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My journey
 

Continued improvement, bit the bullet and told my friends through Facebook

I'm feeling really good today. Like I've said, every day is better than the one before. I had my follow-up visit with the doctor this morning, and he's happy with how I'm progressing and how my incisions are looking. I'm down 15 lbs according to their scale, 20 according to mine. 15, 20, whatever it is, I'm on my way. I just got back from taking my daughter Chloe for a walk to the library. Felt good to get out for a walk. I walked around the block a couple times yesterday, but it was chilly and raining so not too pleasant. Much nicer out today.   Well, I bit the bullet and posted a note on Facebook about the surgery. I woke up at 5 am and couldn't sleep, and all I could think about was getting it off my chest. I spent the next 2 and a half hours working out what I would say. I created the note, then shared it to my wall with the following statement - "Dear friends, please read the attached note in its ENTIRETY before passing judgment. I hope for your support. Thank you, Joe"   Here is what the note said:   On Friday March 8, 2013, I had a surgery called 'vertical sleeve gastrectomy'. This is a bariatric weight loss procedure. This was not a decision that was made lightly, or hastily. I will try my best to outline my reasons for doing it, what it is, and reasons for not telling anyone. Reasons for not telling people First, I want to say that I was originally planning on only telling a very select few people about this. But I realize that this is probably not very realistic, as the changes will probably be pretty significant, and pretty quick. I've even outright lied to some people, including some of my coworkers and bandmates, which I am very uneasy about. I hope they will forgive me. Please don't be offended if you were not one of the people I chose to tell beforehand. My main reason for choosing not to tell people beforehand was that I didn't wish to invite any negativity, or have anyone trying to put doubts in my head as I had already made the very difficult decision and none of that would have been helpful to me. Every person I did choose to tell had the exact same comment - "you're not THAT big." I appreciate the 'compliment', and suppose I got pretty good at hiding it. Before surgery, I weighed 274 lbs. I'm sure this number will probably shock most of you, as that seems to be the universal reaction. Another comment I heard was "you could do that yourself". There have been times I've been able to shed decent amounts of weight, only to put it all back on, and then some. And each time I would do this, would make the next time even harder. I also REALLY didn't want to hear anyone say to me that I was 'taking the easy way out', as no doubt some of you reading this might be thinking right now. This would have done nothing but anger me, and would have jeopardized our friendship. Believe me, there is nothing easy about having surgery. I'm still recovering, and wouldn't ever want to relive the first 24 hours. It is still going to take hard work and exercise to get to my goal and maintain it. This is only a tool to help me achieve that goal. What it is There are basically three main types of weight loss surgery. There is the gastric bypass. This was never a consideration in my mind, as I view it as being a last resort for extremely overweight people, and there can be a lot of malnutrition involved. I was actually scheduled for the lap band procedure, as I know a few people who have had it done, with varying degrees of success. After hours and hours of further research, I decided against this. Basically, the lap band is a device that is implanted and placed around the entrance to the stomach. The band gets filled with saline so that it inflates and restricts how much you can eat. The 'temporary' aspect of the band (the fact that it can be removed if any issues arose), was the biggest plus to me initially. The more I read online, the more I saw people not happy with the lap band, and having it removed and getting the procedure I had, the vertical sleeve. Some issues with the band include slippage, erosion, and the long-term maintenance (you have to go periodically for 'fills' to adjust how much the band is filled). Some people just could never find what they call their 'green zone', the perfect level of restriction where they are restricting enough to lose weight but not so much that they are vomiting after 2 bites. Also, insurance concerns crossed my mind - would insurance cover the fills forever? What if I moved or had to change doctors? All of these things pointed me in the direction of the vertical sleeve. The vertical sleeve is the newest of the three types, and is basically a laparoscopic procedure where up to 85% of your stomach is removed, leaving you with a sleeve about the size of a banana. Basically, you are then restricted to eating between 3 and 5 ounces at any meal. You can eat pretty much what you did before, only MUCH less. Some people find that they don't tolerate certain foods after surgery, or don't like the tastes of some foods they liked before. It is a permanent solution. The weight loss results are comparable to the bypass, typically very good. Another benefit of this surgery is that the part of the stomach that is removed is the part that produces the hormone grehlin, the hunger hormone, so feelings of overwhelming hunger go away. People say that they go from eating extreme amounts of food and never feeling full before surgery, to having to remind themselves to eat so they can get in enough calories after. The fact that the lap band was 'temporary' and could be removed at any time, was what made it more attractive to me initially, and seemed less 'drastic'. