cathimajig
Birds of a Feather
Apr 22, 2011
Just in case you hadn't realized it yet...I'm a little weird. Not so much that you would cross the street rather than walk next to me on a sidewalk, but I'm definitely unique. My sense of style has always been funky with a small side of tacky. If there's not at least one unique accessory on my body, then I'm definitely ill! I like to color my hair weird colors, and so far I've done every color in existence. I'm not exaggerating! I guess since I've never been happy with my body shape, I looked for things that would make me happy when I look in the mirror. Which brings me to...
Because my tastes tend to run toward the eccentric, I've been making my own jewelry and hair accessories for the past couple years. I made a feather-y hair clip last night that totally rocks my world! Everyone so far has looked at it and either thought it was the coolest thing since sliced bread, or that it was "different". My mom just thinks it's strange. What do you think?
Everyone talks about transfer addictions, and that you have to make sure that you have something that takes place of the eating. I really hate exercise, and I don't see myself ever really thinking "I want a donut. No wait! I'll hit the treadmill instead!". But I really love crafting. So now when I want a donut, I'll head for my feathers and beads instead. And hopefully, I'll post more pictures soon!
I'm a slacker...
Apr 14, 2011
...at blogging! I'm definitely not a slacker with my sleeve.
It's been a couple weeks since I've posted, but I don't think anything major has really happened to post about. What's kinda neat is that at 6 weeks post-op, I'm feeling quite normal. I can eat and drink anything now, and I don't feel like my whole day revolves around my stomach. I'm having an easy time getting in all my protein and fluids.
I'm up to 40.5 lbs lost (14.1 lost pre-op). I think I'm a slow loser compared to others I've seen on the board, but at the same time, it's not bothering me too much at this point. I'm starting to see changes in my face and body, and that's just wonderful. It's the little things that thrill me. For example, I put my cheek in my hand the other day and was so startled when I could feel my jaw line. My face is still fat (though it's getting thinner day by day), but for the first time, I was really able to feel the hard line of my jaw bone underneath. So exciting!
I'm looking forward to seeing the new me revealed. I've been overweight since I was 7 years old, so I have no idea what I'll look like as the fat burns away. It's exciting, but also scary. It's almost like redefining yourself. And I'm starting to feel pretty. Don't get me wrong...I never thought I was ugly. But I never really put much stock in how I looked. Now I'm paying more attention to myself. I'm wearing makeup each day, when I used to only put on make-up for a special occasion. I find that I smile now when I look at myself in the mirror.
I go back to the doctor on the 26th, and I'll have my official weigh-in. Excited about it and dreading it at the same time. I wonder if there will ever be a time when I'm not dreading stepping on that scale?
Measurements Update
Mar 26, 2011
Holy crap! I measured myself today, and I'm so freaking happy with these numbers, I can barely contain myself!!
bicep - 18 (-3)
neck - 17 (-2)
waist - 60 (-3)
hips - 67 (-3)
thigh - 29 (-5)
calf - 21 (-9)
Total inches lost = 25
And that's in just 3 weeks! Woohoo!!!!!!!
Unflavored Protein = WIN
Mar 22, 2011
I don't know about you guys, but I am seriously over the whole protein drink thing. I just can't stomach them anymore. They're too thick, and the vanilla/chocolate/strawberry thing has gotten old really fast. I've never been overly fond of sweet drinks, and I feel like that's all I've been drinking lately.
So the last time I was in GNC, I picked up a small bag of the GNC brand unflavored protein powder. I'm sure there's better ones out there, but it was the cheapest option for something I wasn't sure I'd like.
I opened it up last night, and tried it. First, I mixed it with some water so that I could see what the true flavor is. It's not great, but not gross either. With water, it tastes kinda wheaty/nutty. So now I know that I can mix it into pretty much anything that would benefit/blend with a wheaty/nutty flavor. And it's not a strong flavor, so I might be able to sneak it into really strong flavored things unnoticed.
I haven't tried it in a lot of things yet...I'll get there. But just now I mixed half a scoop into 8 oz of milk...OMG YUM! It tastes kinda like the milk left over after you eat cereal. I LOVE cereal milk, so this is a major winner for me. So now instead of 8g of protein in my 8oz of milk, I'll get 18.5g (21g of protein per scoop, but only used half a scoop).
Milk goes down easier than water for me (weird, I know), so I'm super excited about this extra boost of protein. I'm going to keep trying out my unflavored protein powder in lots of things, and I'll post those results as well.
Ugly (and early) Stall
Mar 21, 2011
I went last Friday to my surgeon's office to get weighed, since I had wanted to get my numbers weekly. I was keeping my number to a low 4-5 lb loss, hoping to be pleasantly surprised with a higher number. Yeah, didn't happen. I lost a grand total of ZERO lbs. Zip. Zilch. Nada. I absolutely cannot believe that I hit a stall in my SECOND week after surgery. I know a lot of people hit a stall in their 3rd week, and I was prepared for that. I was not prepared for a stall quite this early.
I left the doctor's office, sat in my car in the parking lot and cried. I had a nice little pity-party sob-fest. But then I came here to OH and read lots and lots of posts on people who encounter a stall...and it's true: misery loves company. I can't tell you how much it meant to know that it wasn't a failure on my part, but rather it happens to everyone.
So I was kinda bummed on Friday. I had a great weekend with friends though, which really boosted my spirits. I know that a lot of people lose friendships after the surgery, and have just bad experiences all around. I'm having the complete opposite reaction: my friends, family and even casual coworkers are all super excited about my surgery and subsequent weight loss. Sometimes I think they're more excited than I am! I think the fact that I am SO big might have something to do with it though. When you start out over 400 lbs, the people who care about you are just happy to know that you're getting healthy. I've never had anyone tell me I'm taking the easy way out. They've all watched me lose and gain weight over and over again.
