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Happy 8 months to me! What a wild ride! I'm now down to 150.8 lbs as of this morning! I'm now lighter than I was in high school, and not even at my surgeon's goal yet. That is just amazing. My weight loss has slowed to a snails pace, but I'm so grateful where I am that I'm just thankful. I'm working on drinking more water everyday, and I work out at a Women's Only gym with onsite daycare 2 to 3 days a week. The weights have really started to pay off, and my body is really starting to firm up. My problem area has been, and always will be, my tummy. Giving birth and being overweight has just caused havoc, but as long as I look good in clothes, I'm not worried about trying to win any bikini contests! Big news- my mother had gastric bypass yesterday. She's recovering well, and it blew my mind she even did- she kept it secret for the most part until she actually had surgery. I don't know if I was motivation, or if her health was just so beyond bad she finally realized she needed surgery- I'm just glad she did it. I've never in my life seen my mother in a healthy BMI weight. This will be a very interesting journey to follow and watch. I'm checking in monthly on my anniversary date, and will try to continue to do so until my 1 year surgiversary. What I can say, what I will say, and what I have said.... the only thing I regret, is not doing this surgery sooner. So excited to enjoy myself and all my travel plans this summer! Last summer I was a hermit, and miserable. This summer- I've got an amazing list of places to go, people to see, and wonderful things to experience. Attached is a picture of me and my son this weekend, compared to a picture of me last year at this exact same time. I can't believe how much my face has changed!!!! So, for the friends who have been inquiring what the diet I eat looks like... I eat 70% protein, 20% fruits and veggies, and 10% carbs and diary. I made sandwich wrap pin wheels, devilled eggs, fresh fruit cups, and honey mustard bacon wrapped chicken this week. I'm attaching what my sunday prep looks like when I'm packing snacks for the work week. Height: 5'9 Highest (Surgery) Weight: 216 1st Primary Goal Weight for normal BMI: 169 (Achieved 11/27) 2nd Optimal Goal Weight set by Surgeon: 145 Sleeve Journey: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~> 8/17/12- 216 lbs Week 1 (8/24): 204.8 (-11.2) Week 2 (8/31): 200.6 (-4.2) Week 3 (9/7): 196.8 (-3.8) Week 4 (9/14): 193.5 (-3.3) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~> 9/17/12- 1 Month Anniversary (-22.5 lbs) Week 5 (9/21): 191.6 (-1.9) Week 6 (9/28): 190.1 (-1.5) Week 7 (10/5): 187.0 (-3.1) Week 8 (10/12): 181.9 (-5.1) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~> 10/17/12- 2 Month Anniversary (-11.6 lbs) Week 9 (10/19): 181.4 (-.5) Week 10 (10/26): 177.9 (-3.5) Week 11 (11/02): 176.8 (-1.1) Week 12 (11/09): 174.7 (-2.1) Week 13 (11/16): 173.3 (-1.4) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~> 11/17/12- 3 Month Anniversary (-8.6 lbs) Week 14 (11/23): 173.1 (-.2) Week 15 (11/30): 167.3 (-5.8) Week 16 (12/7): 168.1 (+.8) Week 17 (12/14): 164.6 (-3.5) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~> 12/17/12- 4 Month Anniversary (-8.7 lbs) Week 18 (12/21): Holiday Break/Vacation- No Scale Available Week 19 (12/28): Holiday Break/Vacation- No Scale Available Week 20 (1/4/13): 164.5 (-.1) Week 21 (1/11): 161.5 (-3.0) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~> 01/17/13- 5 Month Anniversary (-3.1 lbs) Week 22 (1/18): 161.7 (+.2) Week 23 (1/25): 158.7 (-3.0) Week 24 (2/1): Out of town- No scale Available Week 25 (2/8): 157.2 (-1.5) Week 26 (2/15): 157.2 (.0) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~> 02/17/13- 6 Month Anniversary 157.2 (-3.3 lbs) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~> 03/17/13- 7 Month Anniversary 153.9 (-3.3 lbs) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~> 04/17/13- 8 Month Anniversary 150.8 (-3.1 lbs) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~> 05/17/13- 9 Month Anniversary ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~> 06/17/13- 10 Month Anniversary ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~> 07/17/13- 11 Month Anniversary ONE YEAR SURGERY ANNIVERSARY~~~> 08/17/13- 12 Month Anniversary

