6 Months Post Op… Wow!

Wow, I’m officially 6 months post op lap band and I’ve had more ups than downs and I’m still currently working my tool and happy.

I don’t know where to begin?! Well, I went to my 6mo check up on Monday (10/10/11) and everything was good. I hadn’t lost any weight since I last weighed myself (251lbs), but I’d lost 5 pounds since seeing him, so he was pleased; he took into consideration that I lost 10 the last time… I didn’t get a fill, because at this time I feel I have good restriction and he said he didn’t want me TOO tight, which I agree.

I’ve had the band only 6 months, PB’d just ONCE, so I feel I’m doing good. I still find myself making plates or sitting down to eat thinking “I can eat all this” and then after half the meal I’m pushing food around my plate. So, I know when to stop!

I’m still trying to stay as close to no carbs as possible. I can’t lie, it’s been tough and I’ve slacked up a little, as far as a couple of chips (like when I went out for my sister’s birthday dinner and for appetizers we had chips and spinach dip—which was delicious) here and there. Still no bread, no rice… I LOVE mashed potatoes, so I definitely had some of those, though I wish I hadn’t, but it’s all good… ALL in moderation!

I think I need to incorporate some type of fiber supplement or more fiber in my diet, because for the past few of days I’ve been constipated and I’m unsure as to why. I normally get constipated around that time of the month, but currently it’s NOT that time so I’m wondering what the EFF if going on! I haven’t resulted to a form of laxative just yet because I’m still trying to narrow down the problem. When I first started the no carb diet I had no issues with the restroom. I think I was even urinating MORE, so now I’m kinda confused as to what’s the issue. So I’m gonna try more fiber, maybe I’m not drinking enough water, then I’ll try that laxative as a last resort.

Exercise is really become hard for me to get in. I know I’m the blame for this. I said I was going to at least TRY for 30 minutes a day EVERY day, but it’s turned into 30min every three days or whenever! I’m really not too happy with myself, I’m not even sure where I fell off the wagon (maybe all my NSVs?)… But I know that I won’t see that weight I was hoping to see come October 31^st… But I’m happy I haven’t gained any weight… and my clothes are still falling off so…. MORE EXERCISE!!!

Okay, now to the exciting stuff!!!

So, my mom got me a new bra! It’s the Butterfly Bra by Jill Scott (LOVE her) which is sold at Ashley Stewart or online. I LOVE LOVE LOVE this bra and let me tell you why! I have back fat… I think besides my arms this is the one thing on my body I could do with out… honestly if they said I’ll take away two things so long as you stay fat, I’d say ok, make my arms look awesome and take away my back fat and you got a deal! I’d keep the stomach flabby thighs ALL day to get rid of this HEINOUS back fat!...SO these WONDERFUL bras make my back fat disappear!!!! I LOVE it! Whoever invented it, I want to hug them and cry on there shoulders! I mean I don’t remember when the last time was that I looked in a mirror and wasn’t disgusted that my shirt showed off my back fat!

If I was wearing any other bra and pulled it down to cover my back rolls, then the fat under my arms would poke out, if I tried to tuck that in then the back fat came back out, it was a never ending battle with the bra strap!

But I’m soooo happy I have this bra… if I could wear it EVERY day I would, but since I can’t (I only have one) I’m in the process of ordering another bra offline (all Ashley Stewarts are closed in my local area). Anyway other than the bra making my back look EFFING amazing! I’m also wearing a smaller size!!!

So here’s the story. My mom was bragging about this Butterfly bra and told me to try hers on. So I try it on and I love it. Come to find out, it was like a 42D…. I have been wearing 44DD from Lane Bryant, was about to move into the 46’s because of the back fat, and here I am wearing a 42D and the cup is almost too big! So when I order another one, my mom is insisting I order a 38. And I’m like no way… I can’t fit a 38, but then I realize I’m in a 42 now… but I just don’t see it… I told her to order a 40..

But this was my first NSV of the month… I was so shocked, I mean I knew my boobies were getting smaller because I can see the loose skin when I’m laying in bed, but to actually put on this bra that I knew I would’ve been itching to get out of because it was too tight 6 months ago, amazes me!

NEXT!!! I posted pictures showing my weight loss in my face. So hears the story… (LoL) … I was going through my phone and I saw a picture I took of myself back in March of this year (2011) and I have a touch screen phone, so I was just flicking through and I saw the picture, but then I saw one I took at the end of September (2011) and again I was flabbergasted! I could finally see what everyone else had been seeing! My cheeks were uber pudgy like no bodies business! And I couldn’t stop myself from flipping back and forth, like WOAH! Look at my damn cheeks! I have CHEEKBONES! So I posted four pictures, one from 2006, one from 2009, one from March the month before surgery and one from September… WOW… is all I can say!

NEXT!!! So, not sure if you know this or not, but my pre-lapband self was all about JEANS. I LOVE my jeans, sweatpants, any kinda pants, I want to wear them, because I hate my fat legs, so I gots plenty of jeans! Welp, my 24s are definitely TOO big, my 22s make me look like I have no booty (which by the way is making it’s way out into the world), and my 20s are now getting loose as well! I wore a pair of jeans to my sister’s birthday dinner and my Dad mentions: Jeeze those jeans are about to fall off of you! I put on a pair of size 20 jeans shorts for a block party I was going to, and Mom says: Those look horrible on you, you look like you have no but at all! Needless to say I went home and changed… into my NEXT NSV!!!

