newmetwenty15

So, I jumped on here tonight trying to catch up with those of you I have been chatting with and wanted to see updates on everyones status!! I am once again suprised at MY TICKER!! I logged my current weight on my ticker and noticed my weight loss and goal weight are getting close to the same numbers! WHAT??? How exciting is that? I am down two pants sizes and starting to feel lighter now. I just thought I was feeling lighter before... now I am starting to see that I really do have bones under all this meat. I have had my ups and downs and I get so frustrated still that I can not drink while I eat, but I am noticing that I am not even ordering a drink until it is time to go! I am down 50 lbs in two and a half months. WHOA!! That was fast. I am so glad I did what I did. I will never hate the fact that I am healthier every day! Hope all is well with everyone!!! newmetwenty15

So, today is my 44th birthday and I am so happy to be able to say that I FEEL GREAT at 44. I was updating my "ticker" before this post and had a feeling of excitement when it calculated my weight loss and then told me how much more I have to lose before hitting my goal! I never thought I would see the day when it went below 100 to reach my goal! I am 88lbs from my goal weight! Prior to my surgery I would probably be 88lbs heavier! I am so glad I made the decision and followed through with the surgery! My children hug me now and say ... "Mommy, I can actually touch hands when I hug you!" I never noticed before that they couldn't even get their arms around me! How great are the little things that are brought to my attention! I hope everyone has a terrific Tuesday! Grateful, newmetwenty15

I am 6 weeks and 6 days post op and feel I have fallen victim to yet another stall. I do not know if there is such at the six week mark but I have been at the same weight for a week and no matter how much cardio or how little I eat my weight just stays right where it is. I have been following the guidelines ... probably a little less calories than I should be eating because I get tired of that full feeling so quickly. Pre op I was really bad about not eating throughout the day hoping for quick weight loss and I found it is easier having my VSG to skip meals. I still struggle with WATER, no matter how I flavor it. I have never been a soda person, so this hasn't been an issue, but water is ick. I add drops for the flavor but then return to my unsweetened tea or coffee. I wonder if this is the issue. I have read many blogs about drinking caffiene, however, my sill mind says, "it's made with water and I prefer the taste of tea and coffee". I am down 38 lbs in 6 1/2 weeks so I will once again leave my friend, the scale, out of my morning routine and get back to weighing weekly. Hopefully this will be more encouraging!

I can totally understand how the comments go to your head when others tell you how thin you look or how good you have done. Why do we fall off the wagon when these comments are made? I don't know if this would help but I just say that was just one of those days, learn from the mistake and work hard to say NO! It is hard when you have positive comments and unhealthy food in the same room! It seems the biggest battle is battling the old habits we had pre-op. I have been told if we fall back... we can move forward and keep on going! Good luck girl and let it go... you can always jump back on and proceed forward! Awesome work! newmetwenty15

I was trying to understand why I was up so dadgum tired every morning and drag my butt around until I finally either get to work or realize I am dragging. I had a serious self evaluation this morning and self talk proved that my old habits of sleeping in late on my days off are wanting to squeeze in where there is NO ROOM for them. I thought about how I used to want to sleep in on the mornings when the family was cozy in their beds and how simple it would be to induldge in the comfort of comfy blankets and pillows knowing there are many things I could be doing to get motivated and get moving. I sat there and talked myself out of the old laziness that led me to being overweight and depressed. I changed my thinking and got moving. I have found I am really good at defeating the old behavior patterns that I was used to for so many years. Point being ... change my thinking and change my lifestyle! I do not want to be in the rutt I lived for the last 30 years! I have one chance to change and I believe I will take it!!! Have a great Valentine's Day! newmetwenty15

