Jenny2012

<3

JP drain, no cath and the drain came out the next morning.

my nut said NO collagen based proteins so I would look for something else to make sure you get the protein you need.

Howdy all! Today is the day! I figured I would pull down the scale that I diligently hid away, that "one" I bought esp for me, cause not every scale can weigh a nearly 500 pound frame, it's been a keen reminder of my failures over the past few years along with my steadily increasing girth. still I kept it, hoping... you all know that "hope" that one day it will be kind to you and actually begin to go in the down direction instead of up. So, anywho although my goals to lose are happening steadily I've always gone in to get my weight done on the same scale everytime at the clinic, but I finally made peace with my own scale and decided to trust her, as I have since named her "HOPE" and welcomed her into the family and off the shelve haha! So many times I have been defeated in this battle, losing weight only to gain it back with more to boot. but this time having tools in my bag I feel strong enough to face those numbers on the regular and own them. coming to a place of acceptance for each pound and realizing that they will not define me or my future, my past defeats will not define the outcome of this journey and I have, with the hand of the Lord above - "got this." This time, I have no one to please or succeed for except myself, and when I stepped on that Ole girl "Hope" this morning and she sounded out 398!! (talking scale seemed cool at the time ) the feeling was wondrous! To BREAK that 400 mark was / is a sweet savour to my heart and proves to me that trusting in the Father above all good things do come and Everything He promised is being added unto me in His due timing. Have HOPE everyone, you too can reach goals and triumph !! Good luck to each of you and happy losing - Jenny

Best of luck to you Joyce, Dr Mun was wonderful with me and very thorough, the entire team at South Bay Kaiser was great and supportive, you will be fine, do as they ask and remember to walk as soon as your able after surgery it will help cut the gas and discomfort, but expect some, that cannot be completely avoided, you will do fine I'm sure, its the start of a whole new journey, enjoy the ride as best you can because its well worth the destination

Dr. Mun was my surgeon on May 1st and I can tell you the exact diet he gave me He is very precise, He likes to see that you have lost wt, preferably the 10% pre-op, at your visit he will go by what your current wt is because my friend who has less to lose than I who also had Dr Mun the day after me did not have to do the two week protein shakes, he just told her to continue as she was doing and then two days before do the liquids, He will give you a hand out, on it are his instructions, and he will verbally tell you if there are any exceptions but the hand out says this: Two weeks prior to surgery date he wants : Breakfast and lunch protein shakes, and a small protein based dinner, two days prior to surgery, full liquid diet, he told me protein shakes were fine, but the day before surgery the pre-op nurse called to make sure I was on task and said no shakes, it should be clear liquids only and stop all liquids 12am the night before surgery, I did what he instructed and had no complications at all, hope it helps Good luck to you, let me know if you have any questions

Thanks so much to all for the encouragement, for those who never lived a life being obese they can't truly understand the limitations we face daily and how with each mountain we overcome, great or small there is a huge triumph in it, I encourage each of you to keep on moving forward even if its a tiny step each day, as long as we're moving in the right direction there are no defeats only victories.

