Wednesday, June 11, 2014
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Nineteen Months Out...
So since the world hasn't ended, I thought I'd do my 19 month update.
I have to say my world hasn't changed a whole lot since surgery. Obviously I have lost a lot of weight, but other than that, many things are still the same. I'm still a mom, still married, still work for the same company doing the same job...but everything is SO much easier to deal with.
I no longer worry about what people think of my weight...or trying to prove that once a upon a time I was thin (really! I promise! see, here's a picture of me back in the 90's!). I don't have to worry about trying to fit in a booth, or if I'm trying to squeeze behind someone or something, if I'll fit. I no longer have to buy clothes just because I don't hate the way they make my body look (I actually have choices that make shopping my personal version of hell). I'm no longer the biggest person in the room. My knees and joints don't hurt the way they used to. The only medical condition I had was PCOS (though many were looming) and that has cleared up completely. No more dark patches, a regular cycle, skin tags no longer crop up, no more cystic acne, my two or three chin hairs I had sprouted no longer come in as dark as they once did, and my hair went back to normal after the initial loss from surgery (yes, chances are you will lose hair). No more seat belt extenders on airplanes.
The biggest negative I've had so far is constipation/hemorrhoids from calcium citrate. I still have hemorrhoid issues to this day from that, and I'm sure that I have/have had a fissure. I'm too stubborn to have anyone look at it, so I just treat the symptoms. I've since settled on calcium hydroxyapatite as my calcium of choice after trying several blends and brands. My labs have been fine on it, and I've had no constipation issues from it so I'll stick with it. My D and B has been low, so I've had to work on upping those. I've got some loose skin, a.k.a. batwings that bother me but not enough to do anything about it. My thighs are pretty gross too, but I never show those the way I show my arms. I was getting a manicure the other day and my sweet Vietnamese nail tech got a good kick out of my swinging wings and brought it up to the other nail techs and they all got a good chuckle while she was massaging me. LOL It was like an episode out of Seinfeld.
My diet hasn't changed too much. I focus on protein first (which never was a problem for me anyway, I've always been a meat and cheese girl over bread and sweets), and keep up with my vites and calcium. I pretty much only use the rest room in the morning. My body likes to get me up about 4 am for the first round and then the second round is usually around 8 am and then I'm good for the day. I can have gas issues, and yes, it can peel paint, but it is totally totally totally controllable depending on what I eat. My biggest offending food would have to be cheese puffs. I will only eat these if I know my family will be gone for the night. LOL Also white rice does me in. But really that's about it. I know what not to eat if I'm on a business trip with my boss. I'd say the first 6 months was spent trying out foods and testing them to see how my body reacted and if I didn't know how I reacted to it, I didn't eat it if I wasn't at home.
My starting weight with surgery was 279 (highest being a little over 300), and my lowest was 168. I went from a size 26 bottom, 22/24 on top to a 10/12 on the bottom and a medium top. My feet went from a 9w to a 7 or 7.5 depending on the brand. That's been crazy!
So in other news, I'm 23 weeks pregnant. I was 14 months out when it happened. My surgeon was supportive, but he said he would never want to see it happen any earlier (he prefers 18 months). I just had my second set of labs drawn so I'll know what this little vampire baby is sucking out of me in a week or two. I really haven't gained any weight; both my surgeon and my ob assure me it's fine and that the baby is taking what it needs from me. I had my big ultrasound two weeks ago and everything was right on target with the baby so that made me feel a lot better about not gaining. I eat all the time, all day long but I'm all belly. I really am hoping that I will put on some weight in the back half of this pregnancy.
I have to say my world hasn't changed a whole lot since surgery. Obviously I have lost a lot of weight, but other than that, many things are still the same. I'm still a mom, still married, still work for the same company doing the same job...but everything is SO much easier to deal with.
I no longer worry about what people think of my weight...or trying to prove that once a upon a time I was thin (really! I promise! see, here's a picture of me back in the 90's!). I don't have to worry about trying to fit in a booth, or if I'm trying to squeeze behind someone or something, if I'll fit. I no longer have to buy clothes just because I don't hate the way they make my body look (I actually have choices that make shopping my personal version of hell). I'm no longer the biggest person in the room. My knees and joints don't hurt the way they used to. The only medical condition I had was PCOS (though many were looming) and that has cleared up completely. No more dark patches, a regular cycle, skin tags no longer crop up, no more cystic acne, my two or three chin hairs I had sprouted no longer come in as dark as they once did, and my hair went back to normal after the initial loss from surgery (yes, chances are you will lose hair). No more seat belt extenders on airplanes.