I know things are not always roses post op and I enjoyd reading your post. I agree, I had taken a little time away from this forum because it seemed everyone was doing better and losing more than I was. I finally chose to come here, write my blog entry and get off of it not reading others success for a while so I would not feel like I was doing something wrong. I was at the office on day and decided that my success was going to happen whether I wanted it to or not and not always as fast as I wanted. I then thought I wanted to read others post and get ideas from their individual stories and I quit trying to compete with my fellow VSGers! I have learned a lot from each of you, good and bad, happy and sad.... we all have our own personaly journey and I was happy to see your post because it was the raw truth! Keep it up girl, you never know when someone needs to read the true side of life on the other side!!! Thanks for sharing! newmetwenty15

I am excited about my new Fitness watch. I finally got the one I have been wanting! This little gem tells me everything about my fitness level and then some! My husband is the best when it comes to researching the best quality for the money and the Garmin Vivosmart is by far my favorite watch. Two years ago I had the Fitbit and I thought then I was getting the information I needed but this Garmin is much better. Before I had my surgery I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes, Sleep Apnea, and more of the dreaded obese diseases. I would question my sleep patterns often because I could not wear my CPAP faithfully and not feel like I was clostrophobic at night, pulling the mask of in my sleep every night. I just quit wearing it all together and I do not know how this effected my sleeping but I am sure it was not the best decision. This watch tells me my movement while I am sleeping and it is the first thing I check when I wake in the morning. It syncs to my phone so I can see my daytime steps and how much walking I have done each day setting my personal goal! If I get too sedentary it tells me to "MOVE" and I love that. I do still have to log my food on myfitnesspal but my Garmin app does all the math for me deducting my calories burned from my calorie intake! I do at least three miles three days a week and the days I don't do the walking I know I have to walk more at the office to reach my goal that my watch has set for me! I love this little toy and I would highly suggest something along the same lines for those of you wanting to set and reach your exercise goals!!! Greatness, newmetwenty15

It has only been four weeks and one day since I rolled up in the East Texas hospital to have the surgery that would forever change my life. In only four weeks I have gained the strength and power to change my eating habits and start a new healthier lifestyle for myself. I look back at just the short four weeks and smile gatefully at my success. I finally found the help I have been needing to set me apart from that woman who would look in the mirror and cry at every failed diet attempt. The yo-yo diets, the slim fast, the good ole' phen-phen diet, the starving diet, and just three months ago it was any new weight loss pill on the market. I started this certain blog over a week ago and put it in my drafts because I was short on time and today I have decided to continue ... I didn't finish simply because I took time away to go with my daughter to tour yet another college and spend quality time with her! Since then things have gone up and down. I don't know what phase I am going through but it seems to be the part where I feel fear of my decision. WOW that was really hard to type. I am five weeks post op today and have still made progress but that part of me that says ... "this is for the rest of your life" keeps creeping in. I am not having buyers remorse yet I think I am battling my food addiction. I also fear (a little ahead of time) the saggy mom syndrome! I see my body starting to change now and it is changing drastically. I have been here before but it's different now. When I would get to this point pre surgery I would think I accomplished some mission and fall of the health kick and gain back what I lost and then some. I know this is not a possibility today and reality says, you are going to keep going. This is what I want, but I am battling my mind, because my addict wants to give in and give up. Well, as I sit here and type this I am reminding myself of all the reasons I had this surgery and I feel I am defeating that little food addict that keeps me stuck. I do not have the ability to fall back into my old habits and I will win this one this time! I feel sure this will not be the only time I battle this but I will WIN!! I am still motivated to live an active and healthy lifestyle from here on out, I just want anyone that is reading this to know that this is life... one we chose to live and the great part of this is I can not fail this time. I will proceed with my positive motivation and look back at this blog one day as just another mountain I had to climb! Truth is ... This is life ... and this is one I chose to help me beat my addiction with food. The mind is a hard muscle to remold but I am working on it daily ... one day at a time. Some days it is one hour at a time, but ... I GOT THIS!! newmetwenty15

