...and so it begins! This week I lost somewhere in the neighborhood of 5 lbs... I am a little worried though that much of it was "hair weight"... or weight loss due hairloss! Yes! It's totally a thing! If you can lose baby weight & water weight than you can lose hair weight. ... no I didn't just make that up! OK I did just make that up ... but it sounds legit .... right!?! I was hoping this day would never come... I already have hair thinning/loss due to PCOS. I was praying that it'd skip me but as I took my shower I realized there was more hair falling out today than before .... The plan? Up my protein and biotin intake! I'll spare you all the nasty hair wad pics cause I can't handle those myself! Instead I took some hair selfies... I felt like it should have its moment & be photographed before it starts really thinning & I have to get a new style! Any fellow sleevers having hair trouble? ... and in case you didn't see it, I had an NSV today .... see the pic below... Instagram cut off the reason I am excited ... me in this shirt is a great big huge deal! You who know me know why! This shirt is Michael's ... when I ordered them I had to get a different style because they didn't make my size in these ... I would always joke that it was my fat girl shirt, but it is one of the many reasons that pushed me to have sx.
I have almost always been fat, so I never really grasped just how different my body would be when I started losing weight ... But It changes a lot. Of course, I expected shirts to get looser, pants, too. ~I had hoped that would have been sooner, if truth be told. ~ I even expected my double-chins to shrink and hoped to see a jaw and neckline. I think I will never get over the fact though, that shoes fit differently and my rings spin around my fingers. People told me this would happen, "you lose in the little places 1st." I have never been the big girl with frankfurter fingers, elephant ankles and amazon feet. These areas were freakishly small for my weight. I seriously thought there was no way I had much to lose in those area. I wore a size 7 to 8 in both rings and shoes, pretty normal I'd say. I guess the truth is though, every single inch of my body is shrinking. I am kind of in awe that even the padding on the bottoms of my feet in gone, I "feel" more with my hands and under my feet now, it is interesting. I find myself clenching my fists and rocking on my feet just to feel the difference. Intellectually, I knew the loss would happen all over my body. But I guess as humans, we are so obsessed with the large, visible areas of our body and we tend to forget that the "small" stuff. Ultimately, I guess maybe I was hoping I'd lose 10 pounds in my midsection and not my ring finger ... but whatever it takes to be healthy I suppose! Any other sleevers notice odd/unexpected changes in their bodies? Comment below! A case of my eyes were much bigger than my tiny tummy!There have been times lately when my eyes were absolutely bigger than my tiny tummy! It is a huge adjustment to be in a restaurant and order only what will fill you up. The old glutton me rears it's ugly head & I greedily order an entire meal! Cravings of big portions don’t go away until I eat the first spoonful and then mysteriously ... the gluttony disappears. This is one of the biggest mental tricks my mind plays right now. Luckily no matter how hard I try I cannot possibly eat the entire meal, my body forces me to stop. These pics are the "after' photos of meals I have ordered in the last couple of months. Except for the McDonalds chicken it's a before ... I ordered the Artisan Chicken sandwich MEAL with fries ... I ate only the chicken!! Of course these are meals I have had when eating out with family or friends ... these are more of a sampling of what I am eating on a regular basis...
It's been 80 days and I can confidently say that I have broken my stall ... I am confident that this trick will work not only for the WLS world but those "normal" people too.... A couple of weeks ago a 2yr VSG veteran was checking on me and I told her about how discouraged I was with the month long stall I was having. After talking for a bit she told me her greatest loss was during months 3-6 and that the B12 injection monthly was a life saver for her even to this day. Since it was the end of the school year I haven't have time to get to the Dr. for an injection, so I just upped the sublingual B12 and purchased multivitamins with additional B12 .... since then I have lost over 1/2 pound a day . My stall lasted from April 18 to May 20! The B12 has also had a positive effect on my PCOS, but I will spare you the details. I have also learned that B12 is water soluble so with the amount of h2o we take in as VSG'ers most of it is flushed out ... In my research I found that too much won't hurt it will just flush out! So what is it am I taking you ask?
