susie64

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Well here is is one year since I had my surgery.  I haven't updated by profile in a while but I am still on here everyday.  Progress is so slow at this point - just a few pounds a month.  If I up my exercise and journal my food, then i can usually get the scale to move.
I am down about 90 pounds since surgery and over 120 pounds since my highest weight.  I know I hear people say this but it truly is the best thing I have ever done.  I wish all obese people could do this - even those that are too scared to consider it.  I used to be one of those people.  I first started thinking about it back in 2002 and thought to myself that I could never do that - well 6 years later I finally decided it was for me!

I now am pretty much obsessed about having plastic surgery.  I am happy with the weight loss but not at all happy with how I look. I kind of have the attitude that I am only halfway done with my journey.  I don't think I look any better than I did pre-op - I still feel super fat and it because of all of the hanging skin.  I have a very large panni and my thighs look awful.  I never really looked at my thighs until I started taking pictures of myself to send to the plastic surgeron.  My panni is so big that I don't really see my thighs.  And when I am sitting down, I can't tell how wrinkly they are.  I have big lumps of fat and then lots of wrinkles.  I am not even going to go into detail about my panni.  it's gross. I was embarrassed to send my pics to the plastic surgeon - thinking that he was going to tell me to lose more weight and then contact him again.  but i did tell him I want to lose 10 more pounds before I have plastics.  I have a PS consult with a local plastic surgeon next monday.  I am curious what he thinks. 

The surgeon that I sent my pictures to is in Mexico.  Isn't it crazy that I am considering that?  but I have seen his work and talked to others that have had surgery done by him.  He does great work and on top of that he is affordable!  So I figure I get the best of both worlds.  We'll see what I decide but so far he is my top choice. 

Well I'll try and post more often!

Wow, it wasn't until this weekend that I realized it has been 8 months since my surgery.  Doesn't time fly when you are having fun!  I was able to go to the Chicago OH event with a couple of my friends.  What a great time.  I am so glad that I got to go.

The past few months have been a struggle for me.  i was doing great then I went to my 6 month visit to my Dr and Nut and then I have lost nothing!  I was 169 for like 2 seconds and today I am 170.2.  it is really becoming a struggle.  Maybe I relied too much on the surgery itself??  So for the past week or so I have really been watching everything I eat....still nothing.  I started using the daily plate again today.  I am now eating 1000 calories a day.  My nut wants me to stay around 800 or even less.  I can eat so much more than I did before.  So I am going to get myself back on track and I really do think I need the daily plate to hold myself accountable.

I'll try and post again next week and let you know if this is just a big stall or if I just needed to get back on track.  Have a great week!

I am now 6 months out and I really never thought I would say this, but i feel so much better.  I  can do things that I never thought I could.  i wouldn't even try to do yard work - just planting a flat of impatiens really wore me out.  Sometimes I wouldn't even finish planting a flat before I would have to rest.  I am now mowing the yard for the first time in over 15 years and I actually WANT to do it.    We landscaped our yard last week and I went for 3 days straight and never got tired.  We even cut out a ton of sod by hand - no sod cutting machines for us! I was sore but I felt good! This time last year I wouldn't have even thought about doing all of that digging and work by myself.  i guess that is why my yard has looked the way it has for the last 20 years.  I had previously posted that I am getting injections in my knee - they are synvisc injections.  These are the most amazing things ever.   i told the Dr they are the shit!  Previously I could barely make a trip to wal mart without hobbling by the time i got out of the store.  As a matter of fact, I did see a lady coming out of wal mart the other day and she was just a limping on her way out - she was about the size i was pre-op.  I said out loud to myself "i feel your pain".  I find myself looking at people and thinking that they would probably feel so much better if they had WLS.  I know people always say this, but this is truly the best thing i ever did for myself - having WLS - and #2 - having those Synvisc injections.  Why didn't I do this a long time ago?  I guess it took this long for me to realize that I couldn't do it all on my own.  I know that I needed the extra help.  I go to the Dr next week for my 6 month checkup.  I am curious about my iron levels.  I will post again after my visit.

I got on the scale this morning and it told me I was 176.4 pounds.  I didn't believe it...I got on it again and it told me the same thing.  So I went back an hour later and I weighed 178.0 pounds - I actually believe that.  I went to update my ticker and then I realized i am now down 100 pounds since my highest weight of 278.0.  Wow...who would have thought I could do that??   This is so unbelievalbe and it feels so good.  I am only 33 pounds away from my goal weight of 145.  I think I can actually get there.  Next week will be my 6 month surgiversary.  I am down 78 pounds since my pre op diet.  And today I am going to go out and buy myself a pair of 16 jeans!