so i weighted myself to see how much damage this stress has done along with me being off my game. first let me say i went to the gym and saw my personal trainer and ran a mile in a half after. then i came home took a shower got on the scale and to my surprise i had lost weight im down to 210 and i can wear a size 12 jeans. i didnt do as bad as i thought i did.

Hopefully the fact that the scale moved 2 weeks in a row means that the stall is over! It didn't move much, at least not compared to the first month but it's going down. So whatever speed it chooses to move is fine with me! I have been trying very hard to listen to my body and eat when I'm hungry and stop when I'm full. Right now that's about 800-900 calories a day and I'm feeling really good. I have good energy and feel healthy! And my libido is in full swing (Hubby is loving the current hormones...LOL) I am trying to bump up my intentional exercise. I have plantar facietis so when I walk too much I am in alot of pain, so I'm trying to rotate between walking and riding my bike. (Just to give you a visual, I have a super fun green cruiser bike with big flowers and and a basket!!). Monday I rode 6 miles AND took my dog on a short walk (she's a sausage dog with short legs so she doesn't walk far Gonna shoot for the same thing today. I'm trying to figure out the whole gym thing. I want to join one mainly so I can swim but haven't decided if I can justify the money. Then I could alternate between walking, swimming and biking...Hey wait, that's almost like a triathalon...right??? Whoo-hoo Go Me!!! Heaviest Weight: 281 3/6/13 Surgery: 257 (-24) 3/13/13: 251 (-6) 3/20/13: 245 (-6) 3/28/13: 238 (-7) 4/3/13: 238 (-0) FIRST MONTH -19# 4/10/13: 237 (-1) 4/17/13: 235 (-2)

Seriously??? Did that happen to ME?? Three co-workers called me skinny yesterday. I have NEVER, and I mean NEVER, EVER, EVER been called skinny in my entire life. I am still trying to process the new me. It has taken some adjustments, especially trying to shop for clothes. I don't know what size to buy anymore---I find myself gravitating naturally toward the plus sizes. I still feel like and see myself as the fat girl, and it shocks the heck out of me to see a picture of myself. This is so bizarre, but totally bizarre in a wonderful, surreal way. I decided to have the sleeve for better health, and before the surgery, being thinner was not the biggest motivation for me. I have never been thin, and I had no plans or big ideas about what I would look like after losing weight; I just wanted to be healthy. I thought I was so prepared emotionally and mentally, but I just can't comprehend this new person I see in the mirror. I am very grateful that the weight is coming off, and having met my goal of being healthy has been great. But, I don't know how to deal with all of the attention I am getting. Part of me, of course, likes to hear the compliments. But, a great part of me is kind of embarrassed, shy, and feeling a bit overwhelmed with the questions: how are you doing this, give me some pointers, show me what you are doing, etc. Until I saw a recent picture of myself and compared it to my before picture, I just didn't realize the change in my body---I look in the mirror every day, so I don't see the changes as much. I have not shared how I am losing weight with a lot of people, so the questions of how I am losing weight is a bit difficult for me to answer. My standard answer on how I am losing weight is HARD WORK! I sometimes feel deceitful when people ask me how I am losing weight, but hard work it is!! I tell them I am on a high protein, low carb diet, and that I exercise at least 4 times a week. And that is the absolute truth! Does anyone else feel bad for not sharing the whole story when people ask you how you are losing weight?

