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circa

Gastric Sleeve Patients
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Blog Entries posted by circa

  1. circa
    I finally added before and in progress pics. Took a lot for me to do that. Feel good about it now though
    I don't think I even look like the same person - not even in the least. I know I don't feel like that person anymore
  2. circa

    I'm Just Never Here!

    By circa,

    Frankly, I'm too busy out enjoying my life to be here! Down 118 lbs in just over 6 months. Excited about life. Love the way I'm starting to look. LOVE the way I feel. Love that I am NEVER home! Working a lot, playing even more
    I'm so very excited about getting my life back. Still no complications. I weigh myself about every 3-4 weeks I think. I'm happy every time I step on the scale because it ALWAYS goes down. I eat about 4-5 oz max at a meal of protein.
     
    For those of you struggling with the decision on this surgery - only you can decide if its right for you. But if you're wanting your life back, and wanting to experience LIFE as its meant to be - this may be the answer for you. It has brought the REAL me back to myself, my family and my friends.
     
    I'm just too busy loving life to be here! But I do check in from time to time - if anyone has questions, I'm more than happy to answer them!
     
    LOVE!
  3. circa
    I'm not near goal. I'm well on my way though. About the halfway point. I have dropped 17 points from my BMI. I drop another 17 points and I'll be extremely happy I'm pretty happy now, don't get me wrong - I keep seeing progress. I know I need to get busier with exercise and I am actually - I do a ton more now. Workout regimen is coming together and will be put into action. My back is feeling so much better. Between the intolerable heat and my busy schedule, I wasn't able to really do too much as far as actual "workouts" but hiking in the mountains and running all over the place, shopping, cleaning, taking the dogs for walks, and playing outside has really increased my activity levels
  4. circa

    109

    By circa,

    109 lbs gone in less than 6 months. I'm very happy about that. I'm wearing clothes I haven't worn in years (thank god I saved them) and I feel really great. I need to work out more. I know that being more active because I can helps a lot, but I need to do the extra too. I'm so satisified with my decision on this surgery. I have ZERO regrets. I don't even regret that I didn't have it done sooner really because I think my experience wouldn't have been as great as it was with Dr. Almanza.
    I have had zero complications - I've not overeaten, I've not had any dumping or reactions to food. If I crave something, I have a bite and either throw the rest away or give it to my hubby to finish and I'm satisfied. I've never really had an overeating problems since I was a teenager (which wasn't about anything other than being starved by my mother) - once I dealt with that, it wasn't ever a problem.
    Now its more about eating all the protein that I can fit in my stomach. I take my vitamins as well. I know I need to get more veggies in and I do try. I feel that I'm on a good path and I'm looking forward to staying on it.
  5. circa

    Been A While

    By circa,

    Its been a while since I've been here - I've been trying to pop in once in a while when I get the chance, but I've been so busy! I have now officially dropped over 70 lbs since I started my preop, and over 50 since surgery 3 months ago. I have had no complications, my skin is bouncing back thus far (I know I'll need to have some work done later but I'm good with that) - I have energy, I have enthusiasm and I have the best future ahead of me.
    I have been staying away from the scale - about every 3 weeks I weigh myself. I weighed myself the other day and I was at 314, and that's with a few pounds of bloat since its that time of the month. I'll weigh myself again in a few weeks to see where I'm at - I don't wanna see a 3 as that first number the next time I step on the scale.
     
    I haven't had much opportunity to really incorporate additional exercise other than being a billion times more active than normal to my routine, but I'm getting there. As soon as i was able to, I of course tweaked my shoulder. But I'm feeling better and will be getting the exercise roaring very soon.
     
    I have noticed some of my tastes change - I still crave red meat - that will never change. The large majority of what I eat has always been lean protein, but now....those "guilty pleasure" items - mac and cheese, potatoes, anything really starchy just doesn't do it for me anymore. I really dig that. Hubby and I went out to breakfast at Cracker Barrel and I had their egg sandwich, which I ate the 2 eggs and had a bite of the hashbrown casserole and a small bite of hubby's pancakes and they just didn't satisfy me - I just wanted the eggs!
     
