helgaready

HW = 232 SW = 227 VSG = 08/17/12 Wk 1 (12/07) = 182 Wk 2 (12/14) = 183.4 Wk 3 (12/21) = 182 Wk 4 (12/28) = Final (01/01/13) = So my weight went the wrong way after traveling home last couple weeks n eating a laxed diet...but on the plus side. ..I am now a size 10...started at a size 18... Goal Weight is 174lbs by New Years....

What a phenomenal week....and it really has nothing much to do with weight loss...though I had good numbers this week. But more on that in a second.... Yesterday my daughter had her baby so I have my first glam-baby as of 6:04pm 12/06/12. I am so proud...She went into labor about 10am and I was so worried I would not be here in time to witness the birth as she dilated so fast they expected her to deliver by 2pm. I got on the noon flight and was scheduled to land about 5pm...Well at about 1:30pm everything came to a stop...no matter how she pushed Amariana (my glam-baby) would not budge. She must have heard me crying in the Dallas Airport. Because after I got to the hospital things started picking back up and within 45 minutes of me being at the hospital we had a healthy baby girl weighing in at 5lbs 9oz and 18.5 inches long...(See pic below)... Onto the weight loss journey... I wore my size 11/12 jeans and medium shirt to work on Tuesday and everyone kept telling me how small I was...I felt so good...After getting home I of course decided to snap a picture to see what "looking good" was and I was so happy with the pic. I am so amazed how I have changed...My face is of course smaller...but my forehead looks bigger...neck looks longer...and even see collar bones again...I am reminded more and more how happy I am that I had the sleeve.... This week I resumed exercising and for that I was rewarded. This week I had a 4.2lbs loss...I am a bit nervous about keeping it off this week with me traveling back home with food I love to eat alot...But I am going to keep my workout game up so hopefully things balance up...And speaking of working out I had not worked out in 3 weeks so I was thinking I would be hard getting back in the mix...Suprisingly, I got in the treadmill intent on easing back into it and running a mile and maybe walking the other...Well turns out I got on there and ran the entire two miles...Again I love my sleeve because running was so hard on my knees and well my cardiovascular too for that matter...Now I am killing two miles with something still left in the tank...Half marathon here I come... With the 4.2 loss this week, I have lost my first 50lbs. I am just 27lbs from goal...I remember when I first started this journey I was so overwhelmed by the nearly 80lbs I needed to lose...Now in just 3 and half months...which has gone by so quickly I am more than half way to goal. HW 232 & SW 227 (VSG 08/17/12 & 5'8) LW 186.2 CW 182.0 [Weekly loss 4.2lbs] [Total Weight Loss 50lbs] GW 155 [27lbs until Goal]

HW = 232 SW = 227 VSG = 08/17/12 Wk 1 (12/07) = 182 Wk 2 (12/14) = Wk 3 (12/21) = Wk 4 (12/28) = Final (01/01/13) = Goal Weight is 174lbs by New Years....

Had surgery with Dr. Alvarez on 08/17/12 and have since lost 50lbs...Loving my sleeve...Healed up fantastic...Would recommend him in a heartbeat...Everything went so smooth from arrangement of the surgery to follow-up afterwards...I still email Dr. A and Susan with questions and they are always very prompt to respond... Want more details...private message me....

Update...Agsin I had surgery on Aug 17th with Dr. Alvarez in Mexico (didnt meet insurance req n d states so was self pay)..still think its d best decision eva....seems scary to go to Mexico but he was a very skilled surgeon...almost painless..back at work 5 days post op...walking a mile on treadmill 7 days post op...running since 30 days post op...was on liquids for 3 weeks post op...1 week of soft foods before moving to solids 5 weeks out...Have lost 46lbs...my only complaint is I still have to take laxatives to have a BM...but 46lbs n 6 sizes down...I can deal with it...lbvs..here is a progress pic a few pounds ago.... [ATTACH]6847[/ATTACH]

