Jacylyn
Why did I wear bright red underwear?
Mar 31, 2008
Why, oh why did I have on my flaming red undies when we were taking the new pics? More importantly, why didn't Brian say, "Um, honey, maybe you should throw on some dark drawers..." Oh well. By the time I looked at them on my computer I didn't feel like getting up and getting out of my pj's and putting clothes back on. I suffer, you suffer 
I weighed myself this morning and was pretty disappointed to see that I had lost less than 2 pounds this past week. Not the end of the world. I just want the weather to get nice so I can get lots of exercise and fresh air. That'll do a body good
Hope everyone is well,
Jacylyn - The Queen of all Red Satin Panties
I am having a great weekend!
Mar 30, 2008
Yesterday was my husband's 32nd birthday and for the first time in my life I was able to surprise him! I usually ruin my surprises because I get so excited about it and just want to share it with him, but this time I was so good. I had my good friend Lorraine come over "to visit the kids" and had to explain to him that I was sorry that she was taking from our family time, but she wouldn't stay long. Then I went upstairs "to go to the bathroom" and threw on some nice clothes, came back downstairs and said "Go change your clothes, Sparkle Jockey!" And he was so perplexed! It was great! So I had already picked out an outfit for him (he's color-blind, so I have to match everything for him, so no, I am not THAT much of a control freak) and told him to bring down a tie. We went to the car, and I blindfolded him with the tie. I drove all around weird places to throw his sense of direction off. Then we went to see 21, the new Kevin Spacey movie, which was really good, by the way. Then we got back in the car and the blindfold went back on, until we got to the JW Marriott downtown and once the valet came to my door I told him to take the blindfold off. We had never been there so he was happy to be there. I had made reservations at a restaurant in the hotel called six.one.six and it was FANTASTIC. I didn't eat much, obviously, but I had my meal come out with his salad, which gave me plenty of time to eat. I ordered Tuna Three Ways, which had tuna sashimi, tuna poke, and tuna tartar. I have never had ANY raw tuna before but I was feeling adventurous. All 3 had fish eggs on them too, which was pretty gross, but I said What the Heck! I'll try it. It came with an onion slush which was really interesting, but I liked my wasabi and soy much better 
. It also had a lump of sticky rice on nori in the middle and pickled ginger and pickled cucumbers. Everything was SO yummy! And it was perfectly portioned. It was one time that $16 paid for such little food, but was worth it! My husband, however, stuffed himself with grossly large amounts of food and drank a lot of wine, but hey, it was his birthday so he can over-indulge, right?
Anyway, that made my day Saturday. Today I was able to sleep in until 9:30a, and Brian and Ethan went to a motorcycle show and the girls are napping, so I am lazing around watching Lifetime movies. Can life get any better?
Unfortunately I have been doing a LOT of dry heaving lately, and I have no idea why. I am eating he same stuff I was eating before and drinking the same stuff I was drinking before, but I am getting sick now. It's just weird...and annoying.
Tomorrow I will be taking new pictures of myself...for friends eyes only of course. It will be 8 weeks since the last set of pics were taken. So prepare your eyes and stomachs for those lovelies
.
Hoping everyone else is fantastic!
Jacylyn
. It also had a lump of sticky rice on nori in the middle and pickled ginger and pickled cucumbers. Everything was SO yummy! And it was perfectly portioned. It was one time that $16 paid for such little food, but was worth it! My husband, however, stuffed himself with grossly large amounts of food and drank a lot of wine, but hey, it was his birthday so he can over-indulge, right?Anyway, that made my day Saturday. Today I was able to sleep in until 9:30a, and Brian and Ethan went to a motorcycle show and the girls are napping, so I am lazing around watching Lifetime movies. Can life get any better?
Unfortunately I have been doing a LOT of dry heaving lately, and I have no idea why. I am eating he same stuff I was eating before and drinking the same stuff I was drinking before, but I am getting sick now. It's just weird...and annoying.
Tomorrow I will be taking new pictures of myself...for friends eyes only of course. It will be 8 weeks since the last set of pics were taken. So prepare your eyes and stomachs for those lovelies
.Hoping everyone else is fantastic!
