Laura L.
Today is my 1 Year Surgiversary!
May 05, 2011
One year ago today I was 120 pounds heavier, but so hopeful as I walked into UMMC and had a life changing surgery. Today I am 180 pounds, off of almost all medications, I have a normal blood pressure, I'm exercising, I'm wearing a size 14 pants and size L tops, I have a brand new gorgeous wedding dress and right now I'm sitting in my new office in Baltimore where I've been one week in my new job with an awesome firm. In other words, my confidence and sense of self worth have soared as the weight has come off. Most importantly, I'm healthy! This is an amazing gift and I am truly grateful for a second chance at life. I love my RNY and this has been an amazing year.
Thank you all for your support. It's amazing to me that a year has flown by. To all you newbies out there: Hang on, it's a bumpy ride but so worth it. I couldn't be happier.
0 comments
Thank you all for your support. It's amazing to me that a year has flown by. To all you newbies out there: Hang on, it's a bumpy ride but so worth it. I couldn't be happier.
Obese no longer....now officially "overweight".
Apr 11, 2011
My weight is 180 lbs and my BMI is 29.9 according to http://www.healthcalculators.org/calculators/bmi.asp.
Here's what the calculator has to say:
Well, they don't make it sound as good, but here's what it WAS last year this time:
2 comments
Here's what the calculator has to say:
| 5'5", 180 lbs. |
| Your BMI score is: 29.9 |
A BMI score of 25.0 to 29.9 indicates you are overweight. You could be at increased risk for Type 2 Diabetes, Hypertension and Heart Disease. Learn how to set realistic goals to reduce your risk of disease. |
Well, they don't make it sound as good, but here's what it WAS last year this time:
| 5'5", 298 lbs. |
| Your BMI score is: 49.5 |
A BMI score of over 30.0 indicates moderate to severe obesity. Although weight loss can be difficult, even a modest weight loss of 10 to 20 pounds can bring significant health improvements, such as lowering ones' blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Learn more on sensible Weight Loss and the diseases that you can prevent by losing weight. |
I'm running 2 miles at a time now.
Apr 08, 2011
That's all. 
Just an update. My first mile is taking about 12 minutes. I'm doing both in 25 minutes. Actually, what I'm doing is a warm up walk for 5 minutes, running for 2 miles (25 minutes) and then fast pace walking for 15 minutes to round out to a 45 minute cardio workout (then cool down and stretching).
You remember how our surgeons told us to do our hard work exercise right after surgery and not to wait until we were six months to a year out because then we would only have to work that much harder to burn less calories? Yeah, well, they are right. I wish I had worked harder earlier. I worked out, but I could have worked harder. Though I will say that it's much easier to work out when you've lost a bunch of weight, right? When we're not huffing and puffing it? But alas...gone are the days of burning 500 calories for barely 30 minutes on the elliptical (which is what I was burning about a month or two after surgery). Now, I'm burning about 380 to 400 calories if I do all that I listed above! Quite a bit more. And don't think my appetite and my penchant for "grazing" doesn't try to undo that calorie burning fast!
I'm almost a year out now and all of those ugly habits are rearing and ready to come out, so it's been important for me to stick to an exercise routine. Every day is a battle with the head hunger and desire to eat a little bit all day long. I've been stuck playing with the same couple of pounds for months now, but because of the running I can really feel the difference in my pants, even if I don't see it on the scale. And I'm consistently impressed with how much I am able to do on a daily basis. So, in other words...loving life after RNY. To think that a year ago I was attending my pre-op seminar?! Wow, that blows my mind. Feels like yesterday. Best of luck to all of you newbies starting your journey! I'm excited for you and if you ever have any questions, feel free to PM me. I'm happy to help.
