Tia F.

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HW: 289

SW: 269 4/18/11

LW: 198 

CW: 245

So I am nearly 8 years out from my lapband surgery. Life has been chaotic and I am so disappointed that since falling in love, relocating to a different state, death of my father, a few job changes, and some financial hardships...I have gotten lazy with my eating and exercise and gained back 47 pounds over the last 5 years . BUT today I have re-committed myself to myself. I went to see my bariatric surgeon this morning and despite an overfill, subsequent excruciating upper back pain, and a re-visit to take out 0.5 ccs of saline....I feel that I am back on track.

I met with the nutritionist, updated MyFitnessPal and am ready to start over - 70 to 80ish pounds to go to my goal weight. It will be long and hard but I lost 91 pounds before....I can lose 88% of that again! Here goes SOMETHING!

Well, I haven't posted in a few weeks as life (work, school, and child rearing) has kept me VERY busy. I had my first fill last month and initially I couldn't really tell the difference. I don't have restriction really, but I can definitely tell the difference if I don't chew something well or eat too fast. It's a reminder to take things slow. I did have my first "stuck" episode and I definitely don't want to go there again! It was awful until I could get the bite to come back up.

Anyway, I was ecstatic when I was grocery shopping the other day and I wandered over to the clothing section in Wal-mart and grabbed a cheap casual dress off the rack...I'm not spending real money on clothes until I can get to a stablized weight. All my clothes at home are a size 22 and a few 20s....well the dress at Walmart was a 16/18 and I got home and it fit! Nicely! Not like a big girl trying to squeeze into a size too small. So I'm going to pick up 2 or 3 more to get myself through the summer...not sure what I'm going to do for the fall as I gave away my smaller clothes before I knew I was going to have the surgery (except for one pair of shorts from high school that I'm using as a goal to fit back into someday).

That is all for now...I have my next fill next week and we shall see how it goes.

Well, I survived the liquid and pureed diet. I am on solids as of today and certainly enjoyed my multi-grain cheerios for breakfast this morning! It's nice to have options but I am a little frustrated because of the so-called "bandster hell" I have my appetite back and pretty much no restriction. On occasion I do feel satisfied just depending on what I eat but it definitely isn't like when I first came out of surgery swollen. I'm just hanging in there until my first fill on June 2nd. Hopefully I will make it. I am down 40 pounds since I first met with the surgeon back in November. I am down 22 pounds since I started the liquid diet 6 weeks ago and nearly 1/3 of the way to my goal weight. I am just trying to focus on that to stay motivated...getting to the gym when I can, tracking my food and exercise on myfitnesspal.com and taking things one day at a time!

So I survived my 1st full day on pureed foods. I am not as full though as with the shakes...I got all of my protein in for the day but my calorie count is just over 800...I am thinking of adding in some mashed tuna...it's pretty filling and has virtually no calories. I made some chilli in the crockpot yesterday and had that in the food processor with cheese and light sour cream. I was sooooooooo happy to get yogurt this morning and scrambled eggs with cheese and salsa. Yummy. The simple existence of variety! Life is good but certainly looking forward to my first fill in about 4 weeks.

Today I had my follow up appointment. Everything checked out perfectly and I am down 15 pounds from my weight at the pre-surgery visit 3 weeks ago. I have lost 33 lbs total since I began this process in November. I was excited to learn that when I start the pureed phase, I will also be allowed tuna and canned chicken, eggs, and the best news was that VitaFusion Gummy vitamins are now approved for bariatric patients so I don't have to chew those disgusting Flinstone chewables anymore! It's the little things...lol.

Well, I have to get back to normal tomorrow. It will be a week since my surgery and besides the scars, the only thing reminding me of my surgery is the fact that it hurts my abdomen to laugh...I did quite a bit of that with the family today on Easter. Easter dinner was tough, since I'm still on liquids I had to refrain from virtually everything.First I cooked a meal for my dad and kids, then went to my mom's where I was surrounded by family feeding their faces and giving me this look or asking "when can you eat real food."  Only able to have shakes and cream soups...one more week of this and I move on to purees. The thing is I'm not hungry but I really wants something yummy to chew and swallow. LOL....Sugar free wild cherry lifesavers are a God-send and the sugar free bannana/fudge royal Jello pudding cups as well... Guess it's time for bed to get a good night's rest for the big day back tomorrow!

Well, I did it! Had my surgery yesterday and apparently had a hernia repaired simultaneously. I am not in really any pain from the surgery itself but this gas pain is ridiculous in my lower belly and right shoulder.Ugh...I should be doing homework but instead I am dozing off trying to type this blog. LOL....Just wanted to have a record of this day!

Well, I managed to survive the post op liquid diet and I should be sleeping at the moment since I'm supposed to be at the hospital in 4 hours but I had so much to do around the house to make sure I wasn't doing any restricted activities. I feel great that I was able to get so much done and now I can relax and heal. I'll have plenty of time to sleep while my new tool is being installed!

I can't believe this is actually happening in a few hours. Well, I guess I should go to bed now.

I am on day 4 of my pre-op diet and I am doing better than expected. I had to pass on popcorn at work the other day and tomorrow they are having a potluck. I really wanted some cheese garlic bread. Sucks that I still have to cook for the rest of the family and I can't partake but I'm holding up pretty well. While I would love a slice of pizza or a juicy burger, I'm actually not hungry. Real hunger vs. head hunger.

I had a full day of doctor's visits yesterday...Nutrition consult and pre-surgery class, physical and consent, ekg and anesthesia consult. All is well and I'm still on schedule for my surgery 4/18/11. Man, Easter is gonna be hard this year! All in all, I'm managing so we'll see how it goes. So far I'm down 5 pounds since my liquid diet (I gained 1 the weekend before as I had many "last suppers.")

Well, today is Saturday which means tomorrow is my last day of solid foods before I have to start my pre-surgery 2 week liquid diet. I am trying to look at the bright side because I do get 5 shakes a day and unlimited clear broth, SF jello and popsicles....I am sure I will be sick of all that after this month is over! 

I have lost 20 pounds since the last time I saw my surgeon on November 30th. I can't believe I was able to lose throughout the holidays...now I want to have just a taste of a few things before my life changes forever. Is that bad? I have come to terms with the fact that to be the healthy person I plan to become, I must change my life forever. Soooo I am admittedly having my "last supper" and then shutting the door on all things unhealthy...

I have an appointment on Tuesday for my pre-surgery class, consent forms/anesthesiologist consult, and pre-surgery testing EKG etc. I am one of the fortunate ones who's insurance did not make me jump through hoops. I had no pre-surgery diet requirement, no co-morbidities, only a high BMI, psych consult, and nutritionist consult. My surgeon wanted me to lose 15 lbs, I lost 20.

I am soooooooooo ready for this. I find myself planning the future as my new, thinner self...sometimes I get so excited I can hardly contain myself. We'll see how this story ends...