JaimeLaree

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Four days ago it was my 2 year surgiversary. Where has time gone? I can't believe it's been over a year since my last blog. We have had a crazy busy year with moving from Germany to Alaska.
As of today I weigh 151 pounds and am wearing a size 8/10. So YES I have maintained my weight loss. I feel great. I work out about 4-5 days a week. Not the hard core workouts I used to do but more maintaining. I want to keep my body healthy. I take my daily multivitamin. I give myself monthly B12 injections. I eat normally now. I don't drink soda...well very rarely do I. I do eat carbs, but I was never told by my German surgeon that I couldn't. I still concentrate on my protein first. I love living in Alaska with all of the fresh fish choices.
I still dump every once in a while, especially after drinking anything with sugar.
I tried for months to get my insurance company to pay for a tummy tuck. The loose skin is such a bad reminder of the way I used to be. Unfortunately they didn't think that I had enough skin..I beg to differ.
Tomorrow I am having my plastic surgery. It's expensive but we are doing it and I am so excited and nervous. I feel like this is the final step to my new life. I want to get back to work and get on with life and I feel like this is the only thing holding me back.
I'm having abdominoplasty and breast augmentation. For the tummy tuck I am having a horizontal bikini cut. For the breast augmentation, I am lucky enough to not need a lift. I am just going from a small B to a large C.
I have a great plastic surgeon and I can't wait to see what she does with my body.

So I am finally attempting the 5 day liquid diet that I have been talking about.  I have been doing it for 3 days now.  It's not completely liquid though. I found out that it's not convenient in any way...HAHA.  The first day went okay but I was SO hungry by the end of the day. It was sunny here in Germany which almost never happens. I went on a picnic with my boy's and all I had was yogurt. If I was at home I would have made a protein shake or some soup. I think that is why I was so hungry later.  I did go ahead and eat a normal dinner that night.  The next day I was better. I had liquids all day but then went to the movies and splurged on popcorn. Sunday was Easter and I made Easter dinner for my family.  So basically my liquid diet has turned into a partial liquid diet.  It has helped though.  Just cutting out a couple of meals and replacing them with protein shakes, soups, yogurts and applesauce has helped.  I find that I am getting full faster again.  I lost a couple of pounds and have kept them off. I had to tighten my belt to a new hole. I also went shopping yesterday and bought a size 8 pair of capri jeans.  They were a little tight but zipped up and buttoned, they are stretch fabric so I know they will stretch after wearing them for a couple hours.  I was so excited. I mean by no means am I saying I'm a size 8 but that is 2 pairs of size 8 pants now that have fit. 
I don't know how to describe how I'm feeling. I am addicted to shopping. I want to try on clothes ALL the time because I can't believe what sizes I can fit into. My husband is getting so annoyed at all the clothes that I am buying. I try to explain to him that NOTHING fits, not my underwear, bra's, pajama's. I think people take for granted those clothes in their closets or drawers that they have had for years. Those comfy old pajama pants, sweats or t-shirts. We who have lost over 100 pounds have NOTHING. I don't have clothes in my size because I haven't been this size in over 10 years. My husband is in the military and we move every 4 years so I can't really be lugging around clothes that haven't fit for years. I am slowing buying things to build up my wardrobe again, but as I buy something it may not even fit in a few months. I have some cute things that I just wish I could tap with a magic wand and make them fit. My husband truly doesn't understand what it feels like to have my bra's be too big and my underwear too. This stuff is expensive. 
Don't get me wrong,  I am so happy and thankful every day for this surgery and will live with my big underwear and like it.

So I don't know if the scale will stay here because it likes to move up and down on me but I finally reached 100 pounds lost.  I weighed in at 150 this morning. 
I have had a rough week working out because of injuries to my ankle, shins and back.  I have been pushing myself lately to work out harder.  I have also lately been feeling sooooo hungry.  I have way overdid the eating. My portions are too large and I need to start measuring out again. 
My surgeon has never given me a goal weight to reach. He just says to get where I am comfortable and healthy.  For me to be at a normal weight for my height I would have to weigh below 135. That is pretty low so I set my goal for 140.  I am only 10 pounds away from my goal now.  I would love to reach my goal of 140 then get my tummy tuck and breast augmentation when we get to Alaska in November.  I think clothes will fit even better after I get rid of this HUGE stomach. 
We are taking the kids to Disneyland Paris this weekend. I'm so excited for them and me. 