The biggest negative I've had so far is constipation/hemorrhoids from calcium citrate. I still have hemorrhoid issues to this day from that, and I'm sure that I have/have had a fissure. I'm too stubborn to have anyone look at it, so I just treat the symptoms. I've since settled on calcium hydroxyapatite as my calcium of choice after trying several blends and brands. My labs have been fine on it, and I've had no constipation issues from it so I'll stick with it. My D and B has been low, so I've had to work on upping those. I've got some loose skin, a.k.a. batwings that bother me but not enough to do anything about it. My thighs are pretty gross too, but I never show those the way I show my arms. I was getting a manicure the other day and my sweet Vietnamese nail tech got a good kick out of my swinging wings and brought it up to the other nail techs and they all got a good chuckle while she was massaging me. LOL It was like an episode out of Seinfeld.
My diet hasn't changed too much. I focus on protein first (which never was a problem for me anyway, I've always been a meat and cheese girl over bread and sweets), and keep up with my vites and calcium. I pretty much only use the rest room in the morning. My body likes to get me up about 4 am for the first round and then the second round is usually around 8 am and then I'm good for the day. I can have gas issues, and yes, it can peel paint, but it is totally totally totally controllable depending on what I eat. My biggest offending food would have to be cheese puffs. I will only eat these if I know my family will be gone for the night. LOL Also white rice does me in. But really that's about it. I know what not to eat if I'm on a business trip with my boss. I'd say the first 6 months was spent trying out foods and testing them to see how my body reacted and if I didn't know how I reacted to it, I didn't eat it if I wasn't at home.
My starting weight with surgery was 279 (highest being a little over 300), and my lowest was 168. I went from a size 26 bottom, 22/24 on top to a 10/12 on the bottom and a medium top. My feet went from a 9w to a 7 or 7.5 depending on the brand. That's been crazy!
So in other news, I'm 23 weeks pregnant. I was 14 months out when it happened. My surgeon was supportive, but he said he would never want to see it happen any earlier (he prefers 18 months). I just had my second set of labs drawn so I'll know what this little vampire baby is sucking out of me in a week or two. I really haven't gained any weight; both my surgeon and my ob assure me it's fine and that the baby is taking what it needs from me. I had my big ultrasound two weeks ago and everything was right on target with the baby so that made me feel a lot better about not gaining. I eat all the time, all day long but I'm all belly. I really am hoping that I will put on some weight in the back half of this pregnancy.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Doctor's Appointment Yesterday
Went to the dr's office for a routine appt yesterday. It was good! I think I've gained 2 lbs, which puts me back to my starting weight. I'm really doing my best to gain at this point, and eat like there is no tomorrow (had weight loss surgery...hard to gain) so I was a bit encouraged and hope those two stick. I've gained and lost two pounds for the last 6 weeks or so, so need some good thoughts on some meat sticking! Blood pressure was 100/60, which is also something I'm keeping an eye on. I've started getting dizzy and such when I stand up so if that keeps on, I'll bring it up at my next appt.
She listened to the baby's hb, and was literally like the baby whisperer. She felt the top of my uterus, then took the doppler and put it right on the baby and we instantly heard the hb. She listened for about 3 seconds and said it sounded good. She did a colposcopy since I had an irregular pap smear during my annual back October. She said everything looked less than low grade, and didn't do a biopsy so that was good. I asked her a couple of questions about travel, and she said my csection would most like be the 9th.
What sucked, though, was that before she came in, I overheard her on the phone, which was just outside of the office and the door was cracked a bit, and she was having to call someone to tell them their down's test came back 1 in 97. So glad I didn't get that call.
She listened to the baby's hb, and was literally like the baby whisperer. She felt the top of my uterus, then took the doppler and put it right on the baby and we instantly heard the hb. She listened for about 3 seconds and said it sounded good. She did a colposcopy since I had an irregular pap smear during my annual back October. She said everything looked less than low grade, and didn't do a biopsy so that was good. I asked her a couple of questions about travel, and she said my csection would most like be the 9th.
What sucked, though, was that before she came in, I overheard her on the phone, which was just outside of the office and the door was cracked a bit, and she was having to call someone to tell them their down's test came back 1 in 97. So glad I didn't get that call.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
The DS (Pregnant) Diaries...
