Valerie G.

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I'm now into 5 lbs of wiggle room of my goal#2.  I thought I might wish for a goal #3 of 10 lbs of wiggle - room, but I've been bouncing around the 4 lbs, so I'm not sure if I'm at a stall or if I'm done.  I'm so delighted with my results now that if I didn't lose another pound, that would be just fine by me.

Some of the things so cool lately:

I purchased a pair of pants in a size 6.  I have never been a size 6 before.  Now I'm wearing between a 6 and 8, with size medium tops and jammies.

I bought my first leather skirt to wear with some knee high boots.  Now I NEVER wear a skirt, but I felt like such a Diva!!

I saw a couple guys from my Chicago office that came to Ohio this week, and they didn't even recognize me.  I mean...really DIDN'T recognize me.

Sorry, I've got some catching up to do, here.  I think I'll start with December, because this was such a special month for me.  I went to a trainer's workshop, and when we were taking photos on the last day, someone said "get the little ones in the front"  I was standing in the back like a dork and someone nudged at me to get up front.  OMG -- I was one of those little people! Okay, I thought, ,this is different.  (see Class Picture in my gallery)

So, I got the pictures a week later and seeing myself as the smallest one in the group was so pivotal to me.  For the first time, I saw myself as everyone else saw me.  I think my body dismorphia is over.  

Oh, and at Christmas time, I conquered goal #2!!!

Goal #1 was losing my 80% weight loss that my doc gave me 18 months to do, I accomplished in only 10 months.

Goal #2 was to be considered "normal" by the medical charts....I DID IT!!!  I REALLY DID IT!!!

I've been getting many requests for my trail mix recipe lately, so I thought I'd post it here for all to see:

Fabulous Trail Mix
Base mix
1 jar peanuts
1 jar sunflower kernels
1/2 bag raisins or "berries and cherries"
1/2 small bag chocolate chips.
1 small bag macadamia pieces
1 small bag pecan halves

To this, I might add other nuts depending on what's on sale (walnuts, cashews, more pecans).  I've also varied the fruit, too, so play around.  Try to keep the proportions the same.  It's so easy to load up the sweet stuff, but it's the nuts that are so valuable here.  The balance makes the perfect sweet and salty snack and my daily breakfast.  If proportions are kept, it's about 32g of protein for 8 oz.

Fabulous Custard -- full of protein, easy on new post-ops ~delicious!
3 cups milk
3/4 cup splenda
4-5 eggs (depending on size)
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp nutmeg (optional)
handful of coconut (optional)

Preheat oven to 375'.  Beat eggs, nutmeg and vanilla together in baking dish.  On the stove, bring the milk and splenda just to a boil, then stir together to the eggs.  Bake for 25 min
NOTE:  when the milk is coming near to a boil, you'll get a little foam on the top.  Remove this foam before stirring into the eggs, or it will get a weird texture on top.

God Bless Paula Deen for flourless peanut butter cookies!

1 cup peanut butter
1 egg
1 tbsp vanilla
1 cup Splenda

Mix and roll into balls (about walnut sized) and flatten with fork dipped in Splenda.  Bake at 350 for 12 minutes.  

TIPS
-Do NOT overocok -- they will get crumbly since there's no gluten
-Peanut butter is naturally low sugar - the low sugar kind only reduces it by 1g per serving.
-If you're picky about artificial sweeteners, I've done a 3/1 with splenda and sugar to cut the after taste and it's good.  Presently, I do full-splenda in the cookies, and roll in regular sugar and that's good too.  I've also added semi-sweet chocolate chips to shake things up. 

Wow, I can’t believe it’s been a year already!  A year ago today I was arguing with the nurse to let me wear my red-eyed skeleton socks into the OR, as that would be the only ‘Halloweenie’ thing I’d get to enjoy for the day.  It was really cute that the nurses were dressed ‘old school’ with their little skirts and even the little hats, too for Halloween.  

 

 Now it’s Halloween again, and I’m officially down 130 lbs, down to 156.  That’s only 6 lbs away from the medically “normal” weight.  I’d like to get into that window another 10 lbs for wiggle room, but if I never got there, I’d be delighted just the same with getting to where I am right now.  I’m a size 10, sometimes 12 if they run small.  Size M or L depending on how roomy the tops are (since the boobage still demands more space) designed.  

 

 Getting here was WAY easier than I imagined it would be.  Once I made it through the 2 month recovery (no picnic indeed), everything fell into place from that point forward.  When I ate, I stopped when I was full, that was it.  It’s hard to describe to you newbies how it feels just to NOT feel so ravenous.  Yeah, I get hungry, but I could ignore it and keep going if I had to.  The only downside is that if I did that, I could easily forget to eat at all if I’m not conscious about it.   

