New Goals

So I've been thinking about my goals for the next year or so and I need to update them a little in light of my goals and my doctors goals.....

Be at or below 200 lbs by Christmas (BMI=33.3)
Be at or below 169 lbs by June 2008 (BMI=28.1)
Make it to my goal weight of 145 lbs by October 2008 (BMI=24.1)

Dr. Graber determined that after 75% of excess weight is lost he'd like me to weigh in at 169. I'd like to take that a bit further and weigh in at 145!!! That would give me a NORMAL BMI of 24.1 down from my original MORBIDLY OBESE BMI of 47.1. I'm already down to a BMI of 38.2 which means I'm OBESE not MORBIDLY OBESE. Sounds good to me. At 179.5 I'll have a BMI of 29.9 which means I'll finally be OVERWEIGHT, not OBESE!!!

Woo Hoo..... Real Food

So I'm on to real food. I'm really excited. I've tried ground beef, deli turkey, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese sticks, protein bars, raspberries, granola.

Thursday night my husband and I went to my support group meeting and then went out to dinner. We went to the Outback Steakhouse that is nearby and I had a half order of Mum's chopped steak, minus the gravy. I only ate about a quarter of it and some mashed potatoes but it was awesome!!! Friday morning I had yogurt, granola and blueberries and I think that this is going to be my new favorite breakfast ever. I ended up having a half of a protein bar mid day as I was running around doing errands and I couldn't make it home. Its nice to know if I'm in a pinch that I can grab a Pure Protein bar which is very low in sugar 0-2gs per bar. Friday night I went out to dinner with some friends before going to see the musical "Menopause". I had a quarter of a turkey club. It was wonderful. Saturday was pretty uneventful we got home late and I had a very very small piece of a wheat crusted cheese pizza that my husband made for himself. It stopped the craving and I felt full and satisfied. I had the yogurt/granola w/raspberries to change it up a little for Sunday am. I stuck to packing my lunch since we went up to the farmhouse that we are renovating. I packed 2 slices of deli turkey, a cheese stick and 2 tbsp. of applesauce for lunch. It took me about 25 minutes to get through all of it but it set really well and I wasn't hungry again until about 7pm.

I just got back from my parents pool. I did a few laps and some arm exercises to help with the skin on my arms. I'm very paranoid about it and I want to make sure that I don't have "bat flaps." I ended up going to the gym on Friday morning and enjoyed it very much. I think that I'm going to try to go 3 times a week to see if that will work initially. I just have to figure out when will be a good time for me to go. I almost think that it may be a stress reliever if I end up going after work. I may end up wanting to go more as I end up with more energy but we'll have to see. My friend, Amanda, who has become my walking partner at work, will be back this week. I completely slacked this past week because I didn't have her as motivation as she was traveling for work. I figure if I can walk 30 minutes or more5 days a week and go to the gym 3 days a week it should help me in my effort to lose weight. I absent mindedly stepped on the scales on Saturday and ended up loosing another pound between Thursday morning and Saturday morning which brings me to a grand total of 53.5 pounds lost, 25.5 since my surgery on June 14th. I only have 29.5 pounds remaining to reach my Christmas 2007 goal. I hope that won't be a problem in the next 5 months :) It would be a great Christmas present to be less than 200 pounds..... its been 8 years since that was a reality.

So much for smooth sailing.....

Well it finally happened. I ate too quickly at lunch yesterday and my pouch didn't like it at all!! Once all of what I ate was expelled I felt much better. I'm glad in a way that it happened so that I know what the feeling is like. I wouldn't recommend eating too fast though as I now know what happens!!! I think I'll keep it low key tonight with cottage cheese :)

As of today I've lost a grand total of 52.5 pounds since January 26th of this year. I'm very excited. I'm wearing clothes that I haven't worn in years. Matter of fact, I only have jeans down one more size before I have to go and actually buy something. I can wear my shirts for quite a while as it doesn't really matter if my shirts are big, its just a problem when my pants fall down.

I'm looking forward to the weekend as I have a wedding to go to. I bought a new outfit to wear to it. I also am going to see the musical "Menopause" with some of my friends that I quilt with. I have a cute outfit to wear that I got last year that was a little too tight then. It is a lime green sweater set and a pair of black capris. I think that will be okay to go to dinner and the musical.

It has been a long week. I have a support group meeting at 6:30 tonight that I'm looking forward to. I want to talk to others and see how they are doing. My husband is planning on going with me and we'll probably pick up something to eat while we are out. I'm glad that I have tomorrow off. I made an appointment to go to the gym tomorrow morning at 7am so that they can show me around. It is a gym that my ob/gyn owns and he gave me a free months pass. I just looked up the prices and this is what it is all about....

1 year plus membership (lump sum) $362
1 year plus membership (monthly payments) $447
1 month at a time plus membership (12 months) $567

I'll re-evaluate the cost after my one month free at the gym. I think after a month I'll have enough knowledge to make a determination.

