Next Steps

Photo Credit: uneitzel Flickr via Compfight cc

We're emerging into "normal life" around the house, and boy does it feel strange. Yesterday we cooked three meals (and stayed under 1,000 calories and 60 grams of carbs), walked the dog, and did laundry. A thoughtful early Christmas present of a new 17-foot ladder took all the near-catastrophic adventure out of draining and disconnecting our swamp cooler for the season. (Thanks, Dad!) Everywhere you look in our home, things are starting to resemble a "normal" household.

So...now what?

Don't get me wrong - the fact that we can have something very similar to a normal life is exciting and gratifying. But we are getting very close to our goal weights. We have been intensely goal-driven through this whole process, and as our final major goal approaches, I look beyond and see...what?

Well, we have the 5K next May to look forward to. We've asked anyone in the family who normally gives us Christmas presents for clothing or gift cards for clothing, so January could be a good time for refilling our ever-thinning wardrobes. I've still got my "lifetime goal" of a 38-inch waistline to hit, though I actually managed to get some on in a dressing room recently. However, I looked like a fat man trying to cram himself into skinny jeans, so I quickly abandoned the effort. Everywhere I turn, our current weight loss goals are nearly met. I think it is time to set some new targets.

(We will now pause while I try to come up with some fresh ideas.)

Camping! Camping has been a big one for us, since we previously would get out in the mountains, set up our campsite, and I would then be unwilling to move around much due to exhaustion. We need to commit to a specific number of trips next year.

Increasing our socialization is already happening, but needs to continue. We have a growing circle of friends who welcome us out into the world and we need to commit to investing more time into those relationships.

Maybe most importantly, advocacy. We are living proof that drastic measures bring dramatic results in the fight against obesity. I have spent years working in Epilepsy advocacy, and now need to transfer that experience into doing the same for those suffering from obesity - especially morbid obesity. After all, there are a LOT more people suffering from obesity than seizure disorders.

A few ideas, sure, but they need to be filled out and turned into specific points of achievement. The worst thing I can think of happening would be to arrive at our weight loss goals and then quit, having nothing left to motivate us towards further achievement. We've been given a gift, in bariatric surgery and recovery, and the last thing I want to do is waste it.

(Or waist it!)

See What I Did There?

- Hawkwind