    Wow - i just got distracted by Maks on DWTS - (watching the results show on the DVR and he was dancing to "Let's get it on" good thing watching him dance is calorie free - in fact I think I just burned a few calories watching that! haha!)
     
    Anyway! back to what I was saying! I've gone down in clothes sizes, I have the steering wheel all the way down in the car (my legs used to hit it), I sit in booths and feel small in them, there ain't a chair my butt won't fit in and I even sleep better and don't need as much sleep as I did for so long, I fit comfortably in the bathtub to take a bath (one of my favorite things) I'm wearing clothes I havent worn in years. I put on a pair of heels and not only did they fit my feet, they didn't hurt my feet. I'm getting my shoes back! Yay! Right now, I weigh less than I have in about 4 years. I cannot believe the progress. Once I got those f**king tumors out of my body, I'm feeling so much better - the only rage I have is that I couldn't get it done sooner. However, I have come to terms with that for the most part. I think that with the breast cancer scare, the steroid tumors, nearly losing my marriage, all the trials and tribulations that my husband and I went through with losing our jobs and our employer stealing tens of thousands of dollars from us has made us stronger individually and as a couple. Nothing in my life that I wanted has EVER come easily - but I tell you what - I have more appreciation for everything I have brought to myself than most people I know - and I will FIGHT for it. I cannot describe what all of these battles have done for me as a person. I'm glad that I got to know so many people here. I'm glad that I had the surgeon I did. While I'm not glad that our previous employer stole so much money from us, I'm glad of the outcome that we ended up where we did with the careers that we have now.
    I am decidedly in love with my husband and we love our life and what we have to offer to the world. We can't wait to see what happens next. Many that I talk to about this wonder how having to have surgery to have tumors and the majority of my stomach removed could be the best thing that's happened to me in a long time. I just smile and tell them that they haven't lived my life
    What I do know is that life is good and its getting GREAT
     
    If you can't tell - I'm very excited about the future.
  6. circa

    Weight

    By circa,

    So my weight started moving again - 339 this morning. That's 25 lbs since surgery in a little over 5 weeks with 3 periods in that time lol. Total of 47 lbs lost. I'm feeling pretty good about that
    Could it be more? heck yeah! But could it be less? thank god its not!
     
    I'm eating turkey meatballs in cream of mushroom gravy. A fave when I was a kid. Very yummeh.
     
    Excited about going to Texas - gonna see some old friends. Got a good gameplan for food and exercise. Just gonna keep on track
  7. circa

    Irritations

    By circa,

    Ya know, I really hate it when I give someone explicit instructions - even WRITE THEM DOWN about what I can eat and they don't follow them and then get pissy at ME because they don't follow instructions. Don't volunteer yourself to go get lunch if you're not going to pay attention. Knowing I have specific food requirements, you should probably pay attention. I didn't write it down because I'm trying to annoy you, I'm trying to do things right. If you don't want to do them right, don't volunteer to do them. I get that mistakes are made - no big deal, but then to get pissy and lash out at ME because you can't seem to handle it - that ain't gonna fly.
  8. circa

    Needing A Change

    By circa,

    So I work at home and I'm so fantastically bored with it. Tired of staring at the same walls and having no human interaction. I've been sending resumes out and looking for a job outside the house. Its hard to take something that's nearly 1/2 the pay though. Hoping to find something that gets my butt outta the house more often very soon!
  9. circa

    Dinner Dilemmas

    By circa,

    I have officially tired of chicken. This has lead me to find new dinner ideas - and even go back to some old staples. I made hommade pizza for dinner. This was about the only thing my step mom ever made for dinner that was tasty. I never tire of it. Its got so much meaty and veggie goodness on it. I just don't eat the crust. The pizza is about an inch thick - just piled high with lean meats and veggies and some cheese. My hubby loves it and he eats the crust too - I make it at home and he loves it works out great
     
