Mary W.

Send Message

Block

Add Friend

I got my body composition scale yesterday from Competitive Edge.  It also came with a kitchen food scale and a pedometer.  The scale had an informative pamphlet with the following information:

"Why Monitoring Body Fat is so Important
Body fat is vital to daily body functions; it cushions the joints and protects the organs, helps regulate body temperature, manufactures hormones, stores vitamins, provides a source of energy when food is scarce and helps maintain normal reproductive function.  Everyone needs some body fat to operate efficiently and be healthy.

Occasional Weighing on a bathroom scale or looking in the mirror may not indicate a "fat" problem.  A person may have an acceptable weight and figure, but if their body comtains too much or too little body fat, their health could be at risk.  By comparison, someone who works out every day may weigh in at the same weight, but their body is composed of dense, learn muscle and less fat.  Neither appearance nor weight alone can tell you your fat-to-muscle content.

The problem is that most people think their weight, when in fact, fat content is a better indication of health.  During a well-rounded diet and exercise regimen, weight may fluctuate while body fat will decline in a slow, steady rate.  Monitoring changes in both body fat and weight gives a more dependable picture of fitness and is more encouraging because it is a true indication of positive healthy change, compared to monitoring only weight or appearance."


Yesterday, I was able to get in 111 g of protein!!!  Came up 12 oz short of 64 oz of water though.  

Was finally able to sleep on my left side---my favorite--using my body pillow.

Still fatigued, though.  No energy.  And getting really bored. 

I'm finally getting my energy back.  I was taking the liquid Vicodin my surgeon prescribed for the bad menstrual cramps I was having and it was making me tired and dizzy.  My wonderful husband went to the store and got me some liquid Tylenol for the cramps and it worked great.  I tell ya....my body DOES NOT like any type of narcotic!  I dislike how I feel when I take any of them.  

My PCP told me I can stop taking my blood pressure medicine now.  I called him for a different prescription because the one I was using had a diuretic in it,  and I'm having a difficult enough time getting enough water in.  He just wants me to keep track of my blood pressure.  When I took my bp today, it was lower than its ever been.  117/73.  Interesting.  I'm only 6 days post op.  Probably due alot to the healthy lifestyle I adopted before surgery and due to being off of work right now.  I love my job, but it is VERY stressful.  

It will be interesting to see what happens at work when I lose all this weight.  First, no one at work knows or will know that I had this surgery.  Most people do not understand.  There is a woman on my team that looks like me (alot like me) and is similar in weight.  People get us mixed up all the time and call me by her name and vice versa.  I wonder if that will change after I lose all this weight.

One thing that bothers me is that I cannot vision this person I will become.  I can vision the healthy and fit person, just not the thin person.  When I can't vision something, my experience has been that it doesn't happen.  So I try not to think about that aspect. 

Can you believe it?   My period started today a whole week early!  Bad cramps too!  Its so unbelievable, its comical.  I don't have easy periods either.  I was going to try to stay away from the liquid Vicodin the surgeon gave me for pain, but couldn't do it. The period cramps are too bad.  

Other things I am experiencing related to the surgery is alot of gas.  Lots of rumbling in my abdomen and it is sl-o-o-o-w-l-y going away.  Still have alot of burping every time I put something in my stomach.  And the pain in my shoulder is probably the most irritating.  I was told it is from the air they pump  you with during surgery.  

I can sleep on my side, but only my right side.  My left shoulder is too painful yet and the surgery area is still a bit uncomfortable yet.

Nothing I am experiencing is unbearable....just uncomfortable.  I am able to eat and drink sufficiently, so no problems there.  I have been eating Kroger CarbMaster yogurt mixed with Any Whey protein. I was able to eat one whole 6 oz carton the other day, but yesterday I could only eat 1/2.  I LOVE LOVE LOVE my Popsicle brand sugar free popsicles.  I bought a variety box that comes with fudgesicles, popsicles and creamsicles---all sugar free.  I also have some  Private Selection Premium Fruit Bars with no sugar added.  Those are really good too.   I also froze some of my Matrix protein drink into Tupperware popsicle cups. 

Today I am concentrating on drinking more water.  I noticed my urine was dark this morning.  I combined some Nestle Pure Life flavored water with some sugar free Cranberry juice and some Any Whey protein powder.  

