Danielle Hodgins

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Hopefully healthy, strong and fit!  But ya know what - I'm going to be brutally honest with you here.  Any surgery is NOT going to be the end-all solution to weight struggles.  I get a lot of messages and questions about how to lose all the weight, how to keep it off etc.  The truth is - sure surgery may help you drop some weight.  But the other truth is - it is as temporary as a 'diet' or 'pill' or anything else.  It is as limited as what YOU put into it.  If you do not make the decision and commitment to completely change your life, your habits, your way of eating, exercising, LIVING - then truth is, you will not reach your goal weight and you will certainly not stay there.  Have I mastered or perfected this healthy lifestyle?  Heck no!  But I eat extremely clean at least 80% of the time and exercise 6 times a week.  I have also become a certified fitness instructor and health and fitness coach to help others beat this constant battle.  So is that what you have to do?  Nope.  You have to do what works for you.  You've just got to realize that if you don't eat healthy on a regular basis and exercise - you're not going to be healthy on a regular basis or fit.  But the good news is - You Can do it.  You're here because you do not want to be overweight or obese, and risk all of the diseases and health issues that are directly related to being overweight.  You can be healthy, fit and in shape.  Just decide now that you're in it for life and don't ever look back.  You got this. 

Wow. Where does the time go?  It flies by when you're busy living life, that's for sure!  So - the good news or bad news first?  Good news is I am maintaining my healthy weight and am physically fit.  I am a health and fitness coach, and a certified Turbo Kick (an awesome kickboxing group exercise) instructor and teach 5 times a week in addition to my own personal workouts.  I will also have completed my certification and be a certified personal trainer in the next 30 days. 

The bad is I am severly iron deficient/anemic again.  My ferritin level is 3 and have restarted iron infusions.  I eat extremely healthy, clean foods, and take vitamins but simply do not absorb iron.  I will absorb a cookie or chips just not iron! So I'm struggling to get this to a healthy level.

Other than that, I am loving life, helping others get healthy by eating right and working out.  Stay positive and focused on your goals.  You can do anything if you put your mind to it -  Do NOT give up!

Wishing you a FIT day!
Coach Danielle 

I swear by it!  Message me w/questions, and don't give up!! You didn't come this far to turn back!-->>  Shakeology - Recommended by Bariatric Surgeon 

I am approaching 8 years out on August 19th and I get asked all the time how I have been able to maintain without gaining a single pound back for so many years. 

I workout regularly with Turbo Fire, P90X, Turbo Jam and other home workout programs, but I also drink shakeoloy every day.  It's an ultra premium health shake from Beachbody, the same company that makes P90X and the other workouts.  It curves my appetite, gives me energy, regulates my digestive system, keeps me healthy and feeling amazing!!!  Gastric bypass doctors even recommend it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kINH-kAV3fM


If you have any questions, please let me know, helping people get and stay healthy is a passion of mine!!!


Daniele R. Hodgins
585-313-9622

Where does the time go?!! So wow, realized this weekend is 7 + 1/2 years post op for me so I had to take a moment out of my hectic life and check in!  Still maintaining strong - healthier than ever.  Workout regularly, generally use my at home fitness dvd's like P90X, Insanity and TurboFire which I love! I also drink Shakeology everyday for optimal health, keeps the cravings away, and makes me feel just awesome! I'm a coach with Beachbody and helping other people get and stay healthy, and also just became a certified Fitness Instructor.  Life is fantastic! Where ever you are in your journey -  focus on proper nutrition, and excercise and taking care of you.  Contact me anytime for questions or whatever - I love to hear from you!!
HUGS
Danielle

Not sure quite how this has happened...but it has!! I am 7 YEARS POST-OP!!!  And I am happy to report that I am STILL at my goal weight baby!!! Oh, it ain't no walk in the park folks.  I am known as a 'workout freak' and the 'P90X' girl and all that, but, its what works for me.   I workout everyday.  Not always super, high impact killer workouts, but always some physical activity, and often some of those super, high impact killer workouts too :~} lol  Muscle burns fat ya know? So it helps to put a little muscle on - you too girls!!!  I'm even a Beachbody coach now, helping others to get healthy too so if you want to workout but don't know where to start let me help.  Why pay for  gym membership and go to a gym and wait for your turn on a machine? Or the car won't start? Or you don't have anyone to watch the kids? Just pop a dvd in a push play.  Come visit my page and let me know if you have any questions:
CoachDanielle.com

