Heather O'Connor

Hi all, Just checking in to say how I am doing and that is to say not that well. I actually had gained back 10 pounds in the last month and a half. Then today I weighed myself and discovered that I had again lost that 10 pounds so now I am back at 271 pounds and not to happy about it. but I also look at it this way at least I am back to the weight I was back on May 30th.

I have been told to wait 30 minutes before and after meals before I drink and I only drink calorie free drinks. My problem is that I still eat later in the evening when it is 10 pm or later. My justification is that I still need protein and I have found one form of food that is low in calories and high in protein. Thank god my parents are such health nuts.

Well one of my biggest fears has come true I have regained some of the weight I lost but thank god it is not much. I think what I need to do is to reevaluate what and when I am eating and rearrange things. The bad thing is I am going to be seeing my surgeon tomorrow and it might be more weight than I think.

I to am in a stall and I am taking my own advice. Part of me wants to transfer off pureed foods and I do a little of solids later in the day, but I am still stuck at 271 and for me unfortunately my craving are coming back but I also find that I am craving more healthier items. My biggest concern is about regaining the weight I lose and also throwing up, have not thrown up yet but have had a few close calls. Just wanted to know is anyone having constipation and what are you doing about it?

I can see that a lot of people are getting discouraged because right now they are not losing the weight that they want to or feel that they should. I will tell you something that was told to me and this is not just about weight loss but life in general, this too shall pass and don't get discouraged. I have not yet weighed myself so I don't know if I am stalled myself but I do know that in the past the simple fact of getting discouraged has lead me to fall off other diets and food plans. The other thing we all need to realize is that the way we are eating is most likely going to be how we do it for the rest of our lives and it is scary, I know for a fact that it scares me. I cannot imagine not having a small bag of something ever again but if I want my surgery and weight loss to last that is what I have to do.

Here are my stats Highest known weight 315 pds Surgical weight 293 pds Current weight 271 pds Height 5 feet Goal weight 140 pounds

Today I got to meet with my surgeon who did my VGS back on the 19th and to my surprise he said that I could now start eating pureed foods. So later today after a nap, I had half of a small container of Greek Yogart, man was that good! I had half of the container and then for dinner had the other half. I also have managed most of today off the oxygen which is making me very happy because in the past it has always taken a while to get off. This evening since I don't drive my mom and I went to a few stores and got some food items that I can have but I did not even think about doing a baked potato but my parents might have instant mashed potatoes so I can use that. Another thing is that my weight is going down not much but it is going down, it is now at 281 pounds. Tomorrow I will try getting some more walking in.

Well I am finally out of the hospital and boy what an adventure that was! I had my surgery back on May 19th at 7:30 well getting positioned on the bed and the mask coming down on my face are the last things I remember until later that afternoon when I woke up for the first time. I was so glad that I had woken up and seeing my mother's face smiling down that even though I was having dry heaves I still smiled back. After my parents left I got more sleep I was so out of it and the knockout stuff always affects me strongly that I went back to sleep and did not really move from that bed until around 9:30 the next morning. Wednesday was in part agony for me because it took the student doctor a while to write the order for me to start Phase 1 but finally around 3:30 pm he did and I was finally able to have small sips of water, I was so happy that I could do that. That night I managed to get transferred from the floor I was on down to the Bariatric ward which made me feel more comfortable and content. But by that time my lungs were giving me problems because they are a small set that surgery causes the sack that surrounds them to take on fluid I was kept in the hospital until that could be sorted out. The first problem was the pressure from my cpap but I had no idea what the setting was but I do now so next time I can let them know right away and not have another prolong stay. Friday was the day that my Oxygen was the worst, but it was also the turning point for me in the inpatient recovery. That night I actually was strong enough to watch tv and the next two nights was even stronger. On Saturday I had an MRI done of my lungs to see what was going on with them and they clearly were able to diagnose the issue. I even now know so I can warn future surgeons about my lung issue. That night I managed to stay up till almost Midnight, get some work done on my Kindle, read my emails (over 189 of them), and play on the Kindle. The next day, yesterday I spent even more time on my Kindle just having fun and that night I was able to watch some good movies that came on cable. Today was the day. DISCHARGE!! But first had to wait for my ride home which took a while but finally got home and first thing I did was go straight to my laptop I had missed my baby! But I had also missed you guys my support people.

I also just weighed myself and I have reached my goal of losing 20 pound in two weeks!!!! I now weigh 286! Also that starting weight is from the first time that they weighed me at the hospital I had actually had a known top weight of 331 pds so actually I have lost 45 pounds.

Well on Saturday I bought some white grape juice no sugar added, some G2 Gatorade, some figi apple and pear sobes, and low sodium chicken broth. Last night I stayed up until about 3 am and accidently drank some pink sobe and I thought opps not suppose to have anything red so I closed the bottle and put it on the floor and picked up my bottle of water. Today I have had one glass of chicken broth, one bottle of water, one Gatorade, and slightly over the recommended Go Lightly stuff that you need to drink . Luckily I was stopped before I got too far into my third glass. Each of these glasses holds 16 oz! Could not have any type of protein drink today. Also found out the time of my surgery too and it is going to be a real early day tomorrow because I am one of the first surgeries of the day! At least I will get to have part of the day. Just have to remember to remove my jewelry tomorrow morning, well at least the earrings.

I too am having Gastric Sleeve Surgery on the 19th of May and I am both very excited and at the same time nervous. Part of the reason for the nerves is I do have problems with the sleeping drugs that they use to put you under but my problem comes not in the going under but in the coming out. So naturally I am nervous. I also would like a buddy too not just for support but also to talk to after surgery to discuss issues with the food plan. I am already planning on taking the food plan slow so that my new stomach gets use to things gradually So it will take me at least 8 weeks before I am back eating regular food again.