Newme17

Had my sleeve on 5/15. I was probably a size smaller a week ago but didn't bother to check. I bought one size smaller in workout pants and decided to put them on. Happy to say, they slid on well. 😊 

6/1162017 -  I can actually see the weight change.  Yes, I know I'm wearing smaller clothes (still shopping from my own closet) and my bras are closing at the last set of clasps, so I know that I'm losing inches.  I  even enjoy stepping on a scale most weeks!  IKR - I even danced off and my school nurse said, that she doesn't see that often.  LOL  But today I can see the difference.  I just wanted to share.  Happy journey all!

Lesson for the day: Get. Your. Water. In. 
I only drank about half the water I should have yesterday. I usually make my water goal, if not exceed it a bit, I just was not in the mood and let it slide. This morning I went out for my walk and all of the sudden felt dehydrated adn overheated. Of course, it being almost 80degrees at 10am didn't help, but it makes it all the more essential to make sure you are well-hydrated. I came back home a dizzy, parched mess, and barely made it through my shower. Today is gonna be fluids, fluids, fluids!

Happy Sabbath!!!
I must be in the zone right now with weight loss. I have been losing a pound to a pound and a half a day the past three days. I was at 192 yesterday morning and today 190.5! I guess my body likes what I am doing right now so I will keep at it. I decided I want to get a haircut and style before my dh gets back from his trirp. I want to surprise him with a new look. I am thinking about getting highlights and going a little shorter. I am excited and nervous at the same time..lol..

TGIF. I made it through the first week of my hubby's two week trip. I have had a hard time cooking just for me and I ended up with a lot of leftover food that I did not want to eat. My chickens were happy though..lol..  one more week till hubby gets home. Tomorrow afternoon my daughter, granddaughter, and I are gonna have a girls day out and have lunch and a mani/pedi.  
i cant believe Monday will be one month post-op already! I think the time has flown by and I feel like my stomach has healed quickly. I have not had any problems at all eating soft meats and vegetables. I am planning to add tuna salad, and I would like to try some tender steak next week. 
I cleaned out my closet of all the size 14 and above pants, and the 2x-3x tops. I am comfortably wearing a size 12 jean and extra large top. I have pants in size 10, 8, and 6, that I saved, and I have medium and large tops, so I won't need to do any shopping right away. I stepped on the scale this morning and it was 192. if I lose another pound before Monday that will put me at 17 pounds lost this first month. I am very happy with that!!.
Time to go hop on the elliptical and get the heart pumping,,,

Had my sleeve on 5/15. I was probably a size smaller a week ago but didn't bother to check. I bought one size smaller in workout pants and decided to put them on. Happy to say, they slid on well. 😊 

Had my sleeve on 5/15. I was probably a size smaller a week ago but didn't bother to check. I bought one size smaller in workout pants and decided to put them on. Happy to say, they slid on well. 😊 

Totally rocked my element. Exercise! Despite the hip bursitis flaring up on the treadmill, I quickly switched to a bike and finished my cardio. Worked on my triceps, biceps, chest, and added back today. I tend to get a killer workout on my legs, the burn and all, doing slow intense cardio, so I'm omitting leg weights for now. Finally broke the sweat (so happy about that!) Best part, that pain on my side has finally subsided. Yeah! 🏋🏽‍♀️💪🏽😁
Enjoying an orange cream protein shake with 1/2 banana, cinnamon, and unsweetened almond milk now. 👅 

6/5  - Still doing my Keto Diet. It is working. I am very proud of sticking to it.
6/6 - Went to the surgeon for a 2 month followup. I weighed in at 213.4 lbs. He was very happy at my progress and the way I am healing. He said that amount of weight loss is amazing. I went to get my blood work done to make sure that my vitamins and nutritional intake is great. 
6/7 - Had a Glazed Donut. It was the best Donut I have ever had. I THREW IT UP within 10 minutes. I needed to do it to myself. I was starting to slowly eat something I was not supposed to so I just gave in and now that I know I cannot have it. I feel better. 

Is any scared they won't have as much success as others? Or are you scared of failing? Do we all have that feeling? Also, I know two people who body had complications after surgery but it wasn't the surgery just their bodies had been overweight so long it caused complications. I was afraid of that happening but thank God it didn't.

Well, I'm going to the one place I've missed all these last four months due to an injury and my wls. My wonderful GYM!!!!! I'm so ready...but I was advise to take it easy. Hmph...and so I will. 