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I needed a permanent solution that would help me make the lifelong changes I needed to make. Wanting something because it was reversible, enabling me to go back to the way I was, no longer made sense to me. Reasons for getting surgery First and foremost, I did this for my wife and kids. I don't want to leave them without a husband and father. Sure, I'm not happy with how I look, but looks were at the bottom of my list of reasons. I would have been perfectly happy to continue to eat 5-6 slices of pizza and being upset that there wasn't any more because I still didn't feel full, and watching my weight continue to rise every year. I 'know' what the right things and right amounts to eat are. But 'knowing' and being able to stick to it because you never feel satisfied are two very different things. I never smoked or drank or did any drugs. Food was my drug, and it was negatively affecting my health. Besides weighing 274 and growing, I had a BMI of 36, which is considered obese. I have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, erosive GERD (acid reflux), shortness of breath, a leaky heart valve, and what my doctor says is the second worst case of sleep apnea he's seen in his office. If you don't know, sleep apnea means you stop breathing for significant periods of time, which lowers your blood oxygen level, and the 'jarring' that occurs when your breath comes back could cause your heart to go into a deadly rhythm. So basically, I was a ticking time bomb that could die in my sleep at any time. I have a machine called a CPAP machine that helps me breathe at night, but I've tried it and find it impossible to sleep with it. I'm actually getting a new one today that my doctor says is easier because the air pressure level automatically adjusts based on what you need at any given moment, instead of being set at a fixed level that sometimes seems like too much and would wake me up.. I plan on giving it a try, and hopefully once I lose a significant amount of weight the sleep apnea will disappear. I also hope to be off my medications. Most people who get the sleeve are able to get off their medications and are cured of their sleep apnea. I've seen stories of people being cured of type-2 diabetes (which I thankfully did not have, yet) the day of surgery. Amazing. The apnea and medication for blood pressure, while being the result of being overweight, also become self perpetuating problems. They limit my energy level, which in turn limits my activity level, further adding to the obstacles to weight loss on my own. How I'm doing The surgery went well on Friday. The surgeon found a fairly large hiatal hernia, which he repaired while he was in there. The first day was basically Hell. I was in pain, discomfort, had a hard time taking deep breaths, and was extremely tired. All I wanted to do was sleep, not only because I was tired but because I wanted to avoid the discomfort. They pump your belly full of air during the procedure to maximize the space they have to work, and this air leads to gas pain which radiates to your left shoulder. This gas pain is no joke. Every day gets easier than the one before it. I am on a clear liquid diet for 1 week, basically limited to water or crystal light, broth, sugar free jello, and sugar free ice pops. I also need to drink protein shakes until I can start eating foods with protein. They want you to get between 60 and 80 grams of protein in every day, and if I can't get all of that in from food I will have to continue with the shakes. At first, it was very hard to get in the fluids, due to swelling. Very small sips. That is getting easier by the day. After 1 week, I progress to a few weeks of a puréed diet, eating mushy foods. A blender will be my friend for this phase. After that, I can start introducing some 'real' foods, slowly to see what I can tolerate. They still want you to concentrate on getting most of your calories from lean proteins and vegetables, limiting sugars and starches. I welcome my new relationship with food. It will no longer be something that I do for pleasure, consuming unlimited quantities. Instead it will be something that I will have to be conscious of, sometimes reminding myself to eat so that I can get in enough calories to sustain good nutrition and fuel my body. It will be a big change, for sure. I continue to feel better every day. The pain is basically gone, limited to what I would describe as a 'tightness' feeling at the incision sites. I had 7 small incisions, which should leave minimal scarring. The first step out of bed or off the couch is the hardest, because of this tightness, and my fear of twisting or stretching anything the wrong way. I'm walking well, just a bit slow at the moment. The tightness also makes it impossible to sleep on my side or stomach right now, limiting me to my back, which is the worst position for my sleep apnea. To counter this, I've found that sleeping upright on the couch with my feet up on an ottoman is the best for me. I tried piling pillows on the bed to elevate my head, but found that it was pushing my head forward, further restricting my airway. I will get my new CPAP machine today, and look forward to sleeping in bed with my wife again tonight. As of this morning, I've lost a total of 20 lbs, including 9 lbs lost during a strict one week pre-op diet. In conclusion I am a very private person, who doesn't like divulging personal (potentially embarrassing) information, as I've done at length here. I only just decided to write this after waking up at 5 am and not being able to fall back asleep. I hope for all of your understanding and support, and 'friendship'. I welcome any questions or comments, either under this post, or in a private message, or in person. I do not welcome any criticism or cruel comments or jokes (even lighthearted ones, as I might not view them this way). If that is your inclination, please refrain from commenting, or go ahead and remove me from your friends list. I apologize for ending this on such a down note like that, I just want to make it clear how serious I am about this. Thank you.' So far, I've gotten all positive comments from people, except for one person. He used to be a close friend, but we grew apart in recent years, but are still friends on Facebook. It's been years since we've talked, even on Facebook. He said he was hurt that I didn't contact him, because he had weight loss surgery also and could have helped me in my decision. I had no idea he had surgery, and told him that and asked him how I would have known. We sent messages back and forth, and he still was upset, saying stuff about how he's sick of putting himself out for other people only to get nothing back (paraphrasing). I told him that I was disappointed that he chose now, a time when I'm reaching out for support and understanding, to make it about him and his hurt feelings that our friendship isn't what it used to be. Whatever, I can't worry about that now. I need to take care of myself at this point in time.
BigDaddyJoe

