More Protein Please

I saw my surgeon last Friday. I had a bunch of questions for him and so I got a lot of my questions answered. One of my questions was, what is more important, staying below a certain number of calories or getting more protein? He said more protein. I'm upping my protein by 20 grams a day. So my new daily protein goal is 80 grams. I'm hoping this will help me lose a bit faster. I have been very slow. But my doctor also assured me I'm doing ok. I'm on the lower end of the scale for how much I've lost but that slower is better anyway.

I bought some Proti products from my doctors office. They are so good. You just can't find stuff like it on the shelves of your local grocery store. I especially like the protein water mix. The Peach Mango is especially good. It's like Crystal Light but with 15 grams of protein. That is what is really helping me to get my 80 grams in.

Holy Moly

Wow, size 14 American Eagle Jeans.  I'm wearing them.  Today.  My sister gave them to me a while ago and when I tried them on a couple of weeks ago I could get them on but barely. You know the drill.  But today I thought, hm...I've lost a few more pounds.  Let's give them a try. And they fit, and fit well.

Wahoo!

Gastric Bypass or Bulimia?

Two days in a row I have thrown up my lunch. Not because it didn't taste good, not because my stomach rejected it, because sometimes food just doesn't go down. It's annoying to say the least.  I am still throwing up about 4-5 times a week. But it was a lot more when I first began eating solid foods.  Today the culprit was a meatloaf sandwich. I pulled all the bread off and ate the meat only, still got stuck. I was careful to take small bites but perhaps I was eating too quickly. Who knows.  I'm feeling better at the moment but what a waste of a delicious sandwich! 

Slow Weight loss

They say the average weight loss at three months for someone who has had this surgery is 50 pounds. I was a little under that. The weight is coming off slowly.   More slowly than i expected.  I don't know if this is normal or not.  it's a question for my surgeon when I see him in a few weeks.

I have lost 52 pounds. I'm losing approximately a pound a week.  I mean, sheesh, isn't that what someone can lose without having surgery?  But when I think about it, I wasn't losing 1 pound a week before I had the surgery. I was losing NOTHING. I was gaining about a pound a week!  Ha!

I just feel that at this rate my 100 pound mark is way further away than I think.

I'm upping my workouts at the gym.  Not for longer periods of time but the intensity.  I'm hoping that will help some as well.

Below 200

The day arrived.

I am below 200.

I can't remember the last time I saw a 1 for the first number on the scale.

I am so happy today. I'm not all about a number on the scale, but I'm all about this milestone.

At four months

Fit to be Tried

I went shopping tonight for the first time since surgery. Real  shopping with trying on clothes and everything. First off i went to my old stand-by, Lane Bryant.  I grabbed a few things in a 14 and tried them on and they fit.  Then I went to Maurices and tried on some dresses in their largest size, the 13/14. Those were all way too small.  I was however able to wear a xxl top in the misses size.  Then I went to American Eagle and I tried on jeans. I fit into a size 16 in the original boot and they looked great on me.  Wahoo!  That was an exciting moment. 

At 10 Weeks.......

I have Lost 46 pounds. Yay me! I feel amazing. I am less tired and my ankle goes out on me less and less. Time will tell if the ankle gets strong enough to never go out on me again. But at least with the weight off I'm giving it a fighting chance.

Did you see the episode of The Biggest Loser when they go home for 18 days? And they have to lose 5% of their body weight! I loved that episode. I love it when Kassidy says "I'm a 1 cookie person, I'm one of those people". She went home and made cookies and had just one. I was so happy for her. I can so relate to that. I am still not there....unfortunately. Sometimes I think I am but I'm really not. I am still using food as a comfort tool. The crazy part is that since I'm being so careful about what I eat I am noticing the emotional eating like never before. It's so obvious to me. I am envious of my husband who eats for fuel only.

Let's see, the hard stuff at week 10 is

Chicken, it has a hard time going down
Not drinking with my meals
Getting all my daily protein in
Taking vitamins!!!!!

