bigmetfan38
progress
Jun 25, 2011
my surgery date was 2/10/11 . . . it's now 6/25/11, so that's 19 weeks and 2 days . . . 135 days . . . what a difference! i have been feeling stuck lately, because obviously when you have less weight to lose, it's going to come off more slowly.
so, whenever i get stuck, i will (after getting totally frustrated) often remember to measure myself to see if i have lost inches because i'm not losing pounds. i have been between 194 and 191 for about a month now, so needless to say, i'm very frustrated. i'm still working out all the time, and i'm still fanatical about what i'm eating. so even if it's not showing in the scale, it's definitely showing in the inches. i'm really happy about these numbers!
weight 280 weight 222 weight 191
chest: 50 46 42
waist: 51.5 46 39.5
hips: 52 46 42
neck: 18 16 14.5
thighs: 25.5 24 22
calves: 18 15 14
arms: 15.5 14 13
forearms: 12 10 10
i can add a new category to this, my sizes.
pants size 50 42 36
underwear xxl large medium
bra 48d 46c 38c
shirts xxxl xl large
i have never been able to wear a bathrobe before because when i would wear one that went around my belly, it would be so long it would go under my feet, and then the tie would never stay closed unless i double knotted it, and then it would actually hurt when i would sit down in it! i now can wear a bathrobe (at a hotel recently for our anniversary, i wore a robe that said "one size fits most"! woooo hoooo!
although the skin is not pretty right now, i am very happy with what's going on. i make sure i drink at least 80 oz of water (i hear that's supposed to help with the skin) have ALL my protein (also for skin and hair - which i'm continuing to lose tons of hair even though i have between 75 and 120 grams of protein daily). i work out my arms daily (i have to demonstrate arm exercises at work for my patients, so i just do them with them) and do all kinds of walking (over 10k steps per day, plus walking on the treadmill)
i'm just literally, working my ass off! lol. when in my lifetime have i ever been able to say that i was about 40 pounds overweight? NOW!
slowing down
Jun 20, 2011
i am greatful that it is still moving in the right direction, but at this rate, i won't lose my 50 for 315 days. are you serious? that's nearly a year! i don't know ANYONE having the same issues i am with this small a weight loss while working my ass off. i know that people say, "you're probably gaining muscle". however, if i am eating 600-800 calories a day, 4 months post surgery, and i'm burning at least 1500 calories a day (on a bad day), but usually 2800 calories according to my fitbit.
really, how is that supposed to be? even if someone doesn't have surgery, and starts walking 5-8 miles a day (treadmill, not just what you walk during the day for work or whatever) without even changing their diet will lose more than 7 pounds in 45 days!
i'm just frustrated.
more than halfway . . .
May 06, 2011
1. i am on NO MEDICATION. no more blood presure meds (3 different ones), no more water pills, no more cholesterol meds (no more muscle aches FROM the cholesterol meds), no more pain meds for my joints, no more anti-inflammatories, no more ANYTHING! my blood pressure today was 100/64 and my heart rate was 62. my cholesterol is 157, my triglycerides were 77, my hdl was 35 (needs to be >40, so i have to work on that), my ldl 107 (should be
moving right along . . . 5 weeks out
Mar 17, 2011
i'm really hopeful that i'll be able to get under 200 pounds for the first time in who knows how long, by sometime in april. that's amazing! that's next month. who knows if it will really happen? i don't, but i feel like it's going to happen. if it doesn't, it will happen in may! lol - either way, i will be at my half way mark when i hit 200 pounds. i needed to lose 140 pounds at the beginning of this journey. i have lost 54, and need 16 pounds to get half way. i'm good with that! i know for sure that the last 70 will be a lot harder than the first 70, but to be on that side of the line seems a lot happier to me!
i just can't wait to be a normal size . . . not sure what a normal size is, but it's not what i'm wearing! lol.
i didn't used to care about any of this! what's happening to me!? lol, i only used to care about my health. (before my decision to do the surgery, i didn't even care about that!). now i want to look good too! what the hell?!?!?! lol
anyway, we're moving right along, so i guess we'll see how this pans out.
it's taking it's time . . . but it's definitely coming off!
