Skip to main content

The Reason for the Blog

In December of 2001, just a few days after my seventeenth birthday, I underwent Gastric Bypass surgery. I weighed 290 pounds. Within the first two weeks I lost 30 pounds, and by July I weighed 185.

This blog is about what it's like to live in the aftermath of that decision. I never regret having the surgery, but it hasn't been an easy road, physically or emotionally. My weight still fluctuates, and my body image is still fragile. I've had further, cosmetic surgeries to remove the excess skin leftover from the weight loss, and I do my best to keep my body in shape with a sensible diet and exercise; in no way was the GB a cure-all for my weight issues.

I'm trying to accept my body for the way it is and the weight it levels out at, and writing this blog is part of that process, but I also want it to be a resource for anyone who ever feels alone in his or her body image issues. I want people to know that somebody out there understands.

If you have any questions for me, about the surgeries or anything else, please leave a comment on the blog and I'll get back to you. If you're uncomfortable asking your question in the comment box, you can email me at ahputnam [at] gmail [dot] com and I'll answer your question (anonymously) on the blog.

Update 2013: I have now written (and had published – still thrilling!) a memoir about my experience called Navel Gazing.  It was published by Faber in the UK/Commonwealth (so it's at Waterstone's and Amazon.co.uk and wherever books are sold) and is currently available on Amazon Kindle in the US/elsewhere (hopefully it will find a more traditional home eventually, but for now I just want people to be able to read it).  For more on my author life check out www.annehputnam.com/blog

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Do fat women have it worse than fat men?

I've always said that being fat is harder on women than it is on men.  Not only is there a lot more societal pressure to be stick thin rather than just healthy, which men don't seem to get, but it's a lot harder to be seen as physically attractive if you're even ten or fifteen pounds overweight. Anyway, it seems I'm not the only one thinking these things.  There's an article in the NYTimes today about overweight and obese women doing worse than men financially, an interesting angle on the effects of obesity, and in it they say: Why doesn’t body size affect men’s attainment as much as women’s? One explanation is that overweight girls are more stigmatized and isolated in high school compared with overweight boys. Other studies have shown that body size is one of the primary ways Americans judge female — but not male — attractiveness. We also know that the social stigma associated with obesity is strongest during adolescence. So perhaps teachers and pee...
4 comments
Read more

Memo to medical professionals: the 'weight' issue

I have a bone to pick with the medical community, although it's probably well hidden beneath layers of fat. Yes, I'm talking about the way that doctors and medical professionals deal with weight. A few months ago, I asked my friend if she liked her 'lady doctor,' because I needed to go in for my annual check-up and I don't have a doctor in SF. Her response was something along the lines of "yeah, I like her because she doesn't talk a lot. I mean, except to tell me to lose weight." At this point, she shrugged, as if this is par for the course. For the record, this friend, while not slender, weighs less than I do. So I went online to Yelp (otherwise known as the bible), and I chose a doctor who gets rave reviews. He's a man, unfortunately, but I figured I should just suck it up and give him a try. And I liked him, mostly. The only thing he did that bothered me was that he talked a little too much. Oh yeah, and that he kept slipping in comment...
4 comments
Read more

Exercising with the BF – A Validation Tale

I have something to confess: I haven't worked out in a while.   And by a while, I mean at least a couple of months.  And by worked out, I mean anything besides walking around at a leisurely pace (that includes super low-key yoga/pilates). Amazingly, I'm smaller/lighter right now than I was back in the spring, when I was much better about exercising (well, I say it's surprising, but I guess it's been the case 90% of the last ten years, so I don't know why I continue to be surprised), but nonetheless I've been feeling sluggish and soft lately, and last week I decided to get back on the horse. A friend of mine on facebook has been doing a Jillian Michaels* workout, and she's been posting a lot about how exhausted it makes her and how much it hurts – my kind of workout, when I really want to get stuck in.  I messaged her and we chatted back and forth about the video, and based on her review ("it kills, but it's only half an hour and it isn't bo...
3 comments
Read more