I drove down to El Paso on Thursday for my follow up.  I have lost almost 12 pounds since surgery, which is fantastic!!!  The nutrionist said my protein and stuff is good, but stay on soft proteins for a another week or so.   Dr. Acosta was very proud of me success.  He said that most patients in my position end up gaining weight after surgery because they have been so limited before and they really go overboard on the fattening creamy soups.  Well, I did have a lot of very delicious fattening creamy soups, that I made homemade, BUT I limited my portion sizes.  I think that helped me the most.  I told him that I realized during all of this that carbs are my worst enemy....I knew that before, but just didn't see how awful it was until I was like a junkie the weeks before surgery.  I promised him that I would not allow carbs back in to my life again.  They have no place with me!!  Good, healthy complex carbs once in a while is okay, but no more chips, crackers or cookies!!  

I have another appointment with him on April 26th to get my first fill!!  Yay!!  He is going to fill me a little slowly....said he wants to be careful.  I understand, and right now I am certainly okay with that.  I don't want to take any chances of screwing up this second chance with my band!! I have another fill scheduled for July....earliest I could see him!!  LOL  Hope I am still in the groove then!  

The best part of my visit with him, besides the pride he showed in me, was when I asked him how he thinks my slip could have happened.  He thinks it was a technical error.  He has never had a patient that had a band slipped before because he does things a bit differently.  All surgeons are supposed to kind of fold the stomach over the band and suture the stomach together to hold the band in place.  Well, right where this is done there is a fat pad on the stomach.  For any of us obese patients having surgery, it's a big fat pad.  There is a good chance the surgeon could accidentally suture the stomach to this fat pad by accident.  Once you start losing some weight then the sutures become null and void.  Dr. Acosta cuts away the fat pad to avoid this potential problem.  Nice.   So, I have every reason to be confident that his work will last and I will have a great, functioning band for years to come!!  yay!!! 

Okay, my date......it was spectacular!!  This guy was a gentleman and very sweet.  We did have a lot of chemistry and had a great time.  He took me out again last night and is taking me out again tonight.  *sigh*   I am really enjoying being with him.  I have told him about my band and he is curious about it, but not judgemental at all.  He just seems like a wonderful guy.  Yay!!

I am down to 171.4 as of this morning!!!  That is almost 4 pounds since Aunt Flo left town!!  I know I will probably creep back and forth on the scale like always, but I am getting close to being back in the 160's, which is great!!  I will be able to wear my 10's again soon!!  I just know it! 

My title this week is simply, "Yay!".  Why?  Because, even though I could dwell on a lot of the bad things happening, and bills, and stuff like that....I am choosing to see all of the good things happening in my life.    

My son turns 18 years old on Tuesday.  WOW!!  He is such a great, wonderful, smart, kind kid, that I can't help but be proud of him and say "yay!"  I did something right!!  I ended the cycle of abuse, it stopped with me!!  

My mojo is back, baby!!  "yay!"   I am determined to do well with this second chance!  I have been concentrating on protein and also keeping track of my calories and it is not driving me crazy this time.  In the past, counting calories drove me crazy.....I think that is because I was allowing carbs in my life.  Carbs have a lot of empty calories and therefore I was getting so frustrated with my portions, PLUS with carb addiction, you obsess and want more and more.  UGH, I can't do that to myself ever again.  

Another "yay!" for this week.......drum roll please.....I have a date!!  Wooo Hooo!!  I am going out with a nice gentleman tonight.  I am excited about it.  I have no idea what our chemistry will really be like since we met online, but I talked to him on the phone last night and we seemed to hit it off pretty well.  I am very excited to meet him and go out tonight! 

Okay....so , I called Dr. Acosta's office on Monday morning and left a message with the nurse and the nutritionist.  They both called me back at the end of the day (they are soooo good about returning calls!).  The nurse said that I shouldn't do too much exercise yet, mainly walking.  She said no eliptical yet.  The nutritionist released me to mushy foods....more like soft proteins.  She said I could have lunch meat, string cheese, soft veggies, chicken salad......there is a ton of food that opened up to me!!  I have been taking advantage of that too!!  ha ha!  Not in a bad way though!!  I have had chili, chicken salad, refried beans, cottage cheese, greek yogurt, eggs, lunchmeat and string cheese.  I am really trying to keep my portion sizes between 3/4 cup and 1 cup and conentrating on protein.  My calories end up totaling around 1,000 to 1,300 and my protein is very good, usually at 72 or way above that!  I still have my protein shake for breakfast.  I have been getting all of my water in as well!

