Amy, Daredevil Extraordinaire

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I'm so excited to be going on my next vacation: I'm leaving tomorrow for Puerto Vallarta! I'll be spending a week there with 5 close friends for Spring Break! Time to party and swim and do some flyboarding and zip lining! I'll post pictures when I get back, but here's another progress picture -- I am wearing a brand new size "M" top. I love it (and can't believe it at the same time!). I'm down to 144 pounds and still need 25 pounds to reach my goal. It's been slow going these last few weeks, but that's okay. I'm still losing and will continue to do so. 

I'm also including some pictures to show what flyboarding is -- I never heard of it until recently. Hopefully I'll get some good shots of me trying it!

It's been about 6-1/2 months since surgery and things are going great! I can now wear a size 12 and can't believe it! I also have a pair of old GAP jeans from 10 years ago. They are a size 10 and I tried them on the other day. I can button and zip them!!! Of course, I can't wear them in public yet because 1) they are uncomfortable still! and 2) I have a muffin top when I wear them. But, I know I will be able to wear those soon! I also have another GAP pair that are a size 6 that I've been saving. I'm not sure if I'll get into those, but I'm keeping them just in case!

It feels amazing! I really don't recognize the person I used to be only 6.5 months ago! It's surreal. After losing 83 pounds, I'm now only 29 pounds away from my goal of 119 pounds. (I'm going to reevaluate my goal once I get down to 130. 119 will put me in a "normal" BMI but if I'm in a size 6 or 8, I'm not going to kill myself to get to a specific number on the scale. I'm going to go with what looks and feels good.

I am sooooo close to being under a 30 BMI. I'm almost not obese! Wow! I never thought I would feel so happy by being categorized as "overweight". But starting off with a BMI of 48.3, having one that is 30.9 is awesome!!

I let the cat out of the bag last week. Before then, not many people knew about my surgery (just my mom, my boyfriend, and a few close friends.) Last week, I visited my dad and his family and the next day I went with my boyfriend to his family’s house for a visit. None of them had seen me since before my surgery. I’ve lost 48 pounds since surgery and down from a 2X to an XL.

At my dad’s house, not one person commented on my weight loss! I was surprised, especially at my dad because he ALWAYS comments on my weight. Anyway, the only reason I mentioned my surgery was because they kept trying to get me to eat pizza. I explained to them that I wasn’t eating that kind of stuff right now. And they kept pressing me why I couldn’t even have a bite. So I told them about the surgery. They didn’t react negatively, per se. But my stepmother kept bringing up stories of other people who have had it and have been unsuccessful. She even told me about someone who ate themselves to death because she couldn’t stop feeling hungry after surgery. (????)  My dad was mostly offended because I had surgery and was in the hospital without telling him. My sister (who is also very overweight) had a bunch of questions about it.

At my boyfriend’s family’s house, I got a bunch of compliments about my weight loss and my new haircut. It felt great! Even one of his uncles (who NEVER really talked to me other than to say “hi”) stopped me and asked me about my weight loss. One of the cousins complimented me and asked me how I did it. That’s when I told her about the surgery. (I’m sure the rest of the family knows the whole story by now. News travels fast around there. LOL) She had a bunch of questions, but was not negative at all. The next day, her sister started texting me telling me she heard I’ve been looking great and asked me what my secret was. I’m sure she already knew, but I told her all about the surgery. She said that I have motivated her to lose weight, too.

So, all in all, the reactions haven’t been negative so far. The only worry that has now crept into my head is “What if I fail?” Now I have all these people watching my every move and the minute I gain my weight back, they will be talking shit. I know I shouldn’t think this way. And I’m confident that I’ll be able to keep the weight off once I hit goal. But I still have this stupid, tiny voice in my head saying, “What if?”.

I need to stop letting that little voice get through. For years, when looking in a mirror, that voice told me how disgusting, fat, ugly, and worthless I was. I listened to that voice for far too long! I need to train myself to ignore it. I’m not sure how, though. Haha!

Any suggestions?

So, I regretted my surgery for the first time last Friday.

How did this happen?? Well, we were there celebrating my best friend's birthday. He picked a restaurant that had a prix-fixe menu. If you eat there, you also get PREFERRED TICKETS to the World of Color show later that night.

You choose an appetizer, choose an entree, and get a beautiful tray of five different desserts. I couldn't eat the soup, I don't like salad, three out of the four entrees had pasta, and of course, there was nothing on the dessert tray that I could eat.

So I ordered the salad with grilled chicken as my entree. And since I don't like salad, I asked for the grilled chicken on the side (LOL). It was so dry, but I ate about half of it.

The bill comes, and we all split it (and we all paid for my friend's entree since it was his birthday). A few people had glasses of wine (which I didn't).... the total came to $53 each. FOR HALF A GRILLED CHICKEN BREAST. HAHAHAHAHAHA! 

The best part: due to the strong Santa Ana winds that night, the show was canceled five minutes before show time (which was the main reason my friend chose that restaurant.) AAAAAAACK!

Not to mention that I didn't have my standard churros or cream cheese-filled pretzels.  So yeah, I hated my DS for a little bit on Friday. 

I turned 40 yesterday! I can't believe that I'm forty years old. It feels so weird! And then I started thinking that I'll be FIFTY in only 10 years! WTH?!?! Hahaha

I'm seven weeks post-op and down about 25 pounds. It seems like the weight loss is so slow, but when I look at my before picture and compare it to the picture I took today, I can really tell the difference!

