It has been a while since I checked in here, but I am so happy to be back. As of today I am 25 pounds from my goal weight of 190. I have 7.4 cc in my 10 cc band and I am sooooooo in love with my band. We have our ups and downs, but we work together. I have been able to adjust my eating. I enjoy fruit, veggies, some breads but it has to be cut very thin and toasted. I am working out 5 days a week and I have found this has really helped me.
I have had one unfill after I returned from vacation in July. I had been on several planes and I had no issues with food getting stuck or being tight. When I got home, the next day i was really tight and i was trying to drink warm liquids to help loosen it up, went back to soft foods for two days and still had the tightness. Then the heartburn started. I had it from the time i woke up until I went to sleep. After a week I went in and saw the doc. They had me do a barium swallow and took a xray. The fluid was moving through but very, very slow. My band and pouch looked good, but they were concerned with how uncomfortable I was. So the doc removed .2 cc and I had instant reflief!!! So I will be very careful the next time I fly and take greater percautions for myself. It was pretty scary because of the heartburn, tightness and I could not eat normally!
A lot of people ask why I did this and I show them my before/after pics. I tell them about my high blood pressure at 31 and having to take meds, my feel swelling daily with normal activity, not being able to run/play with my children, etc. I am so happy I did this and I would recommend it to anyone who is thinking about weight loss surgery. The True Results location I go to has asked me to begin working with them and I am considering it. If I can help someone else on my journey, that is icing on the proverbial cake!
It has been a while since I have updated this blog. Today I am five months out and 38 pounds lighter! I am also two pounds from reaching one of my goals to lost 100 pounds. I feel great and have been told I am looking great! LOL! I have had four fills and think finally this last one is it. I have 7.5 CC's in my 10 CC band. I am still experimenting with which foods are ok. Beef is hard for me, but chicken and seafood are okay. I eat a lot of fruits and veggies, green tea and greek yogurt are a huge part of my fridge. I am still exercising 4-5 times a week, and I recently started running, which I really do hate, but it is good for me.LOL. I am here to tell you that this amazing tool will work for you as long as you work with it. Do not try to east around it, do not cheat yourself by not exercising. The hardest part is keeping going and every day is a struggle. Just keep going!
I went in for my fill appoinment and came out with...............NOTHING!! LOL! Looks like I have hit the green zone! I am going to take this month slow and see what happens. Since I first went to true results I have lost 49 pounds and 30 since surgery. I lost 8.5 last month and we confirmed I have 6.9 CC in my band. I told the nurse about my eating habits and I am afraid that more fluid may put me in the red zone, so I will just hang out here for this month and see how it goes. But I am over the moon happy about my progress so far. I hope that people that are researching this option see my story and know that if I can be successful, that they can too. Life is about choices and I am choosing to be happy and healthy!
Happy Cinco de Mayo!! This was always a fun day for me and ny hubby! Lots of friends, drinks, and food! Today will still be a fun day with all of the above, but a lot less for me. I have lost 26 pounds since my surgery on 2/15. It has been a slow loss and I an thankful for the gradual loss. However this month seems to been a super slow weight loss. I think the changes in my diet and exercise may be the cause of this. I have loss three pounds and I am hoping for another two before I check in at the doc on 5/9. The bruise I was complaining about last time went away about a week or so ago. I have included Iron with my vitamins to help offset this. I did get in my new vitamins from Celebrate. If you want to try a sample, you can order a great sample kit for 3.00 from them. It included a multi, calcium, iron, B12, etc.
So I have been testing out different foods to see how I can handle them. I had some friend chicken and I did okay with it. Just have to remember to chew well. I am still struggling with making sure I do not eat too fast. It is like Palov and the dog. It hurts and sucks to get stuck, but for some reason my brain has not quite gotten this yet. I have not had bread of any kind. The thought of getting stuck with bread scares me! I just want to make sure that I do not do anything that would hurt me or my band. My best friend had her fluid measured to see exactly what she had because she did not think the nurse actually put the correct amount.Turns out she was right. The nurse wrote in the chart that she 5.7 CC and she had only filled her to 5. When they attempted to put all the fluid back in, it was too tight and she is not back at 3.7 until next month. I think I would have been a tiny bit pissed.
As I said before I think if I get a fill this time I will request only a small one. I think I may be almost at the sweet spot, but we will see.
