Mrs.RRn

At 3 months out I have lost 62 lbs: Starting weight: 240 Current weight: 178 I still have quite a bit to go (as my height is 4' 11"). I'm so happy with this progress! I LOVE LOVE LOVE my sleeve. I've learned and lived through quite a bit in the last couple months.... THE GOOD: - Doing 175 squats will not kill you - I can see my clavicles! (This was a very happy NSV for me) - Eating at restaurants and parties is more manageable than I thought (just remember: protein first) - While shopping one day, I looked down and realized I couldn't see my belly, just boobs - I reached my surgeons first goal on 7/22/13, which gave me even more motivation to keep on track - NSV: I can wrap a bath towel around me! - I entered ONEDERLAND on 7/31/13 - This, to me, is by far the most exciting... My resting heart rate went from 120's- 130's down to the 70's!!! THE BAD - "Hunger" during your time of the month: oh wow, I feel like a monster! Lol. Just a tip: don't weigh yourself during your period, it'll just lead to frustration that isn't needed!! - I've come to terms that negative people will be negative. No use in trying to please or understand these people. THE UGLY - CONSTIPATION... Def never had this as an issue before surgery. My norm before was a couple times a day. Now, a couple times a week. Um, ouch. But I recently starting taking Colace. Hopefully that'll help. - Hair loss: Ok, I knew hair loss is a side effect, and it usually happens around month 3 or 4, BUT I wasn't really prepared for what it'd actually look like... Like a horror movie! It's quite disturbing to look have hand- fulls of hair while washing it or to look down in the shower and have a hair ball the size of a chinchilla near your drain! I'm lucky I have such thick (and long) hair to begin with, which is why I think it looks so disturbing. WHAT I'M DOING: Well, what I'm supposed to be doing. Protein first, lots of water, low carbs, and exercising. I'm not saying I'm perfect, but I find following this plan pretty simple. I don't feel deprived and I rarely feel hungry. It requires work, but the results are so worth the sacrifices. Just working towards and hoping for continued success!!!

Just to update this: I was able to save quickly and did not finance anything ... Def the way to go! I'm so relieved not to have a bill for this!

I feel like my doc pushes me a little- he says he wants me to eat cupcake sized portions-- yeah right! Lol I eat roughly 2 oz at a time. I hear people say they can eat much more than me and much less than me. So, I think everyone will have their own "normal." And it depends on the food as well. For example, yogurt is easier than fish, fish is easier than turkey (I had a hard time with ground turkey- gave it up. )

Thank y'all.. Breakfast: 2 oz yogurt, cream of wheat, egg ( I like it scrambled w/ a laughing cow wedge), or turkey roll up Lunch: protein shake Dinner: 2-3 oz total fish, shrimp, chicken (I tried ground turkey, but I find it difficult to eat) and a bite of veggies- broccoli, squash **eating something heavier, I usually split dinner in two, and the 2nd part of dinner becomes a snack. Snack: 1-2 oz yogurt (if I didn't eat any for breakfast), cottage cheese I try to add protein powder to whatever I can.

You go girl!! It WILL come off!!!!

Today marks 1 month of my new life with my vertical sleeve gastrectomy. Wow! What a month! THE GOOD My "official" weigh in at my surgeon's office (on 7/2/13) was -25lbs. My unofficial weigh-in this morning was -30lbs. I can't believe what a difference 30lbs makes! I feel like I have so much energy, I'm sleeping better, oh yeah, and the bedroom stuff In the past month: Lost 1 chin My engagement ring no longer fits My wedding ring is loose My thighs look slimmer I haven't been having night sweats/ hot flashes (purely bc of weight, I'm 25yrs old) I've retired my first pair of blue jeans And every once in a while I see a little peak of my clavicles What I've been doing? **I exercise daily: 40 minutes of walking & at least 30 minutes of other stuff (light hand weights) and OMG, my husband and I are doing the 30 day squat challenge!-- it hurts to sit on the toilet! Lol ** I eat my protein first. I get in around 70-something grams of protein per day. I'm eating 3 meals (a protein shake being a meal) and sometimes a snack if I need it. ** H2O: I'm getting AT LEAST 64 oz per day- it's usually in the 70's. ** Vitamins: I'm taking 2 Flintstones, 2 calcium chews, and 1 dissolvable B12 per day. All taken at separate times to increase absorption. OH, something I thought was really cool: my husband went away for work for a few days and when he came home he was shocked. He thought I looked so much smaller! It was really awesome to see the look on his face!!! THE BAD I've heard this rumor about changing taste after surgery -- TRUE. My husband and I ate boiled shrimp (one of my favorite things) and I thought it tasted like band aids. WTH? And I now love Greek yogurt, where before I took one bite and trashed it. During this month, I felt like I had poor concentration and I kept getting dizzy upon standing, especially when getting out the tub (blood sugar= good, hydration= in check, orthostatic blood pressure= negative). So my doc suggested adding B 12. I can def tell an improvement in both my concentration and dizziness. I don't think this is truly "bad," I'm just not used to it. *TMI WARNING*. BMs are now every other day- less than what I was used to. THE UGLY I did have one vomit episode, but it was purely my fault. I ate too fast and didn't chew enough. LESSON LEARNED! _________________________________________________________________________________ But this has truly been an amazing experience so far. I feel so blessed to have this chance in life- to be a healthier, happier person. I'm so excited to see what comes, especially in the next few months.

Sounds like you have your mind right!! Good luck!!

Southernsoul-- oh my goodness! I couldn't imagine being on liquids that long! But I'm sure your doc has a method to his madness Good luck to you!!

Awesome!

Don't be discouraged! 19 lbs is awesome!! My first couple days of soft food I made tuna salad (tuna, eggs, a little light mayo, and a small piece of pickle) I blended in my ninja until it was about baby food consistency. I also eat Greek yogurt for breakfast. Today I ate an egg (well, most of it anyway) that was mushy/runny. Tonight I'll try to make chicken salad but I plan on leaving it just a little chunkier than my puréed tuna- just so I can slowly get used to a thicker consistency- baby steps. I hope this helps you!

Lol. I have to admit, it did get to me at first. But now... POSITIVE attitude!!

I wasn't expecting to write any type of entry for week two, but this week has a big impact on my thought process. Losing 22lbs in week 1 was amazing. I felt great! On top of the world! Ready to jump-start my new life! ...And then, it stopped. On day #7 the scale stopped moving. Now, I've researched this surgery soooo much and knew this was very likely. It seems many people have a stall around week 2-3. I thought I was prepared for this strange phenomena... But I was wrong. I had so many doubts this week. Would I ever lose the weight? Am I doing everything I'm supposed to do? Did I just have surgery to lose 22lbs? It was a terrible week. And then I realized... This is completely normal. Not only not losing weight is normal, but also all these feeling are normal as well. It's easy to get discouraged when things don't go your way. It's easy to get angry or sad... But that's what this journey is about- it's about a fight to a better you. A physically better you AND an emotionally better you. It's about strength, determination, and learning. To all you who are discouraged and down this week, pick up the pieces and keep on keeping on. This is all part of your story- the ups AND the downs. There are many times we will feel this way, down and depressed, but we just have to pick ourselves up, dust off, sip some water, and walk it off.