40 lbs and still losing

There has been a lot of learning. Leaning how much to eat, learning how much to drink. learning that I can't eat breakfast and quickly drive to work. It's a very nauseating drive. So far I have had one bladder infection and leg cramps. The infection was due to not drinking enough, and the leg cramps are because my range of motion is changing quite a bit. The more weight I lose, the more I'm moving and my legs aren't use to it, let's say that's a good side effect. I've lost 40 lbs so far and am motivated to keep going and not stop until I'm at my goal. You know I never made a goal, I've been so use to not reaching a goal, I never even made one. well here and now I have made one. My goal is 125 lbs.

Starting weight 215

weight today 175

that's 40 down and 50 to go.

Back to Work

I started back to work this week and doing pretty good. I have to confess, it's much better being busy than it was sitting on the couch. I have to hand it to all you stay at home wives, I couldn't hang. Now I didn't mean you stay at home mom's, I can understand your business.

So, yes like I said I'm back to work and it feels good. I went to a new support group tonight with my best friend and it was awesome to say to say the least. I'll definitely be going back. Today I am 4 weeks post op and still going strong. I also got a big kick of energy this last weekend. Still not really exercising regularly but I had a challenge tonight. 10 minutes of exercise 6 days a week and I will lose 3 lbs a week. Ok, I'll take that challenge and report back October 1st.

Getting Strength Back

It's been a wonderful week. I downloaded a podcast called from the Couch to a 5K in 9 weeks and headed out the door. It's starts off with a brisk walk, and from there you alternate between running for 60 seconds, and walking for 90 seconds you do this 8 times throughout the first day, and you continue it three times the first week, before going to Week two. Well I did pretty good for being 2 weeks post op however it took me 2 hours to recover. So, I had a little inspiration, and I am creating my own podcast called from the couch to a 2.5K in 9 weeks for Bariatric patients. It should be completed in 8 more weeks and I'll be posting it for all to use. I'm ready to go back to work. I don't know how people stay at home all day (unless they have kids) I'm so going stir crazy.

today is 3 weeks post op and here is my weigh in

starting weight 214

today weight 186

I decided not to join the gym yet. mostly due to knowing I won't use it and I don't want to waste our money, so for now running/walking will have to do... Thank you all for your continued prayers and support. Talk to you all next week.

Ready to Start Living

I went to the doctor's yesterday for my two week post op appointment and it was a great appointment. I am recovering very well and was given approval to start working out. (not just walking) I still can't lift anything for another two weeks, but I can do everything else. Now I need to figure out if i want to join a gym, or work out at home. Decisions, decisions. well here is the official weigh in I know you have all been waiting for.

Prior to Surgery 215lbs

2 weeks after surgery 190

I also got promoted to Stage III foods yesterday which means I can eat pretty much everything except beef, that will take another 6-8 weeks.

I would love you hear some of your exercise idea's you can email me a vestalmt@vzw.blackberry.net

I look forward to reading your responses. Update on sleep, i'm sleeping!

Two days until first weigh in.

I have survived the weekend in fact I actually left the house with my husband this weekend and went to the Tomato festival. I was able to walk around and it felt great. I have two days until my 2 week post op appointment and can't wait. I've been getting ready for my next stage of food with such anticipation. I've also been cooking dinner for my husband then sneaking a lick of the sauce I cooked for him just to get a taste of flavor. I'm getting a lot more energy and can't wait to start getting out daily. I still get light headed on occasion but mostly when I stand too fast. My incisions are healing wonderfully and itching like crazy. My husband has noticed the weight loss on me. He's never noticed a weight loss before and I was touched that he mentioned it to me. He's been wonderful through this whole thing. I remember being afraid of the aftermath of surgery more than the actual surgery. I think it was the feeling of being deprived of eating what he eats. You know, I haven't felt that way at all. Only that I could eat something other than what I can eat. well in two days, I'll be able to.

