NickelChip
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Status Updates posted by NickelChip
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A snapshot of the past 30 days' weight loss. February 7 was the first day of my pre-op diet and surgery was Feb 21. I didn't weigh myself from the 21st thru 24th but you can see the bounce on the 25th due to continued retention of fluids from the hospital. I lost 5.6 lbs last week, but so far only 1.2 lbs this week.
While the weight has been coming off slowly, I did have feedback from my massage therapist on Monday that my inflammation seems much improved. She immediately noticed the difference in my calves, which were always very tight and hard, to the point she would often comment on it as being unusual. This time she was able to get right into the muscle without a struggle, and it was a similar story in my arms, neck and back. Whether it's from the surgery itself or from the complete lack of grains, sugar, and processed foods in my diet for a month, something is working.
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Those non-scale victories really mean a lot 💪
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NickelChip reacted to this
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Feeling a little sad today because a few weeks ago I had a call from the surgeon's office and they had a last minute opening on November 20 because of a cancellation. I am not scheduled until December 27, which is way later than I had expected when I started all this. My "ideal" date in my head had been November 13. I was so ready to jump at the chance, but I just couldn't make it work. As soon as I mentioned it to my mom, instead of being supportive, she had all sorts of reasons why I shouldn't move the date. Some were valid, like my teen daughter has a special (but not super special) thing going on later in the week that I would probably have to miss, and others were less valid, like she didn't feel ready and it might ruin everyone's holidays. Um, excuse me? It's not about her! And how would I single handedly ruin both Thanksgiving AND Christmas for my entire family by having a surgery? But she had informed me when I first got the December date that she planned on getting a hotel near the hospital and staying that night to be nearby, despite the hospital only being about 40 miles away from home. I didn't ask her to do that, but that's her plan, so there you go. She didn't ask me if I felt ready now, or what the wait through the holidays felt like for me with the surgery looming. So that was the part that hurt. I felt like I was having to make sure everyone else was okay with my choices instead of me, which is a theme in my life for sure. Don't get me wrong, my parents have been there for me so many times, and I don't want to sound ungrateful. But this really made me sad that what I wanted simply didn't factor in. Basically, I passed on what felt like a dream come true to get that call, and I've had to reconcile myself to it as best I can. I've found some silver linings, like more time to clean my house and test some recipes. But if I hadn't, I would be on my pre-op diet now (my surgeon only does a short liquid diet beforehand, so a Monday surgery starts the pre-op diet on Saturday morning). Instead, I'm getting ready to make dinner for myself and the kids, and I still have 39 days to go...
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I can relate to the parent's situation. I am 42 and still struggle with pleasing them. Yet they do whatever they want with no concern for how it affects anyone else, so why do I feel so obligated to them? I wish I had some advice that could help. One thing I have tried to do is stop sharing things with them that I really don't want to hear their opinion on. (like the business I am starting)
Like with this surgery, I knew I was going to need their help getting to the appointments and back from the surgery, so I knew I had to tell them. But I did not tell them until I was almost at the point of getting surgery that I was doing this.
I got hard judgment from my father, which I expected, I made him promise not to share this with his brothers (who are assholes) I told him whether he likes it or not I am an adult and I deserve respect and privacy especially when it concerns my health. (he begrudgingly agreed)
My mom on the other hand was supportive, but she has the tendency to add some dramatic flair about everything. her typical M.O. is to pop onto social media and rattle on about how something that is not happening directly to her, is affecting her ( I get it there no talking to the man she married about this stuff, so it's nice to have someone to listen).
I know they both struggled with trying to respect my wishes, they looked shocked when I told them that if I lived somewhere else, I would not have even told them I was having this surgery.
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I'm glad your father did agree to respect your privacy by not sharing with your family. And I guess I should be glad my mom keeps the dramatic flair off of the socials!
