Michelle H.

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Well, there you have it.  I am a terrible blogger.  But here it is....I weighed in today at 176.  WOW.  It's been almost a year and although I'm not at my goal weight, I couldn't be happier.  I mean...I have 26lbs to go.   I have gone from 363lbs.  Best thing I ever did for myself.  It hasn't been easy, eating has been difficult at times and at other times concerning that it was so easy.  Forever vigilant, that is my new motto.  Forever vigilant!!!

MICHELLE'S WEIGHT LOSS PROGRESS CHART
STARTED DIETING IN NOVEMBER, 2010 - WEIGHT LOSS SURGERY NOVEMBER 2, 2011
DATE	WEIGHT	POUNDS LOST	TOTAL POUNDS LOST	NOTES
Nov-10	363	-	-	Highest Weight - November, 2010
10/20/2011	325.5	37.5	37.5	Pre surgery weigh in at U.S. Bariatrics
11/2/2011	312	13.5	51	Date of Surgery weigh in at home
11/10/2011	309	16.5	54	1st post surgery weigh-in at USB
11/17/2011	299.5	9.5	63.5	2nd week post surgery @ home
11/24/2011	297	2.5	66	3rd week post surgery @ home
11/25/2011	295	2	68	1 day post Thanksgiving
11/30/2011	292	3	72	weight at Dr. Kosboth's - Rheumatologist
12/7/2011	288.6	3.4	75.4	5th week post surgery @ home
12/11/2011	286	2.6	78	11-Dec-11

Last night was my first time going out to a restaurant. I play Trivial Pursuit every Wednesday night with a bunch of my girlfriends. I haven't been since mid-October as I was preparing for surgery. I have to say that although I was excited about seeing my friends, I was also feeling a bit of trepidation.

How am I going to react when all of them order food? I had prepared myself before going. I took a SF Jello and my own spoon which I stuffed into my purse just in case I needed something safe. 

Of course I was prepared for 100 questions from the "girls."  I had not shared my planned surgery until the last game.  Of course I saw some quizzical looks.  It is amazing to me that people think that bariatric surgery "is the easy way out."  They think that you just have surgery and the pounds just melt off.  Why can't you do Weight Watchers.  I guess ignorance is bliss?

In the end I didn't even need to worry about the food (including getting home with the Jello still in my purse...I didn't even think about it). I look forward to playing Trivial Pursuit next Wednesday. I am well armed for this fight. Praise God!

So today is my 29th day post-op.  Everything still going well.  I haven't weighed myself since last Thursday.  I head to Ocala to see my Rheumatologist tomorrow morning.  She hasn't seen me since late July.  She is going to be sooo surprised.  We had discussed RNY but I had told her I didn't think I could get approval from my insurance company.  Boy was I wrong.  It is going to feel so good when I step on the scale and the nurse won't have to move the first weight down to 300 and the other weight down to somewhere between 350 and 360.  Woo Hoo!!!

It takes me 2 hours to get from my home to Ocala and I'll have to leave home by 6:45..my appointment is at 9:00 a.m.  I'm going to have to prepare some breakfast and take along my water to last me the whole day.  I usually go to Sam's Club and I'm also going to stop in at Home Depot.  It's going to be a really long day.  I'm also hoping to go back to Trivia tomorrow night in Crescent City.  I haven't been since 2 weeks prior to my surgery.  The team is really going to be surprised when they see me.

I took photos today.  These will be my official "before" photos.  I can hardly wait to take my "after" photos.  At least I'm on the way.

Well, today is Day 22 Post Op.  I had decided that I would weigh myself every week on the same day and at the same time and under the same conditions (nekid) .  I am thinking of weighing myself once a month now.  I get too hung up on the numbers.  So, without further ado, I have now lost a total of 66 pounds from the time that I began dieting (last year this time).  Since surgery, I have lost a total of 28lbs.  Well, now that I look at it, that's pretty good.  I'm such a dodo bird.  OK, on to the rest of my story.

We (the old man and I) have been fixing up an old houseboat for us to move on to.  This entire past week, we have been able to go down to the boat and work.  I cannot wait to move on with the two dogs.  It's another of my lifetime dreams.

Today for Thanksgiving, I bought the old man a T-bone steak and shrimp (surf 'n turf).  I will get a tiny piece of the steak and a couple of shrimp off the grill (no butter, just a little olive oil).  Hopefully everything will go down well.