Could this be the new Normal?

Today is 10 days post op and all I've been doing is watching TV, taking walks, and not eating much of anything. Could this be the new normal? I have decided that since I can't start eating real food for another 5 days, that I would focus on research. what type of research you ask? the type of research that will take a new place in my life that food can no longer have. That's right! I'm going to start a gym membership and my wonderful husband and I are going to start taking cooking classes. Since he can still eat normal and I will be able to start eating pretty normal in the next month, we have decided to sign up for our first class in September on "How to use Knifes." Today in our life he does all the cooking but for the last three nights I have had the pleasure of cooking him dinner, while I suck down my little 1/4 cup of soup. I have also enjoyed doing a little cleaning around the house and plan on tackling my closets in the next week. But I must get through the weekend first. Still not able to be around people so it too will be spent stuck in doors.

Sleepless in Vallejo

I seem to have another problem, Sleep. Two days ago I took my medication to help me sleep and didn't want to take it again last night. So, I decided to stay up until I felt tired enough to sleep. Next thing I hear is my husbands alarm clock go off in the bedroom. That's right, at 6:00 am I was still on the couch trying to get tired. I thought it was because I had slept so good the night before with the medicine that it would wear off and I would automatically get sleepy on my own. Well here we are now being up for 24 hours and I'm still not tired, So I did some research and found out that I'm not the only one with this problem. Here's what I learned. "The postoperative period in bariatric surgery requires significant adjustments in patients–lives. The potential for altered sleep physiology, reduced quantity of sleep, altered hormonal balance, increased tendency to disordered eating, and poorer quality of food intake, are all possible etiologies for substandard weight loss..."Eric S. Ketchum and John M. Morton"

If any of you have any suggestion to naturally get my sleep back I'm willing to try. Tonight, I will start drinking Mint Tea at 5:00 pm.

The Mistakes I've made!

No one said this was going to be an easy road to take, but I praise God for my great husband and for good friends in my life. Today is day 7 post op and I have made some real big mistakes so far. for starters, for the first 3 days I was home I was always hungry. What, why am I hungry, didn't they just take 90 percent of my stomach out. well back to the binder I go. the binder is this 3 inch thick book that has all the do's and don't both before surgery and after, so the book says that I need 55-60 grams of protein a day and that my protein shakes is where I'm suppose to get that from. oh, that would mean two scoops of protein powder and not the normal one scoop.. Oops, ok so starting day 4 post op, I'm back on track with protein and you know something? I'm no longer hungry. Second mistake I made was I have been having a hard time getting in my fluids (64 oz a day) because I've been diluting my crystal light. so needless to say it tastes like water with just a hint of flavor and I want something with more of a punch. So today I find out the only thing that needs diluting is sugar drinks. anything sugar free I can freely drink. Bring on the flavor! The third and final mistake so far I've made was not taking the pain medication. You see I haven't been in hardly any pain at all but the medication has a sleep agent in it so your body can get the rest it needs to repair itself. Well after feeling dizzy all day yesterday from lack of sleep, I took it last night and lets just say I didn't get my nickname Princess "Snooze a lot" for nothing. I slept all night and even took a nap today. I was able to eat right and go for another walk around the block..

Ready for Real Food!

You know, when I read the Stage 2 food list, creamed soups (strained for any lumps) sugar free pudding, Sugar free Jello, Cottage Cheese, and of course protein shakes, I thought cool this will be easy. Well let me tell you it's not. I'm so tired of eating these foods, and although it's only 1/4 cup of each three times a day, do you really know how many servings are in a full can soup? 12. That's right, there are 12 little containers in my fridge of Cream of potato, and since I was already tired of the cream of Potato by day 2 there are also 12 containers of cheese broccoli and cream of mushroom. Now, before surgery I loved cream soups with Saltine crackers. Heck I could eat a whole can without blinking with about 10 - 15 saltine crackers. well that was the past. I cannot eat that much now. So food has become very boring for me. Now what is a lover of food look forward to.