I am two months out from surgery and two fills down. I had my last fill two weeks ago and since then I have a huge bruise right over my port. I can also see the puncture mark. Does anyone else experience this? I have a appointment scheduled in two weeks and will see my surgeon also at that time. But could it be something that I am missing from my diet? I think I may switch to one of the bariatric vitamins also. Right now I take two centrum chewables, two viactiv for calcium and b12 as needed . I have been checking out the Celebrate website and I think I may go that way.
The scale is still in the same place but TOM is over so I guess it will move again soon. But my clothes fit good and I am feeling great.
Seems as though my fills are always the week before TOM and then the scale is stuck for a week and a half. So I had my second fill last wed. and today I still way 240 even thought I have been eating right and exercising 4x a week. I am full time back in the gym and have started to work my core again. I guess I should just be patient, but it is frustrating. I am anxious to see if the .7 CC i got last week will move me to my sweet spot!
Today I had my second fill. I have a 10 CC band and after today I have 6.7 CC's in my band. I had 5 cc's from surgery, got 1 at my first fill and today I got .7CC. I have been able to eat way more than I am comfortable with and I believe my weight loss this past month ( 9 pounds) has been a huge perk to the fact that I am back in the gym full time. I asked her would it be necessary for me to have a fill next month because it seems as though I am on the high side of having fluid in my band and I dont know anyone that really has this much without having hit the green zone. She said no, we would just see how well of a month I have this month. I felt really sick to my stomach after the fill and did not eat until about 2pm today(soup). Seems as though the adjustment today had me really on the full side and I had the hiccups afterwards I am hoping this month will have the same results as last. It seems that the best thing for me to do is take day to day.
I am feeling so good. I have my appointment for a second fill on 4/11 and so far this past month I have lost 7 pounds and I am wondering about another fill. I have found myself snacking in between meals. They are healthy snacks but I am snacking where I was not before. I am in a size 18 which is getting more loose every day, so I guess inches are being lost also. I am back at the gym full time and that is a great feeling.
I had to lose a chunk of weight to qualify for my surgery.Before I got approved, I started on my weight loss journey and lost 60 pounds through diet and exercise. Since surgery I have lost 21 pounds. I am going to Vegas in July and would really like to possibly hit the 100 pound mark by June 15th. So we are on the road to 100!!!
Weight loss my friends is hard...probably one of the hardest things to do. It is not pretty, it sucks and you have to work hard. No matter which path you choose. I know for me that choosing the band, was choosing to save and improve my quality of life. The physical perks are nice, but it feels good to know that I am able to play with my kids, climb stairs without being winded and to really like the me in the mirror that is looking back instead of getting dressed and only looking from the shoulders up. It is also about learning to love me again... So I hope on this road we can all learn to love ourselves again.
So I knew the day would come, but I have been so careful. I chew until I cant chew anymore but over the weekend, I had my first major stuck episode. My hubby had to be rushed in for emergency surgery on Saturday and my family brought food for myself and my kids. I decided to have a couple bites of fried fish and I did not chew well at all. It was horrible. I felt like I was being stabbed in the side. It took about five minutes for everything to pass, but the pain was awful. So lesson learned, chew carefully.
One of the best things I have re-discovered was a body shaper! I love mine! I got it at Lane Bryant from Cacique and it was only 45.00. As I am losing, I thought it was a good idea to make sure that I keep things..ummm... sucked in! LOL! I remember after my first child was born my grandmother and mother both kept telling me to wear this god awful girdle and I refused. Oh how many times I have wished I had worn it to keep this tummy from not being so flabby. With mine on, overall I am three inches "slimmer" It is also very comfortable, and does not roll down. The only thing that is a bit of trouble is when nature calls and then I have to basically get undressed to go. I have a friend who had the sleeve and she has been wearing one every day and today I saw her without one. She went from a 26 to a 14 in about four months and she has really done well wearing her body shaper every day. She looks amazing!