It's pretty exciting! I am enjoying this journey, although some days I wish I could just be at goal already! But I know I need patience and I know that every day, I am becoming healthier. 

Overall, I had a great time!! I'm sure I didn't drink enough water or get in enough protein, but I tried my best! I always had a bottle of water with me -- every time the cocktail waitress came by the blackjack table, I ordered a bottle of water.

I bought Isopure at a GNC when I arrived in Vegas. I drank one of them the first day. It was only 20 ounces (with 40 grams of protein!), but it took me FOREVER to drink it - like ALL DAY. I remember back when I was drinking Diet Coke, I could finish 20 ounces in no time! I didn't care for the flavor of the Isopure -- there was a distinct aftertaste. And the next day, I had diarrhea for the first time in a while. I figured it had to have been the Isopure, since that was the only new thing that I consumed. So, I didn't bother drinking any more after that. :(

If we ate out at a restaurant, I would order a hamburger patty with cheese and bacon (nothing else -- no bun, no lettuce, nothing). I had my handy-dandy reduced-sugar ketchup bottle with me every time (LOL). I could only eat 1/2 of the patty at each meal. I can't believe how full that would get me! At breakfast, I ordered scrambled eggs and bacon. And for the rest of the day, I would just eat some of my snacks.

I had enough energy to last me the whole trip -- although, we weren't staying out until 2am or 3am like I used to do! But I think that has more to do with my age (39) than with my surgery. Hehe

I had this Vegas trip planned before I even knew I was going to have surgery. Before my surgery, I wasn't sure if I'd be feeling well enough to go since I'm only 5 weeks out. When I asked on the boards, some people said there was no way they could do it, while others said they would have no problems traveling at five weeks out.

I'm feeling great and I'm pretty sure I'll be able to handle it. The one thing I really need help with is loading my suitcase into and out of the car. I don't see an issue getting help for this (hopefully!).

This is a VERY low key trip -- just me and one friend. I'm not a big drinker, so that was never in my plans. We'll just be doing a couple of shows, some gambling, and some walking around.

When I arrive in Vegas, I'm hitting GNC so that I can buy some bottles of Isopure (one for each day I'm there). I've packed hard-boiled eggs and packets of mayo so I can have "egg-salad" every day for one of my meals. (I'm keeping them in a cooler and will have a fridge in my hotel room.) I'm also taking pumpkin seeds, protein bars, and beef jerky for high-protein snacks. I don't plan on hitting any buffets (A MIRACLE!) so I will just order chicken breast, hamburger patty, or scrambled eggs when we eat out. (I'm even bringing my own bottle of reduced-sugar ketchup!) HAHA

Wish me luck at the blackjack tables! 

Hey Everybody!

4 weeks ago today, I was under Dr. K.'s knife. Today, I'm back at work and feeling good! (Granted, I still have 6 hours to go, but so far so good!)

I've written down my eating routine (I'm planning on eating something every 2.5 hours) and brought all my food and vitamins. I hope I planned it out well enough!

I feel like being back at work is going to make it so much easier to stick to a routine (drinking and eating-wise). At home, I was just lounging around, napping sporadically, and eating and drinking whenever I remembered. Now, I have my water right in front of me and it's easy to pick it up and sip every few mintues. I never thought I would like coming back to work so much! Haha!

They have a cafeteria here at work, so my 10:00 am meal is scrambled eggs. I usually have ONE scrambled egg at home. So when I ordered a side of scrambled eggs, they gave me enough to cover the entire plate! I was only able to eat about 1/8 of the thing before getting rid of it. And before my surgery, I used to order (and eat!) 2 fried eggs, 2 pancakes and 2 pieces of bacon for breakfast! Wow, what a difference!!! I love it!

In 4 weeks, I've lost 18 pounds (16% of my EW). I think I'm on the right track! The blouse I'm wearing to work today is already a little big on me. I'm still far from goal, but I'm already so happy I had this surgery! 

Hi Everyone! 

Just checking in. I had my surgery exactly 2 weeks ago today. I've been feeling okay -- some days are better than others. I'm hydrated throughout the day, but I seem to wake up dehydrated every morning (and feel like crap until I get some water in me.) Do you guys know how I can stay hydrated overnight without having to wake up throughout the night to drink water?

I'm up to 2 protein shakes per day (about 40-50 grams of protein). Today, I'm going to try to make it 3x day. I've emailed my surgeon's office to ask when I can graduate to soft foods. Hopefully soon!

TMI warning: Today I had my very first non-diarrhea bowel movement since the surgery! Wooohoo! I never thought I'd be so happy about that kind of thing. 

I've lost 13 pounds so far. It doesn't seem like much. But I'll take whatever I can get. :) Only 99 more pounds to go. Yay!

Hi everyone! I came home from the hospital after staying over three nights (exactly what Dr. K predicted.)

I'm trying to wean myself off the pain medication, so I'm taking Tylenol extra strength instead. I just hate that groggy feeling from the narcotics!

And this morning I started taking all my vitamins. I had two protein shakes yesterday and one so far today. I use two ice cubes and only 4 ounces of water. What seems to work for me is taking two sips and then setting my timer for 15 minutes. Then taking another 2 sips. It takes FOREVER to drink a protein shake, but I'm getting in 23g at a time. So far, so good. I'm also sipping on water every 5-10 minutes whenever I'm not working on a shake.

Before going into the hospital, I bought a lift chair (recliner). I'm so glad I did! I was as comfortable as can be expected last night which I attribute to the chair. 

Looking forward to this bloating to go away and to feeling normal again. One day at a time, right? :)