For the first time since surgery I vomited.  I made soft scrambled eggs.  I had exactly 4 bites and I immediately had the pain in my chest.  The pain was so bad, it made me sick.  For the entire day I kept throwing up even if I drank water, I'd throw up.  I decided not to have anything and give my poor stomach a rest.   By the next day, everything was fine.  Well, this morning, I took my vitamins and my pills and after the last pill, here comes the pain again.  Threw up again..just water.  UGH!  Now I'm afraid to drink or eat, but I must drink.  I may not be having Thanksgiving anything. 

OK, that's it for this week.  Have a great Thanksgiving everyone.

Still Smiling .. Michelle

Well, I kept my promise to myself and what a surprise for me.

11/2010 = 363lbs
10/20/2011 = 325.5lbs (pre-op appt.)
11/10/2011 = 309lbs (1 week post-op appt.)
TA DAH!!
11/17/2011 = 299.5lbs

that's for a total weight loss to date of 63.5 lbs.

I PLEDGE TO MYSELF THAT I WILL NEVER...NEVER...SEE THE NUMBER 300LBS EVER AGAIN. 

Thank you dear Lord for allowing me to have the opportunity to have WLS making me able to become more healthy.  I promise to make the most of this tool that has been made available to me.

Big smile...Michelle

12 days post-op.  I am still holding strong and I haven't weighed myself.  On Thursday I have an appointment with my PCP (thank you Dr. Rivera for pushing me).  I think she will be very pleased that I finally followed through with the WLS.  It's not that I didn't want to, as I have mentioned before, I tried to have it done 10 years ago but was squashed by BCBS of Florida.  The reason I'm going in to see her is I have been reading and re-reading my "bible" that Dr. Marema's group hands out and I need to be sure that I get all my vitamens, minerals, etc.  I need to get my B-12 taken care of.  I'm not sure which is the best - go see her once a month for the shot, take the sublingual tabs, or self inject.  I'm used to self-injecting as I have Rheumatoid Arthritis and I take Enbrel.  But those shots are subq not muscular and I think B-12 is muscular.  We'll see.

Well, here is what I'm giving thanks for my persistence.  When I put my mind to it about a year ago, I started out at my highest weight ever - 363 lbs.  On my own, I was able to lose 54 lbs.  I was thinking about that this morning and am so happy that I did lose all that weight before surgery because those lbs are gone FOREVER and I am that much closer to my ideal weight.  I know, I'm only 12 days post-op but I am grateful.

I have walked on the treadmill everyday since Saturday (15 minutes) because I want to make walking a habit not something I want to talk myself out of doing (which is really easy). 

Well, so much for now.  I hope everyone's having a great day.

Smiling, Michelle

Only weighing myself ONCE a week.  Thursday is my day.  I will walk everyday on my treadmill.

For years I have been taking multivitamins, calcium, iron, folic acid, CoQ10 and some others. Now, I have been given the "chewable" versions of the same thing.... I started the "chewables" this morning. Ugh..awful. Any suggestions on how to make them go down better. I am defintely better at taking pills, but I've been reading that I'm not getting the benefit (because of malapsortion); AND, if that is the case, what about all my other medications that I take by pills (for Rheumatoid Arthritis, etc.)

Itching!  Oh my goodness.  My incision areas are itching, itching, itching.  Any suggestions?

That's it for today (I think).  Until later.

Michelle

10 days post op.  Reminder- small bites, eat slowly, chew-chew-chew. 

I started my day today stepping on to the treadmill.  I walked at a 2.0 pace for 15 minutes for 1/2 a mile.  Now don't laugh at me.  Small steps for me.  It felt good.  I'm having 1 soft scrambled egg and 1 ounce of avocado.

Yesterday I had the worst nausea that I've ever had.  You have to understand me.  I do not vomit easily.  I will do everything I can to not vomit.  The nausea happened while I was working on my protein shake.  I had about 2 ounces left and all of a sudden it hit me.  The only thing I can attribute it to is perhaps not drinking slowly or drinking too much at one time.  I am hoping that I don't have the same experience today.

Feeling good.  Feeling energetic.  Much less pain in my lower abdomen while bending over. 


Smiling, Michelle

What is your morning routine? I take me handful of meds with water (one by one separated by 10 minutes). I then fixed my breakfast. Scrambled one egg in small amount of olive oil (salt and pepper). I then smashed the dickens out of it and ate it slowly. I know the "bible" says it should take about 20 minutes but it took me more like 30 minutes.

Old eating habit: I used to scramble 2 eggs in I Can't Believe It's Not Butter, with a handful of cheddar cheese, some onions and serve it with 3 slices of bacon and 2 slices of whole wheat toast with ICBINB and orange marmalade.  I would scarf everything down in about 10 minutes following almost every bite with some hot sweet tea.  WOW!

I pledge to myself to never eat like that ever again!