Pure_Prairie

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and non - scale wins are becoming my favorite thing more and more often.

Which is not to say that I don't look forward to seeing my numbers move, actually last week we headed out for a week of vacation and one of my first thoughts was how much I hated missing my scale and being able to weigh in. What is funny about that is that my numbers had been stuck for about a week or two. I even thought maybe I could find a Walgreens and grab one off the shelf to jump on (and test) prior to deciding to purchase or not. I did NOT do this because I was having a blast, enjoying myself and my weight was the last thing I was worried about!

So back to non scale fun. At my highest weight I could barely walk around the block in my neighborhood. While on vacation in New Orleans we didn't even get our car from the hotel garage. We literally walked everywhere and it was so wonderful, being my new healthier version of me I wasn't winded, exhausted or in pain. (okay so I had blisters on my toes but not hip or knee pain like I had been living with for the last 5 + years)

I also wasn't self conscious wondering if people were noticing how big I was, or feeling sorry for me because of my weight. Actually my clothes were so loose! I didn't want to shop pre travel becuase I haven't hit my goal but I was able to go though my closet and "shop" my old cute clothes and that was fun! Plus I also prepped for the trip by pulling out items that were too big and loading up for charity. FUN! Bye old fat clothes!

Lastly I did weigh the day after we got home and I had lost weight, those days of walking miles and miles had paid off huge dividends.

I love seeing and feeling the results of my WLS both physically and mentally!

Yesterday was my birthday and I usually don't get too excited about those. However, I was feeling so amazing after my surgery I called all of my kids and invited them to an omelet party. Something they all enjoyed as kids and something I knew I could eat & enjoy with them.

We had such fun, my kids and grandkids all gathered around, which is my favorite thing. When our house is noisy and filled with laughter it feels like HOME.

Being able to get on the floor and roll around and play with these most precious people in my life, it was one NSV I will never forget.

I said before having WLS is like a birthday, it opens up your life in so many ways. So many ways that have nothing to do with a number. This being my first birthday after WLS gave me a whole new appreciation for the gift of life and having the gift of a healthy life...priceless.

after all the fun we had yesterday today was the opposite, frustrating! My husband scheduled a repairman to come by today and Wednesdays are his days with his parents who are getting older and his Dad is in really poor health. I hate dealing with those sorts of things, they ask questions you don't know the answers to, that's why you call them. I tried to get out of the way and just lay low. It took so long, and it seemed to just deflate my day.

However, I think their is something deeper. Per the endocrinologist I was supposed to stop my Cymbalta and repeat tests to determine what is causing the night sweats that continue to plague me. I talked to my prescribing doctor and she has a step down schedule to prevent the side effects of going cold turkey. Of course I have been on it a while and so it is taking a while to leave my system. I think today I really began to feel the effects of being on less. Low mood, low energy, cranky, and just not feeling good in general. When it came time for my mile walk I just didn't go, it was dreary outside & I decided it looked like my mood felt. Plus for the first time since surgery I was looking for something to snack on. That was alarming, but I got two pieces of melba toast, (on my plan) and just nibbled on them slowly.

My afternoon picked up when I did a phone call with a R.D. she had some great ideas and advice on eating, and I ended up using them at dinner and it was great. I shared a high protein dinner with my family and it was so nice to eat what they were eating and not feel like an outcast. I ended up making a trip to Wal-Mart to pick up a stroller for when my granddaughter visits so we can walk together, and I made it a point to go around the perimenter of the store to get some walking in. So it wasn't a totally lost day, just not one of my better post op days.

Tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it, and it will be my 4 week/28 days post op! That is pretty exciting.

one of my primary motivations for WLS was to be able to play with my grandkids without getting winded, being tired or aching joints.

Today we took our 3 year old grandson Link to McDonald's (I planned ahead and pulled up their entire menu to check for items that were on my plan) to eat lunch, then we took advantage of a beautiful Texas winter's day and took him to the park to feed the ducks his leftover fries.

As he slid down the slide over & over & over, we laughed and giggled. Then he might have walked into the water up to his waist while trying to get close enough to feed the ducks but we got him dry clothes. Then he and I took a nice long (for a post - op & 3 year old) and talked. It was a great day, and with all of our walking we logged 2 miles (per pedometer) from his Daddy dropping him off to his Daddy picking him up.

This 4 hour visit was the best reminder of how important my goal is to me, and how every minute of my WLS journey has been worth it.

since I blogged so I need to.

Good news is I reached a huge goal, I walked 20 minutes, 9/10 of a mile, today is day 8! I haven't been sleeping, and I was so close to skipping yesterday, I usually walk at 11, yesterday it was 4. so that was a close call.

