Meg1962

Send Message

Block

Add Friend

I'm now down 88 pounds - only 13lbs to go to hit my mini goal of 100lbs lost.  I'm hoping that, by the end of January, I'll be below 200 which will put me right on target.

Eating is fine - I'm pretty bored with food though and this isn't a good thing for me.  I don't want to backslide into bad habits (even though the surgery and the dumping discourage this) and affect my progress.  I've been through too much, come too far to screw things up.

Good news - I'm cutting down on smoking.  Post-surgery, I started up again with a vengeance - nearly an entire pack a day!  I'm now back down to less than half a pack - about 10 cigarettes a day - and am relieved that I could do it painlessly.  I've never been a heavy smoker, and had quit for several years, and now I'm thinking that quitting is once again  in my future, like some time over the next year.  If only I could get my husband to quit with me.  It's going to be so much harder if he continues to smoke the way he does...but that's up to him.  No point in bringing it up even if he isn't ready.

I've been reading some of my old blog entries, and re-read one in February where I'd bought a size 18 blazer on sale in anticipation of eventually being able to wear it (I could get it on, but was nowhere near being able to do it up).  Well, it's now too big.  Not so huge that I can't get a few more months wear out of it, but it's not long for Goodwill.  Right now I'm wearing a size 20 jean that I've managed to shrink down a bit in the dryer.  They're getting too big as well and I'm constantly hiking them up.  Wearing a belt helps, but soon they'll have to go as well.  I'm starting to run low on clothes that fit me again ...

Here I am, 7.5 months out, and feeling okay.  My iron was low so I switched to a more absorbable form (though it makes me a bit nauseated) and that's helping a bit.  My doctor also told me that calcium blocks iron absorption, so I've been careful to take my calcium several hours after my dose of ferrous fumerate.  I'm also taking a 2nd dose of B12 when I take my calcium in the afternoon - that's in addition to the B Mega-complex I take every morning. 

Some of the fatigue is simply from not sleeping well.  I have a lot of stress on both the job front (new boss and increased work load), the home front (husband downsized to 2-3 days a week, money problems, some other issues) and the personal front (still adjusting to no SSRIs so very emotional all the time).

Still, I'm please with my WLS progress.  Even though the weight loss has slowed down considerably, I continue to shrink a size every other month.  At the beginning of August I was wearing size 22 most of the time and now a size 20 is a bit big for me.  I already wear an 18 on top and with the loss of another 5lbs or so I'll be wearing an 18 on the bottom.

My goals for the end of the calendar year: have lost over 100lbs and wear a size 14.

Well, I'm halfway to my goal now - I've lost 85lbs and have another 81 to go.  I eat fairly normally now - except for much smaller portions and very little sugar or fat.  The dumping thing remains a little unpredictable, though there are a few foods that I know I need to avoid completely.  The biggest food disappointment is tortilla chips - with a bit of salsa or refried beans, they were my favourite snack.  But now, I can't eat even a few without horrible nausea, rapid heart beat, dizziness, and sweats. 

Shopping is less of a chore now - increasingly I can find clothes in "regular" stores, and while I still get most clothing from the fat chick emporium, there's more variety to choose from because they have more product in my new size range.
I have a couple of short-term goals now - I want to hit the century mark by Hallowe'en and be in Onederland by the end of the year.  I only need to lose another 15lbs to have lost 100lbs in total, but man, I haven't been below 200lbs since the early 90s!

I've been off the antidepressants for nearly 5 weeks now, and am still having some withdrawal side effects, but it's getting easier.  My emotions are nearer the surface than they were on the drugs, and this is taking a bit of getting used to, but my creativity is freed up again and that feels awesome.

I got up at 2:30am to drive our 19 year old to the Toronto airport this morning, and then drove all the way back to London to drop our 6 year old off at day camp and go to work.  I'm SO tired.

Last Friday I saw my surgeon for my 6 month follow-up, and he was pleased with my progress.  I said, "So am I - thanks!"  And I am. 

