lucy00us

Its the next to the last day in June. Come Monday it will be July! The count down begins. Wednesday is pre-op testing. The 22nd is Sleeve day!
 
Ready: Since 2004 I've been ready to do something about my weight and have been trying hard to get it together. This decision is the best on for me. So I'm ready!
 
Set: the surgery date is set, pre-op testing date is set, mindset is right, life style is going to settle into one that will allow me to set loose the wild child I am. I can go and fit into places, do things I've been to embarrassed to do because of my size, I get it live!
 
Go! Moving forward to a healthier life, long life God willing. I'm so happy I could cry at times. Its the strength I have found in making the changes. I stopped eating bread, I stopped drinking coffee and tea, I do have decafe around but have not touched it. I've never smoked.
 
I've cleaned out my cabinets of foods I know I must avoid, it's nice being able to give the food stuffs to people that can use it. I've donated clothes that I know I can't wear, won't wear and shouldn't wear lol.
 
I'll spend today packing, I'm moving next weekend into a new apartment. So July is truly a new me month.
 
I admit, I'm getting nervous. But my sister that is supporting me in my decision is coming to visit, it will be nice to have family going in and coming out of this procedure.
 
Thank you to everyone that posts and comments on this site, pro or con. The experiences shared have helped a lot.
 
Continued success to everyone on their journeys.
 
Karen

I wasn't expecting to write any type of entry for week two, but this week has a big impact on my thought process.
 
Losing 22lbs in week 1 was amazing. I felt great! On top of the world! Ready to jump-start my new life! ...And then, it stopped. On day #7 the scale stopped moving. Now, I've researched this surgery soooo much and knew this was very likely. It seems many people have a stall around week 2-3. I thought I was prepared for this strange phenomena... But I was wrong. I had so many doubts this week. Would I ever lose the weight? Am I doing everything I'm supposed to do? Did I just have surgery to lose 22lbs? It was a terrible week.
And then I realized... This is completely normal. Not only not losing weight is normal, but also all these feeling are normal as well. It's easy to get discouraged when things don't go your way. It's easy to get angry or sad... But that's what this journey is about- it's about a fight to a better you. A physically better you AND an emotionally better you. It's about strength, determination, and learning.
To all you who are discouraged and down this week, pick up the pieces and keep on keeping on. This is all part of your story- the ups AND the downs. There are many times we will feel this way, down and depressed, but we just have to pick ourselves up, dust off, sip some water, and walk it off.
 

Well, I hit ONEDERLAND on June 6th, and have dropped another 3 pounds since then. It feels great to know that those #s are behind me, and will be gone for the rest of my life now. I'm 6 pounds away from hitting 50# total loss post-op.
It's a great feeling being more active, wanting to work out, knowing that each healthy choice I make is finally actually making a difference in my end weight...whereas before it felt like all work and no pay off. I'm so glad I made this decision for myself, there has not been one day of regret so far.
My sisters and my dad are all talking about having the surgery now too, which makes me feel good, like I made the right choice- and they can see the positive changes it's made in my life- and they want it too.
My size 14 jeans are literally falling off of me, but I HATE to buy new jeans, knowing soon enough- they're going to be too big too...random, isn't it?!
 
Just wanted to check in, I told myself that I'd blog as much as I could on this journey to keep folks informed, and maybe someone out there deciding on the surgery will be able to see this thing through from my perspective, and it'll help them make their own decisions.

Hi all...I am almost 5 weeks post op! Wow the time has flown by!
 
Sorry I have not been on here in a while giving an update or posting about something I have kinda been in what some people call a "stall" for the past two weeks. Kinda puts a damper on things. The first week I was really pretty ok with it. I had just lost 40lb in 2 months and was just stoked to start seeing the changes in my body and in my attitude/personality. Then by the 2nd week it just started to get depressing, I even gained 1 pound... I started getting a little mad and was trying to figure out how to amp up my loss again.
 
I had just started adding solid foods back into my diet but I was not getting over 600-700 cal a day. (which I thought was good) I was having a little bit of a hard time with my protein and liquid intake. So I figured that must be the problem. Last Tuesday I had my first WLS support group meeting with my supper awesome friend Tina. By some amazing divine appointment God had them focusing on PROTEIN! She had a ton of samples to try from different products and gave us a bunch of ideas on how to add bits of protein to our diets through out the day. Apparently just about everyone in the group had been struggling with some kind of stall recently and so that was the topic of focus! How perfect for me
 
And because I know how common it is for us new VSG'ers to have a hard time with proper protein levels I thought I would share what I learned, my new favorite products, and a few new ideas on how to use protein.
 
