Six days post op and I'm back down to my surgery weight... they REALLY pump you with fluids in there! Nothing like going in for weight loss surgery coming out of the hospital 10lbs more than you went in at! :) My drain is giving me less and less and my oxygen is getting better. I see the doctor again on Wednesday where I will hopefully have the drain removed and get off this oxygen. Tomorrow though? Tomorrow is going to be so EXCITING!!! I will be able to consume something besides clear liquids! Bring on the oatmeal!!(never thought I'd say that!) Bring on the mashed potatoes, lite yogurt, decaff coffee (with cream!!), Oh yeah...tomorrow is gonna be great....I'll feel a little closer to human! :) I never thought I would get sick of sugar free popsicles...but guess what..... IT HAPPENED! Now, granted, I can only have two tablespoons at a time when eating these items...but still....a new flavor, a new texture is going to be awesome. Oh...and I can have my chocolate premier protein shakes again.....(only a few oz at a time) but still....it takes like chocolate milk! I don't think I wanna know how small a 2 tablespoon serving is just yet...but that's all it's suppose to take to fill me up. :)
Anyway, with tomorrow comes the counting again. Basically this last week has been about "getting all the fluids in" that I can. Well, I will have to start keeping track of my protein and calories tomorrow. It's been a nice break from counting but I'd rather eat food so I'll count. :) I need to start increasing my activity also....I've been walking around the block....even thought IT'S SNOWING!!! But I need to start walking longer...thankfully, after today, our weather is suppose to get awesome!!! Can't wait! :)
I have noticed a strange difference in those around me just this first week. It dawned on me a few days after being home that I wasn't seeing anyone eating. Seems everyone feels bad or bad for me if they eat in front of me. NO NO NO NO! Now listen...if you and I are ever in a situation where we are eating together, please do not feel sorry for me for not being able to eat what you can, and don't feel guilty that you can have all these things that I no longer can. Just get over that right now! I knew what I was getting into when I took this giant leap for my health, I knew there would be no more of this or that...ever! And I've made my peace with that and am looking forward to a bright future...but what I don't want is you acting/feeling like you have to hide my favorite foods from me...or only eat/drink them when I'm not around. I don't want my healthy lifestyle changes to create bad lifestyle changes in those around me...liking hiding food or whatever. Does that make sense? I hope it does. and trust me....if I see you are showing signs of feeling sorry for me or acting different about food around me, I guarantee you I will call you out on it and try to help you see that you don't need to change how you act around me.
Welp, I better go walk while the snow has slowed down. :) Y'all have a wonderful and blessed day!!!
Sunday, May 1, 2016
Sunday, April 24, 2016
And away we go.......
I have sat and thought long and hard about what I wanted to say in this, my last blog before surgery. Which direction do I wanna take it? Do I wanna talk about the life changes I've made so far, do I wanna talk about my stats and pounds I've dropped so far? The diet changes I like or hate. My choices are endless but during all of this, there is one thing that has been weighing on my mind that I need to share. I've been wanting to share this will you all for a while....and that is, I'm not doing any of this by myself. It is only with hour by hour help from Jesus that I am able to make such drastic life changes. Trust me, I tried it before by myself and obviously THAT didn't work. I've heard that God will only give you what you can handle, but I do not believe in that at all. I believe that God will give you MORE than you can handle so that you finally turn to Him for help. If we are only given what WE can handle....then we might just handle everything ourselves and not turn to Him. And that is not what He wants. He wants us to continuously turn to Him with our needs, lay them at his feet and walk away having faith that He will take of it and that His will will be done. What a peace in knowing that!! So even though I get on here and announce all the stuff I've done or changes I've made, please know that it is only with HIS help....because without Him, I couldn't do anything. I know this...and I want you to know it too.
So now on with the stats, changes, blah blah blah. :) I've had no sugar for 4 weeks, no caffeine for 3 weeks and minimal food for the past two weeks. Today, nothing but clear liquids baby....less that 24 hours until surgery. Woo Hoo!
My highest weight ever in my life was back on March 2nd when I weighed in at 327.4lbs and since then I've lost almost 20lbs. Fifteen of that fell off after taking out sugar, caffeine and fast food. Once I have my surgery, I will be in the hospital over night to watch for leaking and to make sure I can get liquids down and keep them down. They will make me walk 4 hours after surgery and every 4 hours after that around the clock. As long as there are no problems, I will be discharged Tuesday afternoon with my little golf ball size stomach and will be on fluids for 1 full week. Then the next week will be soft foods and gradually moving up to normal food over a period of 6-7 weeks. It will be important for me to make sure I'm getting my protein, water and exercise in. My biggest fear is stretching out that little golf ball size stomach (called my pouch) to the football size it is now. So yes, I will be taking my scale and measuring cup when I go out to eat with friends and family. Every time you stretch your stomach out and overeat, it takes that much to fill you up again.....so no thank you! No overeating! I will continue to avoid sugar and pray that I have dumping syndrome if I attempt it. Dumping syndrome sounds like antabuse to the alcoholic. You eat sugar and you could get sick. That'll teach me. And for the rest of my life....my meals with consist of high protein, low fat meals that measure up to 1 cup each.
