Shells83

I enjoy reading other people’s journeys and stories, so I decided to create one of my own! I’m Shelly, about to turn 35 years old on July 7th, and I’m from Iowa. I’ve struggled with my weight ever since I was 10 years old and have been up and down too many times to count. My lowest adult weight was 165 (very briefly) and I’m currently at my highest adult weight, 242. At 5’6”, the top end of the healthy weight range for me is 154, so 150 is my goal. Funny thing is, the last time I got measured as an adult I was told I was 5’4” so I always thought I needed to get to 138 or less to be at a healthy weight! Currently, I am in the final stages of being approved for my VSG. The surgeon is supposed to sign off on everything today and the gal handling my insurance paperwork said she would submit to insurance today and call me. She said approval could take anywhere from 15 minutes to 7-10 business days. Fingers crossed for 15 minutes! 😉 Backing up a bit, I originally went to Iowa Weight Loss Specialties for their non-surgical weight loss program on 5/10/2018. Knowing my BMI wasn’t 40 or higher, I thought trying for the surgery would only end up in disappointment if I didn’t get approved through insurance plus I was still struggling a little mentally with the idea that I thought I should lose the weight on my own. While meeting with my nurse practitioner, I mentioned that I had considered WLS and she asked if I’d like them to at least look into it with my insurance company in the meantime and I agreed. At my next appointment two weeks later, my nurse practitioner told me that surgery would be covered, all I’d need is one more nutrition counseling appointment and a mental health assessment. I thought that meant my insurance was approved, but I had misunderstood what she said. So for the next couple weeks, I was happy as a clam thinking I was approved as long as I completed the steps, until I went to meet with the surgeon and found out I wasn’t approved yet! I was devastated and in tears, which was really embarrassing but I had my heart set on this surgery and it was extremely disappointing to hear that I may not even get approved without a comorbidity. However, they did tell me they wanted to do bloodwork and possibly a sleep study to see if I had a comorbidity, but the wait time for the home sleep study kit was two weeks. ☹ Luckily, the next day when I came in for my bloodwork they magically had a sleep machine I could take home immediately, which was great news. My bloodwork all came back normal, so I was really riding on the sleep study and praying I’d have at least moderate sleep apnea. My husband told me he thought I definitely have sleep apnea based on how loud I snore, but I was still worried. Plus I thought all this time he was exaggerating on my snoring! 😉 So I returned the sleep machine on Monday 6/11 and they said it would take 7-10 business days for the results. I was happy and surprised to hear back on Friday 6/15 that I did have sleep apnea which qualifies as a comorbidity and scheduled an appointment to come in Monday 6/18 to hear the results and do my nicotine test, which was the last step before submitting to insurance. I was completely shocked to hear that I have SEVERE sleep apnea. Which all makes sense now that I know and think about it. But I have to get a CPAP machine to wear from now on. She indicated they’d have me do another sleep study after I lose 10% of my body weight to see if I still need the CPAP machine, but that my weight might have nothing to do with it. Not getting adequate sleep may have been one of the reasons I have not been able to lose weight on my own in recent years. Although I dread the thought of wearing a CPAP machine, I’ve grown so used to being exhausted that I’m actually looking forward to seeing what getting a good night’s sleep feels like. After hearing that I have sleep apnea, I briefly wondered if I really needed the surgery after all and that maybe lack of sleep was really what had been holding me back from losing weight through diet and exercise. But then I remembered how I’ve been struggling all my life and that the hunger hormone ghrelin was going to continue to be a problem for me. I really feel like the sleeve is what I truly need to become a healthy person for the rest of my life. Finally, in addition to sleep apnea, I suffer from depression, anxiety, back pain, heartburn, and ADD. I am hoping the surgery will reduce my depression, anxiety, and back pain. That’s all for now! I’ll update again next time I have news, which will hopefully be my insurance approval!