BigDaddyJoe

14
PinkL8tyLori's Blog
 

Cheap, thin, and faux tanned... a retail therapy story

So, I had another very successful shopping trip to Goodwill this weekend. I got a pair of capri's, a pair of shorts, and 3 summer blouses for under $20. I also delivered another huge bag of clothes for donation. Its strange to be picking through through the clothes on the rack and see things you recognize from your closet, but in a good way! Sometimes you think, why did I hold onto this so long? Did that ACTUALLY fit me at one point? or the most common - what was I thinking? lol But anyway... its nice to donate your old clothes to a worthwhile cause, and fill your closet back up with really cute items, and a great price, I really recommend you consider this as you lose weight, don't spend too much money on clothes you won't be in for very long, and DO NOT HOLD ONTO YOUR OLD CLOTHES that are too big... not only does it take up valuable closet space, but don't give yourself an excuse to get back into them again.. stay on track and make your goal to get to or stay at a healthy weight!   OK... getting off my soapbox for a moment, I realized something today as I was getting dressed. When I was heavier (aka Fat - a word i disdain!) I always felt the need to compensate for my bigger self. Just because I was fat, I refused to be frumpy. I spent a lot of time accessorizing, or more time on my hair, or just being more "put together" - because I didn't want people to think that just because I was overweight, I was lazy, or that I didn't care about my appearance, so I tried really hard to look very pulled together.   As I got dressed today (its supposed to be 80ish here today) I pulled on a pair of capri's and one of my "new" summer shirts (ok... hawaiian, but that's not a bad thing, its really cute and yellow with soft blue flowers and palm frawns on it - shaddup!) I realized, I am perfectly confident to go out in just a pair of capri's, a sunny shirt, and flip flops. I even pulled my bangs away from my face and clipped them back - because I don't have to hide behind anything anymore (except my faux tan - I will be clutching my St Tropez faux tan with my dying breath - because I am an irish girl and "fish belly white" without it.) But... I do hope you see my point. I'm not hiding... i'm not disguising myself.   Are you still hiding and/or disguising yourself because you aren't happy with your weight? So I ask you why the weight? Why the wait? Why did I wait so long? I love my sleeve, even more then I loved my band! If I were starting over from today, first time weight loss surgery patient, I would not pass go, would not collect my $200 and would go STRAIGHT to the sleeve, I love it, have no complaints, and zero regrets (except the waiting part!)   What are you waiting for?     here's a link to my original blog post with my contact information with all my other blog entries... feel free to reach out and get in touch with me lori at obesitycontrolcenter dot com
PinkL8tyLori