So I offer up a face-palm to anyone who calls weight loss surgery an EASY WAY OUT. This is going to be work, work for the rest of my life, putting thought into each meal, each day to make sure I'm doing what I'm suppose to do. Gone are the days of just grabbing something and eating it. But it will all be worth it. I have a lot left to do in this life...and a lot of folks depending on me...so I need to be here.... I can only imagine how many years I'm about to add to my life.
Surgery is at 0730.......Thank you Jesus for this life changing opportunity. Please be with my OR staff, pleasw guide my surgeons hands and bless those nurses who will get me through. Amen.
And away we go.......
So now on with the stats, changes, blah blah blah. :) I've had no sugar for 4 weeks, no caffeine for 3 weeks and minimal food for the past two weeks. Today, nothing but clear liquids baby....less that 24 hours until surgery. Woo Hoo!
My highest weight ever in my life was back on March 2nd when I weighed in at 327.4lbs and since then I've lost almost 20lbs. Fifteen of that fell off after taking out sugar, caffeine and fast food. Once I have my surgery, I will be in the hospital over night to watch for leaking and to make sure I can get liquids down and keep them down. They will make me walk 4 hours after surgery and every 4 hours after that around the clock. As long as there are no problems, I will be discharged Tuesday afternoon with my little golf ball size stomach and will be on fluids for 1 full week. Then the next week will be soft foods and gradually moving up to normal food over a period of 6-7 weeks. It will be important for me to make sure I'm getting my protein, water and exercise in. My biggest fear is stretching out that little golf ball size stomach (called my pouch) to the football size it is now. So yes, I will be taking my scale and measuring cup when I go out to eat with friends and family. Every time you stretch your stomach out and overeat, it takes that much to fill you up again.....so no thank you! No overeating! I will continue to avoid sugar and pray that I have dumping syndrome if I attempt it. Dumping syndrome sounds like antabuse to the alcoholic. You eat sugar and you could get sick. That'll teach me. And for the rest of my life....my meals with consist of high protein, low fat meals that measure up to 1 cup each.
So I offer up a face-palm to anyone who calls weight loss surgery an EASY WAY OUT. This is going to be work, work for the rest of my life, putting thought into each meal, each day to make sure I'm doing what I'm suppose to do. Gone are the days of just grabbing something and eating it. But it will all be worth it. I have a lot left to do in this life...and a lot of folks depending on me...so I need to be here.... I can only imagine how many years I'm about to add to my life.
Surgery is at 0730.......Thank you Jesus for this life changing opportunity. Please be with my OR staff, pleasw guide my surgeons hands and bless those nurses who will get me through. Amen.
And away we go.......
Friday, March 25, 2016
Farewell to one of my favorite things in the world!!! SUGAR!
If you know me, you know my love for sunflower seeds. It became REALLY bad after I quit smoking 10 years ago. (yay me!) Anyway, for those that know of my sunflower seed history, I'll have you know I have been sunflower seed free for about 2 weeks now. Some of you can pick your chin up off the floor now! :)
Next, I decided this week would be my last week of eating sugar. I'm doing things one step at a time to prepare for surgery. Part of me will miss my Dr. Peppers, cake, ice cream, gummy bears, Frosty's, cinnamon rolls,...my list could go on and on. And yes, I know there are healthier alternatives to probably ALL of these things but to me, they never tasted the same. But a bigger part of me is ready!! I'm SO ready to feel better, SO ready to get this weight off. So ready to detox! After this surgery, there is a chance that eating sugar could actually make me feel really sick. As my Dad says, "you think you're gonna die." And this may sound crazy...but I actually hope that is the case! If I ever attempt sugar in the future, I hope I get sicker than a dog....cause that'll teach me! :) But I am going to avoid it. I have heard others say that once you get going and you start loosing the weight and you're feeling so good, you don't even crave it anymore. I'm hoping for that too. :) Oh yeah! I've got this!
And coming up next week, my last week of caffeine. I figured only a crazy person would give up sugar AND caffeine at the same time. :) So...I'm preparing myself for some serious headaches.....I pray they won't be too bad. But I feel like I'm doing things right...slowly making life changes one step at a time...
After that, I am having what they call a "last supper". It will be the last normal meal I will be eating, possibly ever. I have invited some of my closest friends to join me. It should be fun. :) Two days after that, I start my 13 days of my liver shrinking diet. (I'll give you the CRAZY details of THAT diet at a later time) And then I have 24 hours of clear liquids, then surgery. I CAN NOT WAIT! :) I'll definitely post some before pictures as we go along.
Thank you for letting me share this journey with you. I'm hoping that I can get to the point where I can inspire others....right now....I'm just trying to inspire myself. :) I appreciate you positive thoughts, emails, notes and prayers. :)
Be back soon!
