jfn120201
I'm 30 years old, married and have a 3 year old son. I've been overweight my entire life and have severe sleep apnea, in addition to many other health problems. I weigh 267 at 5'3''. I've been thinking about the surgery for a long time and finally got approved. I'm very excited and looking forward to a new longer life with my family. My surgery is set for 9/2/05.
POST OP PERSONAL GOALS:
1. Weigh under 200 pounds; get back to "onederland" DONE
2. Get into at least a size 10 DONE
3. Climb a flight of stairs w/o being out of breath DONE
4. Have another child DONE
5. Sit comfortably in an airplane seat or theater seat DONE
6. Ride a roller coaster DONE
7. Fit comfortably in a booth in a restaurant w/o my tummy hitting the table DONE
8. Wear high heels DONE
9. Walk a marathon DONE
10. Run a marathon DONE
11. Feel sexy DONE
12. Gloat when I see people from high school's jaw drop in shock. DONE
13. Inspire a friend DONE
14. Increased sex drive/energy DONE
15. Be more active with son DONE
16. Travel
17. Take a real honeymoon with my husband DONE
18. Make my family proud DONE
19. Feel good about myself DONE
20. Learn to make healthy foods DONE
21. Take an aerobic class at gym DONE
22. Jog a mile without stopping DONE
23. Throw away my CPAP machine DONE
24. Throw away my inhaler DONE
25. Have someone call ME skinny DONE
12/12/05 - 3 months and one week post op. I weigh 200 pounds today; I've lost 67 pounds. Feeling great in my size 20 jeans and enjoying my new found energy. More energy for playing with my son and husband (hee hee!) I had a little soreness in my pouch before Thanksgiving (possibly overate) and after liquids for a few days, back to normal. Besides that, haven't had any problems since second surgery 9/14/05 (intestine blockage). I'm not quite ready to be re-tested for sleep apnea, but I can feel it improving. I've made alot of new friends through the local WLS support group.
04/11/06-Well, I had my labwork done at 7 months post op. I just got the results back. My cholestoral and triglycerides(sp?) were great! My HDL was low and the doc recommended exercise. Well DUH! I don't know how much more I can increase my exercise without keeling over...they just said to keep it up and they'll monitor me. It was 33 and it should be in the 50's. My B-12 was also low, which explains alot of things going on lately. So they doubled my daily dose to 1000 mcg. The rest looks good. I've lost 106 pounds to date and got into my size 14's. I weigh 161.
Been having problems sleeping though...I go for a new sleep study tomorrow and maybe they'll adjust my CPAP. Also, my doc may change me from Effexor to something different for depression.
4/18/06 - Got the results of my sleep apnea study. My sleep apnea is GONE!!!!! Doc said I only had one apnea during the night and my oxygen levels never dropped so I no longer have to sleep with my CPAP machine. This is huge considering my initial sleep study 3 years ago, I had over 600 apneas during the night and my oxygen levels dropped so low that they ordered a rush on the CPAP for fear of my health. They said it was the worst case study they'd seen at that clinic.
4/21/06 Typical exercise week:
SATURDAY- personal trainer session at gym
SUNDAY- bike ride in neighborhood then jogged at the lake with son and husband (only 0.6 mile)
MONDAY- walked 2 miles with friend
TUESDAY- one-hour spinning(cycling) class at gym
WEDNESDAY- walked 2 miles with friend, plus jogged one mile on treadmill, plus one-hour trainer session at gym, then jogged one mile in neighborhood.
THURSDAY- Owww I'm sore!!! Still walked 2 miles w/ipod
FRIDAY- walked 2 miles w/ipod
TOMORROW (SATURDAY)I'll rest....NOT....I have another personal trainer session at the gym.
SUNDAY - I will do absolutely nothing and love it.
