Jennie M.

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Wow - has it really been 3 months already??  Amazing! The last 2 weeks have been challenging with lots of bumps on life's highway with my dad being sick & hospitalized (and still lots of questions about severity and such), learning a woman & her son that worked with Andrew was on the Air France plane crash between Brazil & Paris and sadly 2 other deaths (parents of friends)... it's been stressful to say the least. And I've just been going through the motions and not well - just "getting by" and I am feeling the effects.

I haven't been journalling my food and so I started again yesterday. If I think back to earlier this week, I was probably only getting 35-45g of protein - just over half of my daily goal and eating more carbs than I probably should instead of having them as treats. Yesterday, I hit 65g of protein and got in 45-60oz of water as well so much better. So now I hope the scale starts to wake up again. I have been between 271-269 since my last post on May 28th and that bums me out but really, I have not really had a stall of yet so it was time.

So here's some 3 month stats:

50 lbs from pre-op (and 70 lbs since mid-Jan at my peak weight) which averages out to 3.9lbs / wk. That is exciting and yet I wish it was slightly higher (more like 4.5).

I have gone from a snug 28/loose 30/4-5x pant to a size 26/3x pant. This would be smaller if it wasn't for my panni/gut area. My thighs/legs are getting much slimmer and would fit in a 22/24 pant but they won't do up although I did zip up a pair of 24 shorts yesterday for the first time (but they are awfully snug - to snug for public viewing). However, for the first time since I got pregnant with Charlie in the summer of 2002, I would say that 95% of my pants have a fly vs. wearing yoga pants. Last summer, nothing had a fly and it was all drawstring/elastic waists. So that is a big yippee!!

Shirts - I bought a blouse to wear at Christmas 2008 that was fitted and it was a size 28 and th bottom 2 buttons barely did up. Today, I am in size snug 24/looser 22s, size 2X and some 1Xs (I have 2 shirts that fit nicely in 1x!!). My top has certainly shrunk more than my bottom which frustrates me some times but overall, it's all good since we're going in the right direction.

I started out in a 44/42 G/H bra depending on the brand/style and it was not necessarily snug but lets say my cup ranneth over. I am now in a 40G and already, I am on the middle hooks at the back (and could wear the snuggest but it's not all the comfy) and my cups no longer runneth over (like they did when I bought this bra 5 wks ago and could barely do up the first row of hooks). My favourite sports bra was a size 7 and I'm now in a size (faint) 4.  And I bought a new bathing suit last week - a 2X top and a 3X bottom. And I started in a 3X top and the sales gal said I should get the smaller size. Woo! (Not thrilled with my thighs - getting quite fleshy but I'm trying not to worry about it until I'm done losing. All the folks who will see me in a suit know that I've had surgery so hopefully it won't be a big deal other than my discomfort.)

My wedding ring was snug to uncomfortable on days that I had swelling. It now barely stays on (it was on the loose side when we got married in 98). I couldn't wear my engagement ring until my surgery (had been close to a year since I could wear it daily without fear of it being too tight due to occasional edema in my fingers). It hasn't left my hand since I got home from MI and even it's now loose and rolling around my finger. I can probably still wear it for another 25-30 lbs before I'll have to take it off again so I don't lose it! EEK!

A huge WOW!  I weigh less than Bill for the first time since we met. Not by much and depending on the day but it happened!  But I'm very proud to say that he has also lost 25-30 lbs since my surgery!! 

Exercise - is coming along but is not yet a daily thing.  But I can do so much more. As previously posted, I started the C25K program - finally have new runnners (I got a MAJOR blister that sidelined me after the first 2 runs) and a new sportsbra (see above!) so tomorrow I start again. I went down a big & steep hill out behind the Hugli blueberry farm with the family last weekend and was able to climb back up without stopping and no difficulty breathing. Honestly? I'm not sure I would have even gone down there last summer or if I had, I would have had to stop 2-3x coming back up and that makes me sad.  I have been on my bike a few times - was still a little uncomfortable in the tush area and my panni/tummy gets in the way. Grrr... And just being in the trailer at the lake is easier. I fit in the washroom this year (I did last year but it was soooo cramped, it was horribly embarassing and uncomfie). And I even can use a public washroom and not need the handicapped stall. Yep - that sounds odd but true.

