Orchids&Dragons

NSV: needed a shirt pronto someone was at the door or something and I grabbed a camisole, when I checked later it belongs to my 13yr old (and she  is not husky sized lol) score !

Milestone date for me on this journey. I now weigh the same as the day i got out of boot camp in 1984 and is the least i have ever weighed as an adult.

So how's everyone doing? Hope all is well. It's good to be finally back to work. Once I became healthy enough to go back to work, it was a bit challenging to find a job that wouldn't require me being away from home for a week or two at a time. I landed something temporary moving cars between Carmax dealerships. It keeps me so busy that I sometimes forget to eat because I am not hungry. Now that I am not quite so bored, I don't reach mindlessly for food to fill up time. LOL! Hoping to maybe get 7 pounds more off by August 4th for my brother's wedding. Matty has his eye on a bride's maid .... LOL! At least the scale is starting to move again. I think if I lose another 7 pounds, my size 48 loose fit jeans won't even stay up with a cinched belt anymore.

My oldest son Just got home from deployment in the middle east. I missed him and am looking forward to spending some time with him.  He wants to go to Nebraska Furniture (north of us near where his sister lives) to look for a new dining room table for his house.  I will for sure be getting my steps in and my daughter has better furniture taste than I do, so that will help as well.  My stomach feels 100% better knowing he is safe (as long as we avoid I 35 construction haha).

kinda long but worth it.

ok just the oddest call today.  I called my surgeon's office to schedule my 1 year follow up and i pressed 0 to schedule an appointment just like the phone tree asked me too.

i was connected to what sounded like a very pleasant but young lady.

I told her what i needed and she ask me for birth date and name and then proceeded to ask me why i wanted an appointment when i was just there in Feb.

First this caught me off guard cause i have never had a doctor's office try to talk me out of an appointment.

So i explained that yes the Feb date was my 6 month follow up and now it was time for my 1 year follow up.  She didnt say anything for a few seconds then just asked me to hold and transferred  me to my surgeon's office.

I told the receptionist in the office about the odd encounter and she just laughed and said she would have someone speak the woman.

It was just a few seconds and after it was over i found it pretty funny.

and on the workout front i went back to the gym today but just did legs, crunches and the dreaded treadmill.  Still not cleared for anything that engages the tricep but decided i could do the things i dont like even if i could not do the parts i enjoyed.  

hope your all doing well

Tomorrow is my last dietician appt since February 22nd.  She said they would be able to schedule my surgery date tomorrow but it seems as though everyone says they have to wait on ok from insurance co. But I already know my ins pays 100% of surgery and my hospital copay is $430, so hopefully I'll know date real soon. I also know I have to do 2 weeks of pre op even though I've lost 20lbs on my own just from making changes! I've been on every diet there is and lost but always had problems keeping it off. My health was deteriorating quickly and I need to turn this around before it's too late. And permanently.  I've never been more ready physically, mentally, spiritually for this as I am now.

Me and my son, one day after he was born. 

I've noticed that another bad behavior has crept back into my life. I've started not giving a full half hour between food and drink. Today I put the kibosh on that. It's back to waiting the appropriate amount of time. On the other hand, I've been really good about getting a minimum of 64oz of liquid in per day. Often, I am above the minimum. Post-op food lifestyle is a constant balancing act and the trick is catching things when they start to go out of balance.

Today I hit 299. Feels really good to be below 3 bills!

Hi, New to the group. Sleeved on 6/12/18. lost a total of 13.5. But stalled now since saturday   Hope to break it by the end of the week! 

I want this surgery so bad but please pray that i can quit smoking for a month. I read where a girl messed hers up and I think they should give us tragic events. 

I am in panera drinking tea and went to use the bathroom,  this is the first time I have seen myself in a full length mirror naked ish and I look... OK but man I may need plastics. I was trying to avoid it and hoping slow weight loss would make a difference but I look pregnant (still) and noticing some skin drooping,  sigh. 

I am in panera drinking tea and went to use the bathroom,  this is the first time I have seen myself in a full length mirror naked ish and I look... OK but man I may need plastics. I was trying to avoid it and hoping slow weight loss would make a difference but I look pregnant (still) and noticing some skin drooping,  sigh. 