Recovering well.

Hi All, Well today is day 3 post op and I'm doing pretty good. The pain is very minimal and mostly caused by build up gas from the CO2 that they use. The incisions don't hurt at all. Surgery went well, 1.5 hours and I was in recovery. 4 hours after surgery I was up walking. I walk as much as I can because it helps to lessen the gas pressure. Last night was a better night sleep for me as well. First night home was Thursday. That's right, I spent one night in the hospital and home sweet home I went. I was pretty miserable the first night at home, due to not getting comfortable enough to sleep. I slept on the couch that night with pillows all around me. Last night however I was able too sleep in my own bed. Food is getting boring fast since I'm on stage II food which creamed soups, protein shakes, pudding, applesauce, and jello's. I will be eating like this for two weeks before advancing to Stage III foods.

Surgery Day Tomorrow

Today was a list of all list day. Make a list of things I need to do, what did the list say to pack, what was on the grocery list, what was the list of things we wanted to do around the house before I leave. List, list,list. I started the day reading the list of "Things to do the day before surgery". I woke up at 8:30 am and the list said to drink two tablespoons of Mile of Magnesia, so I did, then an hour later I ate breakfast, the list said only liquids today, so I had a protein shake for breakfast. with in an hour, I was going to the bathroom. I spent more time in the bathroom today, then I think I did all week. (was not a good day for anything) Next on the list it said, "call the Admitting office to see what time to show up" So, I called. the admitting office said, "you need to be here at 6:00 am. ??? oh my Lord, that means I have to get up and out of the house by 4:00 am. no, not because live 2 hours away, because the list also said arrive one hour early to make sure you have time to walk 45 minutes - 1 hour to reduce the risk of blood clots. I'm so blessed that I have Mike. He will be driving me at dark"o"Clock..I received a lot of phone calls and Facebook posts today saying people were praying for me. I love my life, so filled with wonderful people. Well friends, I won't be blogging until I get home from the hospital, so if all goes right, you'll hear from me Friday August 6th. Good night and God Bless.

2 Days Before Surgery

This weekend we went Camping with some dear friends at Lake of the Springs, CA. It was in the low to mid 90's and we spent a quite a bit of time in the water and took some nice long walks, I also took some pictures of me in my swimsuit, which I would have NEVER been brave enough to do if I wasn't about to have surgery. We got to test out Mike's new car (Scion xB) as a camping car. It hauled everything beautifully as well as was roomy enough to fit our air mattress to sleep in. WOW, we have a mini RV now "Smile", normally we just put up our tent, but this time there really wasn't room for our big tent (sleeps 6) due to the space that was rented, so the truck/mini RV, came in very handy.

Two days before surgery and I still have several things to get accomplished. I have to get my pedicure, do the laundry from our trip, pack my hospital bag as well as take a nap, I'm exhausted.

Leave of Absence

Yesterday was my last day of work. The day of surgery is getting closer and closer. I had a Great time at Celebrate Recovery last night and can't believe I won't be back for three weeks. Today's agenda, shopping for Stage 2 foods. Stage 1 foods are only while i'm in the hospital. Which consists of clear liquids. (chicken broth, vegetable broth, diluted juice, sugar free Popsicles, and sugar free Jello, water, and decaffeinated coffee) I'll be in the hospital for only 2 days. The day I come home I start Stage 2 foods, which consists of soft blended foods. (cottage cheese, yogurt, protein shakes, sugar free apple sauce, milk, and strained soups, no lumps.) well, off to the store I go.

Pre-Op Appointment

Yesterday was a very exhausting day. It started at 6:30 am as we headed to Kaiser South San Francisco. I had my pre-op appointment with the surgeon, next met with the anesthesiologist, then more blood was drawn, one for pregnancy and other for type screen. Next off to the business center to file for disability. and last to end the day, a Pre-op support class that prepared me for the hospital stay, as well as what to expect from the time I was admitted until 2 days later when I get to go home. by the time that was over it was 4pm and I was completely exhausted. tomorrow is my last day of work. I start my leave Friday.