I have come to the conclusion that I am going to be freaking huge this pregnancy. I haven't gained a single ounce, but I'm all belly which means I'm still technically losing weight. But my cute maternity shirts look filled out right now at 16 weeks. Ummm, how are they supposed to fit in 4 months when I'm 8 months pregnant? Also, I'm worried about not gaining enough weight. I've been increasing my carbs, eat all the time, and nothing.
Monday, March 22, 2010
Five Months Out
Ok...so I missed my four month update, both written and pictures. LOL It just kinda blew by and I didn't acknowledge it for some reason. I'm not going to let this one blow by because I want to document my progress so I can see how far I've come.
I've had a pretty easy road to date. Not entirely boring, but I'll take it! My D is low, so I've added VitaLady's D to my vitamins. And hopefully once it becomes spring around here being in the sun will help as well. My biggest issue is probably hemorrhoids of the internal variety. I have to be super conscious of my water intake as that seems to be what flares them up the most. Not fun! When it happens, even my soft ds poops feel like glass. *sigh* but that's the worst of it!
I'm not a carb watcher, and although I may hate myself for it in the long run, I really don't monitor them. I've never been a huge sweet eater, so most of my carbs come with protein (except for the sweet tea I have to have a couple times a week). The worst food possible for me gas-wise is Chipotle. Holy hell their burrito in a bowl about killed me and my family the other night. They are off the list on a permanent basis! Other than that, I really haven't met a food I can't handle.
And like everyone else, my hair fell out in clumps starting last month. Sweet Jesus, I thought I was going to be bald at the rate it came out. It's still falling out but not as noticeable as it was so hopefully it's stopping. And of course while the hair on my head is falling out, every other hair on my body is growing just fine. *sigh*
Weight and size-wise...I started my journey at 299 - I'm sure I was over that but the scale only went up that far. I dieted down to 280, which is where I was the day of surgery. I'm currently at 209, and according to the math, I've lost 61% of my excess weight. I was a tight 24 and some 26s on the bottom, 22/24 on the top and a 44C. I'm now a 16 petite (in regular sizes!) on the bottom, and an XL on the top and a 38C, although the girls have shrunk like you would not believe. I have tried bra shopping at many a bra shopping place and no bras fit me like Lane Bryant. I will be sooo sad when I can no longer fit their bras.
In fact, I really adore and miss the ease of shopping at only one store. I never in a million years thought I'd say that as shopping at regular size stores has been on my goal list since the first weight watchers go-round a million years ago, but it was comforting to know what size to get and be comfortable in my own skin there. Shopping in regular size stores is...overwhelming. So many different size variations, and fits and cuts and I feel totally self conscious like they are staring at me wondering what the fat girl is doing in the skinny girl section. I'm just at a really awkward stage right now.
I also tried alcohol for the first time recently. I did not find that it affected me any differently than it did before - I got drunk at the same rate, and didn't sober up quickly the way I'd read about so I probably drank more than I probably should have thinking I'd sober up quickly. LOL It was fun though, and definitely won't be a routine thing, especially this early out, but it was fun to sit in the sun and enjoy a margarita.
I've had a pretty easy road to date. Not entirely boring, but I'll take it! My D is low, so I've added VitaLady's D to my vitamins. And hopefully once it becomes spring around here being in the sun will help as well. My biggest issue is probably hemorrhoids of the internal variety. I have to be super conscious of my water intake as that seems to be what flares them up the most. Not fun! When it happens, even my soft ds poops feel like glass. *sigh* but that's the worst of it!
I'm not a carb watcher, and although I may hate myself for it in the long run, I really don't monitor them. I've never been a huge sweet eater, so most of my carbs come with protein (except for the sweet tea I have to have a couple times a week). The worst food possible for me gas-wise is Chipotle. Holy hell their burrito in a bowl about killed me and my family the other night. They are off the list on a permanent basis! Other than that, I really haven't met a food I can't handle.
And like everyone else, my hair fell out in clumps starting last month. Sweet Jesus, I thought I was going to be bald at the rate it came out. It's still falling out but not as noticeable as it was so hopefully it's stopping. And of course while the hair on my head is falling out, every other hair on my body is growing just fine. *sigh*
Weight and size-wise...I started my journey at 299 - I'm sure I was over that but the scale only went up that far. I dieted down to 280, which is where I was the day of surgery. I'm currently at 209, and according to the math, I've lost 61% of my excess weight. I was a tight 24 and some 26s on the bottom, 22/24 on the top and a 44C. I'm now a 16 petite (in regular sizes!) on the bottom, and an XL on the top and a 38C, although the girls have shrunk like you would not believe. I have tried bra shopping at many a bra shopping place and no bras fit me like Lane Bryant. I will be sooo sad when I can no longer fit their bras.
