future. 

He was very happy with my progress and does not have to see me again for 6 months. He expects that I will be at my goal of 165 pounds by then and we will adjust my diet to a maintenance mode. That will be the next big challenge and I am looking forward to it