Beckypooh

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Wow, time has flown by. It's been 5 years since I posted on ObesityHelp.com. When last I posted, I was 4 years post up with 1 year old twins. Now my twins are 6! The format for the blogging has changed so I had to save off my old profile and copy and paste into the new blog format. It was so inspiring reading over my story. I'm glad I had taken the time to document my journey.

I remember when I started putting some of my weight back on after the kids were born my Dr. advised me to get back on track by following the exact same diet I had after the surgery. I had to read the blog to remember that the first 2 weeks I had blenderized proteins and soups exclusively. I weaned off sugar and caffeine completely... and forget about alcohol, which I'd never had a taste for anyway!

These days, unfortunately, my diet looks much more like my pre-op diet. Oh I've retained some changes... I can eat sweets but I never know if I'm going to experience dumping so I'm still careful. I don't drink milk, rarely have ice cream in any form. But otherwise I can eat anything I want. I can go hours without being hungry but I don't leverage that to my advantage. I snack and drink beer when I shouldn't. Yeah, I'm one of the statistics when it comes to alcohol after having gastric bypass. It isn't filling but it gives me that calming feeling I enjoyed when I used to be able to eat to my heart's content. Problem is, the calories add up.

I stopped exercising when I became pregnant; still, I gained less than 25 lbs during the pregnancy and I walked out of the hospital at around 160 lbs. I did a lot sitting around with my babies for months after they were born. My husband started a night shift job and I became depressed and overwhelmed. My PMS overtook me about a year later - became far worse until I required a medication to control my emotional moods - crying, anger, stress, etc.

Then the weight started creeping back on. I picked up bad habits to cope with the stresses in my life. I'm sure my pouch stretched. My hubby picked up bad habits too and we kind of "fed" off each other's behaviors.

I'm so sad to have reached 236 lbs again. I'm not comfortable, I'm losing the confidence I once had, and I'm back to blogging and posting on ObesityHelp.com because I need support and I need to get back the focus I once had.

Wow! How wonderful life has been. In 2006 I reached my lowest weight of 150 lbs and became pregnant with twins via in vitro fertilization. All those years I thought I had a fertility problem due to my weight. It turned out even when I lost the weight I still couldn't get pregnant. Fertility tests revealed my hubby had a very low sperm count and in vitro was our only option for us to be parents to our own children. I believe that even had I known the fertility issue was on my husband's side the fertility clinic would probably have turned me away because I was so heavy. Carrying twins would have been extremely hard. As it was I had an easy amazing pregnancy and feel so blessed. On Feb. 9, 2007 I delivered twin boys who are rapidly approaching their 1st birthday. They were born full term and healthy each weighing 6 lbs. 5 oz. And I pretty much had to eat and drink water constantly to get them to their healthy birth weight. I can chase after them (they crawl fast!) and stoop over to pick them up with no problem. And I never take this for granted. I did gain back some weight with my pregnancy. I'm back to 172 but feeling well and don't regret the added 20 lbs or so to have my babies in my life. In many ways I really went through this amazing journey just to bring them into the world.

I am having my gall bladder removed as it turns out; I talked to Dr. Shina's office today and I will have my ventral hernia repaired as well on July 2nd. I feel like I will do o.k. I was pretty stressed out but now I am feeling better. I am kind of glad to be rid of my gall bladder because it probably would have gone bad eventually and now I can do it all in one surgery and maybe not have to have another related to the gastric bypass.

Just had my 1 year checkup with Dr. Shina last week and I have an incisional hernia. I am set to have my gall bladder tested June 28th to see if it needs to come out or not. If my gall bladder is bad he will take it out when he repairs my hernia on July 2nd and I will have to have an open surgery with a hospital stay. If my gall bladder is ok I will just have outpatient hernia surgery then. I wasn't really surprised that I had a hernia. I thought I did because I have an uneven pooch on my belly. What upset me and made me agree I should go ahead and do something is Dr. Shina told I absolutely could not get pregnant with this hernia and if I did I would put the pregnancy at risk. That scared me because we have actually been trying to get pregnant for a few months now. I could wait but I really don't want to waste any more time. Now I will have to wait a couple of months to get pregnant but at least I won't have the hernia to deal with and hopefully the surgery and hospital stay will put me closer to my goal weight anyway. Dr. Shina says I should aim for about 145. I would rather be at 130 but like he says I have the rest of the year to keep losing the last 15-20 lbs. I am a little scared of having a 2nd surgery so soon but I think I will do fine. I read this news piece about this 21 year old girl from my hometown who made it through the gastric bypass surgery only to die from a pulmonary embolism after she had cosmetic surgery once she had reached her ideal weight. A really sad story.
 