0 comments
Just an update. My first mile is taking about 12 minutes. I'm doing both in 25 minutes. Actually, what I'm doing is a warm up walk for 5 minutes, running for 2 miles (25 minutes) and then fast pace walking for 15 minutes to round out to a 45 minute cardio workout (then cool down and stretching). You remember how our surgeons told us to do our hard work exercise right after surgery and not to wait until we were six months to a year out because then we would only have to work that much harder to burn less calories? Yeah, well, they are right. I wish I had worked harder earlier. I worked out, but I could have worked harder. Though I will say that it's much easier to work out when you've lost a bunch of weight, right? When we're not huffing and puffing it? But alas...gone are the days of burning 500 calories for barely 30 minutes on the elliptical (which is what I was burning about a month or two after surgery). Now, I'm burning about 380 to 400 calories if I do all that I listed above! Quite a bit more. And don't think my appetite and my penchant for "grazing" doesn't try to undo that calorie burning fast!
I'm almost a year out now and all of those ugly habits are rearing and ready to come out, so it's been important for me to stick to an exercise routine. Every day is a battle with the head hunger and desire to eat a little bit all day long. I've been stuck playing with the same couple of pounds for months now, but because of the running I can really feel the difference in my pants, even if I don't see it on the scale. And I'm consistently impressed with how much I am able to do on a daily basis. So, in other words...loving life after RNY. To think that a year ago I was attending my pre-op seminar?! Wow, that blows my mind. Feels like yesterday. Best of luck to all of you newbies starting your journey! I'm excited for you and if you ever have any questions, feel free to PM me. I'm happy to help.
I rode my bike to the store and back!
Apr 04, 2011
What has two thumbs and just rode all the way to the grocery store and back on her bike? THIS GAL! 
I love my RNY!!! It feels so good to accomplish things I've always wanted to do but never could! Woo hoo!
1 comment
I love my RNY!!! It feels so good to accomplish things I've always wanted to do but never could! Woo hoo!
I RAN a mile...and no one was chasing me! ;)
Feb 15, 2011
I have always joked that I would not run unless someone was chasing me...with a weapon. lol Well, I'm still no runner and it's hard to imagine being one, seeing as how I've never run, but something clicked in my mind last week while I was watching a mediocre program on TV about a girl who was trying to lose a lot of weight in a short period of time. Her trainer was very set on running being her best source of exercise. Seeing as how she was 260 pounds, I seriously think they should have consulted her doctor, but that's besides the point. His goal was to get her to run a whole mile in 10 minutes. She did eventually do it in 20-some minutes, stopping many times and even vomitting, but by the end of the summer, she did run that 10 minute mile. All the while she was red and miserable and huffing her brains out and holding onto the bars, but she did it! It just sort of sparked this little thought in my mind...."I wonder if I could run a mile?" I mean, I've lost 110 lbs, and I even weighed less than that girl when she ran the 10 minute mile, so what if I COULD? I'm consistently surprised by the new experiences I'm able to have now that I've lost so much weight, so what if it's just my attitude that's keeping me from thinking I can do something like that?
Well yesterday, instead of my usual routine, I got on the treadmill and just started jogging. I did try to keep my speed at a comfortable level (between 4 and 4.2). Time wasn't the goal here though, it was the distance. Well it took me 15 minutes, but I DID IT!!! I ran the whole mile and didn't even stop once! Once I hit one mile, I cried right on that treadmill. lol Sucking wind and all! Everyone there probably thought I was insane but that was a HUGE moment for me! I don't think I've run since high school for those superfit tests! I certainly couldn't have done that for more than a few minutes at best whe I was 300 pounds. I'm amazed every day at what this surgery has done for me and my health. WOW!
So what's next? I'd like to keep trying to get that time shorter. Or perhaps I should focus on running longer than a mile? I have no idea because I've never run in my life. I'll have to get some advice. My legs are like noodles today and I'm in terrible pain, lol, but I'll live. I might try to give my legs a day of rest today and then run tomorrow (do some other things today).
I just had to share this with you. Sometimes, I feel so different, I don't even feel like ME. I love my RNY!
0 comments
Well yesterday, instead of my usual routine, I got on the treadmill and just started jogging. I did try to keep my speed at a comfortable level (between 4 and 4.2). Time wasn't the goal here though, it was the distance. Well it took me 15 minutes, but I DID IT!!! I ran the whole mile and didn't even stop once! Once I hit one mile, I cried right on that treadmill. lol Sucking wind and all! Everyone there probably thought I was insane but that was a HUGE moment for me! I don't think I've run since high school for those superfit tests! I certainly couldn't have done that for more than a few minutes at best whe I was 300 pounds. I'm amazed every day at what this surgery has done for me and my health. WOW!
