Michelle_Anne

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Wow, It's been quite some time since I posted on my blog.

Life has been quite interesting to say the least. Due to life's circumstances I have gained a few pounds back (the doctor, family, and friends think its great since they all thought I had lost too much).

Due to my husband being laid off I picked up a second job in November of last year, not to mention hockey season also started for my daughter. I spent most of my time away from home. I worked my day job from 8:30 -5pm Monday thru Friday and the second job  several days during the week from 6pm-midnight. I was also working whatever shifts they would give me on the weekends. When I wasn't working I was at the ice arena watching my daughters hockey games. During this time my food planning and exercise became almost entirely non existent. I also fell back into the nasty habit of drinking soda
It's just amazing how easy it is to get off track...now if it was just that easy to get back on track. 

But, I have to say back on track is where I'm headed. The soda is once again out of here .  I have started planning all my daytime meals (dinner is still a work in progress) again. Since I still have a very hectic schedule  exercise isn't exactly where I would like it to be but , I have started doing Jillian Michaels 30 day shred and bought the Fitness Ultimatum 2009 for the Wii to give a try.

Last week I consulted with plastic surgeon Anthony De Angelis at Park Nicollet  for a breast reduction and ambdominoplasty. I met the criteria for insurance to cover the breast reduction but not the abdominplasty. The procedure was submitted to insurance at the beginning of this week and I am waiting patiently for their answer  (fingers crossed). If all goes well I will have both procedures at the same time in about 8 weeks.

My two year post op appointment is scheduled for March 9th and I think a small fill is in the plan.

I will post an update after my appoinment and just maybe I'll have an answer from BCBS

~Michelle

Haven't posted in awhile, but things are going well, maintaining around 140lbs.

I have spent the last couple of months learning how to maintain my current weight living normal. I am no longer counting calories or journaling my food. Preparing and eating at home remains easy. I have the nutitional values of all my staples copied in my mind...lol Eating out can still be a challenge, thank goodness I don't do it very often. If I feel I'm wandering off the path I just go back to step one of counting and journaling.

I am getting ready to schedule some consults on plastic surgery. I am interested in a breast reduction and a tummy tuck. My insurance will cover both if I meet their criteria(fingers crossed).

~Michelle

 Wow! What an amazing Year it has been!

I began my journey in July of 2007 attending an introductory meeting at Unity's Bariatric Center. After attending the intake appoinment I felt RNY was right for me. I was a grazer during the day and then in the evenings I would eat everything in sight. I also had a sweet tooth. I met with the nurse for my  intake appoinment in August of 2007 weighing 241.5 pounds and a BMI of 40.2. I set a personal goal to lose 91 pounds, for an end goal weight of 150lbs. I was required to participate in a six month supervised diet for BCBS (all my previous attempts at weight loss hadn't been documented enough). I began meeting with the dietician in September of 2007 for my supervised diet. I was very successful with the structured eating plan she had placed me on. After my 5 month appointment I began second guessing my choice of RNY. In the previous 5 months I had given up soda, eliminated grazing, and had learned how to eat balanced meals three times a day with no snacks. I had a consultation with my surgeon and some heart to heart talks with my family. In January of 2008 I decided to change surgeries and proceed with the Lap Band. On March 12th, 2008 I had my band placed.

Now for some numbers and photo's:

Height: 5'5
Starting weight: 241.5 pounds                   Current weight: maintaining between 131-135 pounds
Starting size: 18W/20W and 2X/3X            Current size: 4/6 and S/M
Inches lost: 36inches between my arm, waist, and hips

Pre-Op Photo: Somewhere around 241.5 pounds


Almost One Year: February 21st, 2009


I Love My Band!

~Michelle

I was off to see maggie today for an unfill!

I flew to Arizona one week ago today. Upon arrival in Arizona my band was noticebly tighter, I could only eat 2-3 bites of food . Things improved slightly during my stay, I was getting in my fluids but was only eating soft foods (cottage cheese, yogurt, mashed potatoes, and amazingly crackers/cheese). I flew home on Sunday and was unable to eat or drink after I got off the plane. I was hoping things would improve over the next day or so. Well now it has been three days and I'm even struggling to drink water. It just doesn't go down like it used to.

