Shells83

Feeling pretty excited today! I've still been losing weight but more slowly. And fit into a pair of size 30 (size 10) jeans last week that one of my friends gave me! I got rid of all my "skinny" size 10 clothes years ago, so I immediately ordered a couple more pairs of size 10 capris/ankle jeans since the smallest I have are size 12s. It's funny how I still didn't really believe I'm a size 10 now, I was convinced it was a fluke and the new jeans I ordered would not fit. But they did! 😁 Today was a scale victory day. The lowest I've been since surgery was 180.4 (on my one year surgiversary) and then I gained a little back. I feel like getting lower than 180 was scary to me because I still worry about keeping the weight off. Today the scale said 179.2! 😀 I'm feeling less worried about getting smaller and keeping the weight off. It is easier to lose for me since surgery than before, where I'd have to kill myself to lose weight. I did maintain the 180ish for a good amount of time so I just need to get to my goal and then focus on maintaining again. I don't think I've ever worn a size 8 in my life, but I think that's my goal. We'll see when I get there. 😉 Hoping to reach goal by my two year surgiversary on July 2nd.

After taking Ozempic for four weeks, I was down 8 lbs! And today down 3 more. That makes 11 pounds in 6 weeks. 😀 I'm only 2 pounds away from my lowest weight since surgery. But this time, I am going to get below 180! I think I have always been scared to lose any more weight. Nervous that I won't be able to maintain. But I'm ready. I'm not sure what my goal weight is, but I'm aiming for a size 8 and BMI within the healthy range. So whatever that ends up looking like, lol! I haven't been lifting weights as much as I'd like. I came down with a sore throat and fever, I may have contracted the coronavirus but am not sure. I was so exhausted for a week and a half, I just couldn't get enough sleep and barely made it through the workdays. I'm glad I can work from home during this crazy time. Trying to stay positive during this time. Life will eventually go back to normal.

It's been awhile since I checked in. Things are going pretty well. I feel so fortunate to have such a great bariatric clinic to provide me with support post-surgery. I've been seeing a therapist there since last fall and it has helped me so much. With both WLS and non WLS issues. I'm feeling so much more confident about myself than I ever have in my life and am really growing as a person. I also had gained 12 pounds back since my one-year surgery appointment. But I have been exercising consistently and 3 pounds of that is muscle gained! My bariatric Dr suggested I get some help using medication to lose the last of the weight needed to reach my goal. They put me on Ozempic, which is actually a medication for diabetic patients but has been approved to help with weight loss. It's a weekly injection, which made me a little nervous since I don't care for needles. But it is the tiniest needle ever, I don't even feel it going in when I Inject myself. It is helping a lot, the restriction makes me feel like I've just had surgery again! It reduces cravings and makes me feel fuller faster. I'm very excited to be on the weight loss train again. I've been lifting weights 3-6 days per week. 6 is the goal, 3 is the minimum I set for myself. I don't do much cardio anymore besides walking. I'm excited that the weather here is warming up so I can do more walking outside. I'm pretty proud of the progress I have made with weight lifting. I can see awesome definition in my shoulders, arms, and legs. I can't wait to see how much more muscular I will be when I lose the rest of this excess fat. You know how they say WLS leads to divorce? I always thought this wouldn't happen to me. And it hasn't yet, but now that I know my true worth, the problems in my marriage are starting to make me question it. I feel like I deserve more than what he gives me. It has nothing to do about wanting someone else, because I don't. In fact, I don't think I'd want to date again, at least for a very long time. My husband and I have been married for 10 years. We've had a lot of ups and downs, and at this point I feel like he's more with me because of all I do for him and that I keep him on track doing the right thing. He's had issues with being responsible in his life before we met. It makes me feel like I'm his mom, not his wife. And I don't have or want kids! He doesn't help out around the house enough and isn't very attentive to me. I want to feel loved and special, I think I deserve that. So we're in therapy together working on things. I care about him, I just don't know if he can give me what I need. I don't even want/need much, I am not a high-maintenance gal! That's all for now, I'm planning on Journaling more often here as I continue working towards my weight goal.