So last week (week of Thanksgiving) was a crazy week because I went home to Arkansas to spend time with family... First off it was super fun...My daugther is having my first glam-baby and I got a chance to see my glam-baby on the ultrasound. We also had the baby shower the Saturday following Thanksgiving and it was fab as well..Okay I could go on and on about that because I am so happy but that is for another blog.. Well it was the first time any of my family had seen me since surgery and only my mom and daughter knew I had surgery...For the most part everyone had good things to say...My aunt and cousin jokingly called me a "crackhead" or a "cancer patient" as they said I was so small...They aint seen small yet...I got more pounds to lose before hitting my goal...As many of us VSG folk probably was, I was nervous about how I would be around so much food...good southern homemade food....Not to mention all the eateries that are my "have" to go to list when I am home...Admittedly, I did eat more carbs and sweets overall than I have eaten on any day since surgery. However, it was in such small quantity that I did not beat myself up about it. Instead, I just was more conscious about my calorie burn. I do not recall if I mentioned previously but I renewed my subscription to the bodybugg again. I am amazed of how much more efficient my body has become on a reduced calorie diet and less weight. Before the surgery and without any exercise I would burn 2500 calories a day doing just normal activity. Now, I am at 2000 calories a day...While in Arkansas I made sure to hit 2500 mark so I could burn off the extra calories I took on by indulging in cake and dips. In the end I only lost 0.8lbs te week of Thanksgiving. It is actually more than I had on my projected weight loss chart. I said I would lose nothing so I count it as a victory. Things have bounced back this week and I lost 2lbs. I am happy with that but I would like to get my weekly loss up to about 3lbs a week. I am going to get back on my workout regime as I fell all the way off these past 3 weeks. If I am to be running ( I mean running...now walking) a half marathon on June 1st, I need to be in the full swing of daily running like yesterday... And for the not so good...I have had some awesome victories since having my sleeve...My best NSV when I was in Arkansas is I wore my daughter size Large Monkey Suit (Onesie). I have wanted one of those for about two years but could not find one big enough...Well now I can wear a Junior Large...I also bought a Junior Large pair of Yoga pants from Kohls during after Thanskgiving sale...Another big moment...I wish I would have taken a pic with them on because even I must say I think I looked "skinny"..a relative term indeed but it was a skinny moment for me...And the oh girl you are gorgeous...girl you fine comments are coming...oh how I love my sleeve...I guess the best part is not the comments themselves but I actually feel pretty again... But oh back to the bad...My hair has started coming out in chunks...It is so thin...I am wearing hair make-up every day to color in my sides and I have to wear full and half wigs as my hair is so thin in the front. I have been wanting to cut it short anyway but I wanted to do that on my own time...Now entire otherwise healthy strings are hair is just all over the bathroom floor and sink with the slightest comb or brushing...I keep telling myself my doctor has said there are no bald weight loss patients...It will come back and I guess the good thing is when it comes back all the relaxer will be off and I can go naturally curly and short as I wanted to do anyways... I have an Ormin body fat monitor and previous to surgery it said my body fat (bf) was very high about 40.8%..I notice a couple of weeks ago, it now simply says high and now I am 34% bf. That and with some inspiration from my sleeve buddy I decided my next big goal was to get to a healthy bf and bmi. For my height that is 164lbs for a healthy BMI...Hopefully, with the workouts the bf comes on down as well...In the meantime, my interim goal is to be 175lb by Christmas...Gotta put in work to make it happen. I am posting some swim suit progress shots against my better judgement given this is the internet..but I want to give an honest reflection of me...Its hard to hide the flab in a two piece... Beware the photos are horrible but they are becoming less horrible as the months pass. Excuse the blur in the photo and that the distance the photos were taken were not exactly the same but I still think they reflect the 45lb weight loss... Until next week all.... HW 232 & SW 227 (VSG 08/17/12 & 5'8) LW 188.8 Week 14 Weight - 188.2 CW 186.2 [Total Weight Loss 43.2lbs] GW 155 [31.2lbs until Goal]

Weight before surgery - 232 Date of surgery - 08/17/12 (227 day of surgery) Beginnng Contest Weight (11/02/12) 192.8 Week 2 (11/08/12) - 190.8 Week 3 (11/15/12) - 188.8 Thxgiving (11/22/12) - 188.2 End of Month (11/30/12) - Goal weight for competition 182 Didn't make goal but I also didn't gain this week so Ima call this a win...on to the next challenge to get bck on track...Mo protein...mo water...back on the exercise regime...