And let me tell you my secret to getting my protein and my vitamins... its called Shakeology.  I call it my miracle in a bag.  Read the results...AMAZING!!!! And at $4 'a meal' you cannot beat it for the healthiest meal of the day.  You are worth $4 a day!!!
Shakeology4me.com  or if you want a few single serving packets first -> CoachHodgins.blogspot.com

So there you have it.  7 years later and I am maintaining a healthy, fit life.  You can too.  If you need help - visit - get a free beachbody club account and I'll be your coach and help you along! https://teambeachbody.com/signup/-/signup/free?referringRepId=43778

Hey gang,

I know, I know, I've been so bad and keeping this profile up to date.  I can't count the number of emails I get and I'm sorry, it's not that I'm ignoring ya'll, Life just gets so darn busy that updating here falls to the bottom of my to-do list.  I'm doing wonderfully though.  Other than working like a mad woman, being a mom to 2 amazing but incredibly busy boys, a wife to an amazing husband and everything else that is just exhausting, health wise, I'm terrific.  Weight is the same, I'm still anal about everything I put in my mouth and working out and taking my vitamins and getting my protein and water.  My bloodwork is good, and I'm just living and loving life.  4 and 1/2 years post op - wow - that's a long time.  Yet, it almost seems like I've been this way my whole life - and guess what - I'm never going back.  I can't even imagine trying to keep up with the hectic life I live now carrying around an extra 160 pounds.  So to those of you still contemplating surgery, or just starting out - you just can't imagine how much better life can be without all of that extra weight baggage.  Keep pressing on where ever you are, it is so, so worth it.  And stick with it, no matter where you are.  There is nothing more frustrating to me than to see people who've had the surgery and don't take full advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime amazing opportunity and follow it through to complete success.  So regardless of where you are, where you've been, or where you need to go - get on track, and stay on track.  It is a lifetime journey, so stay in it for the long haul.  Much love to ya'll. 

Hmmm... so I'm worn out, I mean really exhausted, fatigued, I just got nothin' left.  Oh, there is life in general that is as hectic as ever, 2 boys in sports, at least a couple every season keeps us running from the Baseball field, to the Lacrosse field, Football games, Wrestling meets and other extra-curricular activities we're all involved in. There's all the craziness of just being a mom, running kids to dr. visits, dentist appointments, parties, sitting through band and chorus concerts, chaperoning field trips and being a wife, taking care of a home, paying the bills and all that. And there is work that for the last almost 2 years now has kept me extremely busy day and night with new system implementations, testing etc. Oh, and then there's just me - which I apparently sometimes forget to move up on that priority list.

I'm almost 4 years out now and have to say I've had next to no problems at all. WLS has been one of the most amazing decisions for me and has changed my life dramatically. But probably close to a year ago now, I noticed I was starting to feel really exhausted all of the time. But c'mon, just looking at my schedule makes most people exhausted, so I didn't think much of it, I just kept pushing myself, at work, at home, at the gym etc. I always take my vitamins, drink plenty of fluids and only eat healthy food - maybe not enough, but I definitely don't eat junk. I should've felt like a professional athlete or something, but instead I was getting more and more exhausted, lightheaded, dizzy, and even faint. I was so weak, I had no strength - gradually, I couldn't lift my weights, and then - I had no breath. My heart would race and I was out of breath after going up the stairs if I didn't pass out before I got to the top that is. I was constantly getting asked if I was feeling ok - had no color, looked gaunt etc.
So...the blood work came back... and I get a call from my Dr. to come in. She wanted to know how I was standing and moving let alone working, running around, exercising etc. All of the nutrients in my blood are non-existent, she said I basically have water running through my veins and she wanted to admit me to start blood transfusions and get me on oxygen but was concerned about knowing the cause. My organs are suffering because I don’t have sufficient oxygen or anything else in my blood for them to properly function - including my brain! My hemoglobin is 8 when it should be 12-16 and I have next to no Red Blood Cells which carry oxygen to the organs – if I had any oxygen that is – and carries Carbon dioxide back to the lungs to exhale – so my CD level is high. And the story is the same with nearly no White Blood cells, hematocrit, and then there is Ferritin – which is a protein that iron binds to – the ‘legos’ or building blocks in your blood for everything else to build on – should be 250-350 for a healthy girl my age. Mine is 2 (yes, two) which means there is nothing for anything to bind to or build on. All six pages of blood work were pretty much flagged with dangerously low/out of range results. She has me take 2 deep breaths while she listens to my heart and after the 2 breaths – my heart starts pounding and I’m out of breath. She wants me to see my surgeon because she is a little skeptical about treating me not knowing if it’s WLS related or what. So to my surgeon I go, who immediately consults a hematologist and my pcp, and together they all arranged for me to begin 8 weeks of Ferrlecit infusion treatments. They tell me no physical activity whatsoever, avoid the stairs when possible etc until I'm out of this 'dangerously low' zone. They say it’s really not safe for me to drive due to the possibility of passing out. After the 8 weeks of Ferrlecit infusion treatments, they will take my blood work again to get a baseline and have some blood to test for organ functionality etc. Right now – we’re just assuming the severe anemia and lack of everything else is due to malabsorption causing me to be basically severely malnourished. I can’t afford to give up any blood at this point for more tests. They will stop the treatments for 4 weeks and have me just take oral supplements and then do blood work again to see if I’m maintaining or dropping again. If I’ve begun to drop again, it means I just can’t absorb nutrients orally anymore and I may have to have the infusions for the rest of my life.

