CrankyMagpie

Oh, man, I was at work sitting at my desk, and suddenly found that I was crossing my legs!  I mean, not completely knee-over-knee, but it's a total Non-Scale Victory for me - I've never really been able to cross my legs!

Thought I'd give an update.  I'm over half way to my goal, which is awesome, and I've lost over 12 inches in my waist!  The weight isn't coming off as quickly as I had hoped, but I am also not exercising and still not getting even close to the amount of water I should be drinking, so slow weight loss is not all that surprising.  Sometimes I'm just "over it" and try to eat huge portions like I used to, but, thankfully, I feel the restriction of my smaller stomach and can't go crazy.  In general, I'm quite good, just trying to live my life.
I now have a motivation to start exercising, though... I booked a plane ticket to Germany for the end of September, so this is a good chance to get strong, get hydrated, and reach my weight goal.

Still alive. Chugging along, losing slowly but fairly steadily, despite the stresses of the season. So... yeah, not much to report.
Happy holidays to all of you! ✨

There are these chairs at work that someone should really just throw out. They have "arm rests" that are the wrong height (which is only a little offensive) , and those "arm rests" make them impossible for people of a certain girth to sit in (which is very offensive).
I can now sit in them. ... I still very much think they should be thrown out, because they're exclusionary, but they no longer exclude me, which is a small victory.

There are these chairs at work that someone should really just throw out. They have "arm rests" that are the wrong height (which is only a little offensive) , and those "arm rests" make them impossible for people of a certain girth to sit in (which is very offensive).
I can now sit in them. ... I still very much think they should be thrown out, because they're exclusionary, but they no longer exclude me, which is a small victory.

There are these chairs at work that someone should really just throw out. They have "arm rests" that are the wrong height (which is only a little offensive) , and those "arm rests" make them impossible for people of a certain girth to sit in (which is very offensive).
I can now sit in them. ... I still very much think they should be thrown out, because they're exclusionary, but they no longer exclude me, which is a small victory.

There are these chairs at work that someone should really just throw out. They have "arm rests" that are the wrong height (which is only a little offensive) , and those "arm rests" make them impossible for people of a certain girth to sit in (which is very offensive).
I can now sit in them. ... I still very much think they should be thrown out, because they're exclusionary, but they no longer exclude me, which is a small victory.

Took the plunge. Gifted my self a scale for the maintenance phase of my journey. I'm no longer actively losing, so it's time for accountability.
I feel pretty confident these days that the retrograde motion of Mars, global warming trends and US politics will not directly effect my weight 😂😂😂

Had my one month (really, a day short of 6 weeks) post-op appointment today. Everybody seemed pretty happy with how things are going, and I'm now officially in Phase III (long-term bariatric eating phase), with the caveat that rice and pasta are still not allowed, and no alcohol until at least the three month mark. (Not a problem.) But I'm cleared to have fruits and veggies! 🥦🍎🥗🍊🍇🍓 So exciting! I want an apple so badly. (OK, like, a third of an apple, with peanut butter, because I'm not sure a full apple will fit in my stomach, and eating something without any protein feels wrong.)

I'm also cleared to exercise, though I've been advised to start slow with weights and to stop if I feel any "tearing" (😨) in my abdomen. Back to the pool with me! (I hurt my foot, so walking is out right now. I hate it. Swimming and starting with weight lifting should do a lot for my mood, though.)

Had my one month (really, a day short of 6 weeks) post-op appointment today. Everybody seemed pretty happy with how things are going, and I'm now officially in Phase III (long-term bariatric eating phase), with the caveat that rice and pasta are still not allowed, and no alcohol until at least the three month mark. (Not a problem.) But I'm cleared to have fruits and veggies! 🥦🍎🥗🍊🍇🍓 So exciting! I want an apple so badly. (OK, like, a third of an apple, with peanut butter, because I'm not sure a full apple will fit in my stomach, and eating something without any protein feels wrong.)

I'm also cleared to exercise, though I've been advised to start slow with weights and to stop if I feel any "tearing" (😨) in my abdomen. Back to the pool with me! (I hurt my foot, so walking is out right now. I hate it. Swimming and starting with weight lifting should do a lot for my mood, though.)