So what's next? I'd like to keep trying to get that time shorter. Or perhaps I should focus on running longer than a mile? I have no idea because I've never run in my life. I'll have to get some advice. My legs are like noodles today and I'm in terrible pain, lol, but I'll live. I might try to give my legs a day of rest today and then run tomorrow (do some other things today).
I just had to share this with you. Sometimes, I feel so different, I don't even feel like ME. I love my RNY!
Attack of the gall stones!
Dec 27, 2010
Happy holidays to you all! Wow, this Christmas was SOOO much different than last year! Lots of NSV moments for sure. I am so blessed. But I'll get to that eventually...
I certainly don't want to dampen the joy I am feeling over hitting the 100 pounds lost marker (or the under 200 pounds marker), but I promised myself and my OH buddies that I would be true and accurate in my reports on weight loss surgery, so it's time for an update.
I started having significant pain the day after Thanksgiving this year and no amount of tums or pepto would satiate this terrible pain. It did feel exactly like the pain of awful heartburn or an ulcer though. The pain got bad enough that I called the surgeon and they felt that it sounded a lot like ulcer pain and the timing was consistent with an ulcer. Since I was leaving for Florida on Monday morning on vacation, and the doctor was on vacation himself, we decided I would do an EGD when I got back from Florida. In the meantime, they put me on a double dose of Nexium and Carafate four times a day (yuck, that stuff is nasty). Well, nothing was working! It nearly ruined my vacation, I'm sad to say. I was in terrible pain all day for 3 weeks straight (nothing at night, which should have been a tip-off that it was something else). At the end of 3 weeks, I'm just praying for my EGD to find out what the heck is wrong with me. We were all expecting a giant hole in my pouch.
Well, the EGD turns up NOTHING. In fact, it showed my pouch to be in great shape, shiny and pink and NOT stretched out (yey). So I go for a CT scan to see if maybe it's a bowel obstruction or a hernia. Nothing. Just abnormal liver function shows up and extremely elevated liver phosphates. That was scary. So the surgeon schedules me for an MRI. While I'm waiting the few days for the scheduled MRI, the pain just stops. Suddenly. I had a terrible night and then just as quickly as it came, it went. The MRI results showed a dilated bile duct and after some follow-up blood testing, my liver levels were normalizing.
So, turns out I passed one or more gall stones straight from my liver through my bile duct! I cannot tell you how much this hurt. I thought I was losing my mind. I don't have a gallbladder, so they wouldn't have been able to see a stone, except with an MRI. I feel so blessed that I passed this stone without surgery or infection, but OMG did that hurt! I felt like was eating broken glass! Drama queen, I know. ;)
Anyway, just an update for you all. I guess the moral of my story is: If you have pain, something is not right. Call your surgeon. I was feeling SO GOOD for months...better than I have since I was 21 years old. So when pain struck, I did the right thing by calling the surgeon. HOWEVER, we all shouldn't have assumed it was an ulcer. If you have pain and you don't get relief within a reasonable time frame...push to find out what's wrong. There has to be some logic in there somewhere. I wish I had pushed harder or that maybe I had not gone on vacation until I knew what was wrong. It's crazy to think of not going on my vacation, but I didn't need to spend 3 weeks in terrible pain.
Hope you are all having a wonderful holiday! I know I am...pain free and now under 200 pounds! And as for those NSVs...well let's just say that among the many size XL and L clothes I got this Christmas that actually fit (as opposed to the 3x I was wearing last Christmas), I got a gift certificate to Victoria Secret from my sweetie. We'll see where that leads... lol
Happy new year!
4 comments
I certainly don't want to dampen the joy I am feeling over hitting the 100 pounds lost marker (or the under 200 pounds marker), but I promised myself and my OH buddies that I would be true and accurate in my reports on weight loss surgery, so it's time for an update.