My before and "almost after"! Hoping to lose 15 more pounds and tone up, but I'm feeling pretty good. Just fit into my initial goal jeans! It's been a rough year for me since my surgery on 7/2/18. I was rocking it with the exercise for the first several months. Then my company got bought, had a very stressful first project at work that lasted months, and my mom's terminal illness worsened and she passed. While sometimes I feel bad about myself for not losing as quickly as I'd hoped, I know I've done great. I'm certain that if I hadn't had the surgery before my life derailed this last 10 months, I'd be pushing 300 lbs and would have had an even harder time dealing with all the stress. Looking forward to my one year follow-up appointment and going to try to rock it on exercise this next month. And stick with it more regularly. :)

It's been awhile since I've posted an update. I'm still feeling really great! My weight loss has slowed down but that's my fault. I was exercising almost every day, then I got sick. The kind that lingered for two weeks. On top of that, I've been so busy with work and mentally drained with all the stress that I never got back to my exercise routine after my illness went away. And now I have a rotator cuff injury from lifting heavy logs from a tree we cut down in my yard. Go figure! So the stress of work caused me to start drinking wine again on top of not exercising. I'm disappointed with myself, but life happens. I wish I hadn't had this job change so I could have continued focusing on myself 100% and wish I'd handled the stress better, but that's okay. I got back on the treadmill this morning and it felt so good! This is the last week of my stressful project at work. Although I don't know what I'll be doing next, I am making some changes and will set some boundaries so I can continue working on my healthier self. I'm down to 191 and it still feels good. I just know I probably should have gotten down to more like 181 by now. Like I heard from everyone before my surgery, this is not a magic fix! You do have to put in the work. And I'm ready to jump back on that train. This small stumbling block won't stop me for reaching my goals.

Hi @MegHealthy! That's so exciting you have your first appointment this week. We are VERY close in starting stats. 😃 I wish you the best of luck. Don't worry, the time will fly by and you'll be at your surgery date before you know it! @frustr8 How the heck are YOU? I was worried about you. I'll have to go stalk your profile to see what I missed! 😉😂 I'll post an update now about me. 🙂

The scale said...... 200 today! I'm so happy. Going to schedule my spa day reward and go get my drivers license picture retaken at the kiosk at the grocery store. My current driver's license picture features the unhappy and depressed woman who ate me, sans makeup and hair in a ponytail. Time to get rid of that! So embarrassing. I'll post pics of my old and new one once I go. I know that no one ever likes their drivers license picture, but mine is bad. So bad. Lol! Now. I haven't worked out in over two weeks and need to get back on the wagon. Tomorrow is the day. I have been working too much lately and need to make time for myself. I'll work on that over the next couple weeks.

@Frustr8 Been thinking of you and can't wait to hear how you're doing. The first couple days are rough, but it's all downhill from here! Keep resting but check in when you're feeling up to it. 🙂

Almost forgot to mention.... I am officially 40 lbs down and only two pounds away from ONEderland! So excited to reach that goal of 200 and reward myself with a spa day. My husband got me a spa gift card for Christmas last year and I told myself I wouldn't use it until I got down to 200 lbs. 😜

Oh Yeah! Doing the happy dance for you in Iowa @Frustr8 💃🎉😀 Wishing you the very best on your surgery and your new journey! Please post as soon as you feel well enough and let me know how you're doing! I am feeling better, but still can't get rid of this cough and crap in my chest. I did end up going to the doctor and getting some meds. Thinking it's time to get my butt back to working out tomorrow. Maybe I need to sweat the rest of this crap out.

Ugh. I am sick. It started on Wednesday and Thursday with just a very sore throat. Friday the runny nose, sneezing, and sinus pressure joined in. At first I thought it was my allergies flaring up, but I'm pretty sure it's a sinus infection now, or a combo of the two. I was dreading this because I get a lot of sinus infections and can no longer take Advil Cold and Sinus. Nothing else works for me. 😭 I hate being sick. Plus I haven't worked out since Wednesday and I'm eating tons of sugar free cough drops and G2 since I cannot do water right now. All this sugar/fake sugar can't be good for my body. Plus I'm eating more carbs than my nut recommended due to the vegetable beef soup I'm eating. Oh well. I guess I can't do anything about it. I haven't gotten on the scale in a few days, hoping I'll maintain or show a loss when I step back on. If not, I just need to accept it and get back at it.