I did find out last week that I am going to have to have both of my knees replaced but we will put that off as long as we can.  Just goes to show all the damage I did to myself over the years with all of that weight on me.   I started getting these injections into my knee which should give me some cushion and hopefully give me some relief.  the Dr seemed to feel that I would get additional relief by losing more weight.  So it is even more important to get to my personal goal of 145 or even less if I can.  Knowing I am 6 mo out and only have 33 pounds to go, I feel I can do it. 

I can definitely eat more than a 1/2 cup and probably 1 cup at a time.  My weight loss is slow on most weeks but then I always have a good loss on the week of my period.  Weird.

I have to admit that I have tried some sugars and haven't had any trouble with them.
Don't know why I felt the need to do that, but I did.  I did so good for the longest time and I am pretty disappointed with myself.

Wow, it has been about 3 weeks since I posted.  i am still here on OH every day, checking out all of your profiles to see how you are doing!  I am so proud of all of my friends.  i was looking at a few of them today and I didn't even recognize some people.  I need to add some pictures of myself but i must admit that I don't have a camera of my own - I have to use my daughters.  I guess I should ask for a camera for christmas now that I really don't care about having my picture taken.  They can take as many pictures of me as they wish!

So I am now down 61.4 pounds since the day of my surgery.  I am now 184.6 pounds unless my scale was just being nice to me this morning.   Just 24 pounds to 160#'s!!   It seems like i am a slower loser but I am so happy with how I look and feel. My 18's are getting much looser and I can fit into some 16's. One pair of 18's is really baggy and I'm getting comments that they are too big.  I am having so much fun buying new clothes although I am buying cheap ones.  I guess I need to go to some garage sales or something but I am not a garage sale type of person so I have been going to Walmart to get my pants (i have 3 pair that fit me).  And I have been to the clearance rack at Kohl's for my shirts.  I did splurge once and bought a shirt for $21.00 but it will fit me for quite a while..

It is becoming even more apparent that i am going to need plastics....Clearly on my stomach and dang my arms sure are flapping when I wave goodbye to my Grandson.  I thought my arms would be OK but it looks like they aren't. I'm going to have to keep my arms down when I wave from here on out.  My sister works for my ob/gyn and we are going to work on documenting any skin issues that she is certain I am going to have on my belly. 

Well congrats to everyone for doing so well.  I am so proud of you.

For all of you midwest people, sign up for the OH event in Chicago.  I am definitely going there!!  And I hope to meet a lot of you in person.

Hard to believe I am 4 months out.  I am down 55 pounds since the day of my surgery or 65 since my pre op diet - however you want to count it.  I am fitting into more 18's and a couple of  the 18's are getting pretty loose.  I need to go buy some new pants.   I only have 30 more pounds to get to 160.  Wow, I just now realized how close I am getting already!

I went to my support group meeting.  I love going and seeing my friends.  It is just not enough time to visit with them though.  Last night the plastic surgeon Dr Panos came.  I am so glad that I went.  He is a member of the American Society of Bariatric Plastic Surgeons and he states his interest in bariatric plastic surgery.  I never thought I would qualify for plastics under my insurance but after listening to him, I feel I have a much better chance of qualifying for my stomach - he works a lot with my insurance company Health Alliance!  I already have a saggy belly but I really don't have any skin issues at this point.  I have to have some sort of skin issues or lymphadema.  He said the key is to have my Dr document any issues I may have.  We'll just have to wait and see how things go within the next year or so.

We did find out that Obesity help is having an event in Chicago this June.  i can't wait to go! I hope that all of my support group friends can make it.  It will be so much fun.

Well I made a mistake of taking a good look at myself in the mirror and I could really tell that I am going to need plastics done.  Hope that that is something I can afford in the future.  My belly is really starting to sag and it is not a pretty sight.  I always had a saggy belly anyway but there is no bringing this back.  I can only hope that it is something that insurance will pay for.  Wouldn't that be nice!!!  

On a brighter note, I am fitting into more and more 18's.  I am skipping the size 20's and the 22's are definitely looking pretty bad.  i bought a pair of jeans last night and they are tight but I can get them on.   

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone!!  i am on my way to go see my Grandson in Chicago.

