FIFTY POUNDS DOWN!!!!!

I hit 50 lbs lost today, woo hoo....go me!!!!! This is an exciting day. We have been working this past week on the yard getting it cleaned up for Brock's graduation party Friday. What an exciting day that will be. I have been waiting for that day for so long, and since first grade I have said "this child will graduate and will become a decent human being if it kills me!" Wow! I think I made it and I'm not dead! Last night we had Dianne and Linda over for burgers and dogs on the grill. It was really good, but I sure do miss being able to have a burger with a bun and all the fixins'. The only thing missing is the bun and I could have part of it, but I would sure pay for it later, so it's not worth it.

Got a lot to get done this afternoon and tomorrow, gotta finish cleaning the inside just in case of rain Friday. I think for once I am ahead of the game and not feeling stressed!

Tuesday, May 25th

Well, I am at 48 lbs gone now and I've been stuck there for a few days (since Saturday). I had been loosing so rapidly for the past three weeks, and I was hoping that by now I would have made down to 50 lbs, but I am okay where I am. I knew I would have to slow down at some point. I'm sure I'll get started again soon. My mother-in-law asked me last night how I was doing and I was explaining to her that eating is almost a disappointment because "you know how you're hungry and you just can't wait to eat and you feel like you could eat the entire pan of whatever you're fixing, like you just inhale it when it's finished"; she told me "no, I've never felt that way". Well, first of all I was completely shocked that someone has never felt that way, because to me it's just a natural thing.....however, I went on to explain to her that it's disappointing because now when I sit down to eat, number one I have to eat so slow and number two, I can only eat a little bit. No more inhaling. The other night we sat down to eat dinner and the guys had all left the table, and I sat there another 10-15 minutes by myself trying to finish mine. Although Nato is enjoying the fact that I can't eat much, he gets my leftovers!

Arms Getting Smaller! Woo Hoo!

Last night I looked in the mirror and realized my arms are starting to look smaller, woo hoo! I'm loving this! I am now down 46 lbs. I did find some Vitamin D tabs that have 5,000 IU's in them, and I am waiting for them to come in the mail. I've also ordered a new protein supplement......I have just about had enough of Gillian Michael's! It's not bad, but it's the only one I've used for about 8 weeks now and I think it's time to try something different. So far this week I have had a hot dog, hamburger and pizza. Great to have some real food and I have tolerated all of them very well, I just have to remind myself to chew, chew, chew! It's still very weird to me that I can't eat and whole hamburger or hot dog, and it was really weird to only eat a little bit of pizza. I mostly ate just the top and little bit of the crust with the stuffed cheese. I have always been able to polish off half a pizza...no big deal! I'm hoping to get to go to Logan's this weekend and get a chopped steak......yum, yum! I'm sure my head will be disappointed when I have about three bites and have to stop. The biggest problem with eating for me is that by the time I chew it up like I'm supposed to, it gets cold before I get it down.

Wednesday, May 19th

Well, I got my lab results in the mail today from my visit to the doctor last week. My Vitamin D is low and I have to start taking 7000 mg Vitamin D per day for three weeks.......yes.....you read correctly.....7000 mg! I have no idea how I will get that much in per day. I use the chewable Vitamin D's and I will have to chew 7 per day to get that much in. I have no idea if they come in any higher doses, but I will definitely have to look. I have now lost a total of 45 lbs, and am still feeling great! I remember the morning of my surgery and Pastor Jeff prayed over me for "the surgery to be perfect, the recovery to be perfect, and for everything to just go perfect", God certainly heard that prayer because I do feel like everything has gone exactly that way, "perfect". God is so good! I just feel so blessed.

Recent Pictures

First Pictures were taken 3/30/10, others were taken today at 44 lbs gone. Just a little bit of a difference! I do feel better for sure.

Saturday, May 15th

Wow.......43 lbs GONE!!!! I am beginning to really see a difference when I look in the mirror. My "next smaller" clothes are fitting very good now! I was on obesityhelp.com yesterday and reading through the forums and read about "drinking while eating", which is a no, no, and I realized that while I haven't been drinking that much while eating, I also haven't been paying attention to the drinking when it comes to snacks. So....I have been doing some drinking during my snacks. I had chicken for the first time last night and it was WONDERFUL! I am so ready to start eating some meat. I have been busy working on getting Brock's graduation invitations ready to mail this morning, so I'm way behind on my cleaning as well as my food and drinking. I haven't had anything to eat or drink yet and it's 11:45. Makes it kind of tough getting everything in for the rest of the day, so guess I better get started! Have a good Saturday everyone!

