I have said it so many times in the last 3 months; “it is incredible just how much my life has changed in just 90 days!” I walk past mirrors these days and hardly recognize the person I am today, but I FEEL like the person I have always wanted to be- if that makes any sense. Yeah, I still have my days where I feel down because the weight loss journey is much like being on a never ending rollercoaster of ups and downs. I have only just begun this journey but am so eager to see where this weight loss takes me.
It has officially been 3 months since I have had my weight loss surgery (the gastric sleeve), and I have lost total of nearly 70 pounds! Not one single article of clothing that I own fits me today. It is so cool seeing the physical changes happen but nobody warned me about just how fast I would slim out of clothing. I have yet to invest in new clothes because to be quite honest each week I lose more and more weight and I have yet to plateau. I remember being at my heaviest weight and having to up my pant size to a 42 (US size), prior to surgery I was able to get down to a size 38/40 (depending on brand) and yesterday I officially invested in my first pair of pants since surgery coming in at a size 34! Yesterday was the first day I was ever able to walk into a mainstream store pick a pair of pants and walk out wearing them! I have never once been able to do that as with my old weight I had to constantly have my clothing tailored to fit right. It sounds like such a minuscule event in the grand scheme of things- but believe me; until you know what it feels like not being able to wear clothes off the rack, it feels nice being able to shop like everyone else.
You know what else no one warned me about that comes along with weight loss. The constant stares and asking “what have you done, you look so different.” I have never had so many people comment on my appearance in the last month or so. I appreciate it, do not get me wrong. But, it is starting to make me feel the need to go extra hard at the gym to allow the weight to continue to drop. I have to continuously remind myself that I am doing this for ME and not for validation. On the other end of this dilemma, I have also noticed that the weight loss has drastically changed the way others view me. More and more people have sparked up conversations with me that in the past would likely never have happened. It’s almost as if obesity puts up an invisible wall I didn’t know about where people feel uncomfortable talking to you. Is this a thing?
Now for one second lets talk about how this change has affected my love life or lack there of (LOL). Guys I have had interest in the past who rejected me due to my weight and not being into “chubby/fat” guys are now BACK in my DMs asking me out for drinks. It is honestly probably the weirdest part of this weight loss journey. Getting an insiders view of how vein our community is- is really sad and has a tendency to constantly make me feel inadequate.
Ok let’s end this one on a good note with an update I have been DYING to write about. After many, many, many years (yes- I am that old), I am officially a CHEERLEADER again. The universe works in the most mysterious ways! About a month prior to surgery (end of May, beginning of June) I saw a post on IG that an adult cheerleading squad I have been fond of for many years was to have try-outs in mid-August for the fall season. I had been to one of their cheer clinics about 2-3 year prior but wasn’t able to try out due to health issues and my weight being a hindrance. I thought to myself for a solid month about whether I should participate in this years clinics and try out. I tossed the idea back and forth in my head for awhile and my biggest concern was the fact that the first cheer clinic was exactly 6 weeks post-op. For anyone interested in weight loss surgery know that for the first 6 weeks you are restricted and can’t do any type of exercises besides walking. I was stressed thinking I wouldn’t be able to accomplish making the team.
I started lifting very light weights and increased from walking to jogging during week 5 post op- very important to note that I did this under the supervision of my surgeon (do not do this without first consulting your physician). With only 1 week of conditioning I decided to attend the first clinic- I was absolutely high on life and forgot just how much joy cheering brought me and also how much soreness it can cause the body (that good soreness). I attended the 2nd clinic the following week and another week flew by and before you know it- I am standing in front of a panel of coaches and the entire team trying out. I got an email 2 days later that I…..MADE THE TEAM!
I haven’t been able to post because I have been super busy acclimating to cheer and busy with work and everyday life. But, things are starting to fall into place and I promise to commit to writing more. I thank you all for the likes and follows and for the wonderful emails you all share with me about your experiences and how mine is helping you in some way. I originally started this blog in hopes of just sharing my weight lost journey but I now realize that I want to treat it as my true diary. There’s so much I want to talk about (weight loss, adult cheerleading, my love life, gay world, etc- LOL) and little by little- we shall get to it all.
ALL Tea and ALL Love,
Tony
PS- Every week my team crowns the “fiercest” of the day during practice, and I won the first week as a ROOKIE. Pretty cool feeling when it happened, and also this picture was a moment I realized for myself just how different I look and feel. I shared this picture on instagram (@Tonys_Tea) with the caption: The smile on my face is genuine happiness and a reminder that there’s always a light at the end of the tunnel ❤️.
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