Driving my car - I had to move the seat forward and I still have 2" between the wheel and my gut where over the winter, even with the seat all the way back, I was just touching with my tummy. Ouch.  What else??  I can get Andrew's wheelchair in and out of the van much more easily now - it's just an awkward shape and I struggle with it about as much as Bill does so it's not me...  And I can carry Andrew in from the car if I have to. Woo!

And last but not least, I PLAYED BASEBALL last weekend at the lake with another parent and a group of kids aged 6-12. And I hit the ball, RAN the bases, caught & pitched and I had a blast!

So I'm off to get moving!! I would love to be almost out of the 260's by the end of this month - that's 3lbs a week and I know I'm capable!! 

I started the Couch to 5K programme tonight!!  Here's what I just posted on the Ontario boards as there are a few of us who decided to start this week:

OK gals - I did W1D1 tonight!!

I didn't read up too much on what was going to happen so I popped on my ipod and started (I'm using the podcast from Ullreys) and he said "5 min warmup/walk" and I thought - ok - not bad... and then "8 circuits of 1 min running and 90 sec walk/catch your breath" and I looked at DH and said "I can't do that!" and then a 5 min walk cool down.  So I thought - well - you shoved your boobs into this darned sports bra and got on the sneakers - just try it. If you can't do all 8 circuits, try to run every 2nd one.

So on goes the treadmill and I'm walking along at about a 2.7 pace. And suddenly over the nice funky music, here come the voice "ok - it's time to turn up the pace and run for 60 seconds - ready? - go!". I got panicky - what speed to put the treadmill on? I've never had the thing above 3.1.... so I hit the 4 button while standing on the treads and jump on Biggest Loser style. It's challenging but I'm hardly at a full spring but I'm loping along for 60 sec and it wasn't too bad actually. Stood on the rails to slow it down as I figure this all out.

Dropped the speec back to 2.8-2.9 and caught my breath thinking - "well - that wasn't horrendous". So here comes the voice of doom again and I decide to jog again - hit the 4 button and off I go (very happy that my treadmill hasn't collapsed under me and I realize my thoughts as I'm loping along that at 270, I'm not HUGE on a treadmill like I was 3 mths ago at 330...) and the 60 is up?! OK... back to 2.7-2.8.

Grab a quick sip of water and keep on slugging... here comes the voice again so I hit the 4 button but know I can't keep that pace up so I drop it to 3.8-3.9 and that's quite bearable. Moving along now... time for a quick break and already I'm finding it easier to catch my breath in between... circuit #4 is starting so up the speed without stepping off this time and I'm loping! (dropped my ipod - now I understand the silly armband thing joggers wear) and tuck it into my enormous sports bra (that is actually riding up because it's now too big in the cup?!)

Moving right along to circuit 5 & 6 without too much difficulty although the last 15 seconds I'm thinking "I think I can, I think I can..." and start wondering if I shouldn't just take it easy and walk the last two but no way - I've already gone 20 min into this thing. Circuit 7 is here and I'm loping/jogging now and 3.9 isn't too tough to keep up with - guess I'm finding my stride. Ah... walking again and thinking "no way - walk circuit 8" but here is the voice and he says "I know you can do it!" and so I do - I thought I'm this far into it - just finish strong!!  My heart rate is in the 135-140's so I'm working hard but not overexerting myself so I walk through the cool down and all of a sudden, it's done. And I stare at my ipod and think "it's done? I did it??" and then the "OMG - I DID IT!!"

Now - it's been 90 min since I finished and coming down the stairs to the pc felt a tad wobbly - I should be a mess tomorrow but now I understand the runner's high that they talk about. Maybe it's just the fact that I finished something I never thought I could do?  And can I say that I'm almost excited to do this again on Saturday/Sunday? Pretty sure it will be Sunday as I have company here this weekend...