Mar 09, 2011
well, the weight continues to come off, but it seems to me that it's happening slower than i thought it would. on 2/25 i think i had written that i was down 17 . . . well, it's 3/9 and now i'm down 22. so that's 5 pounds in about nearly 2 weeks. tomorrow is my 1 month surgiversary, and i believe 22 pounds is an awesome weight loss for 1 month post surgery - i guess i just compare myself to people in my support group. a woman i sat with through our 3 month class lost almost 50 pounds in her first month. she did have some complications, so i'm grateful that i didn't have any. but because i'm crazy (lol) all i look at is her weight loss and how much thinner she looks (her complications are completely healed and she's fine now). all in all, i am happy, i feel much better than i did. i'm not on any meds right now except for antibiotics and prilosec because they found an h-pyloric ulcer during my surgery.
i have been keeping track of my measurements since i was at my highest weight. here they are:
weight 280 weight 222
chest: 50 46
waist: 51.5 46
hips: 52 46
neck: 18 16
thighs: 25.5 24
calves: 18 15
arms: 15.5 14
forearms: 12 10
now that's incredible. that's since my heaviest, and i lost 27 before surgery, and so some of these inches are pre-surgical losses. a total of 25.5 inches of fat off of my body!
i totally acknowledge that this is working . . . of course it's working, i eat between 400 and 600 calories a day! how could you not lose weight? i guess it's like that saying something about the forest for the trees. i see the big picture of the total, but the daily or weekly advances seem so slow. i don't know.
i do know i'm going to keep doing what i'm doing! because i am moving in the right direction. i'm moving down, that's for sure. and without this sleeve, i would surely be moving in the opposite direction! and i know it's great to be able to get up and down off the floor without help and change jason's diaper. and i can bend down to pick up after him without feeling i'm going to have a heart attack.
we'll see what happens!
i think it was a week long stall . . . maybe . . .
Feb 27, 2011
i am going to weight myself tomorrow, and then i'm going to start weighing myself on mondays. hopefully i'll be able to stick to it. i am definitely addicted to weighing myself, that's for sure.
i have been making sure i've been eating between 500 and 650 calories, which i found in some hospitals literature following the vsg. i wasn't looking at calories prior to the stall when i was on liquids, but since i'm on the mushies, i decided it was easier to get up there in calories and i better be careful.
protein has not been a problem for me, i've been eating between 70 and 90 gms of protein daily (not purposely), it's just been the way it's been - but i would rather eat more protein and less carbs. i've tried to be under 40gms in carbs, and under 30gms of sugar. hopefully all of this will work.
the only thing i'm thinking i'm having problems with is my skin . . . i'm drinking at least 64 oz of water every day and then whatever fluids come in with the other stuff. but today after my shower, i looked at my face and was shocked at how dry it was and not just dry . . . but flaky! i take biotin, multivitamins, and all the other stuff i am supposed to. but it was a shock to see my skin look like that. i had to put a heavy coating of nivea on my face!
i have my group on wednesday - and then my partner is having the same surgery on thursday! it's going to be difficult. the baby is REALLY attached to her. hopefully now that i can pick him up, he will let me bear the brunt of it. she's been practicing making him walk everywhere for 2 weeks. hopefully this will do the trick!
it's going to be easier in the way that we can eat similar diets pretty soon. we're only separated by 3 weeks. it's going to be an incredible adventure with her. i can't wait to see what the future brings.
ok, let's go already!
Feb 23, 2011
i have been eating nothing off the prescribed diet. i have been logging EVERY morsel (as liquidy as those morsels may be), and every single bit of exercise. it seems that i'm out exercising my intake, so i'm trying to figure out how i'm not losing more quickly! i realize that 15 pounds in 13 days is FANTASTIC. but i keep hearing from other's around my surgery date who have lost more than 20 or 25 pounds since then.
i haven't even used milk in my protein shake, and i'm thinking that if i'm only taking in 500 or 600 calories per day, and burning 500 or so as well during exercise . . . what will happen to me when i'm putting in more calories (more real protein and less protein shakes), what will happen to me when i'm on 1200 calories . . . it just makes me worry.
i'm just going to remain grateful, and continue to follow every direction given to me. hopefully the outcome will be great.
and now it is done!
