OH Weight loss tickers

Friday, December 7, 2012

Time for an Update!!!


Yesterday I made 8 weeks post-op after being switched.  I have lost 43 pounds since I started the 2 week pre-op liquid diet!!!  And 115 pounds down from my all time highest weight!!!  So far, everything has been good.  As the weight comes off again, I am starting to have more energy.  My coworkers are noticing which makes me feel good because I certainly don't see it!!!  My clothes fit better which is fantastic!  I did not want to have to start ordering from catalogs again...

My eating has been good.  During researching the DS, I found that it was very common for DSers to become gluten intollerant.  So since my revision, I've avoided anything containing gluten.  Until this week!  My husband had a christmas party and I baked 200 cookies for the party.  I had 2 small cookies and a tablespoon full of the dough.  4 days later and I'm still feeling the effects!  Definitely no gluten for me!!!  That is probably the best thing that has ever happened, though.  Bread (and bread products... cake, cookies, etc...) is my kryptonite!!!  Last night we took the girls out for ice cream...  no problems passing that up.  Makes me sick as a dog!  Lesson learned a long time ago.  But the cookie was a new lesson.  Not testing that theory out again!!!  Lesson definitely learn there now too!  lol!

My husband wants me to set some goals.  He wants me to anticipate what weight I will be when...  I did this after being sleeved and only discouraged myself when I never made those goals.  So I'm torn.  I love the idea of having something to work toward.  But I know my body doesn't respond to the work I put into it like it does for other people... at least it doesn't respond the way I want it to on the scale.  I think if I keep doing everything right, the weight will come off when it comes off.  Of course I want it to all come off now, but that's not realistic... =)

So weight....  This morning I was 310 lbs.  I do have a goal of being under 300 by the beginning of the year.  I'd like to start 2013 off back in the 200's.  I'm not far from it and I've got 25 days to do it...  I'm fairly sure it'll be doable.  Just no more slip-ups and christmas dinner will have to be straight protein.  No more snacking on Aunt Annie's pretzels in the mall while I'm shopping.  And even though I'm busy and out and about every night of the week...  that's no excuse to indulge on fast food every night...  even though you think you are making good choices...  it's fast food...  nothing is good about it.  =)

I hope everyone stays on track and enjoys their holidays!!!  I'll update again soon!!!

Sunday, October 7, 2012

Pins and Needles!!!

 4 more days!!!  I'm nervous and excited!  Liquid diet has gone much better since I switched to a different protein powder.  Yesterday was the first day I actually felt a little hungry.  But it's been manageable.  My pre-op weigh-in was at 353 pounds.  So far, I am down 17 pounds!  I'm hoping to be down 20 by the time of surgery.  Almost there!!!  

Another DSer posted this picture in a forum to be able to describe the DS.  I've been looking at anatomical pictures online trying to picture exactly what they are going to do during the revision.  But when I saw this, it made soooo much more sense.  Just had to share it here. 

There are so many things I am trying not to get my hopes up for.  When I was sleeved 5 years ago, I dreamed and dreamed big.  Only to feel like I let myself down in the end.  I am trying to rein it in and be realistic.  I would love to just be under 200 pounds.  That is probably more realistic than my dream goal of 140.  But I don't think it's too terribly unrealistic with the DS if I truly am committed to the process and the sacrifices I know I need to make for it to happen.  Carbs are going to be another causality of this war.  Thanks to the 2 week liquid diet and keeping my carbs under 50g's, I'm not feeling the demon so much anymore.  I'm craving veggies and meat which is fantastic!  I'd kill for a steak with a big salad on the side right about now.  

I wonder where I will be one year from now.  What will be my rate of loss?  I believe with the sleeve, I averaged about 10 pounds lost a month for the first year.  If that's the case, I should be around 215 by my 1 year mark.  Lower than the lowest I fought to get to with the sleeve.  My lowest weight ever was 236.  Wouldn't that just be amazing...  Maybe even hitting ONEDERLAND by Christmas!!!  OMG!  

