Christina G. Richards, MD

I've struggled with my weight my entire life. It's been an enormous frustration because I'm a person who loves working out, loves being active and has no problem with healthy eating. I was in athlete in both high school and college but even then my weight held me back from being great. Through my 20s I was able to stay active through constant dieting and consistent working out, but even then at best I was only maintaining a size 20. But in my mid 30s, after two kids, I no longer had the time for long workouts and obsessive food prep and I gained another 50 pounds after my second child. When I went in to have everything checked out it turned out my metabolism was extremely low due to genetics - as in I burn around 1400 calories a day as opposed to 2500-3100 that someone of my weight should be burning. That was the final straw for me and I scheduled surgery. I was okayed to have the surgery at a surgical center instead of a hospital which saved me over $5000. Everything went well, The first few days were a little rough but I am now 10 days out and have lost almost 30 pounds since the preop liquid diet started (15 since surgery). I am doing well on soft foods and aside from constipation have zero complaints or hardships. I'll keep you posted.

Updated on 12 Mar 2017:
I've been waiting to hit the 30 pound mark since this process started. So close. I've lost 16 pounds since the actual surgery. Things are going really well. I am now on soft foods but with the exception of eggs I really haven't had much about eating anything. Already my joints have stopped hurting, I take the stairs without hesitation and I feel like my body is itching to start working out again. Like most have said, I really have a hard time getting enough water and protein every day but I'm hoping that will come. Now I just need my incisions to heal. A couple of them have been sore lately, but it's pretty hard when you have two kids under two to avoid lifting anything heavier than a gallon of milk. Fingers crossed I hit 30 pounds down tomorrow!

Updated on 18 Mar 2017:
HW: 335
Day of Surgery: 323
CW: 301
I think a part of me is waiting for the other shoe to drop. My biggest fear was that this wasn't going to work for me, but so far so good. I'm pretty much able to eat normal foods and I am yet to find a food that doesn't agree with me, but then again I'm not very adventurous. I basically stick to mashed up hard boiled eggs in the morning, fish, fat free refried black beans, protein drinks, cauliflower mash, low fat Laughing Cow cheese and blended up soups. Yesterday our office had a St. Patrick's Day party and there was no appropriate food available. It was conspicuous that I wasn't eating so I decided to try a cookie. I ate half of it and was full. I didn't get sick or anything but it didn't feel good to have your entire stomach full of fat and sugar. I discreetly just wadded up the other half in a napkin. I need to start getting more vegetables in but as many have said before it's really hard just to get your protein in, let alone enough water and vegetables. I'm really excited to be cleared to work out. Every night I take out my baby and toddler and we go on longer and longer walks. Everything just feels really good. My big incision however is taking its sweet time to heal. Earlier this week there was a red ring around it and the next day it started to ooze. I was worried about infection but it cleared itself up. Hopefully next time I make an entry I will be well in the 200s and my incision will closer to healing. I'm just really happy with the results and with how I feel and with not having to obsess over food anymore. Watching the scale go down is the most fun I've had in a long time.

Updated on 24 Mar 2017:
It seems like it's been longer than a month. I'm about 32 lbs down total but the last week I've had a HORRIBLE cold and the scale has not moved at all really - just up and down a pound or two. I've been so sick I've barely moved so I'm not surprised. but it makes my one month milestone a little anticlimactic. I took photos tonight. When compared to my before pics I can kind of see a difference but nothing crazy. I just can't wait til I can breathe normally again and do some walking and see the scale moving again.

Updated on 25 Mar 2017:
One of my weaknesses is dark chocolate almond bark and pumpkin seed bark. My husband returned from Costco last night with a huge bag. I was mad about it because why in the world would he bring that kind of temptation home? Well turns out it's not at all a temptation. I had one bite today and spit it out - not that I thought it was gross - but I had zero desire to even eat one piece. I would much rather have a mashed up hard boiled egg or piece of cheese or canned chicken breast. Total truth. So weird. But I'll take it!

Updated on 27 Apr 2017:
Nine weeks out and I am 50 pounds down as of this morning. I've never lost 50 pounds before. There's been times I've lost 30 pounds, or 40 pounds, but never 50. That said I guess I wanted there to be more of a dramatic change once I hit 50 pounds. It just shows how big I let myself get after my second baby. The good news is I survived my first plateau. It was driving me crazy but I just powered through and tried not to think about it. I stayed at the same weight for 5 days. It happened right after I was cleared to work out a little and started doing daily yoga. It certainly wasn't what I was expecting but it all worked out and the scale is moving again. I'm starting to trust the process a lot more and I'm really starting to have hope that I will be able to enjoy the same success as others - ie under 200 pounds.

Updated on 27 May 2017:
This is starting to be a lot of fun. The first 40 pounds or so we're not as exciting since I had let myself get so out of control. But now I am lighter than I have been in 10 years. I haven't experienced any struggles with food or anything. The biggest struggle is getting enough sleep. When I'm short on sleep, the scale doesn't really bunch. So as long as I am getting enough sleep I'm seeing a pretty steady drop. I think my main goal right now is getting my back to be smoother. I hate all those rolls on my back. Also my lower stomach or "pooch" is really stubborn. I had a C-section a year ago and it has been the bane of my existence ever since. I'm getting better at being patient and trusting the process and I am not obsessively weighing in every day anymore either. I'm starting to feel like I will get there. I feel peaceful. I feel free. I feel happy.

Updated on 2 Aug 2017:
It's been over five months and I have a lot of plateaus and stalls but the scale has been moving in the right direction. With my metabolism as crappy as it is, this definitely has not been a free ride. But the good thing is I am exercising and eating right, I will lose weight, unlike before - only now I don't feel like I am starving to do it. I am now at a weight where I am not completely uncomfortable in my body, even though I know I have a long way to go still. I have started doing yoga and a little jogging. I would really like to start doing some 5Ks or maybe. 10K this fall, so when it stops being so bloody hot out I'm going to start training. I am really happy and feel having the sleeve was one of the best things I've ever done. I just wish I had done it years ago!

Updated on 20 Feb 2018:

It will be a year this week. It has been a crazy year with ups and downs. I wanted to be 100 lbs down by a year and I missed that. It’s been frustrating and slower than I wanted but I feel great. I weigh less than I did my senior year of high school and the pounds are still coming off, albeit slower than I would have liked. It’s hard not to compare yourself to other people but I just need to be patient. All in all I am really happy and know that I will eventually get to where I want to be.
Updated on 23 Sep 2018:
It’s been a long time coming. The weight stopped coming off consistently after about a year. The last 30 pounds have been a lot of blood sweat and tears - daily workouts, consistent tracking, drink training, and sticking with it. But finally I can say I’m down 100 pounds. I feel great and couldn’t be happier.