The woods near my house

I lived through the third week (and a half) stall, and I'm past it and losing pounds again. Given the stresses of the last two weeks, losing instead of gaining is a miracle in itself. Or maybe not. It isn't like I can really stress eat, at this stage. I've found that I fail myself in other ways, though: shorting myself on liquids or proteins or -- just the one dose, so far -- vitamins, when the pressure gets to be too much. I'm working on that: I know I can't afford to lose too much muscle mass, so I have to keep my protein up; I spent a day with a splitting headache after falling short on liquids, so that was a decent object lesson; and I know how important vitamins are, too. I'm just ... really crap at self-care, but I'm actively working on getting better.
I way overdid it at a vigil/protest last week (long walk, long time standing, and I really did know better but also didn't want to "let anyone down" by bowing out early to take care of myself 🙄) and re-damaged an old stress fracture in my foot, so my activity level has dropped badly. Getting in the pool will go a long way toward fixing that, and I'll be cleared for swimming next Tuesday. (I may sneak into the pool on Monday. My incisions are fully closed, and my doctor said that if that's the case, I should be good to go.) In the meantime, I am trying to take good care of my foot so it heals up quickly. Weight loss is 80% diet and 20% exercise, they say, so I'm not really losing that much ground, now. It's fine. I can take the time to heal.
I can finally drink room temperature water again, at least some of the time! I still strongly prefer hot tea. But carrying a water bottle might not be a total waste of time, anymore, which would be amazing for my hydration levels on days when I'm at work or school.
So. Past my first month, not doing perfectly, but certainly chugging along.

CENTURY CLUB! I hit 100 lbs. lost today!!!!!

Well, I hit my first stall - I weigh the same as I did when I weighed a week ago.  I know for a fact that I need to get more exercise, but even so... it still seems odd to me that, even though one is eating less than 600 calories/day, one could stop losing weight.  BUT I was warned about stalls and it's not a surprise and I'm not even that upset about it.
I'm still struggling with food, but I think that, even though eating too fast was part of it, I've been trying to eat foods that my sleeve can't tolerate yet - I don't think pain when eating is supposed to be normal.  It's just so weird not to be able to eat everything I want; I mean, I've never had a problem with any food in my pre-surgery life, my stomach could tolerate everything, but it's obvious now that that isn't the case any longer.  So I'm backing off, eating soft foods again, trying to be gentler with my body, introducing one new thing at a time, still working on eating more slowly.  It's just such a shame to have to throw away so much of the food I made recently.

I recently had avocado and nuts in yogurt and was definitely getting side eye from people ... 
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

Hit a major milestone on the scale today.

Emotionally, I still feel like garbage (other than maybe a little leftover tiredness from surgery, it's nothing relevant to this forum), but I'm slightly happier garbage, anyway.

A small NSV: I had a meeting on the third floor of a building without an elevator today, and I was only breathing a little faster (as opposed to being totally winded) when I got to the top.

A small NSV: I had a meeting on the third floor of a building without an elevator today, and I was only breathing a little faster (as opposed to being totally winded) when I got to the top.

A small NSV: I had a meeting on the third floor of a building without an elevator today, and I was only breathing a little faster (as opposed to being totally winded) when I got to the top.

Onederland....
It's been a few years since I saw the scale tip below 200, I woke up Monday and checked my weight and was excited to see it under 200 (199.8) I didn't really count the weight as I had just come off of being sick for 5 days and barely eating. My appetite has since returned, so much so I hate to admit I was terrible on Tuesday. Had a carb overload day (sort of) - I had about 3oz of angel hair pasta with grilled veggies, baked sweet potato with sour cream and butter and even had dessert (Madeleines). I felt horribly guilty at the end of the day, but my body was craving something other than animal protein.  Woke up this morning prepared to see the scale back over 200 and to my surprise, it was 198.8. I'm only 0.8lbs from my first goal, hoping I can hold steady and drop that lb before my body stalls again.
Having this surgery has been one of my best decisions, sometimes I feel like I've cheated and took the easy way out, but deep down I know that medically supervised weight loss,  countless diets, weight loss drugs and many medical conditions couldn't  help me lose the weight. Since Surgery, I'm down 37 lbs and off my BP meds, no longer take anti-depressants, no more PPIs. I'll have my first series of blood-work drawn in about two weeks, hoping that I can lose at least one more pill... 