6/12/06-I was feeling very tired for weeks, so my doc gave me B12 injections because I was low at the 7 month labwork. Last week, I had follow-up labs and now my B12 is high. But that's nothing to worry about they said. But at least my energy has come back. I'm currently huvering between 145 and 149, for the last month. I'm in a size 12 and trying to stay here. My waist is 33 inches, but my gut is 38. My chest has diminished from 44DD to 34D. My legs are 18 inches at the thickest part. My shoulders are getting boney and my ribs are showing big time. The weight I have left is in my gut and plastic surgery is the only way to fix that and that isn't even an option in my future yet. But I'm happy where I am. I've cut back on cardio some and I'm concentrating mostly on toning 3 times a week (Pilates, Yoga, Cardio ball). I'm eating 4 small meals per day to maintain.
7/10/06 - I've been holding at 145 since May and I'm happy. I think I'd look too thin if I lose more. I know I'm 18 pounds from goal, but I don't doubt that most of it is skin.
Typical exercise lately: slowing down on cardio; doing more toning
M: 1 hour Spinning class at gym
T: 2 mile walk
W: Pilates class at gym
Th: 2 mile walk
F: Nothing
Sa: Washboard abs class at gym and usually bike ride with son
Su: riding bike with son and swimming at pool
Also at least 100 crunches EVERY night
Typical meal lately:
B: wheat english muffin w/1 ounce of 2% cheddar cheese
few bites of fruit
one hour later: coffee w/flavored SF creamer
S: yogurt or protein bar
L: usually some sort of wrap - spinach or wheat tortilla with chicken or turkey, low fat cheese and veggies
S: hand full of peanuts or protein shake
D: grilled fish or chicken w/ veggies
Late S: (sometimes): this is my bad habit. 1/2 cup of SF ice cream or SF popsickle
60 ounces of water and vitamins
I don't weigh my food, but my best guess is that I eat 6-8 ounces per meal.
7/12/06:
I'm not Catholic but I need to confess! Yesterday I think I grazed all day. I feel terrible. Head Hunger is evil!!!
B: lowfat yogurt w/Special K
one hour later: coffee w/ SF creamer
(started off good but then I got to work.)
S: Protein bar
one hour later: 4? crackers and 2 SF pieces of chocolate
L: BBQ Turkey & cheese tortilla wrap
one hour later: Bought a pack of Hershey's Kissables and ate 3 or 4 at a time probably every hour until I finished it.
4 bites of birthday cake w/ice cream at work
S: banana
D: omlet w/real egg, real cheese, real sausage, peppers, onions and hashbrowns in it. My heart was probably choking on all the cholestoral!
9:00: Another omlet (I cooked 2 for dinner and planned to eat the other for breakfast but it was calling my name)
10:00: 1/2 cup SF chocolate ice cream
I still managed to get all of my water in; at least I did good with that. But OMG, how did I eat so much. This is what happens to me every month at "this time". I was just shocked to see how much I consumed when I wrote it all down!
That was yesterday so I planned to be really good today....but.......I SWEAR THESE PEOPLE ARE ALWAYS EATING!!!! WHY DO THEY TEMP ME LIKE THIS???!!!!! Yesterday they had ice cream and birthday cake. Today they've got homemade pineapple pound cake and blueberry creamcheese cake. And tomorrow they're having a going-away party for a girl, so lunch at the Seinyard(good seafood) and more cake in the afternoon!!! UGGHHH!!!!! I'm hiding….I can't take it!
How many Hail Mary's should I do???????
PREVENTING CHILDHOOD OBESITY:
When I was young, I hated everyone for wanting to "help" me with my weight. Now that I'm older (31) and have a child of my own, and have gotten down to a healthy weight and lifestyle...my opinion has changed. Now, I understand that everyone did want the best for me, whether they presented it tactfully or not. I've found myself giving diet and exercise advise to friends and family now. Some take it gracefully and want my input; others resent me. I've come to the conclusion that if someone is not willing to do something about their own health, they won't. They have to make up their own mind. Now that I'm healthy, I want everyone else to be healthy too. My husband is not overweight, but he is on double cholestoral medicine, so he has to eat a special diet and exercise. I can be a little tougher with him because it's doctor's orders and I remind him that I want to grow old with him...his grandfather died at 45 of a heart attack. But with my 4 year old son, I have a more subtle way of influencing his health. All of the snacks in our house are low fat or sugar free, and lots of veggies and fruit. He loves all of these and doesn't even know he's eating healthy. I also take him with me for walks and bike rides; he loves it. I still let him have regular ice cream or treats once in a while, but I do have the mother authority to limit how much. My son is young enough that he doesn't know what I'm doing, but I hope to install healthy habits in him so that when he's old enough to make his own food choices, he'll make the right ones.