PinkL8tyLori

2
Vicki0618's Blog
 

1 week post op

So today is officially my 1 week. Have to say at least for me the first week went relatively smoothly. I don't have any pain at all most of the time. If I twist wrong or bend wrong I do have a spot right under my biggest incision that pulls, but it's just a quick pain that subsides almost immediately. The PA warned me that is might happened because there are some deep internal stitches under there.   I do have a pretty knarly rash on my tummy due to an allergic reaction to the dermabond. Yesterday, I lost it and just peeled off all the dermabond. The incisions themselves look good, but all the way around each incision is a red blistered ring, and I have little dots between the incisions. Just taking the dermabond off made a difference, yesterday morning they were all bright red and itched so bad I wanted to pull my stomach apart. Today, the red is still there but not nearly as angry and it itching has subsided some. Still itches, but I'm hoping thats from healing. I have been alternating between Hydrocortisone cream for the rash and neosporin. I'm sorta a gooey mess right now, but that's ok. (My hubby says I'm a hot mess, but I'm his hot mess) :wub:   I am still on liquids and will be for another week I'm not really hungry, well at least not like I used to be. I definitely get an empty feeling every couple of hours but it's a much different feeling that before. Drinking alot of hot tea, and water. Soups, Sugar free jello and sugar fee popcicles! Oh and protein drinks. I am using Premier Protein that I got at Costco with 30 grams of protein so I try to get 2 a day, so at least I know I've got my protein covered.   I have decided to "officially" weigh on every Wednesday, and I will take updated pictures once a month. So here are my current stats   Heaviest Weight: 281 3/6/13 Surgery: 257 (-24) 3/13/13: 251 (-6)   So 6 lbs in the first week! I'm ok with that.   Now, if I can just get through another week of liquids....
Vicki0618

Vicki0618

1
ladybabie3's Blog
 

Watching what I eat and how much to eat.

I don't know if I give this the right title. But today for lunch I made some spinach and salmon. I cut the salmon in half, and put everything in my bowel. And about half way through a light blub went off that said ok that's enough eating now stop. And without thinking I put my fork down, closed the lid on my food and put it up. Is that normal.
ladybabie3

ladybabie3

4
Vicki0618's Blog
 

Hit the wall...

Here I am buzzing along like everything is good. Went back to work yesterday and made it all day, and today...BANG!!! I hit the wall, I feel like I could sleep for about a week!!   I don't know if it's from lack of calories, electolytes or just over doing it but DANG!!!!   Think I'll go home early and take a nap.
Vicki0618