My Decision

I think I called 5 people as soon as I got home, between my family, my friends and my accountability partner. I explained the crazy day I had had and asked for prayer and guidance. I was also happy that it was a Thursday all this went down because that meant I got to go to Celebrate Recovery that night and talk to my girls in my support group . With an overwhelming amount of support, I pretty much went to bed with my decision made. I was having Surgery on August 4 2010, and I was getting the Gastric Sleeve.

The Surgeon

The surgeon was busy at the moment and I was finished talking to the doctor, so I was asked to go downstairs to get a chest x-ray and EKG and when I was done, come back up and by then the surgeon would be ready to see me. Mike says to me, “Honey, it looks like they have you on the fast track” I was still fixated on having a baby, or even the idea of being able to have one. We’ve tried several times in the past. And I looked at him and said. “We could have a baby” He just smiled at me. When I was done getting my chest x-ray and EKG, I headed back upstairs. The Surgeon walked into the room and asked me if I was ready to have surgery tomorrow. I am not kidding I about fell out of the chair, the gasp and my loud NO, was all it took for him to start laughing. Whew, I thought, he was joking. But no he wasn’t. Yes he was about the tomorrow comment, but not about having it very soon. He talked about the gastric sleeve and what it would entail, and commented on my weight loss in 4 weeks. He then asked my husband if he could use him to teach other people how to eat, since my husband was the one that did all the cooking for me. They both laughed but I’m still in Shock. He asked me if I was ready for August 4^th. I told him no that I would need to go home and think about it, Talk to my friends and family and most important pray about it, he was very understanding.

Change of Plans?

I began to tell the doctor that I wanted to lose as much weight as possible within the year and then I wanted the LAP-BAND® to keep it off. He asked me if I was open for suggestions. When someone asks you if you’re “open to suggestions” that usually means they want to change your mind about what you want. I looked at my husband and said, “I guess, what are you thinking”? He said, “It looks like your portions are under control and that you’re doing a great job sticking the pre-op diet, the LAP-BAND® will only teach you what you’re already learning, portion control. He went on to say with your PCOS, you will have to work out every day and stay very strict on your eating the rest of your life to keep any of the weight off, as well as get the rest of it off. I had no clue where he was going with any of this until finally he said, “However if we do another procedure called the Gastric Sleeve, it will not only get the weight off, it will cure your PCOS”, and he looks at my husband and says “and if you want a baby, you could probably have one.” I would love to say that I didn’t have to think about it at all and said yes right away but I didn’t. Before I could really say anything else, he proceeded to say, “by the way the surgeon wants to meet with you today as well”. Normally you don’t get to meet with the surgeon until you hit your weight loss goal, Not only was I never given a goal weight, but this was still my first appointment and I’m only 4 weeks into my 1 years journey.

The Whirlwind began June 28th

Once Lifestyle Changes and Nutrition 101 was checked off my list, the first doctors appointment was scheduled. First up, the psychiatrist. I met with a very nice man for about an hour. We talked about my past diets, my childhood, as well as my reason for wanting the LAP-BAND® as well as what it would mean to me if I were to meet my goal weight. I said, “It would mean I could shop for clothes and not take all day doing it because I literally had to try on everything. The appointment went well and I laughed a lot. You know, it’s ok to laugh at yourself. Getting back to the whirlwind, when I finished seeing the psychiatrist I had one more appointment that day and it was with the Nurse Practitioner. This is where one weighs in, gets a goal weight for surgery, as well as gets a physical. Then the doctor orders more blood work, as well as a chest x-ray and EKG. He also talks about what type of surgery you're leaning more towards, and begins to make sure you have a clear understanding of what the surgery entails. My official 2^nd weigh in reads 203 lbs. In the past 5 weeks, I had lost 11 lbs. I was so excited. I knew I lost weight, because like clockwork, my period started again. But I didn’t know how much.

