mkettles

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What a birthday present....I gained SEVEN pounds!!!  I was so bummed when I stepped on that scale today.  Lately I've had a trend of a 2-3 pound per week weight loss and was so excited and when I went to see my nutritionist today I found out this awful news!  I was practically in tears but she told me that there was NO WAY that I could have packed on 7 pounds of fat in a week and that it was probably water retention.  Yesterday was my birthday and my absolute favorite food is Hooters hot wings which my husband brought me home for dinner.  Since it is high in sodium and all that other nasty stuff and my body probably has not digested it yet, it read on the scale...BIG TIME!!  Note to self: DO NOT eat anything heavy before weigh in.  I'm celebrating my birthday on Saturday with my family but I can handle cake and ice cream.  Please pray that I lose that weight back!  I was so excited that I was below 400 finally (396.5 to be exact).

Eek!  I'm afraid.....i'm very afraid!!  I weigh in tomorrow after a 10 day stretch.  I've done horribly over the last 10 days and I contribute a lot of it to my period.  I just hurt all of the time with cramps and had no desire to cook.  This is the first one i've had since I've started the weight loss program. I'm praying that maybe i shed a few pounds other than fat (if you get my drift).  Please say a prayer that God will grant me with a few lost pounds.  :o)

Hey everyone!

It's been a long time since i've been on here but I was really disappointed in myself last week as I gained 3.3 pounds.  They tell me it's probably because I am retaining water. Fortunately this week I lost 3.9!  Yippee!!  I've had a really hard time keeping to my calories especially when we are with our families eating and we have been going out to eat a lot!  DANGER ZONE right there! This week I'm really pushing myself to drink my 150 ounces of water everyday as well as eating my 5 meals at 3-4 hour intervals.  I stay hungry a lot lately.  I go back to see the nutritionist tomorrow and maybe she can help me.  I bought two Richard Simmons DVD's.  One is a Sweatin To The Oldie aerobics workout and the other is a toning video with rubber bands. That's my other big change that I am going to incorporate.

On another note, I had some disappointing news today.  Apparently my selected surgeon is not going to be in the office on June 13th (my scheduled consult day) so our trip to El Paso has been postponed to July 11th.   It's okay though because i'm still in the weight loss program through September or October.  I am really looking forward to meeting with the surgeon and the staff!

I hope everyone else is well and having an exciting journey!!!

Whew!  I weighed in yesterday (four days after my last weigh in) and lost 1.8 pounds!  It was difficult.  My husband wanted to go to Hooters the other night and I LOVE hot wings!!  The only problem is that they are 860 calores for FIVE of them!!  I usually eat 12-15 easy.  I cut myself off at 7 but the other evil was that we had leftovers that kept screaming!  My husband FINALLY finished them off today.   No more of that temptation!  The weight loss program is going really well.  I find it really easy to follow and I enjoy keeping track of what I eat.  I'm a lot more aware and accountable.  We're still on for meeting the surgeon in El Paso on June 13th and I'm excited! 

I am so excited!  I had my first weigh in today on my weight loss program and I lost 3 pounds (2.5 fat & .5 water).  At first I was disappointed because I always thought someone of my size should lose closer to 10 pounds the 1st week but my nutritionist insisted that I did really well.   I'm 3 pounds and 10,000 calories lighter!!  Yippee!

Well, it turns out that the director of the Del Sol program is no longer there which explains why I never got an answer.  It also turned out that I was not on the schedule for June 13th as planned.  I FINALLY go hold of Becky who is in charge of insurance among other things I'm sure and she went ahead and put me in the books.  Unfortunately I found out that they can no longer schedule the psych appointment on Fridays but on Tuesdays only.  I can't do that because we are driving 4 hours each way to go to this appoint....which is why I was panicking!  I'm relieved now!  The plan is going pretty smooth.  I'm having a VERY hard time getting 144 - 200oz of water in a day though!  I did really well on my pedometer on Saturday nearing 4000 steps and then went andd hurt my back that night and couldn't get over 1000 on Sunday.  Baby steps - no pun intended :oP - as they say!  I contacted a local psychologist who primary deals with weight issues to see how much she charges. Has anyone bend to Brenda Wolfe?  If so, I would greatly appreciate any information!  Well, I better go!  I'm starving and I have just under 500 calories to go.  

