Oh2Bskinny

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I had a dream...to be skinny. Now I have achieved the goal, but now what do I do? I've gone from 250 lbs down to 128 lbs. I used to wear 2XL shirts and 22 slacks and jeans. Now I wear an S in shirts and a 6 in slacks and jeans. But now that I'm here, now what? I know how to get skinny, I've done that several times, but how do I stay skinny? If there are any bloggers out there who came to this same obstacle and figured out how to get past, through, over or under it, please let me know HOW you did it! Thanks!!!!

When I was a girl, there were a couple of my svelt friends who could cross their legs and wrap the foot of the crossed leg around the calf of the other leg. To me that meant "skinny". I could never do it. Today I tried, just for grins and giggles, and, yeah, you gessed it, I CAN DO THAT NOW!!! I'm happy, I'm happy, I'm happy! I'm ha-a-a-a-a-a-ppy!!!

Hi, there. I see I haven't been as faithful to blog as I should have been...there's that. Now, on to the meat of the meal, as they say!

It's been one year and one day since my gastric bypass roux-n-y surgery. I cannot tell you how happy I am that I took this path. I've lost 120 lbs in about 15 months. I lost the first 20 in the few weeks before my surgery. Surgeons like us to stop eating sugar and refined carbs (the white stuff, folks) for a few weeks before they go inside. Why? It shrinks our livers and they've got to manouver around that big, red thing to do their jobs. The other 100 just slipped away almost like magic!

Once I could eat solid food again, I fell into this routine and I haven't diverted from it: 

Get up...take pills. Set 30 min timer and then drink tea. Set 30 min timer then eat an ounce of cheese, sometimes with 5 or 6 bread and butter pickles. Set 30 minute timer and drink 2nd and usually 3rd cups of tea. BTW: I did not switch to decaf, either, and I only use a half of pack of the pink skinny sweetener per 18 oz mug.  I also add the Kroger or Wal-Mart equivalent to Benefiber in all clear liquids...if I don't drink the fiber, I get impacted. That's gross and embarrassing. (Have gone to emergency room twice for that problem, then I got on the fiber.) Set the timer (they get a little annoyed at work, but they deal with it) and it's time for lunch. I like soup. My favorite soup is Progressive Chicken and Wild Rice. I drain all the broth off before eating, though. Sometimes I'll have left-overs from supper for lunch. Time to set the timer - again - and I take the afternoon vitamins and switch to water and fiber for my beverage. A typical afternoon snack is a handfull of dry-roasted almonds. They are so crunchy and so yummy and fill me up so well, it holds me till supper at 7. On the way home, I take my evening vitamins and meds with water. I don't go in for those flavor packets for water, I just like it plain. When I get home, I start supper. I drink 12 oz of 1% milk during supper prep. Supper always consists of a palm-size slice of meat, a small portion of starch, usually as 1 or 2 new potatoes or a half a slice of french bread, toasted, and a 1/4 cup of salad or vegetable. That's it. That's my routine and I'm satisfied.

Cravings? Yes! I get cravings. Sometimes it's for those bread and butter pickles. Sometimes it's for kosher dill pickles. Sometimes it's for chips and salsa. The trick is to chew, chew, chew. With each chomp of a chew I say in my head, "baby food, baby food, baby food." That internal chant is new.

I had some trouble in October and then again in January. In October, they Y part of my modified small intestine decided to wiggle into a small hernia of scar tissue and my guts got all bound up and "dusky." Dr. Lindsay had to go in and untangle everything. Now I have a big old scar down my middle. Oh, goodie. In January I had an obstruction (it might've been scar tissue issues again) and spent another 2 days in the hospital. I realized as I was lying there in bed that I had fallen back into the bad habit of wolfing down my food without really chewing or tasting it. A big bite of food had probably caused the blockage. Luckily it passed on its own and I went home. Big WHEW! So in order to avoid another blockage, I chew, chew, chew all my small bites of food until they're the consistancy of baby food. The side-benefit of all that chewing is that I taste all of the flavors from the things I'm eating and enjoy them more. Who knew?

So now I'm at 131 lbs (with clothes on). My BMI has gone from a 44.7 to a 22.6. I've gone from a size 22 to a size 6 and I can wear really short hair again. 5 minute hair? Oh, yeah, I'll take that! I wear stylish clothes and can buy them in any store but Layne Bryant! I can keep up pretty well with those grandsons of mine and I'm more interested in intimacy with my husband again. Do I have sagging skin? Yes, loads of it. Will I get any plastic surgery in the future? Only time will tell. Am I sorry I did this? Absolutely not. Would I recommend the surgery to someone else? Definately so!

This is my story, this is my life. Jesus loves me and guided me to the people who helped me.

Bets

Well, it's been seven and a half weeks now and I'm pretty much back to normal.  I've been released by my podiatrist (for those of you who've read all my posts, you know about the broken foot deal) and I'm glad of that.  I plan on stopping by to see him soon and he won't believe the difference. 

I've gone down three sizes already and Dr. Lindsay projected that by October I should be at "goal".  I'm one of the ones who's taste for food hasn't changed.  I do not like coffee, but I hear so many develop a taste for it after.  I do drink a heck of a lot of 1% milk, though.  

 I've learned how to shush people who think they need to tell me how to eat...there are so many people who put their "eyes on my paper".  Ya know?  Now I just say, "Don't you worry about what I eat, worry about your own plate," and they shut their pie holes.  My girls are so proud of me.   My husband is very supportive, too. 

I went onto a great website that has a body-shaper for only $15!!!  Those help the clothes fit so much better, too.  Their sizes go up to 5X, so if you ask, I'll tell you the name of the site. 