I am really anxious to get back to working out.  I truly love my sessions with my trainer.  I feel so good and healthy when I am exercising.  I am thinking I could get on the treadmill Saturday.   

Well, I just spent 20 minutes doing a write-up on the horrible experience I had at St. Joseph Mercy Oakland hospital and hit the backspace key and it was ALL LOST!  I seriously do not have the patience for this!  I am not going to re-write everything, but some of the major points:

Try to stay away from the pain meds and the nausea meds at the hospital---they may make you worse.

Try not to have surgery over a weekend.  Hospitals are understaffed have more people to deal with.

DO NOT choose St. Joseph Mercy Oakland hospital in Pontiac Michigan.  Throughout my entire stay they were unsympathetic, unorganized and put my family through hell with their lack of communication.  

Make sure you ask for food, because they won't bring you anything unless you ask for it.  I went for two full days with no food.  I kept thinking they would bring me something, when their process is for the patient to choose from a menu and call it in.  I guess my mind reading skills weren't working those days.  I had to ask the nurse if I was allowed to have any food and that is when I was told about the menu.

I had my surgery at 8:30 am, the doctor notified my family at about 11:00 am that I was in recovery.  I was in my room by 3:00.  I was discharged yesterday at about 3:00 pm after waiting ALL DAY for the nurse to get a confirmation from the doctor that wrote up the discharge papers that morning.  Gawd, they are SOOOO disorganized at that hospital!  Then, I come to find out that the tape that the nurse took off my incisions on the day of my surgery were supposed to be on there for a week.  I could go on and on and on!    Choosing that hospital was the worst thing I did throughout this whole process.

I am feeling fine today...no pain,  but I am tired.  My left clavicle is hurting.  I was told it was from the air that they pump you up with during surgery.  I am not hungry---I was yesterday, though, but that was because I got hardly anything at the hospital.  I made a protein shake this morning from Matrix 5.0, Kroger CarbMaster yogurt and Any Whey protein.  Had several sips and put the rest into those Tupperware popsicle molding cups.  I am so into popsicles right now.  

One last thing, every time I take a sip of water or anything, I have to burp.  Excess air from somewhere. 

Well here I am the day before surgery and am not scared one bit.  I was SURE I was going to have a very difficult time with the fear.  But all the help, advice and current accomplishments have changed my attitude.  I wonder how I will feel tomorrow on the way to the hospital, though.  At least I have to be there very early in the morning.  

My bags are packed and I'm ready to go.  Based upon advice I have received here, I have my chapstick, Puffs plus, breath freshener spray, brand new slippers, PJs are washed and packed, filled out my Durable Power of Attorney document, and camera.  For home, I have my bariatric vitamins, sugar free jello, sugar free popsicles, juice and even have pureed foods ready for me in the freezer for when the time comes. 

I'm not particularly fond of being on clear liquids all day today, but I found a solution to that too.  I had purchased a bottle of "Protein Water" (20g protein, 0 carbs, 0 sugar).  When I read the ingredients and it showed whey protein, I thought---I can make this!  So I took a bit of my sugar free cranberry juice and diluted it with a bottle of Nestle Pure Life Raspberry water and added a scoop of Any Whey Protein (17g protein).  Voila!  I got my own concoction of protein water.  What a bonus--I get clear liquids and all my protein and water in for the day.  That HAS to help me for surgery!  I'm trying to get as much water in as possible today so I'm ahead of the game for the next few days when I may get dehydrated.  

I wanted to get weighed at Dr. Pleatman's office today to see if I made my before-surgery personal weight loss goal.  Unfortunately, we have a winter weather advisory with freezing rain and snow.  The last thing I need is to go out in this mess and get in an accident right before surgery.  I'll just wait until tomorrow at the hospital.  I am so anxious to see the result.  I am hoping for a weigh-in of 220 which will be a total loss of 14 pounds before surgery and 12 of that in just 6 weeks.    

I'll post after my re-birth!

Well, today was my 13th workout with my wonderful personal trainer and she wanted to take my measurements.  Since January 16th I have lost 1.25 inches in my neck, 1.75 inches in my bicep, .5 inches in my chest (had a different bra on though), 5 inches in my waist, 4.5 inches in my hips, 1 inch in my calf, and 3 inches in my thigh!!!  How cool is that.  Can't wait to visit the surgeon's office on Thursday to see what my total weight loss has been before surgery.  Surgery is Friday and my goal was to get to 220 pounds by surgery time down from 234. 