I've discovered that not only do I dump on refined sugars and fat, I also now dump on sugar alcohols, and it's pretty bad. A couple days ago i had some SF jelly beans, and they made me really sick.  The culprit - sugar alcohols.   Last night my husband bought me a microwave dinner of sweet and sour chicken with veggies and rice, and like an idiot I ate it without reading the ingredients.  Corn syrup...lots and lots of corn syrup.  It took me about half an hour to barf it up, but eventually I felt better.  I really felt like I wanted to die, it was so awful. 

Up until now, I've eaten pretty much anything without incident or interference with weight loss, but it would seem that this is no longer the case and I have to get back to basics.  It's neither a good thing or a bad thing - it's just another change I have to incorporate into my life.

My hair loss has slowed down since I started taking a B complex vitamin with lots of biotin in it.  Thank goodness I haven't lost more than this.

I can't believe it's July already!

I haven't weighed myself for over a week, so I'm not sure where I'm at pounds-wise, but I continue to shrink.  I finally said 'goodbye' to some favourite clothes that've been too big to wear for months now.  I know it's kind of a "happy problem", but still ... I hope someone else enjoys wearing them as much as I have.

I've been weaning myself off the antidepressants I've been on for the past four years, and it's been kind of rough.  PMS is the worst for causing a spiral back down into depression, and it almost ruined my holiday up north.  Rod and Hannah hiked the Bruce Trail without me this year - I was feeling really dysfunctional and fragile, didn't want Miss H to see me like that, so I stayed at the cottage while they went hiking.  I felt wretched, but it was sunny and sitting out in the sun really improved how I felt.  I'm no longer taking Cytomel or Wellbutrin, so it's only Prozac left and I drop from 40mg to 20mg this weekend.  The side effects coming off the drugs are pretty similar to the side effects I experienced when I started them - nausea, diarrhea, anxiety, muscle stiffness in my jaw, face and neck, moodiness, inability to concentrate, memory issues - but once they pass, I know it's time to drop another pill.  I'm hoping to be entirely drug-free by early August.

Over the holiday weekend, I took my eldest daughter out for dinner, and wouldn't you believe it - I sat comfortably in a small booth for the first time in years!!!  I now put my napkin on my lap because I have a lap!!!  We also went to see a movie and ... drumroll ... no awkward moment wondering if my ass will fit - plenty of room!!

My hair has been falling out a fair bit and I've been afraid to cut it, but last night I said to hell with it and got out the clippers and scissors.  Wow, not nearly as bad as I thought.  In fact, it looks better now that I've cut it than it did before - fuller, less wispy.  I do have to watch the sun though - with far less hair on top my scalp burns really easily and a bandana or sun hat is a total necessity.

My diet is now largely protein, some fats and far fewer carbs than ever before.  I was such a carb junkie, I can't believe how much my tastes have changed.  Oh, for sure, I like the occasional cracker, slice of toast, or salty snack, but the foods that used to be the main stay of my diet are now entirely peripheral.  I still get hungry, but I'm satisfied with much less.  When I go to a restaurant, I order what I want, eat what I can, and take the rest home for another meal or two.  I'm a cheap date...lol.

I've cut way down on caffeine and I'm also drinking a lot of water,  and it tastes really really good.  I find most fruit juices are too sweet and I water them down.  I do miss gingerale though, and I hope I'll be able to drink it again one day.  It's the carbonation ... it makes me feel all barfy.

Here I am, nearly 6 months out, and feeling really good!  I've lost 70lbs since surgery, 78lbs in total, and I'm down from size 26 to size 20...can't wait to be in the teen sizes again.  I've knocked 10 points off my Body Mass Index.

My energy level is pretty high, spirits good, and I'm eating fairly normally albeit in small amounts.  I don't miss all the fat and carbs I used to consume and actually prefer protein, veggies and fruit.  I'm not a dumper, it seems, but I've never been much of a sugar junkie and I've been using sweetener for years anyway.  It is nice, however, to know that I can have a taste of something sinfully sweet without becoming ill.

Exercise-wise, I've been swimming, walking and gardening - three things I really enjoy - and as a result I feel better and healthier than I have in years.  I finally have the energy to do the things I've missed doing, like playing with my youngest daughter, and I'm not in chronic pain anymore. 

Wow, I had no idea how absolutely crappy I felt all the time until ... I didn't!