EVEN IF ALL OF ME IS LESS TODAY THAN IT WAS yesterday!We finally got date night! I love this man more than he knows. And since we were Kid free Friday night he suggested that we go out ... It is obvious we are getting old though since our "date" consisted of a trip to the Bible book store, dinner at the Mall food court and a run through Big Lots before they closed! We did managed to get a decent pic together on the trip after several tries! Saturday we hung out around the casa with y favorite mini man and had a great day showing him how to get dirty! Today, we are kid free again. His mom kept all the grandkids over night so we are alone to work on the farm together! We have gotten so much done and it is actually nice to have the energy to work along side of him and not just Pin what we want to do! We were able to work in the garden, move the animals, build a chicken pin outdoors and move their roost. I see many more projects in our future! If for no other reason, this makes the sleeve well worth it! It appears as if we are at a stand still ... but why, how I am only 3 months out. The weight should be falling off. Sometimes I feel like my very own version of Dr. Nowzaradan from "My 600lb life" on TLC. He is one critical guy on those who aren't losing like they should, even if they are losing inches. Don't tell anyone but I sometimes even lecture myself in his Iranian accent ... shhh... I'm kidding, but really, I am as hard on myself is he is to the lady who is doing "everything she can" and scarfs 3 cheeseburgers on the drive to his office! Since I feel like Dr. Now I decided to research his diet recommendations, he has a few tips on his website, drnowmd.com . I found a few ideas, but not a menu recommendation.
I found these menu tips at obesitycoverage.com ... they have tips from pre-op to 5 weeks post op and beyond..... WEEK 5 AND BEYOND Continue to introduce foods one by one to see how well they are tolerated. Watch out for constipation, diarrhea, and upset stomach.
It's been a while since I posted.... honestly life got busy here at the end of the school year, baseball has started, I had finals, Michael is looking for a new job and we took on fostering a sibling group of a short time. So after late games, baths and homework I needed my beauty sleep, no time for blogging! I have spent some time just getting to know myself again, what I can tolerate & what I can't, how to eat out and at holidays, eating with friends and family and just saying no to food I love. In this time I have teetered within a 3 pound window.... this is beyond frustrating. I am exercising more, upping proteins and water, lowering sugar and carbs. In all of it though I am still seeing changes. I am seeing my neck reappear, my thighs and hips slim down, my belly slowly disappear. It's funny, I have never really had fat hands, wrists, ankles or feet...but they are losing weight and people are noticing. The other night Jax found a rope he and I had used to measure our measure the biggest part of our stomach's since Nov. I have lost 7 inches, and he has lost 4, that is progress! I have had several NSV's recently too which helps. I fit in the booth in an RV, a sports bra I bought pre-op finally fits. I no longer have to adjust my steering wheel to drive after hubby has been behind the wheel & seat belts are easier to put on and have all fit so far. I have more energy now and actually get antsy if I sit too long, but by far, the most exciting NSV came when a parent came to the school for a meeting yesterday. I had translated a meeting for her about 6-8 weeks ago, and she returned for a follow-up yesterday. While we were walking to our meeting she says... this is a translated quote folks ... "Erica, you have lost a lot of weight, what are you doing to get so skinny?!?" REALLY!!!! Cue the victory dance music!!!!! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! SHE CALLED ME SKINNY.... laughable I know ~ I haven't even dropped a size yet, clothes just feel more comfortable ~... but the point is someone who had no idea I had the surgery or that I watch every bite noticed that I have lost! How's that for motivation?!? This has inspired me to go back to basics. I can no longer be satisfied teetering. I have gone back to a week 4 diet. Nothing but Vitamins, protein shakes, whole proteins, water and veggies. I also am working on journaling better, I am not too good at it, I find it hard to figure out the nutrition value when you only eat a 1/5 of the food. It is also time consuming... but hey if I am doing that I am not eating! I thank God every day for my sleeve and miss Tijuana and the people there like crazy. It's like they not only took part of my stomach, but part of my heart also! If you are considering this... I say Go for it! I love talking to people in whatever stage they are in... talk to me! Leave messages below or find e on Facebook! Matthew 6:25-34 [Full Chapter] ... “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?" Sunday's sermon could have not been more fitting for the Price family at this time. Michael has been struggling with a possible career change, and of course you know I have been making a life style change. In this, we worry, it seems to be what adults do. The message was pretty direct, when worry consumes you lose sight of the important things, namely God. As with any good sermon we all get something different out of it. Michael got what he needed and I got this.... I realize that on a deeper level, the passage isn’t talking about having enough