A little disappointed

I'm a little disappointed this week. Despite being very careful about what I eat, my weight is going up instead of down. I'm hoping it's water retention from that time of the month. I really have to start getting more exercise in and push myself harder. I had hoped to be in onederland by one month out but I didn't quite make it. Now I'm trying to decide on a reasonable goal for the next two months. I've got a wedding to attend at the end of May and we are heading to Disney a week later. Realistically I guess I can say I'll lose 10 lbs a month by then. I'd love to lose more like 15-25 lbs a month though. It's hard because I had such high hopes with this surgery and now after just a month I've stalled out. I know I'm not eating too much and I'm trying to make very good choices of what I eat. If anyone tells me I took the easy way out with this surgery I can tell them I really didn't. I have to pay just as much attention to diet and exercise as I would have if I was doing something like Weight Watchers.

Great but busy weekend

This weekend was so busy. However, other than a few instances of fatigue or not feeling well, I've felt almost entirely back to normal. I can almost drink normally now. I still sip but I can drink more. I'm also adding a few things to my diet and finding that most of it sits well. I continue to drop weight at a rate of about a pound a day. I'm happy with that. If it kept up I could lose all this excess weight in about 3 months. I know it will probably slow down soon though, especially if I can't find time to get more exercise in. I'm really struggling to find time. By the time I get the kids and get home from work, it's time for homework, dinner, and baths. I guess I need to force myself up in the mornings but it's just so hard to do!

Two solid meals!

I actually ate two very small meals of real food today. That's huge progress for me!

Two weeks tomorrow

I went to see the surgeon today. Those visits never last longer than 10 minutes. He said I'm doing great and could start moving to phase 4 of the diet. Time to start figuring out what I can and can't eat. My weight loss has slowed down a little over the last two weeks. I've lost about 7 lbs. I can't complain though. It's better than gaining. I've just got to start finding time to work out. I go back in 3 weeks.

Making progress

We took the kids to the Nationwide race yesterday. It was almost torture for me. I took water and a protein shake with me but would have loved some real food. I've been getting the hiccups several times a day the last couple of days, and I'm also burping more. Its so annoying. I am feeling better overall though. I ate some real food over the last few days. I've had mashed potatoes, mashed sweet potato, salmon, and cooked carrots. I had the salmon tonight and am still waiting to see if it stays down. I'm getting a little nervous that it won't.

Made it through the week

I made it through 3.5 days of school this week. I started feeling so bad yesterday that I went home early. I felt much better today thankfully. I even had mashed potatoes for dinner tonight and they seem to be sitting well so far. I hope I feel good all weekend. A friend gave me race tickets so we are planning to take the kids to both races this weekend. I'm still trying to figure out what I'm taking with me to eat. I've got some pre-made protein shakes I can take at least and plenty of water. I'm 20 lbs down now! I'm looking forward to my appointment Tuesday to see how much more I can lose.

Back to work

I went back to work today. I was dragging so badly when I first got up that I was reconsidering, but once I got to work I was fine. I made it through the whole day and am exhausted now. Talked to Janet at Dr. K's office this afternoon and she suggested starting with some different solids. I'm planning to take a protein shake, cottage cheese, sugar free pudding, and yogurt with me tomorrow. I figure I'll at least be able to eat something from that. I don't know if I'm having head hunger or what but I've had a hungry feeling all day, despite getting in all my protein and lots of water.

Guess I'll start over

I had liquids all day today and my sleeve was doing great. Attempted a little chicken at dinner, which was great until about 20 minutes after I ate. Then I got really uncomfortable and finally ended up throwing it all back up about 3 hours later. Guess it's back to just liquids for another week. I just don't think my stomach is ready for any type of solids yet.

Tempermental sleeve

My sleeve is being so tempermental today. I started out my morning with some Greek yogurt. I'm afraid it might have had too many carbs in it and my sleeve has bothered me off and on the rest of the day. I'm even having a hard time drinking liquids. I did get some sugar-free pudding in a little while ago and that has helped.