    Our other thing is Applebees or Ruby Tuesday. Applebees has great steaks I usually get the garlic sirloin with broccoli and sauteed mushrooms and onions. The whole meal is about 500 calories and its about 3-4 meals for me. Yesterday we ordered and the hubby went to go get - they screwed up on our meals so they replaced them, so now we have tons of leftovers in the fridge. One thing I never get tired of is red meat - and considering I get anemic so easily, I'm not going to complain about all that yummy goodness in the fridge
     
    I cannot wait til hunting season. I will be filling my freezer with elk and mule deer. Hopefully, we'll have a chance at a bison as well. If I never have to eat meat from a store again, I'll be happy
     
    I do have a confession though - I'm not a big infomercial person, but I did buy a nu-wave oven. I thought it would be good for the hubby when he was travelling in hotel rooms to be able to cook something quickly, etc. Well - I LOVE the damn thing. You can do anything in it! If you warm something up - like takeout or whatever, it tastes EXACTLY like it did when you first got it. I'm in love with the thing. Oh- and you can also cook frozen meat in it and its delicious. I think that's my favorite - forgetting to pull something out for dinner and resorting to pizza or fast food is no longer an excuse - pop in a frozen steak or something and its good to go
  10. circa
    I love their fit menu. You can get a steak with sauteed mushrooms and onions, some creamed spinach in a portabello mushroom cap, and potatoes (or sub broccoli or another veggie) for like 14 bucks and its 3 meals - a TOTAL of 550 calories.
     
    My sleeve LOVES beef. LOVES it. Because its a grilled sirloin, its a low fat cut of meat as well - which is even better. That's what I had for dinner last night - and what I'm having for lunch now.
     
    I'm very glad to be eating red meat again - I get anemic very easily and I'd much rather get iron naturally than take supplements. Most mineral supplements have copper in them and I can't have it. Its hard to find a pure iron supplement that doesn't use copper as a binder.
  11. circa
    Well, when someone isn't my friend, I don't talk to them So I'll be giving my scale the silent treatment and let it think about what it has done. Once I feel that it has given it enough thought, we'll try again
     
    Work is driving me batshit crazy - so tired of always being at home (I work from home)
    Can't wait to get a new job.
     
    Food has been really good - water could probably be a little better. I'm meeting the minimum, but I need to do better than that. Working on it
  12. circa

    Feeling Great

    By circa,

    I'm still feeling better and better every day. I weighed myself - down another couple pounds Always makes me feel better - but I don't let the scale not moving make me feel worse
     
    Went for a long drive yesterday - had to get out of the damn house. I work at home and while it sounds neato fantastic, its really a bore. I don't have any coworkers or even really a boss that I talk to. I have zero human interaction and I'm a totally social person. Hopefully that'll change soon!
  13. circa
    I was eating dinner last night and I had a sneak attack sneeze and swallowed something before I had finished chewing it completely. It got stuck, and the slime commenced. There was a little pressure-like pain - but once the sliming started, the pain was so much less. I started sipping water and while that may have made a little more slime, it certainly seemed to dislodge the food and slow the sliming. I didn't throw up at all and the whole episode lasted maybe 5 or 6 minutes. Total freak occurrence!
     
    Don't get me wrong it was gross, but it wasn't like my body didn't tell me it was coming, I got to the bathroom in plenty of time and didn't have any mess to clean up.
    Glad I paid attention to my body! I can see how that could be embarrassing if it happened in public and all!
     
