nourishing heather

I experienced this for two days straight. I get nauseous from the pain meds and the anesthesia. I finally convinced my care team to stop all pain meds and then the nausea went away. I also could only consume 1 oz via small sips/licks over the course of 15 mins. I just went super slow. I also felt less nauseous if all lights were off, curtains drawn, and no visitors. Just needed to relax and breathe. No reading, tv, phone, thinking. Took it real easy. My Blog: www.nourishingheather.com HW: 325 CW: 299 Surgery Date: 8/1/18 GW: 160

I use a timer all day everyday! To remind me when to eat (sip), when to stop, how long to wait, then when to sip. When the timer goes off I change course and set it for the next thing. I couldn't meet my goals with out it. I use the timer on my phone. My Blog: www.nourishingheather.com HW: 325 CW: 314 Surgery Date: 8/1/18 GW: 160

You all, I made it!!! I had my sleeve gastrectomy on August 1st and I'm feeling great!!! Spent the 1st, 2nd, and part of 3rd recovering in the hospital and am now at home. Using timers and measuring cups/scales to get all my Protein, Water, and walking in. I am so happy I am finally on this side of surgery! I blogged about my experience at www.nourishingheather.com if you want more info. My Blog: www.nourishingheather.com HW: 327 CW: 307 Surgery Date: 8/1/18 GW: 160

My surgery is on Wednesday, so I haven't experience this myself yet. But the other day at our bariatric support group there were a number of folks who were post-op who were describing how the weight is coming off somewhat unevenly. They were saying that they felt like melting snowmen, lol! As though the sun was only hitting the one side of them or something! There were many other folks who were post op who said that it usually evens out and is only noticeable to yourself probably. Best wishes to you! I am so excited for my surgery and will accept even lopsided weight loss.

Bad News First “Do you you want the good news first or the bad news first?” My weight loss surgery journey is full of good news! With every appointment, support group meeting, and pre-surgery milestone met, I am filled with hope, encouragement, and potential. I’m spurred on by small successes and know that there is much more good news coming my way. I am so excited to share with you guys all the things I’m looking forward to following a successful weight loss surgery experience! But I feel like it’s only fair that we also take a look at the not-so-good stuff. The Bad News I carry experiences as a result of obesity that are/were, at times, absolutely devastating. I’ve spent years yo-yo dieting, emotional eating, and sometimes feeling badly for even existing! We live in a body-shaming culture and it can be absolutely maddening to try to meet societies ideals or to exist having not met them. I don’t know how to fix our culture but I do know how to stop letting what that culture says about my body have any bearing on my choices! Below is a list of 15 ways that being obese has negatively impacted my life. Some of these realities may continue even after significant weight loss, but I trust that some can be put behind me for good! Daily pain in my feet, joints, and back Periods of exhaustion or low energy Fear of having children due to high risk of weight-related pregnancy complications Fear of increased risk of heart disease, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, strokes, etc Very poor self image at times Increased depression Increased anxiety Skin rashes from overlapping skin Having a less and less responsive immune system Experiencing repeated bullying as a child and adult Humiliation and pain from squeezing into seats and booths Trouble finding clothing that I like (non-cotton, roomy, affordable quick dry clothing anyone?) Embarrassment when publicly receiving unsolicited weight loss advice Overhearing rude comments about my body I want to make something clear: I love my body today. I’m not having weight loss surgery because I hate my body. My mental health care team and I spent more than a year training my brain to love my body just as it is. It was HARD work. Through that process I realized I feel badly for my body. I would NEVER talk to someone else the way I talked to my body. I have been SO mean to my body for SO long. I have learned so much about self-care in the last two years. I practice being patient with my body and listening to it so I can give it what it needs. I don’t always succeed, but it’s an effort I’m committed to. Yes, I’m having an elective surgery to anatomically change the size of my stomach only because I love my body. I’m get to choose what I do with, to, and for my body because I’m the person who was put in charge of caring for it. If you find yourself hating your body, I encourage you to reach out to a mental health professional today—and keep reaching out until you find one who is patient and gentle with you! Nourishing Heather

It sounds silly, but do you have one of those medicine cups laying around the house somewhere? If so, you might try to fill it and drink it over the course of 10 minutes, 5 sips total. Most medicine cups are 1 ounce. If you practice these 5 small sips over the course of 10 minutes, it may help you find a pace that works for you. This is something that is recommended by my program for post-op. I will be trying it for myself. My surgery is on August 1st and it is the sleeve!