Lifestyle Changes

After my second orientation and weight in, I was then scheduled for two more classes, Lifestyle Changes and Nutrition 101. Lifestyle Changes was a 2 hours class where we discussed feeling your body for the first time in a long time for some of us. We started by wiggling our toes, “yep there still there I thought”, then tightening and releasing our calves, then our thighs, then our stomach then our chests, we then worked our way up to our shoulders, and then back down again. We were asked to do this weekly. We talked about emotional eating and writing down your feelings on different types of foods.

I then realized my fixation on Chinese food stemmed way back to when I was a teenager I was watching movie where a guy and girl were straddling each other on the couch eating Chinese food, I became addicted to Chinese food because I associated it with sex. Now when my husband asks me what I want for dinner and I say Chinese food, it’s free pleasure. “wink” it’s very good to become in touch with the reason we eat different foods, I once had a pickle eating contest with my sister when I was young so whenever I wanted to feel that great childhood feeling, I would want a pickle. Knowing really is half the battle (G.I. Joe ® )

My Journey began

Day one began and I felt on top of the world, I thought, this is it, I’m going to have a doctor monitor my weight loss and tell me what I’m doing wrong/right. I went shopping and filled my cupboards with all the food I was allowed to have and cleared out things I couldn’t have, oh and the no drinking with meals, I would love to say that was the easy part but actually, that was the hardest part for me. Every diet I’ve ever been on said drink lots with your meals so you get full on water, what they don’t tell you is that water goes out of your stomach before food, and then you feel hungry again sooner because you weren’t able to get that much food in with all the water. I can honestly tell you it took me two weeks to get this right. I didn’t just stop drinking with meals, I weaned myself off, by getting a smaller cup each time and then spreading out the timeframe I would wait to drink, 15 minutes after I ate, then 30, 45 until I finally reached that hour. Now the only problem I have is remembering to drink starting that hour after I eat and drink lots in between meals.

The Meal Plan

Phase 1 started with another 3 hour orientation that went into a lot more detail about the surgery. I also got to hear from the Dietitian, the Dr/N.P, the Surgeon, and the Case manager. I stepped on the scale, weight was recorded and picture was taken. Weight was 214 lbs, picture showed a big smile. I was nervous and excited. By the time the Dietitian spoke about the pre-op meal plan I was hooked. I was going to make this 1 year count for everything. I had it set in my mind that I would start the meal plan the following morning, and I was going to lose as much weight as I could before that one year was up. Then I would get the LAP-BAND to keep it off.

The Meal Plan for the year.

Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner
2 Protein	2-3 Protein	3 Protein
1 Fruit	2-3 veggies	2-3 veggies
0-1 starch	1 starch	1 starch
1 milk	1 fruit	1 Milk
1 Fat	1 Fat	1 Fat

1 oz meat, whole egg, or cheese = 1 protein

½ cup cooked or 1 cup raw = a vegetable

8oz milk or 6 oz yogurt = Milk

5-6 crackers ½ potato, or 1 slice of toast = starch

1 apple or peach, ½ banana or 1 cup berries = fruit

Eat every 4-5 hours drink 64 oz of water between meals. Don’t drink 15 minutes before your meal and up to 1 hour after your meal.

The referral process

The referral through Kaiser Permanente is a process of its own. “Hope you’re not in a hurry to get surgery, it’s a 1 year process” was the first thing that they said to all of us day one. Then they proceeded to go through a 3 hour orientation of what the surgery entails, how many different choices they have, and what your diet will be like for the rest of your life, oh and did I forget that there is a pre-op diet to follow, and I will have to lose a required amount of weight before I even get scheduled to see the surgeon. I call this first orientation, “The Gate Keeper”, 3 hours of the good, bad and the ugly. There were 15 people in the meeting with me and I have to tell you, I was second guessing going through with it by the time the class was over. However when the class was completed they said “If you still want to proceed, email your Dr. and tell them yes, this will start Phase 1.”