But here I go getting my hopes up again.  Realistically, I should expect 1/2 the rate since I've already been sleeved and the massive restriction full DSer's receive is what jump starts that enormous weight loss like it did for me when I was first sleeved.  So I will take what help I can get from the surgery and do what I can to make up the difference.  This would be my food choices to fuel my body and exercising to burn the calories I'm taking in and then some so I can consistently lose weight.  

I can do this...  This is the most hopeful I have felt in years.  It's an awesome feeling to have hope again.



Sunday, September 30, 2012

Update on DS Revision Plans!

Surgery is scheduled and the countdown begins!!!

October 11th, 2012 is the date!  I went to Houston for my pre-op tests on Sept 27th.  Blood, urine, EKG, chest x-ray, current weight, BP, heart rate...  The works! 

My weight when they weighed me in was at 353.  That's up 8 pounds from my initial consult in May.  Not what I wanted to see, but it really could have been much worse.  On July 6th, I fell and broke my ankle and spent 6 weeks in a cast with extremely limited mobility.  So I'll take the 8 pounds and know that they will never come back!!! 

One of my surgeon's requirements is that I have to do a 2 week liquid diet before surgery.  Today makes day 3.  I'm down 10 pounds since my weigh-in at the hospital during my pre-op tests.  The headache is almost gone.  I haven't been able to tolerate most of the shakes though.  A few sips and I just can't do anymore.  Most times I just want to gag.  I've been sipping on my favorite protein smoothie and I can't even manage to get more than 4oz's down.  And I made it 2.5 hours ago!  My stomach started growling so I'm chewing on ice to satisfy the munchies. 

I have no energy and I just want to sleep through the next week and a half!  I managed to go to the store and walk around for about 45 minutes, but I had to hurry and get home because I felt like I wanted to pass out.  I started working on some crafts to keep my hands and my mind busy.  I figured I'll just catch up on some shows that I've been recording on the DVR.  But Cheese and CRACKERS!  Every other commercial is FOOD!  And then people eating in the shows...  it just a smorgasbord of food everywhere!!!  No wonder so many people struggle with their weight.  I never really paid attention to all of it before and then realizing this is when I do most of my grazing...  no wonder indeed.  It's like this constant subliminal message to eat...  eat...  EAT.... EAT!!!!!!

So that's my update for now.  12 days from now, I'll be in Houston for the Duodenal Switch.  YAY!

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

The Waiting Game...

So it's official!!!  In the past few months, I have been making all of the arrangements to have the Duodenal Switch!  In my last post, I talked about my consultation.  After that, I went through the standard stuff.  I had to see my Psychiatrist to get clearance and submit that back to Dr. Davis' office.  It took me a few weeks to get an appointment to see her, but she didn't have any problems clearing me for surgery.  Within 5 days of faxing over my letter of clearance, I got an email telling me I had been approved for surgery!  I was at work when I received the message and I wanted to cry!

Then came the hard part.  How much was it going to cost me???  They called to discuss all of the payment details.  My insurance would only cover 80%, so that left me to cover the remaining 20%.  All during the conversation, I'm seeing these random green numbers flying around in front of me like a bad Matrix code.  After adding up all the expenses, I'm looking at $3500, at least...  So we've been saving since and I'm hopeful that we will have what we need.

After that came scheduling!  I have a date!  October 11, 2012!!!  10.11.12!!!  Couldn't have planned it better myself.  57 days until my date!

I'm excited and nervous.  This is uncharted territory for me and I'm not sure what to expect.  I have so many goals, but at the same time, I don't want to be unrealistic.  I've been on message boards where people really down talk people who had the sleeve first and then have the DS afterward.  Stating that they don't lose or they lose very slowly.  I can't afford to be one of those people.