Hi, Everyone! I have started blogging about my weight loss surgery journey. The hardest thing about preparing for surgery, for me, has been the mental preparation for social situations. While I have no problem discussing the surgery with my family and friends, it's acquaintances, neighbors, employers, clients, etc that I worry about. This isn't an invisible surgery. People are going to know that something is going on when I very quickly lose half my body weight! And they are going to have questions and comments. They are probably going to be well-meaning---I think most people are very well intentioned. But I am still trying to prepare for how to respond. I'm afraid of people judging me for having the surgery. This surgery is going to result in my size very quickly shrinking and I'm afraid of what people will say or ask. I've never existed in the world as a person with a healthy weight. I don't know what that is going to be like socially. I'm also afraid that everyone is going to be celebrating the "new me" and being so nice to me that it is only going to make me that much MORE aware of the discrimination that overweight people experience everyday. I'm doing this for my health but I know I'm going to be super sensitive to preferential treatment as a new-found skinny person. Does that make any sense? Anyway, I am processing all this on my blog and I wanted to share the link with you guys in case you find my ramblings helpful. I am just getting started! My surgery date is August 1st! Here's the link to my blog: www.nourishingheather.com Here's a recent post: Before Surgery Photos It’s only sixteen days (yes, I’m counting!) until my bariatric surgery date. The surgery I will be having is called a sleeve gastrectomy. It is an inpatient, laparoscopic surgery. My surgeon will make five very small incisions on my abdominal area and use very small instruments to remove about 85% of my stomach. I have done a TON of preparation for this surgery and am feeling very excited to finally be able to use this tool for weight loss! One of the requirements of my surgery center is having preoperative photographs taken by their staff photographer. Photographs are also taken postoperatively for comparison. These photographs are another tool, along with things like weighing oneself and taking body measurements, that help weight loss surgery patients see their progress. I absolutely loved my photographer. Her name was Marsha and she was an absolute joy to work with! Her studio was clean and comfortable. She was efficient and kind. I enjoyed interacting with her and I know she is rooting for my success! She sent me the photos a few days ago and I am so stoked to share them with you all. I am smiling in these photos because I am proud of myself! I am proud of the work I have done over the last year to qualify for surgery. I’m also a pretty joyful person in general, so smiling in photos is just part of being me! I’m also wearing my favorite flowery leggings, so that’s probably part of it! Calling plus-size and fat women brave for doing things smaller-sized people do is belittling and insulting. It suggests that living in our bodies is an extraordinary feat, and we’re somehow heroes for…what? -Jenny Trout, https://www.self.com/story/fat-bikini-brave Now, I know that there are people out there who absolutely do not want to see fat bodies. Some don’t want fat people to exist and they certainly don’t want to see us in only a sports bra and spandex. I’m going to trust that those folks have found some other blog to read, because here at Nourishing Heather we aren’t going to apologize for existing. And we’re going to celebrate every bit of our journey, not only the glamorous bits! Don’t those leggings just scream summer! I love them! I’m gonna sign off to make some supper. Tonight I’m whipping up a frittata and plan to devour the last of the raspberries that DH’s mom kindly brought over to us. DH is traveling for work this week and then headed directly to a gather with his brother this weekend so I’m dining solo this week. Whenever I’m cooking for just myself it’s basically the egg show, you know? Starting this Wednesday, I’ll be following my two week preoperative eating plan and it will be nice to be able to get adjusted to that without anyone else in the kitchen. Though I do miss my DH. Be Well,

Thanks! Any words of wisdom! Your stats look great! Congrats on your success!

My target outfits are about as fancy as I get, lol! I love this NSV!!! I can't wait to say goodbye to my lumpy back fat. Maybe I'll throw it a funeral. JK - BYE FELICIA!

I was required to lose 10lbs. This is not a lot, especially considering I weighed 325lbs at the time! For my care team, it wasn't really about the number of pounds, it was about showing them that I would do exactly what they asked of me and trusting them that the outcome would be a loss of at least 10lbs. We used it to establish a trusting relationship. I followed their guidelines, stay engaged by tracking, asking questions, and even bringing in food packaging for their review! We worked together and I did lose the 10lbs (and a little more). Some people are required to lose weight before surgery to improve the safety of their surgery. For me that was not the case but it was still a very worthwhile process. Sometimes it's the mental work that is the hardest! Best wishes to you!

