Tina65

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Today is 4 months since I had my surgery.  I am feeling great!  It is kind of weird though.  Sometimes I look at myself and I can see that I've lost weight, and other times, I don't see any change at all.  I think it partly depends on what I am wearing. When I am naked, I don't see any change, and still think I look like I did prior to surgery, and when I have loose clothes on, I don't see as much change.  If everything fits well, I am starting to like how I look.  I know that doesn't make any sense, but that is where I am at.  

I have now lost 45 pounds which is just amazing to me.  I am losing about 10 pounds a month so there are many days that I don't see any change on the scale and then all of a sudden I lose a pound or so, and then I don't loose again until the next time.  At first I didn't like this, but since it has been happening for a few months now, I don't worry any more since I still loose the 10 pounds a month that my doctor wants.  So far I don't have any hanging skin, which I am thankful for.  Not sure if it is because it is coming off slowly, or if it will happen after I loose more.  Oh well, I won't worry about that unless it becomes an issue.  :)

I rarely feel nauseated now which is nice since I was always nauseated in the beginning.  I can pretty much eat anything and don't get sick at this point.  That is nice.  I just have to make wise choices constantly.  I started eating salads about a month ago and I so enjoy them!  I was always a big salad eater I am really missed them.  A salad now though for me is just a few bites since I try and focus on the protein.  It doesn't matter how little it is to me though, I just enjoy eating lettuce.  

About a week ago, I was able to go down another size in jeans.  I haven't worn these jeans in several years.  I still can't believe it is really happening!  Losing weight is such an awesome feeling!  I am so excited about my new life now!  For once, I know that I will lose the weight that I haven't been able to and am looking forward to weighing what I did when I got married. Actually, I am hoping to be smaller than that.  Not sure if that will happen, but I am hoping.  

The only thing at this point is that sometimes I get really tired.  I know my schedule is kind of crazy so I'm sure that doesn't help, but I would like to get some labs done just to make sure everything is okay in that area.  I am pretty good about taking my vitamins and protein, but sometimes I do forget.  I don't mean to, but I am always running somewhere and if I don't plan ahead, those are the times that I forget and then I find that I feel more tired than usual.  It is at those times that I try to remind myself that I need to take care of myself too.  I can't always be doing for others and forget about myself.  This is something that I'm not use to doing.   

I will post my 4 month pictures in the next few days.  I hope everyone else is doing well!  :)

I have finally lost 40 pounds.  I am pretty excited about that!  It is coming off kind of slow, but it is coming off so I'm happy.  I never could have lost 40 pounds before surgery in less than 4 months so once I again, I am so happy with my decision to have surgery!  It honestly has been one of my best choices that I have made in a long time.  I'm sure some would consider it a drastic choice, and in a way, I guess it is, but it is a choice that has worked for me.  Although I  had a lot of trouble with nausea in the beginning, you never really remember that when looking back.  I can honestly say that physically I feel so much better.  I can walk and not get out of breath, and my back doesn't seem to hurt anymore.  Food isn't a priority, and I actually have to make myself eat at times. Protein drinks, for the first 3 months made me sick,  and now I drink 3 a day and prefer that over food a lot of times.  I still feel a little sick after eating at times, but it doesn't last long and it isn't very often.  So I guess what I am trying to say is that things are going good with regard to my surgery.

If anyone is looking for a good tasting protein drink, my drink of choice at this time is Nectar, Fuzzy Naval.  It mixes well with water and actually tastes pretty good.  It has 23 grams of protein per serving and only 90 calories.  It is kind of like drinking a juice in a way.  

I hope everyone is doing well!  :)

I needed to take a PE this year since I am finishing up all of my GE's for school.  I decided to take weight lifting since I love weights and I really need to be consistent with working out.  I have only gone twice, but feel so good, so far.  If I want a good grade, I will have to go at least two times a week for a little over an hour each time.  I am hoping to go at least three times a week since two just doesn't seem like enough.  I am now glad that I left one PE for the end.  I so needed this right now.  It is nice since they allow you to do cardio for 25 minutes and the remainder of the time has to be weights.  It couldn't be any better than that for me since I need to do both.   My son is also in college and decided to take it with me for fun since he already has his PE requirements done, so another benefit for me is spending time walking and lifting weights with my son.  I don't think it could get any better than this.  :)