First, my new best friend is "Big Train". I have always loved this brand but had no idea that they had a bariatric friendly line of protein powders. So now I can have my love of coffee and drink it too I do live in Seattle... Its almost against the law to not like coffee over here... lol
Here is the link for the Big Train drinks. I love them! The cool thing is, I can not taste the protein in them at all! I have tried the vanilla and the espresso (both are fantastic) and have just ordered the sampler pac to try the rest before purchasing in bulk...
http://www.bigtrain.com/coffee-protein-drink-mix-powder-fit-frappe-c-143.aspx
 
My 2nd new brand of protein is Chike... I had never heard of this brand till my meeting this week. I tried the coffee flavor and again it was really good! I ordered the sample pac of this brand also. I really like being able to take a little packet of powder with me rather than mixing up a whole days worth at once. I need to find some kind of little container that holds one serving though, because it is so much cheaper to buy the tub rather than the packets... Anyway, here is the link for Chike.
http://www.chikenutrition.com/buy-chike.html
 
Third... I know most of you guys know about Unjury. But recently I have made a few friends who had never heard of it. For all of you newbies out there here is an awesome product! Unjury is said to be one of the best forms of protein. One of the best on the market. Its protein has really good absorption into the body. I have been told some of the cheaper proteins don't benefit the body as well as others. I totally get that, most food now a days dose not benefit the body at all so I am sure they cheat on this kind of stuff also...
Anyway, Unjury makes a "non-flavored" powder that you can put in just about anything from soup to pudding, to drinks. I have been adding it to my Crystal Light or Mio drinks. When you add it to a fruity drink it kinda turns it into a cream cycle taste. Not bad when it is giving you 20+ grams of protein in each scoop... I also put some strawberry lemon-aid into a vanilla powder and it was pretty good too..
http://www.unjury.com/store/protein/
 
I also found this website http://www.bariatricchoice.com/bariatric-protein-shakes-smoothies-drinks-12.html It looks like it has a ton of different high protein options including Nectar (which I have ordered the sample pack but have not tried yet) It might be a cool place to get some extra ideas from.
 
(And by the way I just started loosing weight again! I dropped 1 pound yesterday. I really believe its because I am drinking more and added more protein)
 
So, to give you an idea on how I get my protein and liquids in...
In the morning I start out with either a mixed fruit and veggie shake with a scoop of Unjury in it.
Or, I have a coffee drink with either the Big Train or the Chike. Rite there in that morning drink I have just got 20 grams of protein in...
 
As a snack I will have a cheese stick or cup of Greek yogurt. (6-12 g protein)
 
Then for lunch I make sure to have some kind of meat, eggs or cheese. All of which are low in carbs. (remember we like low carbs
 
During the day I will have a "snack" by putting one scoop of protein powder in with a beverage. There is another 20 grams.
 
For dinner I have been trying to get in some veggies with my meat. So weather I have 1/2 a hamburger patty or a few ounces of fish, I try to get in either salad or another green vegetable.
 
If I work it good like that, I am over 70 grams of protein. Plus the shakes alone have given me about 30 ounces of water so I only have to concentrate on another 30 through out the day.
To tell you the truth, its the liquids I am still having trouble with. It is really hard to drink that much through out the day. But I am trying...
 
I hope I was able to help some of you guys...
I know I was really struggling with ideas on how to get enough every day...
Good luck to you all! And let me know what you think of my ideas. Also, If any of you have some products or mix ideas for me please let me know! I am always looking for something new to try.
 
Later all!!! "HUGS"
Amber

Hello everyone!
This is my first blog and post ever! so I'll try my best.
 
I've been overweight all my life. I became obese in my early adulthood years and even more after the birth of my second child. I'm at my top weight ever at 334 lbs. I've been considering weight loss surgery for many years, but I always end up trying to lose the weight on my own and obviously it has not worked.
In December 2012, I decided it was time to get serious about getting back my health. I went for my first consultation in January 2013 and started my pre-surgery insurance requirements. I started weight in visits with my surgeon in February and since then I had my psychologist evaluation in February, endoscopy and colonoscopy in March and had to get Iron infusions with a hematologist due to iron deficiency anemia.
 
I went for my last weight in yesterday and was very excited about having done my part with all the appointments and follow ups. I guess the excitement and happiness didn't last me long because the program coordinator informed me today that they messed up and that I needed one more weight in and that my surgeon doesn't have all the reports from the different doctors I've seen
I'm a little disappointed because I thought that my surgeon and his staff would have things a little better organized and that they'd let me know if they needed more information or were missing paperwork before my last weight in.
 
I have a lot of things going on at work and it's very hard not to be able to plan and have "life" on hold until I can have the definite date of surgery. I've read many post in this blogging community and it helps to read about people's experiences and what everyone else have gone through pre and post-surgery.
 
I hope that writing about my own dilemmas will help me and other people having the same issues.
 
Wish me luck!
Lucy