I think things are starting to move again! I have learned so much in the past few days about how I eat and drink. I have learned about the foods my body isn't ready for and things I possibly can do better to stay on track! OLD HABITS have been creeping in and trying to surface.. YES, that thing called my eating addiction .... I was trying to eat more than I could possibly hold in my tummy and I was reminded quickly when I accidentally drank a sip of tea with my meal. DAMN, that hurts. I am learning to eat slower and enjoy what I can eat .... and don't even bother putting a drink near me when it is meal time. OLD HABITS are hard to break but thank you tummy for painfully reminding me that drinking with the meal is a NO NO. I have learned to just order a drink and set it aside and at the end of my meal get it to go. I do not drink while eating because: IT HURTS. =) And I have learned to chew chew chew and swallow small bites. I have also added an app to my phone that will snap a picture of the barcode I have eaten and plug in everything so calorie counting has now become my friend. That was something else I wasn't doing in the beginning because I thought ... DANG I can only eat an ounce or two! Well, I was shocked when we sat and checked calories on a bunch of items in the grocery store and dining out! I am still learning and will probably share again my silly mistakes, but they are worth every minute of my new healthy life! I started a little ZUMBA today! That was a little embarrassing... and I was in my own work out room at home... but still felt embarrassed when my husband or boys walked in the gym. FAT GIRL attempting SALSA!! BUT .... mark my words.... a year from now I will be teaching that dadgum ZUMBA glass! It was a fun change and I will do it more and more and more... OH OH OH ... I was excited about my new purchases yesterday!! I finally found a 2X Sauna Suit and a plus size weight loss belt for when I exercise! I found them locally and inexpensive so I was exstatic!! Put the sauna suit on yesterday afternoon (a little tight in the belly) and went to walking on the treadmill .... After 15 minutes, I was sweating like a ... I dunno what to say here .... plus size woman in a sauna suit?? lol So, tomorrow morning, me and the sauna suit are going for a long test walk as I do normally, but with my new suit I hope to find that I am sweating off the inches and pounds!! Well, that's it for today.. Super bowl Sunday and I found some fabulous recipes the family and I are going to try out instead of the usual fattening finger (oh so easy) foods we are accustomed too! Have a great SUNDAY!! twenty15

Just wanted to check in and see how things are going for you? I know you worried about moving through the pre-op diet and I had you on my mind. I hope you are doing well and let me know if there is anything I can help with!! Christie

Thanks! I do think it has been a great journey so far! I guess I have been impatient and I will move forward with gratitude!! I know I am in a much better situation today than prior to my VGS. I do want to have a visit with my scale but I don't think we are friends right now so I went to the fabric store and got a measuring tape and I will befriend it for a while!! Hopefully one or the other will show my hard work is paying off!!! Have a great rest of the weekend! Look forward to talking again soon!! Christie

Thank you so much! I absolutely love this site and will really love to look back months from now and see all the things I thought were so difficult turn into just a bump in the road! I don't know if all my posts will be 100% positive, but I do know I will not sugar coat anything I go through!! There are days when I want to eat more than I know my banana belly will hold, but it doesn't take long for me to be reminded by my tummy that we are not going to do that anymore!! We are going to eat enough to nourish my body and get on down the road! I think the only part I struggle with right now is the afternoons and NO energy. I do think I am starting to adjust to that too, but I just take one day at a time! I don't know how it feels to wait for 6 months, but just my four weeks wait was difficult enough... I wish you strength and patience as you go through the next four months... It will be here before you know it!!! If you want to ask anything, please feel free!! I am here for you and any others who question WLS!!! YOU GOT THIS SISTER!!! Christie

