Keller

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I can't believe it has already been one month! I am now 247! I have lost 26 lbs since the morning of my surgery and 36 all together. I have had a cold the past few days and it has knocked me on my butt. My goal for this next month is to loose 10 more lbs and to stay on the program. I have had a couple of bites here and there of carbs. At least I stopped the snacking, but I need to nourish myself w/what my body needs...protein. I need to buck up and do it!

When I weighed this morning, I was 250.8. I'm so close to going below 250, my 1st big goal. I tried on my size 18 pants this morning and they all fit! It felt so good cleaning out my 20s! 

I saw Dr Nichols on Wednesday, and he basically told me to chill out. He said they have operated on over 500 people and if you follow the program you WILL lose weight. He said the average excess weight loss with their program is 80%. I admitted that I snacked twice these past three weeks. Once, I had a piece of string cheese, and once I had a Tablespoon of peanut butter. He told me to stop snacking. He has patients that snack all day long and gain back weight. I need to stay out of the habit.  

My goal for this week is to lose 2 lbs and swim every day. Last week, I was only able to do it a couple of days because I had to travel for business for 3 days.  I'm going to try a couple of new sources for protein because I'm getting sick of scrambled egg and refried beans. I'm trying smoked salmon, shrimp cocktail, veggie sausages, and pre-cooked boneless skinless chicken strips. I tried a bit of pork chop the other night and it did not settle well. I think it was too dry. I've been really lucky. I have only had one instance of vomiting. I tried to eat a halibut steak last Saturday and I think it was too dry for me as well. Stupidly, I drank some water to help and it backfired. It made it worse. I had some preety bad pain until I vomited. Then, I was OK. With the pork, I just waited it out, and eventually it passed. I guess this is all a learning process.   

I'm glad I'm in a better frame of mind this week. I was getting really down. I just need to be patient! This Thursday will be my one-month anniversary of the surgery. 22 lbs gone in 4 weeks!

Weight 251 Surgery Day 273 -22 lbs

Ok, I'm P.O.'d now. I just weighed and I'm still 254. I have only lost 1 pound in 9 days! What is going on? I"m doing everything I was told. I'm drinking 64 ounces of water, exercising, eating only protein, no snacking, and taking my vitamins. I am walking 30 minutes a day and swimming 30 minutes a day. I was not expecting a plateau less than 3 weeks in. Thank goodness I lost so much in the beginning...It'll make my monthly loss look preety good. 

OK-I'm just going to stick w/the program. I hope I get off the plateau soon. I want to get into my size 18's. I was in 20w's before. Now I can fit in my 20 misses and my 18W's. I want to get into my 18 misses. I have a lot of cute clothes I bought when I was that size for about 5 minutes last year. I'll need to lose about 5 lbs for them to be comfortable. Then, I'm getting rid on the 20's. Usually, I keep my old clothes "just in case". Actually, I knew I'd be back in them before long. Now, I know I'll never be that big and unhealthy again!  I guess I'd better keep one pair of jeans as a before reminder. 

My goal for the next 7 days is to loose at least 2 lbs. I guess I'd better change my expectations about how fast this weight will come off. 

Current weight 254 Surgery day 273 -19lbs

I can't sleep. I have so many thoughts going through my head. I'm so excited about my future I can't hardly stand it. This morning when I weighed, I was 260! I lost 6 pounds in one day! I know this won't last long, but wow. I'm not sure what my BMI is but I know it is out of the morbidly obese range now. Yooohoo! I am tall, so in 5-10 more lbs, I will be in the next size down in pants, an 18. I was bursting out of 20s before I started my pre-surgery diet. I can't wait until I reach goal. I havn't been that thin since after my 1st pregnancy. I was 168-a small size 12. These days, I'm probably going to be a 10. Is it just me, or are sizes bigger now? 

Anyways-here are some goals of mine.

Get off all medication

Wear shorts in public

Wear swimsuit in public

Wear tank-top in public

Be able to attend a fitness class

Be able to run 1 mile

Be able to run a 5K

Be able to tie my shoes without cutting off my air supply

Shop at a regular size women's shop (if they have talls)

Go shopping all afternoon at the mall and not be exhausted and sore afterwards

Clean my house all afternoon and not have sore feet

Go on a hike

Ride a roller coaster

Wear heels without my feet swelling like sausages

Pick a booth at a restaurant  without worring if I'll fit

Go scuba diving

Weigh less than I did at my wedding 20 years ago-174

climb a mountain

Turn a head

See my husband's eyes pop out when he sees me

Know my sons are proud of me

I know I can reach all these goals, If I work really hard. It was funny-I thought they would all be about health. I guess I'm more shallow than I thought. These are the thoughts that keep racing through my head. I guess I should have thought about them before surgery so I wouldn't be so obsessed with them now. OK I'm going to try to go to sleep now-until next time! 