Seems like forever since I added an update, but it has only been a week.  I have started doing the eliptical. My best friend has a brand new machine.  I'm only doing it for 20 minutes at a time but that is more than enough for me.  My legs are killing me.  I haven't gone to curves because I am sweating more using the elliptical than going to curves.  But I still need to keep going to curves and I plan on doing that tonight.  I have lost about 3 pounds in the last week.  I really do need to stay off of the scale.  Even when it gives me a good number, I don't believe it.  I joined a challenge to stay away from the scale but I couldn't do it.  The most I made it was 3 days.  I have been better - only weighing every other day.  The weight seems to come off better if I would just wait to weigh myself.  Why do I think that I need to lose every single day.  I am currently still trying to wear my size 22 pants.  They are about falling off of me.  I do not have any size 20's but I do have several size 18's.  Of course only one of those fit me.  The others - well I still need to keep losing before I can fit into them.  Maybe another 5-10 pounds.  In the meantime I am going to keep wearing my old baggy pants. 

My Valentines goal was to make it to 190 by 2/14/09.  I am close - I am 194.8 - just don't think I can make my goal, but it will be close!!  My easter goal is to be 175??  That gives me 8 weeks to lose about 20 pounds.  I think I can make it.  Dang, if I make it to 175, then I will be only 15 pounds away from my first big goal of 160.  Back before my surgery days, I always wanted to be 160.  I think that is a nice healthy weight for me - much better than 250!  But my ultimate goal is 145 (my Dr goal is 121 - I would be too skinny at 121).  I have less than 50 pounds to go to make that goal and I am only 4 months out right now.  I cannot even imagine being 145 pounds.  Haven't weighed that much since I was a teenager.

On another note, if you read this, please pray for my friend Carla.  She had surgery on December 18th.  She has had one complication after the other and still is packing her incisions which just refuse to heal.  She was in the hospital all last week with even more complications with her kidneys.  She kept complaining that everything tasted like cat piss.  Turns out  that yes, everything tasted like piss - it just wasn't cat piss.  Her kidneys were failing and the Dr's were discussing putting her on dialysis.  I spoke with her yesterday and she is out of the hospital but having a hard time with eating and drinking.  She said at one point she was only getting in 5 gr of protein a day.  I am ordering her some Chike Protein samples - Gawd I love that stuff.  maybe she will like it and it has a huge amount of protein in it.  I am ordering some of the Orange Dream today.  Taste like an Orange Dream bar.   I feel so bad for Carla and I hope that things turn around for her soon.  She has lost over 50 pounds in the last 2 months.   She truly looks like she is deflating!

I had my 3 month post op visit today.   I was so nervous when I stepped on the scale.  Every scale is different and mine said 199.6 this morning.  The Dr's scale said I was 199.4.  That means I lost exactly 20 pounds since December 1st.  I do wish it were more, but when was the last time I lost 20 pounds in 2 months.  That is still 10 pounds per month - even if I did only lose 6 pounds in January.  I still need to get my labs done and hopefully I can get them done next week. I don't see the Dr for 3 more months.  My goal by then is to be down to 175.  might be a little aggressive for the pace I've been going. The nurse said I have lost 53.6 pounds since my pre-op appt on September 30th.  I can also increase my food to 1/2 cup.  I'm almost afraid to do that.  Maybe having more calories might actually allow me to lose a little faster.  Keeping my fingers crossed!!

I have finally made it to Onederland!!  Although my scale has given me hints of onederland in the past when for some reason it gave me the wrong weight, I got on the scale this morning and yes, it told me I was 199.6!!  I think this is an accurate weight and I'm not going back.  For a while I thought I was never going to make it there.  I love it.

I am so looking forward to spring.  I keep going to Curves, but I want to walk and ride my bike.  I still think I am going to get an injection into my knee.  I think it is called synvisc or something like that.  It is kind of a gel and it will give me some cushion so I am not bone on bone.  My foot still gives me some periodic problems but if i ride my bike, then I won't have any foot problems from it.  Spring is technically only 2 months away.  By March we should at least have a few nice days here and there.

I keep getting rid of some of my old clothes.  I'm giving them to one of my support group friends.  Between her and her sister, I hope they can use some of them.  She has lost 70 pounds so I don't think she will be able to use them for long.   I keep buying new clothes but most of them are either a 1x or an extra large.  I even found some clothes on clearance that were a medium.  I just don't know if I will make it that far, but my daughters could use them if I don't. 

I am now 78 pounds lighter than I was a little over a year ago.  Wow.  I could not have done it without the RNY.