Hmmm.... I don't know if I am happy or disappointed about my office visit today! I will have to admit ... I have been a scale junkie since my surgery but I guess my scale has been lying to me . I started this journey at 266.5 and as of today I am 249. That is according to the Dr.'s scale. So, I am actually only 17lbs down since my surgery. I liked my scales number better, but let's be honest .... IT LIES! I will go and recalibrate it as soon as I get home today ... or get rid of it and get a new one that will tell me the truth! Other than the numbers, I am happy to report that my tummy they took away had no traces of cancer, etc. Good ole' pathology is going to make sure they get the breakdown.... just thankful there wasn't bad news about that! Now, all my vitals were good, color was good, got off my Lasix the day of surgery and I still have NO swelling as well as getting off my Metformin, no traces of diabetes Type II either! I will say that was worth every penny and hour spent preparing and having this surgery! I did have to get another B-12 injection today because my energy level has been really low, but I kind of got a slap on the hand because I went back to work the Monday following my surgery. I put in at least 9 hours a day with a few minutes for a lil sip of soup and then home to mother four children, putting my recovery last on the list. I guess I thought since it didn't fall over dying, I was fully recovered. YES ... I love my job and I honestly couldn't wait to get back to work!! Well, with all that being said, I have not allowed myself enough "DOWN" time so my body is still worn down from my surgery! It has only been three weeks, but I didn't want to stay in the house, alone, and waiting for my body to heal when I knew I felt great! I still feel great, but, I do get tired (mentally and physically) by 2:00pm and push myself through until bedtime. (Which has turned into 7:00, opposed to 11:00) In my defense, I am up at 5:30 walking through the neighborhood getting some exercise and nature to start my day! I did ask for feedback about losing 17lbs today and my sweet nurse said I was right on target. They mentioned most patients lose anywhere from 15 - 20 pounds by their three week check up. NOW ... by my four month check up she said the patients usually lose up to 50lbs. I will be happy to make that post!!! I guess I feel a little down becuase I thought it was more than 17, but I will take losing that 17lbs anyday over gaining 17lbs. Lots of questions from the nurse and a B12 shot and I was out the door! I had to share and get my weight loss straight with anyone who reads my blog because I am an honest person and I wouldn't feel right lying about it ... that gets me NOWHERE!!! I did that pre-surgery! I will hope to have lost a few more by the end of this week! Loving life and losing!! twenty15

I guess I look at my overweight being that I was always more willing to take the easy route and that led me to more weight gain. Even at my thinnest, I was still looking for an easy way to cheat the system. My cheating and falling for the easy way led me to gaining even more weight over the years. I will be honest and tell you, I am also one who chose not to tell many people about my WLS. I chose only a few people I knew would hold me accountable as well as give me positive feedback on choices I make for my new life ahead of me. I have a very encouraging group of honest friends and family that I trust will not share my journey, as for the rest, I will not lie, I will tell them I have decided to make better food choices and exercise more! You are right! There are so many people that will snub their noses at you for the mere fact of thinking of having a WLS, but the way I look at it is "It's not taking the easy way out"! I once read a book with a terrific truth to those who say by having WLS you are just taking the easy route. NO, there is nothing easy about preperation for the surgery, having the surgery, nor life after the surgery. I can say there are times that because we eat less and have been encouraged to exercise more the weight will come off faster but there isn't anything easy about it. The book made a suggestive: When there is negative feedback, or derrogotory comments, remind those by asking; "Do you still go out back and beat your laundry with rocks to wash?" "Do you have still hand wash all your dishes?" "Do you still hang your clothes out to dry?" I am quite positive the answer to at least two of these questions is NO. Well, does that mean they took the easy route out? NO, they found a more efficeint way to wash clothes and dishes so they aren't slaves to chores, they found help. Well, we found a way to help us not be victim to food addiction with a little help! Honestly, I chose to weed out the negative people in my life. I do not like to be involved with people like that! I think they are just envious. What we choose to do with our bodies is our choice, nobody else matters!!! As far as me, I am in my three week stall and I dislike it! I thought I would shed the weight faster, and I did the first two weeks, and then there is this nice hill to climb, "Three Week Stall". I've read much about it and I will do all I can to stay motivated and positive about moving through and climbing up out of the valley! I want to be on the top of the mountain, not in the foothills!! =) Wishing you a fast next few months!! Keep in touch! Christie