Tomorrow is six weeks since my surgery and I feel good. I have a second fill on 4/11., if I need it. I have gone from a size 24 from when I first started my weight loss journey, to a loose size 18 today. I am 55 pounds from my goal.I am also back on my regular gym schedule and that feels awesome! I am toying with the idea of maybe buying a swimsuit this summer..... Well I will think about it
Happy Friday!!! I am so pleased that the weekend is almost here! So a few weeks ago I blogged about a co-worker who is banded and seems to struggle a lot. I felt bad for her and could not understand. Well over the last week I have gotten a clear understanding of why and it pisses me off a bit. I am not any better than anyone, nor do I think I know all the answers. What I do know are the basics. We work so hard to get our bodies ready for the surgery and go through so much afterwards, why would you just say screw it? We had a celebration for our top performers today and the snacks were candies, cookies and juices. I was in charge of passing out the snacks and she came to the line three times and ate skittles, starburst and capri sun. Then she ate a hot pocket. I again am not perfect but I know these things are not good for us, especially with the band. Afterwards she came to ask me how long has it been since my surgery because I was losing weight fast. I explained I was five weeks out and had started to exercise again. She told me she has had 5 fills and she is really tight but can still eat some food. I told her maybe it was time go back to the see the doc. Her reply was that she would be going back to have it taken out since the band " failed" her........ It was not my place to suggest it may be the behavior and not the band, so I just said I was sorry to hear that.
WHY??? It is not a quick fix, it will not stop us from making bad food choices, nor will it stop you from possibly wanting to eat those things. I just did not know what to say and it made me feel annoyed that she feels that the "band" failed her. We have to eat right, exercise and take care of ourselves. The band is only a tool. Now I am back to feeling sorry for her because I think she wants someone to help her but I dont know if I am that person. She is seven months down the line and I am a newbie just trying to get my own bearings....
Before surgery I was a Zumba addict. I would go four times a week, five if I could find the time. I did try about three weeks ago and I was so exhausted afterwards. So tomorrow I am going in with a different game face on and Itry it again. I also am thinking about trying the "hot" ypga. Seems like it should be fun. I keep wondering how long it will be before I will get my stamina back. I honestly did not expect to have this much down time with my exercise.
NSV today- I pulled a pair of jeans out of the back of my closet that I have not been able to wear in almost ten years. LOL! Yes I kept a pair of jeans this long! It felt great to slide into them!
I have felt really run down the last couple days since my fill. I took the kids to the carnival and it was super hot outside and I had to sit down before I passed out. I drank two bottles of water in the four hours we were there. Once I could sit in the AC I felt better but I needed a nap before I could do anything else. Today was much of the same, after having family pics taken, picking up our new dog and cleaning the house, I was drained!! My hubby said he noticed that I get worn down really easy lately.
I did increase my vitamin intake, but I am really concerned because summer is going to be here in a few months and if I can not take the heat, I am going to miss out on quite a few things with the kids this summer. So I am looking for any suggestions on how to give myself a energy boost!
BTW my mother is driving me nuts!! But that is another blog for another day...
I had my first fill today at True Results in Houston. I was nervous and really did not know what to expect. I waited almost a hour for my turn, filled out paper work and went to the back with the nurse. She was trying to make me more comfortable by telling me everything she was doing but that did not work She started with a small needle and lots of pushing, which just felt odd. It did not hurt, but it did not feel good either. She determined that she need a longer need to reach my port, so the second time was a charm. She took out the saline that was in the band and measured it. I have a 10CC band and there was already 5CC in it!! She added 1 CC today for a total of 6 in my band. No wonder I have not been hungry!! I sat for about 15 minutes and drank my water and I am feeling good. I am on liquids for today and soft food tomorrow and then back to regular food. I have lost 12 pounds since my surgery and I will see them again next month. I hope it will be another good month for me!!
On a side note since I first began the process with them in December I have lost a total of 33 pounds!!
I think I am adjusting pretty well. So far I have lost 12 pounds in the almost month since surgery. I have my first fill on 3/14. I still am feeling pretty good. I do not eat anymore than 1/2- 1 cup at a time and I always eat my protein first. Water is a bit of a struggle because I have to make sure that I drink it slow enough to not cause this overwhelming feeling of being super full. Mushies have been so great!! But honestly I am not looking forward to solids. The thought kinda scares me. I know I can not stay on soft food forever, but i just am not looking forward to regular food. And I will be back to liquid and mushies after I get my fill for a day or two, so I really will not have a chance to actually be on solids for long. Sigh....... I am enjoying not being focused on food and also I have learned the difference in between being hungry and just eating for the heck of it!
My mother is not really happy that I did this. She told me that between her and my brother that they thought I was being vain and it was not as though I was spilling out of my clothes and falling out of my seat. Well, I am never going to spill out of clothes, because I always have clothes that fit. But buying a size 24 in said clothes is not ideal. Oh and nevermind that I take meds for high BP for two years( I was able to stop those recently) or that my back, knees and feet were hurting all the time. My feet will swell at the drop of a hat due to the amount of walking I do and the weight I carry. I am only 37 years old and quite honestly I should not have these "old lady issues" So it hurt my feeling when she said it, but I just told her that I did this for me and my health. I can't place my health and expectations on no one but me.