I'm looking forward to this uncomfortable feeling to go away. I get nervous about eating because I never know when something might upset my stomach. I was really looking forward to trying soft foods for the variety. However, now I'm almost too scared to try much.

Day 11

Not a lot to report. The day wasn't too bad. I went out this evening and picked up a few soft foods to start trying over the next couple of days. I'm still debating returning to work Monday as well. I guess we'll see how I'm feeling tomorrow. At least I can work abbreviated days if I need to.

Day 10

It's been a crazy day. My daughter has the flu. I finally got her tamiflu and they put me on a preventative course as well. We even got the flu shots in the fall.

I'm really missing actually eating today. I'm not really craving anything specific but I want to feel real food in my mouth. Only 4 more days and I can start soft foods at least.

Day 9

Today has been a rough day again. I knew this was possible, but it's frustrating. I started out by taking my morning meds and then had a protein shake. It was going down just fine but apparently I had one too many sips and the next thing I knew I was in major pain. It's left me feeling bad and like every sip I take is going to come right back up. It's such a learning process. I'll just have to pay better attention to my hunger cues.

I thought I'd share a picture. I hate having my picture taken so this might be one of the last pictures I had at my highest weight. It was taken in May 2011.

My plan is to lose 90 lbs, which is near the top of the healthy range. After that I will evaluate how I feel and look and decide if I need to lose more.

8 days later

Let's start from the beginning. I first began considering weight loss surgery in December 2010. However, at the time it still seemed so drastic to me and I didn't feel like I would qualify through insurance. A year later I finally decided it was time to act. I called the center back and got the ball rolling quickly. I started on December 19th and was in surgery February 29th.  In between, I had doctors appointments, a psych eval, sleep studies (where I found I have sleep apnea), classes, and support group meetings.

I scheduled the surgery for February 29th and had a 2 week low carb diet followed by 2 days of clear liquids before the surgery. I was very calm the day of the surgery. I remember laying there waiting, and I was just ready to get it over. I wasn't nervous and I wasn't re-thinking my decision. I knew it was the best decision I could make. The surgery went very smoothly, and the recovery hasn't been so bad either. I'm keeping this blog to keep track of my progress and to share my experience with others.

• Day 1 - I was out of surgery and in my room by early afternoon. I don't remember as much about that day because of the pain killers. I know I wanted to get up and walk around more but instead they kept me in the bed most of the day.
• Day 2 - I finally got my catheter out and had the chance to sit up in a chair. I had my swallow test which was found perfect so they brought "lunch" (water and jello) up to my room. I slowly sipped and was doing pretty well until a small bit of jello decided it didn't want to go down. I ended up getting sick and had to stay an extra night. I did get up more and walked the halls.
• Day 3 - My night was interrupted by announcements over the hospital of intercom of tornado warnings, which made getting any sleep even harder. I was so ready to go home when they finally released me. I got to start phase 2 of my diet, protein shakes and sugar free liquids, that day and it was really difficult to get much down.
• Days 4-5  - Spent most of these 2 days resting and focusing on getting fluids. We did run out to the store once each day. I was getting around pretty good but was moving a little more slowly than usual.
• Day 6 - I had a rough day with my new sleeve. I felt so fatigued and rough all day. I had a really difficult time getting any fluids or proteins down. I finally tried Unjury Chicken Soup protein and that helped.
• Day 7 - I went to the doctor for my first follow-up.  He said I'm healing well and doing great. I've lost 11 lbs since the week before surgery. He said I can start soft/pureed/mushed foods in another week. I'm really looking forward to it. I miss actually chewing. :D
• Day 8 - I felt great yet tired all day. I had no trouble getting my proteins or fluids in. From what I understand, this happens once the swelling starts going down. If it wasn't for the lack of energy, I'd almost be feeling totally normal.