Woo!!  And in the 29 min, I went 1.4 miles. Have no clue yet how many km that is but woo hoo!!

Wow - it`s been quite a week which you may have noted if you read my last post. The tummy bug that caused me to have the runs Saturday late afternoon until about suppertime on Monday really messed with me both physically and mentally. I think that as of today, I am feeling finally a little more human.

I hope to start the Couch to 5K program today (C25K) - was going to do it yesterday but was still feeling quite light headed with too much exertion.  Am struggling with my food this week - not eating for 48 hrs has caused my poor old banana sized tummy to regain its restriction. Holy cow.  I tried to eat a chicken leg last night and could only eat just over an ounce. That's down from my 2oz plus a few bits of veg last week. So I'm struggling to get in solid protein again - so I had a protein latte from Starbuck's yesterday which got me 15g of protein and tasted pretty nice to boot considering the cold & dreary weather.

So 11 weeks out, I am thrilled with my results. I am teetering at 270 on the scale and my BMI has dropped from a high of 53.9 (I think) to today's 42.9 - that's huge.  And 20 more lbs gone and I'll no longer be morbidly obese - just simply obese and that excites me. Means I`ve already leapt 2 categories from super morbidly obese (and that's the truly embarassing category IMHO), to morbidly obese to simply obese. Look out "overweight" - here I come!

Guess that's it for now. Am really looking forward to seeing my PCP/bariatric doc on June 2nd - haven't seen him in about 4 wks and I was about 290 (on his scale) at that time so I'm really trying to drop another 4-5 lbs before then if possible so that I know I'll be '275 on his scale. LOL

Well - I've been bouncing around the 275 mark the past 10 days - between 279 and 275 - up & down like a yo yo.  (and I only saw 275 briefly... was mostly 277-279).  That is until I got a stomach virus on Saturday that knocked me on my can - literally. Diarhea for 2 days will definitely cause weight loss. Was so hard not being able to tolerate any food or even liquids!  Saturday was awful - I felt fine until about mid-afternoon when it hit me like a rock. And yesterday, I made myself get out of bed so my kids could go to a birthday party. Felt ok for a bit but no food for 24 hrs doesn't give you a lot of energy. LOL   Did manage to eat a piece of toast last night (my high protein 6g/slice stuff - the "heart healthy" Protera I think?) and some chicken noodle soup.

Am almost afraid to eat this a.m. but need to get some energy in there as I have the kids to keep an eye on this a.m. Ugh.

But on a side note, I finally have less than 100lbs to goal (my goal) and I'm within 1lb of my husband's weight!! Woo!

Was nice visiting you for the past few weeks but I won't be back again.  :)

I am finally back to my pre-pregnancy weight from 2004. LOL Yep - took just under 4 yrs to get there but I finally did it.  Now to try and get below my pre-pregnancy weight from Charlie's pregnancy. Don't believe I was under 270 so this milestone probably won't take long. LOL

end of week 1: -10.4 lbs
week 2: -6 lbs
week 3: -3 lbs
week 4: -4 lbs
week 5: -4 lbs
week 6: 0 lbs
week 7: -4 lbs
week 8: -3.5 lbs.

Total to date: 34.9 lbs for an average of 4.4 lbs/week. {{{faint}}}  And since mid-Jan 2009 at my peak, I'm down 56.5 lbs. That's like losing my 6 year old son who I tried to pick up earlier this week and couldn't. How sick is that?

I'm definitely into size 26/L Plus Size pants (from 28/30's and the 30's had a fly, the 28's I could get by if they didn't), size 24/26/3X tops (from 28+ or 4X), my bra is now a 40H instead of a 42/44 G/H.  I'll do measurements later on today when my husband is home.  Definitely some changes since I last did them.