So I just wanted to quickly blog about my Iron.
I went and got my results from the re-test and everything was normal, in fact better then 3 months ago.  My iron level was 100 which is totally normal. My hemoglobin was normal too so I'm not anemic.  I don't what the heck happened to my last results but I know that I am happy that my results were normal.  With us moving to Alaska I don't want any complications to stop us.  I still don't know why sometimes I get dizzy spells but I spoke with another wls friend and she get's the same thing. 


So I have been wearing a size 12 for a while now.  I don't have any size 10 jeans but have been looking for some for an incentive pair.  Size 10 has been my goal all along.  Well after browsing some on e-bay I found a pair of size 10 Lucky jeans for only $12.99. Lucky jeans are name brand and expensive so I bought them.  Well they arrived today and I couldn't wait to see if they fit....and they DID.  They are low rise and I don't really like that, oh and they are WAY long but I don't care.. I pulled them  up and they are a little tight in the thighs....because everything is tight in my thighs. But I was able to button them with no problem and wore them all day today.  I was so happy to be wearing a size 10.
Now to get to my next milestone of 140 pounds.  Only 14 pounds to go until that one. 

So we found out yesterday that we are moving to Elmendorf AFB Alaska in Anchorage.  I am nervous about this.  I don't know how well I will do with the snow.  I am also nervous about living somewhere cold. I hope this doesn't stop me from exercising and keeping this weight off.  I have already done some research and there are other bariatric patients there so I hope that if I need them for support I can find it.  I know by the time I get there I will be 18months post op. I will be looking into plastics then.  I'm excited and nervous about this upcoming journey.

I know that I don't blog enough these days but honestly I don't know what to talk about.  My weight loss seems so slow. I didn't lose a thing for 6 weeks.  I know I weigh myself too often (every few days) but I like to keep a close eye on it. I don't EVER want to lose track of myself again.  I lose a few pounds then gain them back, it seems like I am just hovering these days.  I don't want my body to think it's okay to stay at this weight.  I have been reading that others have had these same problems and there are several options to kick starting weight loss again. One is to up the working out, change what I am doing at the gym, up the intensity, try a new workout or just work out longer.  Another option is to do a 5 day liquid diet and another option is to change my diet.  I have to say that I don't pay enough attention to what I eat.  I still strive to get as much protein as possible. I eat fish and veggies. I drink a protein shake every morning. I just don't watch my carbs the way I should.  So I definitely know where I can improve.  I know that it is typical to only lose 80% of your overweight amount but I want to lose it all so I will just keep on trying.
I go to the gym around 4-5 times a week depending on if the kids are out of school. It's very hard for me when my 7 year old is home because he is too old to go the family room at the gym on base. Sometimes I work out at home on these days and sometimes I don't.  I find it VERY hard to get a good workout at home.  I really love the industrial treadmill's at the gym.  I work out for over an hour sometimes more.  Mon, Wed, Fri I take my 4 year old and go to the family room at the gym.  I run on the treadmill for about 40 min.  This is jogging, sprinting, walking and hills too.  I always keep the treadmill changing. I keep my heart rate up then cool it down a little then keep it up again.  I actually LOVE running. It feels so good...except when I get shin splints, those hurt.  The other time in the family room is spent usually on the elliptical. I increase the levels on the elliptical and try keeping my heart rate up.  After I'm done I do a quick stretch and get outta there.  My son is so ready to go after an hour plus there.  It has been so busy at the family room lately. I think it's great that so many mom's are getting out there and trying to be fit but this room is so small and definitely doesn't have enough machines.  On tues/thurs my 4 year old goes to the CDC pre-school for 3 hours.  I go to a body sculpting class for an hour where we do lots of weights and abs. On Thursdays I do the body sculpting class and a yoga class. I really enjoy these classes. The body sculpting has helped me with upper body strength and stronger abs and the yoga class is so relaxing.  I love yoga. I had never tried before and I love how much I stretch and I was really surprised at how flexible I am.  I know working out has helped me a lot. My cholesterol has gone from a total score of 225 to 147 and this has a lot to do with working out. 