In fact, I really adore and miss the ease of shopping at only one store. I never in a million years thought I'd say that as shopping at regular size stores has been on my goal list since the first weight watchers go-round a million years ago, but it was comforting to know what size to get and be comfortable in my own skin there. Shopping in regular size stores is...overwhelming. So many different size variations, and fits and cuts and I feel totally self conscious like they are staring at me wondering what the fat girl is doing in the skinny girl section. I'm just at a really awkward stage right now.
I also tried alcohol for the first time recently. I did not find that it affected me any differently than it did before - I got drunk at the same rate, and didn't sober up quickly the way I'd read about so I probably drank more than I probably should have thinking I'd sober up quickly. LOL It was fun though, and definitely won't be a routine thing, especially this early out, but it was fun to sit in the sun and enjoy a margarita.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
My first big wow...
I thought I'd share this with ya'll because I thought it was really cool. There is a mom who works at my son's school that we've been involved in the kid's sports with for years. I hadn't seen her since I had surgery. Pre-surgery, she'd always recognize me when I'd pick up my son; she'd have him to the office before I'd even come in the door. Well last week, I popped in to get him and she asked who I was there for. Now, I've seen this woman for years so I was taken aback. I told her and then she asked who I was in relation to him. I was like, "ummm his mom?" And she was all suspicious and was like "really? you've lost a lot of weight! Can I see your ID?" She made me go back to my car and get my ID! Finally she called him and let me have my baby, and was totally complimentary and asked me what I was doing (she's all of a size 6 at best) and I told her that I'd had surgery and she said it was certainly working for me. It was really awesome! My best wow by far for sure.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Three months out :)
So today I'm three months out and I have to say that things are now really smooth sailing! This month I made a list as I thought of how far I've come so I have something to write about. :)
I'm really excited where I am with the journey, not so much from a weight loss perspective, but just in how I feel over all. I no longer have that "truck ran me over" exhaustion feeling, I am no longer sore or swollen (I stayed swollen for probably 8 weeks in my abdomen area). My energy level is really picked up but I find that if I don't get in proper amounts of protein I get tired really easily. I am not up to the 90 grams. I average about 50 or so, which I know isn't great but I'm working on it. I've also started slowly adding back in the gym to tone things up as I lose and it's waaay easier to exercise at 226 then it was when I was in the 280s!!
So some things that I've noticed...
My burper is no longer broken. After surgery I always felt like I couldn't burp and air was just trapped in there. I imagine it was because things were so swollen but I finally feel like I can burp again and it's a relief!
The dark patches of skin I had under my arms and around my neck and waist are fading rapidly. It just kinda has rolled up and fallen off. LOL not complaining! I just wish my boobs wouldn't have followed suit. *sigh*
My hair appears to be intact so far. I noticed some increased shedding this week and I imagine my non-stellar protein amounts have something to do with it. I've had major surgery several times and haven't ever lost hair so I think it's the protein thing.
I've been doing ok on my supplements. I ran out of my ADEKs (which I know are not the grown up vitamins I should be taking any way) for about a week but I'm back on track with them now. I go for my labs soon and I'll make some decisions about how to proceed then. I take two multi's a day, and then two doses of two pills of the sam's calcium. I had to stop taking the calcium for two days though, because it either caused or exacerbated some constipation issues I was having. Holy hell, what I wouldn't have given for a nice soft poo a couple of weeks ago! I have upped my fluids and started taking a stool softener at night. Things seem to be easing up some but man, it was rough going for a couple of days there. I was seriously looking in to whether or not they did anus transplants. LOL
I went through a stage around 10 weeks where I decided I was going to over eat. It was so frustrating! I'd want to eat more, but I just couldn't. So then I'd end up regurgitating the last bite I took for a while and be miserable. It took me about a week or so to get it back in to my big fat head that I couldn't eat like a preop! It was good practice, though, in that I've really got it down to when I'm starting to get full and stop eating. I also now have days where my pouch feels like the size of a thimble, and other days it's normal. I haven't puked ever, even though a couple of times I may have felt better if I did.