Some recent NSV:

- My belly doesn't touch the steering wheel in the van (although without a winter coat is hasn't but there's a 2"+ gap there now) and I no longer have to have the seat in the furthest position.  I'm about an inch closer and still don't touch!!

- I easily fit in the theatre seats at the AMC for a movie last night with a friend. WOO!

- My queen size bed is getting roomier, not smaller and I'm no longer desperately thinking we need a King sized bed! (It helps that DH is also down 25 lbs!!)

- I can fit in a booth a McDonalds now without slouching to allow my belly to go under the table.  I still touch the table but I fit without having to contort myself! And I will say that a cheeseburger without the top bun isn't bad - it can still be quite enjoyable to have and share a meal there with the kids.

- I haven't had soda pop including my favorite Coke in 8.5 weeks.  I did have a sip of A&W diet Root Beer on the road after the doctor's appt on Monday but it wasn't all that great - tooooooo sweet.

There are others that I'm sure I'll think of later but those are a great start for this past week that I've noticed.

Also - I didn't post but I saw my parents this past weekend for the first time since my surgery (they were here to help out until I was 1 wk post-op). They've seen pics while they were on the road and such but in person, they got the 360 degree view and my mom & dad both kept saying "wow - turn around" and "I can't believe the change!", etc.  So neat to experience!

Lastly, my mom was showing me some dresses in her closet (she's a 22/20) and said it wouldn't be long until I was back in her closet!  She was ironing my dress for the theatre on Saturday night and said "go pull something on" and I didn't look at the size, etc and just did.  A beautiful dress with some stretch/lycra in it.  It was GORGEOUS on and fit really nicely. Turns out it is a size 20. Nice little cross over in the front/across the bodice and a straight skirt.  I almost didn't give it back!

39% of my excess weight is gone?!

---

Had my (ahem) 2 week checkup at Barix today with Dr. Pop. I am 8 weeks post-op on Thursday and as of this a.m., I am officially down 35 lbs since surgery (all on the same scale for consistency!!).

Dr. Pop was very pleased with my progress - need to add more aerobic exercise. Am also struggling with constipation but the NUT offered some suggestions so I'll be working on that starting today. Bought some chewable iron that is supposedly not as constipating (yah!). She's not concerned about my calcium as I am having a fair bit of milk, yogurt, etc plus my multi vit.

I loved his nurse when she saw my weight and thought I was only 2 wks out. LOL. And from my consult, I'm down 44 lbs so she was gobsmacked and said "44 lbs - 2 weeks!" until I corrected her but then she was still impressed with 35 lbs in 7 wks. *******************
Shopping in Ann Arbor was awesome. Hit Lane Bryant and everything I tried on fit! (Seriously embarassing but when I was there in November, I had to try on 10+ blouses to find one that fit or fit properly and looked nice to wear for the Christmas concert at church - it was majorly demoralizing when you've outgrown the plus sized store) I got 2 new bras - 2 band sizes smaller and the cup is only 1 down but my ribcage is shrinking faster than my boobs which will start to cause me troubles soon - I think too that my skin will still fill a cup but there's nothing in the skin so it looks odd.

And I got a new pair of capris/long shorts - they have the button to make them longer/shorter? Am wishing I got the next size down. I got a 26 that fit "perfectly" in store but have relaxed as I wore them so now they are pushing baggy/big. But I can take them in while I'm not sure the 24's would have fit at all yet - the 26's were pushing the camel toe factor for my taste - stupid belly. Am anxiously waiting for that to get smaller.

We also hit Meijjer and I bought some awesome sugar-free products that we just can't get here - bought some All-Bran fiber water - it's just like Crystal Light but you get 10g of fibre when it's added to a 500ml bottle of water so I'll kill 2 birds with one stone. Pink Lemonade... I'm hoping I can find it in stores here or next time I go to Ogdensburg (er... later this week), I'll be getting some then. Hopefully it will help the constipation.