I have been getting lots of compliments on how defined my face is looking. I looked in the mirror and it actually looked "skinny" to me!! I can not express how happy I am that I have made the choice to do this!
I am finding that the band works so different for everyone. One of my co-workers was banded in September and she has lost about 40 pounds. She has 7 ccs in a 10 cc band. She said she was hungry by two weeks out and that she was already eating regular food at the point I am at. I was so surprised. And she had 4 ccs in her band at the time she went for her first fill (odd)I really can not understand how she can eat regular portions and food. She vomits every other day, and after her last fill she thinks she is too tight, because she is struggling getting down small portions. But she eats a lot of junk food she told me. I asked her why she decided to go this path if she was not going to be compliant. She does not exercise and eats crap. She said she thought it would help with her overeating and the weight would come off. Sigh.....I could only try to educate her on what I have learned here and from my doc. Hopefully it will help.
I am getting ready for my first fill next week and also I am spending Spring Break out at the rodeo carnival on Wed. with my kids and heading for my first road trip with my band on thursday. We are taking the kids to San Antonio and will visit the Alamo and the Riverwalk. I am looking forward to it.
Question for everyone out there. Did you have any fill placed at the time you had surgery? If so how much was there?
I will be three weeks post op on Wednesday and I am currently on mushies. I am finding that I really am not hungry and small amounts of food are filling me up. But the problem is trying to determine if and when to eat. I usually would follow the breakfast, lunch, afternoon snack and dinner schedule. My doc did tell me if I am not hungry, do not force myself to eat and that it the exact opposite of what I have learned in the past. I would eat a little something, even if I was not that hungry to keep my body going. Now I am eating whenever I get a twinge of being hungry. Today I had a protein shake around 1pm because I was still pretty full from my dinner the night before. I had a scrambled egg later and then a container of greek yogurt. I also drank water all day. I am full now and probably will not eat much else today. Is this normal? I have my first fill in a little over a week and I am thinking I will bring it up then.
On a sidenote, I am down 3.2 pounds today and I am very happy about that!!!
Now if you are from Texas or Houston, you know that it is Rodeo time here. Rodeo brings the cowboys, good times and lots of good food. Last night my hubby and I went to see Kid Rock and I had to walk through all the yummy smells. Barbecue,pizza, fried sweets, tamales, etc. While everything smelled wonderful, I had no desire to eat any of it. I am on mushies, so there was plenty around there that I could have eaten if I wanted to but it felt so good to not do it. This is a major thing for me. Whenever I think about the carnival and the rodeo, I want to eat a corndog, lemonade and a funnel cake! It feels so good to be in control of myself at a place like this. I also was able to by a large t-shirt instead of a extra large. I was pretty pleased about that!
I am going to try the gym this Sunday and see how it goes. When I was out last night I had to walk about 4 miles to get the center and back around everywhere. At sometimes it was a pretty quick pace and I was not worn out,like i was when I first started walking. I will skip any ab exercises but I will be doing some cardio. I am also going to clean out my closet and take the clothes that I really can not wear out and donate them. I once had someone tell me that they never get enought plus size clothing in when people donate.
Today has found me slightly miffed about everything. I am so over this damn rash I got from the allergic reaction to the Loratab! I am no longer itchy, now my skin is peeling!! It is like I had a bad sunburn and I am peeling everywhere. So long sleeves it will be until this madness is over. I am trying the Miralax to see if things will get going. I am annoyed about that also..... The gas pain in my shoulder seems to come back to visit me everyday around the same time. Pain tends to make me very moody and unfriendly, so I have been laying low until I can get it under control.
Wednesday will be two weeks and I am really not hungry. I can start mushies that day, however I really am not that excited about it at this point. I have lost five pounds and I know that I should not be worried about losing weight at this point. But it does irk me when I see people who are at the same point I am and they have lost 10-15 pounds already. My hubby pointed out that I lost almost 20 pounds before my surgery so my body is probably adjusting at this point..... Sigh....... I suppose he could be right. I will be glad when I can get back to the gym and when I get my first fill, so I can get the ball rolling.