I started having significant pain the day after Thanksgiving this year and no amount of tums or pepto would satiate this terrible pain. It did feel exactly like the pain of awful heartburn or an ulcer though. The pain got bad enough that I called the surgeon and they felt that it sounded a lot like ulcer pain and the timing was consistent with an ulcer. Since I was leaving for Florida on Monday morning on vacation, and the doctor was on vacation himself, we decided I would do an EGD when I got back from Florida. In the meantime, they put me on a double dose of Nexium and Carafate four times a day (yuck, that stuff is nasty). Well, nothing was working! It nearly ruined my vacation, I'm sad to say. I was in terrible pain all day for 3 weeks straight (nothing at night, which should have been a tip-off that it was something else). At the end of 3 weeks, I'm just praying for my EGD to find out what the heck is wrong with me. We were all expecting a giant hole in my pouch.
Well, the EGD turns up NOTHING. In fact, it showed my pouch to be in great shape, shiny and pink and NOT stretched out (yey). So I go for a CT scan to see if maybe it's a bowel obstruction or a hernia. Nothing. Just abnormal liver function shows up and extremely elevated liver phosphates. That was scary. So the surgeon schedules me for an MRI. While I'm waiting the few days for the scheduled MRI, the pain just stops. Suddenly. I had a terrible night and then just as quickly as it came, it went. The MRI results showed a dilated bile duct and after some follow-up blood testing, my liver levels were normalizing.
So, turns out I passed one or more gall stones straight from my liver through my bile duct! I cannot tell you how much this hurt. I thought I was losing my mind. I don't have a gallbladder, so they wouldn't have been able to see a stone, except with an MRI. I feel so blessed that I passed this stone without surgery or infection, but OMG did that hurt! I felt like was eating broken glass! Drama queen, I know. ;)
Anyway, just an update for you all. I guess the moral of my story is: If you have pain, something is not right. Call your surgeon. I was feeling SO GOOD for months...better than I have since I was 21 years old. So when pain struck, I did the right thing by calling the surgeon. HOWEVER, we all shouldn't have assumed it was an ulcer. If you have pain and you don't get relief within a reasonable time frame...push to find out what's wrong. There has to be some logic in there somewhere. I wish I had pushed harder or that maybe I had not gone on vacation until I knew what was wrong. It's crazy to think of not going on my vacation, but I didn't need to spend 3 weeks in terrible pain.
Hope you are all having a wonderful holiday! I know I am...pain free and now under 200 pounds! And as for those NSVs...well let's just say that among the many size XL and L clothes I got this Christmas that actually fit (as opposed to the 3x I was wearing last Christmas), I got a gift certificate to Victoria Secret from my sweetie. We'll see where that leads... lol
Happy new year!
I'm under 200 pounds AND a member of the Century Club!
Dec 21, 2010
Hey all...good news!
ANNNNNNND....
YEY!!!! Hard to imagine it's finally happened! Happy Holidays to you all!
2 comments
ANNNNNNND....
YEY!!!! Hard to imagine it's finally happened! Happy Holidays to you all!
5 months out and feelin ZAZZY!
Oct 10, 2010
Hello OH buddies!
It's been way too long since my last update. My apologies. Life does get in the way, doesn't it?
I'm feeling great, so I need to get a post in today if ya know what I mean. And if ya don't, let me clarify: The decision to have this surgery was the best I've made in my life so far...but that doesn't make it easy. I struggle frequently with creeping negative thoughts, disappointment on many levels and frustration while developing new coping skills for stress, anxiety, depression and even celebration! That being said, I am feeling great physically and overall I am a happy girl. I just want to be sure I try and keep my posts and records of my journey semi-objective. Lots of people tried to warn me about the roller coaster of emotions and changes that were to come before my surgery, but until you're there you can't truly comprehend. I want to be true to my experience and hope that it helps others too.
So, I'm down 80 pounds! WOO HOO!