    Today was an unwich from Jimmy Johns. The bootlegger sub - no bread. I ate about 1/3 of it. So tasty. 3 meals for 7 bucks - can't beat that
  14. circa
    There hasn't been anything I've put in it that it doesn't like (that's a plus)
    I get a definite signal when I'm full (RARELY physically felt full before surgery) so no overeating
    Haven't had any issues with acid
    Haven't had any issue with pain.
    I feel satisfied at every meal. Its just a huge change.
    The steroid issues I had are getting so much better
    I have lots of energy.
    I am just finally on my way back to health. I almost feel like i'm turning back time.
  15. circa

    Goal Measurements

    By circa,

    So I've decided, every pound I lose, I put a marble in a jar. Every marble will be worth 10 bucks. When I hit goal, that'll be 2 grand. That's my trip to Alaska
  16. circa

    Chinese Food For Dinner :)

    By circa,

    I had chinese food for dinner - I don't eat rice so I always just get extra broccoli with my chicken. It was VERY yummy. I'm freezing my leftovers so I can eat it whenever I want
     
    I got crab ragoons too - tossed the wonton and ate the stuffing out of it hah.
  17. circa

    First Nsv :)

    By circa,

    I got up this morning and got dressed for my job interview today. WHAT A MESS! None, and I mean NONE of my clothes fit me - some were too small (granted I was expecting that) but the ones I JUST BOUGHT were too big. And not tuck here or pin there too big - TOO FREAKING BIG. I had to run to Kohls and buy new clothes because I had NOTHING to wear! I put on a pair of pants that, I was going to wear to Mexico for surgery less than 3 weeks ago and they were just too tight - not comfortable at all. Today, they're too big. I mean TOO BIG! Like awkwardly too big! I'm so excited about this! I wonder if i still have the receipt....
  18. circa

    Oh Beef, Where Art Thou?

    By circa,

    I'm anxious to get back to beef. I miss eating steak. I know a big reason that beef is a later food is because its harder to digest, however, because i eat my beef/bison/venison pittsburgh rare, It does digest much easier. BUT I'm following instructions - Its just hard to live on chicken alone!
     
    I'm a carnivore, dangit! haha
     
    Looking forward to that sirloin
  20. circa

    2 Weeks Post-Op

    By circa,

    I'm now 2 weeks out and I've lost 14 lbs since surgery, 36 since i started my pre-op.
    I'm feeling pretty good about it. I wish it was more, but we all wish that, don't we?
    I also have my time of month, so I know that's probably good for about 3-5 lbs.
     
    I have noticed, as my endo said I would that the adrenaline issues from the tumors on my adrenal glands is significantly LESS. The adrenaline created is partly in response to the grehlin created in the stomach. Hormones cause other hormones to do other hormonal things.
     
    When a person feels hungry, they have a survival instinct that kicks in brought about by adrenaline. Huh. makes sense.
     
    Happy with my progress thus far. Happy with my choice. Happy with my recovery. Just getting very happy these days
     
    I know I'm about ready for the 3 week stall, which I'm okay with. Its not like I can eat a cheesecake over it
  21. circa

    I Forgot!

    By circa,

    Haha I've been doing liquids for so long, I forgot I could eat eggs for breakfast, duh! Oh well - tomorrow
     
    I've hit that stall period, so I've put the scale away for 10 days. Not a big deal to me, I knew it was coming
  22. circa

    Chili Tonite

    By circa,

    I made chili for dinner and its going down absolutely great. I can't eat much, but it is my first meal with meat - and my sleeve is taking it just fine. That's very good news to me
    Thus far, nothing has given me any trouble and I'm so thankful for that.
     
    Hubby was very happy to have a nice hot meal waiting for him today - he had a rough day at work.
     
    Went to costco and got more protein shakes - got vanilla this time because my syrups came in and now I can do whatever flavor I wanna!
     
    Gonna try eggs tomorrow for breakfast.
  23. circa
    So I tripped and smacked my tummy into the desk (not hard) but it actually opened one of my incisions back up. Its not bleeding or anything - just well, an open incision - so now I gotta go get some more butterflies to get it closed again (I have some on it now but I'll want to be able to keep them on)
    If this is my setback then hell yeah - I'll take it!
  25. circa

    Iiiiiitchy!

    By circa,

    So the area around my incisions itch - not the incisions themselves, but the areas that still have tape residue that I can't seem to get off. This is just plain torture lol. A little gold bond and I think I'll be ok

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