Vicki0618

3
Cherrygre's Blog
 

6 months post op

There are no words to describe how much my life has changed in 6 months. All I know that even with the pain and complications I would do this again in a hearbeat. My mind is finally catching up to my physical reality and I'm loving this.   I've dropped 72 lbs since starting this journey, I went from wearing size 18/20 jeans to now fitting in 12/14s. (which I haven't seen since high school...if then).   I constantly thought that I would be so happy if reached this point, and don't get me wrong I'm ecstatic. But I won't give up until I finally reach my goal, which is 50 lbs away....   In less than a month I turn 30. I realized that it is about celebrating a new milestone in my life and enjoying this new chapter in this new rocking body. I've let go about trying to reach a number on that scale by a specific time. This is for the rest of my life, so what's the hurry :-)   So let's see where 30 takes me :-)
cherrygre

cherrygre

4
asifitsthelast's Blog
 

Progress, found a new way to get protein in (for me that is)

Ok so as of 3/6 according to my nutrionist I am on track with everything. I dont feel that way but she was happy. She wants me to be 218 by my 3 month mark which is 4-14.I am currently 233 was 270. Thats a ways away and only 15 lbs but with the way I get stuck on a weight for over a week at a time kills me. I need to start exercising more but I still have a hole in my side. That prevents alot.   I am absolutely horrible at getting my protein in! But I found that the french vanilla protein works well as a cooffe creamer. Plus the coffee masks the protein taste. Oh and I do it in room temp coffee mix it and then add ice. I loooovvveee cold coffee. And caffeine free of course. I was quite pleased. I may try chocolate next week. Make like a mocha.   Anywho...Happy losing!
asifitsthelast

asifitsthelast

7
Amy's Blog
 

ups and downs

It's been about three weeks since my fill. i have to wait another week for an appointment, because he was all booked up, which is frustrating. But i'm back to feeling like the band's not even there. I know it's a process/journey, but i just want to get to that green zone now!!! i want to see real consistent progress.   my weight loss has been inconsistent. The week of my first fill i went down 3 lbs in the first three days, but then i gained 6 lbs that wasnt water weight because i had to work it off lb by lb. that was very frustrating and confusing because i didnt know what caused it. i was eating so much less than before i should have had a loss for the week for sure! when that stuff happens i get very down despite my best efforts, which inturn leads to food thoughts. which is tough.   Four days ago i weighed and i was back down to what i was after the 3 lb loss after my fill (took practically three weeks to lose those 6 lbs that magically appeared... and today i weighed and have lost 2.5 from that low which i was kind of surprised to see in a good way obviously. but now i at home i have lost 30 lbs!! (at the dr its less but they say to go by my home scale) so i guess the lesson i'm trying to get into my head that may not really be accurate is that there will be ups and downs. ups that are undeserved (or maybe deserved) and then downs which are undeserved or deserved, but hopefully things will even out for a positive outcome and weightloss.   i think i am expecting too fast of weight loss. because my overall weightloss for these three weeks hasnt been bad (not great but not bad) ive lost 5.5 in three weeks which evens out to almost 2 a week which i know is healthy. but i expect more.   should i be expecting more or is this normal for everyone???
Duitsy15

