Long time no post!!!!

I do have to apologize to everyone.  I am sorry it has taken me so long to post another update.  I am going to try to do at least 1 post per week. 

 I have been doing ok, taking one day at a time.  I have been having some issues with dry food.  I have had some emotional melt downs as well.  The thing I am finding the most difficult is when my family is eating something that looks and smells so good and I can't have it.  One example was last Wednesday, I had not made any plans for dinner,  now mind you there are two other adults in this house that can make a decision on what to eat for dinner, so Tommy decided to make breakfast for dinner.  It wouldn't have been so bad if it were bacon and eggs, but it was homemade waffles with butter and syrup.  The smell of the waffles and syrup sent my brain into a tizzy!  Tommy was kind enough to make me a scrambled egg,  I told him that I could cook my dinner, but he insisted on making me an egg, so I let him.  Well between making the waffles and trying to cook my egg, it go a bit over done.  I didn't think this was going to be a problem, so we all started eating.  OH but how good those waffles looked and smelled.  After about the 4th bite of my egg, I started to get an uncomfortable feeling in my chest.  OMG the egg was stuck!  Now once food gets stuck, I just need to let it pass, not eat or drink anything until it does.  Tommy felt so bad, he offered to cook me another egg.  All I could do was snap at him, I was just so uncomfortable.  I got up from the table and went outside for a walk.  Now Douglas is suffering from separation anxiety lately and gets very upset when I leave the house.  He also gets very upset when he sees me upset.  So as I am outside trying to get my food to move, I hear Douglas howling (crying), I try to ignore it, but that wasn't happening.  I came in and Douglas is freaking out that he is tired and wants to go to bed.  I told him that I just needed a little time to make my belly feel better.  I went out the back door and sat by the pool for about 5 minutes and he started to howl again.  You would think that someone else would start getting him ready for bed, but noooooo, so I came in and got him calmed down and put to bed.  Which turned out to be a good thing, cause it took my mind off of me and by the time I came back downstairs, the egg had passed!  Tommy was exhausted from not sleeping all day, so he went to bed and Nicholas and I sat outside on the lounge chairs by the pool chatting and reading.

Friday was another day from hell!  I made the mistake of drinking my shake right after eating a couple of pieces of watermelon.  After I eat something I am supposed to wait an hour before drinking anything to give the food time to break down and pass out of the pouch.  If I drink right away, it will force the food out of the pouch too early and will get stuck.  That is what happened.  So I poured out the rest of my shake, and took Douglas and my Mother in Law to get haircuts and then to Walmart.  After the haircuts I had noticed that the food passed and I was able to start drinking my iced tea.  Off to Walmart we go.  I had a list of stuff, just wanted to go in and get what we needed and head home, well 2 1/2 hours later we are checking out and I am absolutely starving.  WE are starving, except for Douglas, cause he thinks going to the store is like browsing the buffet table.  He has to get a cookie from the bakery, taste a sample of each cold cut I order, and of course get a drink to wash it all down.  You Gotta just love him!  We made a stop at Wendy's drive thru and picked up some lunch.  I got my usual, chili which I never have a problem with.  I quickly unload the car and then we sit down to have lunch.  I take a few bites of the chili, and do you know, it got stuck.  I was so upset!  Tommy woke up and I started crying.  I laid on the couch and feel asleep immediately, I was so wiped out!  I consider Friday a total wash as far as food goes, had a protein shake and hit the sack real early.

Saturday was a great day, I was able to eat 3 full meals without any issues, even tried a recipe I got from a fellow WL friend called Tipton Pizza Soup.  It was delicious. 

I know now that I just need to stick with the moist soupy foods until I am totally healed.  

I have been walking 2 miles every morning.  I find that walking sets my mood for the day, I feel really good after walking, but it is getting mighty hot here in FL.  Wednesday, Tommy, Nicholas and I meet with the personnel trainer at the gym for him to help us come up with individualized workouts.  Then I think I will be going to the gym instead of walking outside.  

NOW TO THE STATISTICS:

Lost a total of 42 lbs so far.

Lost a total of 17 inches 

• Neck -  1 1/2 
• Thigh - 1 3/4
• Bicep - 1 1/2
• Calf -    1 1/4
• Chest -  2 1/4
• Waste - 3 1/4
• Hips -   5 1/2

I knew I was losing inches because I have gone from a Size 2X to an XL and XL's are baggy on me!  I never thought that I would be able to shop outside the plus dept again, but YIPEE!  now I can!