The title is from an old nursery rhyme by Andrew Dice Clay. Little Miss Muffet Sat on her tuffet Eating her curds and whey Along came a spider Sat down beside her And said, "Hey, what's in the bowl b-i-t-c-h?" I see quite a few questions regarding whey protein and I'd like to share a few things I learned pre-surgery in preparation for my pre-op and post-op diet. Whey is one of the fastest digesting proteins and the quickest way :-) to get protein shuttled to your muscles. Whey comes from milk protein and contains the full spectrum of amino acids needed to build muscle. Whey comes in several forms - hydrolyzed, isolate, and concentrate, isolate being digested faster and more completely than protein concentrate. The Differences Protein Concentrate: 70-80% pure protein and up to 5% lactose Protein Isolate: Almost pure protein (90-94%) and near zero lactose and carbs, many people that are lactose intolerant have no problems digesting protein isolate. Hydrolyzed Protein: Protein isolate that is broken down even more and is more easily absorbed by the muscles. All three are good sources of protein and taking one over the other will not make a difference in how much muscle mass your body builds. It is only a matter of purity and the speed your body digests and transports the protein to the muscles. Whey concentrate has less pure protein than hydrolyzed or isolate, meaning you'll have to take more whey concentrate to get the same protein in grams vs. isolate. And speed of digestion and transport. Again, whey concentrate is the slowest, it is not broken down in the manufacturing process as much as hydrolyzed and isolate. Hydrolyzed=fastest, isolate=fast, concentrate=slowest. Is speed any great issue? I wouldn't think so. It's like the kids playing basketball, buying a pair of Jordans to improve their game. The difference a pair of Jordans makes for a nonprofessional athlete is so insignificant it's almost zero.

I have 5 days until my surgery!!!!! Im so anxious to have it done already...it feels as though this process has been sooo long!! I have finally realized something...I am on my liquid diet btw..yesterday I was talking to my fiancé and I asked him if I could cheat just a little on the diet...and he told me something that I now hear in my head every time I want to cheat.."You have cheated your whole life, its time to buckle down cause things are changing!!" Im blessed to have such a wonderful man in my life who supports my every move. I heard him and I thought to myself...he's so right, I have ate pizza at late hours with extra cheese, extra pepperoni, I have eaten out for days eating junk and greasy food, I drank pop whenever I wanted to and never thought about the consciences...but now is my chance to move forward to grow out of that to help myself in becoming the better ME I can be for my Fiancé and most of all for my DAUGHTER!! I don't want her to have to see me as a diabetic or with high blood pressure and have to worry about me taking pills or having to be on insulin..i want her to know me as active and healthy I want to chase her around and take her for walks and not feel out of breath because I jogged a little..These next 5 days cant come any faster!! I am so ready to start my Journey with the lapband

So I had a rough weekend. I got to add soft food to my diet on Friday. One would think that after three weeks of not eating any "real" food that it would be great, and it was! I got up on Saturday and I was up a pound from where I was Friday morning. Now, I know that my body is saying "Hey! I finally got some food, I need to hang on to it cause I don't know when I'll get the next round," and that is why the scales haven't been really nice this weekend. I still am bouncing around the same stupid half pound since Friday and its just frustrating. In my "previous life" I would have been irritated and just eaten something that I shouldn't have to justify the increase on the scales. Now, I didn't do anything or eat anything I shouldn't have but, boy, did I have a battle with head hunger all weekend. One of my favorite places to eat used to be Moe's, my husband has never really cared for it and I think that we have eaten there together just once in the past 5 years. Yesterday I had to run across town and what does he ask me to bring him back for supper?? MOE'S!! i couldn't believe it and it just plain made me mad when I had to go in there and order his burrito. I wanted one so bad but instead, I ordered his just like he asked (with absolutely nothing that could be considered healthy on it) and brought it home to him. I fixed my supper and was satisfied with it. My dad used to say that it didn't matter if you got full off of black eyed peas or steak and potatoes either way you were still full. That is very true, steak and potatoes just taste much better, as would have Moe's last night. Anyway, I needed something to take my mind off of the negative and I figured I'd list the NSV's that I could think of to lift my spirits a little 1. I can get my wedding rings on again, I haven't been able to wear them individually since last June and it has probably been more than a year since I have been able to get both of them on at the same time. 2. I already have a pair of pants that are too big and I can no longer wear (at least my husband refuses to be seen in public with me if I do!) 3. Its easier to shave my arm pits cause they aren't so full. 4. I can bend over to paint my own toe nails again! 5. The seatbelt in my husbands truck doesn't lock just because I'm trying to put it on and pulled it out a little too far anymore. I can actually bend down and pick my purse up from the floorboard and it doesn't lock! 6. I can put on and tie my shoes with almost no effort. 7. I have bad breath. (Okay so maybe that one isn't so exciting but apparently when you are breaking down fat you get ketosis which causes halitosis aka bad breath. I must be doing good breaking it down cause even my 5 year old tells me my breath is stinky! LOL!) I know there are more but these are all I can think of right now. I'm going to keep working at it and keep working my tool. I know that I did the right thing and I know that I'll be able to eat more normally again some day. I did this for my kids and they are going to have a more amazing mom because of it.

