jenn8671
07/14/2004
I am currently losing the weight required by my surgeon. When I went to my frist nutrition appointment, she told me the surgeon had requested I lose 10 pounds. She gave me 5 weeks and I was thrilled when I went back and had lost 11 pounds. Unfortunately, there was some miscommunication. I had gained almost 6 pounds between the time of my first visit with Dr. Drinkwater and my visit to the nutritionist. So I actually needed to lose 16 pounds. I was pretty disappointed, since I am admittedly the most impatient person. I will go back on Aug 6 (my birthday) to see if I've reached that goal and then I will move forward.
08/27/2004
I finished the required Coping Skills class last night. I spoke to the Program Coordinator at Dr. Drinkwater's office and she said I need to go for some medical testing next week, and I will have a surgery date within the next 2 weeks! YIPPEE!!! Very excited!
09/13/2004
Surgery scheduled for October 5th!
09/24/2004
I got the letter from my insurance that I was approved! A little over one week to go...
10/11/2004
I am almost one week out. I am miserable right now, but I am sure there have been others that were far worse. Pain is not bad. Its the dizzy, weak, nauseas feeling that is kicking my butt. Surgery went great. Epidural did weird things and even after they turned it down, I could not feel my right leg (Same thing happened with both of my childbrith epidurals) so I had to stay in ICU a bit longer until I could walk. Then all was great...until the took the epidural out. I ended up staying in the hospital an extra day due to severe nausea. Yuck - talk about pain....try dry heaving after stomach surgery!!! I am just taking one day at a time and saying to myself "One week from now I will feel so much better"
10/19/2004
Feeling wonderful. I have not taken any Tylenol in days - no pain at all and I am lifting my babies once again! I am cooking up a storm for my daycare kids and my family and its not bothering me at all to sit there with my one egg. I started on foods last Thursday and so far have tried, and tolerated scrambled, poached and over-easy eggs. I even topped one scrambled egg with 1/4 slice of american cheese and it was heaven! I've also had some cottage cheese, skim milk, and a few bites of chicken. Today I was out of town for a medical appointment with my son and I ate about 1/4 c potato leek soup and was fine. Finding a protein supplement I can tolerate has made a huge difference. I am down 18 pounds from my surgery date - exactly 2 weeks ago today!
11/11/2004
I am out 5 weeks now. I've had some trouble with my losses stalling out, but I think its because I have not been getting the minimum for protein or water most days. I started back at the gym last night and it felt so good to complete that work out! They measured me and I have lost 33.5 inches from my body since July. 11 off of my waist alone!!! All of my clothes are hanging off me, and even my daycare kids told me yesterday that I looked silly in such big clothes. I have lost 24 pounds since surgery day. (42 total) I am expecting my losses to pick up now that I am being very strict about protein and water AND excercise. I go to the nutritionist tomorrow and I anticipate she will tell me I can add veggies to my diet. I am having a hard time in that I feel sick after just about every meal. I am certain I am still eating too much and too fast. Its SO hard to eat slow. I can eat just about anything, except chicken. I made a small batch of chicken salad with full fat mayo and I totally dumped. YUCK! I have had a few bites of sugary foods here and there and thought I had it made with a strong pouch....looks like I will dump on fat though. Other times I have tried chicken I threw up. So I will wait and try again in a month. I do best with fish. Yogurt goes down good too. Sometimes I can even eat an entire 6 oz container, even though it takes me about an hour to do it! Everything else, I tolerate, but feel a bit uncomfortable for about 15 minutes. It certainly is a learning process! I have searched for and tried several recipies that I can make for my family that I can also eat - instead of always making something different for myself. Most importantly, though, I FEEL so much better. I have NO pain in my legs or feet when I wake up in the mornings. I can actually get out of my bed and walk like a 33 year odl woman instead of like a 99 year old - holding on to the walls for support! I am so glad I did this....
