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Me, my sleeve, & I.

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[2] 3 Week Stall, @#$%!

I am officially 3 weeks post op, and have not lost any weight for the past week, whereas I was losing a couple of pounds consistently each day for the first week. The first two or three days of this stall I experienced in complete denial. It's water weight, I would think to myself.     Day six and seven of my stall brought me to google searches for answers. I've read countless reasons as to why I am possibly stalling, the following being more believable (at least to me) than others: It is a normal bodily response to drastic water loss and decreased caloric intake
Your body is storing every bit of calorie you take in to burn for the healing process for your surgery, instead of burning actual fat itself
My searches also brought me various methods, or "tricks" people used to break them from the vicious three week stall: Take in 200 more calories a day
Increase physical activity
Get one more hour of sleep each night
Make sure you are drinking 2 liters of water every day, and 70-120 g of protein
I have yet to be cleared safe by my surgeon to hit the gym just yet because at this point, I am taking in so little calories each day (300 to 500) that I would be so dangerously exhausted. As for increasing my caloric intake, I will have to do it in the form of protein shakes. I am still on a full liquid diet (thick liquids), so solids are out of the question for me.   I also finally brought myself to sign up for a gym membership for the first time in three years. I work three days a week which leaves me 4 days of nothing but free time. Hopefully this will allow me to get back into a steady routine for the next year. At least I'd better get in there regularly! For one year of membership, it cost me $459 total but with no monthly payments.   I'd be lying if I said I'm not excited about going to the gym. I vaguely remember the feeling of my body after a seriously intense workout. How I somehow just felt "light", and my limbs ached and felt like jell-o because I pushed myself harder than the last time. I also felt stronger.   Anyways, I hope this week three stall breaks soon.
Isobella

Isobella

2
 

[1] "new Beginnings Lie Ahead..."

My name is Isobel, I'm 24 years old, and am an ICU RN. For most of my life, I've been obese. Countless are the factors which have brought me to undergo WLS, but of that endless list, my top 2 reasons would be these: Genetics are not on my side: My dad's side of the family, though skinny, is notorious for dying of heart conditions in their 40's. My mom's side runs rampant with cancer, and as the saying goes, cancer follows fat. My BMI was 47.9 at it's highest and I've been digging myself an early grave, to which I'm riding a wave of bad habits and slowly worsening health by the year.
 
I have a life to live.
 
My line of work: I treat people dying of comorbidities secondary to obesity. I meet the families who suffer the (sometimes) slow death of their morbidly obese loved ones. I remember one day I thought to myself, "How could she let it get this bad?", when the hypocrisy of that moment hit me. It was my moment of realization that no number of excuses would save me from landing where my patient lay. Staring at that patient was like staring at myself in 20 years, and those were my kids making the decision to terminally extubate me. My decision was made.
I was happily sleeved August 8, 2012. My highest weight was 279, pre-op 263.4, current is 259. The first three days were nothing short of Hell. Day one I spent in the hospital, dry-heaving to the point that in my groggy, anesthesia-fogged mind, I knew my sleeve was going to somehow explode. It did not . Day two I was feeling much better and they let me go home that night after my barium swallow test. Day three through five I spent at home without the luxury of IV pain medications, thus experiencing the full wrath of gas pains. This was my first experience with this sort of pain, the kind which hurt when I breathed in or turned my torso in bed. The kind of pain that radiated from my diaphragm to my upper back between the shoulder blades. As a nurse, I am also a chronic hypochondriac and was 60% positive these were signs that I must have had a leak. Luckily, I obeyed the 40% of my mind which was sane and did as I was told (and knew) to do--walk, sip, rest, rinse and repeat.   Lo and behold, day 6 is here and I feel almost normal .   I am excited to be a part of the WLS community on this website. I've been creeping on every forum since six months pre-op, and have found that people seem much more welcoming and supportive here. Although I've found some great information on ObesityHelp, I couldn't help but laugh at a post in which one user called another user a fat wildebeest.   Hello, everyone .
Isobella

Isobella

3
 

[5] I Am Stronger Than My Insecurities

I need to get somebody to hide my scale because I'm becoming obsessive, checking it every time I walk by it (it's in the bathroom). My "week 3 stall" occurred two and a half weeks ago and still, the scale won't budge. I've been busting my ass at the gym, drinking all my water, taking in 75-80g of protein--all seemingly to no avail.   I'm sitting here with every muscle in my body just begging to not hurt anymore--a constant reminder of the hard work I'm putting in at the gym to make the scale move. Now that I've worked so hard to make the scale budge, I feel so much pressure for it to, or it must mean I've failed. Can anyone 'fail' the sleeve? The thought that I'd be the one in a million people who fail it creeps in my head.   I've stayed so level headed about it so far, but now I find it's easier for these negative thoughts to creep into my head. I'm trying my best to filter the thoughts. The scale will move, eventually. Hang in there.   I need to be stronger than my insecurities, now more than ever.  
Isobella

Isobella

2
 

[3] Personal Trainer

After 3 days off of work and having finished watching one full season of The Biggest Loser, I couldn't help myself but sign up for a personal trainer at my local gym. I've officially signed up for 20 sessions with a personal trainer, my first session starting next Tuesday at 6 AM. Although I haven't met this person just yet, the mystery of it is keeping me so excited. Also keeping me excited are my aspirations and expectations of myself once I hit the gym.   I plan to hit this endeavor with full force. Throwing myself fully behind something I believe in is a specialty of mine; remaining in that same geared frame of mind for longer than two months is another thing altogether. It has been my downfall in the past. I have a repertoire full of failed diet and exercise schemes.   I feel different this time though. I feel like it will work this time--all that effort I will be placing in the gym won't be in vain like it has been so many times before. I truly feel that yo-yo dieting is a thing of the past for me.   I have to do this. I can do this. I will do this!  
Isobella

Isobella

0
 

[4] 28 Pounds, 3.5 Weeks

I just got through my first workout with my trainer. All I have to say is that this entry will be short due to the pure exhaustion every muscle in my body feels. Just a few thoughts: I have been stuck in a terrible stall for the last 1.5 weeks. Maybe this will bring me out.
I realized I can't drink during workouts or I will throw up on the yoga mat lol.
Must make sure to take my gummy bear vitamins and drink more water. That last one is pretty much engraved into every WLS patient's forehead, but I experienced terrible orthostatic hypotension (standing too fast and becoming dizzy). My trainer will have to peel me from a puke soaked yoga mat otherwise.
I hope this works.
Isobella

Isobella

0
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