  

I had the surgery on March 5th. It went very smooth-no complications. I'm having no problems right now except a little cramping in my pouch if I gulp water too fast. The staff at Shasta Regional Medical center was great! The nurses that took care of me are specialized for bariatric surgery. They really know their stuff. They treated me well and with respect and kicked us in the butt if we needed it. I really felt safe there. I wish I had done this a long time ago! 

I was discharged from the hospital last Wednesday, March 7th, but had to stay in Redding for a week. I stayed at the Kiwanis house across from the hospital. It was a life-saver! I had my own bedroom and there was a kitchen, dining room and living room common area. I was alone most of the day. The other people staying at the house had relatives at the hospital and were there most of the day. I am so glad it was there. It was only $25 per night and I had couches to read on and space. I would have gone nuts by myself in a hotel for 5 days! I sure missed my family, though! I've never been away from them for this long.

Today we had a post-op nutrition class. For the past 7 days, we have been drinking clear liquids only. Sugar free jello, broth, and sugar free popcicles. I AM SO SICK OF JELLO & BROTH! I never want to see either of them again! At the class, I seen my "classmates" the ones that had surgery with me. One of the men is having a lot of problem with dizziness. It kind of scared me. I hope he improves quickly. 

I get to move on to soft foods now. Each day, I drink 2 protein drinks and I can have one "chew" meal (as Jody calls it) I can have refried beans, cottage cheese, lentil or split pea soups, or scrambled eggs. I had Taco Bell pintos & cheese for lunch. It was pure ambrosia! I think I'll try scrambled eggs tomorrow.

3/12/07 266 surgery day 273 consultation day 283

A lot has happened since my last post. I have been approved! I have been really busy the past week with pre-op appointments and getting situated at work to be gone the next couple of weeks.  I'm having Lap Roux-en Y surgery at Shasta Regional Medical Center on Monday March 5th at 10:00. I am very excited and a little scared. I'm scared that I will have complications or that the surgery won't work. What if, by having this surgery, I ruin my health with complications? What if, I am one of the few it dosn't work on? But I'm determined. Perhaps even more now. Two of my family members in the past week have discovered serious problems with their hearts. I've got to get a grip on my health now. I don't want to go down that road. The past couple of years I have been worried sick about heart disease and diabetes. I am going to work this program to the best of my ability and beat my family history! I won't be able to post for a week after the surgery. I will need to stay in Redding for a week. Please Pray for Me.   

Yesterday I attended the pre-op teaching class. It was a really informative class. I thought I knew quite a bit about the surgery, but it was neat talking about more of the nuts and bolts of what exactly will happen in the next couple of weeks. They talked a lot about the possible complications, which was scary, but I really appreciate how thorough the Shasta Regional Medical Centers program is. Diane Livingston is the best. She said to page her day or night if we have any problems at all. I feel really good about this program and the people associated with it. Two of the nurses that run the program are post-ops themselves. 

I received my "liver shrink" diet. It will not be easy, but hey, none of this process will be easy. I need to find some good protein drinks. I was told I may have surgery as soon as the 5th! Holy Cow! After reading some of the other posts, I wasn't expecting such a fast process. I decided to go forward with the surgery only 6 weeks ago.

My surgeon's appointment was Wednesday. My BP was good again, 130/80. Dr. Nichols is very nice and answered all my questions.  He said Blue Cross usually goes through the approval process quickly. I'm letting myself get excited! It looks like this may happen. I'll have to come up with my out-of-pocket maximum before surgery...$5,000. I will use this as an incentive to follow the "program". I'm a bit frugal and hate to waste money! I am determined to be sucessfull long term.

Next Wednesday, I have a class to learn the nutrition requirements I'll have to follow and receive a "liver shrinking" diet to follow before surgery.  I'm hoping to have surgery sometime in the next couple of months. I have a pre-paid vacation to go on in July. I hope everything runs smoothly.    

I'm scheduled for my surgeon's consultation! I go in on Wednesday, February 14th. Valentine's Day. I'm really excited about this whole process. Today, I went in for my quarterly blood test at the hospital and had my blood pressure drawn. I have been walking 3xweek, drinking lots of water, taking vitamins and cut out caffeine and carbonated beverages. Just these few changes are already helping! My blood pressure was 146/72, the best it has been in years.

Wow. I'm having a hard time with the requirements the program gave me. No caffeine, no soda, and 64 oz of water. I am a caffeine HOUND.
 This is going to be a lot of work, but it will be worth it. And I think it is smart to do some of these things now so I'm not having to make so many changes after surgery. I'm also walking for 20 minutes a day, but that has been easy. I could KILL for my tea and Mt. Dew right now!