Next, I decided this week would be my last week of eating sugar. I'm doing things one step at a time to prepare for surgery. Part of me will miss my Dr. Peppers, cake, ice cream, gummy bears, Frosty's, cinnamon rolls,...my list could go on and on. And yes, I know there are healthier alternatives to probably ALL of these things but to me, they never tasted the same. But a bigger part of me is ready!! I'm SO ready to feel better, SO ready to get this weight off. So ready to detox! After this surgery, there is a chance that eating sugar could actually make me feel really sick. As my Dad says, "you think you're gonna die." And this may sound crazy...but I actually hope that is the case! If I ever attempt sugar in the future, I hope I get sicker than a dog....cause that'll teach me! :) But I am going to avoid it. I have heard others say that once you get going and you start loosing the weight and you're feeling so good, you don't even crave it anymore. I'm hoping for that too. :) Oh yeah! I've got this!
And coming up next week, my last week of caffeine. I figured only a crazy person would give up sugar AND caffeine at the same time. :) So...I'm preparing myself for some serious headaches.....I pray they won't be too bad. But I feel like I'm doing things right...slowly making life changes one step at a time...
After that, I am having what they call a "last supper". It will be the last normal meal I will be eating, possibly ever. I have invited some of my closest friends to join me. It should be fun. :) Two days after that, I start my 13 days of my liver shrinking diet. (I'll give you the CRAZY details of THAT diet at a later time) And then I have 24 hours of clear liquids, then surgery. I CAN NOT WAIT! :) I'll definitely post some before pictures as we go along.
Thank you for letting me share this journey with you. I'm hoping that I can get to the point where I can inspire others....right now....I'm just trying to inspire myself. :) I appreciate you positive thoughts, emails, notes and prayers. :)
Be back soon!
Sunday, March 20, 2016
37 Days to go....but who's counting?
I sure am!! I'm excited, worried, determined..so many words to describe the upcoming events.
My surgery date is 4/25/2016. I will be going from a Lap-Band to a Roux N Y, also known as gastric bypass. All my life, I have tried everything I can think of to try to loose weight. Weight watcher, Lap-Band surgery, Belviq, cabbage diet, Atkin's diet....my list could go on and on. But finally I have decided to be done with it all once and for all.
My highest weight is 327lbs but I'm down a little from that. I have wondered if things said to me while growing up need to be dealt with or will it even matter when I can't eat more than a few bites of food at a time.
I'm looking forward to having a month off. Yes, most of it will be spent healing and recovering, but I believe that will be a good time to deal with things....I won't be able to turn to food for comfort so I will have to face these things head on. Maybe I should check into seeing my therapist during that time....
Forty pounds in the first month....gone....or so they say. I cannot imagine being below 300lbs....it's been so long and I have so many things I'm looking forward to. Using one air plane seat when I travel, getting on some amusement park rides, walking without getting out of breath, riding my bike, n longer being considered "pre-diabetic", finding new ways to "socialize" besides basing it around food, maybe get rid of a couple medications, and finally having more energy and feeling wonderful.
It's funny how as you get older, your priority changes. I use to worry about loosing a lot of weight because the saggy skin scared the daylights out of me. To me...saggy skin was worse than being fat!!! But that's all changed now. I down care how much saggy skin I have or what it looks like, my priority has finally changed into not worrying about what I look like, but worrying about how I feel. And about how long I will be around to take care of my loved ones. In the end, that's all that matters....
So I will close for now. So excited to get this process started. On 4/11/2016 I will begin my liver shrinking diet...my meals will consist of protein shakes and an extremely small dinner. Wish me luck! :)
My surgery date is 4/25/2016. I will be going from a Lap-Band to a Roux N Y, also known as gastric bypass. All my life, I have tried everything I can think of to try to loose weight. Weight watcher, Lap-Band surgery, Belviq, cabbage diet, Atkin's diet....my list could go on and on. But finally I have decided to be done with it all once and for all.
My highest weight is 327lbs but I'm down a little from that. I have wondered if things said to me while growing up need to be dealt with or will it even matter when I can't eat more than a few bites of food at a time.
I'm looking forward to having a month off. Yes, most of it will be spent healing and recovering, but I believe that will be a good time to deal with things....I won't be able to turn to food for comfort so I will have to face these things head on. Maybe I should check into seeing my therapist during that time....
Forty pounds in the first month....gone....or so they say. I cannot imagine being below 300lbs....it's been so long and I have so many things I'm looking forward to. Using one air plane seat when I travel, getting on some amusement park rides, walking without getting out of breath, riding my bike, n longer being considered "pre-diabetic", finding new ways to "socialize" besides basing it around food, maybe get rid of a couple medications, and finally having more energy and feeling wonderful.
It's funny how as you get older, your priority changes. I use to worry about loosing a lot of weight because the saggy skin scared the daylights out of me. To me...saggy skin was worse than being fat!!! But that's all changed now. I down care how much saggy skin I have or what it looks like, my priority has finally changed into not worrying about what I look like, but worrying about how I feel. And about how long I will be around to take care of my loved ones. In the end, that's all that matters....
So I will close for now. So excited to get this process started. On 4/11/2016 I will begin my liver shrinking diet...my meals will consist of protein shakes and an extremely small dinner. Wish me luck! :)
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