6/5/17- I decided to start my own status update so I would have a journal of sorts to look back on when I am closer to my goal.
So I am three weeks post-op today. My journey thus far has been relatively easy with no major complications. I have been able to gradually increase my daily exercise and calorie intake with few problems. I am following my plan mostly, but have been combining weeks 3 & 4 because they are very similar with only the addition of a few items.  My constipation is over and my system has pretty much returned to normal. I have not vomited even once though I was nauseous the first day after surgery. I am feeling very blessed to have had this opportunity to improve my health at this point in my life. The driving force for me wanting to have this surgery was to give my body the best possible chance at putting my diabetes into remission, while also reaching and maintaining a healthy weight.
I have not needed to take any medications for my diabetes since the day before surgery. My 14 day bs average is 99. I check my bs twice a day, fasting and 2 hours after dinner or lunch. Thus far I have not had a reading over 110. I am very encouraged by these numbers. Prior to surgery I could not have obtained these numbers without my medication.
Last week I went back to work and I also starting exercising on my new elliptical machine.  Work went well, but it did tire me out the first couple of days. I added a healthy snack mid afternoon and that really helped get my energy level up to last the whole day. I am weighing and tracking my food in MFP. I want to be successful and I know my biggest problem has always been portion control. This will keep me accountable and also help me to see trends. So here are my weekly averages thus far .
5/16-22/17 - 244
5/23-29/17-  602
5/30-6/4- 740
I am happy that I have been able to get my calories up fairly quickly. I definitely feel the restriction and I am able to eat only 2.5-3.5 oz  at a meal. My protein level has been between 60-65g. I  am shooting for 70-80 in the next week and I feel that should bring my calories up to 800. I am doing my best to listen to my body and eat only when I am hungry, so I am not going to stress out about exactly how many calories or grams of protein I eat as long as I feel good and they are not too low. Figuring out a sustainable healthy lifestyle is probably the hardest part of this journey. The debate on these forums is helpful, but sometimes it is hard to know what exactly is going to work for me until I try it.  I know being a type 2 diabetic that my body is very carb sensitive. Right now with my somewhat limited diet it has been easy as I am mainly eating protein and a few veggies. I guess I will see how things go as I move along and maybe try a few complex carbs as I have more room in my diet. 
my weight log
5/18- 208
5/24- 196
5/29- 195
6/5- 193.5
I am very happy with those numbers. I do not have any weekly or monthly weight loss goals. I am just going to follow my plan and let things fall where they may. Slow loss is just fine with me and NSV are abundant. I have dropped a size already and I am feeling great! 
I think this is a good first update. It is long, but I had three weeks worth of thoughts to get logged. I want to thank this forum and its members for all of their support. Since I had my surgery in Mexico I don't have a local group to talk with. I have learned so much reading the threads here and have made some great online friends along the way. 
I hope to add my thoughts and progress here at least once a week.

5/31 - Yeah that whole liquid diet thing is not going to work for me. The protein drinks made me sick and I just could not force myself to do it. Oh well. Back to keto is was. Instead of the gym, I ended up a BJ's with my Mom. She had me pushing around a flatbed cart with 4 waters boxes, 2 pepsi boxes, 2 coke boxes, 4 kool aid jammers, 2 Gatorades and 2 powerades. The hardest work out I ever had. I was sweating in the frozen food section lol. 
6/1 - Had my off. I went to a party at one of my friends house. I put on makeup and dressed really pretty. I was feeling myself. I got hit on by 3 guys. I was just  awkward because I am not used to that much attention. It was really weird. I was like, "Thank you. Goodnight." the whole time lol. 
6/2 - Continued with the keto diet. I have however made some alterations to it. I make sure to get in 50 - 70g of protein a day. I keep the carbs below 20g and the fat falls in where ever they do. It is actually a pretty easy diet to follow. 
6/3 - Nothing special. Just a regular day. 
6/4 - Lost 4.6 lbs this week!! I was having a minor stall and my month of May was not that great. I am just happy with the progress that I made. I am 214.2 lbs. I just never envisioned that I would be at this weight. 

I'm a week post op today and I've been walking as much as I can tolerate. I thought I was doing well until I looked at my step count and saw I'm getting 2-3k steps per day. I tried to go out to the park for a walk today and really enjoyed it since the weather is beautiful, and this was the first time I've been outside walking since surgery. Well.. I stayed out too long and didn't have enough steam to get me back home. My large incision was extremely painful and I almost passed going up my stairs   
So I guess my lesson for today is to listen to your body. Right now, I feel challenged at 2k steps per day and I suppose I need to lay off the pressure to do more until I'm better healed. I feel like my activity tolerance should be higher, but I'm not going to push it.