7/17/06 - Well, I finally discovered the cause of my tiredness and weird cravings. I'M PREGNANT!!! 10 months post op and 5 weeks pregnant. I'm due 3/25/07. I'm so excited. We've been trying for 2 months since my surgeon gave us the go-ahead. We got off birth control in May. I had my period in June and the July no period. Wow, that was fast!!!!! It took us over a year to get pregnant with our son. I guess my body is in much better health, with a lower weight, exercise, good diet, and vitamins, it was just rarin to go! I hope I don't have morning sickness. I never did with my son.
7/27/06: I'm an omlet making fool!!!! I love this Xpress 101 grill I bought. I make omlets almost every day. Maybe this is why I'm only 5 weeks prego and gained 4 pounds already (149). My prego omlet cravings: egg beaters, skim milk, 2% cheddar cheese, diced peppers, onions, and celery, garlic salt and some kind of low fat meat (sausage, turkey bacon or chicken) topped with buffalo sauce. My baby is going to love spicy food!
I'm at 149 pounds today; that's 5 weeks & 3 days pregnant and 4 pounds gained. I'm still walking often but I've cut out my cardio classes at the gym and I'm eating alot. I'm not having any morning sickness but I'm very tired and I have a headache almost every day. I looked it up online and this is what it said: Figure out what's triggering the pain: Headache docs often recommend keeping a "headache diary" to help identify specific triggers. Write down anything you've eaten in the 24 hours preceding the onset of a migraine and what you were doing when it started. Some common migraine triggers include foods that contain monosodium glutamate (MSG), nitrites (common in processed meats like hot dogs, salami, and bacon), sulfites (used as a preservative for salads and also found in many dried fruits), artificial sweeteners, certain beans and nuts, aged cheese and cultured dairy products (like buttermilk and sour cream), certain fresh fruits (bananas, papayas, avocados, and citrus), smoked fish, chocolate and carob, things that are fermented or pickled (like soy sauce or sauerkraut), glaring or flickering lights, loud noises, excessive heat or cold, strong odors, and tobacco smoke.
GEE That narrows it down...I'm eating all that stuff. UGH!
7/31/06 - I was afraid this might happen. I've been tired, and a little lightheaded when I stand up or move too quickly, but I've been ok with food until now. I was getting a little cocky about the fact that I never had morning sickness with my son. And now I'm at 6 weeks with this pregnancy and it seems to be coming on strong. Saturday, I was queasy almost all day, and my energy would last about 2 hours then crash. Plus it didn't help that they decided to have a community event at the park behind my house with LOUD music ALL DAY, so I didn't get ANY rest. Then Sunday I was fine in the morning, then after lunch I started burping and felt like food coming up in my throat, then I literally had to pull the car over and vomit beside the road. I've NEVER had that experience before and I felt horrible. I don't think it was dumping, because I didn't eat that much, and I've never vomited from dumping before. I went home and slept for about 2 hours. Then I was queasy again at dinner time and I only ate 2 grilled shrimp, then I stopped eating because I was afraid it would happen again and we were at a church picnic. Then this morning, I got queasy again while eating my english muffin with melted cheddar cheese. Something about the greasy cheese.... Then again while I was packing my husband's lunch....the smell of Spagettio's almost made me run to the bathroom! How long does this last? Does it come and go? Ever since it first started Saturday, it's been almost every time I'm around food. I'm going to cry...I love to eat and don't want to have to mourn food again! At the moment, my face is broken out, my head is hurting bad, and I almost threw up in my trash can at work a few minutes ago. Luckily it passed that time. Woe-is-me!