I'll most likely bounce out of bed early as I am excited to go to the gym and then I have a hair appointment at 10:30. I'm not sure what I'll have done to my hair as I am in the mood for a change, but since my hair is short to begin with there isn't that much to play with. My hair dresser is awesome and she'll come up with something that I love. At least I won't waste a good hair day tomorrow as I'm going to dinner and the musical with my friends. :)

I'm planning on going to the gym at least 3 days a week. I'll probably try to go tomorrow and at 8am on Saturday so that I can do that before I have to go the wedding. I'll have to see what time the wedding is because I can't remember for the life of me. I'm going to have to make some time to go to the store as well since I can start adding more foods into my diet on Saturday plus I need a wedding card and also a black bra for Saturday. That should be really fun since I can't figure out what size I am.

I'll post tomorrow letting everyone know how I like the gym !!!

I just can't take it any longer

I eat tuna, cottage cheese and baked beans as my sources of protein and I can't take it any longer. I broke down and go some boca burgers (mostly soy protein) and had a half of one for dinner. It was okay but at least it was sort of like meat. I also got some firm tofu to use in chili. I put 4 cans of beans, a can of diced tomatoes and a can of tomato sauce in with 1.5 pounds of tofu and chili seasoning in my crockpot hoping that it will make something different and tolerable for my stomach. It made a boatload of it so I will have to make sure that freeze some of it before it goes bad. I'm also hoping that my husband likes it as well so that I don't have to eat it for the next year.

I've found a walking partner at work. Everyday this week we have walked around the block at work twice. This equates to about a mile in 25 minutes. It is great to get out during the day and then I can count on getting my exercise out of the way before I get home in the evening. I need to keep working with my 2 lb weights everyday and the time will fly buy until I can go to the gym on or around August 9th!!!

I'm starting to come out of my slump. I ended up calling Dr. Graber's office on Monday as I had been tired all the time for nearly 2 weeks. As it turns out it corresponded with my monthly visitor and they said that my iron probably was low during my visitors duration. Now that I've moved on from that I seem to be having more and more energy.

I'm looking forward to continuing the journey. I have my ups and downs every week, but I am working through it. I can't believe that I have lost 46.5 pounds since January 26, 2007. I'm not that far from my first 50 pound loss!!

One Month Post-Op

Well a lot has happened in the last month, ups and downs, good and bad. I am sorry? NO WAY!!!

I got on the scales this morning and even with my monthly visitor appearing I have lost 18.5 pounds since surgery. That is 18.5 pounds in about a month!!! Holy Cow!!!

I've been doing well on my diet and seem to be feeling okay. I've been extraordinarily tired this past week and a half, but today I feel like my energy is back. Woo Hoo! I'm making the promise to myself that I need to make sure that I walk at least 30 minutes a day and using my 2 lb weights until I can start working out at the gym the second week of August.

Yesterday was my 31st birthday. My husband took me to dinner and a movie. We went to Red Lobster for dinner and I had the half order of grilled Talapia w/ seasonal vegetables and mashed potatoes. I ate just a little less than half of my fish, the summer squash out of the vegetables and some of the mashed potatoes. It was very good. I even tried a little of one of the biscuits that they serve with dinner. I wasn't a big fish fan before, but it is growing on me as I can't eat any form of poultry or meat yet. We then went to see the new Harry Potter movie. It was really good. I had to laugh as it was over 2.5 hours long and I had to get up to go to the bathroom as I was sip, sip, sipping through it. :)

My awesome husband got me and iPod for my birthday so that I can now listen to my tunes while I am walking or working out. I'm really excited as I've wanted one since I started this whole process. I just have to figure out how to download music!!!

My parents are taking us to dinner tomorrow night and I already know that I am going to have some of the French Onion Soup. It is so awesome. I'm sure I will have some grilled or broiled fish as well, but the highlight will be the soup!!

I've become an avid cottage cheese and tuna fish person. I tend to always eat cottage cheese for breakfast and either tuna or baked beans for lunch. I don't do tuna everyday as a girl in the office is pregnant and it drives her insane when I eat it. She only works 3 days a week and the days she isn't there I always eat tuna :). I've got green beans and squash to make for my vegetables since I am all carroted out. I also had watermelon for the first time yesterday and it was wonderful!! I'm hanging in there, but boy will I be happy when I can slowly add in other things over time.

First Bad Day.......

Well I had my first bad day on Friday. I tired and cranky!!! I was asleep by 6pm and didn't get up until 7:15 Saturday morning. Low and behold my monthly visitor showed up later in the day on Saturday. This in itself was really surprising as in the past when I haven't been taking Metformin to help with my insulin levels (and coincidentally make my cycles regular) I don't ever get my monthly visitor. Well even without taking the Metformin it showed up right on schedule..... My poor husband, I bit his head off for something Friday and I feel really bad about it now. I guess its just one of those adjustments to life after surgery.