Duitsy15

3
THE HIGH HEELED NINJA ASSASIN
 

My Personal Experiment

No I didn't misspell! I am my own experiment and I am sharing with you my experience. Today is day 4 post-op. Odd day? Yes, but I am attempting to go back to work tomorrow and I do not count my surgery day in that.   So presurgery I had a low carb diet in which I didn't lose a darn pound because I had been dieting for 6 months prior out of want not necessity.   Day of Surgery I was down overall since my first surgical visit to 201.5. For low BMI people there is discrimination from everyone on why you chose this procedure and I know I do not have to explain myself, but for purposes of this blog I will bullet a list of reasons why I chose this surgery. The nurse who did my shot of heparin knew I had been overweight and lost a significant amount due to my panni and my stretch marks, but I've gotten good at hiding it to the naked eye by not being naked   Why I had this surgery:   **** 2 years ago my back surgeon approached me after I had 2 back surgeries and looking at a fusion and said... "You have two options you can get a bi-level fusion which I cannot guarantee OR you can lose a SIGNIFICANT amount of weight." That took me back a little, I knew I was overweight, that I struggled with yo-yo dieting. I asked one simple question, how much is a "SIGNIFICANT" amount of weight. He said at least 60 lbs, but in addition you will need to maintain it for the rest of your life and strengthen your core to do the job your spine is trying to do alone.   I have several other reasons like osteoarthritis, my children, diabetes prevention (family history), heart disease, etc. but the above was the main reason I looked to WLS. Hence my experiement, can I avoid a back fusion, type II diabetes, and improve my osteoarthritis?? Time will tell   Now fast forward to 2 weeks prior to my surgery. I have two boys 11 & 18. My son was there when I got my approval letter and I was crying with joy, he was crying because he was scared of changes in me and surgery itself. He also had a nightmare of me dying so I chose not to tell him when the surgery was scheduled. Because of this I went to the hospital alone, went through the surgery alone and was alone until discharge. My ex-husband and son picked me up and I was ok with that. The emotional grieveing with food I did mostly pre-op, I expect some post op...but not as bad, only time will tell.   I forgot my side effect from anesthesia and morphine is not being able to read for days so bringing my tablet, ipod and phone was pointless. Drove me crazy I couldn't read text messages The night of surgery was the hardest not being able to drink anything. Kudos to those who recommended chapstick! I was very nauseous and went for my upper GI the following morning.   Before my upper GI I saw my surgeon who was joking with me because I wrote SLEEVE across my belly with a smiley face which he left in tact. He is a general surgeon who does alot of lapbands so I wanted to make sure he didn't confuse me with someone else My surgeon informed me that I had a "huge" hiatal hernia, bigger than what he even expected and that the surgery went well. He gave me a photo of the hernia and of my stomach which is really cool.   I slept mostly Friday the 8th, Saturday the 9th and walked when I could and often. On Sunday the 10th I got out of the house and walked and did some shopping, got a chocolate fudge cake for my sons birthday. Didn't even think twice about eating it. Monday the 11th was my sons golden birthday he just turned 11 yesterday. I ended up ordering 2 pizzas for his friend and my neighbors came over and we had the cake. I was not tempted, it was the strangest thing. Its like looking into an old friends eyes and saying we just weren't meant to be friends anymore but I respect you and that you are wanted by others...lol!   I did overdo it last night and was laughing and getting up without protecting my muscles so I was swollen and in alot of pain. Late last night and all this morning I am in bed trying to recoup so I can go in and work tomorrow. I'm sure I can, but if not I'll just do a half day.   Weight the day after surgery... 205 (gained 3 from fluids/gas) Weght today day 4...196   Oh and gas pains are worse day 3&4 for me. Gas X is my friend! Good luck everyone and I'll follow up in a week or so!
DrmBig4Evr

DrmBig4Evr

5
abridgie's Blog
 

3 month check up

I go for my 3 month post op check up tomorrow I've never looked forward to a doctor appointment before now I get excited. I can't wait to see how much my hips have shrunk!!!
abridgie

abridgie

2
tjloser's Blog
 

Cleaned out closet

After the shopping Friday, I cleaned my closet out Saturday. I got rid of a lot of clothes that I could no longer fit or sew to fit. I gave a lot away to ones who needed them. But man do I have so much more room in my closet, but enough shopping for now since I plan on losing another 50+ pounds. I'm excited about where I am today. And excited about where I will be in 4 months on my surgiversary in July.     A Month before surgery     8 Months Post-Op
tjloser

tjloser

2
CherylA's Blog
 

How are you doing on the emotional side of being obese?