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. 😊

@Frustr8 I am so excited for your journey to begin and wish you the best of luck. Because the pre-op diet is the change that begins the rest of your life. And with your extra pre-op diet days and positive attitude, I know you will do great! Woo oooo, get ready to join the losers bench!!! 😎🙂🙃🎉🎈✨🎊✨

Tomorrow marks 4 weeks since my surgery! I am down 21 since surgery and 28 total, which I am extremely happy with. I already feel happier and more confident with myself. Having this surgery is the best thing I've ever done for myself. I'm so grateful for insurance approval and that everything has gone so well for me. I know that without this tool, I would have kept gaining and/or yo-yo-ing and had even more health problems. I plan on taking my 4 week progress photos later today and am excited to see how much I've changed. I may post them later. So now I can eat "whatever I want". Except my nut says wait 3 months for nuts/popcorn and to introduce raw veggies slowly. Reaching this stage is good, but scary. I kind of liked being restricted because there was no guesswork involved. I think I'll mainly stick to the same foods for a while longer. Because I'm still not really hungry, I only get that "empty tummy" feeling the few times I've forgotten to eat. I may have mentioned this before, but I think I confuse hunger and cravings. But I do think I'm slowly figuring it out. I rarely get cravings, and when I do, it's a fleeting thought, not a strong urge that causes me to eat. I've found if I drink some water and/or get busy doing something, it really helps. You know, all the tricks we've heard before but didn't work for us. One thing I need to work on is accepting eating more calories. During the liquid diet stage, I was typically around 475 per day. My nut said when I start eating real foods, my goal would be 600-800. I've only hit 600 a couple times and am typically in the high 500's. But I'm meeting my protein goal of 60-80 g per day (my nut said aim for 60 unless I'm hungry). So I think that's okay and I'll talk to them about my "fear of more calories" at my next follow-up appointment in a couple weeks. Lastly, I can start doing more exercise than walking! I think I'll add some jogging intervals to my walks and start doing some weight lifting using my Jillian Michael's DVDs. I'd like to sign up for a gym/exercise program that's group fitness with a lot of weight lifting, but I need to see what happens with my new position at the company that bought my employer out first before committing. I need to make sure the class times are convenient for me.

Keep up the great work @Lyngolean and I hope you get your Instant Pot next week! Happy Early birthday! @macadamia I just made the egg bites using the recipe I posted above, and they are SO GOOD. Very light and fluffy. I modified the recipe a bit. I used skim milk instead of cream, used turkey bacon instead of regular, and left out the veggies. I think I'll add mushrooms and onion next time!

Well, it's back to real life tomorrow. I'm returning to work. I wonder if anyone will notice that I've lost weight? I'm going to have to get a new routine down to get my walking and meal prep in. I think I'm going to take egg whites with cheese, yogurt, and cottage cheese tomorrow for my meals and see how that goes. I should be able to get a half hour walk in for my lunch break as long as I go early to beat the heat. No issues with any foods still. Starting next week, I can do exercise other than walking. I think I'll start out slow with a Jillian Michael's weight lifting DVD and maybe do some jogging intervals during my walks. I can also move to the next stage in my diet and start incorporating more foods! So I was trying to figure out whether I had anything nice enough to wear to an interview, just to be prepared since I've started applying for jobs. I can't believe how many shirts are too loose already! Not that I had many shirts that would work anyway, since we can wear casual clothing at my current job. I did end up ordering a new shirt to wear from Kohls, but I got a good deal on it. I also had to order a pair of close toed dress shoes but got a great deal on those too. I have a couple Lularoe skirts that will work with my new shirt and shoes, so hopefully that will tide me over until fall. I just don't want to have to scramble to find something that fits last minute if I get a call for an interview. My cousin actually is friends with a manager at one of the places I applied, so I'm pretty confident I'll get an interview there. I really hope so anyway!