Auntie Flo showed up late Tuesday night, the 16th....so she has given me a hard time on the scale, but this morning I weighed in at 175!  That's 1 pound lower than last week....1 pound closer to goal!!  I did get a bit frustrated and sad when I tried on a pair of my size 10 jeans and they weren't even close to fitting me...but that's okay.  I will get back in to them, and I will get back in to them by June!  Just watch me, baby!!!

When I talk to Dr. Acosta's office on Monday, they should release me to eat mushy foods!  Yay!!  I know that there is a danger of gaining weight on mushies, or at least stalling weight loss  A lot of mushy foods are high in calories.  I will have to be inventive and maybe mash cauliflower, and other stuff like that, so that I feel full, but don't consume a lot of calories.  I was originally supposed to see Dr. Acosta on Monday, but I have a training class to attend Monday and Tuesday, so I reschuled my appointment with him to March 25th.  

I am continuing to lose weight and I am very thankful about that.  My body still likes to lose slow and play the game of losing one, then gaining it back for a couple of days. Soooooo, I am getting frustrated at times.  Today, my weight was 176, and that's two pounds lighter than last week at this time, I am grateful and will try not to complain too much!  ha ha!

I have been able to comply with staying on liquids.  I know that some of my homemade soups are a bit fattening, but they are good....and keep me from being too tempted in to eating more solid foods.  My creamy potato soup was thick, and *might* have been more on the mushy side, but I kept judging things on whether or not I could eat it through a straw.  ha ha  It was kind of like milkshake consistancy...so yeah, I could.  

I am goign to make a pea soup today....hopefully it will as delicious as all of the other recipes I have been trying!

It is getting so close to real springtime here.....and the last few days have been spring-like weather.  Love it!!  It gets me energized! 

Having this second chance with my band is also energizing me!!  I am so thankful!  I was down to 178 this morning....when I left for El Paso I weighed 182 on my scale.  *warning TMI*  I am extremely constipated right now....I am taking stool softeners, but they haven't worked yet....so once that problem is resolved, I will probably see a nice drop in the scale also!  ha ha ha ha!!  

I am doing fine on the liquid diet so far and complying.  I went out with a friend last night and we went to a bar afterwards.  I sat and sipped on lemon ice water.  The TV behind the bar had the Food Network on.  ARRGHHH!!!  Talk about torture!!  I kept looking up at the screen and I could feel my mouth watering and my stomach growling.  ha ha I know that I have to follow the doctror's orders without fail though....I am not taking a chance of losing "Journey" permanently.  No way!! 

Once I get back on to solid foods, I will need to find a substitue for my salty and crunchy cravings.  I can probably eat the soy crisps as long as they don't trigger my carb addiction.  We'll see.  I am just feeling good and so glad to be able to have my tool to help me get down to goal!  My OH friends have been absolutely incredible!  I love them all!!

I am safe and sound back home with my fixed band!  Dr. Acosta was able to reposition "Journey". and put him where he is supposed to be.  It was a pretty bad slip, actually....but he is back where he belongs!!  ha ha  I had gained 13 pounds from the last time I had seen Dr. Acosta (5 weeks prior).  I am not surprised.  That will come off fast with the liquid diet I am going to be on for 2 weeks.  The liquid diet will hopefully get me off of my carb addiction also.  

For the most part this surgery was much easier.  I think the most painful part of the first one was the port being stitched in.  Since I got to keep my port, I am not dealing with that pain.  I am suffering gas pains in my shoulders though, and I didn't have that at all with my first surgery.  Del Sol's hospital was great!!  The nurse I had was wonderful and I had a private room that was very nice.  Dr. Acosta was great.  I had surgery the same day with a lady who had LapBand surgery with Frezza too.  He didn't place the band around her stomach!!  He is such a quack!!  I hope that he got his license taken away by now! 

I can't ever take my band for granted again....I have always been thankful for it, but I think at times I pushed my eating and relied on my band too much.  I know that I hve a horrible addiction to carbs....and the best thing I can do for myself is to stay away from them.  If I don't, I will never get down to goal.  Dr. Acosta's scale says that I need to weigh 151....that is my original goal, and I think that is totally doable.  Now, on to the hard work!!  I can do this!!!