I have to say this week I've felt fat, fatter than I have in a long time. I think it was probably just because I was bloated. I'm definitely beginning to feel better. I tried baked beans this morning as part of my new food regiment. My pouch really like them. Yesterday I tried egg salad and it was okay, but I definitely couldn't eat the 4 tbsp that I was aiming for. I'm up to the following:

Breakfast: 4 tbsp. protein; 1 tbsp. grain; 1 tbsp. fruit
Lunch: 4 tbsp. protein, 1 tbsp. fruit; 1 tbsp. vegetable
Dinner: 4 tbsp. protein, 1 tbsp. fruit; 1 tbsp. vegetable

This is going to be my menu for the next 3 weeks. I'm happy with it even though I feel like I am eating too much. I haven't been able to eat 6 tbsp. of food at a meal yet, but we'll see. I always eat my protein first. I'm sure I'll get there over the next 3 weeks.

My one month surgiversary is the 14th and I am looking forward to weighing myself then. Hopefully I'll have a little loss to report.

3 Week Post Op Appointment

Well I had my 3 week post op appointment on Tuesday and everything looks great. They told me that after completing calculations the goal weight that they have in mind for me is 169. I told Dr. Graber's PA Laura Buschmann that I was looking to weigh about 145. She was completely fine with that for a personal goal. When I initially met with Dr. Graber he mentioned something about 130 pounds... that scared the crap right out of me. I'm much happier with 169/145. My blood work came back normal and she said I could take the Centrum Chewables rather than those nasty Flinstones vitamins I've been taking.

I went to the store tonight and got some carrots, green beans and acorn squash. I can start eating vegetables on Saturday and I am really excited about it. I also picked up 2 bananas and some eggs to make egg salad. While I was at the store I saw "The Bullet" mixer. I picked it up and will post after I've used it.

I'm trying to avoid becoming obsessed with the scale. My husband will laugh out loud when he reads this as he probably thinks I already am. I'm going to try to weigh myself on the 14th of every month as well as the days my support group meeting falls on. It will end up being about every 2 weeks. I figure that will give me an idea of how I'm doing.

While I was at the doctor's office I asked about working out at the gym. I was told I have to wait another 5 weeks and I can't lift anything over 5 lbs until then either. I know it is best for me to heal, but boy do I feel good and I don't like having limitations. I can at least swim and workout with two pound weights for my arms.

I have to say going back to work has been kicking my butt. I am so tired when I get home at night it is hard to do anything. I did go for a 15 minute walk while I was at work today and went about 1/2 a mile. Maybe tomorrow I will try to do 2 laps in a half an hour.

I'm looking forward to the weekend. Hopefully it will be pretty quiet and relaxing.

Eggs, Toast, Crackers and Tuna

These are my new favorite foods. I've just started my week 3 diet and am super excited. I've tried limited quantities of each of these foods and they seems to sit very well so far. I have to say I'm using Egg Beaters rather than real eggs as they keep for longer periods of time. My husband is thrilled with eggs for breakfast so he makes them for me :)

I went out to dinner for the first time on Friday night. My aunt and uncle came into town for a relatives birthday party and we went to a great restaurant on a local lake. I was lucky enough to have the broth from their french onion soup and a bit of a baked potato that I mashed w/ margarine. It was wonderful. I wish I could have them make me a vat of the broth and I would be a happy camper.

Saturday I went to a friend camp in the middle of no where. It really is about 30 minutes to anywhere and cell phone service. It was extremely quiet and relaxing. I worked on a quilting project and rested most of the day.

Today my husband and I went to see the movie "Ratatouille" and it was phenomenal. I loved every minute of it. We tried to stop by the jewelry store after the movie but they weren't opened on Sunday. I've decided (and my husband agreed) that I want to get a thin wedding band that I can wear with a ring guard as I get thinner. My wedding band and engagement ring are already too big and I don't want to have them sized until I reach my goal weight. I figure if something happened to my wedding rings I would be devastated so getting a new one for now seems to be the best option. After we came home from the movie my husband, the dog, and I went for a walk. We walked up to my parent's house on the other side of town. It took us about 30 minutes and I did just fine, not too fast, not too slow. Dr. Graber says I should be walking 30 minutes a day by the time I seem him on Tuesday and I don't think I will have a problem reaching that goal.

I'm getting used to packing my breakfast and lunch every time I leave. I tend to have everything laid out the night before so all I have to do is pack it in my insulated container in the morning. Tomorrow I will be up to 2 tbsp. of cottage cheese, yogurt, mashed potatoes, applesauce or oatmeal, plus 1 tbsp. of tuna, eggs, crackers or toast. I can't believe by the end of the week I'll be eating 4 tbsp. of food 3 times a day. It seems like it is an awful lot of food, but I'm following what the doctor says, I don't want to get yelled at!!! :) My parents are planning on taking me out to dinner for my birthday next week and it will be really cool that I'll have more items on my list that I can eat. I'll probably still start with that french onion soup, mmmmmm.

Tomorrow is my first full day back at work and I have to say that I am looking forward to it. I tend to be more structured with my eating and am able to get my water in easily. I'd like to keep pushing the fluids in case that is having any affect on my bowel movements which are few and far between.