Fruits & veg... for now, they are really hard to get in. My priority foodwise is to always eat protein first and if there's any room left over, then vegetables, then fruit and then maybe carbs. Seeing as I am just meeting my daily protein goal, I have almost no room for veg or fruit yet. Am hoping to get there in the next few weeks but for now, I'm hoping the All Bran stuff will get me over the hump. I did have salad for the first time on Sunday night at the Olive Garden and it was soooooooooooooo good!! Not that their salad has alot of fibrous lettuce (iceburg) but it sure tasted great! And I had chicken with broccoli for dinner and that was awesome so I will be trying to add more broccoli and cauliflower to my diet. The broc. also helps with my calcium - no need to supplement if I have 2 glasses of milk and some broccoli so that's a plus (the caclium supplements are constipating - now they tell me so I added calcium AND iron the same week )   I watched Biggest Loser last night - not sure if anyone else watches it but I posted this over on the BL thread - I want to x-post it here because it sums up some odd things happening here:

Quote:

And I can totally empathize with a lot of what Mike, Helen and Tara said last night. When I had my surgery in March, I was away from home and it was easy. There were little or no temptations. But once I was home (6 days post-op) and I was allowed to drive again (2 weeks), driving by those drive thru lines and my other food hangouts was brutal. Even 8 weeks out, I still find myself starting to fall into old patterns. We drove to Toronto this weekend to my parents' - first road trip since surgery and we stopped so DH could get a coffee, etc and my brain started to say "grab me a Coke, would you?" and I stopped it but holy crap my head plays games because I have NO desire to drink a soda again (I haven't had fizzy pop in 8.5 weeks which is a record for me since my teens), etc. Anyhow, I thought that part was really good and so very real. And Helen's crying jag in her closet? So true - I look at my before pic now and it makes me sooo sad and I'm only 1/3 of my way to where I want to be. I can't imagine what it will feel like when I get to that 100+ lb mark (45 lbs to go!).

A few goals... I've hit one already which was to lose 50 lbs. Next is 75 and then 100 lbs. My final goal is to be below 200 lbs at a min. but I'd really like to be <175 lbs. To hit the 175, I need to have lost 164 lbs So my initial math above was off... I'm not at 39% yet but 34%... the surgeons use EWL which is the excess weight loss - I started at 339 and I want to get to 175 for 164 lbs to lose. For my surgeon to consider my surgery a success, I need to lose 78 lbs and I'm within 20 lbs of that as of this a.m. (He uses 329 for my starting weight which is my consult weight in November.)

OH!! A few NSV this weekend (er.. non-scale victories):

• I ordered halibut at dinner Saturday and I loved it. (I am not a fish eater - or wasn't a fish eater?)
• I felt totally comfortable in my seat in the theatre on Saturday - I didn't feel like I was encroaching on the man on my right like I know I would have 6 mths ago.
• I know for a fact I would have gained weight while away this weekend instead of watching my food intake and losing.
• OK - a tad TMI - but is much easier and more fun now that both DH & I are smaller and I have much more energy and stamina.

Well - this past week and a bit has been a little more challenging. Been bouncing between 290-287 for the past week & a bit and I'm back down to 288. Have been struggling a little with constipation and had to have another round of Milk of Magnesia last Thursday to get the plumbing working again and have been feeling much better since. Am going to have to get some advice from the NUT when we're at Barix on Monday (the 4th of May).

Have been a little "down" about my WL but from my surgery date, here are my weekly numbers:

end of week 1: -10.4 lbs
week 2: -6 lbs
week 3: -3 lbs
week 4: -4 lbs
week 5: -4 lbs
week 6: 0 lbs

And so far in week 7, I'm down 2. 

Yoga is going great and I'm loving it. I really need to get walking every day or something active. The nicer weather arriving will certainly help - it's just a matter of prioritizing. Need some accountability for the exercise. Hmmm...

So that's it until weigh in on Thursday and then the official weigh-in with Dr. Pop on Monday. Hope the weather's warm so I can wear lighter clothing!!  (lol)

Oh - a few NSV and wows!

