Reputation from LifetimeLoser

LifetimeLoser reacted to Momonanomo for a blog entry, Almost 6 Months -- 85 Lbs Gone Forever :) January 4, 2014

I’ve been wanting to do a blog entry, but then the website went all wonky. I’m going to try this today, and decide if I want to continue blogging or not. So far I’m not a real huge fan of the new site. I chose VST over the “other” WLS websites because it was specifically for VSG people; now bariatricpal mixes us all together again. Yes there is a certain amount of segregation, but now I find it difficult to navigate. I don’t really like the name even! I know people do not like change & I am one of them. I find myself less involved in the message boards because of the change. I am grateful that the change to the site took place when I was 5+ months out. I can’t imagine having gotten to where I am without the old board. Perhaps I’m ready to fly on my own now anyway.

I am down 85 lbs since the start of 2 week preop diet, and down 75 since surgery. I am wearing clothes from the back of my closet, and people are finally really starting to notice I’ve changed. Amazing to me that it’s taken this long for them to see! BUT in a way, I would rather not draw attention to myself in this way. I am ready to be at goal weight and having people just know me as a girl of a healthy weight so that they don’t feel the need to compliment me on my loss.

Some days are easier than others with the weight loss. I KNOW at this point that I could eat whatever I want. I have been very diligent thus far, and I am averaging a loss per week of 1.24%. I am occasionally tempted by the wrong stuff (i.e. “treats”) but I haven’t given in, and it is SO much easier since surgery to stick to a healthy plan I’ve devised for myself. I contribute this largely to having gone through detox in the time immediately after surgery. I’ve never been able to eat this clean for this long, and it feels good! I don’t look at it like a diet – that’s so cliché, but I have always WANTED to have a healthy lifestyle I just never had the control before. Now I know I have the control if I work it right.

If I am hungry, I just have to make sure I eat dense protein first so that I can feel restriction. If I do not do that always, I will have a hard time getting to goal. I can’t say that I track my food anymore regularly, and I don’t count calories, etc. I stay away from bread, rice, pasta, except for one or two days per week. I have for the most part foregone sugar and processed food. I don’t stress over things being low fat. My breakfasts are coffee and protein drinks, then I have a green shake (spinach, fruit, protein, avocado, almonds) mid morning, then some lean protein for lunch, then a chike protein drink mid afternoon, and a “lean & green” dinner – but it’s mostly lean protein and just a spot of green vegetable. I feel my green drinks keep my veggie intake up. Routine is key for me. I take my vitamins daily, and drink as much water as I can. I enjoy sugarfree popsicles in the evenings. More than one. Sometimes I wonder if that’s a problem. They are essentially frozen crystal light, but am I playing into old behaviors by going back for several per evening? Yes I am still seeing weight loss but I want to change 40 years of bad habits, so I wonder about eating several of ANYTHING. I will ask my NUT tomorrow when I talk to her.

I had bloodwork done and saw my endocrinologist yesterday. He said my iron is slightly high and my blood pressure is slightly low. The episodes of feeling worn out can be blamed on the low blood pressure. Even when I was 85 lbs heavier my blood pressure was on the low side, so you can imagine how it is now. I’m a bit of an anomaly in that way. So I get to indulge my salt cravings, and I need to make sure I stay hydrated even that much more!

I fully intend to get to goal. I have yo-yo’d in the obese range for several years now. I’m now beginning to enter territory weight-wise where I haven’t been in 10 years, so I am really beginning to feel different. It’s fun and exciting and a bit scary. But I want to do it anyway – I want to lose about 59 more lbs.! And, 2 lbs from now and I will be merely overweight and no longer obese. That’s cool!

I never lost hair, and I figure I’m in the clear. I’ll say it again: I never had hair loss! I will be at the 6 month mark in a week, so I pretty much figure I’m in the clear!! Yay! I had accepted that as a side effect long ago, but lo and behold it didn’t happen to me. I am thankful, but I would have dealt with it. I just didn’t want to cut my hair, because I’ve been growing it out for years. I got my claories up to 900 to 1000 fairly early after starting real foods, and I think this helped me hang on to my hair. I have half a small avocado in my green shake every day, as well as almonds. These things are high calorie but are “good fat”. And good fat is good for the hair and skin. So far excess skin isn’t horrible, but I know I won’t know until I get there how much of an issue it will be. I won’t get plastics though – it just looks too painful! And I hope that after years at a healthy goal weight perhaps the skin will go back to a reasonable shape.

All in all I am very happy with how this is turning out! I knew immediately after surgery that I just needed to get on with living a new lifestyle and that as time passed I would see results. And I am!
Onward!

LifetimeLoser reacted to gamergirl for a blog entry, It's been a month since the surgery September 3, 2013

It's been a month to the day that we were sleeved. During that time, I have lost 25 lbs, been stalled for over 10 days, learned how to chew again, realized that if I didn't set timers I'd never eat again, and today, I was sitting in a chair and suddenly picked up one leg and folded it up on top the chair leg. I did it unthinkingly, and not until it was done that I realized that before the surgery, I was in too much pain to be able to do that. Yay me!

I don't understand how this whole weight/inches/clothes things works. My bust, waist and hips are the same during the stall, I'm not losing inches. But I'm fitting into clothes that I last wore when I weighed about 20 lbs less than I do now. What sense does that make? Not a lot, I can tell you that! I don't get it, but I guess I don't have to. I just have to keep on keeping on. Meanwhile, the pile of clothes that don't fit me is growing slowly but surely.

One thing that I'm really grateful for is no RA Pain. I started my meds again but really it is under duress as a result of pressure from the doctor. I see no symptomatic reason for taking them. Had it not been for the slightly elevated levels on the blood tests, I would have refused all together. I cannot believe that I am in less pain now, at 5 week with no meds, than I was when I was taking my meds and shots! Really makes you wonder how much of RA is food/inflammation/weight related in my case. I know that's not always true, but was there a relationship for me?

Having trouble getting in all my proteins from food, and find that some days I eat close to 700-800 calories, and other days I eat 500 calories, and it all feels good.

Work is in full-swing and while I miss being able to spend hours on the forum, I also know this is the new normal. I still come here a lot to read, but other things are priorities now, as they should be.

I find myself wondering when the stall will break, and what I will be saying at 3 months when asked how much I've lost? I don't have a number in mind, I just want it to be more than 25 lbs

So, made it through the first month! I'm happy.