So, I went to the clinic for a small unfill. I'm not sure how much she took out (I don't want to know), but I do know that immediately I could drink water. I am on liquids for 2 days and then soft foods for two days. I will then go on to more dense proteins and vegetables.

I have an appoinment scheduled next week on Thursday for my 1 year surgiversary. At that appointment we will decide if I am ready to be refilled.

February 28th, 2009

I had my appointment with Maggie today. I weighed 135.5lbs (gain of 4 pounds). I was a little disappointed with the gain but Maggie was pleased since she had wanted me to gain a few pounds. She would like me to maintain around 135 pounds.

I had a small fill because my SO has been laid off and we are unsure about what our insurance will be next month.

My next appoinment will be my 1 year post-op. It is scheduled for Thursday 3/12/2009.

I had my 9 month check up today. I currently weigh 131.5 pounds, down another 4.5 pounds (total lost 110 pounds) and seem to still be losing steadily.

Its time to slow the weight loss phase down and try to maintain. We upped my calories by another 100 and reduced my workouts to 60 minutes instead of 90 minutes. I will see Maggie again in 6 weeks for a weight check.

Everything else is going great!

These are a few of the rules I have followed and believe they are a huge factor to my success.

1) Plan my meals in advance (3 meals a day & no snacking is my dietician's recommendation)
2) I use dessert/salad plates as they are smaller (not as easy to overfill like a dinner plate)
3) I weigh/measure everything I put in my mouth (my dietician's amount is 1-1.5 cups)
4) 80oz of water every day (crystal light sometimes...NO soda or caloried liquids)
5) Food Journaling and tracked in an online calorie site (I use Fit Day, when your not paying attention calories can add up very fast)
6) No pasta, rice, white bread ( I eat whole grain breads, pitas and tortilla's)
7) Exercise (90minutes in the gym 6 days a week until I hit goal, now I go 3-4 times a week)
8) No drinking for a minimum of 30 minutes after any meal
9) Protein first, veggies/fruit second (I don't use any protein supplements at all and consume 60+ grams a day)

My menus are pretty consistent.

Breakfast: Protein Bar, Eggs, Weight Control Oatmeal, Special K protein plus cereal, Cottage cheese pancakes, Egg souffles's
                    (I choose one of the above and have it with a peice of fruit or whole grain bread toasted)

Lunch: Cottage Cheese, Tuna, Cheese, Deli meats,  or leftovers from the previous nights dinner
                   (I choose one of these and have with raw veggies, salad, and or fruit)

Dinner: 4oz Lean Protein (Beef, Pork, Poultry), Steamed Veggies and occasionally some carbs

Snacks if I feel I must have one: String Cheese, Turkey Pepperoni, LF/LC yogurt, Celery & Peanutbutter, 100 calorie bags of popcorn, fresh fruit, whole grain bread w/ splenda & cinnamon and if I am having a sugar craving the SF puddings and SF popcicles are great. And for those chocolate cravings that arise I  keep the 3 musketeers dark chocolate mint minatures on hand, they are only 30 calories a peice and one usually does the trick.

Liquids: Water mostly, otherwise Crystal Light. Alpine SF Apple Cider (15 calories), SF/FF cocoa (25 calories), Diet Tea

I met with Jeannie today. I weighed 136lbs...1 pound lost in the last 9 days. The weight loss seems to be slowing down which is what we wanted to see happen. Jeannie gave me some tips on how to increase my calories without increasing my portion sizes. Some of her tips were:

Reduced Fat instead of Fat Free
Nuts/Olives added to salads
Smart Balance/Brummel&Brown instead of spray butter
A little Olive Oil instead of spray dressings
1% milk instead of Skim

I am going to try and incorporate some of these tips. We will see where my weight ends up at my next appoinment on 12/10/2008.

I am just over seven months post op today.
I weighed 137lbs, another 5.5 pounds lost(61.5lbs lost since surgery).
I am very happy with my success and never imagined it would happen so quickly. The surgeon is a little concerned because I am still consistently losing. She feels I am at a good spot and should begin my maintenance regimen. I will be meeting with the dietician on November 7th to discuss ways to increase my calories. I will also be decreasing the amount of cardio I do a week and increase my strenght training.

My next appoinment with Maggie is 12/10/08.

(I will be attending our clinic's December Information Meeting as one of their Lap-Band success stories.)