I am dying to get a resolution to my sleep issue. I have decreased my anti - depressant, per doctor's orders, so I can retest my blood work to see if that is the cause of the night sweats.

Still working with my therapist, it is going well, but this week I need to tackle my biggest issue. My Dad's remarriage, my niece (my only niece) is getting married next weekend and of course they plan to be there. I cannot stand her, and have lost respect for him for making the decision to remarry 7 months (and 3 days before my Mama's birthday) after my Mom passed after a battle with Early Onset Alzheimer's. I am going to have to address this issue because that was when my eating really began to spiral out of control. It is for sure "what's been eating me."

I have been trying to only weigh once a week, which is tougher than I thought. My loss isn't as fast as it was so it is nice to be able to see the change weekly. Besides it allows me to focus on NSV vs just the weight.

Enjoying Life is the focus of this journey!

today! and I transistion to solids. It has been 4 weeks of liquids, but it has been worth it both on the scale and NSV.

Scale victories: I am down 15% of my original weight.

I am just over half way to my surgeon's goal.

I have left the obese category (original BMI 35 - 29.9) to the overweight category!

Non - Scale victories: Being able to cross my legs.

Being able to fit comfortably in my jeans again.

Walking everyday this week, still a struggle but I feel so proud of myself every time I do it.

Doing yoga again and it felt great.

Going on a DATE with my husband to a movie and sitting comfortably for 2 hours!

Having more enthusiasm for life!

I got a call yesterday about my blood work, menopause. Wow, wasn't expecting that, and at first I was just stunned. I looked in the mirror and thought but I look young, then as I drifted off to sleep I thought I wanted my Mom. We always had candid conversations about everything and I was sad she couldn't be there for me now. Today I woke up though and sat with it a while and feel like this is just another step in life and I have rolled with the punches this far, so just keep on rollin'.

So I hit a "stall" over the weekend where my weight just stuck for several days. I had been walking every day, still eating according to plan, so I was frustrated. Instead of letting myself get caught up I decided to do a weekly weigh in rather than daily. I picked Wednesday since that is the day I do my measurements as well. So today I hopped on the scale and my stall was broken by a 2 lb loss. I felt so proud of myself, especially since that 2lbs represented hitting my halfway mark AND a 15% loss of my original weight!

I continue to have NSV too, going to an actual movie theater and sitting comfortably through a movie. So fun!

Every day more of my clothes fit, a great victory since I have lots of cute clothes!

Tomorrow is therapy day and I am looking forward to talking about everything going on.

to get serious about moving. I have been off my pre op routine of exercise and I feel like I am loosing ground. Today I asked my husband if he wanted to walk since the sun was out and it was pretty warm compared to what it had been. He said, "maybe" but got comfortable watching golf. So I went upstairs got myself dressed and headed down, I had already decided if he didn't care to go I'd just grab the dog...she never says no to a walk. He did jump up and grab his shoes.

It wasn't easy, I felt like I was moving in slow motion, but I didn't stop. I even remembered to grab a small 8oz water bottle that fit in my jacket pocket. When we got home he said, "feel better?" I said, "NO" but I had gotten it done. THAT now feels great! I stopped moving after my accident and that is what got me where I was. Obese.

Tomorrow is a new week and I need to build on today. I am now 2 weeks post op, surgery was only a step in the road. Diet is of course a step, therapy is a step, but movement is the next step and I've got to get steppin'.

So today was my first meeting with my new therapist, it went really well. It turns out she has also had WLS so I feel great about choosing her. One of her favorite tools is journaling which made me glad I had started here. Especially since I had never been good at it before.

So today's topic is what does good enough look like?

I am a conssumate perfectionist, and I have been known to let it drive many decisions in my life. For example, I started working on my M.S. while I was teaching HS and of course having a family as well. It proved very quickly to be impossible to maintain the A average I expect of myself and I ended up dropping out. I have considered going back many times and every time I tell myself that unless I can achieve at the highest level I just cannot do it.

Typing that out sounds SO silly. I don't consider myself a quitter yet I am letting the perfection control me to that point.

So good enough? I may have to think about that.

is tomorrow and a big day. I have my first therapist visit, and I have a list that I want to discuss with her.

Today I spent time with 2 of my best reasons for WLS, my newborn granddaughter Sophis and my 3 year old grandson Lincoln. So fun reading, rocking, and kisses.

I also had a day where I only lost 1/2 a pound BUT I wasn't upset becuase today was measurement day and I have inches from both my waist and hips. So excited!

Yesterday while sitting in the endocrinologist I was trying to get comfortable and without even thinking I crossed my legs! That is something I absolutley couldn't do 2 months ago.  I also rode my excercise bike for a very slow 30 minutes, not a huge deal, but no pain and it felt good to get active.

So 2 weeks post op and things are looking brighter every single day.