Yay, you have a date!!! Wahoo! My Blog: www.nourishingheather.com HW: 325 CW: 314 Surgery Date: 8/1/18 GW: 160

Thank you for reading! I want to document my journey so I can look back with pride on my progress and hopefully be a resource for others. My Blog: www.nourishingheather.com HW: 325 CW: 314 Surgery Date: 8/1/18 GW: 160

Thanks! Two weeks until surgery! I am SO excited! I just launched my blog and start my official pre-op diet tomorrow! Best wishes to you as well! My Blog: www.nourishingheather.com HW: 325 CW: 314 Surgery Date: 8/1/18 GW: 160

Have you looked at any of the numerous studies on outcomes, both short and long term, for surgical weight loss versus diet/lifestyle changes? Overall, less than 10% of people who set out to lose 60-80% of their body weight will succeed with diet/lifestyle changes. With surgery 80% of people lose 60-80% of their bodyweight. 5 years later only 20% of the LESS THAN 10% who succeeded with diet/lifestyle changes are maintaining. With surgery, it's about 80% of the 80%. Gastric sleeve does a lot more than reduce stomach by 80-85%. The portion of the stomach that produces the hunger hormone gherlin is removed. As people suffering from obesity, our bodies because immune to leptin, a hormone our body makes that aides in appetite suppresion and signals satiety. After surgery, this immunity is no longer present. Gastric sleeve surgery is a reset for your body is so many ways. I think you need to better under the complexity of the surgery and how it truly affects bodies. There are many studies showing how the neuromapping in our brains actually changes following bariatric surgery. Obesity is a disease process and willpower alone is rarely the cure. Best wishes to you! My Blog: www.nourishingheather.com HW: 325 CW: 314 Surgery Date: 8/1/18 GW: 160

I've started blogging about my weight loss surgery! Just another example of ways this process is changing me already! August 1st cannot come soon enough, I am so excited!!! My Blog: www.nourishingheather.com HW: 325 CW: 314 Surgery Date: 8/1/18 GW: 160

Yes, let's get a team together!!! Recovery from Obesity is a worthy cause! My blog: www.nourishingheather.com

Get help now! Call your surgeon. Transfer addiction is serious! My program requires complete alcohol abstinence for life!!! It is so common and you need to get sober to take back your life. Best wishes to you! Good job reaching out! Sent from my SM-J320R4 using BariatricPal mobile app

My program requires lifelong abstinence from alcohol (risk oftransfer addiction, empty calories, and higher intoxication with less to drink after surgery). Coffee is dehydrates you and is highly acidic. Why not work on finding a better way of becoming more alert? Drink more water, take 20 min nap, walk in the sunlight, do morning yoga, earlier bed time, smell vibrant essential oil, play upbeat music. I totally understand that some people and programs are A-okay with coffee. I'm just wanted to put another perspective out there. Best wishes to you! Sent from my SM-J320R4 using BariatricPal mobile app

Are you starting pre-op diet Wednesday? I am! I have my bone broth, protein powders, etc ready to go! Sent from my SM-J320R4 using BariatricPal mobile app

Awesome! Both on the same day? Wow! You guys already have each other for buddies but I'd love to keep up with you guys on here as well. Are you guys starting a pre-op diet Wednesday? I am! Sent from my SM-J320R4 using BariatricPal mobile app

Thank you@Shells83 for the well wishes! I am so excited! I agree that journaling helps a lot. Just knowing there are other people on similar journeys! I even started a blog---crazy out of my comfort zone but so is surgery lol! Www.nourishingheather.com is the blog address if you are interested. Goid job paying attention to portions and what soft foods work for you. Identifying slider foods is so wise! I am gonna to try to take good notes and pay attention while I'm eating like you. Sent from my SM-J320R4 using BariatricPal mobile app

Me too! Sent from my SM-J320R4 using BariatricPal mobile app

I'm getting sleeved August 1st too!!! Sent from my SM-J320R4 using BariatricPal mobile app

I am getting sleeved on August 1st!!! Sent from my SM-J320R4 using BariatricPal mobile app