Weight-wise, I'm down 52 lbs. According to the labrat people, that's 46% of my excess weight gone. My surgeon has a goal weight of 165 set for me. I'm not sure if I'll get there or not but I have hope that since I've lost this much so far that I'll continue to lose over the next 6 months or so. Or I could be really lucky and blow by the 165 and end up at 145, which is my own personal secret stretch goal weight (and probably wishful thinking).
Size-wise, I started at a tight 22/24. I was probably a 26 on the bottom but was squeezing in to a 24 lol. I just bought my first pair of jeans not from a plus size section. I was able to fit in to 18's from Old Navy. WHOO HOOO!!! That was a big wow for me. I haven't bought any new clothes except for those jeans and two tshirts from there as well. I'm going to have to do something about the clothing situation soon, though, because I'm starting to swim in my clothes and it looks kind of ridiculous. I didn't mind them being loose, but this week they were so loose I was actually walking on them because they were so long. I'm starting to notice bones where I couldn't feel them before, like where my rib cage starts, or my hip bones. I can also see shadows of where my collar bones live but they haven't come to play yet.
That's me in a nutshell!
I'm really excited where I am with the journey, not so much from a weight loss perspective, but just in how I feel over all. I no longer have that "truck ran me over" exhaustion feeling, I am no longer sore or swollen (I stayed swollen for probably 8 weeks in my abdomen area). My energy level is really picked up but I find that if I don't get in proper amounts of protein I get tired really easily. I am not up to the 90 grams. I average about 50 or so, which I know isn't great but I'm working on it. I've also started slowly adding back in the gym to tone things up as I lose and it's waaay easier to exercise at 226 then it was when I was in the 280s!!
So some things that I've noticed...
My burper is no longer broken. After surgery I always felt like I couldn't burp and air was just trapped in there. I imagine it was because things were so swollen but I finally feel like I can burp again and it's a relief!
The dark patches of skin I had under my arms and around my neck and waist are fading rapidly. It just kinda has rolled up and fallen off. LOL not complaining! I just wish my boobs wouldn't have followed suit. *sigh*
My hair appears to be intact so far. I noticed some increased shedding this week and I imagine my non-stellar protein amounts have something to do with it. I've had major surgery several times and haven't ever lost hair so I think it's the protein thing.
I've been doing ok on my supplements. I ran out of my ADEKs (which I know are not the grown up vitamins I should be taking any way) for about a week but I'm back on track with them now. I go for my labs soon and I'll make some decisions about how to proceed then. I take two multi's a day, and then two doses of two pills of the sam's calcium. I had to stop taking the calcium for two days though, because it either caused or exacerbated some constipation issues I was having. Holy hell, what I wouldn't have given for a nice soft poo a couple of weeks ago! I have upped my fluids and started taking a stool softener at night. Things seem to be easing up some but man, it was rough going for a couple of days there. I was seriously looking in to whether or not they did anus transplants. LOL
I went through a stage around 10 weeks where I decided I was going to over eat. It was so frustrating! I'd want to eat more, but I just couldn't. So then I'd end up regurgitating the last bite I took for a while and be miserable. It took me about a week or so to get it back in to my big fat head that I couldn't eat like a preop! It was good practice, though, in that I've really got it down to when I'm starting to get full and stop eating. I also now have days where my pouch feels like the size of a thimble, and other days it's normal. I haven't puked ever, even though a couple of times I may have felt better if I did.
Weight-wise, I'm down 52 lbs. According to the labrat people, that's 46% of my excess weight gone. My surgeon has a goal weight of 165 set for me. I'm not sure if I'll get there or not but I have hope that since I've lost this much so far that I'll continue to lose over the next 6 months or so. Or I could be really lucky and blow by the 165 and end up at 145, which is my own personal secret stretch goal weight (and probably wishful thinking).
Size-wise, I started at a tight 22/24. I was probably a 26 on the bottom but was squeezing in to a 24 lol. I just bought my first pair of jeans not from a plus size section. I was able to fit in to 18's from Old Navy. WHOO HOOO!!! That was a big wow for me. I haven't bought any new clothes except for those jeans and two tshirts from there as well. I'm going to have to do something about the clothing situation soon, though, because I'm starting to swim in my clothes and it looks kind of ridiculous. I didn't mind them being loose, but this week they were so loose I was actually walking on them because they were so long. I'm starting to notice bones where I couldn't feel them before, like where my rib cage starts, or my hip bones. I can also see shadows of where my collar bones live but they haven't come to play yet.
That's me in a nutshell!
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