It's about 20 pounds off from where my surgeon actually wants me to be. He wants me at 100 pounds down by now, but I'm done feeling bad about my progress just because it isn't text book. I feel great about the 80 pounds. I of course wish it were more, but that's just my way. I'm feeling great (with a lot less hair on my head - lol - 
) and right now I'm teetering between a size 18 and a 20. I carry most of my excess weight as belly fat, so I'm thick in the middle, hence the higher size even after an 80 pound loss. I struggle to find clothes that fit me properly since I've got smaller legs and a smaller upper torso, but I started this journey at a size 26, so this is good stuff. I'd love a chance to list some of my recent accomplishments (other than losing 80 pounds) so don't mind if I do...
-Yesterday I had the best shopping experience for as far back as I can remember! I used to read stories on here about some of you going into stores and taking large sizes back to the dressing room and being shocked to find out that they were way too big! Well, I thought that wouldn't happen to me but it did! I went to Old Navy yesterday and first I will say that I was never able to shop in the store because they didn't carry my size (only online) and they run small anyway. Well not only is the largest size too big, most of the stuff I ended up buying was an XL. Not only that, I was not a sweaty, cussing mess and everything looked pretty darn nice. I bought a lot of great items and I can't wait to wear them. I love thinking that I'm attractive again. It's been too long.
-I am off a lot of the medications I was on before and tomorrow I have an appointment with the liver doctor and I am pretty sure he is going to adjust my prescription for Actigall (reduce it) because it's based on weight. I am on a dose suitable for a 300 pound woman. I am now 218 lbs, so that's got to count for something. I'm also hoping to see that my liver function tests are improved. At the very least, no worse. If that happens, then this will be the greatest accomplishment of having this surgery. Mission accomplished.
-I went to an all day, outdoor concert yesterday and lasted the whole day. Wow! I won't go into how this is a huge NSV for me, trust me when I say it is. I also wore, for the first time in my LIFE, a girl's t-shirt yesterday. The fitted ones? Yeah, that's me. Pics to follow soon.
-I got rid of about 8 trash bags full of ginormous clothing. That felt great!
-I am exercising so much more easily and taking classes. And I'm not too worried about being the out of place huffer and puffer anymore. I'm just a chick taking an exercise class.
-I don't fret about booth and chairs sizes anymore! Well, let me revise that...the inclination to fret is still there, but I enjoy the fact that I fit every time.
-We planned a vacation to Disneyworld for December and I am so excited to do Disney at a more reasonable weight. I've always had a great time before at Disney (I never felt shunned or had to skip many things because of my size) but what will I find is now available to me at this weight? I dunno! I can't wait to find out.
There are probably so many more things I am leaving out, and I will find a place and time to add them here. Overall, the best accomplishment is that I am healthier and I am so excited about this. This opens up so many more possibilities for me in life and that makes this the best decision I've ever made yet.
Thanks for popping in everyone!
If there are any pre-ops or brand newbies out there reading this, please feel free to PM me and ask me anything you like. Being educated has greatly contributed to my success. It has also been great to have the support. So I'm here for you! A big thank you to my support network too...both on here and among my close personal friends and family. I love you all!
4 comments
It's been way too long since my last update. My apologies. Life does get in the way, doesn't it?
I'm feeling great, so I need to get a post in today if ya know what I mean. And if ya don't, let me clarify: The decision to have this surgery was the best I've made in my life so far...but that doesn't make it easy. I struggle frequently with creeping negative thoughts, disappointment on many levels and frustration while developing new coping skills for stress, anxiety, depression and even celebration! That being said, I am feeling great physically and overall I am a happy girl. I just want to be sure I try and keep my posts and records of my journey semi-objective. Lots of people tried to warn me about the roller coaster of emotions and changes that were to come before my surgery, but until you're there you can't truly comprehend. I want to be true to my experience and hope that it helps others too.So, I'm down 80 pounds! WOO HOO!