I have been feeling pretty good lately and not nauseated so I am no longer taking the carafate.  It really seemed to do the trick. I am extremely happy for that!  Since I am working out, and not nauseated I decided to try using protein shakes again.  I really need to up my protein with working out since I would like to see some benefits from exercising and I don't want to be tired all the time.  I made my Nectar Fuzzy Naval this morning and to my delight, I didn't get sick.....yay!!!  So this afternoon I had a second one since I forgot to eat and tonight I am having a third one since I only had dinner today.  Wow, what a relief it is to be able to take in the protein.  I no longer have to worry about getting enough in, now I just need to make them and drink them.  :) 

Happy Friday to everyone!  I hope everyone enjoys their weekend!!  :)

I can sure tell that school has started again!  I am always tired, have no time for me, and am wondering where my next meal will come from.  lol  Speaking of meals, this is probably going to be my hardest thing this semester.  I need to get really organized on my weekends and plan my meals for the week.  I have never been a planner on meals, I just make what sounds good that day.  I tried that last week and needless to say, that didn't work out.  By the time I came home, I was too tired to cook and I don't always have what I need so this weekend I plan to change things.  I will cook and freeze meals.  This way all I have to do is pull it out and microwave it and I'll be back on track again.  I also plan to make my own protein bars to take to school as a snack or lunch.  I'll let you know how they turn out and if they are good, I'll post the recipe.  I hope I am successful!  I really need to be since I don't like to eat out and I really want to keep my protein up.  I can do this......I'm sure I can.  lol  

Happy Wednesday everyone.  I hope you are all enjoying the shorter week like I am!  

I have a new favorite vegetable.  I only eat a couple of pieces since I focus on the meats mostly, but this is so delicious.  I spray a cookie sheet with Pam, cut a yam like french fries, or in circles, and place on the cookie sheet.  Spray a light coat of Pam on the top of the yams, and season with a small amount of Lawry's Seasoning salt and a Mrs. Dash of your choice.  I either use the chile lime, or the chipotle.  I bake at 500 degrees turning over once.  When they are as dark as you want them and soft in the center I take them out.  These are so yummy.  I like them hot or cold.  

Yams are a so good for you and have such a beautiful color when baked!  They are loaded with potassium, and Vitamins B6 and C.  Enjoy!!  :) 

Hi Everyone,

Well today is three months for me since my surgery and the beginning of my new life!!  It really does feel like a new life even though I haven't lost a lot of weight yet.  Today, I am at a 35 pound loss total.  I keep thinking that isn't very much but then my daughter-in-law reminded me that it actually is a lot of weight.  She told me I should pick up 35 pounds of something and see how it feels.  I immediately thought of 35 pounds of meat at the grocery store and I am now thinking that it is a pretty good amount of weight as a start.   I still have a lot left to go, but she put it into the right perspective for me and made me feel a lot better.  

I still struggle to get in enough protein even though I eat protein at every meal.  The past couple of days I have been noticing that my hair is starting to fall out in the shower.  Today was the worse.  it just kept coming out while I was washing it.  It isn't enough to be visible yet, but it has started.  My hair has always been so important to me.  I hope it doesn't get too thin.  

I found some delicious recipes at The World According to Eggface.  One is for ice cream which is absolutely delicious and the other is for cream of wheat.  You need to go to her page and check it out.  I made the pistachio ice cream as well as banana.  I changed the banana one though.  I made it just like the pistachio recipe with the banana cream pudding and not fresh bananas.  You owe it to yourself to make it.  It tastes like you are cheating, but instead, you are actually eating protein.  I had some of my family try it and they absolutely loved it.  

Good luck to everyone that has recently had surgery.  I so wish I would have  done this sooner.  I didn't have the time and I was afraid of what life after WLS would be like.  I now know that my fears were all for nothing.  It has been the greatest thing that I have done.  I look forward to the rest of this journey!!  

I hope everyone has a safe and fun Labor Day Weekend!!  Thank you to all of our military, past and current for all of the sacrifices that they make for our freedom!!  :)

Wow, what a week I had!  My mom, son and I went on a week cruise to the Mexican Riviera.  We had such a good time.  We did a couple of shore excursions, which was awesome.  We saw a lot of things that weren't visible from the boat.  It was so peaceful and relaxing.  The food was absolutely delicious!  I'm not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing.  On my last cruise, the food wasn't very good, so we hardly ate.  This cruise was totally different.  I hated being away from my scale for so long.  When I got home, one of the first things I did was weigh myself.  To my surprise, I didn't gain any weight.  What a relief that was.  I really didn't eat a lot of food, but it was all prepared different than I cook so I was a little nervous.  