The title of today's subject cracks me up! I really do mean this literally. This may be TMI to some, and if so I apologize. I have been backed up before surgery due to the amount of protein we take in and I am still having this problem. I searched the message boards and found a topic that discussed this already. So I will be attempting to use either Miralax or Benefiber. I think the Miralax will provide some relief and the Benefiber will help with fiber until I can consume more through eating. I am drinking as much water as I can.
On a side note in Houston, it is time for the Livestock Show and Rodeo, with the carinival. So there is a lot going on with food, drinks and good times. Funny thing is that I am not even hungry nor do I have a desire to eat that food. Every year we go the barbecue cook off and this year we skipped it. I thought I would be a bit upset about not going, but no. My health and well being mean so much more!
Well today makes day 8 post-op for me. Yesterday was the first day I felt really 100% and I was able to stay at work all day with no issues. Today is better. I am itching to get back into the gym. I had to lose a good amount of weight before my surgery and I did it through diet and exercise. I have been cleared for exercise, but I think it is a bit soon for Zumba!
Still on liquids,but on blended foods. Last night I had a 1/2 cup of cream of jalapeno soup. It was so yummy! I am not finding myself to be hungry. It is like I have to remind myself to eat or drink. Now that i am back at work, I keep my water bottle with me at all times. I think tomorrow I will start making my own protein shakes so I can control how much protein I get in with them. Or I may make a trip to smoothe king. I hear they have a low fat/low cal smoothie with 46 grams of protein! I have not stepped on the scale. I am going to wait until next week when I can be sure I have dropped 100% of my TOM weight and bloating.
Saw my surgeon today and he said I am doing great. My cycle is here so my body is holding on to water and that little pesky fact has me still at my pre-surgery weight! Grrr!! I guess that it is better than gaining any weight. He said to continue my liquid diet and move right along to mushies next week. On a funny note, why did I gasp out loud when he took the steri-strips off and I saw the incisions??? I was shocked at the look of them. I mean I know I had these holes cut in me, but it freaked me when I saw them!! LOL!
Today was my first day back at work and man I am wiped out!!! I was ready to go at 10 and i got there at 7. I left early to get to my appointment at two.So it will be a early bedtime for me tonight. I also can not express again how great the Body Fortress Protein shots are!! The New Whey has more protein (42 grams) but it is nasty!! Body Fortress has 26 grams and I am again super happy to have found them!! I bought all they had at wal-mart and they are 1.97 each!! Each day for me gets better and better for me and I am excited to be on the path to a new me!
I have been struggling to drink all of my protein shakes. I have managed to get about 1/2 to 3/4 of one down a day. I am sipping slow and making sure that I am allowing each sip to go down. Yesterday I found protein shots by Body Fortress. No sugar and 26 gms of protein in each serving which is about 3 ounces. These will be a godsend for me. I am still drinking my shake, but knowing I can drink one of these to get my protein in really helps me right now. So today I had one shake, a shot, 1/2 cup of broth and a sf applesauce. And I am still sipping the same low cal gatorade from yesterday, but it is almost down.
I think at this point it is a mind game since there is really not restriction. I am really not too hungry, just want to make sure that I am doing it all according to my surgeon's orders. I go in for a post-op appointment Tuesday and I really want the steri-strips off, they are a bit annoying now. Also my rash seems to be going away. It has a dry appearance to it and still it quite a bit itchy. I also am not red like Mr Krabs on Spongebob anymore either. LOL! That was very unattractive. I just hope it continues to go away. I have one last day to rest and then it is back to the rat race on Tuesday!
Feeling pretty good today. Learning to listen to my body and the cues it gives me. It is getting easier to rest so I can heal.Yesterday was a good day. I was able to pass gas( sorry for the tmi, but when you get to this side you will understand I had 1/2 cup of egg drop soup, one protein shake, and a popsicle. I also had a vitamin water that I sipped on all day. Well actually I have been sipping it for two days. I was so stuffed. Today I added protein powder to my shake for a total of 40 grams of protein there and I am 1/2 way through it. I also broke out in a rash from head to toe. It turns out I am allergic to the pain meds. So no more for me. Lucky enough I really do not need them anymore but it has to work itself out of my system. Im going to try to walk more today, but still the simplest things tire me out. But I am happy to be on this side!
Wow! What a difference a day makes! I feel good today. I slept well and the gas seems to be moving around. My incisions do not hurt at all and it is getting easier to get up and down. I still need to take it easy,but I feel like myself today! Hopefully I can get my protein in today. I was only able to get 1/2 a shake down yesterday.
