Joy Graz

I haven't been on here but for no other reason then I have been so busy! I am officially down 40 pounds and I am so happy!! We are away on vacation in Europe the next 2 weeks and so far so good. London has been excellent to get my walking in and as far as eating goes, I eat pretty much whatever I want now just in smaller quantites. I just can't eat much so I need to snack in between meals. I packed lots of granola bars and have been ordering cheese platters! LOL. Getting enough exercise in at home has been the toughest part Now that the summer is here, I will be using the pool more than ever! My hair has been falling out more than i would like but everyone tells me it won't be for long. I have upped my vitamins and biotin intake and am using a special medicated shampoo. I must say that I am shaving my legs much more than usual so I guess something is working! LOL. We leave London tomorrow for Barcelona to get on the Disney ship for 12 days. It's weird but I can't wait to be able to have fruit and cheese readily available! I am hoping to be down another 10 lbs by month 4 so we will see .... I really need to join the YMCA as soon as I get home to keep things going. Talk to everyone soon! Hope everyone else is doing just as well!!

CONGRATULATIONS!!! I wish you all the best in your new journey!!

I can't believe it's been a month already!! Life is so much like normal now. I can eat out, go to parties with no issues, etc. I am down 29 pounds and feel great. I went to a communion yesterday and was able to find enough friendly protein to eat. I think the hardest part this week has been to eat enough! My calorie intake is not high enough so I have hit a plateau. I ate some shredded cheese in between lunch and dinner today, let's see how that works. It's very hard to make yourself eat when you really don't want it .... I guess that's always been my issue though. Does anyone have any snack ideas?

Well, it's been a week and my life is already different ... in a good way that is My husband and I took a ride in our new car since it hit finally hit 75!! What a beautiful day. We even went to a pizzeria and I had broth with a smile, didn't even crave the pizza!! I decided that I need to go about my life as if I would normally or else I may fall into a rut. We have lots coming up soon with family and friends and I will be @ all Have a great night everyone!! Getting ready to have some broth while the family has greek chicken for dinner.

I started working from home today and that sure did make the day go by much faster. I didn't blog yesterday since I had a busy day. My sister was kind enough to take me to get a pedicure and manicure since they scraped my gel off my fingers prior to surgery. It was quite a comedy scene since she is 9 months pregnant and I am not walking 100% (a bit hunched over). We must of looked like a coupe of losers. Her 3 year old daughter fell asleep in the car and we had no stroller. Since I would normally just carry her and let her sleep on me, it was my sister's turn since I can't lift anything over 10 lbs for 2 more weeks. What a show we gave the ladies in the nail salon! Too funny! Today was a pretty successful day, I started skim milk which went well. Then tonight for dinner my family was having chinese food so I decided to have some broth. It was so nice to taste something different even though it was only 8 teaspoons full! LOL I also wanted to remind everyone to make sure they take their measurements!! I did that on Saturday and cannot wait to see what they are in a month Have a great night all!!!

ok ok, I have to admit something ... I cried today! I just had the ultimate meltdown, I was feeling so down and I honestly don't even know why. Sort of like when you're pregnant and you just cry for no apparant reason. I was second guessing my decision and all but here I am better again and back on track. I absolutely did NOT get all of my protein in today AGAIN!! GRRRR. My nutriionist says I should be taking in 2 ounces of liquid every 15 minutes ... WELL, by hour 4 this am I thought I was going to explode! I cannot take that much in so I cut it back to one ounce every 15 or two ounces every 30 and that seems to be ok. I introduced some broth today and that felt like a treat to taste something different for a change! LOL. I really hope my sister takes me to get my nails done tomorrow since that is becoming a neccesity! I hope everyone is staying strong today unlike myself!

LovinCheryl, no pain at all!! I didn't even fill my pain pill prescription. Thank you all for your kind words! I think each day I am doing a bit better!!

CONGRATS!!! I am only 4 days post op and really can't wait to be where you are!! Keep up the good work!

If you asked me this morning I would say there was no way I could handle this. However, I feel so much better this evening! Yay me!! I showered, which I think was the best part of the day's progress!! LOL. The gas is slowly but surely getting better. I ate some protein, definitely need to get much more in tomorrow. I kept my water up pretty well, got in about 45 ounces, I know I need to get more in but it's only been 3 days. Tomorrow I plan on trying some decaf tea. Then Sunday I plan on trying some skim milk. I figure as long as I give myself a goal a day I can get through this. I go to the Dr on the 19th and that is when I can start soft foods again, that should be a whole new world but until then I plan on a new liquid a day to mix it all up a bit I hope this is what I should be doing. I walked around alot today and that definitely helped! The fact that it was warmer out today was nice. I hope to sleep well tonight with all the fresh air and walking I did today. I can't believe how much I am looking forward to drinking tea tomorrow! LOL. The little things in life, as they say! I hope everyone is well tonight!

Thanks everyone! I am so tired today but I have been walking in circles! My husband actually ran out and bought me baby gas drops this morning and they seem to be helping a little bit. I just can't wait for this to go away!! Then I can focus on the positives I introduced protein today and that seems to be ok so far. I also made a bis mistake and drank ice cold water! That was pretty dumb

Here I am suffering from these stupid gas pains! I must say that the surgery went much smoother than I thought it would. I was only in my hospital bed for 24 hours then back home I went. The only problem seems to be these gas pains. My incisions look perfect and I have no pain that requires "pain pills". I have only been sipping on water today since I was pretty nauseas yesterday so I couldn't drink much. Tomorrow I will introduce some protein, nutritionist said to try 2 ounces an hour with water every 15 minutes in between. I have only been able to get one ounce down at a time so far without feeling bloated so we will see. I have no desire to eat regular food yet so that's a positive! My husband has been so supportive and said to me tonight that he can't wait for me to be able to go to the gym with him. When we first met, I was the gym fanatic, he never worked out before that. All I am waiting for is the gas to go away!! Anyone have any ideas of how to make this subside quicker???

You're 100% correct! People just don't get it! Here I was in my hospital bed on Tuesday and in walks my Dad with his new girlfriend. (He had by-pass surgery 7 years ago and has had many young girlfriends ever since).... Well, in they walk (mind you she is not as young, she is actually 53 but in amazing shape). I am doped up on morphine and soooo nauseas and she says "Oh Joy, Look!! I made the kids cookies with peanut butter cups inside of them!!!" I wanted to stuff the cookies down her throat! Are you kidding me? I just had gastric surgery and will not taste a cookie for months and you want to bring them to my bedside? Then tells my Dad "Let's go to the cafeteria and have a snack. Joy, do you want anything?" HELLO????? Can someone seriously be that lost?? And there's my father laughing about it, if it was him in the bed after his surgery he would of bit her head off! I am honestly noticing that people just don't get what it's like to be overweight because of medical issues, I think they think we just eat all day long!!

My surgery is scheduled for Tuesday and I am excited & nervous at the same time. I assume this is normal but it's getting to me, the nerves that is. I have been on liquids for 3 days and it has been much easier than I thought it would be. The protein shakes were way too thick so I switched to "Isopure" it is like drinking kool aid and has no sugar The rest of the day I drink water and have soup for dinner. After surgery my nutritionist expects me to drink 2 ounces of protein every hour on the hour and two ounces every 1/2 hour with water in between. She says if you do this, you will stay full & hydrated. She explained that the hydration is extremely important for your skin. Anyone have any tips for me???

Thank so much for your support! That is exactly why I joined this group, for the support.