Fast forward to today, where I’ve got 3 treatments down and 5 to go. I spend a couple of hours every Friday in the hospital hooked up to an IV, hanging out with dialysis patients and the like. The infusions leave me feeling dizzy, lightheaded, nauseas and achy among other things for the first few days after the treatment in addition to the way I already feel from being so low. Then, just when the side effects are wearing off - it’s time for the next treatment. They tell me to not expect to begin feeling better until summer – so that’s what I’m looking forward to.
So – there ya have it – that’s the scoop on Dani. If I have any advice it would be to eat right, exercise, take your vitamins and get your labs done regularly.  But take it from me, if you’re eating right, getting all your protein and water in, taking your vitamins, working out and still aren’t feeling quite right – face the fact that you really aren't Wonder Woman or Superman like I thought. It may be a little more than pure exhaustion . And on that note - I'm gonna go relax.

I finally got my WLS Journal re-uploaded in the new format.  Please click on the Archive Links to the right. ---------------->
I added a year at a time starting with 2003.  Furture updates will be seperated by post as I don't update that often anymore.  Fortunately things rarely change! HUGS.

8/19/06 - So my husband, my boys, a couple of their friends
and I went to Six Flags and then to the mall shopping. It wasn't until
late on the way home that we were all messing with our cell phones and I
noticed the date... August 19th... My 3 year anniversary had come and
gone and I hadn't even given it a thought.
And that's pretty much the way life is now 3 years later. 3 years ago
my weight hindered nearly everything I tried to do, it consumed my every
thought, it was making me physically unhealthy and mentally too. I
didn't feel good about myself, I wasn't truly happy even though I had a
good life.
Now, 3 years later after losing more than half of myself (160 lbs) in
about 11 months - I am maintaining a weight of between 118 and 122
depending on the day.  While I am conciencious about what I put into my
mouth - what I do and where I go no longer revolves around that awful
disease of obesity. My life is wonderful, I've done a million things I never
could have done before, my career has flourished, my family can barely
keep up. Now - I AM HAPPY.
Oh no, it's not always easy. I cannot tolerate sugar, bread, some
pastas and who knows what else on any given day. The darn sugar free stuff
even often makes me sick, depending on what sugar substitute it's made
with. I have what I refer to as 'evening sickness', kind of like morning
sickness, but if I try to eat late at night it's a gaurantee I'll be
sick shortly afterwards. Just a grouchy pouch that doesn't like to be fed
too late. I have to be vigilant with my vitamins, as my iron tends to
run low and exercise and getting enough water takes constant discipline.
I force myself to get on the scale, even on the days that I don't want
to, to keep myself in check. Nobody is gonna do it for me. I made the
lifelong decision 3 years ago to forever change my life, and that's a
decision I will continue to work on attaining every day of my life.
Do I regret the surgery? No. I regret allowing myself to get to that
awful place that I was in that required surgery to get where I am now.
But I know there was no alternative to get here, and I am thankful I made
that choice.
My family and I went to Universal Studios, Orlando Fl about a week
before I had the surgery and then revisited a few weeks ago. So, this
anniversary I took a painful journey back to my pre-op photos from 3 years
ago  Painful as it was to remember being that way, I put them side by
side with this year's. It made me even more certain - this surgery saved
me. Physically, mentally, emotionally... I can't imagine life any other
way.   Here's to my 3 year anniversary...  and to many, many more
happy, healthy years ahead.