Finally Restricted!

Weigh In day- 232lbs yay! I'm almost out of the 230's which is amazing since I started in the high 250's. I was around 225 when we got married, and before I had kids so that is my short term goal for now. Then I'll strive for under 200 (which was collage days) and so on.

I'm REALLY feeling the restriction which is a GOOD thing! I can't eat more than half cup of food at a time, otherwise I'll pay for it. The feeling of it getting stuck is awful. I just had some crackers and dip and after 3 that was it.. I could feel the food getting backed up. My brain wanted more. I wanted to sit and finish all of the dip but I couldn't. That is what I'm getting used to this week. My brain being told "NO! Knock it off!"  by my band.

It's not easy but I'm learning what is comfortable and what is over doing it.

STUCK

Today was rough. I either have the stomach flu or am having a gluten reaction. I've been in the bathroom or in bed all day. Around 2pm I tried to eat something. I made a Lean Cuisine -stir fry, and took a bite of the chicken, and it got stuck. I didn't chew it enough. It hurt like a son of a bitch, and I started to panic a little. It felt like something was trying to rip through my chest. I tried to vomit it up but it wouldn't come up. After a few minutes of walking around it seemed to go down. Happened again, and I had to sip some water to flush it down. That sucked. I guess my fill is working, I need to take smaller bites and chew, chew, chew.

Second Fill

Today I went for my second fill. He ended up putting 1.5 cc's in for a total of 3.5. He reminded me that my weight loss will NOT be like Bryan's. He said I should be striving for 1-2lbs a week (which is just about where I'm at now) not 3-5lbs. I feel fine. Haven't really tried to eat more than cottage cheese. My BMI is now at 41% down from 45.5%

I took a pic of the band he had in his exam room.. weird to think all of this is in me.

Weigh In Day.. a few days late

I've been so bad about keeping up with my blog lately and I'm not happy about it. With the holidays here I've been racing around non stop. No more excuses.

Friday was my weigh in day and I was at 234! Yahoo! The week before I had partied like a rock star and somehow I still managed to lose 2lbs. Tomorrow I'm going for my second fill. I wasn't supposed to get filled until the 11th but I can't see the point in waiting that long when I only have 2cc's in me now.

I'm seeing changes every day and it's exciting! I've started tracking my measurements again.

                           Bust/Chest    Waist    Hip         Butt       Upper Thigh
Date of Surgery:       48.5           43       52        59.25            31
Today :                    46.75         40      50.5       57.5          30.25

Slacking

I had a very busy (yet awesome) weekend so I'm very behind on my blog. Last Friday was weigh in day and I was at 236lbs, which was only a 1lb loss. I thought it was more but I was wrong. Since my first fill I haven't had much restriction at all. I called the Dr and have an appointment for Nov 27th to get another fill. I was supposed to have it done on Dec 11th but I don't want to wait that long. I've been frustrated lately and I'm really trying to tell myself to relax. If I can maintain a 1-2lb loss weekly, that would be pretty great.

My BFF was in town from CA this past weekend and boy did we celebrate! I really don't think I over ate much, but what I did eat, wasn't the healthiest of options and I did drink alcohol. The Dr told us to wait a year and come on... that's just not realistic. I didn't drink much, but I did expect it to affect me more than it did. I though for sure that I would get drunk quickly.. I didn't. That was disappointing. I was really hoping I would be able to save some money and calories when it comes to alcohol, but now I'm really going to have to discipline myself. I didn't track any of my food this weekend. I have to get back into that. I've been slacking, and I have my period so I don't feel motivated to do anything but lay on the couch and eat chocolate.

Hoping tomorrow is a better day, I felt awful today.

Frustrated

      Tomorrow will be 5 weeks post op. I'm feeling frustrated with scale. I've never been the type to weigh myself regularly. I used to gauge my weight gain or loss by my clothes and how they fit. Since I've started this journey, the scale has been a daily stop and it's pretty depressing. I'm eating on average 700cal/ day and MAYBE losing 1-2 lbs a week... if I'm lucky. I've been hovering around the 240 range for 3 weeks now. Even after my fill, I'm not seeing a difference in my restriction. I'm NOT waiting another 4 weeks to be filled. I'm calling the Dr. tomorrow to see if they will fill me after thanksgiving.. and yes I'm waiting until after on purpose. My husband reminds me that I am PMSing and that may contribute to my feelings.. true.

Self Control, and Self Motivation

     A few days after my fill and the weight is starting to come off again, which is encouraging. Having only 2cc's really doesn't feel restrictive at all. Here and there I'll feel tight, but over all I think I can still over eat if I let myself. I'm really having to control myself, stop eating before I'm full, and remember to drink my water. It's having to retrain yourself on everything. It's not easy. I track my food on myfitnesspal.com which is an easy way to keep myself in check. Below is what I had for dinner. Bryan and I now only eat on our small plates. I eat the protein first, then veggie, then carb. I had to stop and couldn't finish my potato or carrots.