 

 My base is to get all the healthy food in that I can, but still allow myself some indulgences (especially when PMS’ing, like NOW).  For the most part, much of what I eat has some kind of nutritional value.  It’s so nice not to be counting fat grams and calories.  I have an ‘eyeball’ count of protein for the day (rule of thumb – 3oz of meat  is the size of a deck of cards).  I have my favorite fast foods protein counts memorized and I try to keep processed carbs to a minimum (ignore the chocolate muffin on my desk right now – I’m PMS’ing and my boss has resigned, for Heaven’s sake! I’ll be good for the rest of the day.  I promise) if I can help it.  About the only food I’ve given up on is pasta.  I’ll have a bite or two, but it fills me up too fast for too little nutritional value.  I’ll  take the scrumptious sauce on something else, thank you!.  For instance, DH made an asiago alfredo sauce.  He and our son had it with penne, I with Portobello and a little on my meat.  Since we’re a family of carnivores, my high protein diet has had little effect on my family’s meals.  I have to throw in some rice and pasta occasionally, but no biggie.

 

 My biggest surprise this year is on the professional level.  I know that there is bias with the obese, but only encountered it twice aimed against me, really.  I just recently realized that the lack of interest in the obese is real, too, which this past year I’m on the other side of that assumption.  Those of you who have followed my postings this summer have read of my achievements in the workplace.   I don’t know if I’m any different in my level of work, but it’s interesting how many high-level people have taken notice of me and my work this year.  I’ve gotten a quarterly award and been selected for a fabulous performance bonus for a huge project I’ve been working on all year.    These people barely knew my name last year.  That’s okay though.  It takes too much energy to be bitter about the way we’ve been treated (or not treated at all) in the past.  I prefer to move forward and set the good example for others to follow.  I’ve been there so I know how it feels.  This is the biggest piece of advice I can give someone who is freshly on the losing side.
 The Wow’s continue to be great ego boosters.  My most recent one was one of my managers from Chicago came down last week and we haven’t seen each other since June.  Even then he was exclaiming how impressed he was with my results.  Well, I saw him Friday and he was absolutely amazed and said I was looking like a totally different person now.  He said he couldn’t believe how HOT I looked!  I could kiss the man for that – but I gave him a big hug, instead.  I also met DH downtown at our favorite bar for dinner and the owner (a friend of ours) kept referring to me as “what’s left of Val”.  I just LOVE to hear things like that.  I remember Sharon T (happy catbert) saying how obsessed she was with herself for a period of time.  I’m realizing how she felt.  I’m trying to keep my feet on the ground, but I’m so enjoying this! 

 This board has been such a wonderful blessing to me this year!  You guys are my support group, and my rock.  Now I want to pay it forward to all our newbies out there, so they can feel the same love and support that I have.

I had my first post-op appt on Tuesday and am delighted to report that I've lost 17 lbs!!!!!! To give an update...I'm doing great. My incision is just about healed and my surgeon removed that horrible j-tube. She hugged me and said "I just knew you'd do great with this". I'm able to eat just about anything as long as I give myself plenty of time to eat it, only nothing really appeals to me at first. I really have to remind myself to shove something in my mouth from time to time. I can handle the vitamins just fine and haven't experienced nausea at all . I'm getting in all my fluids, and have noticed a great sensitivity to after tastes. Even Splenda is noticed now, but I like that with Kool Aid much better than Crystal Light. Dr. Anderson says I should shoot for 100g of protein per day, but I'm getting in at least 80, so I'm feeling good about that since other surgeons set lower requirements. I've decided that the Isopure really SUCKS, so I just ordered a sample pack to try some other brands from bariatriceating.com. To tolerate the Isopure, though, I add some chocolate instant breakfast and peppermint extract with milk (64g protein in that pack!), but even that's getting old. I've not had any diarrhea since my 6th day, but have had a couple of bouts of constipation, which was easily fixed with milk of magnesia. To try to avoid the need, I'm tried to add some fiber and a little more fat to keep me 'mello'. So far, it seems to be working okay. I'm only going 1-2 times a day. This is really so much easier than I expected. The only downside is that I'm bored as heck, but I tire easily, so I dare not venture too far. 

My coworkers sent a friend to me with 6 balls of yarn to knit myself a big long scarf while I'm sitting around. That was better than flowers any day. 

November 24, 2005 I learned a good lesson about eating too fast today. I was at Wendy's and wasn't paying attention and ate a few bites of chili too fast. Before I knew it, up it came. Fortunately it was 3pm, so the dining room was empty except for DH and me. DH blocked the view of me from the counter and got me some napkins to clean up. He was so cool and collected about it. I was really impressed. We had a good laugh about it when we got to the car, and decided I just wan't ready for the atmosphere of fast food yet. 

January 21, 2006 Here I am on my first plateau. I've only been losing a pound or two since Christmas, but today for my weekly weigh in, it has stopped. I guess I'll give up the 50 lb mark for my birthday next week. I think I'll give up on the scale for a while and watch my clothes size change. I'm back to work and loving it. It makes such a difference when you've got just as much support at work as you do at home. I work with a bunch of men and they're all just great. I really need to get a picture taken so I can post it here. So where is that darn camera?? 

