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So, the holidays were my slump.  Apparently like superstitious atheletes I should have not washed my socks or shaved my mustache (LOL, true story :0 ) I had some trouble over the holidays, I was so mad at myself.  Disappointed really.  I mean I have worked so hard these last 4 months and to throw it away for a few nibbles of a hersheys bar (which milk choc now tastes like spoiled milk to me since surgery) or that handful of cheetos cheese puffs (still my kryptonite to this day apparently).  I was a rude awakening to go over 2 weeks and not lose weight.  Thankfully I didn't gain but its still disappointing when you have such high hopes for yourself.  Welp, the good part is I am back on track.  I set a goal to lose 50 lbs by June, my birthday.  I printed out calendars on microsoft word and went down and put down what I want to weight at the end of each week and then left a section for where I can fill in what I really weigh.  Its like 2-3 lbs per week which with this surgery I know is pretty much achievable if I put my mind to it.  I signed up for my pole dancing classes, doing that 1-2 times a week for 1+ hours at a time.  I switched gyms to one that offers cardio classes and I am focusing on weight training with a trainer.  I am refocused, I have goals and I am putting them out there in to the universe so people know what I am trying to do.  I need to be held responsible for my  actions and the more ppl rooting for me to succeed, the more I have to lose if I fall off the wagon again. :) Since refocusing my attentions I have lost 7 lbs in a little over 2 weeks.  Its been a great feeling to push my body's limits.  Never would I have ever thought that I would enjoy exercise, or find myself trying to squeeze more time into my day to allow another workout!  I'm still finding that there are things I still don't tolerate.  I just can't do carbs.  I tried eating like 3 wheat crackers the other day and I felt awful.  I accidently grabbed cream of potato soup instead of the cream of celery I thought it was, added mu unjury, took a few bites and thought "Hey, this tastes weird" checked out the can in the trash and low and behold, it was potato! I experienced the foamies for the first time in 5 months! Basically I was belching up/mildly vomitting this awful foamy spit like substance and I felt miserable.  Lesson learned, be more mindful of what I put in my mouth and check labels! LOL...... Dating has been going ok, I have pulled back some, it was really overwhelming honestly.  The men I have met recently just have not been what I had hoped they would be, but its ok, I am refocusing on my health and work outs for now. 

 

Well, I've been doing pretty good but I have to admit I have fallen into that false sense of security for the last 2 weeks with the holidays here.  I really thought I was doing good, but then Christmas eve rolled around and dang it if my momma didn't make her yummy cream cheese and shrimp dip, that got shovelled in by the spoonfuls.  LOL.....Then I made some yummy brunch items for CHristmas morning and I of course felt sure enough of myself to eat them, well I kept eating them for 3 days, I way overdid it.  So I tried to get back on track but then on New yrs eve I went to a party and those horrible friends of mine had Cheeto Cheese puffs! Those bastards, thats my arch nemesis! I admit with shame, Kari ate more than she should have.  I also had some pretzels cuz I figured, what the hell, I'm already on a rocket sled to hell, why not tack on a couple of twists and turns on my ride down! :/  I'm ashamed of myself, I know many people do the same thing but I wanted to be the girl who didn't.  Its awful felling like you failed yourself and your sleeve.  Everyone has been so encouraging, telling me how amazing I look and all I can think is "Yeah, Kari, you would look even more amazing ifyou would stop stuffing your damn face!" They are right I guess, you can't  fix your head as quick as they remove a hunk of your stomach.  So I'm back on track, writing everything down that goes in my mouth, trying myfitnesspal, back to the gym and signed up for another pole class series.  I have such big plans for myself, I can't afford to emotionally let myself down again! So, this is my confession, My name is Kari and I still eat junk food and lose control if I don't stay on top of myself.   :(

So I am just over 3 months post op.  I still have those days where I am convinced this is just a really weird dream and I am gonna wake up and still be massively overweight :/  And then I meet up with my friends and they oh and ah over me and I feel that all is right in the world and I am smoking hot.  :)  To date since my surgery I have lost 56lbs and 70 lbs since the pre-op diet, It is seriously amazing the changes I keep seeing in my body.  about 3 weeks ago I went to Macy's just to look in the juniors section, thinking, "I'm almost there, just a little more and I can start shopping here" then I decided, ahh what the hell, lets try on a juniors size 15 jeans and an XL juniors top.....thinking that when I got into the dressing room it would be like trying to pull on a wet swimsuit.  To my complete and utter surprise they were TOO BIG! Shut the front door!!! I kid you not.  I have been in such a denial about what size I really am and still wearing alot of my old baggy clothes that it never occured to me they would fit.  So, this girl is now in a large juniors top and a size 13 juniors or 12 regular bottoms....going from a 2XL top and size 20 bottom 3 months ago I think thats flabberghasting!!! I am soo thankful every day for my sleeve and my surgical team who gave me the tool to live the life I deserve to live.  I have my down and up days, I everyonce in a while put something in my mouth that I regret but every day is a learning process.  :) Thanksgiving is right around the corner and I am looking forward to it this year.  I have learned that moderation works and my family has been great about accomodating me and trying themselves to focus on healthier lifestyles!  So from my home to all of yours I wish you all a very blessed Happy Thanksgiving! 