Everything is going well and I'm feeling a lot better.  I still feel sick on occasion, but nothing like before.  I guess the Carafate is working.  Yay!!  

I hope everyone is doing great and enjoying their weekend!  :)

It's Friday the 13th.  It's been a great day!  I am leaving in two days to go on a cruise with my mom and son for my mom's birthday.  Her and I absolutely love cruises.  It is so relaxing and beautiful on the ocean.  I am hoping for nice weather and not too much humidity.  I don't think I will get that since I have been checking the weather and there seems to be thunderstorms the whole time we'll be in Mexico.  Oh well, I'm sure it will be beautiful either way.  

Okay, I tried another smoothie today that was really good.  I took the previous recipe that I posted on August 8th and I added a small spoon of instant decaf coffee.  Yummy is all I can say!!  You really have to try this!

Oh, I almost forgot.  I am 30 pounds lighter today.  Wow, I feel so good.  It is coming off really slow, but I'll take it.  lol  Everything is going really well.  I still have nausea sometimes, but it goes away and that is such a small price to pay for all of the other benefits.  I put on a pair of jeans yesterday that fit perfect last time I wore them and this time they were a little looser.  This whole journey is just amazing.  I went shopping a couple of weeks ago and bought a long dress with tiny little straps and elastic on the top.  It is the style that everyone is wearing.  I NEVER would have bought that dress, or even thought of buying it a little over two months ago.  I put it on and everyone said how good I looked and how small it made me look.  What an amazing feeling.  

I am so happy right now.  I hope everyone has an awesome weekend!!  :)

Oh my gosh, I just made the best shake ever!!  It was so easy and so amazingly good!!  
This is all you need:
1 cup skim milk
1 packet carnation instant breakfast sugar free
1 cup of ice cubes
1 6 oz container of vanilla yogurt (I use Carbmaster from Ralphs)
Blend in blender and enjoy!
With my brand of ingredients, it contains 26 grams of protein.  I am still amazed at how delicious it is!  I made a second one for my son, but for him I added frozen chocolate chips.  The chocolate chips blended up nicely and it is very similar to Starbuck's double chocolate chip frozen drink.  He also loves this drink.  
I think this will be something that we make a lot more of at my house.  If you try it, let me know what you think.  :)

I have found after surgery that I really am not into food a whole lot.  I'm sure it is because I don't feel hungry very often and when I do feel hungry, it's not like prior to surgery.  Before, I knew I was hungry, but now I kind of feel it a little bit, but if I'm busy I can easily overlook it and totally forget to eat.  What ever the reason, I am enjoying it.  The only actual meal that I eat is dinner and that isn't everyday.  What seems to be working for me is to have a couple of bites of something maybe four times a day and I'm a happy camper.  Since I'm not eating a lot, I try to make what I do eat count with regard to protein.  So today, I have decided to make a smoothie for breakfast/lunch.  It should be enough for me until dinner.  It is so yummy!!  If this works today, I think I will start making it a daily routine.  The options are endless since there are so many different fruits that you can use.  The important thing is to get a good low carb yogurt.  I use Kroger aka carbmaster which you can purchase at Ralph's or Food for Less.  It has 12 grams of protein and only 80 calories.  I got this recipe from Annessa's page.  If you aren't friends with her, you have to add her.  She is a registered dietician who has lots of recipes and ideas.  Here's her address http://www.obesityhelp.com/member/annessa_of_flourish/
This isn't her only website though.  She also has another one that I really like.  It is: http://www.survivalsecrets.net/
On survival secrets, she has a co-host who happens to be a fireman!  She is so much fun to watch on her video's and truly seems like a sweet person!

Fruit Smoothie

I have tweaked it a little.  Annessa's recipe called for strawberry yogurt and frozen strawberries but I love blueberries so that is what I used.  

1 cup skim milk
6 oz. yougurt ( use a fruit flavor but you can use what you like)
1 cup frozen blueberries (again, you can use any frozen fruit depending on your taste)
1 tsp. sf/ff. instant pudding (I use vanilla.  The original recipe called for 1 tablespoon but I don't like it as sweet so I use less)

Blend in a blender and enjoy!  The frozen fruit act as an ice and make it nice and cold.  Total protein with my brand of yogurt is about 21 grams.  Total calories is about 240.  My whole family loves this and it is so much healthier than any smoothie you would buy.  

The weight is coming of slowly.  I lost another pound today and when I got off the scale, I actually did a little happy dance.  It is funny how exciting losing one pound is.  It totally makes my day.  

I hope everyone is enjoying their summer!  I know I am!  :)