8/1/06-151 lbs. I think I've got the snacking/grazing under control now. Maybe the morning sickness has something to do with it. I'm eating more smaller meals instead of 4 normal ones.
Today:
B: 2 small microwave pancakes w/SF syrup
1 slice of cheese
One hour later: coffee w/SF vanilly creamer
one hour later: 8 oz. OJ
S: 4 bites of protein bar washed down with saltines for the nausea caused by protein bar
L: Sloppy joe made with ground turkey on a wheat hot dog bun
One hour later: 10 oz. skim milk
S: 1 Tofutti lactose-free icecream sandwich "cutie" and 1 oz. pinneapple
Now I'm sippin' water until dinner
D: probably going to be grilled lamb & sweet potatoes
8/14/06 - 142.5 lbs. Last week was miserable. I've been very sick with a stomach virus. I lost 10 pounds in 4 days and now I'm lower than I was pre-pregnancy at 142.5 lbs. I have zero energy and constant diarrhea. I'm only sleeping 6 hours a night and James thinks I'm being lazy. I don't feel like cleaning the house or doing anything but sleep. And he's still hurting from his knee surgery so he's no help! I've already exhausted all of my sick leave at work so I will relying on the kindness of co-workers to donate leave when I go on maternity leave or I won't get paid. WAAAAAA! I'm getting depressed because I'm so sick.
8/22/06 - 145 lbs. Feeling better today. I'm over the virus and I've been morning sickness-free for the last 2 days. So I've been able to eat normally. Thank God! My boobs have swelled up to rediculous melons and they HURT! I'm jammed back into a DD. My hubby, James, has called me crazy 3 times this week...I really believe he thinks I'm crazy with my mood swings, panic attacks, and crying fits (did I mention I'm off all of my depression and anxiety meds due to the pregnancy). And he keeps calling me lazy because I'm so exhausted when I get home from work and get done making dinner and getting our son settled (4.5 years), then I lay on the couch and don't move until bedtime...which is usually early like 9:00. I'm so sleepy all the time. I know everything I'm going through is normal, but I wish he would come to my OB appt with me so that someone in a white coat will tell HIM that I'm normal.
8/25/06 - Yesterday James sent me an email at work telling my he was distracted at work but the sweetest things to be distracted about. He said he was thinking about the baby, and rubbing my feet and Jamie's smiley faces for good behavior. AWWW! I'm just excited that he's thinking about us. Sometimes he seems so shut off emotionally. He's trying to get the time off to come to my first OB appointment on 9/12/06. I'm very excited to watch his face when he hears the heartbeat.
I've been thinking about my morning sickness and now I wonder if I might just be dumping. I only dumped 4 or 5 times since the WLS and the symptoms are so similar but more often now. I wonder if I'm just more sensitive to dumping now that I'm pregnant. ?????
9/6/06 - IT'S A BOY!!!! I fooled you! No, we don't know what the baby is yet. But our newest addition to the family is a boy. We adopted a puppy named Jack. He's a pirate like "Captain Jack Sparrow" of Pirates of the Caribbean….see his eye patch? We were up most of the night with the new baby but I think once he gets over being separated from his siblings, he'll be ok.