Hi everyone!!  oh, I pray that I lose weight this week!!  I've been working hard the last three days in watching my calories and making sure I have my proteins.  They gave me a pedometer at the weight loss program and the first day I had 750, yesterday was 1600 and today so far i'm up to 1643 and there's still a few more hours lefts in the day and possibly a trip to Wal-Mart.  Little by little.  I really like the convenience of the Optifast meal replacements and they really pretty good.  The first day I was ravanous!!! I could not keep myself full but it's getting easier.  I'm still working on getting 5 meals in a day because I'm a late riser and miss breakfast and my mid morning snack so I play catch up during the day. Typically I end up having a mid evening snack.  The one thing I'm curious about is if I can eat ANYTHING so long as it keeps me under my 2000/day calorie limit (for instance Weight Watchers deserts). I know they will have to go away after surgery because of dumping syndrome but i'm sure after 6 months i can have myself weened.  The other question I had was do I have to stick to my per meal calorie limits or can I bank points so long as I eat my 5 meals? My water intake is tough.  I have to drink 128-200 ounces of water a day and I thought I drank a lot of water before....whew!  I see the nutritionist again this upcoming Thursday.  I hope all goes well.

Oh yeah, I FINALLY heard back from Dr. Lara's office!!!  My first e-mail I sent to Lori, who is the director , three weeks ago.  After the 2nd week I am very greatful that Amber (a fellow WLS hopeful) gave me the e-mail address for Becky who is in charge of insurance.  I haven't heard from her either. So, Thursday night I sent ANOTHER e-mail to both Lori and Becky pleading for a response (I have a phobia of telephones...seriously) but Lori's e-mail bounced back saying there was no such account and Becky never respond.  I did, however, notice a new e-mail address on their web site so I forwarded my message to her.  She responded the next day (thank God!) and said that Becky was out of the office but she would follow up with her on Monday.  It turns out I had contacted the bariatric nurse. I sure hope SOMEONE can confirm the details for me so I can send out my paperwork and finish making travel plans.

Well, I am officially on my way towards getting the insurance approval.  My endocrinologist's office has a pre-bariatric surgery program that they offer.  It's six months long and incorporates the nutritionist, classes, physicians, support group etc.  They track EVERYTHING and then send that info to the surgeon and/or my insurance company.  I had my nutritional consult today and they have me doing 1800-2000 calorie diet in which I do five meals a day, two of which are meal supplements.  They use Optifast which is a like the Slim Fast of the medical world.  I start tomorrow so I'm hoping they are as good as everyone claims they are.  Somehow I gained a pound since Friday so I'm starting at 408.  I go back next Thursday and I weigh in again and meet with the program manager and go through my food logs, track my pedometer (which they gave me), exercise, etc.  I start a set of 9 week classes after that.  I visit the nutritionist and my endo on a monthly basis for the six months.  They are pretty strict but that's what the insurance company is looking for.  I'm so excited!!!  Meal planning was fun but i'm at day five and needed a breather. I'm headed to the grocery store tomorrow!!

I am a bit frustrated with Del Sol, the surgery center where I chose to have my surgery.  I read somewhere that my insurance only covers this one and Dr. Syn in Lubbock.  Lubbock is 2 hours further than El Paso which is the main reason why I went with them (Albuquerque is way behind in the times and we don't have a surgeon here who does it.)  They started off okay by answering my questions via e-mails and I finally got my appointment after two requests. It's June 13th and I have the room reserved and everything but I'm trying to get in to see their psychologist in the same appointment.  Another person told me it takes about 8 hours if you see the psychologist also.  That's okay though....it's a four hour drive each way from here to there.  Anyway, fortunately, a fellow Del Sol hopeful gave me the e-mail for the other lady in the office and I forwarded my last e-mail (sent 4-24) to her that I still have no answer for.  I'm really worried!!  Everyone I talk to say they are great but how is  my experience going to be if I can't get the director of the program to answer my questions!!?? Argh!! I've heard good things about Dr. Syn also but Lubbock is two more hours away and I'd like to stay as close to home as I can.

I am so tired of not being able to breathe!! It seems like every moment is a struggle to get a full breath and I get so scared!  Does anyone else experience this? Do you have any tricks that might help?  I cannot wait to get this surgery done!!

Sorry for the rantings....I figure many of you can sympathize and that's one thing I really love about this site!!!

Well, here I am....at the beginning of my weight loss journey.  I have my initial consultation with Del Sol in El Paso, TX on June 13th.  Unfortunately Albuquerque no surgeons that will do the surgery but El Paso is only 4 hours away which isn't too bad.  My insurance company, Lovelace, requires a 6-month pre-op bariatric weight loss program before they will look at my application so I went and had my consult with them on Wednesday and met with my endocrinologist (at the same place) this morning.  I'm all clear to start.  I am depressed though because the last time I was weighed back in november I was 397 and now I weigh 407. Ah!!!  I'm supposed to be going the OTHER direction!!  I'm kinda bummed about it but Tuesday I meet with the nutritionist and officially start the program where they measure me and work with me on an eating program.  I've decided to do partial shake and partial food to get the feel of having to use a shake because I know after surgery we have to drink protein shakes.  Time for a new beginning!! I'll keep you all posted and please keep posting your stories! They are so insightful, informative and most of all uplifting and encouraging!!

All the best!  Michelle