I'm off of these boards for a while. My stepfather (my dad's husband) just passed away last night, and I only just lost Dad last year, and ... I kind of need to be focusing on that, you know? I'll see you all later.

I'm off of these boards for a while. My stepfather (my dad's husband) just passed away last night, and I only just lost Dad last year, and ... I kind of need to be focusing on that, you know? I'll see you all later.

I'm off of these boards for a while. My stepfather (my dad's husband) just passed away last night, and I only just lost Dad last year, and ... I kind of need to be focusing on that, you know? I'll see you all later.

My surgery was Wednesday, and already, on Sunday, I'm feeling mostly human. I count myself very lucky!
I have been taking the nausea pills I was prescribed ("as needed" is what the bottle says) every morning, and I think that has helped me get closer and closer to my fluid goals. A pill is only good for 8 hours, though, so it isn't doing anything for me in the evenings, when I am still drinking fluids. Maybe I'll try to go without it tomorrow and see if I can.
Anyway, I'll hit 64 ounces for the first time today, my third full day home. I'm on track for 56 grams of protein, 57 if I go for Jello instead of popsicles, which obviously I'm going to do, now that I've said that.
With more distance, I'm able to report on something I've kind of glossed over in my other statuses ... I had some really rocky time while I was in the hospital. There were at least two hours in recovery where nobody checked on me, and my IV stopped--I felt very sick and dehydrated when they finally fixed it. (I was stuck in recovery through a shift change, and they wouldn't let my spouse back with me for something like 4 hours, because people's assigned rooms weren't ready yet, and not letting spouses join inpatient people in recovery is policy. That was terrible. My spouse complained to the nursing supervisors when he found out how I'd been (not) treated, and he never does that!)
Once I was in my room and had a working IV again, everything progressed OK. They didn't let me walk as quickly as I'd expected; I woke up the first time around 4pm, was in my room by 8pm, and didn't get to walk until around noon the next day, with the exception of trips to the in-room bathroom. The pain meds wrecked me almost as much as I expected (I feel like they added to queasiness, but I can't be sure; they definitely forced me to sleep, instead of really taking care of the pain, though, as I'd thought they might ... happily, the pain has been pretty manageable without them).
Home has been better. I've been pacing the main floor of the house roughly every hour. Once it cools off this evening, Spouse and I are going for a walk part of the way around the block, to see how that goes. (80+ degrees in October, ugh.) I feel a little lightheaded sometimes when I'm walking around, and I'm not sure what that's about. It felt enough like a sugar low, yesterday, that I dropped a single sugar cube into my tea (which my plan allows). That did seem to help. I haven't had to do it again today, happily.
Looking forward from here, I'm not forcing myself to go to class (3 hours, a half hour drive away) tomorrow or Tuesday night. The professor was nice, saying "you're the sort of person who would try, even if you feel bad and even though you're ahead on the material, so I am telling you to stay home." I feel like, if I keep on recovering at this pace, going to class the following week should be no problem for me, plus I should be able to work that Thursday and/or Friday. (I might ease in and try just Friday. Nothing I do at work is time-sensitive. I have a very unimportant job.)
I know from reading these forums, though, not to get too overconfident. So I'm still taking it pretty easy and focusing all of my energy on healing.

OK, surgery's done (Weds), I'm home, and I'm trying to tough it out with just Tylenol in the daytime, because the oxycodone makes me too tired to function. I might take it before bed, just to give my liver a break from Tylenol each day.
I'm taking the anti-nausea pills preventatively. I'll want to go off them as soon as possible, but the patch they put on is only good for three days. This is day three. I'd like to avoid forcing my new stomach and the nicely sewn up hernia to send things backwards, if at all possible.

I'm doing small loops around parts of the house and using the spirometer often. Just trying to heal up, you know. Coughing hurts, but that's to be expected. So far, Jello is the main thing my stomach seems willing to accept, though I've had a little luck with black tea, too.

It took all of the courage in my soul, but I did manage to give myself the shot of blood thinner in my stomach. Blood clots are serious business.