Eating Right!

So it has officially been half a year since my surgery and I couldn’t be more pleased with my results. I am almost at 80 pounds lost and it feels so amazing. I feel like I have to keep looking at old pictures of myself to remember that this is not a dream. :) I think the most challenging thing about having Gastric Bypass surgery is really the discipline you have to have in regards to eating. I was really worried, I am really worried, that I would not be able to handle the strict way of eating that I would have to do, but I kept telling myself that the longer I did it the easier it would get and that has proven to be true. I am of course taking vitamins everyday for the rest of my life now, that includes: multi vitamins, vitamin D, B-12, and I also take chewable fiber now...it is really needed. lol

Making meals and having drinks and snacks has been interesting. There are some things that I can still eat like normal, and others I can not. This is all due to the new rules I have to follow to ensure my body is getting what it needs, and NOT getting too much of what it doesn’t need. Sugars are the big one. My new stomach doesn’t have all the acids and such in it that my original one had, these acids are what break up a lot of our food, especially sugar. My food goes through my new stomach first and doesn’t reach my old one where the acids are until later, so I can not have lots of sugar, if I did there is the chance I could get very sick. This is of course the whole point of the surgery...to help me HAVE to limit the things which are bad for me and cause weight gain. I am only allowed to have 2 grams of added sugar in whatever it is I am eating. That is it. Natural sugar is fine...but added sugar not so much.

Because of this I have had to change the kind of spaghetti sauce I use, I used to only buy Prego, but that had too much sugar for a serving size. I ended up finding a great one in the organic section though and it works great with spaghetti and lasagna. I have also had to change oatmeals, desserts I make (all sugar free ones now), and I can no longer eat cereal because they pretty much all have too much sugar unless you count ones like plain cherrios or rice krispies, but I can eat so little food in one sitting now (since my stomach is so small) that it hardly seems worth it to have cereal at all. Plus, they have hardly no protein in them...and I really need the protein.

I have to get 70 grams of protein in a day. That sounds like a lot but it’s very doable. Well, at first it was hard, I won’t lie, but as I began to research what things had the most protein it certainly got easier. Milk is key. Since it is preferred that I only eat 11 grams of fat per meal (6 small meals a day) I changed from drinking 2% milk, to ½ % milk. I drink 16 ounces or more of that a day to help with the protein. I also buy some protein bars that have 20 grams of protein in them, and only 2 grams of sugar. At first, I didn’t like them very much, but I kept forcing myself to eat them and now I like them fine. If I am having a really busy day and can only eat things that don’t have a lot of protein, I will make a smoothie for myself at some point. I use frozen strawberries and orange juice and add a scoop or more or protein powder. It tastes good and if I do a scoop and a half I can get 45 grams of protein in one shot. Things like that along with cottage cheese, meats, seafood (shrimp, salmon, etc...) and other foods make it not so hard.

Of course there is the drinks to contend with. I am pretty much on a strict water, milk, or crystal lite drinking diet. Well...not strict I guess, I do drink orange juice too, and apple juice. For the first six months you can have ZERO carbonation...and once that time is up you can only have diet soda of course, because of the sugar. I guess I could start having diet soda now since I am at the 6-month mark, but for some reason I don’t really want to yet. I have a feeling my new stomach won’t like it. I already know my stomach doesn’t like noodles very much. It’s not that I get sick or anything when I eat them, but I just get this uncomfortable feeling when I eat them...like they just aren’t settling right. I don’t know, but it makes me not want to eat them.

So anyway, that is how the food intake is coming along. I will try to write about exercise soon...that is a big topic as well. lol

Exercise!

Well...I sucked it up and asked James if he wanted to walk/jog with me. He said yes (only to be supportive, he hates running too. lol ) and so I changed my clothes and off we went. I would say all together I ran half a block (not all at once) and walked the rest. I was VERY tired but proud of myself. I will try to do this more often in an effort to hopefully make it a habit and thus ensuring that after I stop losing weight, I can then keep the weight off. :)

Six Month Check Up

Just got back from my 6 month check up for my Gastric Bypass surgery. Everything is going GREAT! My surgeon said that most people lose 60% of their excess body fat in a year, and at the half year mark I am already 5 pounds away from that mark. He said this means that I will most likely be in the smaller group of people who lose 80% of their excess body fat which means I will likely end up weighing between 140-150 pounds by the year mark. I am SO very excited. My weight loss is slowing down now since I am half way there, which is normal, he also said my hair loss will slow down soon too, THANK GOD! lol The most important thing he told me is to remember that right now my body is working for me...losing weight on its own and I don't really have to do much to make it happen...but once the year mark hits and the weight loss stops then it will switch to me having to work for my body. I will need to make sure I don't get complacent and lazy and start eating more fats than I should, or eating the wrong foods, because that is how people gain the weight back. And of course, I need to be active!!! There is NO WAY IN HELL I am screwing this up...so I am not worried. :)

Hair Loss!

Holy crap...all this hair loss is freaking me out!!! I am losing so much it is freaky and I am trying to remind myself that this is all normal after my surgery but it is really hard to do. My hair feels so much thinner now and I see my hair EVERYWHERE!!! It's all over me, my bed, in the shower. ugh. It's disheartening really. Trying to stay positive though...I know it's not forever, and it will come back!

Milestones!

Good evening world. I can not believe that I am one more pound away from having lost sixty pounds. What a crazy feeling it is to be shrinking like this. Especially since it isn't just my stomach, but my entire frame that seems to be smaller. I have even noticed it in my legs. lol. I am so excited to buy a swimsuit this summer. I am sure I will still want one that has a little skirt or something but wow it will be nice to feel more confident about just being in one.