11/24/2004
Happy Thanksgiving. I am sitting, finally, after a day of cooking. I am not complaining though - I still love to cook. I have dropped another 5 pounds, bringing my total since surgery to 29 pounds. Its a little slower than I had imagined, but the more I talk with other post-ops, the more I think I was not being realistic. I am perfectly happy with my losses so far and I have finally accpted the fact that fast or slow, this weight WILL come off me!!! I am 3 pounds away from saying goodbye to the 200's forever!! The peace that comes over me when I think about that is.....inspirational. Ya, that is the word I wanted. I feel SOOO good! I went and had a mini-makeover today. With a generous gift certificate for a new hair style from Mom, I am no longer split-end-fake-looking-bleach-blonde. I am back to my natural light brown with blonde highlights and I can't believe that is me in the mirror. I have had that "white-blonde" hair for so long. My hair actually matches my eyebrows now. LOL It felt good to do something for me. I've been thinking about that alot lately. I was surprised how many people (friends and family) gave me grief when I had my WLS. Inconveniences to them.....THAT is what they thought about. What a huge disappointment. I bend over backward to do favors for everyone - I am the caretaker to the world here....and for once I wanted to do something for myself. I REFUSE to feel guilty for that any longer. Maybe that is the peaceful feeling I have now??? Who knows. But it was an eye opener to see how the people I counted on for support actually reacted to my surgery. Well, enough negativity. I am happy, getting thinner every day, have tons of energy and I am enjoying working out several times a week at Curves. I just want the warm weather back so I can go for bike rides and walks with my kids. Life is good.
12/17/2004
Merry Christmas! I finally broke out of the 200's a couple of weeks ago and now am down to 195. HALF WAY TO GOAL! I have lost 38 pounds since surgery and 55 pounds since I began this journey. What a huge difference those 55 pounds have made. I recently tried on my wedding gown (2001 - weighed 225) and was amazed at how it practically fell off of me. Its so big!! I had to basically give away every piece of clothing I had and I got a whole new wardrobe thanks to Mom. I notice I want to go out a lot more and when I do go out, I do my hair and wear make up and even wear my pre-motherhood sassy shoes!! No more sneakers and sweat pants in public. LOL I have slipped back into some old habbits, but I noticed it right away and got back on track. Its those nasty carbs. I started munching crackers and corn chips and for about a week, I just picked at stuff like that all day, every day. My weight stayed the same for the whole week and when I finally got back on track and went back to protien drinks and food, with a little green veggies, I started losing again right away. I think it was just out of boredom and being home with the kids all day. They love bagels, toast, PASTA, crackers, chips....and its too easy to pop bites into my mouth as I am feeding them. I am just starting to get hungry again - mostly in the mornings. I have not dumped or been sick on anything....that's good and bad, I guess. I definately don't feel deprived and have not "grieved" for food like I hear so many people talk about. Most of the time, even though I am only 2.5 months out, I don't even think about my surgery. Anyway - here is a sample of what I eat now:
B - protein drink (6 tbsp liquid protein mixed with 16 oz water)
L - 2 oz tuna or chicken & a couple tbsp green veggie
S - string cheese or yogurt
D - 2 oz chicken, fish, or beef & 2 tbsp green veggie
S - 8 oz skim or Carb Countdown Chocolate milk
The only time I have any problems is if I eat too fast or don't chew - that's not a pretty sight as I gag everything back up. I will be cooking a nice roast beef for my family Christmas dinner - with all the fixin's, of course. I still love to cook - even if I don't eat it all. I usually just go for things I don't have on a weekly basis - like I will skip mashed potatoes, even though they are a favorite - because I can have them anytime. Its those fancy vegetable dishes I will choose. Can't wait!
01/22/2005
Happy New Year! I am only down another 11 pounds - I now weigh 184. So -49 since surgery, -66 total. I had a real hard time the past month. My husband, kids and I all had a bad flu from Christmas until New Years and then I developed bronchitis immediatley after. Between feeling miserable myself, and taking care of sick kids (including hubby!) it was hard to take care of myself. I went about 4 days with out eating or drinking anything. The strange thing was, I never lost a pound! I stayed the same weight from 12/29 until just a couple of days ago! Talk about frustrating! I did manage to get 3 good workouts in this week, now that everyone is healthy again and I can move without hacking up a lung! And I am really on top of my food and protein. I discovered Smart Ones "Truth About Carbs" at the grocery store and they are perfect for me. They are very small, and I would have eaten 3 of them pre-op just to feel any satisfaction! They all have 20 or more grams of protein!!! The beef ones have 25+, so I have been having those for lunch or dinner. I have just one snack a day - a yogurt before bed, usually. I do get awfully hungry at times, but I have been trying to just drink the hunger away with decaf tea, skim milk, protein drinks or Crystal Light.