One Month Post Op

Forty pounds gone!!!!! I had my one month follow up today and I am doing great! I did get in trouble a little bit because I haven't been using my protein supplements. She said my pouch isn't ready for me to be eating the amount of food I have to eat to get enough protein. She said "you have to be eating all day long", which I am. She said doing that is getting me in the habit of grazing, and it will hurt me later on. Meaning it brings down my chances of keeping the weight off when my stomach can hold more food. Sooooo.......guess I'll have to cool it and drink more shakes. I'm trying to find a good unflavored protein as well to add to my food and drinks. She also told me I need to increase my protein a little. My average has been 65-70 gms per day, and I am supposed to be getting at least 70, so she said I need to increase it a little. Overall, she was happy with my progress. Still very much a learning process!

Monday, May 10th

I'm down 39 lbs today! I know I shouldn't, but I weigh everyday. It's falling off so fast right now that I'm too anxious to wait several days. Weekends are really hard for me to get in all my protein and fluids. I sometimes don't get started till early afternoon and I just can't eat or drink enough in that amount of time. I really need to work harder at getting started earlier. Saturday was hard because I was out running errands most of the day, and then I was spring cleaning my den Saturday evening. We are preparing for Brock's graduation party and I'm working on trying to get the inside and outside work done. I wish I could be guaranteed of no rain that Friday, but since I can't I have to be prepared to have the party inside in case of rain. It's really good though because Lord knows my entire house is a mess and needs to be cleaned desperately. As I look at my house, I realize how badly the entire house needs to updated and redecorated. I am excited about getting this weight off so I will feel like doing some necessary painting and redecorating. Amazing how weight affects every aspect of our lives. I went to my first support group meeting Saturday and learned some new information. I didn't realize that the body can only absorb 25 mg of protein at a time, so when I was having my shakes that were 38 gms, and counting those toward my 70 gms for the day, I was waisting 13 gms, and not meeting my daily requirement. I had egg w/ cheese on toast this morning and it took me an hour to eat it. I heated it up twice before I got finished w/ it. Before surgery my usual breakfast consisted of 2 boiled eggs, two pieces of toast, yogurt and a banana, and I ate in about 10 minutes or less.

Friday, May 7th

Well, I'm down 37 lbs. .....woo hoo! Four years ago I was down to about 15 lbs less than where I am now, and while I knew I had gained 50 lbs; I just didn't realize how much larger I was. Amazing how the head works. I definitely have more clothes to wear now, good thing I decided to hang on to all those clothes I haven't worn in 3 years! Everyday I am adjusting more and more to my new stomach and I am beginning to get to the place where food isn't ALL I think about. Last night my family was eating pizza, oreo cookies and drinking chocolate milk. I can't lie.........I wanted it! However, I just turned my head and watched Survivor, and never thought another thing about it. Now....that's an accomplishment!

Tuesday, May 4th

Three weeks post op and I am feeling really good. Still working on trying to get the protein in without the shakes. So far today I have had cottage cheese and peaches for breakfast, cheese and crackers for lunch, Greek yogurt for afternoon snack and right now I am trying to get down beans and cottage cheese, and I still need to work in 15 more grams of protein. I'm not sure how I will get the rest of the protein in without a shake, but I'm still thinking. With my limits of soft foods, cottage cheese and Greek yogurt have the best bang for my buck as far as protein goes. Cottage cheese has 15 gm of protein per 1/2 C. and Greek yogurt has 16 gm of protein. I am feeling stronger every day and though I've been a little disappointed that I've only lost 17 lbs since surgery, I remind myself that it would take me about 3-4 months of Weight Watchers just to lose 17 lbs. In comparison to that 17 lbs in 3 weeks don't sound bad; and 35 lbs total in 5 weeks definitely isn't bad. I still have that fear in my head that this won't work for me. I'm not sure how long it will take for me to move past that fear, but it's definitely still there. I still find myself getting carried away taking too big of bites and eating too quick. I just feel that God has so richly blessed me with this opportunity and I just can't give Him enough praise for how well I have done. I think about my mother and it really breaks my heart that she never had this opportunity. Lord knows she certainly deserved to have had an opportunity like this.