Listen,
Even before I had the surgery I always had confidence in my body most days.  I dressed to excentuate the good parts and hide the bad parts.  Since the surgery I have to say my confidence is even HIGHER!  I am down over 50 lbs since start of the pre-op diet and what a difference it makes on my small framed body.  To keep the motivation going I went a booked a photo session for January 19th to do almost naked pics of myself.  They are called celebrate you photos and they are aimed at helping you appreciate what God gave you and loving the body you have.  I live in florida so we already decided its gonna be something "sports illustrated-ish" out on the beach...so that is my motivation to get my ass in gear and tone up the jiggly parts and work on having as little saggy skin as possible.  I am already soo proud of my progress so far and only know I will be more proud when January rolls around.  Oh and here's the greatest part!  I'm gonna make an ex calender.  Every man who dumped me because I was too fat or they we no longer attracted to me, is gonna get a calender of these shots with a thank you note for being the jerks that helped me remember I was worth soo much more! And it helps that they will see how hot I am and think "damn, maybe I pulled the trigger on that one too fast!" LOL.   Not a single day goes by do I regret having this surgery.  Its opened my eyes and life to what life is supposed to be like! :) 

Wow, so its already been 7 weeks! My my how time has flown by! I can hardly believe the changes I see and feel in my own body.  I've lost weight before in the past but I have to admit that it never felt like an accomplishment.  It was just one more step before gaining back the weight and then some.  I got to say though, now I seriously appreciate every lb and inch I lose now.  Now it feels like a real accomplishment.  I can just feel like its leaving my body for good this time!  Its almost weird to look down and literally have to move my boobs to fine my stomache.  It used to stick out farther than my boobs, so now for it to be relatively flat its such an awesome feeling.  I'm getting my hourglass figure back.  I am in size 16's and almost shrinkin out of those! My feet still are shrinking.  My jewelry is all fitting better.  Everyone says I glow :D  I say its the 70+ oz of liquids I drink each day. LOL....and men are totally noticing me. Not sure if its because of the change in my body or if I am more confident since weight loss or combination of both, but it feels awesome.  I just went for my 2 month labs and that was seriously hard, I had to stop all vitamins for 2 days before labs and then fast 14 hrs before labs.  I was soo lethargic from no vitamins and not eating or drinking I seriously felt like shiz! :(  I'm gonna ask him if the fasting for 14hrs is really necessary, I seriously think I was borderline dehydrated! OMG.....
Well, thats my update so far, everything is working great.  I am so happy with my decision to have this surgery and would happily reccomend it to anyone who asks me!

So I go for my 1 month follow up tomorrow afternoon with Dr Vaughan and I weighed myself today....202 lbs!.....Soooo close to onderland :/ Dang it, unless I can lose 2 lbs in like 18 hrs...lol....
But, honestly I'm ok with being 202 right now! Never in mylife have I lost 30+ lbs in a month and know its gonna stay gone :D
I am extremely open with people about my surgery, I wanted it that way so I knew who was my support system and who were the naysayers to avoid!  Its actually pretty great, people I barely know come up to me and compliment me because they heard from someone, who heard from someones cousin that I had surgery.  It's pretty funny:)

I told one of my patients last night while I was hooking her up to the equipment becuase I lifted her shirt and saw some scars on her tummy.  I told her I had some similar from my WLS and she was shocked, she had a band put in about 18 months ago.  She told me she's only lost 35 lbs since she had it put in and when I told her I was at 30 lbs in a month she was totally shocked.  Now, nothing against people who choose the band, but this solidified my belief in my sleeve. 

OHHH, NSV..this weekend I could sit in my moms reading chair, fold my knees up and wrap my arms around my legs and sit comfortably.  Before if I even attempted it, I would hurt myself and/or cut of my windpipe and end up short of breath! LOL.....
So here's to getting cleared from my Dr to do something a bit more rigourous than walking on the treadmill at the gym! Fingers crossed ;)

