6 Week Post Op Weigh In

Heyyyy! First up, let me correct a couple things: I went to see my surgeon back on 8-10-12 for my 1 month check up. It turns out my scale REALLY does hate me. It was wrong, sadly. At the surgeon's office, I was 340...not the 334 my scale had led me to believe! *grrrr* As usual, I broke out in tears. (Dr. Glass must think I am a TOTAL crybaby because he has YET to see me where I didn't cry at least ONCE during the visit! LOL) Anyway, he - once again - told me to STOP OBSESSING OVER THE NUMBERS ON THE SCALE! He has told me a while back to STAY OFF THE SCALE because it's going to drive me crazy from the constant fluctuation. Dr. Glass said that he has seen too many people throughout his years get caught up on the numbers and end up GAINING THE WEIGHT BACK because they try to tailor their eating habits based on what they think affects the numbers most...but usually end up being WRONG. Then he asked me, HOW MANY OTHER TIMES IN MY LIFE HAVE I LOST OVER 40LBS IN *ONE* MONTH? ...NONE! OK then! ;) Plus he let me know that the weight loss during the first year comes off in CHUNKS...I could have little loss then all of the sudden drop a LOT. It's all about patience. (Not my normal forte') Yesterday I went to see my PCP. I am proud to announce that I am no longer on ANY medications! (Ok, well, still on my anti-depressants & anxiety pills) I previously was taking 27 different medications and now I am only on 2! Woooooooo! My blood pressure was perfect and I weighed - for real this time! LoL- 334lbs! Here I am walking yesterday: I left the house at 7:30A! Today: (Love my headband!) I really ENJOY walking every morning! #POW!

I've really been feeling so accomplished about getting up every morning to exercise. I have more faith in myself. I really thought I wasn't going to adapt, but I am. I love feeling so empowered. Speaking of feeling good and empowered... This picture makes me happy....my baby kitty TINY! <3 It's a funky pic, but that's why it makes me giggle! Just wanted to share it LOL

*Random* I have been chewing a LOT of gum lately. This is my FAVORITE! You gotta try it :) YUMMIEST GUM EVER! Root Beer Float!

This is my soft foods list: I hope y'all can see it OK. Anyway, I was told on the 10th I could begin this diet for the next few weeks.

However, it hasn't been easy. Last week I struggled so much. My pouch was rejecting everything after just a couple times. I became very discouraged so I called the surgeon's office on Monday. It turns out, like I said yesterday (or was it Monday? LOL) that my pouch is pissy. I'm happy to announce that I was able to eat some EGG DROP SOUP last night and this morning for breakfast! :) I also ate an entire small egg yesterday for lunch. It might not sound like much, but hey, IT MEANT THE WORLD TO ME. I've been so extremely concerned about becoming malnourished. Before I go, I'm going to share one last picture. Maybe I shouldn't, but I am so tickled pink with how good I'm feeling about my weight loss already AND THE PROGRESS I'VE MADE! I took a picture to show much smaller I truly am ALREADY!

Until next time...

I TOLD Y'ALL I WAS SPECIAL! :)

It turns out that yours truly happens to be one of the RARE FEW who get the Gastric Bypass and end up spending the rest of their lives with a MOODY POUCH! Yep! Since my follow up I have not been having success with soft foods. Thankfully I really enjoy protein drinks, popsicles AND yogurt. I called my surgeon's office today. I explained that I have been following my List of Approved Soft Foods yet, I can only eat the items once or twice and then my pouch rejects it by making me violently throw it up. I won't lie to you, (that would defeat the purpose of this blog!), I have ended up not wanting to continue to try to eat food. For every decision you make in life, whether positive or negative, there are always going to be unintended consequences. There is no way to predict who will have this rare complication. But, it's OK. I needed this surgery to live longer than a couple more years. I must burn that into my brain. This has been really difficult on me, mentally. I'm happy to report that my REAL HUNGER and HEAD HUNGER have magically disappeared. However, I do try to pay attention and make sure I'm drinking enough and trying to get in at least a little bit of food periodically. I don't wanna be "that girl" who was hospitalized for becoming malnourished. I'm drinking water, which has to be plain and room temperature most times, and taking my medicines and vitamins. It has really been an interesting journey thus far. Please listen and heed the warning when your surgeon/friends/support groups tell you that your palette is going to dramatically change. THAT IS TOTALLY TRUE! Here is an upside to continued not-eating : I HAVE SOME CURVE!