So my 9 month surgiversary was 5 days ago.  I am weighing about 154. This is 96 pounds down from my highest weight and 71 pounds down from the day of surgery. I went to my pcm and asked for my labs to be put in. I went about 2 weeks before my appt with my surgeon and gave my blood to the vampires.  About a week later I got a call from a person on behalf of my military PCM asking me to make an appointment because my iron was low. I told the tech that my PCM doesn't want to see me for any gastric bypass related issues and iron is a related issue. I know that PCM will just refer me to my surgeon. The tech was just doing his job though so I made an appt for the day after I saw my surgeon.  I went by and picked up the labs and they didn't make sense.  3 months ago my iron was 93 and now it was less then 4. That doesn't sound possible.  So Monday I went ahead and drove 2 hours to Frankfurt to see Prof Weiner.  He told me that my iron was an error, that it couldn't possibly be less then 4. He also said that my Hemoglobin was missing so he couldn't see if I was anemic. He told my lab to re-do the test. I wish he would have just re-done them there and then.  He didn't say anything about my weight loss, just asked the usual questions. He did the ultrasound, made me an appt then sent me to the nurse for my b12 shot. Wow did the b12 shot hurt this time. I don't know why? It has never hurt before. The only thing I can think of is I am getting more muscular in the shoulders so maybe this is why it hurt more.  The next day I went to see my PCM and I was right, she didn't want to see me for any gastric related issues.  I told her that I needed the labs re-done and this made her mad. She said that our clinic shouldn't even be doing lab work for the surgeon, he should be doing everything.  I explained that he is over 2 hours away ...anyways long lecture later...that I didn't need. She put the labs in for me. I assured her that if they come back low again I won't be coming back to see her. I will go straight to Weiner with the results.  It is so crazy how caught in the middle I feel.  She said that they are NOT even approving patients anymore for gastric because of the issues they are having with the surgeon not doing all the work. I defended my surgeon. He gives me my shots, he writes me my prescriptions for vitamins and biotin. He does do everything. The only thing the clinic is doing is the lab work and then I get a copy and take them to him.  She then said that when she puts the labs in then the results go to her and force her to make sure that I am following up on them. It's so annoying. I just can't believe that they are actually stopping people who REALLY need this surgery from having it for a stupid reason like they are not happy with how the surgeon is handling the followup.  Anyways, I went and gave blood again and have to wait another week for the results of the Iron. If they are low then I have to e-mail Weiner and drive up to Frankfurt again for an infusion. This infusion thing sounds cool though. I guess if you take an iron pill then you have the problems with constipation but if they infuse you then you just get iron straight to your blood. Sounds great to me! I actually hope that it was just a mistake though and my iron is okay. I have gone this long without complications and don't want to start with any now. 

For Valentines day weekend 2 friends and I went to Pisa/Florence for the weekend. I had a great time. The food was so good in Italy. I think I'm glad I don't live there because I would eat WAY too much Gelato.  It was really relaxing weekend and Italy was beautiful.  I actually drove the rental car and did okay. I guess since I have driven in England on the other side of the road and here in Germany I can drive anywhere.  We stayed on Camp Darby an Army base. The rooms were cheap and decent.  Florence was beautiful and I loved seeing the leaning tower in Pisa. It was a nice trip. 
We should find out in the next couple of weeks if we are getting orders to stay overseas. We really want to stay overseas so we are hoping and praying every day for something good.  I can't wait for these next couple of weeks to pass. 

So this has been a long post. I guess I have more to blog about then I thought.

So I have been going through a little bit of a stall lately.  I know I lost my normal 6 pounds last month but it was an up and down month. I lost five pounds then gained it back then lost it again.  I am still going to the gym 4-5 times a week and I am trying to increase my workouts and intensity.  I really want to be down under 150 pounds so that I can say that I have lost 100 pounds.  I have to say that I have not been eating that great.  I seem to feel always hungry and am trying to keep busy so I don't snack.  Also my sweet tooth has been crazy lately. I try to keep it at bay with fruit but sometimes that just doesn't do it. I bought some sugar free girl scout cookies the other day but heck they have 9 grams of fat for 3 cookies. I don't think that's worth it. I have seriously thinking about doing a 3-5 day liquid diet again just to find my pouch again. I think it would really help me.  Maybe after my protein powder comes in the mail I will do it. I am so very happy with my weight loss though. I continue to get compliments and that feels good.  I am still wearing a size 12 and hope to be in a size 10 within the next couple of months.  I still want to lose around 20 more pounds but they are slowly coming off. 

My 10 year anniversary is next week. I can't believe my husband and I have been married that long. I feel proud of us. We have been through so many ups and downs. I haven't tried on my wedding dress again but I know it's going to fit because it's a size 14 and I'm definately a size 12 now. I actually weigh the same as I did around my wedding, maybe even less.  I wish my husband would try harder to lose weight. His job depends on him staying fit. When I went for this journey he promissed he would go on it with me. He wanted to lose 20-30 pounds and at first he did but recently with him working and going to school so much he has not been trying so hard and gained his weight back.  How do I get him motivated to get healthy?