It's about 20 pounds off from where my surgeon actually wants me to be. He wants me at 100 pounds down by now, but I'm done feeling bad about my progress just because it isn't text book. I feel great about the 80 pounds. I of course wish it were more, but that's just my way. I'm feeling great (with a lot less hair on my head - lol - ) and right now I'm teetering between a size 18 and a 20. I carry most of my excess weight as belly fat, so I'm thick in the middle, hence the higher size even after an 80 pound loss. I struggle to find clothes that fit me properly since I've got smaller legs and a smaller upper torso, but I started this journey at a size 26, so this is good stuff. I'd love a chance to list some of my recent accomplishments (other than losing 80 pounds) so don't mind if I do...-Yesterday I had the best shopping experience for as far back as I can remember! I used to read stories on here about some of you going into stores and taking large sizes back to the dressing room and being shocked to find out that they were way too big! Well, I thought that wouldn't happen to me but it did! I went to Old Navy yesterday and first I will say that I was never able to shop in the store because they didn't carry my size (only online) and they run small anyway. Well not only is the largest size too big, most of the stuff I ended up buying was an XL. Not only that, I was not a sweaty, cussing mess and everything looked pretty darn nice. I bought a lot of great items and I can't wait to wear them. I love thinking that I'm attractive again. It's been too long.
-I am off a lot of the medications I was on before and tomorrow I have an appointment with the liver doctor and I am pretty sure he is going to adjust my prescription for Actigall (reduce it) because it's based on weight. I am on a dose suitable for a 300 pound woman. I am now 218 lbs, so that's got to count for something. I'm also hoping to see that my liver function tests are improved. At the very least, no worse. If that happens, then this will be the greatest accomplishment of having this surgery. Mission accomplished.
-I went to an all day, outdoor concert yesterday and lasted the whole day. Wow! I won't go into how this is a huge NSV for me, trust me when I say it is. I also wore, for the first time in my LIFE, a girl's t-shirt yesterday. The fitted ones? Yeah, that's me.
Pics to follow soon.-I got rid of about 8 trash bags full of ginormous clothing. That felt great!
-I am exercising so much more easily and taking classes. And I'm not too worried about being the out of place huffer and puffer anymore. I'm just a chick taking an exercise class.
-I don't fret about booth and chairs sizes anymore! Well, let me revise that...the inclination to fret is still there, but I enjoy the fact that I fit every time.
-We planned a vacation to Disneyworld for December and I am so excited to do Disney at a more reasonable weight. I've always had a great time before at Disney (I never felt shunned or had to skip many things because of my size) but what will I find is now available to me at this weight? I dunno! I can't wait to find out.
There are probably so many more things I am leaving out, and I will find a place and time to add them here. Overall, the best accomplishment is that I am healthier and I am so excited about this. This opens up so many more possibilities for me in life and that makes this the best decision I've ever made yet.
Thanks for popping in everyone!
If there are any pre-ops or brand newbies out there reading this, please feel free to PM me and ask me anything you like. Being educated has greatly contributed to my success. It has also been great to have the support. So I'm here for you! A big thank you to my support network too...both on here and among my close personal friends and family. I love you all!
3 months post-op
Aug 03, 2010
Hey everyone!
So it's time for an update on my progress!
I'm down 54lbs, with three days to go until my 3 month mark. I've been in a stall for about two weeks now and that's frustrating, but I think I'll live. I'm only weighing myself about once a week now since I was driving myself buggy weighing every day and sometimes more. Recently a friend on the board called that being a "scale whore", which I thought was hilarious. Guilty as charged.
Yesterday was my 3 month visit with my surgeon and he said that I am about 10-12 pounds behind where he would like for me to be right now and told me to talk to the nutritionist, cut the carbs, and to step up any namby-pamby exercise classes I may be dabbling in and do the hard stuff.
He's a tough one to please but my final report was "You're doin good. See ya in 3 months." Comin from him...that's pretty good. I've yet to get my blood work report back but when I do I might post some of those results.
After talking with the nutritionist, and having her review my food journal, she thinks maybe I'm choosing to eat soft foods more often because I can eat more of those. Busted. I didn't even register that I was doing that, but I am. It feels better and she's right...I can eat more. So she's recommended I go for denser, drier foods when I can. I've been eating a lot of fish, which is awesome, but I may want to move to chicken more often. I tried that today (baked chicken and green beans for lunch) and sure enough...full faster. I do still feel like I can eat a lot more than most RNY patients though. So, denser foods it is and I'm hoping that will help speed up my loss so that I can be where he wants me to be at 6 months. I'm not perfect though, and that's OK. I need to get that through my thick skull! I'm so Type-A that I lose sight of the fact that I've lost 54 pounds in 3 months and - holy canoli - that's awesome!