Funny how different my cravings and taste buds have been since the surgery. Now I don't crave the sweets near as much and some foods that I can eat still just are not as appealing anymore. One example is noodles. I used to LOVE noodles, but now I am just not too in to them. When I eat them they no longer seem to settle very well in my new stomach and makes me feel icky. But I feel fortunate though that so far that is the only negative I have. I know other people who can not eat hardly any dairy anymore, and some people who have a hard time with spices and such. I am doing great on all of those so far.

Another thing I find interesting and kind of funny is that now when I watch the kids or James eating a bunch of food, or sometimes even just two slices of pizza, I notice that I am cringing at how much food they are eating. It almost grosses me out. I always feel like they are eating way too much even though really it isn't that much....it is just way more then I can eat now and so the thought of stuffing that much food inside me just makes me grimace. All part of the changes I am going through I guess.

The not so fun part of the changes is that I have been losing more hair then usual. I knew that this could happen even with me getting all my protein in, but it is still kind of freaky when I see all the hair coming out in the shower. I know its normal though and I am just trying to remember that it will not last forever and I will not lose all my hair. Think positive right? lol. So that is all for now. I will update again soon. :)

Update #2

It has been almost 7 weeks since my surgery. I started at 268 pounds, and I am now at 236. I am so very happy with how I am progressing. It’s easy to wish that the weight would come off even faster, but really the rate I am going seems great. It’s not too fast and I can tell that I am still losing it all over, instead of just all from my stomach area. I think that will help my body bounce back a little better. So many things are already changing, I feel like everyday I get a new surprise. Recently I discovered that I can finally cross my legs like a lady should...that was a HUGE deal for me. I am discovering that the towel is wrapping around more of me when I get out of the shower...I can’t wait for the day when it goes ALL the way around me. Even sleeping in bed has gotten easier! I haven’t woken up with my back hurting in over a week.

The only thing I am really struggling with doing is exercising. It is hard to make yourself do it when you are losing so much weight with out it! I know I need to do it though, I know it will not only help me lose weight faster but will also help my body tighten up. Seriously though it is hard. It’s not that I don’t have the time either, it’s that I am always making an excuse about why I need to do something else instead of exercise. I will even say to myself, “I really need to dust those pictures first!” lol Lame right? But this is what I do. I HAVE to make exercising a habit. I HAVE TO! I need to just pick a time of the day when I do it no matter what else is going on, no matter how many other household chores I think need to be done.

James has noticed a difference in my body also. He said he can tell that I feel different when he hugs me, or just hands his arms around me in general. Other noticeable things have been wearing a new pants size, my bra is getting looser, and my double chin is getting much smaller! I can not wait for a few more months to go by, or even a year! I am so excited to know what the final “product” will look like. lol

In other news I am doing great working at Brick Elementary where the kids go to school. I have been there for a few months now and I like the ladies I work with and of course the hours I work are awesome. The only downside right now is being outside when it is so damn cold. But hopefully Spring will come quickly and save me from that torture.

I can’t believe Christmas is coming up so fast. We have all the presents purchased and wrapped for the kids and other ones to family in CA have already been shipped off. James and I agreed to not buy anything for each other so I didn’t have to worry about that at all. If I get paid from work before Christmas I may even buy a few more items for everyone. The kids could use some more clothes.

Anyway, that is all for now I think. Nite Everyone!

Update

Seems fitting to write a blog on this day considering the date (11.11.11). Just kinda makes it fun somehow. lol I am doing really well with my surgery recovery. I am still experiencing some pain in my bladder region which I can only assume is an inflammation due to having a catheter in me during and after surgery for so long. It certainly is not an infection since I went to the doctor and had that confirmed already. I have my two week check up on Tuesday and I am going to wait until then to bring it up. So far the pain is not near as bad as it was about a week ago, hopefully it will just go away on it’s own.

As for weight loss I have lost 12 pounds so far. It’s very exciting even though quite frankly I have not noticed it yet. I guess I am losing it from somewhere that is not as obvious. lol In my Bible study one of the things that we started talking about was fear...and I realized that one thing that I have been fearing lately is not losing weight with this surgery. I know that is a dumb thing to worry about it, after all, I have already lost 12 pounds so it would be silly to think that I won’t continue to lose weight, but still I have this irrational fear inside me that says, “What if this surgery doesn’t work? What if I only lose a little weight even though I am doing everything right?” Really I do realize that it is silly, but I can’t help it I guess...that is why they are called irrational fears after all. :)

James has been working so hard lately. Last night he didn’t get home until 1am. I’m so thankful for his job, but I feel bad for him when he has big projects like this. They just make him feel mentally worn out and tired. On the plus side he is awesome, and a trooper, he never really complains. I have been going to work quite a bit too now. 4 days this week already, and I will be doing 3 days this next week. It’s nice to get out and do something, but damn if it isn’t super cold. Standing outside watching kids at recess is an easy job, but I think my fingers were about ready to fall off today. I could barely unzip my jacket when I was ready to go home. Maybe I should start wearing two gloves on each hand. lol

Lastly, parent/teacher conferences are quickly approaching. I am not looking forward to this. I dread them every year. I always feel pressured, pressured to defend my child at the mere mention of a problem, pressured to explain a way a behavior. Worried that they will say something awful that I simply do not want to hear. Ugh....again, it’s all irrational fears and usually the meetings go just fine, but I still can’t help but feel worried nonetheless. So annoying and totally my own doing. I am a dork. But at least James will be there with me and that is always comforting, I will just let him do all the talking. lol

Anyway, that’s all for now I guess. Nite all. :)