Here are some pictures of my progress so far!

This is a total life changing experience!  and it only gets better from here.

One of the reasons I decided to have this reconstruction of my insides, was my uncontrolled diabetes.  I want to share with you my sugar numbers over the past month.  Incredible, just incredible!  Again a life changing experience!  I am no longer diabetic!  

I finally sat down and read "Living and Eating Well After Weight-Loss Surgery before & after" by Susan Maria Leach.  What an awesome read!  I should have read it before surgery, because everything I have been going through with food and my emotions, are very typical of those who have had WLS.  Plus the book has 135+ recipes that are Low carb, high protein, which is the diet I need to follow for the rest of my life.  I suggest you read it if you are planning WLS or have had it!  

Thank you for reading, I will post again soon!

Love,

Stephanie

Chicken did me in!

Tommy made awesome chicken wings tonight for dinner.  He barbecued mine because I am not supposed to eat anything fried.  Well after a few bites, I started to feel weird again.  By the time I finished the second wing, I was done.  The pain was unbelievable!  I walked and walked and walked trying to get the pain to go away, but it kept getting worse.  I felt like I wanted to just make myself throw up, but I know that isn't good for the pouch.  The pain was in the center of my chest and in my throat.  I went upstairs to rest a little bit and after a while it started to subside.  It took almost 1 hour for the intense pain to go away.  I am still having some pain in the center of my chest, but it is bearable.

So I guess I will cross chicken off my list of foods for a while.  UGH!

Going to have a cup of hot tea and relax for a while...I am wiped out!

No More Plus Size Clothes

Last week Douglas was receiving an academic award for having a 4.0 average through out the school year at school and he was adamant about wearing a purple shirt to the awards.  Of course he didn't have anything purple in his closet, so I needed to go shopping.  I went to Marshalls and found a purple shirt immediately, it was still early in the day so I decided to go to KMart, just to look around.  KMart always has clearance racks so that is where I immediately migrate to.  What a great feeling not to have to look in the plus size section.  I found a cute XL shirt in the misses department, marked down of course, so I bought it.  I tried it on when I got home, to find out that it was a little big, not huge, but a little big.  I was so happy for myself.  What a great feeling.  I think I may be going thru my closet sooner than I thought.  I have a lot of 2X clothes that just hang on me now. Watch out GoodWill.

I now wish that I had saved some more of my Mom's clothes.  She was a lot smaller than me, but I may one day fit into them.  I did take a few of her shirts, and guess what, they fit me now.  Mom would be so proud of me.  I sure do miss her, but I know she is guiding me through my new journey.  

Tonight I am going to try to have Chicken again.  Keep your fingers crossed that I am able to eat it.  I do love chicken.

Tomorrow is 4 weeks since surgery.  I will try to take some pictures this week.  Have a great day!

Love 

Steph

Another week has flown by

Hi Everyone I know it has been over a week since my last post, and I apologize.  I am still trying to get used to blogging. 

Weight loss has been real slow this week.  I have only lost 3 lbs in 10 days.  It kind of makes me upset, I think I really thought that the weight would be falling off me by now.  I did run into an issue though.  For those of you who plan to have this surgery, just try to remember to take your fiber supplements.  I had stopped taking mine, not thinking I really needed it.  Well I really did NEED it.  I had a few days of misery, feeling bloated and uncomfortable.  I started taking the fiber again, and my plumbing is back to normal.  :0)  I am still having problems with the potassium 'horse pill'.  I am now dissolving it in a medicine cup full of iced tea and drink like I am doing a shot. Still tastes like crap, but I can get it down.  I think I am starting to feel hunger again.  Not a growling stomach, more like a pain in my belly area.  Before surgery, when I was hungry or my sugar was low I would break out in a sweat and feel out of sorts, like I was losing my mind.  Now just some pain, and once I eat the pain goes away.  My diabetes is totally under control so I don't get the low sugar anymore, stay pretty steady through out the day. 

I am not sure if chicken agrees with me.  I had it two nights in a row and got this strange feeling in my chest and throat.  I know the pain in the chest could be from being full, but the pain in the throat was very weird.  I haven't eaten chicken since, and feel fine.  I really do enjoy chicken though.  I hope it is just temporary.  I am also limited to what I can drink right now.  I can only drink brewed decaf Iced tea, milk, or water.  Everything else is upsetting my pouch.  I do really good with shrimp, ham, cheese, meatloaf, burgers, any vegetable or fruit and yogurt.  Cantaloupe is a real good fruit for me right now...soft and juicy.  I am really starting to like Greek Yogurt.  I have to eat the plain one, but there are many things that can be added to it to make it taste really good, and it is packed with protein 15 grams per 6 oz. 