I am struggling with a lot of stress at work and subsequently it's becomes so much clearer to me that I was a terrible stress eater before surgery. I guess you could say I'm still a stress eater because the urge is so strong that it's upsetting to me that I have to cope with the emotions that come with the stress. Add to that, the disappointment of remembering I can't stress eat or graze if I'm going to be successful and it's tough. So I'm trying breathing exercises and I might try Yoga. Hope that works cuz lately, "I'm a donkey on the edge!" Also, I'm officially the family pet as my hair is falling out like crazy.
I'm molting! <---that's me but less angry and more shedding...lol!
On a lighter note, I'm feeling great physically, I fit into most of my clothes (and many too big), I'm getting awesome compliments, I feel beautiful again, I'm taking better care of myself, I can do more and more at the gym, I have a TON more energy, and perhaps best of all, I don't have issues with tolerating most foods. Perhaps this is also a curse, but I am thankful that I can take the advice of the NUT without revision for toleration. I'm very lucky. So all in all...I'm lovin this RNY thang! Thanks for checkin in on me.
6 comments
So it's time for an update on my progress!
I'm down 54lbs, with three days to go until my 3 month mark. I've been in a stall for about two weeks now and that's frustrating, but I think I'll live. I'm only weighing myself about once a week now since I was driving myself buggy weighing every day and sometimes more. Recently a friend on the board called that being a "scale whore", which I thought was hilarious. Guilty as charged.Yesterday was my 3 month visit with my surgeon and he said that I am about 10-12 pounds behind where he would like for me to be right now and told me to talk to the nutritionist, cut the carbs, and to step up any namby-pamby exercise classes I may be dabbling in and do the hard stuff.
He's a tough one to please but my final report was "You're doin good. See ya in 3 months." Comin from him...that's pretty good. I've yet to get my blood work report back but when I do I might post some of those results. After talking with the nutritionist, and having her review my food journal, she thinks maybe I'm choosing to eat soft foods more often because I can eat more of those. Busted. I didn't even register that I was doing that, but I am. It feels better and she's right...I can eat more. So she's recommended I go for denser, drier foods when I can. I've been eating a lot of fish, which is awesome, but I may want to move to chicken more often. I tried that today (baked chicken and green beans for lunch) and sure enough...full faster. I do still feel like I can eat a lot more than most RNY patients though. So, denser foods it is and I'm hoping that will help speed up my loss so that I can be where he wants me to be at 6 months. I'm not perfect though, and that's OK. I need to get that through my thick skull! I'm so Type-A that I lose sight of the fact that I've lost 54 pounds in 3 months and - holy canoli - that's awesome!
I am struggling with a lot of stress at work and subsequently it's becomes so much clearer to me that I was a terrible stress eater before surgery. I guess you could say I'm still a stress eater because the urge is so strong that it's upsetting to me that I have to cope with the emotions that come with the stress. Add to that, the disappointment of remembering I can't stress eat or graze if I'm going to be successful and it's tough. So I'm trying breathing exercises and I might try Yoga. Hope that works cuz lately, "I'm a donkey on the edge!" Also, I'm officially the family pet as my hair is falling out like crazy.
I'm molting!
<---that's me but less angry and more shedding...lol! On a lighter note, I'm feeling great physically, I fit into most of my clothes (and many too big), I'm getting awesome compliments, I feel beautiful again, I'm taking better care of myself, I can do more and more at the gym, I have a TON more energy, and perhaps best of all, I don't have issues with tolerating most foods. Perhaps this is also a curse, but I am thankful that I can take the advice of the NUT without revision for toleration. I'm very lucky. So all in all...I'm lovin this RNY thang! Thanks for checkin in on me.
About Me
Severna Park, MD
Location
34.3
BMI
Surgery
05/06/2010
Surgery Date
Aug 28, 2009
Member Since