Jacylyn
A Pleasant Surprise
Mar 26, 2008
Yesterday my husband and I decided to go out to dinner (no big surprise there!) and Logan's has $2 kids meals on Monday's and Tuesday's, so we usually take the kids there. However, Logan's does not provide any nutritional info for any item on their menu and when I had contacted corporate I got the standard F*** You response. I had sworn off Logan's and said I would never eat there again. Well, I went to Logan's for dinner last night and immediately pulled a manager aside and asked about low fat high protein items I could choose from. He steered me in a general direction which was good enough for me. He was super nice and tried to be as helpful as possible. A little later he came over and checked on us, then he told me that he told the General Manager that I had requested the info and was disappointed about the lack of nutritional info. I got into a little discussion with him and explained what surgery I had any why it is so important to know these things. He said that the General Manager had the exact same surgery about a year ago an sent her over to meet me. It ends up she had surgery in the same hospital and by the same surgeon that I had! She was super nice and friendly...and suggested a lot more stuff I could eat and how to order it to avoid any extra fat. She asked that I come back and visit her so that she can check out my progress. A little later our server came over and asked if we needed dessert or anything, and we said no. She then said, "You're all set then. Your meal has been taken care of" with a big ol' grin on her face. I was absolutely shocked!!!! That was SO nice for the manager to do!! So that was my pleasant surprise for the week.
Jacylyn
Jacylyn
Happy Candy-Free Easter!
Mar 23, 2008
So first and foremost, I am feeling great. I think my meds are working better because I don't feel like throwing a chair through my living room window 
. This is probably going to be a long and rambling post, so if you bore easily I will understand if you stop reading 
.
I went to my psychiatrist on Friday (whom I love dearly and I am SO happy he is my doctor) and he wasn't aware that I had WLS, so I wasn't sure if he was going to be unhappy that I didn't let him know ahead of time. When I told him he was very supportive and asked how the surgery went, did I have any complications, how much weight have I lost, etc. I let him know that my meds weren't working right and that I was certain it was an absorbtion issue. He agreed and then suggested that we increase the dosage. I asked him if it would make sense to just split my pills and take my meds 4x a day rather than 2x a day. He thought that was a brilliant idea
, and had never done that before. So I am the guinea pig for now, but he is sure it's going to work. My response to that was that I better not see some article he has written for a medical journal that proves that he stole my idea 
. To which he responded that he could never write an article for a journal because they are ridiculously boring. I told him I would never read one anyway, so he was safe regardless. Anywho, Dr. Vander Velde is awesome and that's all I've got to say about that.
On another medication note, I have to thank my husband for finding me the yummiest calcium supplement EVER. I was taking the Walgreens brand of chewable, but it was nasty. He found me Oscal chewables that are Lemon Chiffon, and they are D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S. So there is my shout out to Brian and the Oscal discovery.
Last night Brian & I got to go on our first date since New Years Eve. We went to Red Lobster and we split a meal. Well, I had 8 grilled shrimp and 2 asparagus spears, and he ate everything else. Then went to see Vantage Point, which was not a bad movie...it was interesting. But the best part of the movie is I actually felt like I almost fit in the seat. He wanted to put the armrest up and I said that I liked it down because I didn't feel squished for once! I haven't been measuring inches, but I am sure that is the reason I fit a little less snugly. Yay me
.
Well, my fingers are sick of typing, so I am going to call it a night and finish watching Beauty Shop.
Happy Easter!
Jacylyn
. This is probably going to be a long and rambling post, so if you bore easily I will understand if you stop reading .I went to my psychiatrist on Friday (whom I love dearly and I am SO happy he is my doctor) and he wasn't aware that I had WLS, so I wasn't sure if he was going to be unhappy that I didn't let him know ahead of time. When I told him he was very supportive and asked how the surgery went, did I have any complications, how much weight have I lost, etc. I let him know that my meds weren't working right and that I was certain it was an absorbtion issue. He agreed and then suggested that we increase the dosage. I asked him if it would make sense to just split my pills and take my meds 4x a day rather than 2x a day. He thought that was a brilliant idea
, and had never done that before. So I am the guinea pig for now, but he is sure it's going to work. My response to that was that I better not see some article he has written for a medical journal that proves that he stole my idea . To which he responded that he could never write an article for a journal because they are ridiculously boring. I told him I would never read one anyway, so he was safe regardless. Anywho, Dr. Vander Velde is awesome and that's all I've got to say about that.On another medication note, I have to thank my husband for finding me the yummiest calcium supplement EVER. I was taking the Walgreens brand of chewable, but it was nasty. He found me Oscal chewables that are Lemon Chiffon, and they are D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S. So there is my shout out to Brian and the Oscal discovery.