food to eat; it’s more likely talking about pursuing food in the form of wealth. The contrast is between birds of the air who “neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns” and the one who sows, reaps and stores thinking that he can “add a single hour to his span of life”. The idea of sowing and reaping and having barns probably isn’t about struggling to get your next meal. It’s an idea of extending your life. However sometimes God strips away all of the fancy talk and makes it simple....to me yesterday she was saying "Erica, stop over thinking it! I have provided you with this tool and will make sure you are successful! Put all of your faith in Me, prayerfully follow Me and together we will get you where you need to be.!" Does this mean I will ignore my diet, no. Does it mean I can forget about exercising? Nope. It means I need to do what I am supposed to do and not worry about the scale and the stall I have been on or how my clothes are fitting. It means I am in good hands that God has a plan for my health and I need to stop obsessing over the amount of proteins I didn't get in today or if I have already accidentally stretched my pouch. I have decided that I will make prayer my focus. When I experience a faux mental hunger I will pray. When I "crave" junk I will pray. When I am too lazy to exercise I will walk... and pray! This plan places focus on what is most important. I relationship with Him! Start of seven weeks.... where did I think I'd be on day 42 post op? I guess the optimistic part of me thought I would have seen a bigger change ... but the cautious part of me felt like there is no way I would lose more than 20 pounds before summer. SO here I sit, about 50 pounds gone forever.... 34 since sx. This week the part that is irritating is that my scales are never the same.... I have fought this before for 2 weeks my scale fluctuates between 5 and 15 pounds lost .... I am cautiously optimistic and I settle with 10 ... then it miraculously falls into place and it is only 6 pounds down.... what a bummer... it's a good thing I feel great and I have a positive attitude about it all.
The fact is, I can see changes, not so much in my appearance, but is the way I move, the way I feel and my over all attitude. I am happier, I move around more, I am more positive and I am making lifestyle changes! Today a person on my facebook group had a great idea, she is on the same time frame a Sunny and I. She mentioned that she was simplifying her plan.... this is great because there are times when I also feel overwhelmed with all that I am trying to achieve. She made a list of a few things she will be focusing on for the week and I thought it was a great idea - she and I will be checking in with each other to encourage accountability for these goals... I have added a few personal goals to her list. I know it's not top ten Tuesday ... but ... This these are the area's I will work on -
I am going to really focus on these 5 things for the next 5 days, and see how I lose! I have lost 48.4 total pounds since I started this Journey, (almost all of it since Feb. 2015 | pre-op") I have lose 32.6 since the Sx -03/09/2015 This week my scale has bounced around and I have gotten readings anywhere from 318 - 297 ... I most consistently get 314.2 so that is what I will roll with! Update... the scale was not on level ground ... shortly after this post I stalled out at 320lbs for almost 4 weeks
The week before I left for Mexico I began having pain in the middle of my spinal cord. I had lost almost 20 pounds and was nervous that it was a kidney infection so I went to my PCP and found that it was just back pain he gave me hydrocodone and sent me on my way. The pain went away just a day or two before we left and I thought that I was golden. Last week, at about 40 lbs down, I began to have a dull pain in my lower back it was just on the right side so I thought it was menstrual cramping. The pain continued and even got more sever, eventually I had a numb sensation in the skin on that side. Some days it was worse than others. I finally decided it was time to contact a chiropractor, so I sent a message to a girl we grew-up with who has a business locally. She has had some recent medical issues and would be returning to the office the following Tuesday, and she suspected that the rapid weight loss was to blame. I have since researched and discovered that... "As a person moves through the weight loss process, their body’s center of gravity will change and can cause pain in different areas of their body. Weight Loss Surgery patients should be kind to themselves during this time as their body learn new ways to stand and move. A Chiropractic adjustment will help bring their spine back into balance and will keep their nerve pathways working as efficiently as possible." I will post an update after my appointment!
**** I went for my appointment with Dr. Megan yesterday and our suspicions were correct... My hip was REALLY out and the spot in my back that had hurt weeks before was slightly out. She took x-rays, but could feel that my hip was out. It was all very fascinating to me! She said she was surprised that my whole leg wasn't in pain or numb, lucky for me it wasn't. Megan made the entire experience comfortable and I was completely confident in her knowledge and abilities! By noon today I had hardly any pain! I am sill feeling the numb sensation and have sent her a message to find out why. Locals can find Dr. Megan on her facebook page for State line Chiropractics.