Hi, this is my first post. I am almost to my surgery date of June 28th and having a lot of mixed emotions. I am trying to get things in order before I have my surgery on June 20,2018. How did you all get things prepared and how did u feel once you got close to your surgery dates?

Protein bars are evil.  I've been on the go so much that it's been my go to meals lately so when I finally sit down with dense proteins and vegetables tonight (eggs beans cottage cheese kale bowl)  my restriction is crazy tight because I forgot about it. Lol no more slider bars for me 

Staying in the hospital stinks. Was there for some unidentified intestinal issue. I was miserable.  Couldn't eat or drinks.  Was on fluids and 2 broad spectrum antibiotics. Had to speak with the infectious disease doctor twice while I was there. When I was released from the hospital we still had no answers and I was up 7 lbs due to all the fluids. Within a couple of days I was back to my starting weight. Whew! I took the whole week off of work. I was wiped out. Still feel that way today but can't afford any more time off right now. I missed the forums, but everything was an effort so I didn't open my laptop once last week! I see my doctors on Thursday so we shall see when I can work out again. I want to tell everyone how fast you can become dehydrated post-surgery. Drink, drink, drink!

 I was supposed to have a first date today (it's been at least a year since I've went on a date), but I was stood up.  I channeled my frustration into doing a new cardio and strength training video,   and actually made it through all 32 minutes of it!  I had sweat dripping off of me when I finished. Hopefully my efforts will be reflected when I weigh-in Wednesday morning, though finishing the workout was a non-scale victory itself!  

I am sure some of you are wondering about my date with the 3rd year med student. It's a one and done and I am honestly relieved. I was almost headed down a road I swore I would never go down again: dating a type. I would honestly rather find someone less ambitious and more on my wavelength of living simply with less material things. I reject the consumerist lifestyle and would rather live simply instead of being in the buy, borrow, and spend cycle. The stress of living this way was one contributor to becoming 366 pounds and profoundly diabetic. 

Last night went to dinner with family.  My sister texted me later, hey sis your make up looked really good tonight. I said Wow , thanks I'm not wearing any.

#goodhealthshows

It's more successfully minded to ask questions like.... When can I begin working out.... Or when can I return to work as opposed to when can I eat that or this again.....

#GetYaDamnMindRight

#MarathonNotASprint

Down another three pounds and had my one-month post-surgery follow-up (although its actually be 7 weeks tomorrow, their scheduling sucks). The nurse practitioner was pleased with my weight loss (36 pounds in 7 weeks) and told me I was cleared to go back to water aerobics and whatever else I would like to pursue exercise wise. Now to find a new pair of tennis shoes

Uh oh! Something happened to Matty this week. I was in a local Wawa (think east coast convenience store) and a gorgeous girl ran smack into me while I was grabbing a grape Propel - just couldn't deal with anymore water today. She was texting and walking ... okay, yeah, this missed me as Gen X'er. Well she looked up at me and flashed me one helluva smile. I was feeling pretty good that day so it was time to bring out some game, "So you know I can't let a gorgeous girl who crashes into me go without getting her phone number." LOL! She turned beet red, asked for my phone and sent herself a text message from mine. She said, "Because you men never call ..." I don't know quite what I was thinking but figured it would be one heck of a ride. What is it with me and short girls? I seem to attract them and I don't honestly care about height. She's all of 5'4". I knew she was young but it didn't occur to me how young. What did I just get myself into?

I told myself no dating until the scale reads 190 but this new me is feeling sexually driven like I have never been before. Well, she's right I wasn't really planning on calling her so she called me. So I told her my age (41) and was shocked to hear that she generally goes for men older than 35. We must've talked on the phone close to 3 hours. You're going to think I am lying when I tell you she's a 3rd year med student and is interested in training to be a bariatric surgeon. The stars might've just aligned but I want to go slow and told her that I had weight loss surgery. She's totally my type - the professional, highly educated, and ambitious woman. That's what frightens me, because in the past, this has lead to unhealthy relationships. Well, I've got a date lined up for Saturday and I just want to have some fun. I needed money in order to make this happen so I sold a bunch of old computer equipment and managed to raise some capital for this adventure. I know I won't be drinking alcohol but that's okay.

ok  a shameless plug for a movie i just got back from.

TAG  is very funny and if you want an enjoyable and laugh out loud couple of hours go see it.