Last night Brian & I got to go on our first date since New Years Eve. We went to Red Lobster and we split a meal. Well, I had 8 grilled shrimp and 2 asparagus spears, and he ate everything else. Then went to see Vantage Point, which was not a bad movie...it was interesting. But the best part of the movie is I actually felt like I almost fit in the seat. He wanted to put the armrest up and I said that I liked it down because I didn't feel squished for once! I haven't been measuring inches, but I am sure that is the reason I fit a little less snugly. Yay me
.Well, my fingers are sick of typing, so I am going to call it a night and finish watching Beauty Shop.
Happy Easter!
Jacylyn
6 Weeks and 2 Days Later
Mar 20, 2008
Well, here it is. I had my 6 week follow up appointment and their numbers matched mine. I have officially lost 26 pounds . I have been kind of disappointed with my weight loss so far, but the surgeon and his staff made me feel better about it. Although I have only lost 26 pounds, it ends up being 17% EBW. So that's like almost 1/5 of my goal weight. That made me a bit happier.
I am able to eat real food now, which is absolutely glorious
. Other than me eating too fast and the food getting stuck it has been a success.
I am keeping this short because I am watching Mean Girls (one of the best movies EVER) right now and I am a bit distracted
.
Peace out, y'all.
Jacylyn
. I have been kind of disappointed with my weight loss so far, but the surgeon and his staff made me feel better about it. Although I have only lost 26 pounds, it ends up being 17% EBW. So that's like almost 1/5 of my goal weight. That made me a bit happier.I am able to eat real food now, which is absolutely glorious
. Other than me eating too fast and the food getting stuck it has been a success.I am keeping this short because I am watching Mean Girls (one of the best movies EVER) right now and I am a bit distracted
.Peace out, y'all.
Jacylyn
It's been a while...
Mar 17, 2008
but I was thinking that no one was reading my blog, so I stopped. Then I was scolded by a friend who wanted to be reading updates. Here I am, back in action .
So tomorrow will be officially 6 weeks since my surgery. I weighed myself this past Saturday and I am down 24.2 pounds total. I am ok with that. Not thrilled, but quite ok
.
Yesterday I met with my friend Kateri who had Open RNY 5 years ago. I have been using her experience and knowledge about WLS to help me through some rough times. I wanted to meet with her because I have been stressing out about the slowing of my weight loss. I have been doing everything that I should but I know I haven't been drinking enough. She said that is probably the problem, that I am retaining water, so she suggested that I up my fluids and I would most likely see the weight start to drop off again. Meeting with her made me feel better about my progress.
Another reason I have not been blogging is that I just haven't been feeling like myself lately. I think my meds are off due to the surgery. Maybe I am not absorbing things the way I should, but I am just not feeling as mentally good since the surgery. I have an appointment with my psychiatrist next Monday, so hopefully he can get me back on track. He is a WONDERFUL doctor and I am so ridiculously lucky to have him. He is talented and determined to help people. He's just good with crazies
.
As far as the food stuff goes, I am doing really well. I have had limited numbers of dumping episodes, and other than food, pills, etc. getting stuck, I feel good about the food. It is really hard for me to eat slowly because the kids make me feel rushed. I am so used to scarfing my food so that I can keep them under control. I would either scarf or not eat until they went to bed, then I would binge. Both things = not good. So if I can just learn to slow down I will be on my way!!!
Anyway, I will try to get back on track updating everyone on my life. I am going to wait until 2 months out to post new pics, so watch out!! In 2 weeks you must prepare to shield your eyes
.
Hoping everyone is well,
Jacylyn
.So tomorrow will be officially 6 weeks since my surgery. I weighed myself this past Saturday and I am down 24.2 pounds total. I am ok with that. Not thrilled, but quite ok
.Yesterday I met with my friend Kateri who had Open RNY 5 years ago. I have been using her experience and knowledge about WLS to help me through some rough times. I wanted to meet with her because I have been stressing out about the slowing of my weight loss. I have been doing everything that I should but I know I haven't been drinking enough. She said that is probably the problem, that I am retaining water, so she suggested that I up my fluids and I would most likely see the weight start to drop off again. Meeting with her made me feel better about my progress.