I just passed my 1 year anniversary and I am feeling well. My husband just had his gall bladder out in April but is better now. I am hoping I will not have gall bladder problems. I am kind of on a plateau with my weight loss. I was going to the gym 3 times a week but I stopped while Mike was in the hospital and haven't resumed going as often. Also we went on vacation to Orlando; we had a great time and it was much easier and enjoyable than our vacation there last year when I weighed 276 lbs. I am more active this summer than any other summer in the past. Tonight Mike started teaching me to play tennis. I ran after the balls with lots of energy:) I have resumed walking at lunch time now the weather is nicer. Sometimes it's hard to stay motivated and do what I'm supposed to; I try not to get discouraged by the scales. I have some issues with eating during the evenings while watching tv. It is a bad habit that we both struggle with daily. During the day I do great, I eat what I bring for lunch and drink my water. Just when I get home I struggle.
 

Well, I am feeling great and still losing though not as quickly as before, naturally. I am so excited about spring time and summer coming up-- all I'll be able to achieve in my garden for instance. I have been more active than I could have imagined. I go to the YMCA about 3 times a week to work out and my husband and I bought bikes to ride and tennis rackets to use when it warms up. It is such a thrill to inhabit this slimmer more powerful body...
 

I just celebrated my 33rd birthday on Thursday and yesterday went on a birthday adventure I never could have done on my 32nd birthday. It was soooo much fun! We went to this place in IN. close to the Ohio border, called Perfect North Slopes. They have skiing, snowboarding and snow tubing. We did the snow tubing. It's $20 per person for 2 hours and they give you an inner tube and you get on a moving pedway going up a steep hill and when you get to the top there are 8 lanes to slide down a steep hill on your tube. I had so much fun. We did it over and over. We linked our tubes together and went individually as well. I felt like I was flying down the hill. It looked just like water slides except it was made of snow and ice. After that we drove over to Cincinnati (about 40 mins) and ate at The Cheesecake Factory. Yes, I managed to eat a small sliver of cheesecake. We didn't have room for dessert so we got it go and ate it later. It will probably last me all weekend. I had a great day. We would definitely go again. I would like to get some of the family together to go. You can link as many as 6 tubes and go down the hill together. I had no trouble fitting or hauling my much skinnier ass in and out of that inner tube.:) That was the best part. I can now participate fully in life, no more sitting on the sidelines, feeling left behind, or too embarrassed to try. My surgery gave me the life I'd always hoped for every time I used to think "someday, when I lose the weight"... But that day never came until I committed to the gastric bypass.
 

Doing great; got past my plateau nicely. I feel confident I will continue to do well during the winter because I tend to lose better during the colder months of the year. I guess my body burns more calories trying to keep me warm. I have stopped walking every day since it got so cold. My husband and I are thinking of joining the YMCA so we can swim and work out together indoors. Now I have lost over 100 lbs and working towards a goal of 130 lbs. I still need to lose 40 pounds. It is so much less daunting than the 150 lbs. I used to try to lose on my own before my surgery. I feel great. Sometimes I can't believe how much I've changed.

Still in the middle of a plateau. Can't seem to get under 180. I had my 6 mo. check up with Dr. Shina yesterday and my tests were great but my protein was a little low. He cautioned me to be careful around the holidays.

Feeling great! Las Vegas and Los Angeles were both fabulous. We saved so much money on food. Almost everywhere we went we shared an entree. Ate a few things I probably shouldn't have. We did a lot of walking. I was right under 200 when we left for Vegas. It was amazing to me how much better I could handle all of the walking. Before my surgery it would have been hard to walk that much especially in the heat of Las Vegas.
I am slowing a bit on my weight loss. I think it is hard to have sweets and snacks around the house and not eat them. My husband who had WLS last year is almost to his goal and wants stuff around to snack on and it is hard for me to keep my hands off of it. I have heard Dr. Shina and Dr. Gellar say the most weight comes off during the first 6 months--"the honeymoon stage" and I am about 1 month from the honeymoon being over. I know that doesn't mean I won't lose anymore after the 6 months but I am aware I will need to work harder. I am sticking with my walking. I still walk a mile 5 days a week during my lunch period. I probably need to ramp up working out but I don't like to take the time at home. It is a good time for me to re-commit to my goals for myself. I'd like to lose another 15 lbs. before I see my family at Thanksgiving.