5/29 - I thought the gym at work would be open. I forgot that the trainer/owner of the gym is a Veteran and he stated that he would not be there and it would be closed. I came home to my brother and mom arguing. It was the funniest thing I had ever heard. My brother really wants to bleach his hair a Honey Blonde in the front. My mother is against it. I am going to try and repeat the conversation because it was hilarious: 
Brother: "I will not conform to your tyrannical rules you DICTATOR!"
Mother: "I said NO! This is my household and you are a child and have no say." 
Brother: "This is my body and I am trying to express myself externally."
Mother: "I DON'T care what you are trying to express. I will express my belt across your (explicit) if you do not leave me alone."
Brother: "Well you let Teeara dye her hair the honey color and did not say anything."
Mother: "Teeara is a grown woman, whom works 40/hr weeks plus over time, pays bills, cooks and did not fail any of her classes."
Brother: "Why do you always have to bring Teeara into things." 
At this point, there were tears running down my eyes.   Best conversation that I listened to. 
 
5/30 - Decided that I wanted to lose 17 lbs by my birthday. Hmmmm. Now how can I do that? My Pre-op Diet!!! I decided to do a 2 week liquid diet again. I figured that this worked for me during that time, so it should work again. Sometimes we have to go back to the beginning to succeed. I am soo hype about it. I have two protein shakes and 1 meal like before. 
I went to the gym and worked out. Nothing special. 
 
 

5/27 - Had a good day. 
Breakfast: Two scrambled egg whites and 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese.
Lunch: 3 Lettuce Wraps (6 oz of turkey, 1 povolone cheese  slice and 2 pickles)
Snack: 14 olives
Dinner: Chicken Salad (4 oz of chicken, 1/2 cup of mozzarella, romaine lettuce, guacamole, sour cream)
  
 

A tiny bit disappointed that I turn 21 tomorrow and still won't know what alcohol tastes like (I was sleeved less than 3 weeks ago), but getting my health and life on track are totally worth it <3

5/25 - Went to the gym and worked out cardio. My shoulders were really killing me from the workout the day before. I did not get to see the trainer today because he does not oversea cardio days. I ended up working out for an hour and trying to keep my heart rate in cardio.
I went home and started reading up on Ketogenic diets more. I found out that when Bariatric patients are required to do a liquid diet (low in carbs), we end up putting out body into a Ketogenic state. This allows our body to start burning fat as a energy resource. I was really intrigued and decided to do a full Ketogenic diet as an experience. I have foods that I omitted (red meats, bacon). I very barely would eat red meat prior to surgery so it was easy to omitted that option. I meal prepped enough chicken for the week. I can eat YASSO  frozen yogurt ice cream which is 100 calories and low in sugar with 5g of protein. I used to eat them for dessert twice a week. I made chicken breast, brocolli, mozzarella cheese (reduced fat). The remaining chicken breast, I am using to follow the Ketogenic Diet now. 
5/26 - Went to my Granny's house to spend time with her. She loves seeing my progress and oh baby does she like to hear about the foods I can and cannot eat. She enjoys seeing my meal preps and just praises me for sticking to staying away from junk food.
For breakfast: I had boiled egg whites (hate the yoke). 
For snack: I had 7 olives and a powerade zero calorie drink.
For Lunch: I had 4 oz of chicken breast, 1 tsp of guacamole and 1 tbsp of sour cream. 
For snack: the remainder of my brocolli and cheese.
For Dinner: I will have 4 oz of salmon and 1 tsp of guacamole.
I have attached a picture below of my portion8 container. This takes me about 45 minutes to eat in it's entirety. 
And a picture of the happiest baby I know. My little cousin. 
 

5/23 - Was supposed to go to the gym but I woke up feeling like a dying flower. I will be honest with the fact that yesterday I did not drink enough. I thought I did but I did not apparently. I was out of breathe, I was light headed and I was just exhausted. I just spent most of today drinking water and trying to re-hydrate myself. i wish that darn Hidrate 2.0 would hurry up and arrive. I am like hurry up!!!! I want it now!!!
I ate beans, chicken, lettuce and tomatoes for lunch. I had watermelon for snack. I have a protein shake that I am forcing myself to drink because I want more protein. 
Tomorrow will be a new day. I will be going to the gym.
 