Here are a few add ins if you would like to try it:

• sugar free applesauce, cinnamon, splenda  
• sugar free applebutter
• canned pumpkin, splenda, cinnamon, nutmeg
• sugar free jam

I found this wonderful blog called:  theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com   she has tons of recipes on her blog.  I find it very interesting reading about her weight loss journey. 

 I tried to have a cup of decaf coffee the other day, not what I was hoping for.  I didn't really like it.  Once I hit my 1 month mark, which will be Monday, I can start to have coffee again. So I will try it again.  I haven't had any caffeine since 2 weeks before my surgery, and I don't miss it.  I feel really good and have tons of energy.  I think I will try to stay away from caffeine as long as I can.  I don't think I NEED it anymore. 

This past Monday I went to see my primary care, Dr. Rodgers, who was a little apprehensive about me having the Gastric Bypass.  Well needless to say, he was pleasantly surprised when he saw me.  Not so much about the weight loss, but the fact that I no longer take 3 medicines that he prescribed.  He was thrilled, saying to me that this was our goal for having the surgery in the first place.  He also decreased my Lipitor and may have me stop taking it after my next visit in 3 months.  He actually smiled at me, instead of looking so concerned for my health.  

On Wednesday I went to see Bill, the Metabolic Psysicist, he had me stand on a machine that sent small shock waves through out my body then I had to breathe into a machine for 10 minutes.  All this checked to see if I am headed in the right direction with my weight loss.  What I mean by the right direction is not only am I losing weight, but the weight I am losing is fat not muscle.  Bill was very pleased too.  My next visit with him he will talk to me about strength training.  I have actually started some strength training on my own.  Not much, but it's a start.  During my walks in the morning I have incorporated 2 lbs hand weights and increased my pace a bit.   

Well that's all for now, I promise not to wait so long for my next post.

Love Ya,

Steph

First Dr. Visit

Hi everyone, sorry I haven't posted in a while.  Really nothing new happening.  Yesterday, May 12, was my first Dr. visit after surgery.  It went very well.  Dr. Kim was very happy with the way I have healed, and was even more happy that I am following his rules perfectly.  I am getting in all my fluids and proteins and exercising every day.  I am also taking all my vitamins and supplements every day. 

Here is a photo of how my insides have been re-routed:

 

I am very excited that I have lost 11 lbs since surgery.  So that bring me to a total of 30 lbs so far.  My sugars are totally under control, and my blood pressure is completely within the normal ranges.  Anybody need some Janumet or Lisinopril?  I have not had any complications from the surgery at all!  I am feeling great.  I am going to be needing some new clothes soon, some of my pants are starting to hang off my ass, like some of the teenagers are wearing these days.  At least I am in fashion!  AND I was actually able to cross my leg (right over left) today.  What a feeling that was!!!  I think is has been at least 10 years since I've been able to do that!

I went to Dr. Kim with a list of questions:

• Can I start Swimming again?  YES
• Can I ride my Motorcycle?  YES
• Do I have to use that stinky antibacterial soap anymore?  NO
• Can I have coffee?  NO well maybe a decaf every now and then
• Strength Weight Training?  Not for another week

The nurse went over my vitamins and supplements with me.  I can now switch to chewable vitamins (Thank God!)  The liquid is so disgusting!  I have to start taking Iron, calcium citrate, CoQ10, Fish Oil, Pepcid, and the other 2 prescriptions I am on, OH can't forget about the potassium.  The horse pill that needs to be crushed and added to applesauce.  Talk about disgusting!  The potassium tastes like salt, so I am having salted applesauce in the morning!  YUCK!  I also need to have vitamin B-12 which I had opted to give myself an injection once a month.  

I am allowed to start soft foods. So this was my lunch for yesterday.

