kim_emma02

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Well here we are, I am 5 days shy of 10 months post op and I have hit my goal weight of 160lbs.  I have lost a total of 138lbs and have gone from a size 24/3X to a size 8-10 & Sm/Med.  I couldn't be happier with my decision and my results!  I no longer take any painkillers for arthritis pain, I no longer have sleep apnea or acid reflux and best of all I love myself!!!!  I have an estimated 15-20lbs of excess skin that will need to be removed.  This has been by far the hardest part of my life long journey but is the most rewarding.  There have been a lot of ups and downs emotionally, financially and physically.  Surgery is certainly not the easy way out.  It takes more willpower that I ever thought possible but when you make it a way of life it gets easier day by day.  Remember that this is NOT a diet!!!!  This is life!  Everyone can succeed if they believe in themselves and work hard for it! 

Feb 25, 2013

Here we are, 3 weeks post-op!  Time is flying!!!  I went back to work after 1 week and found that I was very tired by the afternoon but it felt good to get out of the house and not feel sorry for myself.  Everything gets easier every day.  My plantar fascitis is rarely bothering me anymore (a far cry from the daily agony).  All of my incisions are healed and looking great!  I will be seeing Dr. Starr tomorrow for my follow up and to find out if I am cleared to start going to the gym.  Never in my life have I been excited to go to a gym!!!  Most days I think they did surgery on my brain instead of my stomach.  LOL.  My frame of mind seems to have completely changed (for the better) since surgery.  When I see my hubby or kids drinking pop, I cringe and can only think about all of the terrible things that it is doing to their bodies.  I am trying extremely hard to get them to start eating and drinking better and for the most part they have.  My hubby has lost 30lbs since New Years, one of my daughters has lost 8lbs and the other 2lbs.  Any treats that come in the house have been replaced with lower sugar and lower fat versions and are in limited quantities.  I no longer crave junk food of any kind.  The only thing that I miss at times is pizza but not to the point where it bothers me for more than a few minutes.  My new cravings are for salad, Subway, veggies and chicken salad (most of which I can't have just yet.....)  There are days where I am moody, others where I am sleepy and most where I feel happy!!!  My progress as of today.......  I have lost 45lbs since New Years, 17lbs since surgery and a whopping 36.5 inches overall!!! 

Here we are, 4 days post-op.  My hubby and I made it home from the hotel in a pretty decent snow storm but there was no keeping us away for another day!  It is the most amazing feeling to see my kids and pups after 5 sleeps and get their incredible hugs and kisses!  The ride home was a little rough.  During the first half of the trip I was pretty nauseous so we stopped and took a break and went for a bit of a shopping trip.  The second half was much snowier but the nausea had passed and I felt much better.  After all of the excitement of the trip and the homecoming, getting settled and figuring out lunch the family took a much needed break and watched a movie together this afternoon.  I'm working on dinner (a whopping 1/4 cup of Cream of Chicken soup, 1/4 cup of vanilla yogurt (both with added protein powder), some liquid tylenol and my final multivitamin for the day).  I can hardly believe that one day you eat so much and the next you are at about 1/2 cup per meal........  Trying to get the vitamins, food, water and protein shakes in is proving to be a bigger challenge than anticipated.  I just keep working away and hope for the best!  If I am successful at getting everything in today I will be at a whole 375 calories for today!  That will be my best post-op day yet! 

The good news........  I have lost 33 lbs to date including 5 lbs in the 4 days since surgery!!!

Feb 7, 2013

Wow it's hard to believe that it's been 3 days since my surgery!  I have to say that everything seems to have gone perfectly!  When I woke up in recovery I was in quite a bit of pain and very nauseous but that is to be expected.  I mean, I just had a major surgery so why wouldn't there be some pain right?  By the time I got back to my room (about 15 minutes after I woke up) I was feeling pretty well normal.  How could that possibly be???  The moriphine was definately helpful in that aspect.  I did not have much in the way of pain killers after that (a few doses of moriphine and 2 of Oxy).  My pain was minimal just gas pain and some pain in my poor arthritic back.  I have to say that those hospital beds are not at all comfortable.  I was up to the washroom about an hour after I got back to my room and continued to get up about every 1 to 2 hours from then on.  I got clear fluids for dinner on the day of surgery and for breakfast the following day then was moved right on to full fluids.  I have tolerated everything except chocolate pudding (until today).  I was released from the hospital on the 2nd day after surgery and checked in to a hotel across the street.  My surgeon has requested that I stay in the area until Friday to ensure that I am ok.  I am doing lots of walking in the hotel hallways lots of napping, and lots of sipping.  I am looking forward to going home to see my kids and pups tomorrow but it's going to be a long drive.......  With the snow that is expected overnight we could be looking at anywhere from 2 to 4 hours to get home.  The plan is to stop half way so I can get out of the car and walk around walmart (and pick up a few things that I need).  All in all, I am doing great and couldn't be happier with my decision!  

