Sleeve1stFitNext

4/26 - I had four slices of turkey and 1 slice of povolone from Subway today. I had grilled chicken and broccoli for lunch. I am kinda getting tired of grilled chicken. I would like to try fish however I am getting nervous about it. I have off tomorrow so what I am going to do is, see my PCP (Long pass due lol). Then head to the supermarket and get some fish. Idk how to cook fish and that scares me lol. If not, I can always buy grilled fish from my local fish market as well. 

My Bf called me today. We have not talked to each other in 2 days (This normal. Between our Full Time Jobs and Full Time schooling 2 days is normal lol). He proceeded to tell me that he was down and really depressed in regards to the amount of stress he is under. So I just sent him these cute pictures while we were facing time and his face lite up. He started laughing. He laughed and said, "Your my best friend you know that right?" The sincerity in his voice melted my heart. Go BF for making my day better. 

The following updates for 3/16:

1) Did my stress test. They got my heart rate up to 185/bpm. We did the sonogram as well. I found out that I have a very strong and healthy heart.  I got approved right there by the cardiologist. 

2) Went to see my new PCP. Honestly, she seemed very judgmental. She asked me why I did not take other types of appetite suppressants. I was like, "I don't know....maybe because the ones that I have tried has not worked." She then started naming other brands and I was just confused. I really thought that she was going to denied me surgery. I ended up receiving her approval after she did my blood work and a EKG of her own. 

IDK. I am just glad that I am getting surgery. 

Day 6 of this diet is actually going really good. I am depending mainly on Protein Shakes today. I will however order a garden salad later since I can have leafy greens in my diet. I may just need fiber to kick this bowel issue I have been having. 

Also, I should have never had carnation milk. Idk what I was thinking. 

Happy New Year!!! Just remember how far you have come. I hope to have another great year with all of you and watching everyone reach their goals. 

As a reminder, it is not how fast that you finish the race but that you finished it. Let's keep this going into 2018!!!

From 2016 me and beyond!!!

Feeling a little defeated. The first week of this diet, I had lost 8.4 lbs. Today I weighed in just to see how much I have lost so far and I only lost 2.4 lbs so far. I know I should be proud and not use the word "only", because that is still a huge step but I was hoping for more. I was hoping for the same success this week as in last. I should have known better, this always happens. It starts off strong and then decreases rapidly. 

Well I still have 3 more days, so let's hope I can make a comeback this time around. 

Just an update on the liquid diet: 

Starting Weight: 260 lbs

Week 1: 251.6 lbs 

Week 2: 248,8

Total loss: 11.4 lbs. 

Not what I was hoping but I will take it. It is better than I have ever done before. Long live my achievement. 

So I busted my butt at the gym literally. Not Every Workout Will Be Graceful.

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So when I say my hair is coming out....I mean it. Please view the picture below. Each ball is from a side of my head. Honestly, I still have a ton of hair left on my head. I did not know I had that much hair. 

I went to Wendy's with my mom and got a Jr. Cheeseburger (no-bun). They put that little burger in a huge container lol. I was like, yall know you could have given it to me in a fries holder lol. 

Here is my dog thinking that he is a human.  He climbed under my cover and went to sleep. This dog is too much lol. 

4/4 - My Surgeon put me on the pureed/soft food stage. I am to introduce these foods slowly into my diet. He gave me a strict schedule that I am to follow. I am just excited that I can cut back on the shakes lol. He told me to start taking my vitamins on Sunday (4/9). They have to be chewable and to make sure I get the biotin because he knows how I am about my hair lol. I tried pickle juice last night. Bad idea. It gave me heart burn and made me burp a lot. 

4/5 - Made two egg whites for breakfast with some WW cheese. I was able to get 10 tiny bites in before I got full. My heart hurts (they were delicious). I have all 6 of my meals prepped for today. I have a 6 oz pouch of tuna with light mayo and some cheese. (I am lactose intolerant but cheese is delicious). I will be alternating between the two for today.  