6 weeks ago, I fell and fractured my ankle.  I was so lucky that it wasn't completely broken or that it would have required surgery to fix.  But I've been in a cast for the last 6 weeks and limping around has put a horrible strain on my entire body.  I can't stand for more than 10 minutes.  I can't walk for more than 10 minutes.  The cast comes off tomorrow and I will be so scared to step on the scale on Friday and see what damage I've done by not being able to move.  The horrible thing is that it's not my ankle that hurts so much when I move around.  It's everything else.  My knees, hips, and back...  Of course I can feel the strain it puts on my ankle, but it's minor compared to everything else. 

That is a big reason to need this.  Next time this happens (and it will probably happen again...), I might not be so lucky as a simple fracture.  And at 345 pounds, I don't want to risk it.  But more so, I want to be the person I was 3 years ago.  When I was at my lowest weight, I was outgoing and confident.  I want to be that person again.  My goal was to never be skinny.  I just wanted to be comfortable with myself and be the person I knew I was inside.  That was the closest I ever got to her and even then, she wasn't all the way out.  So that's going to be my new goal this time.  I want to get to her and hold on.  I want to find the girl I buried in all of these protective layers and tell her it's ok now.  The coast is clear.  You are more than capable of taking control now.  No one hurts you unless you give them permission to.  And most of all, you deserve to be happy.

I have a goal.  I have a mission.  I will get there.

I will post pictures...   : )

Monday, May 28, 2012

Time to Get Real... Again...

So I've been struggling.  Way too much...  Losing weight should not be this hard.  I know my efforts are nowhere near as committed as they were 5 years ago.  But the more I diet, I lose just a little to gain back even more.  I cannot begin to imagine the damage I have done on my metabolism by trying a new fad diet practically 6 times a year for the last 22 years.  It's just not right.

My body just doesn't work.  It does not process food like it should.  For me to lose weight, I have to be drastic.  Total deprivation of all carbs and limit calories to less than 1000 per day.  Who can live like that?  I know I can't...  From LOADS of experience.

So, I have decided to have a revision to my weight loss surgery.  I currently have the Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy and I will be adding the Duodenal Switch component to help my body work right again.  If I knew then what I knew now, I probably would have done this from the beginning.  But I didn't know I was insulin resistant and that I had a metabolic disorder.  But I know these things now and I feel like this is the best choice for me to get healthy and stay healthy once and for all!!!!!!

So I've had a consultation with Dr. Garth Davis in Houston, TX.  Drove 5 hours there and back just to visit with him and his staff (which were fantastic).  Things are moving pretty quickly.  All I need is a letter from my psychiatrist saying that she clears me for surgery and then they can submit the request to insurance for approval.  In the meantime, he wants us eating whole foods and limit processed foods.  That's what we've been doing for the last week.

NOW...  I just have to figure out how to save the money for the deductible, hotel stay, and other expenses.  I figure we need about $2000 for everything.  This is a bit overwhelming as things keep coming up that prevent us from saving like we want to.  Since we got home, I've been siphoning the bank account where I can.  $10 here...  $20 there...  So in the week since we've been back, I've managed to put away almost $50!  Not even close, but every $$$ counts!!!

Weight on 5/23/12 at consult with Dr. Davis: 345
Weight as of this morning 5/28/12: 339.6 

Monday, January 23, 2012

New Year... New Efforts!

Back at it yet again!!!

I have to say, no matter how many times I try, at least I'm still trying!  LOL!  One day I'll get it right and make it to goal.  In the meantime, I'm just going to keep at it!

I am a stress eater and needless to say, I have been under an extreme amount of stress over the last year or so.  So...  I'm FINALLY in therapy to help me deal and learn new coping methods (rather than turning to food for comfort).  I'm limiting carbs again and sticking to Atkins (although I need to tweak this a bit more). 

AND I'm working really hard to incorporate exercise.  I've been on the spin bike for the last week and I'm LOVING it again!!!  I forgot how much I missed it!

So, with new resolve and a pinch of motivation, I'm at it again.