Well, today I am 40 years old and 1 week.  I spent a lot of last week with friends and family celebrating the fact I turned 40.  I don't usually like birthdays, but this one, despite it being the big 4-0, was actually kind of nice.  I went on a dinner dance cruise on Lake Mead one night with about 10 other folks, my parents came into town with an old family friend, I went to Benihanas one night with another group of friends, and had a spa weekend last weekend with even a few more.  All in all it was pretty nice.  I never had any cake, and I didn't eat more than three times a day, but I did eat a few things I wouldn't have normally (such as chips and salsa at the Mexican restaurant) and I did have some alcohol.  I have discovered a little alcohol apparently goes a very long way.

You are probably wondering about the title, well, I am going through a rough time.  I have to lose weight, no choice there after the surgery, and I am going through a real health kick, again kind of forced to after the surgery.  THEN I a work issue came up where I have basically a few weeks to find a new position.  Not a real choice of mine at this time, but I am thinking of it as an opportunity to find something new, something I would really like to do.  I just wish it was overwith do I could get back on with my life and know what is in store for me over the next few months.

Wish me luck!!

Well, this past month had some pretty rough spots. I ended up really sick and last week in the ER due to dehydration. I wasn't able to eat or drink anything. After being pumped full of fluids and vitamins, I started feeling a million percent better and this week I finally feel human again. I was down to 236 before I went into the ER, but gained about 6 pounds from all of the fluids. I am back to 240 now. Still happy with that. Next week I turn 40, and I wanted to be down to 225, but that was really pushing it. Since I got so sick, I haven't excersised or done much of anything but sleep, so the weight has kind of stalled. I have a real push to get back into a routine and I am looking forward to what the next month will bring.

I had R-N-Y Gastric Bypass Surgery on 5/7/07. Today is 7/7/7. My lucky day!! It has been two months since my surgery and I am basically down 50 pounds. My scale this morning read exactly 250.0 pounds. I really want to see the 249 mark because that would mean I am closer to 200 pounds than I am to 300 pounds. I know by next month I would have more than cleared that mark.

Cooking is my new hobby. I think it is weird, but I am told that it is pretty normal. I want to make sure my hubby eats, even though I am not. For example, last night I did a grill leg of lamb with a mint garlic marinade and cumin roasted baby potatoes. Today we will have the left over lamb, and I am making a home-made tzatziki sauce to go with it. I will only eat a slice of lamb and a little sauce, but I have tomatoes, scallions, pita bread, the whole works, to go on his if he wants it.

Last week I got a little worried. I seem to be eating a little more and the cravings were getting bad. I was on my period but I wasn't associating anything with that. However, this week the cravings are gone and I am feeling SO much better that I think it was just my period.

Hope everyone had a great 4th of July!!

I know I wasn't going to mention anything about my weight for a few more weeks when I hit the 2 month mark on 07/07/07. However, I was so excited today when the scale read 258. I am in the 250's!!! I really want to hit 249 then I am closer to 200 then I am to 300. It has been awhile since I have seen that mark.

Another small win was the fact that I could give blood today. I like giving blood. It makes me feel like I am doing something to help others. However, I was worried that because of the surgery and because of the iron level requirements I might be turned away. I also wasn't sure if the Urso Forte I am taking to protect my gallbladder might disqualify me. But they checked everything and my iron was good (the supplements are working) and there was nothing else that concerned them, so I was able to donate today.

Funny note, for those who donate you already know this. I donate through an automated process by which I am basically hooked up to a centrifuge and they take out the plasma and some red blood cells, but it all get separated at the time of the donation. I get some of the red blood cells back with saline as well. The first time I did this, I noticed that everyone around me had plasma that was this nice amber color. That looked right to me, but mine was literally green. Green? Once they got through all the alien jokes, I was told that it is the hormones in my blood that turn the plasma green. Basically it was the birth control pills. Since the last time I gave blood I was put on even higher doses of birth control pills, my plasma was really green today. This prompted one of the technicians to go to my husband and kid him about being married to an alien.

On the bright side, apparently, I am absorbing my birth control pills and my iron supplements OK.

Take care.....

So I started back to work after the surgery on Monday. The office was like a ghost town. I wasn't even able to get into the building at first and had to start calling around to get help. My desk looked just like I left it. I had already been going through e-mails and lurking on conference calls, so I was mostly up-to-date on what was going on. However, that really left nothing for me to do once I got there. I am not sure if that was the saddest part or the fact that the few people that I ran into didn't even know I was gone. No one commented on the fact that I had lost 40 pounds. Maybe it is expecting too much from others when I really don't see it myself yet. I know that the scale says 40 pounds and my clothes feel loser but I am just not seeing it yet. I am sure over the next few months there will be more dramatic changes.

The hardest thing about going back to work is not napping. When my stomach got upset or if I got tired, I would just lay down. No more of that for me, I have to just power through it.