Here is a sample of what I eat now:
B - 3/4 c Low Carb Special K cereal with 1/2 c skim milk and either 1/2 banana or 1/4 c blueberries
L - Smart Ones "Truth About Carbs" meal (Salisbury Steak or Roast Beef usually)
S - 10 oz skim milk
D - 2 oz chicken, beef, or fish. 1/4 c green veggie
S - 6 oz yogurt with 2 tbsp GrapeNuts cereal
At my last appointment with Dr. Drinkwater, we got the results of my bloodwork...all was fine. My iron is a little low, but not enough to bother taking supplement, he said. He told me to only expect to lose 5 - 7 pounds per month now. Sounds too low to me. He thought I would have only lost 7 - 10 pounds at that appointment, but I had lost 14, so hopefully I will continue to lose more than he expects. I don't need to go back to see him for 3 months.
Here is my WOW moment - I was shopping with my mom and I took a size 18/20 shirt into the changing room. I tried it on and came out to show Mom. She and the salewoman both said it was too big and so I tried a 14/16. It fit - I bought it. Very sexy, slinky, low cut.....Steve loves it! I was wearing size 22/24 when I went in for surgery. I am wearing size 18 jeans and they are baggy and big. The 16's were a bit tight the last time I tried them, but that was a few weeks ago - I should try them again soon. Even some of my shoes have extra room in them. LOL I was at the dentist's office last week and when I told the hygenist I had the surgery, she said "OMG, you're not even big - I would never look at you and think 'wow that lady needs to lose weight'" I love comments like that.
On the flip side, my hair is coming out. My hair is fairly long, and so there are these long, blonde hairs all over my house. When I get out of the shower, it is terrible...I pull handfuls out as I comb.....my protein levels are fine, and I average 70+ a day, so I don't know what esle to do. I just keep praying it will stop soon.
This surgery was the best thing I have ever done for myself. I love feeling better and having SO much more energy! I love the feeling of excercising, and how good I feel after. Life is good..
02/16/2005
Happy Valentine's Day! I don't really have that much to update. I am somewhat disappointed to say I am only down FOUR pounds since my last update. I know its what Dr. Drinkwater said to expect, but its still a hard fact to swallow sometimes. Thankfully, we've all survived the past month with no flu or colds - but my 16 month old baby boy did just go through neuro-surgery last week. Steve and I took him up to Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon NH on Tuesday for pre-admission testing, and stayed at a hotel overnight since his surgery was scheduled so early the next day. We had a great evening with Joey, taking him to the pool and to dinner. He had so much fun running up and down those long hallways in the hotel! Surgery went ok - as well as one can hope. His head looks terrible - they cut him from ear to ear, up around his head. He looks like Frankenstein.....this was all to removed a dermoid cyst that was growing behind his eyes, near his brain. He was realeased on Friday afternoon, so last week, my mind was focused on him. Steve and I stayed in his hospital room every night...food and exercise were not the highest priority for me, although when I did eat, I made good choices. As far as the weight loss goes - I do still weigh myself almost every day, but I am not obsessed about it anymore. I am bummed to see that number not moving, but with all the other aspects of a shrinking body...the number on that scale doesn't mean that much to me anymore. I bought a size XL jogging pants the other day and it was too big! I am wearing size 14/16!!!! I run up and down the stairs a hundreed times a day without even giving it a second thought....I plop my butt on the floor to play with the kids and can EASILY get up again..I sit on Steve's lap...I wrestle with him and I put my whole body weight on him, which used to be my killer move because it would immobilize him and now he pushed me off with one swift move - he can even pick me up! I wear his size L t-shirts to bed...and I threw away ALL my old gigantic granny undies and bought new, cute 30-something ones! I sleep better, have more energy, watch less TV, play with my kids more......there is sooo much more to this than that damn number on the scale. Still, it will be nice to drop into the 170's , the 160's and eventually to goal. I'll take it any way I can get it, be it fast or slow. Its still all good!