I'm going to end my post with some good news. I can't claim a scale victory this week, but I did take a quick measurement of my waist and hips since my clothes seem to be fitting looser...I've lost 2 inches each off of my waist and hips in these last 2 weeks. So yay me!
Finally feeling human...
Mar 05, 2011
My surgery was at 12:45 pm on Thursday, and everything was going well. I didn't need a sedative on my way to the operating room, since I wasn't freaked out or anything. I scooted my butt over to the operating table, then breathed in the lovely air that took me to La La Land...
And then I woke up in pain. PAIN! I've never had surgery before, but I thought they would have already had me on pain meds before I woke up. Apparently not. So as soon as I woke up, I let everyone in the vacinity know that I HURT. They just kept dosing me with dilaudid until I shut up. Unfortunatley, I was also really nauseous and kept dry heaving. That did not feel good.
I also had to pee SO bad. They put a bed pan under me, but I can't use a bed pan. If you offered me a million dollars, I couldn't use a bed pan. So I finally convinced the nurse that the pain in my urethra was now rivaling the surgery and can she please let me walk to the bathroom. Ahhh, relief. I walked to and from the bathroom just fine. I did vomit up some blood the first night until we got an anti-nause medicine that finally worked. If you have an option, go for Zofran rather than Reglan. The zofran just works so much better.
Friday came and went in a blur for me. Except for a few minutes here and there, I pretty much just slept. I found out that my mom fell at home Friday morning and broke her hip. She's in surgery right now in a hospital across town. My dad was getting frantic trying to be two places at once, so I told him to just stay with her. I was just sleeping all day anyway, so no need for him to keep traveling back and forth. In fact, I had planned on having lots of visitors before the surgery. After, I just told everybody to stay away. I just didn't feel up to having any visitors. All my friends will come see me at home later in the week.
Today I'm off the iv and drinking small sips of water. Each time I sip, my new stomach clenches. Room temp water feels better than cold. Cold water is a no-no. If I can manage to drink enough water by 5 pm, my doctor will let me go home.
My doctor also fixed a major hiatal hernia while he was in there, so I've got some extra pain from that. My insisions hardly hurt at all. My belly button is the only one that's really sore. Most of my pain is on the inside, especially where the hiatal hernia was. I've been taking liquid Lortab today, and it works great. It doesn't make me as sleepy or loopy as the other stuff did.
Thursday evening was the worst. I'm not gonna lie...the pain was worse than when I was in a major car accident where I totalled my car. And if you had asked me that night, I would have said the decision was crazy and why did I do this to myself. Yesterday I was iffy. Today I'm glad I had the surgery. So it's a process. People kept telling me laproscopic surgery hardly hurts, so I think I didn't have myself psyched up enough for the expected pain level. Pain was my biggest worry, and still not my favorite part of this process. But it's manageable, and I'm dealing.
I have absolutely no interest at all in anything but water. They keep bringing broth, popcicles, jello, crystal light...I don't want any of it. And the thought of real food is just so not appealing. That makes me happy!
That's all for right now. Just wanted to let everyone know how I was doing.
Clear liquid diet sucks!
Mar 02, 2011
OMG - I'm on day two of my clear liquid diet, and it's awful. I don't think I've ever been this hungry in my life. You don't get to be my size by not eating. I've never done any kind of starvation diet...I feel like I'm on Survivor, but without the jungle and bugs. LOL
So my surgery is tomorrow, and it's really weird...I'm not nervous, but I'm not all excited either. I think I'm too hungry and tired to feel anything else at this moment. I'm sure tomorrow I'll be freaking out, but right now, not so much.
I am, however, seriously scared of the pain. There are so many people on the message boards that claim that it doesn't hurt too much or that they didn't even take their pain meds once they got home. These are the same people that probably claim that tattoos don't hurt either. Well, getting the cartilidge in my ear pierced hurt like a bitch, so I'm guessing surgery (or a tattoo for that matter) probably hurts way worse. And I'm allergic to pain!
I'll report back tomorrow after surgery, and believe me...I'll be telling you the truth about whether it hurts or not. And you can trust me...I'm a wimp. :-)
So much fun...but ouchie!
Feb 26, 2011
I went to a concert tonight and had a fabulous time. It was standing room only, and I have to tell you, my body is SO FREAKIN' SORE! Standing for 3 hours just brought to light just how out of shape I am. By the end of the night, my feet and back were killing me. And to top it all off, it's so hard to make my way through a crowd when I'm this big. My stomach and/or butt would constantly bump into people. I am more confident than ever in my decision to have this surgery. I can't wait to compare tonight's experience to my next one after I've lost a bunch of weight.
Bougie
Feb 25, 2011
I found out today that my doctor is using a size 38 bougie. I'm really happy with that. I know that some people get a 32 or 34, but I've heard the complication rates are higher at that size. I found this picture on the web showing the different sizes. My stomach will be the size of a Bic Mark-it (just slightly smaller than a Sharpie).
Photo Op!
Feb 24, 2011
I found this picture online of what my stomach will look like after surgery. I've seen the drawing a million times, but this really does a much better job of showing just how small the stomach will be. The stomach will be narrower than the esophagus, which I'm guessing is why it's super important to take small bites and chew, chew, chew.
About Me
Jacksonville, FL
Location
47.9
BMI
Surgery
03/03/2011
Surgery Date
Sep 13, 2010
Member Since