I have to share...I ran into the forum How are you doing on the emotional side of being thin..or something like that. It really made me start thinking. How did I ever get to this point in my life? O there are so many things I can sit down and list that made me unhappy and that I LET push me to over eat and eat from emotion. Let's face it, it is a roller coaster that once you get on there is no getting off without some serious help. I am a little worried about how I will handle things once I have my sleeve, but I will take it one step at a time. I hope to turn more toward lifting weights and walking. Heck maybe even running! I would love to run with my oldest daughter. She seems to really enjoy it. My middle child enjoys sprinting. What a day that will be when I can run and sprint without the worry of ending up in the hospital!   Last year I had started jogging and walking with the family everyday. I started getting more and more dizzy. I even had to go in the hospital for them to try to fig out what was wrong. Come to find out there are these rock like things in your inner ear that I jarred loose and out of whack! I guess it is because of being so big and running. I was getting to where I could run and keep up with the kiddos too.   I really enjoy this site because it gives me a chance to get a peak into the world I will hopefully be facing very soon.
CherylA

CherylA

1
Mission Slimpossible
 

Oh, the irony...

I can honestly say that I never thought I'd hear someone say that I'm actually "not eating enough!" Oh, the irony. Back to basics   While my progress has been consistent, it's not been in the most healthy fashion the last 6 - 8 weeks. I've lost about 63 or 64 pounds thus far, so that's good, and I'm only about 30 pounds from goal, so that's good too.   I had my 7 month up check up today, and after giving them a little back ground information on what's been going on in my life, including the severe light headedness, tiredness and waking up with headaches, it was easily determined that I had mild to moderate low blood sugar. Wait, what? I'm not a diabetic.   It all makes sense to me now. Since my focus hadn't been spot on lately due to some very serious stress, I wasn't eating enough. I was only eating like 3 meals a day but they just weren't enough to keep me going. I've been allowing my stress to get the best of me, and wasn't focused on eating enough protein. My stress prevents me from digesting foods very well, so I've been getting sick.   I'm back to basics here. It's all stuff I knew, but needed to get reacquainted with again. I have to eat much smaller portions & several times a day. No doubt this will be a bit of a struggle, but I'm confident with proper pre-planning I can do this.   My goal is to have at least 5 meals a day of no more than 1/2 cup of food per meal. I need to really try harder to include fruit & veggies. I don't like raw veggies, so steamed it is. Fruits are OK, but I could use ideas on what to have; like maybe apply slices with PB.   Back to basics so I'd appreciate any & all ideas on small, simple foods with good proteins & complex carbs.   BRING BACK THE IDEAS PLEASE!!
Domika03

Domika03

4
Shelleymb's Blog
 

Captain's Log, Day 4...

I had my final appointment with my surgeon before my surgery on Friday. It was weird to be off routine for my liquid diet, and it caused me to stray from the path that I have laid down for myself. Because the clinic that I am working with is about 2 hours away, I froze one of my protein shakes so that when I got hungry in the afternoon, I would have a cold shake. Well, I froze the shake solid and it wasn't close to being thawed out and It came time to where I could feel my tummy grumbling. So when I finally got home I popped one of my frozen meals into the microwave and waited. And as I waited, Ty made some lumpia for his dinner. After I finished my meal, I made a mistake. I ate two little lumpia. And they were so good. But right after I finished being happy about the taste, I immediately felt guilt. So I got my phone and went to input the lumpia into myfitnesspal I found out that they are 110 calories each. I felt even worse. The only thing I didn't feel bad about was not going over my calories. But I still felt awful.   Then I sat up and said to myself, "I am human, I make choices, some are good, some are better, and some just mean that there is another action to be its companion." So the next thing I looked up on my phone, was when my gym closed. 9pm, so after the food settles in my stomach, I am going to finish the action that I started by eating the lumpia. I'm going to burn those calories and more. I no longer feel guilty, I feel responsible.
Shelleymb