This was me the other day:

I'm feeling better about myself. Overall. But this new revelation is definitely stressing me OUT! Of all the ways for me to be "special" it had to be in a negative way! Ugh. I was told I'd just have to be careful the rest of my life, use trial & error with foods and eat whatever I can tolerate, enjoy it while I can and move on to something new when my pouch no longer likes said food. Oh, and immediate, random, unexpected bowel movements can happen at any moment too when my pouch gets upset, for no reason at all. (She is a total mean skinny brat!) This is a lot to take in. I know. I'm living it. However, at least I'm alive and will continue to be. I'm continuing to walk, here's a shot of me today:

The sun was in my eyes! Walking REALLY boosts my spirit. I feel so proud. I've been wearing make up the past few days. It makes me feel so beautiful. Even though I only have eyes for my man, I've been getting a lot more male attention already when I walk out the door. None of those compliments are anywhere close to the heartfelt ones my soulmate gives me. He is so amazing and so supportive. I can't believe God brought us together. Honestly, I don't know what I'd do without him. Until next time...

4 Weeks Post Op Weigh-In & Review!

Hello Again My Lovely Followers! Yesterday marked my 4th week "out" and I took some pictures to help reflect my current stage of loss. Amazingly the scale, my "fri-enemy", boosted my self esteem for the first time EVER by posting "334.6". That means I've lost 33.4 lbs since surgery four weeks ago and a grand total of 53.4 lbs lost since I began the liquid diet 2 weeks prior to my surgery. I am overjoyed! It hasn't been easy but nonetheless, I've lost a smidge over 50 lbs! I haven't been this "small" in ages! (Honestly, I really can't remember the last time) Now that is my new goal: I'd like to lost another 50lbs by the next month! Take a peek:

I definitely notice a difference in my face! It's a helluva lot smaller than it used to be. It wasn't long ago that looking in the mirror made me feel like Jabba The Hut. Yes, I'm serious! Here's how my stomach is looking: (The image on the left was 2 days post op and the right is from last week)The incisions are healing VERY nicely!

Before I forget, there are some other pointers I'd like to share with you and yes, I've taken pictures to help illustrate it for ya! :) I'm on a tight budget and I feel as if these surgeries aren't exactly catering to those with anorexic wallets. Here are some items I've found, relatively cheap, that help me get by. First up, as you know, you're going to be SURVIVING on PROTEIN ONLY for some time Pre & Post Op. My personal favorite is Body Fortress' various flavors which I found at Wal-Mart. A huge 2 lb. tub is only $14.97! This tub will last you about 2 weeks. Also, post op, you'll need to take CALCIUM for the rest of your life. I found that Vitamin World (in our malls here in Savannah BUT also online! just add ".com") sells LIQUID CALCIUM *CITRATE* (you can NOT have CARBONATE....ONLY CITRATE!) in various flavors for $10 per bottle. Each bottle lasts me about 2 weeks. Here's a pic of those items:

I had some fantastic and motivating pictures on my son's digital camera of my full body BUT of course, I can't seem to get them loaded onto the computer. Ugh. For someone so smart, I feel so damn dumb sometimes! ;) In the past 2 weeks since I wrote last, I've felt WONDERFUL. I've been getting up early and immediately going out to walk for 2 miles with my son each day! In fact, on Monday, Anthony went with us!

