sweetsoutherngirl

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!

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.

A little over 24 hours since Fill #1, so anything I say here is speculative at best and ridiculous at worst. Good thing ridiculous has never stopped me.
 
My surgeon instructed me to stick to liquids for my first meal after the fill, but said that I could progress to mushies after that and back up to soft solids and then solids as soon as it felt comfortable. I'm assuming I still have some swelling, but no discomfort at all. Having liquids yesterday was touch and go. I felt full quickly at lunch (my liquid 1st meal), but it didn't last more than a couple of hours. I went to mushies for dinner and had no problem getting anything down, but I did notice that the more substantial meal stuck with me a loooong time. I ate at about 4 PM (because I was starving after my liquid lunch) and was still not hungry when I went to bed at 10 PM (yes, I live like an old woman at 36. Sue me ) That was great!
 
Today, I had a poached egg for breakfast and was good for about 4 hours. My lunch was tuna salad and it really filled me up! I ate about the same amount I was eating before the fill (about 1/2 cup) and I can totally notice the difference in satiety. Before the fill, that amount would end my hunger, but the reason I stopped eating was because the food was gone, not because I felt physically full or satisfied. After the fill, I feel full off the same amount of food. Not stuffed or uncomfortable but full, as if I would choose to turn down more food if it were offered (and free of calories!). It's a delightful feeling, because it tells me my band is really there! And it's working!
 
I wouldn't call what I feel "restriction" per se, because I don't feel anything unusual going down, and nothing is having any trouble sliding through, but like I said, I feel full off smaller amounts of food. Maybe that's what restriction is supposed to be? It could be that I've been misunderstanding the term all along. And it could also be that it's not really my band making me full but that residual swelling from the fill. Doesn't really matter to me at the moment, because either way, it's working. If this feeling fades in a couple of days or a couple of weeks as the swelling goes down, I can go back for a second fill in 3 weeks. Yay!
 
I'm on my way, kids, and nothing can stop me now!

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 its almost time....I'm a bit nerved up a bit. I'm ready to get the surgery over and moving forward. Bag packed and a early night for me! See you on the banded side!

Well its almost time....I'm a bit nerved up a bit. I'm ready to get the surgery over and moving forward. Bag packed and a early night for me! See you on the banded side!

My Pre-op went great!!! I met my surgeon, Dr. Reilly and he is wonderful! He made me feel at ease and answered all of my questions! His scale actually had me weighing 6 pounds less than my home scale. I bought a new one after that and surprise that one had me six pounds less also! But I registered with the hospital and they were awesome also! I am fourth in line and have to be at the hospital at 8:30am and she said if all went well I could go home by 3pm. I also met the bariatric coordinator and she was awesome also. She gave me so much information. I have two packets of pre-surgery info to read tonight.
Wow it is getting so close and feels real now. I am ready to get the surgery part over so I can start my new way of life.

My Pre-op went great!!! I met my surgeon, Dr. Reilly and he is wonderful! He made me feel at ease and answered all of my questions! His scale actually had me weighing 6 pounds less than my home scale. I bought a new one after that and surprise that one had me six pounds less also! But I registered with the hospital and they were awesome also! I am fourth in line and have to be at the hospital at 8:30am and she said if all went well I could go home by 3pm. I also met the bariatric coordinator and she was awesome also. She gave me so much information. I have two packets of pre-surgery info to read tonight.
Wow it is getting so close and feels real now. I am ready to get the surgery part over so I can start my new way of life.

I finally got a call yesterday from my patient advocate, Rachel and I had the all clear! Dr. Reilly's office called today and we scheduled my pre-op and surgery dates!! My pre-op is on 2/7 and the big day is 2/15!!! I am going to get all of my surgery needs taken care of this weekend. Any suggestions of items that are must haves? I am getting the Gas-X strips, chewable vitamins and foods or liquids I need for the first two weeks.

So, in an email yesterday my bandster friend C had a mama moment and told me that the money I spent on my band would be wasted if I don't exercise. She said that I am no longer allowed to ride the elevator at work unless Tom Cruise was waiting on me. My email reply: Can it be unless Clive Owen is waiting on me?
 
I tried walking up the two flights of stairs and made it through 36 steps before my legs started burning. The last 12 of 48 were a killer. *gasp*cough*gasp*cough*cough. But I did it!
 
This morning, as is my routine upon arriving to work, I hailed the elevator and, as I stepped on, I saw a half sheet of paper taped to the wall of the elevator. There, looking out at me, was Clive Owen. The words read "You weren't really going to take the elevator were you?....... I'm watching you....... You never know where I'll be....... xoxoxo - Clive."
 
Which caused me to laugh out loud. And turn around. And walk up to the second floor to see my friend C, laughing the whole way.
 
She said she had been waiting to hear my laugh. And then she apologized for forgetting that I work on the third floor, stating that I need to start small. Silly C. And yet, I still have a smile on my face, glancing frequently at Clive Owen looking out at me from the side of my computer monitor.