@macadamia I haven't gotten around to trying the egg bites yet! But I plan on using this recipe I found: https://www.staysnatched.com/instant-pot-low-carb-starbucks-sous-vide-bacon-egg-bites/ I'll let you know once I try them! I'm out of eggs right now and have been using the carton egg whites. But whites are getting too boring.

Not much new to report here. I'm just sticking to about the same foods each day and still walking 1-2 hours daily. Weight loss ranges from half to a pound per day, usually less than a pound now but I'm still very happy with it. I weighed in at 220.4 today, so I'm very excited about getting into the teens in the 200's. I haven't worn anything besides workout clothes since surgery but I feel like some of my shirts are looser! I have to go back to work on Monday. 🙁 It's been so nice being able to sleep more, wake up naturally with no alarm, and go for a walk every morning. But, gotta pay those pesky bills. So I'll need to do some meal prepping this weekend. I actually put on make up today! I'm going to get my hair done, so I just wanted to feel good about myself after being a scrub these past few weeks. 😂 Tomorrow I'll get a pedicure. One thing I want to do is set some rewards for myself when I hit a certain weight on the scale. But it will be tough since I won't set food rewards, and no clothing rewards until I get closer to goal. So that leaves.... Massages, shoes, purses, jewelry.... Hm I need to get more creative.

Congratulations @Frustr8 Hoping the time flies until your surgery date, which I'm sure it will. 😀

@macadamia Thank you! I'm glad you were able to get the 6 QT at such a great price on prime day. I am loving mine so far. I also bought one of those silicone molds for egg bites. I think they will be great to take to work when I go back.

OK, time to check in on this whole soft foods stage! Right now I'm finding that eating is really just a hassle. Mainly because of the no drinking during and 30 min after and having to eat sooooo slowly! It's nice to taste other flavors and my empty lurching tummy feels better, but sometimes I wish I could just stay on liquids. I'm sure it will get better with time when I can eat more at once instead of 6 times a day. But I'm tolerating everything I'm eating just fine! Yay! So here's what day one looked like: 1. 1 scrambled egg with cheese (could only eat half--it tasted very rich) 2. 1/2 serving of the Ricotta Bake recipe (had three bites left over that I couldn't finish.) 3. 1 oz pureed chicken with a dab of salsa and light sour cream (no room left for cauliflower puree) 4. 1 oz of pureed chicken with a dab of salsa and light sour cream (still no room for veggie) 5. 1/2 cup low fat cottage cheese (Much like yogurt, this seems to be a slider food since I could finish the whole 4 oz) 6. Protein shake. I needed this to hit my protein goal of 60-80 g per day. I ended with 66 g of protein. Day two was more of the same. Except I had two egg whites instead of the whole egg. And I was able to eat 2 oz of chicken at one time instead of 1. I ended up needing only a half a protein shake to meet my goal. I feel pretty good, but kind of worried that eating two oz of chicken this soon is too much. I might call my nutritionist. It just seems like people quite a bit farther out than me aren't able to eat that much. I know it varies with each person but I want to make sure I'm not pushing my pouch too much. It's difficult for me to figure out when I'm feeling full or not. Today I haven't done quite so well. I had my two egg white with cheese for breakfast, but then I had to go pick my sister in law up from an auto repair shop and drop her at home, then I had to drive to the city for a dentist appointment. After that I had a couple errands to run. Then I got home and decided I needed to cook. I am trying a pulled pork recipe in my Instant Pot and made a batch of Ricotta Bake. Hopefully the pulled pork with agree with me. I found a low sugar BBQ sauce to try. I am not a huge fan of pulled pork, but my husband is and I wanted to make him something special for dinner. He has been pretty great about everything before, during, and after my surgery. I'm a lucky gal! Anyway, I totally got off track there (lol) but the moral of that story is I need to get some more food in my belly today! I should have thought ahead and put a protein shake in a cooler for after my dentist appointment. And maybe should have eaten before cooking and coming on here! Oops! Oh well, I'll just use shakes for whatever protein I can't get through food today. OK, I'm going to sign off and go eat something! 😉😁