I started off only doing 2 miles. In fact, what I do in order to FORCE myself to walk that far is this: I walk up to the main road. It's an entire mile up. Once I'm there I know that if I want to get home I have to walk my big ass all the way back! Once I get home I'm so PROUD of myself for completing two whole miles! This past Sunday I decided I was going go a little bit further. One of the side streets happens to add an extra half mile to my trip. So now I'm walking 2.5 miles everyday. I can't thank my guys enough for their constant support. It REALLY helps me stay positive and motivated to know they (as well as my FB family!) are all standing by rooting for me! Roman is walking with me as well. I have always wanted to be that awesome role model for him in the fitness department; better late than never! :) On Friday I am going back to Augusta for my One Month Check Up with my surgeon. I'll be OFFICIALLY allowed to eat food! Not much food, just some soft foods. Honestly, I've already started on that. In fact, early on, when I talked about being hungry, it's true I was. But now, I'm getting used to my new feelings and my new pouch. When I feel hungry, it's not that same old hunger feeling I used to get. I will nibble on some - get this!- FAT FREE cottage cheese! I used to HATE FF cottage cheese and now, IT IS HEAVENLY! It's so wild how much our taste buds really do change post op! Anyway, I nibble on 4 oz. and feel satisfied and full. Not the "OMG-I'm-gonna-barf" type full, but an "OK-I've-had-enough-I'm-good!" type full. It was really hard at first to learn that I have to eat and drink SLOWLY...in SMALL amounts. Those are things you definitely want to train yourself to do BEFORE SURGERY! (Yes, they tell you that but I am stubborn!) I love, love, LOVE to drink WATER! Especially with LOTS OF ICE! I love ice! :) However, I can't enjoy my giant cups of water that I'd guzzle down like I'd just been rescued from weeks in the desert. I can only have a couple sips here and there. Sometimes I still chug a few sips at a time to quench my thirst and then my pouch will push out a very unlady-like burp with a side of pain to remind me I can't treat her that way. It's true, your pouch REALLY DOES talk to you! So be kind! :) The schedule I've got myself on now is this: It seems as though every 2 hours my pouch is asking for something to nibble on. Yes, I've timed it, so I'm sure it's every 2 hours. I am still drinking my protein. But, it totally sucks. I'm so over protein drinks, it's not even funny! I bought a couple cans of the Starkist Tuna (yes, it's worth the extra money for the name brand, I totally understand the difference now!) which has 15g of protein in every 2 oz! Of course, I had mixed up 4 oz of tuna with some mayo & mustard in my little cute container! Surprisingly, I was able to SLOWLY eat all of the tuna and it held me over VERY NICELY until 2 hours later! LoL Then I ate my other 4 oz that this one can had produced. I also bought some chicken in the can. I've never had that before, so I'll let y'all know how it goes. The cottage cheese is still my favorite thing to eat. It doesn't make me thirsty. Tuna doesn't make me thirsty either but mentally I feel like I SHOULD be drinking after, so that's a side effect I don't like. (But man-oh-man was it heavenly!) I'm really proud of myself for learning how to slow it down on eating and drinking. I suppose it just is going to take TIME to adjust. What can I say? I'm an instant gratification type gal. I want everything to be perfect and IMMEDIATELY DAMN IT! LoL But, overall it's coming together nicely. OH! Remember when I wrote last time about being dizzy and nauseous? Guess what was causing it?!! I WAS DEHYDRATED! I really felt like I was drinking enough but apparently I wasn't. So please, please, please FORCE YOURSELF to take a couple sips EVERY 2 MINUTES while you are awake! Yes, you heard me! EVERY 2 MINUTES! Also, when I got sick and kept throwing up, that was caused my an over production of acid that had built up in my pouch! So...it turned out that I'm (as well as every other bariatric patient too!) supposed to be taking PRILOSEC OTC *EVERY DAY* for at least the first couple years post op! You can also get the GENERIC WAL-MART BRAND, but this is what I bought:

MAKE SURE YOU CRUSH UP YOUR PILLS VERY, VERY WELL! Anyway, I'm on Cloud 9! My whole life has turned around for the better in the past month. I used to take over 20 different medicines every day (most 2x daily!) now I take just 2...and I'm sure once I go back to my PCP that number is going to DROP! My blood sugar levels are NORMAL! They have been in the 80s- low 90s since surgery! I can't tell you how much I enjoy NOT taking insulin injections anymore! My blood pressure was 112/62 yesterday! My clothes are all super loose! Most importantly, I feel accomplished and proud of myself. I was scared and unsure of this decision and now I'm positive I made the right choice. Yes, there are going to be good days and bad days. But, EVERYONE HAS THOSE! If you're considering this surgery (or any of the other types of bariatric surgeries) please don't let my honesty of the pitfalls I've encountered scare you away. At least you know what to watch out for! ;) You will meet people who are going to try to change your mind about this surgery. DO NOT LISTEN TO THEM! Your surgeon will NOT perform a surgery like this if you DID NOT NEED IT! This is not like getting a new pair of breasts! No one REALLY needs a new pair of perky boobies, they just WANT them for whatever reason they have. (Which is fine!) But these types of surgeries SAVE OUR LIVES! We *need* them to survive. So here is an awesome quote from an incredibly sexy man I adore:

Until next time....