Well, I'm at 2.5 months (11 weeks) post-op.  I've lost 50lbs since surgery, 58lbs in total.  I've started swimming laps a couple times a week and go to aquafit once a week, with resistance training in between. I'm feeling pretty good.  I'm not terribly restricted in my food choices, but I try to keep the carbs to a minimum, and have very little fat or sugar in my diet.  I don't feel like I'm missing out on anything, I don't feel deprived, and I have much more energy.

My back is still very sore in the morning, but the pain in my knees is very minimal.  I'm about the same size that I was before I went on antidepressants in September 2004.  It feels good to wear clothes that haven't fit me in more than two years and feel comfortable wearing them.  Almost like having a new wardrobe without spending any money - how cool is that!

Yesterday was my first real "fitness" day, where I did more than just walking and yoga.  When I woke up in the morning, I did some strength training with my upper body using a resistance cord.  After work I went to an aquafit class, which felt great!  This morning I stepped on the scale and saw that I was down more than 3lbs - yay, my stall is over!  I guess my metabolism just needed a kick-start :)

Even though I still have such a long way to go, I'm starting to feel so much better.  I have more energy and stamina when I'm walking, and I don't feel so tired all the time.  My muscle strength is minimal, but I'm loading up on the protein and strength training, so that'll change!

I don't really look a whole lot different, but I feel more comfortable in my clothes again, and THAT's like gold in my opinion.  I'm eating better (less starch and fewer carbohydrates) and not missing the food at all.  I can eat pretty much anything I want, so far, just in much smaller portions.  One thing, though, it takes most of the morning to get all my vitamins and meds down.  I can no longer toss back a handful of pills and be good to go.  Chew chew chew, sip sip sip.  And so it goes.

I've been home today and yesterday with the period from hell.  Not just cramps, but so heavy I'm going through 2 maxi overnighters an hour and have had to wash two sets of pants and gitch and two sets of sheets.  I feel like utter crap.

Usually, I'm the last person to whine about a heavy period, but this is ridiculous.  I'm going to have to visit the endocrinologist again, get an ultrasound, and have the uterine ablation done.  If that doesn't work, it's a hysterectomy for sure.  I had this same problem a few years ago and got really anemic, so the doctor prescribed a Mirena IUD and things improved dramatically.  Now that the problem's back, I'm wondering if the surgery did something...hmmm.

Anyway, I'm now down 30lbs today, my one month anniversary.  Other than the "crimson tide" I'm feeling really good.  I'm trying to keep my protein levels at 70-80g per day, mostly with success and without a yucky protein shake.  I still make fruit smoothies with skim milk and SF ice cream or yogurt, and that gives me an additional 16-18g of protein..  I've started on a much higher dose of iron each day, to both combat the loss of blood I'm experiencing and the malabsorptive effects of the distal RNY. 

I think I finally have the timing and chewing of food down.  Chew everything at least double what I used to and leave time between bites so that I'll know when I'm full before I have that one bite too many. 

I feel incredibly fortunate that I've been free of complications so far, and hope very much that I remain so.  I've always been a  quick healer, but that's changed as I've grown older and I was very concerned about my ability to recover easily from major surgery.  I know it's early days to be feeling relieved - a lot could still go wrong - but so far so good.

I'm down somewhere between 28-30lbs (I'll weigh myself again after my period) and feeling pretty good.  I'm comfortably wearing a pair of jeans that haven't fit me for nearly a year, my bra size is down from a 44DD to a 42D, and I'm walking better.  My knees are MUCH better, my back not so much.

Three of my incisions are completely healed and the other three are nearly so, and I'm eating a much better variety now.  Pasta and fresh breads are out for me, which is a good thing because I ate too much of them before, and I no longer have any desire to slather everything in butter.  I haven't tried rice yet - maybe next week.

It's a really weird sensation - feeling lighter and more energetic but at the same time very weak.  My leg muscles - always strong from ballet, cycling and running, are wobbly and my upper body strength is zero.  No more handing the jar over for me to open.  For now at least.

Things I'm Looking Forward To:

- being able to cross my legs when I sit down
- being more comfortable during the summer
- having more energy to play with my youngest child
- buying clothes in regular stores at regular prices
- wearing heels without crippling my feet