Once being a pretty regular blogger and making the conscience choice to walk away a few years back makes this all the more interesting and fun to be writing again, So I started this endeavour (weight loss) to get my life back, last year around this time.... I think I find the most difficult part of this is not knowing where to begin. but here I go anyway... I knew that my joy and hope was gone, I knew that my weight was killing me and pushing me into an early grave and I knew that for me, God was going to bring me out of the hole I dug for myself. I didn't want one more year to escape me, So I thought to myself 2012 was going to be dedicated to me helping myself regain my Joy and life. I knew it was going to be a long road but, I was willing to give it my all for a future that I could smile about again So, I started my weight loss adventure in late Dec 2011 right after Christmas determined to cut a chunk out of this body and prepare for my gastric sleeve surgery, first week 10 pounds off. second week 7 pounds more, third week gained back 3 pounds, and the next week lost 1 pound- that did it for me... I had to lose 10 % of my body weight ! I knew I had to get strict on my intake, count everything and push on the physical part of my daily routine, which with being disabled by arthritis is so hard, It's excruciating- but I did what I dreaded doing- being such a large size it's difficult being stared at feeling like you're a joke or that you have no business to even be there and completely out of place but I spoke to a trainer at the Y and told him exactly what I needed to lose and what I was physically able to do. He helped introduce me to the resistance equipment and late January 2012 I started 3 days a week for 20 min, slowly I started to lose again, and regularly losing 4-7 pounds a week with meal replaced shakes and one small meal at dinner. eventually I increased my days to 5 doing 90+ min daily, getting stronger, seeing small changes in curves and a huge increase in muscle tone, sure I still have the fat hanging off those working muscles but now I can actually start to see them peeking out at me and that is really encouraging to say the least. I was scheduled for surgery May 1st, I met my 10% and exceeded the required to 14% lost! the morning of my surgery I had lost 74 pounds pre-op and last week I was at 91 pounds down, I know this is a battle I face and some times will go slower and eventually get very hard to drop, but I'm in it, to win it. and yesterday I was finally able to start back to the Y and I look forward to the weight to start dropping again I felt urged to share and encourage others on their journey, so I decided to pick up my keyboard and blog again here and there about my journey. The thing that makes this journey so rewarding are the small victories I can place in my heart, the tiny beautiful moments and things that average size people get to do daily without a second thought. Yesterday I went to Walmart and walked around shopping for well over an hour... something I was unable to do just 4 months ago without being in pain and winded, but yesterday was different! during my shopping trip, I bought a belt.... yes a belt with a buckle and holes lol what makes this wonderful for me is I'd NEVER bought myself a belt before. the only ones I ever had came as sashes on a dress or such. this time I fit into a real belt and even though it only closed to the second hole ... IT CLOSED!! PRAISE GOD !! and I bought it!! along with a sweater and several tanks in a size 3x that also fit. AMAZING.... these tiny victories bring me smiles and such joy because I know that more are coming, slowly but surely. I wanted to share with others so maybe they would remind you to never give up your hope, it's never hopeless, and celebrate the smallest of victories!! <3 Jenny

that is what I did, replaced Breakfast and lunch with Protein shakes and a small high protein dinner, lots of Water of course. do this for you, no one else. this is your journey ultimately no husband or kids, or family members are in your shoes, you can do it ! YOU have to accept that you deserve it, cause you are the one who lives in your skin not them. focus past any outside negatives you encounter, my Mother tried to sabotage my progress all the time, now she says I'm so proud of you... they will come around once they see your success and how happy you will be

Have faith you can do it, I started in January at 496 - began my pre-op weight loss and at the day of surgery two weeks ago I was 422, first week weigh in 408 for a total as of the 11th - 88 pounds off, I am looking forward to break that 400 mark at my next check, its amazing to see it melt away SO trust me it is possible, you will see, just follow the plan, stick to good food choices, and you will see good results

Its an emotional time, my support group said that many have feelings of overwhelming emotion after the surgery, your not alone, and soon enough you will be better, its a daily walk for a life time of change, stay strong and you will be fine. I have cried about three times since the surgery, the first being the feeling of completion, second was a feeling of loss in losing a part of myself I couldn't control, and the third was the joy of seeing myself get stronger each day. I am 16 days out and I went to the gym for the first time since surgery today, I felt like I was lazing off... only to be sent home by my sleeve buddy who had her surgery last year, as she told me this morning "you have had a major surgery, let your body heal at its own rate" "when its time, then you can do all the things you want without fear of complications." So, I say the same to you.. let your body heal and let your hubby help you, everyday you will be better and better

Hi Buffy, thank you for writing, doing beautifully I am 10 days out from the surgery and went in today for my first follow-up appt & had my staples removed, have lost 14 pounds since surgery, and he advanced me to pureed diet so YAY! finally some other food items to work with, keeping busy walking as tolerated and getting all my fluids and Vitamins in, and happy he said its okay to be starting back to the pool in about 10-11 days, God has been faithful in His word, trust in Him, He completes what He starts if we believe, and as corny as it sounds the last things I said to my brother as they took me in was "God's got this, it's gonna be ok, He's got this" and HE was totally there for me, no nausea, tolerable pain, up same day walking, home the next day, I have no doubts who holds my hand and He will hold yours too on the 15th, Heb 13:6 So we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper and I shall not fear what man will do unto me... I will keep you in prayer.

Congrats!!

So glad to hear that worked for you as well great news!!