Oh...one other thing.  I got the tests results from my preadmission testing.  My cholesterol was down to 147.  That is 20 points down from when I have my yearly physical last month (January).  

This is so much fun!  I am so happy with all this progress, and I haven't even had the surgery yet. 

Just prepared my meals for the week.  Well, for the next three days anyway.  Have to drink clear liquids on Thursday because the RNY is Friday at 8:30 am.  I have to be at St. Joseph Mercy Oakland hospital in Pontiac, Michigan at 6:30 am.  I am happy I have to be there so early.  Won't give me time to think about it.  

As for the meals I prepared, I use the book "Eating Well after Weight Loss Surgery".  I made three recipes that I pureed.  I want to be on a pureed diet this week because I want to be sure my intestines are clear for Friday.  I'm not so sure one day of liquids is good enough.  

I have appointments with my personal trainer this week on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.  I am also hoping to see her on Thursday, but only to do cardio.  She didn't think it would be a good idea to weight train because my nutrition will be limited that day.

I have to make mention of my trainer, Peggy.  She has a gym in her basement and she lives less than 5 minutes from me.  She is so inspirational to me.  She is everything I have always strived to be in life with regard to living a healthy lifestyle.  She is my age and looks phenominal!  I should post a picture of her in my photos. 

2/20/2007 - Okay, long delay for my update, but I "chickened-out" for my first scheduled surgery in April of 2006. I got tons of pressure from my family not to have the surgery, which helped in my decision to back out. Luckily, I only gained about 6 pounds in the past year. Not sure how I got away with that because I literally, gave up, and was eating like I've never eaten in my life. I ate whatever I wanted. Of course, I was ALWAYS lethargic. I guess it takes alot of energy to metabolize all that food!

So I am back on track now with a surgery date of March 2, 2007. I am so scared! I can't even stand to think about it.

I started back with the surgeon on December 19 2006 at 234 pounds and am down to 223 as of last Wednesday. Still going strong. I want to lose as much weight as possible to make it easier on the surgeon to operate. I have also started using the recipes from the book, "Eating Well after Weight Loss Surgery". AWESOME, AWESOME, book!!!! I LOVE the food in this book! I have also hired a personal trainer who I see about 3 times per week. 

My family met with the surgeon and after he explained everything, they are onboard with my decision.

My only demon right now is the fear. 

Decided not to have the surgery due to pressure from family and fear.

2/27/2006--Everything happened so fast! I went to the surgeon's seminar on January 26th. Had my appointment with the psychiatrist, Dr. Thomas Mervack, on February 3rd. Had the appointment with my surgeon, Dr. Mark Pleatman, on February 8th. Had an appointment with my pcp on February 15th to get the authorization letter. And this past Friday, February 24th, I was told we are ready to schedule. YIKES! I never thought it would be this quick! I bought a wonderful book, "The Skinny on Weight Loss Surgery" and have finished reading it. I HIGHLY recommend it! I also bought a recipe book for weight loss surgery patients and have started making some of the recipes. I am joining the fitness center at work today so I am sure to get some pounds off to make my surgery easier. I have a tentative date planned of April 13th. I scheduled it around my menstrual period and wanted the date to be long enough away so that I can get prepared with losing more weight and getting healthier in general. Plus, the 13th is right before the Easter holiday which will make it better for me regarding work. Many people will be on vacation the week before or the week after Easter so my being gone will not impact them as much. Plus, I have two "free" holidays for recovery that will not count against my vacation time or short term disability.

Sent in my photo and my link to a webnet for a better profile, but it still hasn't been done yet. Not sure how fast this works, but I think its been over two weeks since I sent the stuff in to this web site.

3/1 - Had a nutritionist general meeting with two other patients describing our nutritional requirements post-op. I can already tell I am going to have much difficulty getting enough food and water in while at work. I'm almost never at my desk. I'm going to have to get creative.

The nutritionist gave us a sample pack. It has sample vitamins, protein powders (already used some of the nectar fuzzy navel powder to put into some plain yogurt--YUM). The sample pack also included a protein bar, powdered lemon flavoring (I figure I will use that to flavor the unflavored protein supplement power included in the samples). One thing in the samples that seemed real interesting is a single serving packet of Italian dressing that has no fat and no carbs. Its made by Waldon Farms. Only have to be on clear liquids the day before surgery. Also, have to take a mild laxative and Dr. Pleatman suggested taking one dose of Fleets phospho soda if I feel like it.