- my hubby has commented that my silhouette in bed is smaller and I admit that I notice that the bed is much bigger than it used to be (how embarassing!)
- I've started moving into size 26 pants and some 2x shirts. (from size 28-30 and 3X+ shirts!)
- walking up the stairs is less wheeze-enducing
- still sleeping pretty well without my CPAP and DH reports that I am no longer snoring. Woo!
- rode my bike down the street last weekend for the first time in 2 yrs. Didn't go far but I was able to get on it without fear of demolishing it.
- kept my food journal every day for 6 weeks and fell off the wagon this past weekend but started journalling again today (missed 2 days).
- haven't had (or missed in all honesty) a Coke/pop in general since March 10th.

Wow - 5 weeks.  This week has been crazy busy with lots going on. Not a lot of weight lost (or so I say but if I'd been doing WW, wouldn't I be thrilled to have lost 2 lbs esp. 5 weeks in? 

In retrospect, it was a big week for NSV (non-scale victories).  First of all, it was Easter. Yep - the chocoholics weekend of orgy. I was mildly worried about all that chocolate in the house - now I will admit up front here that I am a chocolate snob. I don't generally like the waxy milk chocolate crap that they use for Easter candies - I prefer dark chocolate.  Doesn't mean of course that in years past that I would buy a bag or two (yep - the big ones) of Easter Egss and sit and eat them (the Cadbury mini-eggs!!).

Friday was our first Easter Egg hunt "en famille" at a friend's house. They have a big acreage south of town and they had set up 4 zones divided by age for the kids. I stuck with Maggie (my 3 yr old) while my DH went with the twins and Charlie followed his group of friends.  All 4 kids had a blast and collected 16-20 eggs each which they traded in for candy, etc. I let them eat pretty much what they wanted at my friend's house - I didn't want it coming home with us!  But in the 2.5 hrs we were there, I didn't sit down (or look for a place to sit) once. {{faint}}  That's huge for me.  6 weeks ago, I would have arrived, been social and looked for a place to perch until the hunt started and the same as soon as it was over.  I have suffered from sciatica since I was pregnant with the twins in 1999 and it's not quite gone but it's really really rarer these days.  AND after Maggie & I finished her hunt, we walked out to find Charlie's group - honestly, I'm not sure I would have done that 6 weeks ago (as I said, I would have been looking to sit and rest).  So we caught up with Charlie's group and I got to help him hunt for eggs too before we headed back to the house (and it was a decent hike of 0.5km each way?).

Sunday morning, I had been asked to participate in the Easter morning celebrations at church. They did Cardboard Testimonies (go to You Tube and search that term - it's a very powerful presentation) and had asked me to participate. Now I'm not one to shy away from being in front of large groups per se but I felt much more confident this time.  I had even gone out and bought a new dress for the occasion (and when I tried it on in the store, I felt pretty!!  Not just - "yep - it fits so I guess it'll do"). AND for the first time in 6 years, I wore panty hose.  And new shoes - no Crocs or flats today... i had cute 1-1.5" heels!!!  I got soooo many compliments on my dress and how wonderful I look.  Am surprised that my head fits in the avatar box up there. LOL

Those were my big NSV's but I had a few realizations too.

1. I am not getting my liquids in and I am really working hard to get them in.

2. AF showed up 28 days to the day (I got it "early" in March 3 days post-op). Haven't had a "regular" 28 day cycle since 2002-2003? They've been getting shorter so this was a nice break from the 24-25 day (or shorter) cycles of late.   And I noticed that my water gain was only 2-3 lbs this month vs the 7-10lbs that I had been seeing recently. She hit the road last night so we'll see if more weight comes off in the next 48 hrs.

3. I was EXHAUSTED this week - which reminded me it's time to get on top of my iron needs. I was borderline anemic at surgery and I definitely am now. Started taking iron on Tuesday and am feeling a little better already - I'm sure it's more AF related but I'm not sure.

