Tuesday, July 28, 2009

So the Downside


So ya'll know that The Brit only had half of the WLS done a year ago as they had to give him the gastric sleeve.  The intent was to go back into surgery a year later and further reduce the stomach size and do the bypass part of the procedure...but stuff changes.

In the last year as he dropped over 100 pounds, his company changed hands and thus we were forced to change insurance the first of the year.  Our choices were Aetna or Aetna, so we went with Aetna, obviously.  Though Aetna does cover the surgery, The Brit's company did a WLS exclusion with their policy so for right now, we are screwed unless we win the lottery.  Totally frustrating.

I also have guilt because they were able to do all of my surgery in one hit, yet I am struggling to overcome this (some weird version of "survivor's guilt" or something).  He has done really well with losing and maintaining his weight loss.  Exercise is hard for him because he works long hours, so though he does hit kickboxing with Michael every Tuesday. If we are able to get him at least two more days of cardio, he will continue to be successful until something hopefully changes with our insurance or we win that lottery I mentioned earlier. 

Exercise is such the key.  I get this so much more than I used to.  I can maintain my current weight by watching my food intake alone, but if I want that scale to move, I have to move.  And the more I move, the more I find I want to move and that I enjoy moving.  I've even learned to love to sweat because it reminds me that I am working really hard.  I also love trying new things.  I still want to give running a go and would also love to try my hand at hiking.  It's really all about experiencing life instead of watching it go by.  I can't begin to tell you how much I have enjoyed my biking excursions.  The nature, the water, the friendliness of the other people on the canal; it's amazing.  I get so much more from it than just the exercise alone.  The same even goes with kickboxing.  Every time I finish, I have that satisfaction that I can do it and I feel so much better for having done it.

The assortment of cardio also keeps me from getting bored.  There are always new things to try and when I maintain a "can do" attitude, more often than not, my attempts are successful.  They aren't always easy, especially at first, but nothing worth doing generally is.  We have to work at the things that matter.

We just have to make the decision that WE matter and WE are worth it.



3 comments:

  1. Hi Kim, I can really identify with you about the whole exercise thing ...the more you do it the more you want to and when you stop it feels really weird ....LOL I've been walking a lot even with the heat and humidity I am enjoying it. Last night was 3.6 miles and I try to do that 3X a week....Then weekends I try for at least 5-6. I need to work on getting into the gym for strentgh but I am very proud of myself that I am keeping up with the walking ..
    Susan

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  2. You know, I'll tell you - I've been reading a lot of articles these days that say the gastric sleeve is better than the bypass... and I'm starting to believe it. John is doing GREAT and my results have been less than stellar... so I think that sometimes it's less about the procedure and more about how you're using it. Of course there are MANY other factors - like in my case... my body just won't let go of anything else... so maybe there is something like that also working against The Brit - who knows.

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