My doctor's appointment went great, thanks for asking! How are you doing with your pre-op diet? @Frustr8 I met with the intake nurse, nut, and surgeon. They all seemed very impressed by the amount of weight I've lost so far, particularly the amount of fat their fancy schmancy says I've lost. I'm down 4 pounds of muscle too, but they said that's to be expected with the early and fast weight loss. I'm basically just supposed to keep doing what I'm doing and I go back in six more weeks! My surgeon did encourage me to start trying more foods since I've basically been sticking to the soft foods. This sounds silly, but I'm just not sure what to eat. I'm doing fine and feel satisfied with what I'm doing. I did grab some raw sugar snap peas and some low carb tortillas at the store yesterday. I guess raw veggies can be tough on some people's stomach, I guess some foods "sit like a rock". Not mine, the sugar snap peas tasted great and didn't feel different in my tummy. I haven't tried a tortilla yet. I think I may get a salad for lunch one day this week. Weight loss slowed down this week - 1.8 lbs today from last Monday. I kinda knew this was coming and it's okay. I am not going to be obsessed with the scale! The weight will come off and I'm very happy with where I'm at today.

Checking in! (As I eat my go-to meal: diced chicken with salsa and avocado) My six week follow-up with my Surgeon is Wednesday and I'm excited. I'm feeling proud of how I'm doing so far and interested to find out how my body fat and muscle figures have changed. I've been lifting weights three times a week using Jillian's DVD Lift and Shred. I like it a lot because it has simple, basic moves that help me remember to keep my form and pushes me to do more reps. I already went and bought heavier dumbells in 12 lbs and 15 lbs. I have been selling some of my clothes that no longer fit on Facebook. Sometimes I mention in the listing that I had weight loss surgery and yesterday a very nice gal messaged me wondering if she could ask some questions about my WLS. I was very happy to share my experience and answer some questions for her, although I made sure to tell her different surgeons sometimes have different plans. It felt good to help someone out while she was thinking about having the surgery. I honestly can't believe it's only been six weeks since my surgery, it feels like it's been much longer. I just feel SO good and so excited about my present and future. I know if I hadn't had WLS, I'd still be unhappy and depressed as I continued battling my weight. I'll be back to check in after my appointment Wednesday! 😀

Whew, I am exhausted. I think I've said that almost every day since going back to work after surgery. I have a desk job, but do get in 30 minutes to an hour of walking during my workday and typically work out 30 minutes to an hour after I get home. The weight lifting feels really good to do. I've tried doing some jogging intervals but get fatigued quickly when I do so I've been mainly walking and lifting weights. Today I'm extra tired because shortly after I woke up this morning I heard a loud noise. Part of a tree in my front yard fell and missed my SUV by inches. So I spent the morning sawing off branches and carrying them out of my driveway and the street. Luckily my neighbor came over with his saw and helped me, but it was still hard work. Then after that I decided to work on an area of my landscaping that hadn't been taken care of in a while. I think I overdid it because I felt nauseated and had a slight headache. I was drinking plenty of water and G2, but think my tank was on E. I'm feeling better now that I ate lunch but I'm still tired. I think a nap is in my future today and I'm definitely skipping my workout since I worked so hard outside today. Today is an exciting food day. I bought some steamed shrimp the other day and had some for lunch. I chopped up the shrimp and mixed in a couple tablespoons of fresh salsa. I'd planned to add some diced avocado, but it wasn't quite ripe enough. Tonight I am having steak and broccoli for the first time since before surgery! I didn't realize how bored I was eating the same stuff most days.

Alright, here they are, my first progress pics! I am happy and feel very fortunate to have had this surgery. 😊