What I'm doing great at

Exercise, I'm doing my first post-op 5k on April 14
Staying below 700 calories a day
Getting all my water in
Not eating carbs

As I finished watching the Biggest Loser this week I was struck by how terrific it is that they have so many people to cheer for them each time they step on the scale.

I don't have that.

I guess it's a loving tribute that my family just loves me. It didn't matter that I was 100 pounds overweight and it doesn't matter if I'm the hottest mom on the block. I tell them about my weight loss and I get the "that's great" but I do miss the cheering section. I'm still waiting for that moment when I see a friend that doesn't know I had the surgery and that I haven't seen in awhile and they say, wow! You look amazing!!!!

I recently saw some people and we talked, hugged, they were happy to see me but they didn't seem to notice I had lost 45 freaking pounds! Crazy!

But I keep reminding myself that the internal rewards outweigh anything I get from others.

Oh, and I'm really close to getting my boots. I get a pair of western boots when I've lost 50 lbs.

I'm excited!!!!

Current weight 205

4 weeks post- op

I have pretty much been at a standstill for about ten days in my weight loss. It's frustrating.

I started eating on Friday. It's gone pretty well. I have noticed that eating soft foods are best. Anything that is hard has a tendency to get stuck going down. It's a horrible feeling. A couple times I've had to go to the bathroom to throw it up. Nasty, huh? Both times they were things on my list of permissible foods but I took too big of a bite.

I'm finding it hard to get my protein shakes in while also eating solid food. I can do one or the other but not both. And I need two shakes a day to reach my minimum protein quota.

My goal for today and the next few days will be to get both of those protein shakes in plus a full 24 ounces of water.

Wish me luck.

Three Weeks Post-Op

Today makes three weeks.  Today I went to a running store and got fitted with a brand new pair of running shoes.  As part of the process they have you run to see if you pronate or whatever.  Each time I ran i felt good. I didn't have any pain.  My nerve damage is lessening every day.  Bed time is still bothering me.  I can't lay on my left side yet but I can lay on my right side now so that is something to be happy about!

I am cold.  Losing weight like this seems to have put me in a winter freeze.  I can't seem to warm up and nighttime will find me in a layering of socks and long underwear and sweatshirts!

I am anxiously awaiting solid foods.  I'm actually going to start on them a few days early.  My birthday is this weekend and I want to eat a meal. I'm a little nervous about it. Not sure why but I am.

Two weeks post-op

I am still not to normal activity. I have this pain just to the left of my belly button that has not gone away. It has diminished somewhat but hurts quite a bit when I stand up, cough, get up from bed or bend over. Other than this one pain I feel great. I called my doctors nurse and she said that about 50% of patients get this and it's nerve damage from where the laparoscopic instruments went in. It should heal in 2 more weeks. It's a bit of a bummer because I'd like to start exercising.

I am still taking my liquid Hydrocodone at night. When I try to not take it I just don't sleep well. This pain I am referring to keeps waking me up when I move in bed. The pain medication allows me to relax enough to sleep on my back and stay put throughout the night. I am a side sleeper normally so when I don't take the medicine I toll on my side during the night and then bam, I'm awake because the pain just woke me up. It's annoying. So I will continue with the nightly pain treatment until this nerve damage has healed.

Now, for the exciting news. I have lost 24 pounds!!!! Incredible, huh? This is going from the beginning of my liquid diet which was at 1 week pre-op. so that's 24 pounds in 3 weeks. It's amazing. Yesterday, Robin, who is my nurse, said that the average weight loss at 3 months is 50 pounds. I still can't imagine that. I know I will get there but it's all so surreal.

I also feel really good. My energy level improves every day. I am doing more every day. I am getting around 70 grams of protein a day and I don't feel hungry.

The liquid diet isn't fun but it's manageable. My biggest challenge is drinking my protein every hour. But I do my best. If im going somewhere I fill up these tiny Rubbermaid containers with my shakes, throw them in my purse and I'm ready to go.

Overall, I'm very happy with how things are going.