Wisdom2KnowTheDifference

Its been awhile since I added an entry to this blog but since mid-July I have...
 
1) Had my gallbladder removed on 8/3.
2) Scheduled my surgery for 9/4. (Woo Hoo!!)
3) Started my pre-op diet (it is currently Day 3!)
 
My pre-op diet consists of 4 Bariatric Advantage shakes a day and since Friday, I have lost 6 lbs! So that is motivating. My surgeon told me I have to lose at least 15 lbs by surgery, which I feel like will not be a problem if I have already lost 6?! I know its just water, but still. Pretty stoked.
 
I am using the Chocolate Bariatric Advantage powder for my shakes. Though I did try the Nectar "fuzzy navel" flavor today as I had a sample and it was VERY tasty! Tasted like juice. So I think I will be ordering some more of that from the Bariatric Advantage website.My mom got me a NINJA blender which I have been using for some of my shakes to make it more like a frapp. Doesn't really come close to Starbucks, but its tolerable!
 
In preparation for post op, I have purchased some Isopure unflavored powder (about $50 for a 3lb tub, on sale) and some pre-made Isopure drinks, fruit punch flavored. The pre-made drinks came in a pack of 12 bottles, for $64!!! However, they were on sale and then the cashier gave us an additional discount so it came out to about $25! What a steal This was all at GNC. The cashier seemed a little confused/curious as to what I could possibly be using all this protein for... finally I told her I was having Lap Band surgery and she nodded and said a lot of people come to GNC for bariatric supplies. Nosy!
 
So I basically have to get through 2 work weeks, 2 more weekends, and Labor Day on liquid diet before my surgery. Seems like a long time but I have a calendar that I am crossing off the days on. Hopefully with work and everything it should fly by?? Yeah, right. I just keep telling myself this is only temporary...

Wow - what a crazy few weeks this has been! It still feels a bit unreal how far I've come on my road. Going from a high of 458 to yesterday's weight of 395 has really helped me understand that I CAN do this. During the fill, my RN and NUT were both stunned at the amount of weight I've lost since starting the pre-op diets (the NUT's exact words when he saw the scale were "holy ****!"...seemed like genuine shock). When asked what I've been doing, I just told them that I've been following the plan they laid out; cut out the sugar/carbs, amp up the protiens, watch the booze, walk a little, and take some vitamins. I think the biggest reason for the initial success has been cutting all of the beer/soda out of my diet (I was having ALOT of each). Now that my body is adjusting to not having the crap in me, I realize my progress will certainly slow, so i'm not trying to get too excited over it, but it certainly is encouraging. I've also experienced my first NSV - I fit into some shirts that I haven't worn in two years! I hope the rest of the July bandsters have had as positive experience in their journeys as I have. I wouldn't trade this for anything!
My personal mantra throughout my journey has been, and will continue to be "kick the weight's ass!". So far, everything's going to plan - shibby!!!

Last night was my first hour long workout. I was so excited for myself I couldn't go to sleep. The longest my body has lasted on my crosstrainer bike was 15 mins. Last night I completed the full 30 minute workout on my crosstrainer. Before that I did 10 minutes on my eliptical, 20 mins on my workout ball using wieghts and doing curl ups. The last 30 minutes of m workout was on my crosstrainer. I got to that half way mark and wanted to quit. I thought I would push it through for another minute. Then I realized it had been three minutes. I then put on the song "Forgot You" and Ipod and sang it to my wimpy self. 7 mins... to go....Queen We will rock you...yeah good motivation song! The last two was spent my fav. artist Jordan Knight and his song Rockstar. Next thing I new, it was a minute past that 30 min. mark and I was still singing and cycling.
I then iced my knees, showered and mineral iced my legs. Got up this morning and did 30 mins of kickboxing with my daughter.
 
I am four weeks post op today and four weeks and two days post-Dr. Pepper.

So today has been a busy (but productive) one! I had my nutritionist consult this morning and got a lot of good info, and then I stopped downstairs at a bariatric products shop and got some chewable vitamins. I admit, I didn't quite know what I was doing when looking at the vitamins (SO many choices) but I tried to choose a good multi vitamin that had a high dose of folic acid (for about 20 bucks).
 
I then spent a good portion of the day (while at work, lol) making my other appointments. I was successful in setting up my labwork and EKG at my primary care provider for Friday, and my case manager scheduled my sleep study (7/17) and all the hospital tests (Upper GI, Right Upper Quandrant Ultrasound with Gallbladder, and Chest X-Ray) are on Thursday. Whew! However, after doing some research, I'm going to cancel that sleep study and reschedule with another provider that is in-network with my insurance.
 
So one of the last pieces of the puzzle is scheduling this darn psychological. I am having a TIME with this! My surgeon's office gave me a list of local providers that they typically work with, but it turns out that NONE of them take my insurance. I have been quoted anything from $450-$700! So today I went on my insurance website and looked up in-network providers that do bariatric psychological evals (I was pleasantly surprised that I could specify that service in the search option) and I called and left a message for a provider right down the street. Of course, I am irked that they didn't call me right back, lol. Hopefully they will call me back soon and I can get something scheduled.
 
Side note, while I was on my insurance website, I found out that they offer a $30 discount per order on Nutrisystem. I have been doing Nutrisystem for about 3 months, wish I had known that!!! I called Nutrisystem and they said they can't apply the discount retroactively, but they can apply it to future orders. Well, considering I am probably cancelling Nutrisystem before my next order is shipped as I am getting ready to have surgery, that doesn't help me out that much. Doh! Oh well...

