Lisa H.
12-5-2005:
My surgery is in 10 days, and I'm doing my best to stick to the low-carb, high protein diet. I am SO ready for the day to get here! I'm tired of being tired all the time, and having trouble fitting in restaurant booths and stuff like that. It's time for the new me!
01-8-2006:
The surgery was a breeze! I have trouble now realizing I did have it, except for the seven little sores on my abdomen and the fact that I can only eat a little at a time. I've lost about 20 pounds, and I'm feeling great! I have had one episode of dumping syndrome -- I made the mistake of adding 1 teaspoon of no-sugar-added peanut butter to my no-sugar-added Carnation instant breakfast, and was sick as a dog all afternoon. Lesson learned, and learned well!
03-3-2006:
People are noticing that I've lost weight; I'm getting a good number of compliments, and friends are pointing out that some of my clothing is so big I can't wear it much longer and remain decent. This doesn't make me unhappy at all. ;) Here's my current meal plan:
Snack:
1 Flintstone's chewable vitamin
8 oz Diet V8 Splash
Breakfast:
4 oz sugar-free, fat-free yogurt
1 T. walnuts
Snack:
1 cup coffee with one packet Unjury chocolate or vanilla protein powder.
Lunch:
1 Flintstone's chewable vitamin
3/4 cup of chili OR 1/2 beef & bean burritto
Snack:
1 banana
Dinner:
1 Flintstone's chewable vitamin
1/2 beef & bean burrito OR soup OR chicken leg & mashed potatoes OR whatever dinner happens to be
Snack:
Chex or Cheerios cereal
I lose weight when I drink enough water (I love the flavored waters, especially the Aquafina Citrus or Berry flavors, but I can't drink plain water because it hurts my stomach) and when I keep the carb count really low.
05-26-2006:
I am now in ONEderland! WOO HOO! 15 more pounds and I'll weight less than I did when I got married. I've been doing really well. I had a really rough bout of anemia at the beginning of April (I got anemic before the surgery, so I really can't blame the surgery for it) but started iron supplements and I'm doing much better. My hair is falling out like crazy, but I'm taking Hair, Skin and Nails vitamins, and it should stop in another month or two. I tend to lose weight for a few weeks, then stall for about two weeks.
Here's my eating plan now:
Before breakfast:
1 Flintstones Chewable vitamin
1 Hair, Skin, & Nails vitamin
1 iron supplement
Breakfast:
4 ounces of berry yogurt
1 tablespoon of walnut pieces
Snack:
1 cup of coffee with 1 scoop of Vanilla Unjury
Lunch:
3/4 cup homemade low-fat chili with beans
1 Flintstone's chewable vitamin
1 Hair, Skin, and Nails vitamin
Snack:
1 protein bar (preferably Power Crunch chocolate or peanut butter or Q-Smart)
Dinner:
1/2 beef & bean burrito OR soup OR chicken leg & mashed potatoes OR whatever dinner happens to be
Snack:
1 sugar-free candy (Russel Stover's Sugar-Free Coconut) OCCASIONALLY
1 Flintstone's chewable vitamin
1 Hair, Skin, and Nails vitamin
1 iron supplement
I also drink a lot of flavored water -- usually at least 2 liters a day. I joined a gym but haven't been there since March -- mostly because of the anemia -- but I'm feeling well enough to get back there.
More and more people are commenting on my weight loss, and I've been asked when I'm going to stop wearing such baggy clothes. I did hit the thrift store for some clothes, and I'll be going back. Pants and some of the skirts I used to wear just fall off when I put them on now. THIS DOES NOT UPSET ME ONE BIT! ;)
08-03-2006:
Still going down. :) I'd like to go faster, but you know what? I HATE going to the gym! So I'll deal. According to my doctors BMI scale (http://www.scobesity.com/bmi.asp), I'm no longer obese (though of course I'm still overweight), and I now weigh less that I did when I got married in 1995 (I got down to that weight after going on phen/fen for a while, but the drugs stopped having any effect, and I of course gained it all back and more)! My diet hasn't changed much, since the last time I posted; I still drink Unjury every morning with my coffee and have a protein bar in the afternoon. I added some Uncle Sam cereal with my morning yogurt; it's got lots of fiber and it's pretty good on the protein, and has no sugar at all (so without yogurt you REALLY need Splenda or something with it!).
Of course, there are some negative aspects of losing weight. I'm finding these weird, hard things beginning to stick out of my body. I'm told they are BONES and that they're perfectly normal, but I've never seen anything like them before, and I'm wondering where they came from. I'm having to purchase a whole new wardrobe from my favorite boutique, G/W, but fortunately everything is MOST affordable there (most people call this boutique "Goodwill"). I have so much more energy that I don't sleep nearly as much as I used to, so my house is getting cleaned and organized, and I'm finding the will to toss a lot of stuff I've held on to -- I wonder, just how much money DID I spend on diet books over the years???? And then there's the fact that people are complimenting me -- like one of the cashiers at Krogers, who told me I'm looking really good and asked how I'm losing weight -- so people are actually seeing ME now instead of some random really big person. I now park as far away from work as possible in order to get more exercise (I can walk the whole way quickly without stopping to rest!) but I now have to buy sunscreen and a wide-brimmed hat to save my skin, since I'm no longer protected by the parking garage. We're saving money on food, too; when we eat out, I get a child's plate, and still have half the food left over for a later meal.
I have to say, though, that I'm more than willing to make these sacrifices in order to continue losing weight. :)
8/27/2006:
Still losing -- in fact, lost REALLY well last week. I've tweaked my diet some, and I made it to the gym four days last week. I'm just walking on the treadmill, about 35 minutes at 3.5 mph for now, but I'm going to add in weight work soon. My goal weight is 150, which is what I'd chosen (since the 142 on the charts as the ideal weight for a 5' 6" woman PROBABLY won't happen!) and what my doctor suggested also. I had a problem with my blood sugar dropping too low in the mornings, and my regular doctor suggested I add some protein as a evening snack, and it seems to have done the trick. So here's my current diet:
Before breakfast:
1 Flintstone's chewable vitamin
1 iron supplement (only one a day now, my iron's normal!)
1 Hair, Skin, & Nails vitamin
Breakfast:
4 oz Dannon Light-n-Fit Yogurt
1/4 cup Uncle Sam Cereal (I LOVE this stuff!)
1 tablespoon walnuts
Snack:
calcium supplement
1 mug coffee
low-carb creamer
Unjury protein powder
Lunch:
home-made chili (I had been eating some crackers with it but I've cut them out)
1 Flintstones Chewable
1 Hair, Skin, & Nails vitamin
calcium supplement
Snack:
Protein bar of some kind
Dinner:
Child's portion of whatever we have
Snack:
Protein bar OR 4 triscuits with 1 oz cheese
1 Flintstones Chewable
1 Hair, Skin, & Nails vitamin
calcuim supplement
I think Dr. Givens is the most WONDERFUL doctor in the world! He's saved my life, and turned me into the person I thought I couldn't be for my entire life.
10/18/2006:
After years of not wearing makeup because I was just a huge ugly blob, I've moved on. I became a Mary Kay consultant last week! I'm really excited about my little business. It will mean getting out in front of people, and talking, and not trying to hide in the background at parties and stuff, but I can do it. :)