4/6 - Well this was a bad day. I thought hey why not try something. My mom made spaghetti and meat sauce. So I took a small amount of meat sauce and pureed it. It was DELICIOUS. 5 minutes later, I was nauseous, light headed and hot with the chills. I ended up puking the meat sauce. I put it on my not ready to eat list lol. Was unable to stomach any thing other than water for the remainder of the day. 

4/7 - So the food I made for work, actually was turned into 6 meals because I could not eat more than 10 small bites. Had 10 bites of the egg whites and cheese for breakfast. Had 10 bikes of the tuna and cheese. I am going to finish the day off with a Premier Caramel Protein Shake for dinner. This will help me to get my protein up. I have been drinking zero calorie sugar free Vitamin Water (this is helping me with the B12 and electrolytes). 

This wonderful, amazing woman has guided me, encouraged me, prevented me from giving up and from looking stupid at the gym (ex. decline sit-ups)🤣. The saying goes, “It takes a village to raise a child.” Well it takes a village to achieve the hardest goals ever. I am so blessed to have so many people like her in my life. 

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. 

As I reach my 6 month post op. I wanted to just update you guys on a meal prep day for me. 

Breakfast: Coconut oil (1/2 tbsp) green tea - 65 calories

Snack 1: 14 olives - 60 calories 

Lunch: 15 shrimps and 4 leafs of Romaine Lettuce (this is eaten over the course of 1 hour) - 248 calories

Snack 2: 1/2 Pickle - 5 calories

Drink: Coconut oil (1/2 tbsp) green tea - 65 Calories

Dinner: Tuna Fish (water), Light mayo and cucumbers (over the course of two sittings) - 240 calories

Drink: Karma Fitness Water Bottle Fuser (After Gym) - 20 calories

Slim Jim (Snack Size): 2 - 80 calories 

Calories: 778

carbs: 8g 

protein: 81g

You can also view the picture below. 

On average I eat anywhere between 700 - 800 calories of food a day. 

Sorry I have not been around much for the Month of May. It has been a busy month. I am trying to buy my first investment property, as a well as my workload picking up. Some things that I changed. I bought dresses. I continue to work a lot. I am now known as a "Gym Rat" which I wear proudly. I dyed my hair blonde because I was bored. 

4/22 - Just in 1 month, the following has changed: 

1) I get a FULL Nights SLEEP !!! (Omg, I have not had a full nights sleep since before college in 2009). 

2) I can walk further and my ankle not hurt or I need to sit down (today I took 17,248 steps). Amazing and YESSSSSSS!!!!

3) I have really started eating my food cold. When I get hungry, I like to make sure that I am, so I will wait an additional 10 - 15 minutes. I just want to make sure it is not head hunger. However, I when realize that I am and I sometimes do not even bother heating up my food lol. 

4) I finally broke down and purchased one of the Portion8 containers at the BariatricPal Store. They have some really interesting things there. 

5) My younger brother (I have two brothers on my moms side whom are younger than me.) We were shopping for "Baby's" (he is the one that steals food lol) 17th B-day and my brother High Five'd me and said, "We are going to have to find a new nickname because FINALLY, "Bigums" will no longer fit you lol". 

4/22 - I almost forgot about food today lol

I made an entire meal prep for 4 meals. I had ground chicken and beans mashed. Reduce fat WW cheese melted in.  Each meal was 160 calories a piece. I had an Atkins Protein Water drink:

Atkins Protein Water: 20g Protein / 90 Calories / 1 Carb / 0g Sugar

Ground Chicken (1 oz Each): 22g of Protein / 170 Calories / 0 Carb / 0g Sugar

Black Beans (1 oz Each):  7g of Protein / 100 Calories / 19 Carbs / 0g Sugar

Weight Watchers Cheese (1/2 oz Each):  5.3g of Protein / 60 Calories / 0 Carbs / 5.3g Sugar

Atkins Protein Water: 20g Protein / 90 Calories / 1 Carb / 0g Sugar

Total:

Protein: 74.3g

Calories: 510

Carbs: 19 Carbs 

Sugar: 5.3g 

I am in Love with myself right now. 