I think people on this forum may be the only ones excited to be "overweight". By that, I mean, my BMI has put me in the "obese" category for so long - I'm just over 1 point from being "overweight". I'm so happy right now, I set a goal to be at 205.0 by my next fill on July 16th and today I was 205.2. So close! Plus, I still have 12 days until my fill.
 
I hit a plateau last week for about 6 days, and I started feeling those old feelings of "I'm never going to hit my goal, I'm just going to gain it all back, why can't I do this" but my husband just kept reassuring me that people hit plateaus and just be patient. About 4 days ago I started losing again. I've been in a good rhythm and have been losing 1/2 lb - 1 lb a day. How? I'm logging every single morsel I put in my mouth. I'm focused on protein first, then veggies and fruit. I'm drinking 80-120 ml of water a day. I'm taking all of my vitamins in the morning and making sure I get enough sleep. Most importantly, I'm exercising every day. I wear my FitBit and strive to hit my 10,000 steps and 15 flights of stairs a day. I either jog 2-4 miles outside, hit the treadmill and elliptical at home, or do the UFC Trainer with Kinect. My dream is to start some sort of kickboxing/MMA class when I get to my goal weight.
 
I knew that lap band surgery would be a journey, a long one, and I wouldn't expect results too fast, but I've been pleasently suprised by the way my body is responding. I'm 6 weeks out and have lost 38 lbs. It feels SO good to be headed in the right direction. I'm going on vacation to Vegas in September and would love to be down to 180 lbs by then. Just have to keep up the hard work.

I was banded in April of this year and I have certainly had my ups and downs. Good news is the ups and downs was all mental because physically I couldn't have wished for a better outcome. At 450 pounds I was certainly nervous about anesthesia and the actual surgery. My Surgeon absolutely rocked and he gave me kuddos during recovery about how good of a job I did preparing and shrinking my liver. We both had exceptional days that day.
 
So, I have been banded about 10 weeks now and I have lost 48lbs. First month after surgery was the roughest because my mind started playing tricks on me. I started thinking weight should be falling off of me instantly and it wasn't. I dropped a 172 lbs between 2003 and 2004 doing Atkins and some how I had it my mind that with the band I would drop weight even quicker (which is not really healthy anyway). Well, I am dropping it fast. It is really easy to get caught up when your stepping on the scale daily. Every morning I would step on the scale and then just get annoyed and start wishing I had bypass.
 
I am still not great with the scale as I am stepping on it every other day but now I don't get hung up on it like I was in the beginning. Rome was not built in a day and neither was the 486 pounds. My Wife often tells me I don't give myself enough credit for what I have accomplished both pre-op and post-op. I told her my problem is I am still hung up on the past and the dis-service I did to myself. In 2003 I was 393 pounds and I did Atkins so by Christmas 2004 I was in Disney World weighing in a 219 and I was on top of the world. 174 pounds gone and I thought it was forever...I started enjoying life and indulging. I never changed my habits. I went back to poor eating and gained it all back plus 93 additional pounds. For the life of me I don't understand how I got from 219 to 486 pounds. How did I let it go like that, I understand it is no fault but my own but why didn't the people around me not stage an intervention.
 
I am trying very hard to find peace with it and the fact I failed. It is hard. I hope maybe once I hit 393 again my mind might be a little more at ease. What has me the most concerned is hitting that 219 again and not falling back into my old ways that got me to where I was in October 2011.
 
Today, I have to say with the band and the 6cc's I got in it I no longer have cravings. I no longer desire to simply walk to the fridge or pantry and eat. My habits have changed as well as my appetite. I no longer live to eat. I eat to live and I only eat when I am hungry. I cannot explain in words how different I look at things. I used to sit down in front of the tv and eat a box cheese its and a liter of diet pepsi. Now, I have no thought for that stuff. No cravings, no mental arguments. I sit down now and watch t.v. I don't think about eating. Not even during commercials. It just feels "normal" to eat when I am hungry and that's it, no side eating...
 
Is this the way it supposed to work???? Did having this band "cure" my head hunger or am I just in the zone to a point where junk food and binging is just blocked mentally? Maybe I shouldn't try to analyze it and just enjoy the ride.
 
If you have read this far then thank you...I rambled on a bit but what the hell I find that to be therapeutic...

Today was a pretty good day. I made my turkey chili and it wasn't bad at all. I was pretty scared of it cuz...well....ground turkey sure isn't ground beef, but it turned out okay. Incredients: ground turkey, black beans, onion, minced garlic, tomato, chile powder, one of those chile seasoning mixes (I forget the brand), bell peppers, corn, salt, pepper, oregano, and hot sauce. It was pretty good! It was really heavy too, so I decided to get a little work out in after. Didn't feel like going to the gym so I just hopped on the kinect and played my Zumba Fitness demo and man oh man, do I really need to work on my merengue pump...lol! After, I decided to have a quick snack and grabbed a yogurt. Just for fun, I checked out the back of the label after the fact, and I had no idea how much sugar/carbs was in that little cup of yoplait (strawberry something or other). Needless to say, I'll be back to no snacking. We're all entitled to a little slip, so I'm not concerned. It's fight night - time to watch Ortiz v Lopez!