Another reason I have not been blogging is that I just haven't been feeling like myself lately. I think my meds are off due to the surgery. Maybe I am not absorbing things the way I should, but I am just not feeling as mentally good since the surgery. I have an appointment with my psychiatrist next Monday, so hopefully he can get me back on track. He is a WONDERFUL doctor and I am so ridiculously lucky to have him. He is talented and determined to help people. He's just good with crazies
.As far as the food stuff goes, I am doing really well. I have had limited numbers of dumping episodes, and other than food, pills, etc. getting stuck, I feel good about the food. It is really hard for me to eat slowly because the kids make me feel rushed. I am so used to scarfing my food so that I can keep them under control. I would either scarf or not eat until they went to bed, then I would binge. Both things = not good. So if I can just learn to slow down I will be on my way!!!
Anyway, I will try to get back on track updating everyone on my life. I am going to wait until 2 months out to post new pics, so watch out!! In 2 weeks you must prepare to shield your eyes
.Hoping everyone is well,
Jacylyn
4 Weeks later...
Mar 03, 2008
And I feel ok about things. I am only down 19.2 pounds, which is fine I suppose, but I can't help but feel like I could have lost more. I will be taking pictures today and upload them at some point this week, so maybe that will help me see if there are any noticeable changes. Teachers at Tutor Time have said that they can tell, which I will believe...they aren't seeing me every day. When I am looking at myself every day it's hard to actually see the changes.
On a lighter note, I had the weirdest dream last night. I dreamed that I was walking around the mall with an enormous sugar cookie...and I mean ENORMOUS. It was about 10" in diameter and 1 inch thick. I was walking around just chowing down on it, and I didn't get sick or feel like I should stop eating it. I was also even bigger than I was when I had surgery! I am sure a psychotherapist would have all kinds of reasons why I had this dream, but I just think it is my fear of failure.
I need to clean the house now, Yippee!
On a lighter note, I had the weirdest dream last night. I dreamed that I was walking around the mall with an enormous sugar cookie...and I mean ENORMOUS. It was about 10" in diameter and 1 inch thick. I was walking around just chowing down on it, and I didn't get sick or feel like I should stop eating it. I was also even bigger than I was when I had surgery! I am sure a psychotherapist would have all kinds of reasons why I had this dream, but I just think it is my fear of failure.
I need to clean the house now, Yippee!
I did it...
Feb 25, 2008
I finally grew big enough balls to post my "before" pics. Only those few of you that are my OH friends can see the horror that is my body...
.
.I am so ashamed.
Feb 24, 2008
I feel so bad that I kinda sorta cheated yesterday. I am not supposed to be eating real food anyway, so I should not have anything in my mouth that I can chew. That being said....
I am trying to clean out the cupboards, fridge and freezer so that there aren't any naughty foods in there. One of the things in the fridge was the pre-rolled Pillsbury pie crusts. I also had a can of cherry pie filling that I meant to make a pie from before I had the surgery. Instead I made these cute mini-cherry pies using 2 spring-form pans. They were about 4" wide and 2.5" high. They turned out so pretty! My husband said they were yummy, too. With the extra crust I made cinnamon/Splenda breadsticks. They just looked so good and smelled even better. So I ate two of them. Not like they are enormous or anything, but it was just the idea that I already cheated. Brian made me feel a bit better by saying, "If you weren't on full fluids and eating regular food again would you be allowed to eat that?" The true answer to that is YES! I used Splenda, not sugar, cinnamon is ok, and the pie crust isn't bad as long as you don't eat the full serving size - then it has quite a bit of fat. My body didn't purge it after I ate it, but I still feel awful that I ate it at all. I just needed to get that out
.adios,
Jacylyn
I just had to post this!
Feb 23, 2008
One of my dear friends, Lorraine, that I have mentioned before had this web link on her blog. I read it, and this was my response to her:
I understand the statistics are insane and true, however I saw nothing in this article that explains what exactly these people die from. Was it the initial surgery or did they get a hernia that they ignored or did they get in a car accident? Or was it that they felt some high self esteem after the surgery, went on Match.com, met somebody and found out that they were a serial killer. :) It could happen.