PS. When I was checked in to the hospital I weighed in at 270lbs - a total pre-op weight loss of 28lbs!!!  Whoot whoot!

Feb 3, 2013

Well here goes nothing!!!!!  In exactly 24 hours I will be having RNY surgery!  Really????  Tomorrow????  OMG!!!  So I still have a little bit of a sore throat and runny nose but I'm praying that the health fairy will look upon me today and take this away.  I will have enough to deal with after surgery without having a cold on top of it all! 

Here's my final pre-op stats:

Start Weight: 298lbs

Pre-Op Weight: 271lbs!!!!!  Whoot Whoot!!

See you on the bench!

Well I'm 6 sleeps from my surgery and I'm getting sick!!!!!  Really????  I am so stuffed up and my throat is getting scratchy.  Having lots of trouble getting my fluids in .  I also have one last cake to finish making today......  Not helping working with cake since all I want is comfort food and well, sweets have been a part of that for so many years.  My willpower will prevail though.  I am too close to mess up now!  I'm just hoping that I am feeling better for surgery on Monday.     

Jan 27, 2013

Really???  Only one more week before I am blessed with this amazing gift called WLS!!!!!  I can't believe how fast the time is going.  I still feel as if my protein modified diet is too good to be true.....  I have trouble on most days eating as much as I am supposed to but I keep track of my intake on the OH Health Tracker and my caloric intake is anywhere from 1000 to 1100 calories a day!  I'm getting between 124-130g of protein daily (129g is optimal for this diet) and my carbs sit around 80-90g per day.  Unfortunately thanks to my "TOM" the scale has gone up a couple of lbs and seems to be stuck there.  I am unfortunately one of those ladies who retain water when "TOM" arrives.  So instead of getting frusterated, I am stepping away from the scale for a few days and not worrying about it.  I am following my diet and I am confident that it is doing it's job!  This week is the time to buckle down and get everything ready before the big day!  I only have 3 days of work and 1 cake to make this week and with my wonderful mom coming to the rescue, getting everything done is completely doable! 

Jan 24, 2013

Wow!  This is getting pretty real now!  My protein modified diet is going great!  Not hungry at all, actually having trouble eating enough!  That's a first   So today's challenge was working on a little boy's birthday cake.  I am one of those dreaded "finger lickers", especially when I'm making icing.......  Well I DID IT!!!!  I didn't lick my fingers not even once!!!  I'm not done the cake yet but the worst part is done now comes the fun part of covering it in fondant and decorating it!  I never would have thought that I could be a "skinny" baker but yesterday (baking day) and today (icing day) have proven that I can do this!!!  Even with temptation staring me in the face, I will NOT give in.   

Jan 22, 2012

No only is today my amazing hubby's 36th birthday but as of today I have lost 22 lbs pre-op!!!  I put on my work uniform after not wearing it for a few days and it's already getting baggy.  One small victory for me today!  I have 12 more days to go before surgery and I'm feeling great!  Thank you Michelle (NUT) for taking me off of Opti and putting me on the protein modified diet!  After being on Opti for 7 excruciating days this is like HEAVEN .  I am no longer running to the washroom constantly and the stomach pain is gone! 

Jan 21, 2013

Today brought an end to my suffering on Optifast!  After exactly 1 week of nausea, severe stomach pains and diharreha I was advised by my nutritionist to switch to a Protein Modified Diet.  What is that???  It's where you are required to consume 129g of protein per day with very little carbs, sugars and fats.  There is tons to learn on this one but it actually will help me with preparing for my post-op eating.  So far so good!  Not the least bit hungry today and I have control over what foods to choose from the list so my dairy allergy won't be bothering me anymore!  Yahoo!!! 

13 more days before surgery