Feb 15, 2011
finally, it's done. i am home, moving around, drinking liquids, and avoiding picking up my son - he drives a hard bargain i have to say - he makes it hard, but i keep showing my bo-bo, and telling him i can't do it. he had a nightmare tonight and it was very difficult not to pick him up, but he's nearly 40 pounds and way too heavy for me. i had my 17 year old pick him up and put him on my lap in the rocking chair. it didn't really appease him, but it had to do.
anyway, julianna is having her surgery in 2 weeks and i'm not sure what we're gonna do after that - the 2 teenagers are really going to have to step up to the plate during that time period.
i feel pretty good - not hungry and i am finding myself forcing myself to drink. i was confused by the dr when i left the hospital. i know that i heard him say clear liquids for the first 2 weeks. when i got home and started to talk to people who were in my class, i became concerned i wasn't having any protein. i checked with julianna who was with me when the surgeon told me that, and she agreed with me. but i finally called the dr, and he told me it was all liquids. i'm glad, because clear liquids are BORING! lol
so today i had 3 of the nectar shakes (chocolate truffle) only mixed with 4 oz's of h2o each, that was 23g protein each shake. i had cream of mushroom soup twice today, and probably 34 oz of h2o, plus a couple of ice pops and a jello. i'm not sure, is that too much, too little, just right? who the heck knows?
i did manage to walk a mile yesterday and today and stuck to 2.6 mph so as not to over-do it. i usually go 3.0 mph, but i thought that would be too much. anything under 2.6 felt like i was going backwards.
i am really looking forward to the is weight loss thing. i am in the 230's for the first time in a very long time already and i can't wait till the 220's.
here it comes!
Feb 05, 2011
so in the last 4 days, i have lost 6 pounds. i am feeling a lot better. i was wondering! now i wonder what i would have lost if i had done it right from the beginning! hmmm. . . oh well, it is what it is.
i am ready - i just have to go pick up the milk of magnesia. i'm a little worried about that. i'm supposed to take the m.o.m. on wednesday - we will be traveling by car to burbank - 1 1/2 hours, and then a train to san diego for another 3 1/2 hours, when exactly am i supposed to take it? what if i have to go on the train?!? scary!
i have my list . . . list of things to bring.
pajama pants that are loose
t-shirts
slippers
ankle socks
sneakers
burt's bee's for my lips
c-pap
deodorant
toothbrush and paste
and just in case they keep me in the area longer than i want . . .
liquid pain killer
prilosec
gas - x strips
protein shots just in case (we won't have our car)
and i have to go today to amtrak to pick up our tickets to san diego. that should cover everything!
i'm going to the gym everyday, trying to do as much exercise as possible before surgery.
i'm so excited, wednesday (the day we leave) can't come soon enough.
holy cow! my surgery is 11 days away!
Jan 30, 2011
i lost my mind last night and for the first time in 10 days i ate food. i ate about 8 oz of chicken and it was cooked in frank's hot sauce (it's one of my favorite things to eat - although, when you're not eating and you think of food, you might think everything is one of your favorite things to eat, lol) and some mashed potatoes. i tried to have a soda (coke zero - also, the only thing i ever drank before this journey started) and i didn't like it! so i didn't drink it. it's good to know that i didn't like the taste, because now that i have that in my head - i won't ever try to drink it after surgery. however, i weighed myself this morning and i was 6 pounds heavier than i was yesterday! that freaked me out! i don't know what all that was about, but i worked out (did my p90 x) and took a shower, when i got out i weighed again, just to see what would happen and i was 3 pounds less than i was this morning. i normally don't weigh myself that often, but i think the whole cheating thing freaked me out.
in any event, i have decided to re-double my efforts. it's clear i must do this for the next 9 days. i have to get up, do my exercise, have my protein shake, take all of my vitamins, go to work, have a shake for lunch, get to the gym for the treadmill, have another shake when i get home, and get to bed early so i can do it again. we leave for san diego before the crack of dawn on wednesday, feb. 9th because of my pre-op appointment. on that day i will be doing all clear liquids. period.
i realize that we are all having surgery because we haven't been able to maintain a weight loss for any length of time that will benefit our health. as a matter of fact, the constant losing and gaining is more strain on the heart than anything. i have lost and gained hundreds of pounds over the years, but i always end up here. this is my time.
this is my time that i can get a jump start in the weight loss, and i have to use this tool to get my health back and be able to be physically active again. i have to use this tool to learn how to eat like normal people apparently do, because the rest of the world isn't my size.
i can do this!