I'm both lucky and unlucky that my brother had VGS 15 years ago. On the one hand, my mom understands the concept and has seen my brother's good results from it, (we inherited the obesity from my father's side, and Mom has never dealt with more than those pesky 10 lbs average weight people always want to lose). On the other hand, my brother took exactly the opposite approach from me. He didn't live near family and told no one, had no support. He went to Mexico as self-pay and didn't say a word until about 4 weeks after when he was having some serious emotional struggles, living alone, and compounded by the fear of realizing that to get family support, he had to "confess." So his recovery was very different than what I anticipate for me. But because of all that, my mom definitely sees this as a "REALLY BIG DEAL." Which it is, but not the level she's at with it. Like, it's not an open heart surgery being performed in 1982, or experimental cancer treatment. I've also noticed that as my mom ages, she takes change a lot harder. She doesn't have the mental flexibility anymore to make an instant change of plans and roll with it, whereas I do that probably a dozen times a day.
I'm grateful for their help, but it comes at a price.
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New To This23 reacted to this
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I met with the nutritionist and surgeon last week and have received a surgery date of December 27. It's about a month later than I thought it would be, but I'm trying to make the best of it and not be too disappointed. My doctor's office only does 2 days of liquids prior to surgery, so while it does mean I will be on liquids for Christmas, I will have Christmas Eve without any restrictions (which is our bigger celebration day anyway). And I still get the surgery done on this year's deductible, which will help a little financially. So until then I am just working on establishing an exercise routine and healthy eating, but I don't have an additional weight loss goal that I need to meet. I'm sure the time will fly, but it feels so far away when I had been crossing my fingers for mid-November.
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I got a little bag of samples when I saw the nutritionist last week. Turns out I much prefer the Celebrate 45 Tropical Twist vitamins to the Bariatric Fusion orange flavor, so I've placed an order for those and the sweet treat assortment of calcium soft chews, which were almost dangerously tasty. The Unjury chicken soup was better than the other brand I tried, but not enough to buy it. And their vanilla shake was vile. I just can't do artificial sweeteners, and probably not vanilla unless I add something to it to mask the flavor. The aftertaste was so strong and I had a vague impression of drinking baby formula. So far the only ones I've really liked have been the orange and peach flavored Syntrax Nectar Naturals, so I'm going to get two vegan fruit flavored options in case I have trouble with whey after.
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Completed my second appointment with the psychologist and he says we're all good. 2 weeks to go until my appointment with the nutritionist, and then three weeks after that I meet with her again plus the surgeon. Crossing fingers for a November surgery.
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My order of protein powder from Syntrax arrived today and this is so much better than the chicken soup! I bought the Syntrax Nectar Naturals in orange, peach, chocolate, and fruit punch. Just tried the orange and it's lovely. Very refreshing over ice. The flavor is decent, not thick like a lot of the drinks, and I like that the ingredients are more natural than some other brands. This one is a keeper.
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I did a lot of yard work today and my muscles were sore, so I thought maybe I should try the protein powder I ordered the other day. I've ordered several flavors, but the one I tried was chicken soup. It is safe to say it will not be my favorite flavor. But I did manage to make it without lumps with the aid of my little travel blender!
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Immersion day at Mt Auburn was three days ago and I'm excited to get this ball rolling. I have my required appointments set up through mid-October and tomorrow I need to call my PCP to make sure referrals have been submitted. I've ordered some protein powders to taste test and one bottle of bariatric vitamins to get started. My preliminary lab work has been done. Reading through all the material I was given, I've identified quite a few areas that will need work for long term success. I've chosen two for right now: planning my eating and tracking my fluids.
Starting tomorrow, I've set reminders on my phone to have breakfast, lunch, afternoon snack, dinner, and evening snack at regular intervals every day. And I've ordered a large water bottle to keep next to me while I work. I find I don't drink a lot of water, but I like unsweetened hibiscus and rooibos iced tea, so I'll be trying to drink that. I've got a paper habit tracker to help me see how I do. Starting small. I usually set too many goals and then I go overboard for a week or two before falling apart completely and giving up on everything.