There is soo many times I felt like giving up and just saying F*** it. I will never lose any more weight or get rid of all of this fat. I am soo glad that I did not. I took this picture after a work out on Friday and I have to say "Dammmmnnn Gina" lol. I am coming together so nicely. I may not need to spend that much money on stomach after all lol. I am soo excited to keep this going. I cannot wait to see what I look like in 6 more months. This year has been amazing. My Ab is starting to come in too. 

Today is the ending of day 4 on my liquid (greens) diet. I decided yesterday to visit my granny and little cousins since I was in Manhattan. Did not prepare to stay the night. I did not have any protein shakes. I ended up getting some cucumbers which are allowed on my diet and eating those. I had a 2 sugar free Popsicles, 1 can of carnation milk (fat free) with some tea. I finally found a pharmacy that had the premier protein shakes. The only issue is, between yesterday and today, my protein intact is low. I am feeling obnoxiously happy and I am not sure if I am delusional or what. 

Yesterday, I only had 350 calories of food with a Protein intact of 18g. Today is much better with 390 calories but a protein intact of 40g. I am hoping that I have not truly starved myself.

Tomorrow, my goal is to catch up on my protein. I am thinking that the 3 shakes, and two cups of broth can put me back on track. I weigh in tomorrow as well. Maybe I will see some pounds dropped (fingers crossed). 

So I had a Kanye West moment recently. I went off on a rant. I got my scale it said that I had gained 8lbs in 1 day. How Sway!! How!!

I finally got the courage to video myself doing a workout. I am proud. 

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There is a hill that is along my bike route to work. Everyday I ride, I take that hill. Today was the first time that I made it to the top without having to stop. I am getting stronger a bike rider. My calories for today are 672 but that does not include dinner. I will be buying Standard Gold Whey Protein Powder to add to my fruit smoothies. 1 scoop is like 26g of protein (Something that is much needed as I am trying to build muscle). I am having a hard time increasing my protein intake in the form of food lately. I just have not been hungry.

Things I am adding to my diet to see if I can take them:

1) Whey Protein

2) Dannon Oikos Triple Zero 

Also, I have started doing mediation to help alleviate some stress. I retain weight when I am stressed out. It also causes pain in my neck and back because that is where I hold all my tension. I also want to be flexible and by relaxing myself, I am able to stretch and bend a lot easier. 

4/1 - Was able to stomach a small amount of banana. I cannot eat that much though. I was actually able to get more walking in. I have created an alert on my phone to remind me to drink water every 15 minutes. When I wake up, I can stomach 8 sips. After that time, I can take 3 - 4 sips down each time. This allows me to get in 16 - 20 oz of water.

4/2 - Tried to drink Gatorade (was not paying attention that it was not sugar free and was my brothers regular Gatorade). I dumped immediately. It was quick and once the Gatorade was out, I felt so much better. I took 4 sips and immediately started feeling nauseous, sweating and my mouth filled with saliva. I learned my lesson to make sure I read the right labels. Slept majority of the day away. I just did not have the energy to do much of anything.

4/3 - Started my protein shakes again. They taste really sweet. It takes me slightly uncomfortable. I can take 4 sips. I am trying really hard to get down the protein but it is not easy. I just really want some chicken lol. I am so over protein shakes at this point anyway. Tomorrow is going to be my follow up appt. I just hope that I can progress to pureed/soft foods.

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)

My gym is closed on the weekends. I feel sad. I wish I could just go workout. I miss it. President's Day they are closed too. I am like  . This interferes with my workouts. Now, I have to workout at home. Well, I have a jump rope and a medicine ball.