I have shared her videos before, but I feel like she has a lot of good to say! I love this girl almost as much as I <3 TJ, Mexico...
SO the question is ... Is Weightloss Surgery right for you??? We all have our reasons ... we all have that proverbial straw that broke the camels back in the video Clusie shares hers... I will quickly recap "my story" ~ 18 years ago I was diagnosed with PCOS - 15 years ago Hyper-insulin anemia - 12 years ago I started researching the band, I knew someday I would have WLS ... 8 years ago I told my husband I was getting it someday, but never could quite get it in my grasps ... Fall 2014 a dear friend Sunny suggests the sleeve in Mexico, my 10 year old cries about his weight, I can't fit in a booth comfortably, I am tired, I fear heart attacks & can't ride rides with my kids! I decide it is time to live! I research the details and it all just seemed to fall right into place! - Wanna read more it's all here in the blog -just read back a few months~! Now ... Enjoy Clusie's Story! I did it! I made it! It is actually working. So many things have changed in one month, yet I still have a long way to go! At the beginning of week 4 I was bummed because I was stalled out at 17 lbs lost since sx. I was telling Michael that I was worried that I had the sx to lose 17 pounds. He asked what I was expecting, and I told him that I had hoped for at least a 20 pound loss at 1 month out. He told me we weren't there yet. a couple of days ago I got on the scale and I was down 20.2 ... talk about celebrate! Then yesterday, I was down 2 more! I lost 22.6 in the 1st month since sx ... a total of 38.2 pounds! I cannot believe it! I never ever could have done this without my tool! I found myself missing TJ today too! That place seems to have become a part of me. Junior posted on his page for the 1st time in a long time then on the way home the kids asked if we could go to TJ soon. I am certain that future trips south of the border are to be had! People usually want to know ... 'Do you regret getting the sleeve?' To that I say ... Heck No! Are there days I wish it were easier? Sure! Do I worry I will never ever eat the foods I like again? Definitely! Do I wish I could just eat what I want?Absolutely! But I know that as with most things that are worth having, there is a trade off, there is a sacrifice! I have lost 38.4 total pounds since I started this Journey, (almost all of it since Feb. 2015 | pre-op") I have lose 22.6 since the Sx HW: 362.8 - SW: 347 - CW: 324.4
There is definitely a learning curve where WLS is concerned! I am absolutely still learning & even worrying that I am "not doing it right." In 3 days I will "celebrate" my 1 month sleeversary and there are many things I have learned & I'd like to share them with you!
Yesterday was Easter... my 1st major Holiday after the SX... How'd I do? Lets just call it a cheat day... I have to admit that the holidays somewhat derailed my eating. But I think a huge part of this journey is identifying my problem areas, correcting them and moving past them. I have to learn how to live in the "real world" and resist temptation. I am getting better at making a small plate, but grazing was the name of the game on Easter. I have discovered that if I do not east really heavy proteins I do not get over full or the foamies, so I used that to "cheat" my way through the day. Surprisingly though I got on the scale this morning and I have lost, I broke the stall, I am really close to my 1 month goal just a couple of pounds to go!!! I realize this will not always be the trend but I will take it! I am excited to start exercising soon! It was really nice to spend time with family, most I haven't seen since sx and several say they can see a difference, and that my skin is healthier and glowing I hope that this continues also. I have lost 32.8 total pounds since I started this Journey, (almost all of it since Feb. 2015 | pre-op I had lost almost 20 but regained some after a couple "last suppers") I have lose 17.2 since the Sx Hw: 362.8 - SW: 347 - CW: 329.810 things you should NEVER Say to a WLS patient.Well meaning friends and family have a lot to say, we love for you to ask us how we are doing or tell us we look thinner but never ever say ...
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This weight loss is only from June 2015 (I had lost another 51 pounds prior to this)
Blog MissionIt has taken me a long time to get to this point, but I feel like God opened the right doors at the right time. My vision for this blog is not only to document and share my journey with those who care, but also to encourage those who may be following in my footsteps. First and foremost though, I want to give all the glory to God & to focus on his plan for me throughout the journey. What you talkin' 'bout?VSG = Vertical Gastric Sleeve Categories
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