Shredded Boars Head Ham 1 1/2 oz, and 1 oz of Cantaloupe, and an 8 oz glass of Skim Milk, that I must finish before I start eating and cannot drink for an hour after I finish eating or I may have an episode of Dumping Syndrome     Definition: Dumping syndrome, or rapid gastric emptying, is a combination of symptoms that occur when an overly large meal, or a meal high in fat or sugar is consumed by a weight loss surgery patient. The meal is "dumped" into the small intestine when the stomach empties quickly, causing feelings of nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, stomach gas, racing heart, cramps and cold sweats.  Most episodes of dumping syndrome can be prevented by avoiding eating overly large meals and sugary foods. Prevention is important as the symptoms are not only very uncomfortable, but they also are very similar to the symptoms of a heart attack.

For dinner last night I made Shrimp Scampi and Brown Rice with vegetables.  Now, I could only eat 4 shrimp, but I was in heaven!  YUMMO!  And everyone else enjoyed it too.  Today's lunch was the same as yesterday, but I added some shredded cheddar cheese.  And tonight we are going to have burgers on the grill with cheese and bacon added to the meat before grilling.  I will make french fries, the left over rice and a veggie for the rest of the troops, I will eat 1/2 a burger and maybe some veggies if I can fit it.

I am adding a few more things to my "Tools" page if you want to take a look.  That is all I have for today.  We are going to see Iron Man 2 tonight.  No popcorn for me!  Talk to you all soon!

Love, 

Stephanie     

OK having food issues

This morning I went for a 40 minute walk.  It is very very hot here in Florida.  Thank goodness one of my neighbors had his sprinklers on.  How refreshing it was to walk through them.  And don't you know as I am wet from the sprinklers, sweaty, hair is a mess, I could look any worse, there were some "hottie" construction men digging in my neighborhood.  One said hi to me, I just waved and put my head down.  Glad he didn't get a whiff of me.  

I got home, got Douglas out of bed and had a scrambled egg with cheese for breakfast.  It was very tasty.  I am, however, having some food issues.  I am not hungry, but I still want to eat, especially dinner.  It is real hard to make a full dinner for my family and not be able to eat it.  Right now I am on pureed foods and can only have moist, soft meats.  Plus, only 1 1/2 oz of pureed chicken fills me up.  Don't get me wrong, my diabetes and high blood pressure are gone, and I am losing weight which is wonderful, but I still miss food.  Food was such a big part of my life before my surgery, so I am experiencing a void.  I am trying to fill the void with other things to do, like knitting, reading, walking, and getting out of the house, but it is still hard.   Food just surrounds us.  

Today I ordered a new flavor of protein mix.  I am getting sick of the milk based ones, so I went to the Bariatric Eating web site and ordered Inspire-Summer Melon.  It has 30 grams of protein per drink and only 1 carb.  It is supposed to be light almost clear and you mix it with water.  I hope it tastes good.  I need a change!

Saturday's are busy for us.  Douglas has Freedom Ride horseback riding and Buddy Ball baseball today. Then a quick stop at Publix and home for dinner.  Tonight should be tough!  The family is having steak, my favorite.  I guess I just have to deal with it.  

I hope all my MOM friends have a wonder Mother's Day tomorrow.  This is my 2nd Mother's Day without my Mom.  I miss her so much.  Especially with what I am going through now.  She was a "take no crap" person and she would kick my butt.  Telling me to stop feeling sorry for my self!  Dad's coming over for dinner, I think I will make Chicken Cutlets, one of his favorites.  

Love you all,

Stephanie

Thursday

I took this picture yesterday right before the sunrise.

AHHHH!  Today is a better day.  Tommy and I went to the support group last night and I got to meet some people who are in the same boat as I am.  It was good to talk about food, not being hungry, and other issues that everyone is going through.  We met a girl who had surgery the day after me.  She had a different procedure done, the sleeve and she felt as good as I did right after surgery.  Really nice girl.  We hope to see each other at the support meetings.  Celebration Health also offers Bariatric Cooking classes every other month that I am looking forward to attending.  They also offer individual counseling (up to 4 times) free to those who are having a difficult time with anything.

Tommy is off today, so we are going to run some errands after lunch.  He went with a friend this morning to the gun range.  He has been wanting to do this for a while, I'm glad he got to go.  I can almost make a bet what's coming next.  He's going to want a gun.  We shall see!

I exercised to Leslie Sansone this morning.  She has great walking videos.  I did a 2 mile walk in 30 minutes.  She is on Facebook and also on the web.  If you register with her on Facebook, she is doing a walking challenge starting May 14.  I joined, can't wait to see what she has planned for us.

Well pretty uneventful day.... See you tomorrow!