March 23, 2005
Well, Spring is finally here! I am down another 6 pounds since my last update. I am at 174. I feel great - doing lots of exercising, but really looking forward to the warmer weather so we can get outdoors. I have been working to get my water, protein and fiber in every day. A typical day goes like this:
Breakfast - an over medium egg on a slice of toast or some high fiber/protein cereal with skim milk or deli sandwich (below)
Lunch - 2 oz deli meat (ham or roast beef) with a slice of cheese in half of a low carb/high protein pita, microwaved for 30 seconds or occasionally a Lean Cuisine meal
Dinner - whatever....I cook normal meals for my family and just eat a small portion. I make meat, starch and veggie, and I usually skip the starch. Lots of grilled pork and chicken, baked fish, salads with chicken etc.
Snack - Carnation Instant Breakfast (chocolate) with skim milk, heated.
Today I have made my FAMOUS spaghetti sauce with chicken and italian sausage. I used chicken sausage so it will be interesting to see if Steve or my mom will notice the difference. I will have a tiny portion of pasta, and lots of the chicken and sausage. MMMMmmmm it smells so good!
I have not had any problems with eating, except I stopped taking my antacid and after a few days, I felt very sick after each meal. So, I am back on it and doing fine again. I saw a few people this past weekend that I have not seen since well before my surgery and they didn't even recognize me!! It was a nice ego-boost. I do have lots of mushy skin already though. I need to start a savings account for all the plastic surgery I am going to want. Hopefully my insurance will cover the tummy tuck. I have already been to my PCP for a rash that has developed due to the excess skin. Its SO gross. And I need a boob job so bad. Everything is soft and wiggly. LOL I am wearing a size 36C bra, medium shirts, 14/16 pants. YIPEEE!!!! I have a picture of myself from Easter last year, almost exactly one year ago - at my heaviest weight and its so strage to look at how ROUND everything was. I am glad I don't look AND FEEL that way anymore.
So once again, I have to complain about my slow losing. I did lose over 10 inches from my body in February, so I guess that is good. Thank God I am working out as much as I do. I have about 30 pound until goal and I am tryign hard to average about 10 pounds a month. So maybe by summer I will be there. Slowly, but SURELY!!!
05/06/2005
I am down another 10 pounds - I weigh 164 now. I am back to drinking a protein drink either for my breakfast or for a snack as I feel a little yucky just about any time I eat anything. Fats and sugar seem to be hitting me now....strange as I have been able to tolerate them so far? Although this could be from the fact I am no longer taking a prescription antacid. I think if I can just control the fat, I could skip the nausea after each meal.
I have not been to Curves in quite a while and I need to step up the exercise, period. With all this excess skin, there is no excuse for why I have not been working out. And I know I am still eating too many carbs. I need to get that under control!
Anyway - I am wearing size 14, or L..although I keep buying stuff too big, I guess I still don't beleive it. I feel great - can do things I never could before and I have a ton more energy.
I saw Dr. Drinkwater in April and he said I am right on track and that I should only expect to lose 3 - 5 pounds per month now. I will see him again in July and he said to only expect to have lost 10 pounds more by then! He thinks I shoudl only go down to 150 or I will look "sick". He also said I am carrying at least 10 pounds of excess skin, so my true weight...or what he calls "what you look like you weigh" is about 158 right now. So when I am down to 150, it will be approximate to 140. My goal weight, per OH, for my height is 143, so we'll see what happens when I get to 150....
Here is my typical menu these days:
B - cereal, toast or protein drink
S - crackers and cheese
L - Smart Ones meals or salads with tuna or chicken. More often I pick at whatever I make the kids, then I am too full to eat my own lunch. (we're talking pasta, grilled cheese sandwiches, french fries, chicken)
D - whatever I make the family....roasts, chicken, pork, whatever, and a couple of tbsp sweet potato or rice, and some green veggies.
And I usually have at least 1 glass of milk at some point in my day, and I have fallen into a bad habbit of picking at things all day right now. I really need to stop that!
July 20, 2005
Well, looks like my weight loss part of this is over. I have not lost any weight for quite a while now. I've gotten down to 157, and that's all that's coming off. My dr said this is a healthy weight and I should not try to lose anymore - (especially since I've got that 15 pounds of skin that needs to be removed) He said if I lose any more, I will look "sickly". I really need to exercise to frim up, but there are a few areas I will need surgery to fix, such as tummy and boobies. Next time I see Dr. DW, I will get a referral to a plastic surgeon.