4. Also started my calcium supplements - Caltrate chews. Yummy!!  And no pills to swallow.  A plus.

5. Have been really working on getting my multivitamins - getting at least 1x a day - now to get to 2x.

Also need to start exercising more. Tried my Biggest Loser Yoga for WL DVD - um - their idea of intro and mine are 2 different things.  So for now, I'm going to start going to a BMI class once a week and find a yoga class locally once a week.

Going to start a Hatha class TODAY at 12:15 once the kids are gone to school.  And I'll add in a BMI class next week (or tomorrow if it fits my schedule). I know I need to get those added asap to boost my WL and to feel better.

Happy 4 weeks to me!!

---

My first "real" surgiversary?? 4 weeks ago, I was just waking up starving out my mind. My mom had gone downstairs by this time to get breakfast and I hit the shower for my scrub down with the lovely surgical tickler brush. So glad it wasn't my quarter paying for the the hot water!

Do recall feeling very odd not putting product in my hair - so I braided it so I wouldn't have "Alfalfa" hair post op (not sure if anyone else has naturally curly/frizzy hair??). Honestly? Looking back, best thing i did!! Made it so much easier to deal with post-op - one less thing to worry about.

Packed up my things and moved them all next door to my mom's room, packed my hospital bag, my pillow (and too much other stuff I didn't use) and we left for Barix about 10:30. I wasn't scheduled to be there until 11am but I get nervous about punctuality so we left earlier than needed.

The waiting room in the lobby was deserted except one gal - felt badly for her. She was there for noon and had already been there 30+ minutes and she was alone to boot. Janessa came to get me within minutes - had to have 2 last blood tests - a pregnancy test and a "type & screen" in case I needed blood.

Headed back to see my mom and within 5-10 min, I was taken upstairs to pre-op! (OK - things were moving quickly now!). Was given a gown and sent to the washroom to change - everything off! Was measured for a binder (just in case they converted to open surgery), was weighed and then off to my bed. IV in, antibiotics on board, vitals check, met the anesthesiologist, the post-op nurse (was funny - she introduced herself and said she'd be the first one I saw when I woke up, etc - um - if I did, the versed was still on board because I don't remember her!!), etc. Mom came up after having a lovely lunch in the Barix caf. Very light banter - think we were both nervous.

Dr. Pop came in, we chatted briefly and he confirmed I still wanted VSG, etc. I told him most definitely and we talked about how it would be his choice of surgery if he was to have WLS done. Interesting. I think I asked him how many he'd done and he didn't really give me an answer but we both sort of said "it's getting more popular". And I told him that I had a whole gang of folks coming to see him in the next few weeks and he laughed. I signed my consent paperwork, the nurse (I forget his name - Aster??) pushed the versed and that's all I remember until I woke up in my room.

And apart from the first 24 hrs when I had a small gas issue due to my CPAP machine, I really can't complain at all. This has been such "easy" sailing.

And this morning on the scale, I saw 294!! So I am down 25 lbs from my PATS (which was 2 days before my surgery on March 9th) and 32 lbs down from the 6th of March. :faint: And if you go from my highest weight in Jan 2009, I'm down 45 lbs. I had hoped for a total of 50 lbs but hey, beggers can't be choosers.

So now I really need to attack the following:

1. Getting in more water/liquids. I need to get another full 16oz bottle of water in everyday at least.
2. Get better with my vitamins and B12. I am only getting about 50% of them in .
3. Buy calcium citrate and start taking it!
4. Exercise. This snowy/rainy weather has had me not walking like I was when I first got home. Have to remind myself that I have a lovely treadmill to use upstairs. Also am able to start my exercise class again this week at BMI and I can use small weights - up to 10 lbs now.

According to this gizmo (http://www.obesityhelp.com/morbidobe...er+results.php), I should have lost 30 lbs in my first month. So I'm more or less on track. It's for RnY-ers and IMHO, they have smaller tummies, esp. the first month. And 25 lbs? That's almost 6lbs a week. I'll take it!

BTW - AF can show up anytime and just get this over with.