So, when I went home I put on a jean dress I bought before going out of town for my family reunion back in July. Now, when I wore it up in Atlanta I wore it with a girdle… I think it’s a size 20 or 22, but when I put it on this day I said, “it’s hot, I’m not wearing a girdle, I’m about to be outside so f*** it!”…. well I put that jean dress on and OMG it fit perfectly! It was loose in ALL the right places and it comes with a belt and I was able to tie the belt and STILL have a little slack in it… AGAIN I was amazed! Just a month ago, this dress was barely fitting I kept having to pull it down in the back (you know when your but makes everything ride up in the back) but this day the dress was PERFECT!

MORE? Yes I have MORE! Soooo back in June (2011) I went to a luncheon with my grandmother and I wore a dress my mom gave me (size 20)… again I wore it with a girdle and it looked nice… it wasn’t tight to begin with, but I wore the girdle to smooth out my bumps and rolls… well I wore the same dress again in September with OUT a girdle and what do you know… it fit PERFECTLY!!! I had more than enough room… Again I was just amazed!!!

Last clothing NSV I promise! J … I posted another “collage” of me in a black shirt. Now, here’s the story! (LoL) I bought this black shirt about two years ago (2009) and when I bought it… it was TIGHT. I remember my mom saying to me in the store… that’s gonna be tight. And I was like oh it’s ok, when I put my girdle on it’ll suck me in and even though the top buttons near the bust area won’t button, it’s ok cause I want my boobies out…. And BOY were there ever out there! So the last time I wore this shirt was in 2009 at my family reunion… I just remember always having to wear a girdle with it because the buttons would gape open in the front, I mean I even have safety pins in between buttons just to keep it closed!

I sorta remember the day I threw the shirt to the side… I was going out and I put it on and just said “this is ridiculous I can’t wear this shirt with it bulging open like this and my girdle is dirty” so, I don’t know when, how, or where but I found this black shirt that I had basically thrown under the bus and forgot about completely because in my mind I couldn’t fit it anymore and I was embarrassed that I kept trying to wear it…. Well I put it on for my sister’s birthday dinner and I couldn’t believe how loose the shirt was on me!

NO GIRDLE needed and the buttons at the top in the boob area that I couldn’t button when I FIRST bought the shirt…. I could button those now! I was just so shocked. I couldn’t believe it! I could even pull this shirt down over my butt now and before I remember wearing it with the girdle trying to keep pulling my shirt down because it was riding up and I didn’t want anyone to see the girdle, and now this shirt pulls past my butt almost!!!

I sat in the car and told my friend about this, because believe it or not this was my favorite NSV… I loved that shirt even when it was too tight when I first bought it. I loved it because it showcased my best assets at the time which were my boobies…. And when I couldn’t wear it anymore, that’s when I knew I had really let myself go. I told her how I just stood in the mirror and couldn’t believe how f*cking huge I was. I just couldn’t believe I was walking around and no one said anything to me about how wide I was! I told her this and she laughed because I was smiling, but I’m very dramatic when telling a story in person (LoL) but she just smiled and said “ I’m so proud of you, you’re doing so good and you look great” but she just thought I was hilarious when I said that… but it was the truth… I could not believe how huge I was! I wish I had a picture of me in the shirt just to show how it didn’t cover my boobies AT ALL and to show how far down I was able to pull it.. I remember because I physically had to wear it, and just sitting here typing this I feel like I’m rambling and saying the same **** over and over again, but I was AMAZED it really blew me away…

I wanted this month to be the month I got to a specific weight, but I’ve had so much more going on and so many NSVs that it makes up for it…

This month, I also, cut my hair AGAIN… I love it! I told the people who asked me why I would cut my hair after it had grown out so well… I told them “cutting my hair is orgasmic” for me anyway… lol… I just love cutting it! And growing it back out!

I also took some pictures with a photographer friend of mine… He had been asking to take picture of me since before surgery and I was like “NAH” cause I wanna look awesome, well after I cut my hair, I started feeling myself… maybe it was the short hair, or the weight loss, the loose fitting clothes, or the skinny face, but I decided to go ahead and do some pictures with the dude who’d been begging me since forever (I think he has a crush, lol) …. I’m SO happy with how the pictures turned out… I look like such a model if I can say so myself! LoL… I’ll post a couple of those…

Did I miss anything? I had some SJP (Sarah Jessica Parker) Skinny Leg “Bitten” jeans in my closet (size 20) that I haven’t been able to wear since my mom gave them to me… these jeans are NOT stretch jeans and have NO slack in them! But they fit me NOW!!! NO GIRDLE!! WooHoo!! What else? …all of my 2x shirts (sleep shirts or just lounging) are getting too big! WooHoo! What else? My $140 pair of Dansko work shoes are getting big! I wore them to work the other day and they were flopping off my feet! CRAZY right?! My scrubs are getting way big like to the point I don’t even wanna wear them to work. But this is GOOD!

Well, I think I’ve rambled for FAR too long… I didn’t drop weight on the scale, but I have much much much more to be happy about! I’m so proud of me and I can’t wait to move forward on my journey! I’m SO IN LOVE with Michaelangelo! I’ll never leave him and I don’t think I’ll let him leave me either!