As far as eating, I rarely get sick on anything, unless I eat too much of it. I can eat a decent amount, probably a half of a "regular" serving (about 1/10 of what I USED to eat as a serving) I have been trying to get more liquids in. A couple of weeks ago, the kids got a mild stomach bug which, of course, I got too. But I ended up being admitted into the hospital for IV fluids due to severe dehydration. Dr. said most likely I was dehydrated to begin with, then all the vomiting and other stuff, oh man....I felt worse than I did after having the surgery! But after 2 bags of IV fluids, some good sleep, and medications, I felt 100% back to normal within 48 hours. Since then, I have been making sure I get close to 100 oz of fluids in per day.
10/10/2005
Well, its been one year since my surgery! I am down to 151 pounds- so I have lost 99 pounds. I have an appointment with Dr. DW in a couple of days, at which he will give me a referral to a plastic surgeon. (he said if I was down to 153 by now he would give me the referral) He said they will most likely do a "full body lift" on me. My excess skin is disgusting....can't wait to have it gone. I went on a mini shopping spree yesterday and brought size 12 pants into the dressing room - but they were all too big. I am in a size 10/medium. Its unbelievable to me. When I hold up the pants, I think there is no way I will fit into them. I LOVE it!
I really have to watch what I eat these days - something I thought I would never have to do again. Dr. DW told me to start counting calories again just to see how much I was getting in. I would have sworn up and down that I was not eating more than 700 - 800 calories a day, but I guess he knows what he is doing because when I added up every bite...I was getting close to 1300 per day! Not enough to gain, but more than enough to stall my losing. It was little bites here and there that I was sure couldn't be hurting me! Within 2 weeks, I had lost the 6 pounds he gave me 3 months to lose. He wanted me at 153 by this week, and I am please to be going to see him with even more of a loss.
A year ago, I never would have thought it possible to eat too much, but reality is that I have to work at this for the rest of my life. I can easily eat too much, and the wrong foods. I slip up now and then, and pay for it with nausea and fatigue. Every once in a while, I even go back to basics and do protein drinks and not much more.
I am excited about my tummy tuck. Hopefully insurance will cover it, but I have been telling my husband, I have been fat too long and gone through too much to leave 15 pounds of skin hanging on me. Its coming off no matter what. I look completely skinny (not just "oh you've lost weight" but TRULY THIN) everywhere except my belly, upper arms, and upper thighs. So......its all getting sliced off. LOL
July 18, 2007
Wow - almost 2 years since I have updated this....almost 3 years since surgery. Well, the big news is that I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl four weeks ago (our third child). She was a big surprise!! The pregnancy went very well, and Jaclyn was born via c-setion on June 15. She weighed 7 lbs 12 oz. I gained 25 pounds during pregnancy - I was at 155 when I got pg. As far as food goes, it is a daily struggle. I became lactose intolerant about a year ago, which narrows my protein "snacks" compared to what I used to have...no more cheese or yogurt. Unfortunately, I replaced the dairy with carbs and slowly watched my weight creep up little by little. I guess I had been up and down the same five pounds (150 - 155) for about a year before I found out I was pg. Now that I am able to exercise, I have been walking, lifting weights and Yoga. I need to lose 20 pounds. :( I know I am only four week post-partum, but I am discouraged with my current weight and just want to get back down to 150. I can eat pretty much anything, but I do still dump if I eat too much. I can eat more than I ever thought I would be able to (for example, I can eat a small cheeseburger, an entire hot dog with bun, a whole sandwich) Although it depends on how hungry I am, I just used to think it would be so easy to not eat. LOL I have learned that I still have no willpower.....working on that though. As far as plastic surgery...well, after just going through the c-section and the weeks of pain that followed, I am in no rush to get back into a hospital! I know for sure I need to wiat until I can come home and recover properly. Every time I have any type of surgery, I come home and have to care for small children and I have no time to recover and take care of ME. So I think I will wait until Jaclyn is a few years old at least. (I did go for a consultaion about a year and a half ago and the price was astronomical! I will most likely go to Florida for plastics and stay with family to recover before coming home - New England is expensive for plastic surgery, I have discovered) I am still glad I had the surgery and would do it again without a second thought....but I will admit I never thought I would be here thinking about dieting again. If I do not control myself, I can easily consume over 2000 calories per day (you will be amazed at how much little bites and there add up)
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Member Interests:
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Surgeon Info:
Surgeon: David Drinkwater, M.D.
Insurer Info:
Anthem BCBS