I can't believe we are starting a new year. Last year at this time I was waiting to start the LEARN class and so ready to have surgery. I weighed 246 when I started that class and now I weigh 158. 88 pounds lost since this time last year. 92 pounds since my highest of 250. I am so excited that I only have 8 more pounds to go until I have lost 100 pounds. I only have about 18 more pounds to go until I reach my goal of 140. Any lower then that will just be a blessing.
The holidays went well. I had a few bouts of loose stools. I don't know if it was because of what I was eating but I am getting back to normal. I have taken a break from the gym but that is over now. Time to get back to it. I ended up losing 5 pounds over the holidays so that was fine. I'm good with that.
Sometimes I still get frusterated that other people seem to lose weight faster then me. I have always lost slowly but I have no right to complain. I am still losing at the same rate I always have. My body holds onto fat a little longer then others but I am still losing so that is what matters.
I hear that with the start of the new year the base we are stationed at is changing some of their requirements for surgery. The LEARN class will now be six months long and two times a week. Your exercise will be monitored and logged as well as your food logs more scrutinized.  I feel really, really bad for those people I know who want and need this surgery. To have the requirements constantly changing is really frusterating. I hope that people can stick with it or try again at another base. The surgery was worth it for me.
We have 10 months left at this base. We will be moving around the 18months post surgery mark for me. I will have to look into getting a tummy tuck at our next base. Wherever that may be.

So not much going on here. It has been harder then usual to get to the gym on my normal schedule. There has been so much extra stuff going on lately with the holidays here, like dress shopping and other shopping. I am still getting to the gym but not 5 days a week, more like 4 right now.  I am weighing 165 right now.  I have 13 days until my 7 month surgiversary so I hope to lose another 3 pounds by then. 
Thanksgiving went well. I don't think that I ate too much. All the food was really good.  I had pumpkin pie with sugar free cool whip. Just a small piece and it was yummy. 
I went shopping for my christmas party dress and I was a 42 in German sizes which is a 12 I think. The dress is sooooo cute and I have some awesome cute shoes to go with it. I can't wait to wear it.  It felt soooo good to go to Trier and shop in the normal stores. I mean I knew when I walked in that I could fit into the stuff in the stores. It was nice.  Another thing that totally shocked me shopping was I sat down to try on some shoes that I totally thought would never fit me because I have such extra wide feet..... well they did. I was able to just slip on high heeled shoes from the rack and they fit. I could NEVER do that before because I have always worn at least wide or extra width shoes.  I found two pairs of shoes that I liked so much and couldn't decide so I bought both. 
So really not much to report. My kids are having such a great time with the holidays coming up. My house is decorated and looks very festive. The weather has been cold and snowy and this will be our last christmas in Germany so I hope to enjoy it.  I actually got stuck in the snow twice last week. This california girl couldn't get her van out.  I had to dig it out once and my hubby did it the other time. It was scary and I'm so glad the snow has melted.

Yesterday I drove to Frankfurt for my 6 month post op appointment. The drive was long and we ran into construction and accidents which made it even longer.  I will NEVER again stop to get coffee before the trip.  I had to have my husband stop 2 times so that I could pee. It was bad. 
The appointment itself was good. I didn't wait very long at all.  I weighed in at 77.4 Kilo or 170.5 pounds. Whoo Hoo. Prof Weiner said that I was doing great.  I took him copies of my labwork and he was happy with my cholesterol.  Three months ago my score was 225 for total cholesterol and now it's 194. I am normal in my HDL and my LDL and my Triglycerides are only very slightly elevated. I know this great score has to do with all the exercising that I do so hopefully in another 3 months it will have gone down even more.  My other levels are fine too. My Iron is good. My protein is still a little low but not very much.  I do drink a protein shake every morning so I know I am doing things right.
I went ahead and got a 3 month B12 shot from Weiners office so I will be good on B12 until my next appointment.  Prof Weiner cracks me up acting like he's afraid of needles. 
I am doing good at the gym, I veered from my regular schedule today and tried a pilates class. That was hard.  My ABs need serious work but I really liked the class. I am able to run longer on the tredmill. The other day I ran for 30 min straight 2.5 miles. It feels so good.  I can't believe the muscle tone I have on my biceps, my hubby is impressed. 
This morning I weighed myself 1 more time and I was 169.5.  I hope it stays. It was so nice to see 160's on the scale.  I am wearing a size 12 now and I am really happy where I am right now.  I almost wish I could get the tummy tuck now but I know that I am rushing things.