Jeanie M.

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I was getting closer and closer to my goal - 15 pounds way when my scale broke. I went out immediately to buy another only to weigh 4 pounds heavier on it. It was so hard to lose that 4 pounds and it took such a long time, now I have to do it over again.

On another sad note, I was to have my hysterectomy on Wednesday. I showed up at the hospital bright and early, was admitted and sent upstairs to preop where they inserted my IV (after 2 tries). I waited 5 hours only to be told there were no beds available to put me in after my surgery so they were cancelling. This was the second cancellation. I have officially been waiting 11 months for this surgery.

To all you Americans who covet the Canadian health care system - this is what free health care amounts to. No family doctor, long waits to see specialists (that you must be referred to by a family doctor), multiple surgery bookings because the hospital beds are nowhere near the capacity they need to be. And...it turns out it is not even free as we pay very high tax premiums. I was fortunate enough to be a patient at an American hosptial for my RNY surgery - I felt like royalty - and at no time did I ever fear my surgery would be cancelled!

Would I rather pay insurance premiums and have access to the medical care that I need? Maybe I would - the difference in the taxes would cover the cost of the health insurance anyway.

I finally got to log another pound lost. It was a long stall this time, but I think it is broken, and I think it is broken because of the new eating plan I have put myself on. The plan is not different but follows the basic rules that were given to me when I had my surgery. The rules I gradually broke over the period of one year to get to the point where I could not lose any more weight. My outlook is much better now than a month ago where I thought I would have to accept being 20 lbs overweight for the rest of my life. Now I think I will get this last bit off.

Secretly I am hoping for one more pound before July 28 when I go for my surgery. I know I will lose a few pounds with the operation and recouperation, so starting at 165 would be great.

Plan for now is to continue to with my rules.

So far I am doing very well with my plan. I am quite hopeful that this will get me to goal. I am feeling better too probably because I am getting all of my protein. I ordered some new snacks from Focus28 and they should be here soon. They are higher in protein, and lower in calories than the atkins bars I was eating. I am trying to cut my snacking calories back to under 150 twice a day, the focus28 snacks are all 120 cals or lower - which leaves room for some fruit.

I am having my hysterectomy next Wednesday so my exercise routine will be non-existent for a bit. I realize I will be starting over again once I am cleared for resistance training. People on the forum here have told me they did not gain any weight with their hysterectomies post RNY so I am hoping to do the same.

Well for the past several months I have not really lost any weight. My year anniversary came and went, and I still have 20 pounds to go. My doc says my progress is good because losing slowly is better - I guess that depends on your perspective, I would rather be done by now. He says I should be able to drop the last 20 pounds before I reach my 18 month mark. Knowing myself I think it is going to be a struggle. I am strength training 4 days a week now, and aiming for one hour of aerobic exercise per day. I am doing OK with that, but I think I need a better plan if I am going to get to my goal. So here is my plan...

I am going to follow all of the rules, all of the time. Sounds simple really, doesn't it? It is amazing how little "bads" can build into big bad habits in no time, and soon you are not following the guidelines set out for you at all. I have found myself having extra snacks, skipping vitamins, not drinking enough fluids, gobbling my meals down like there is no tomorrow, and eating my sides before my protein, and eating entire peices of cake at parties, instead of just a mouthfull for a taste, not writing down or tracking my intake. All of these bad habits so far have not caused me any weight gain, but they will if I let them continue.

I met someone recently who had RNY surgery a year before me. This person was much heavier than me to start, and lost a lot more weight than I had (over 200 pounds), however he was starting gain weight back. He had already gained back 30 pounds. It scares me how easily that can happen. This was my wake-up call. I won't gain weight back if I follow the simply rules and I will lose the rest of my weight by doing this.

My rules
1. Eat my protein first before touching my side dishes
2. Write down all of my intake, including fluids, and track my exercise
3. No sweets period.
4. 6 small meals a day that are protein centered (1200 calories/day) - NO GRAZING
5. 64 oz fluid
6. Eat slowly, chew thoroughly, be the last one done, not the first.

These are simple rules to follow. I will blog my progress in a few weeks to see how I do.

So, I am getting very close now to my goal of 150. I am 168 today. May has been a good month. My fear is that June will be another stall month just as April, February, December and October were. I am at 102 lost overall but since surgery I am still 12 pounds away from 100lbs. I know I won't get there before my one year anniversary. That is OK though as long as I continue to lose. I am expecting the last 18 lbs to take about 4-5 months. I expect to lose between 4-7 pounds each month.

I have really stepped-up the exercise over the past 3 months and I think that has paid off. I am working on my bowflex 4 days per week and fitting in at least 1.5 to 2 hours of exercise daily on top of that. I feel great! I have so much energy and feel like I have been freed. It doesn't hurt to move anymore and I love that.

Life has really changed over the last year. I am active and happy most of the time. I enjoy the restraint I have now around food, although I still struggle with snacking too often. I am really thankful to be able to go to a dinner party, or family dinner and not worry about eating too much and having a huge gain on the scale as I would have before surgery. That alone makes it all worth it. There are many other benefits of course, like wearing nice clothes, and not feeling like a freak. I feel like I am more assertive and don't accept some of the treatment that I would have previously. I have also left my job which was an oppressive and demoralizing environment. So now I am totally free and loving it!

Today's weight - 235
I woke up 3 days ago and was completely pain free. Up until then I could not get out of a chair on my own, or sleep lying down. I now can do everything I could do before surgery. It was almost miraculous! I am losing about a pound per day now, and quite happy about that. I thought I had a bit of a slow start but it has picked right up.

The surgery hurt a lot more than I was expecting. I am still not able to do much at home - getting quite bored! I am just starting to lose weight now. It was very slow in the first and second week. I have no apetite which is making it difficult to keep up with eating and drinking protein shakes - but I am making myself stick to my plan.

Today's weight is 249.

I got my surgery moved up from August 12 to July 6 - YAY! I am a little unprepared but I have started on the pre-op diet today. So far not so bad - 12 days more to go.