April 24, 2006 I'm almost 6 months out now and down 81 lbs. Not too shabby, if I do say so myself. Actually, it's pretty darn exciting!!! I feel fantastic and am starting to notice the changes. I've gone from a size 24 to somewhere between a 16 and 18 depending on the manufacturer. My hair loss has been minimal and my skin is starting to sag, especially on my upper arms and the boobage area. I consider them badges of honor, actually. I am now officially 205 lbs!! I'm so close to Onederland I can taste it. I did it!!! I finally did it!!! I have now officially lost 100 lbs. This is completely a miracle, and only in 8 months!!! 

August 26, 2006 Update -- things going well Sooo, here I am nearly 10 months out from my surgery and it’s kind of surreal to think that I’m at the size I was in the 10th grade. Officially, I’m down 113 lbs at a weight of 173 from my pre-op weight of 286 and I couldn’t be more delighted (even though my relatives though I was too heavy at this size when I was a kid). I feel pretty again and even….dare I say….sexy? My skin isn’t nearly as bad as I was expecting, although still goofy. My boobage, however droopier, is still all there and filling a DD cup. I’m teetering on a size 12 and size 14 in most things, or size L in tops. What’s especially cool is that I’m not hanging shirts to dry at all like I used to do so religiously to avoid shrinking. Right into the dryer they go! I see these tops that are now designed to be more form fitting, (dontcha know) and they’re so tiny – but they fit and they look good! I look at my size 8 panties when I’m doing laundry and am in awe that they fit me perfectly. I can eat most of whatever I want, too. I still take it easy with pasta, though, just because it fills me up too fast. I enjoy a tiny dab to savor the sauce if I didn’t hold some back to add to my meat or veggies. I did start enjoying hamburgers again recently, as long as they’re good and sloppy. Overall, I feel fantastic and thank God every day for the DS procedure. 

September 2006
I just joined a club this month that had a great lap pool. Since I’m the size I was when I was avarsity swimmer, I thought I’d take up my old love again. I did get as far as to purchase a swimsuit, but haven’t braved it to the pool yet. It’s only been a couple weeks, I’ll get my nerve up J So far, my only negative observation from all of this is that I get cold so easily. I'm sitting here at my desk right now wearing a jacket, and could easily snuggle nightly under a down comforer in the middle of summer. Granted, I HAVE lost 100+ lbs of insulation, but sheesh! It's a small price to pay.... This is the Val that DH fell in love with, and I’m happy to report that our relationship is stronger than ever. I was worried because so many relationships experience new problems when one of the partners has WLS and loses lots of weight and gains new perspective on things. One nice thing is that he is not the jealous type. It’s a good thing because he works with me amongst a dept of 150 men and about 5 or so women. The guys openly give me compliments left and right and DH isn’t bothered by it at all. I think he might actually like other men noticing me. I asked him about it last week and he said it didn’t bother him at all, because he KNEW that he was the one I was taking home J. One night, he took me out and asked me to wear something skimpy. OMG – that was the first time EVER he asked that of me! I had just purchased a very low cut and form fitting top and was happy to oblige. When we went to our favorite bar, the owner (a friend of ours) passed by me three times and didn’t recognize me. When he did finally know who I was, he nearly pickedme up in a hug and says to me “With as good as you look now, no wonder he doesn’t let you loose here so much anymore”. Everyone was commenting on the “Half a Val” thing. Well, I’m not quite half a Val, but I did lose the equivalence of a member of the OC cast (LOL). 

Professional Aspect of losing weight? I would also like to add the professional aspect of my results. I’m not sure if my weight loss has anything to do with this or if it’s just coincidentally a fantastic year for me. I’m curious to know what you think about this. Aside from the guys I work with being my biggest cheerleaders, I’ve been working on a project bringing in some new software for the engineers to start using and my task was to learn it, develop training for it, and teach the engineers (around 400 here and everywhere in the US) how to use it. This project was HUGE and I had a feeling would either make or break my future here with the company I work for. Now, I already have the best boss in the world, so I always got good support and confidence from him, but now my achievements are being noticed by others too. Last month, I received the Quarterly Award, which was presented to me at an “All Hands” meeting. It came with a trophy and a nice $500 bonus. I was so shocked! I’d pretty much been on cloud nine ever since….until I was informed by the project manager of this huge project I’m working on that I’ve been selected to receive a $5000.00 bonus for my work on the project!!! Oh, AND…..my boss tells me to start applying for a passport, too. It looks like this project will be spreading to our Network Operations center in Mumbai, India, and guess who will be teaching it?? Oh my! Then, the final part – we are about to do a little restructuring of our department and a new position is being created that my boss has me pegged for. I do have the option of remaining the trainer if I want to, but it’s kind of a no-growth type position. He said he wants me to be promotable, and this new position is just the thing for me, and partly what I’m doing already, which is about all the details I know about it. I decided to go for it, for Mr.Ed hasn’t steered me wrong yet. That man knows me well enough to know what I’ll have fun with and excel at. I have no doubt. This should all be coming about in the Fall. My guess is when I return from India. So, what do you think? Coincidence, Confidence or being noticed as a normal person now? A friend snapped a pic of me with his phone when I was talking to him and another coworker.