I am almost 1 month post op now and the changes I have seen have been completely unbelievable!  I have been incredibly fortunate that I have not yet had a stall yet (knock on wood) I know this will probably happen in the near future so I am mentally preparing myself.  But for now I am just enjoying the victories I have been achieving lately.  It is the most unbelievable feeling in the world to realize that I control my hunger.  It no longer controls me.  I have literally become "THAT" girl.  I seriously forget to eat.  I have no hunger and no cravings for things that I am not supposed to eat.  Seriously I baked 72 cupcakes this week and didn't touch anything.  I'm talking filled with mousse, topped with buttercream frosting.  Before I would have gorged myself on my homemade cream cheese frosting (yeah, I'll brag, I'm a pretty amazing cupcake maker ;} hehe) But I literally had NO interest.  Just drank my powerade and plowed thru 6 hours of baking and decorating.  People are noticing I  am losing.  My face is shrinking, my feet are already almost a 1/2 size smaller!  I have to say its weird now to touch my stomach and realize it's also shrinking.  I am so happy that I make the decision to have this surgery.  It has saved my life.  Oh and men are totally noticing me again! I don't know if its the weight loss or if I just have much more self esteem and confidence but seriously this week 3 men have hit on me! LOL.....and not subtly if I may add! Haha..I tried my wedding ring and engagment ring on, which I stopped wearing a few months ago because a) it cut off the circulation to my finger because it was soo tight and b) I'm seperated, in the process of getting a divorce, but the highlight of this story is that my rings fit, are actually too big now.  I just can't stop raving.  I have tried so many diets, exercise routines, medications, hypnosis, shots, weight loss programs and it would take me 8-9 months to lose 20-30 lbs and now I've done it in less than 30 days! I'm so flabberghasted! :) I see my surgeon this week for my 1 month follow up and I am soo excited to show him my progress and talk about whats the next level.  I want to be cleared to do more exercise....never thought in a million years I'd be excited to exercise more and harder! Thank you Stevie Sleevie, you have made my life worth living again! NO more wallflower sitting around wishing her life away! I'm gonna make things happen now! 

Well,
Here I am 2 weeks post op and wow has alot changed! Never ever in a million years would I imagine that food would no longer control me! But with my sleeve I have found that I no longer plan my day around  making sure I eat.  I have luckily had no trouble with drinking the recommended 72 oz of fluids daily.  I have however struggled getting sufficient protein in.  I average about 62 grams a day and the Dr wants me to work up to 80-100 grams of protein daily.  I think once I am able to eat more lean protein (ie chicken, eggs) I will meet this goal much more succesfully.  I think the hardest part sofar has been the mood swings.  About a week and a half in to this recovery I seriously had a melt down! I was just done with chicken broth and unflavored protein powder.  I literally cried while choking it down, then spent 2 days refusing to eat any kind of protein.  I was a lethargic mess.  Part of me was just throwing a childish tempertantrum.  Well, I posted on here about my mood swings and I got soo much support and wonderful suggestions, that I decided to get back in the game and try some other proteins.  Well I have spent quite a bit of  $$ on protein shakes and powders in the last week, alot sucked and I need to return them, and a few actually weren't too bad.  Thankfully I have moved up to trying scrambled eggs and cottage cheese now that my 2 week surgiversary is here! Woo hoo.....
I've lost 18 lbs since surgery, my clothes are looser, my shoes hardly fit anymore and I have alot more energy than I thought I would this early out.  I am thankful for my wonderful surgeon and his amazing staff.  I am thankful for the wonderful friends and sleeve buddies I have gotten thru OH who help me daily keep putting one foot in front of the other.  I haven't once regretted my decision and I am looking forward to what the future brings!

So I had my sleeve done on 8/16.  It went absolutely fine I'm slowly learning how to drink, no gulps or straws, no coffe or tea! I have had Zero hunger since the surgery and it feels very weird.  My parents are actually freaking out on me thinking I need to eat more.  I did gain 2 lbs during my hospital stay but now I am down 8 lbs.  I know its all water weight mostly but it still makes me feel like i did the right thing.  I am pretty tired and uncomfortable sleeping, I can only sleep in the recliner, laying to flat make me wanna vomit from the stomach acid :( And I can't sleep on my side like I normally do,  I am anxiously awaiting for the day! :)  My butt is sore from sitting and laying in the same position so much, I'm up and walking around every hour or so but still not enough right now, but I get so exhauseted just pacing the house :/  Well I look forward to hearing more stories from my sleeve buddies!

Wow, what a journey so far and the fun part hasn't even begun! LOL, well after 3 weeks of non stop blood test to try to figure out why my clotting factor was abnormal, my surgeron said that there isn't anything wrong with me and said "Lets schedule the surgery!!" I almost fell out my chair I tell you! How excited am I you ask?  Well...there are no words I can express.  So if Dr V had his way I would probably be having surgery next week,but since I have this leetle thing called a job I figured I should give them a few weeks notice to adjust the work schedule so I don't screw everyone else at the lab.  So....drum roll please...... August 18th I will start sporting my new accesory otherwise known as a sleeve!!!