Bariatric Appointment

I watched my best friend go through bariatric surgery with complete success and I knew that was not for me, or so I thought. I began to see the boost it gave her to get the weight off, and with her continued exercise program and eating right, the more the weight came off. I knew I was ready for an additional tool as well and that tool would be the LAP-BAND® this was just what I needed to give me a head start to lose the amount of weight to get my PCOS under Control. I called my gynecologist and asked her to refer me to the bariatric office.

Bad News

I learned that I have a condition called polycystic ovarian syndrome. What the Heck is that? Well I learned it is a problem in which a woman’s hormones are out of balance. It can cause problems with your periods and make it difficult to get pregnant. PCOS may also cause unwanted changes in the way you look. If it is not treated, over time it can lead to serious health problems, such as diabetes, and heart disease as well as the reason I could not get the weight off, and actually when I would start to lose weight, my period would start and I would bleed for months. My Doctor’s first solution was the Mirena® IUD. This IUD is an estrogen-free intrauterine contraceptive device. This IUD would help control my bleeding and PCOS while I lose weight. Though some women reported actually gaining weight with this IUD I did not. I didn’t lose weight either. So after two years of trying to lose weight with no success, back to the doctor’s I go.

Begin with your Doctor.

I began by scheduling a Doctor’s Appointment to see if there was some sort of imbalance. So off to the Primary Care physician I go. I explained that I have tried every diet out there and for some reason was never successful with losing weight. She decided to do a physical and run some lab test. So you know that’s a white sheet of paper with about 50 different options to highlight and then they draw blood and begin to test, I swear every item was highlighted. I started seeing the lab results come back on my Kp.org site® (which by the way I love) She tested everything from Glucose fasting, TSH, LIPID panel, Thyroid, to HCG, CBC, Iron, Creatinine, Serum, Glomerular, potassium, and everything came back normal, Verdict, very healthy. So next stop, gynecologist. I got my appointment pretty quick and began to tell the story of my sporadic very abnormal periods and failed attempts at weight loss, and she ran some more tests.

My Diet History

Over the years I spent tons of money on all the fad diets, to name a few, Weight Watchers®, Pat Robertson Diet®, NutriSystem®, the Belly Fat Cure®, Jenny Craig®, Cabbage soup diet, and just plain fasting which all successfully took off all about 5 lbs. Now I’m not saying these don’t work, I’m not saying that at all. I started all diets with supportive friends who were very successful in losing the weight they needed to lose, so why was I different? Well after failed attempt after failed attempt, I finally went to the doctor’s.

Introduction

How many times a week do you look in the mirror and are truly happy with what you see? There are many days a week I look in the mirror and realize that I like what I see even though I’m overweight and very short. Not sure if it’s the fact that,for the first time, I can see my weight loss, and I am getting more in touch with my body. Or is it because I know that God accepts me Just the way I am, and I’m very blessed to be married to the most supportive husband anyone could ask for. Allow me to introduce myself and my past failed diets.

My name is Michelle and I am 36 years young. I say young not just because some people think 36 is young but because I still feel like a little kid in High school. I was not a small kid in High School. While most of my friends were that perfect size 6- 10 I was a 14, I was the biggest girl in my circle of friends but they loved an me. Plus I was ALWAYS on a diet of some kind. I got married at 18 and weighed 145, I thought I was still so heavy, again comparing myself to my friends who were 110 - 125, I was heavy. However, looking back now I think I was a bombshell. Ok So I’ve been married for 17 years, like I said to the best man in the world, of course he has his faults, who doesn’t? Remember we’re talking about mine.