9/11/06 - I'm watching it on tv today and they are re-playing the actual news clips from that day. I'd forgotten how horrible that day was. We were living in Northern Virginia at the time and my hubby worked a few blocks away from the pentagon. I was at home pregnant with our first child. My husband called and said turn on the tv the trade tower just blew up. I was freaking out because he worked in the US Patent and Trademark building and his office was called the Trade tower. Then while I was on the phone with him watching the tv in horror, the Pentagon was hit and I could hear sirens all around my husband who was standing outside of his building watching the planes being forced to land at Reagan international (across the street from his job). He didn't know about the pentagon until I told him. He told me they were closing the office and he'd have to find a ride home(he was a commuter from Fredericksburg, VA, 60 miles away). Then the cell phone went dead and the circuits were busy for 3 hours and I had no idea where he was. He normally caught his ride from the pentagon parking lot but they weren't letting anyone near the pentagon. He made it home safe and sound, but for me to be at home, pregnant, without a car, and no contact with my hubby for hours, it was terrifying. We passed the pentagon every day on our commute to work and could see the smoke still rising for weeks. I kept thinking how scared I was that we were bringing a child into a world like this where we aren't safe even in our own country. We stayed and had our son and then moved back to Florida when he was 3 months old. Seeing the news today brought back all of those fears. But I also thank god that nothing happened to us and there were so many who weren't so lucky. Now here I am again, pregnant at home, watching the horrible news clips.
10/06/06 - 145 lbs. today. I can't believe the scale hasn't budged when I've been eating like a pig and my tummy has gotten huge. I'm started walking again. For the last few weeks, I've been walking in the morning 2-3 times per week. Usually 1- 1.5 miles before work. This week, I got brave and decided to start taking the classes again at the gym. I want to get the most out of my membership which runs out at the end of the year. I took Pilates Monday which totally kicked my butt. Then spinning Thursday(I didn't do the jumps because of the BP=dizzy). But I survived and had fun. I miss Elin's spin class. She's so entertaining. Last night she asked me if I'm worried about gaining the weight back during my pregnancy like Carnie Wilson. I told her "Why do you think I'm here??!!" I am really scared of gaining too much weight during the pregnancy. Especially since I'm craving sweets alot lately. I'm trying to get back on track with my eating habits, I'm worried it's sabataging James too and his cholestoral is too high. Everything else is going ok lately. The morning sickness has lessened. I still have to sit still for a while after I eat or I feel queasy though. But no vomiting. My worst problem right now is acne...yuck. My face is totally broken out. And my patience has been pretty thin lately, Jamie's really defiant lately. He's telling us "no" and talking back and we're getting notes home from the teacher. Yesterday the teacher called me to tell me he hit a child in the head with a block on purpose. I'm so embarrassed. James and I have agreed to cut back on the extra-cirricular outings for a little while...Jamie is getting too spoiled. And we're going to work on being more consistant with Jamie's discipline.
11/13/06 - 21 weeks today. I've gained 11 pounds so far; I now weigh 156. I'm keeping up my cardio exercise 3Xweek. I'm trying to eat well although the Halloween candy was a terrible temptation for me. We found out that we're having another boy and we plan on naming him Jeremy although we can't agree on a middle name yet. I'm very excited that I've been feeling him move for a few weeks now. James felt the kicks for the first time last week. Jamie hasn't felt it yet. I also found out that I have placenta previa and if it doesn't move by the 30 week ultrasound, I will have to have a c-section. Most of the morning sickness is gone but I still get the occasional nausea but I think it's related to the WLS, because I can usually tell it's when I've eaten too much or too quickly. My energy has improved but I'm still tired alot. I'm having some ligament stretching pains but not too terrible.
1/21/07 - 31 weeks; gained 19 pounds; I weigh 164. The dizziness and lightheadedness went away by December. I'm still doing cardio at least 3 days a week. I'm trying to eat well, but I'm craving hamburgers all the time...specifically White Castle burgers. I'm also craving hot stuff; anything with buffalo sauce! We found a new home for Jack the puppy; I'm just scared he'll be too rough when the baby is born. But we found a good family for him and they live in our neighborhood and we visit him often. We decided to postpone the plans to close in the garage to make a 4th bedroom; that's just alot of money to spend with the baby coming. I'm having some emotional issues since I can't take my Wellbutrin or Zoloft, but I'm trying to cope. Everybody is getting on my nerves these days, especially James and Jamie. I'm just so tired all the time and wish I could sleep, but I rarely get more than 7 or 8 hours sleep. Luckily, Jeremy is growing healthy and I haven't had any real complications so far, and for that I'm greatful. But I am so ready to have him already!
About Me
Before & After
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