As far as the surgeons themselves. I am a firm believer that they treat this surgery like an assembly line. The bottom line is them making as much money as they can as quick as they can. For people paying cash (at least where I had mine done) it is a flat fee of $25,000 for the surgery and after care. My insurance covered 90% and I got the first "bill" which is just them telling me how much they are submitting to insurance. The total of that was $37,500. The actual surgery takes 1 and a half hours, and the hospital lacks luster. I stayed for only one night. So how is it that they feel that they can charge so much freakin' money?
I also know that they don't screen people nearly enough to get the surgery. Other than me being 125 pounds above "ideal" weight, I had no other risk factors. They completely glazed over that fact and just went forward with it telling me that they know how to deal with the insurance companies to get approval. Is this shady? Definitely. Am I glad I did it? I don't know yet, it's only been 3 weeks. Was I worried about kicking the bucket? Not one bit because the information that I searched and researched showed me that my odds were extremely minimal.
I know that I did this for vanity reasons. Since 1st grade I have been teased, ridiculed and abused by other kids because of how fat I was/am. I cannot remember ever being within the ranges of "ideal" weight. I do, however, remember how embarrassing it was to stand on a scale in elementary school in front of other students, and hear their whispers and gasps when they saw that I was over 100 pounds. My self-esteem has been absolute shit since I was 5. 5!! That is so sad to me, and I just want to be able to feel good about my weight for once in my life. I also don't want to be an embarrassment to my children. I don't want them to be picked on or made fun of because they have a fat mom. Kids are cruel, and I want to protect my babies any way I can. I want to feel good enough about myself that I can go outside and play with them - and not worry that the neighbors are laughing at me - but also have the energy to be active with them.
If you are against the surgery, I completely respect and understand that. Really, I do. But for me - in my mind- this was a way to better my life. And it doesn't hurt to have my family eating low fat sugar free foods. They can start eating in a healthy way and not grow up on Taco Bell & Burger King.
Sorry this was so long, but I wanted to say my 2.3 cents.
http://junkfoodscience.blogspot.com/2007/02/when-scares-become-deadly-weighing.html
I understand the statistics are insane and true, however I saw nothing in this article that explains what exactly these people die from. Was it the initial surgery or did they get a hernia that they ignored or did they get in a car accident? Or was it that they felt some high self esteem after the surgery, went on Match.com, met somebody and found out that they were a serial killer. :) It could happen.
As far as the surgeons themselves. I am a firm believer that they treat this surgery like an assembly line. The bottom line is them making as much money as they can as quick as they can. For people paying cash (at least where I had mine done) it is a flat fee of $25,000 for the surgery and after care. My insurance covered 90% and I got the first "bill" which is just them telling me how much they are submitting to insurance. The total of that was $37,500. The actual surgery takes 1 and a half hours, and the hospital lacks luster. I stayed for only one night. So how is it that they feel that they can charge so much freakin' money?
I also know that they don't screen people nearly enough to get the surgery. Other than me being 125 pounds above "ideal" weight, I had no other risk factors. They completely glazed over that fact and just went forward with it telling me that they know how to deal with the insurance companies to get approval. Is this shady? Definitely. Am I glad I did it? I don't know yet, it's only been 3 weeks. Was I worried about kicking the bucket? Not one bit because the information that I searched and researched showed me that my odds were extremely minimal.
I know that I did this for vanity reasons. Since 1st grade I have been teased, ridiculed and abused by other kids because of how fat I was/am. I cannot remember ever being within the ranges of "ideal" weight. I do, however, remember how embarrassing it was to stand on a scale in elementary school in front of other students, and hear their whispers and gasps when they saw that I was over 100 pounds. My self-esteem has been absolute shit since I was 5. 5!! That is so sad to me, and I just want to be able to feel good about my weight for once in my life. I also don't want to be an embarrassment to my children. I don't want them to be picked on or made fun of because they have a fat mom. Kids are cruel, and I want to protect my babies any way I can. I want to feel good enough about myself that I can go outside and play with them - and not worry that the neighbors are laughing at me - but also have the energy to be active with them.
If you are against the surgery, I completely respect and understand that. Really, I do. But for me - in my mind- this was a way to better my life. And it doesn't hurt to have my family eating low fat sugar free foods. They can start eating in a healthy way and not grow up on Taco Bell & Burger King.
Sorry this was so long, but I wanted to say my 2.3 cents.
About Me
Allendale, MI
Location
24.7
BMI
Jan 21, 2008
Member Since