Cheers!  Look for new photos soon.

Oh2Bskinny

Hello to you that are reading my blog! 

I'm two and a half weeks out from surgery and I'm mending slowly, but surely.  I visited a friend (whom I met on this website) who had her surgery two weeks to the day after I did and performed by the same surgeon, Dana Lindsay, MD.  We talked like we were never strangers.  Although we both admit the pain is tremendous, it is worth the pain in order to get better from obesity. 

I decided to go back to work slowly.  My employer is very supportive of my choice to take charge over my disease the way I did.  I worked four hours a day this week and I'll work six hours each day next week and then go full time the week after that.  I am surprised at how tired I feel right now.  I nap often.  Next week, however, I'll join the ladies fitness club that rhymes with the word "serves".  There seems to be a lot of them in the Indianapolis area.  As a matter of fact, there are two right on my way home from work.  I'm sure the fat will melt off of me when I begin exercising regularly. 

It's interesting trying to get all my required water, juice and protein into my body between waking up and going to bed!  Here's my day:

4:00 am - take my thyroid & high blood pressure meds. (Anyone who takes a thyroid suplement knows one has to take it on an empty stomach and then wait at least one hour before eating).
6:00 am - Eat an egg or cheese, about 6 grams protein, or eat a half a cup of yogurt, about 12 grams of protein.
6:45 am to 9:30 am - drink, drink, drink, drink, drink, drink, drink.
10:15 am - Eat a snack of cheese, yogurt or 1/2 of a protein bar.  Chew, chew, chew, chew!
11:00 am to 1:00 pm - drink, drink, drink, drink, drink, drink, drink.
1:30 pm - Eat a portion of fish or chicken, about 2 or 3 ounces.  Chew, chew, chew, chew!
2:15 pm to 4:00 pm - drink, drink, drink, drink, drink, drink, drink.
4:30 pm - Eat a snack of cheese, yogurt or the other half of that protein bar.  Chew, chew, chew, chew!
5:15 pm to 6:30 pm: drink, drink, drink, drink, drink, drink, drink.
7:30 pm - Eat a supper of 2 to 3 ounces of meat or fish and some vegetable, usually green beans. Chew, chew, chew, chew!
8:15 till bedtime: drink, drink, drink, drink, drink, drink, drink!
Bedtime: chew a multivitiamin, take my blood pressure meds. Good night, sleep tight and don't let the bedbugs bite!

Also, (this may seem gross to some of you, but needs to be told) I've had trouble with constipation.  All that cheese, for crying out loud!!!  So now I've added a stool softener to my medications.  Anyone else have that problem?  Does it ease over time????

I'm surprised at how many people are supportive of my decision when they found out after I had the surgery.  Most peope who I told before were against it.  That seems weird to me. 

Love to all!
Oh2Bskinny


 

I've cleaned the house, emptied the fridge, washed all the clothes, ordered fuel oil, stopped the mail, sent the dog to my daughter's, paid all my bills, taken my before photos, and said my "see ya laters" to my friends at work...but am I ready???  Who can say at this point that she is ready for bariatric surgery or not?  The house is ready, the job is ready, but am I ready?  I've come to realize there is really no way to prepare for this journey...except...well...become morbidly obese.  That's always the first step for all of us.

Tomorrow is the day.  My day to end this forty year journey into morbid obesity and to do a 180 and out of that world and lifestyle and into a world I know nothing about...yet.  I will learn control.  I will eat small portions.  I will attend support groups.  I will romp with the grandkids.  I will be kind to my heart.  I will have this surgery.  I will get through it and I will praise God for the technology that makes it possible!

So here's to everyone who has had, wants to have and will have weight loss surgery.  Whatever the reason, whatever the cost, whatever the whatever.  Be happy, be healthy, be at peace with yourself.

L8R!

It's been a long four months since my last post, folks.  What a strange set of circumstances set in after September 28, 2008! 

I was excited to have met with my nutritionist on September 29.  Although, I had received another e-mail-lecture from both my mother and my sister that morning at work.  As I drove home, I was thinking about their stinging words about my beliefs and how wrong I am to not think their way, I began to cry and took my eyes off the road for just a few seconds and BAM! I ran into the rear end of another truck in front of me. My whole paradigm changed in that instant!  My right foot was broken!  "Oh, no!"  I was going to schedule my bariatric surgery for the week before Thanksgiving and now they're telling me I can't walk until New Years!  Oh, no, oh, no, no, no!!!

So.  There I was with this broken foot, off work for two weeks - suddenly.  Good thing I work for the best company to work for in Indy!  They were so gracious and kind to me during my absence and convalescence.  Now, I've got to get busy and do everything my foot doctor tells me to, so I recruited him into my army of friends helping me toward my RNY goals.  What a Doc! 

I finally got the titanium screws out of my foot and am walking again and have seen Dr. Lindsay and we are a go for February 4, 2009.  What a long, strange trip it's been, but, as The Grateful Dead say, I'll "keep on truckin'!"

I get my labs done on the 28th and have put in for the vacation time at work and lots of people are praying for me every day.  Thanks to Amanda, Audra, Rick, Mike, Bry, Dean-O, Zachy and Craiggy, Patty (and all of her church group) Dinah, Scott, Amber, Sandy, and Lisa-Loo.  Couldn't do it without you all.  And of course, there is my little Lucia Contreras Martguerita Chihuahua always on my lap to comfort me. 

Check you L8R!
Oh2Bskinny

I have a meeting tomorrow with the nutritionist and with the bariatric coordinator at Johnson Memorial.  I am so excited!  L8R!  Oh2Bskinny.