5/20 - Ate the eggplant ricotta bake. I had that foamy feeling in my mouth and the rumbles. I guest eggplant does not sit well in my tummy. Went to the Taco placed and got a naked chicken burrito. I tried their new kind of chicken (FYI The guy failed to inform me that it was chipotle spicy chicken. Oh it tasted delicious. 5 minutes later I was puking up foam. I ended up spending my lunch break laid on the floor in the back of the office curled up in the fetal position. So spicy food does not love me anymore .
5/21 - Did not have any meal prep because the eggplant would not sit well in my tummy. The left over Halal chicken that I had, I spilled pulling it out of the my lunch box (Damn Portion8 container lol) I ended up getting a chicken Salad from the Turkish place downstairs. It was an interesting taste. It was sweet. Felt very disappointed after I weighed in. I only lost 4 oz for that week. I had worked out really hard. I did however notice that my stomach is getting smaller. I might have just lost inches and gained muscle. Lost 8.8 lbs during my second month post-op. Current 220.6 lbs
5/22 - Wanted to get a Protein Drink from Vitamin Shoppe. Ended up getting some Atkins Granola bars. DO NOT BUT THEM. They are delicious, high in protein but have 17g of carbs in one bar but they advertised it at NET Carbs 3g. SNEAKY SNEAKY. I ate two of them and then realized it. They also are 210 calories each. It works because I will be full off of one for 2+ hours however 420 calories on just two bars is a lot. Now I have to be really mindful of what I am reading. When I see low carbs I have to check to see if it says NET (they do some type of convoluted math to get to that low number). Went to the gym before work and the trainer really kicked my butt. I am sore but loving it. Today, we focused on Cardio. Tomorrow he said will be weight lifting. Wish me luck!!! Oh dinner and lunch consist of grilled chicken breast and a dipping sauce that I made (1/4 cup fire roasted tomato sauce and 1/2 tsp of ricotta). Watermelon on the side for snacks. 

Sleeved this past Monday. The first 24 hours were just awful but normal, I guess. Got way better yesterday. I decided to stay the one extra night. Ins paid for it and I wanted to use what attention I could get medically and have a small break before heading home to three young girls. Lol. The incision site where they stiched my muscle, is very sensitive and hurts when I cough/laugh, so I'm looking to get a smaller binder to help put some pressure on it. Gas pain wasn't too bad, just burped everything out. Overall, I feel pretty good. Could use a nap though. Just waiting for my discharge papers. 😊

Sleeved this past Monday. The first 24 hours were just awful but normal, I guess. Got way better yesterday. I decided to stay the one extra night. Ins paid for it and I wanted to use what attention I could get medically and have a small break before heading home to three young girls. Lol. The incision site where they stiched my muscle, is very sensitive and hurts when I cough/laugh, so I'm looking to get a smaller binder to help put some pressure on it. Gas pain wasn't too bad, just burped everything out. Overall, I feel pretty good. Could use a nap though. Just waiting for my discharge papers. 😊

As of today, I'm halfway to goal! 70 pounds down, 70 more to go... And I'm just under 10 pounds away from hitting onederland! I'm 3.5 months out from surgery today and I have to say that even though the weight loss seems slow at times, I'm very happy to be where I am right now.

5/12 - Took my dog buddy (nickname: Rasta Scoobs) to the groomers. I spent most of the time talking with my bestie Bitty (Brittany). She is my hetero-life mate. She has been on this strict diet program for over a year and have lost over 100 lbs. I am soo proud of her because she achieved something that was very hard for her to do. She made correlation between her diet and my surgery that made me laugh. She, "We both have to eat low carb, high protein, smaller plate diets with exercise and the possibility of weight regain. The only difference is, you are physically forced to eat smaller." Lol. I was trying on bathing suites and sending her pictures and she is the most honest person I know. She is like your tummy is going down!! But girl that bathing suite does not suite you lol. Drank a ton of water. I am starting to feel energetic. I think I was dehydrated.

Day 11 pre-op:
Another busy day. My baby girl turned 4 today. Had her party today as well. Didn't want to do it on the weekend...way too busy at those kid pizza places. Anyway, forgot about water during the party, I'm parched. Will need to get better at that (being super busy and drinking water). I ate a salad with the most ridiculous amount of grilled chicken on it. I even questioned the oz. Hmm....? 
Anyway, had appt with the surgeon yesterday and my post op directions. All is well. Labs were perfect. Took a mini test, he said I got a 100 and there was nothing to school me on. Nut went over post op directions. Main keys are:
1) eat when you're hungry. 2) water, water, water  3) get protein in 
no counting calories, etc  good! I have to learn to listen to my body, as I've always known that's the way for me. It's what I used to do at my healthy weight, so I know I can and will do it again. 
Three more days of pre-op. The end is near to the beginning of another chapter.