I've been doing really well with my diet and exercise. I really want to lose enough weight before surgery to conform to Dr. Pleatman's wishes. Anything that makes my surgery easier for him has got to be good for me. I was going to join the fitness center but opted instead to use my "The Firm" videos at home. I've been alternating the CardioSculpt with the Ab Sculpt. I feel like I have no range of motion because of my big belly. But in just 4 days of exercise, I already feel I am improving. Plus, I can get to sleep much easier. I think I used to use food to put myself into a sugar coma so I would get tired enough to get to sleep. The exercise works much better! I only have one problem to overcome as far as sleep, though. Around 2:00 am-2:30 am I always wake up and get very hungry. In the past I would get up and eat a little something, but I haven't been this week. I figure if I train my body not to want food at that time, I won't get hungry. It keeps me awake for the rest of the night if I don't eat anything. So for now, I will just have to suffer through it.

I've also been eating things I have prepared myself from my WLS recipe book, trying to get as prepared as possible now for how I have to eat later. So I have been training myself to cut smaller pieces and chew longer. I still have to work on taking longer to eat.

I also placed a big order from bariatriceating.com. I bought alot of samples, but I've heard such good things about the Nectar protein products, I bought those in bulk. Basically, I figure I can eat that stuff now to get a feeling for what I like and it will help me lose weight beforehand. I feel like even if I didn't have the surgery, I could eat like this for good. Its all so healthy!

And another thing....in the packet of materials provided by the nutritionist, I found a paper on the Tanita Body Composition. I got my numbers and did a little figuring. My Fat Mass is 112.5. Normal is 35 to 60. Based upon the weight I was at when I registered with the surgeon, (I weigh 8 pounds less now), I really only need to lose between 52.5 (112.5 minus 60) and 77.5 (112.5 minus 35)pounds. I have a more athletic body type from both genetics and athletics. So I figure I have more muscle mass than most people. In my opinion, using the fat mass figure is more individualized and more accurate than following some chart that assumes everyone's body type is the same and you should weigh such-and-such because you are a particular height. The doctor says my ideal weight is 126. I had already been thinking that I could look pretty good at 150 pounds (although I have to get to that point to be sure). At 150, I would be better than ideal for fat mass.

So the next question you are probably asking is, "if you only have that little to lose, why bother with the surgery." I have to say that has entered my mind on more than one occasion. BUT, as you ALL know, no matter how good your intentions are to get in better shape and lose weight, eventually the motivation subsides and before ever getting to goal weight, there comes the weight back on again with a vengeance. Not that it can't happen that way with having surgery. But it will be different this time (don't laugh), because the weight will come off so fast there won't be time to lose the motivation. Once I get to where I want to be with my health for once, I WILL NOT GO BACK.

I've almost seen both sides of the fence. Starting in 2002, I went on Atkins and LOVED IT. Still do! But it took about a year and a half to lose about 60 pounds. The weight comes off so slow, you don't really realize the difference in yourself and you forget what life was like before (I WON'T FORGET THIS TIME). But when I put the weight back on since then, its unbelievable how different things are. Things I don't remember from before I lost the weight. Like I don't remember having a difficult time with stadium seats or a difficult time with my range of motion exercising. But some of the things I do miss being thinner are being able to cross my legs, having the range of motion, feeling good in my clothes because they fit so much better, and having alot more energy.

I believe I have broken the poor energy cycle though. I started taking these vitamins that I think are helping tremendously. In fact, they are working so well, I never got really sore in any part of my body when I started exercising this week! NEVER in my life has that every happened! My vitamin and mineral regimen includes a multi vitamin for women, calcium+D, B-12, metamucil+calcium, CLA--conjugated Linoleic acid, and Oxegen. I think it may be the CLA and the Oxegen helping with my muscle soreness. Those two products help with oxiginating the body, burning fat, building muscle and assisting in blood flow. The combination of the good food I have been eating, getting daily exercise and taking these vitamins and minerals has got me feeling GREAT!

I've lost an average so far of 2 pounds per week since my first visit with Dr. Pleatman. And three of those weeks didn't include exercise. If I keep this up, I could easily be 16 pounds down by the time I have surgery. That may not seem like much, but that means I will only have 87 pounds to lose to goal!