I've started exercising again. I like to do Just Dance at home. I have 1-4 and they are all tons of fun! They have a Just Sweat section that really makes you work hard. I recommend it for sure. Also I'm at the gym a couple days a week doing weights.

Weigh In day & First Fill!

     Yesterday was weigh in day and I'm back down to 237. I was up 4lbs last week. The numbers on the scale have been very frustrating. The good news is that I unexpectedly got my first fill yesterday!  I was at Bryan's follow up appointment with him yesterday, and they asked me if I wanted my fill then rather than waiting 2 weeks. I'm 4 weeks post op and I wasn't not having any restriction so of course I said YES!  I didn't know what to expect and was trying not to be nervous.
      They had me lay down on the table and my Dr. felt around for my port by pushing on my abdomen. That was probably the most painful part of it really. He had me do a small sit up to tighten up my abdomen and better expose the port sight. Then I looked as he grabbed the needle. It looked like a long narrow tube. He put it in with a poke, and I could feel it pop into the port. Then he then put 2cc's of saline in which was a weird feeling, and that was it. It was just a poke really. He said the average person needs 6cc's or so, but he wants to fill me 2 at a time since I live 1.5hrs away. I felt really tight right after. I tried to have cottage cheese and it just sat there in my pouch and was very uncomfortable.  I'm supposed to be back on liquids for a couple days. I'm excited for more weight loss. My next fill is Dec 11th. I'm hoping that by having two fills before Christmas I'll be able to reach my goal of 217 by New Years.

Oops

Well I'm a little over 3 weeks post op and I totally gained 4lbs. I'm not happy about it, but as always I know exactly how it happened. Since my stomach has healed, and isn't swollen anymore, I've had NO RESTRICTION. I could eat and eat and eat right now if I wanted to. I've worked on my portions being small but I'm eating too frequently during the day... oh yeah, and the ice cream cake probably didn't help.

I'm still seeing changes in my body however, which is encouraging. I have to keep reminding myself that this is going to be a long process. Unlike Bryan, I won't look like a different person over night. I need to stay focused, and not compare myself to others. I had an appointment with a trainer today to show me what I should be doing at the gym. Now I know what I need to do, and having confidence in the gym is key.

Bryan is a few days shy of 1week post op. HE LOOKS AWESOME! He went from a 4X to 2X... seriously. He's wearing clothes that he hasn't worn in 2-3 years. I'm not sure our changes are noticeable to others, like they are to each other. I know my husbands body VERY well, as he does mine, and so I notice every little change. The other day he pointed out that my ass has flattened out a bunch. You have no idea how good that felt. I've noticed it, but to hear someone else notice makes it all real.

The pics below are pics I make my husband take of me so I can see the changes for myself. I know others may still look at these and think "so what?" but I know there is a difference. I can't wait to get a fill so I can feel the restriction that I felt right after surgery. Right now my band is completely open and it's as if I didn't even have surgery.. well that's how it feels at least.

Nice Face! Day of surgery!

3 Weeks Post Op!

Mingia

 

 

                                                                         Brick House!

 

 

Over Eating

Three weeks ago yesterday I was banded. I'm feeling pretty good over all. I'm back to eating regular foods which is nice, but dangerous. Because my stomach is no longer swollen, and my band is open all the way I'm able to eat large portions, without getting sick. Last night I went to dinner with my girlfriends at Red Lobster and I over ate. I ate a serving of asparagus, about 3 oz of chicken breast, 4 scallops, and about a table spoon of mashed potatoes. I also had 1/3 of a biscuit. I didn't feel sick, just really full and uncomfortable afterwords. I'm really looking forward to a fill so that I won't be able to do this. Even though that's probably a good portion for most, I need to be around 600 cal/ day until I reach my goal weight. That sounds impossible but it's normal with the band. So it's nice to have the freedom back again to eat what I want, but I'm still a fat girl at heart and I really need to watch it until I get my fill.

My husband had the gastric sleeve procedure yesterday. He is doing well, not in pain.. although unlike when I was here three weeks ago, he gets a morphine pump. The incisions aren't a big deal, the pain is all internal, much like my procedure. We are waiting for Dr. Pham to come in and give him the OK to go home. He will be off work for a week, and has to be very careful not to over do it when it comes to eating and drinking because his remaining stomach is stapled back together, and he doesn't want to pop one out of place.

Many people we know think we're nuts I'm sure. I've had people ask me "Don't you think just diet and exercise would work?". That makes me laugh every time. The idea of it would, but after battling it for 10+ years each, and getting fatter every year, obviously it's not going to work. What many healthy people don't understand is that after you've overloaded your body like we have, it is incredibly painful to exercise. I'm not talking, it's hard, I don't want to do it. I mean literally getting out of bed, or walking up stairs is awfully painful. Our feet, ankles, knees, hips.. awful. I knew I needed surgery when it because excruciating to take a walk around my neighborhood. But those days are over for us. As the weight comes off on it's on with the help from our surgeries, we won't feel that pain that prevented us from being able to work out. The biggest factor in all of this is the will to succeed.