Shelleymb

1
dylanmiles23's Blog
 

hot fudge

​I was out today driving with my husband and we were talking about food. He is a diabetic. He said he would love a bowl of hot fudge and said to me, I am sure you do too. I said no, don't want to even have a taste. I am clearing my head of all my old favorites. Like buying fresh made bread and eating a loaf before I even get home from the store. Or having wonderful bread in a restaurant and eating more than one basket full. Bread is my very best friend. I still do have it in restaurants but have totally changed how I eat it. One restaurant I only eat the end crusty parts of the bread not the doughy parts. I know, it is still bread but it takes me longer to eat and I need my friend. Another friend of mine was my pint of ice cream almost every night and I added almonds and sometimes chocolate chips. I only have my SF Popsicles now. I hate fast food places so that was never a problem. I do miss really great french fries but I now have a small amount of mashed potatoes instead. I really really want to be thinner. I don't know why this time is different than the other 100 diets/weight loss programs, but this time I am going to be healthier and thinner. I hope you all agree and let's do it!!!!!!!! together. Have a wonderful evening everyone.
dylanmiles23

dylanmiles23

2
pink grace's Blog
 

April will be my month

Had my appointment with the haematologist today, i finally have the results i need to have my operation, i have the factor in my blood but not the syndrome which is the thing that does the damage, so i can have my operation i just need to have blood thinning drugs after for a bit longer just as a precaution, just waiting to hear from my surgeon with a new date in april, so close now and actually believe i will have my op in april, who hoo, so ready for this, x
pink grace

pink grace

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Vicki0618's Blog
 

Back to Work

Today is my first day back at work. I think I am doing phenomenal!! I did however think it was a good idea to wear my jeans to work...ummmm....NOT! The jeans don't rub any of the incision sites but when I sit they push up under the lowest one, not very comfy. It's a good thing I have on a big sweatshirt so I could have my pants unzipped under my desk Hubby to the rescue he brought me my yoga pants! So I'm looking pretty slumpy but I'm here and I feel good!!   My first official weigh in will be on Wednesday (on the once a week plan) but I'd be lying if I said I haven't jumped on the scale every morning. So far it's about a pound a day. I'm sure it will slow down soon but it sure is fun to see the scale moving that fast!
Vicki0618

Vicki0618

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Andi's Blog
 

As Genesis sings, "That's all"

Just as I thought it was going alright, I found out I'm wrong when I thought I was right, always the same, its just a shame, that's all   As I was on my merry way to do my hospital preadmissions the phone rang. Insurance decided to throw a curve ball 3 weeks prior to surgery. Now they want 6 months of documented medical weight loss, which wouldn't be so bad if my insurance wasn't going to be up before then. My insurance is linked to unemployment, which I am not most likely not going to have for June +. I can't apply for state insurance, because I already have insurance.. I'm just stuck.   Get a new job? Yes I know, and then expect that I can take a couple weeks off once I have insurance there? That's probably another year, and then get told that I have to dance through 10+ doctor appointments again. I've noted to myself several times during this that I wouldn't have been able to do all these appointments with my previous places of employment.   Still, I get to drive out to Burlington tomorrow to meet with a surgeon to discuss a surgery that he'll probably never do & see a nutritionist to discuss a post op diet that I probably won't be need to be following. Still, the was the last of my requirements.. so I'm going to see that through. Maybe it will help some time in the future.   In the meanwhile, I'm going to try my best to keep on the wagon best I can. I'm very goal oriented, but it requires outside checkpoints. I'm just going to work on what I can & hope that I don't become "weak" like before.
Andi

Andi

1
hockeyMa's Blog
 

Let's try this again....

First day back to work....again...since surgery. I worked Tuesday last week, but ended up in the ER Tuesday night b/c of a major kidney stone/infection- fun times. I'm working a full day today- but only 1/2 tomorrow b/c I need to go back to the hospital to have them take this stent out so I should be good to go after that. I weighed myself this morning, was kinda bummed to see only a few pounds off, since my first week was super successful. I went from 240 pre-op to 238 the day prior to surgery (2/27), first weigh in was on 3/4 and I was already down to 228. Today 226. I'm having a REALLY hard time getting my fluids and any kind of food/protein in- it's not that I can't keep it down or that it hurts or anything like that- I simply have NO desire to eat or drink... :/ I guess that's better than what I was dealing with before...right?
nygurl

nygurl

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