Had a pretty busy two weeks and so got a lil behind in my blog. Took me off my good eating habits too so have to bring that back on track. All in all though has been a pretty good past two weeks weight loss wise...I have also set more goals for myself. I am starting a training schedule for a half marathon as I committed to run my first one on June 01, 2013. Having goals like this keep me on target. Not only does it keep me focused to work out but also keeps me eating right as I do not want to erode my hard work with bad food choices. I have run into a few folks on the forums that are steadfast believers that working out does not speed up weight loss and they may be right...However, I am not just going for skinny I am going for healthy and fit. Working out is part of my overall healthy lifestyle and it sure doesnt hurt to realize the toning payoffs I am getting from working out. I also know there will be a time where the weight loss settles out and I want to make sure that exercise is apart of my life so that the weight doesnt find itself back. Now for the NSV's that I experienced over the last two weeks. The first one was an underhanded compliment...almost insult but crazy enough it made me feel so darn good...I posted a pic on FB and pretty soon I got a call from a relative. He first said that cannot be you in the pic...I of course said it was and he said you are so darn skinny...If I did not know any better I would swear you on crack because you lost so much weight so fast...Uh yeah..(he doesnt know about the surgery)...I laughed so hard..and got tingles because while I am not skinny I feel skinny as compared to where I was...2nd NSV was I was out on the town the other weekend and saw an old friend and he didn't speak. I am was wondering what was up...Well he finally came to me after a bit and said Helga I did not recognize you...You lost so much weight...You look damn good...Oh why thank you...And the third NSV was I had to buy new belts and bras I was on the last loop of all my belts before surgery. Now even the last loop on the belt is too loose so had to get another one. My bras are no longer considered plus size (40B pre surgery)...Now I am a 36B...I love the selection I have now...One thing I did notice though while trying on bras is that my boobs are a lil saggy...Might have to perk these lil T-shirt boobies back up...I dont want big boobs but I want what I have to be perky... Finally, I have attached my 3 month progress photos. I have had an amazing and rewarding journey thus far. I am just 34lbs from my goal, though I am starting to rethink whether I want to move my goal to 165lbs vs 155lbs. I can currently wear some size 11 jeans and I am still nearly 190lbs. I always thought I would be comfortable at a size 9. In fact, I still think I would so I am going to see how things work out weight wise with me fitting into a comfortable size 9. Depending on the number, this might be my new goal weight. HW 232 & SW 227 (VSG 08/17/12 & 5'8) LW 192.0 Week 11 Weight - 190.8 CW 188.8 [Total Weight Loss 43.2lbs ] GW 155

Weight before surgery - 232 Date of surgery - 08/17/12 (227 day of surgery) Beginnng Contest Weight (11/02/12) 192.8 Week 2 (11/08/12) - 190.8 Week 3 (11/15/12) - 188.8 Thxgiving (11/22/12) - End of Month (11/30/12) - Goal weight for competition 182

People started to notice on me after the first month. I was down 23lbs then...Now down 43lbs and 6 sizes everyone notices, even those who see me everyday. But as someone said, I carried weight in my face and so I lost alot there first and so I think that is why people noticed early one... Now most anyone I see notices. I know this journey is about getting healthy, regaining control in our lives and for that matter learning to live again. However, it is only natural to want people to notice our success. I personally am nervous about going home to visit my family back in Arkansas in a couple of weeks. I come from a big family, big in number and size and so they are convinced we are suppose to be fat. I am more worried about them noticing my weight loss and having something bad to say. I am almost hoping no one talks about it.

I echo everyone else. You are handsome...The weight loss ihas only enhanced your naturally good looks... Oan: I do a great deal of cardio and to be honest the only weight training I do is far my arms and shoulders. I thought about more weight training just to help tighten things up and to gain some strength as I plan to do the Tough Mudder race next December. Based on your results it appears I need to get on that soon and very soon and chase your good results...

Can't speak to the band to sleeve revision but can say that after one month I was pretty much back to normal as far as pain level and activity. My diet plan allowed solids after 5 weeks...albiet small amounts but I was able to eat most things...I say most because you find that some things you ate pre-surgery no longer agree with you... But speaking solely based on my opinion, I would allow my insurance carrier to remove the band and then move forth with the sleeve at a later date...With the chances being about 50/50 whether they can do the band to sleeve revision in one surgery, you run the risk of two surgeries anyways and the letdown of waking up to find out you are not sleeved. You also your sleeve surgeon time to reviews some medical records and X-rays to get an idea of what is involved so they can give a realistic expectation when you would be ready for surgery and what it would involved (i.e. scar tissue issues) to sleeve ya. But I am just a gov't worker and not a doctor so take what I say with a grain of salt...

I used Dr. Alvarez for my VSG on 08/17/12. Had the best experience...Both Dr. A and Dr. Gabe were excellent surgeons. In fact, all the staff was awesome...I have never had a dr with better bedside manners. With that being said, I have read rave reviews on Aceves as well. I think there is a forum on this topic. You can probably do a search and find my extensive review of Dr. A. Since surgery I have lost 41lbs and 6 pant sizes, had absolutely no complications, incisions healed super and are working out nicely with scar cream application. I am sure you will make the best decision for you but as said before me, I do not think you could go wrong with either surgeon.

Very normal...When I started solids, I could eat half a egg and be stuffed. And generally if you have that stuck feeling you may be eating too fast...Or in some cases there are foods that just no longer agree, at least for now...