I called the hosp back and completed my registration. My Endoscopy is done and just awaiting biopsy results. I told 2 more people about the surgery I'm having. I guess im ready?! I've Been reading post about training yourself to chew food slowly and not guzzle water. I feel like this may be the hardest part. I'm almost 55 and am going to have to re-train myself on how to eat. I'm already looking ahead to a couple of post op events I'll be at nd trying to figure out what I'll eat and if I'll feel strange going out to dinner and not ordering anything? Well be in Seattle with our daughter nd her family when they come home from Africa as missionaries. I'll only be 5 weeks post op. there will be eating out, and a Mariners baseball game.. I've just finished 2 weeks of not writing down what I eat, or going to the gym..it's like I've had a bit of grieving or depression over my upcoming surgery and changes I'm going to have to make. I had lost 12 pounds in the past 2 months and then gained 4 pounds after eating a "normal" amount of food on Easter Sunday. The 4 pounds turned into 6 and i just gave up trying. My husband has been doing a 12 week Golds Gym challenge and as lost almost 40 pounds. He now weighs less than me for the first time in our 36 marriage. I AM very proud of him, but burning with jealous rage at the same time. He had planned on doing the sleeve also, but was in the middle of this challenge. He just needs labs, endoscopy and surgical clearance. I didn't want to wait for him to finish the challenge, so am proceeding without him. I'm back on track the past few days and have lost 2 of the 6 pounds. I'm so excited for this surgery. I have such issues with being hungry. I hope I'm not one of the few who still struggle with that post op. I'm ready for a change. I'm ready to get from Here to There....

Because that is where I am spending my day. My daughter's middle school is having a Narnia celebration and I have volunteered to be a photographer. I think I will hide some jerky in my camera bag, I hope Aslan doesn't mind. My daughter and I ready for a day in Narnia.

I think this is as good a place as any to start writing down the NSV as I notice them. I am only 3 weeks out and I have already noticed a few. 1. I flew to my sisters wedding in CO and I was perfectly comfortable in the plane seat. I have never really needed a seat belt extender but I have definitely been very uncomfortable in the seat with the seatbelt tight around me. This time I had some play in the seat belt and could comfortably sit for the whole trip not feeling like I was packed into the seat. 2. At my sisters wedding I danced! My uncle told me it was the first time he had seen me letting go and having fun in the 20 years he's known me. Now whether that's from the weight loss or my new hubby of 2 years, who knows? Doesn't really matter...what matters is I danced!! 3. Apparently I have totally stopped snoring! I meantioned to my husband that I will probably stop snoring and he said, "Oh you haven't snored the past few nights." I guess he didn't realize he was supposed to alert me to this stuff...LOL 4. On Thursday I went to my doctor appt and while we were sitting there waiting I looked down and realized I had sat down and crossed my legs....Like REALLY crossed my legs like a lady!! And I didn't even realize it! That's all I've noticed so far, but I'm really trying to pay attention since I think some of the NSV just slip past unnoticed. But I know when I hit those stall weeks that I will need to be able to look back and see all the things that have nothing to do with the scale.