Hello Again!

It seems that I've fallen off the face of the Earth!  No, not so. Let's see if I can catch up to today...

I went through 16 weeks of a very low calorie diet in 2010 (as you can see from my previous posts) and lost a total of 50 lbs.  However, my transition back into "real" food didn't go smoothly.  30 lbs found me again.  They always do. I was desperate to eat as normally and healthy as I could and still maintain my weight loss and hopefully lose more, so in January of 2011 I joined Medical Weight Loss Center.  There, they had a very specific diet for me based on serving sizes and types of foods.  What I liked about it was I was able to eat normal "real" food and lose weight.  However, what I didn't like about it was they were very pushy.  They wanted me to buy a lot of their (expensive) supplements and promised more weight loss if I ate more of them.  I did lose some of my regained weight, but ended up quitting the program in May of 2011.

I started exercising weekly at the YMCA and joined WW again for the 3rd time.  It seemed that I was trying so hard but those pounds just didn't want to come off.  I think my metabolism is so screwed up at this point  that my body wants to hang on to every last pound.  So in April of 2012, I started seriously thinking about weight loss surgery.  I went back to Grand Health Partners and attended a surgical weight loss seminar put on by Dr. Foote.  He went over a lot of information including the different procedures they do:  gastric banding, RNY, vertical sleeve, and the "sledgehammer" of all weight loss surgeries - the duodenal switch.

I knew I didn't want the band or the RNY and thought the sleeve might be the best option for me.  But after much research, I decided the DS was the right choice.  I started visiting websites like Obesity Help, DSfacts.com and Weight Loss Surgery Pro Boards and I saw a lot of people that started with another surgery gaining weight back and getting revised to the DS.  The DS offers restriction (with a smaller stomach) with the added benefit of malabsorption (with the re-routing of the intestines).  I knew that I only wanted one surgery and the DS offered the best chance at losing my excess weight (70-80% long term weight loss).  This option also allows 90% of patients the ability to eat whatever they want.  The main thing is to eat a protein based diet and take lifelong vitamin supplements.  That is a lifestyle I can live with.  Complication rates were not any different from the RNY or the sleeve procedure.  I could go on and on, but on July 3, 2012 I took the plunge and had the surgery.

Blue Cross Blue Shield approved me without a hitch because I'd gone through so many "doctor supervised diets" prior to the surgery.  They required at least 6 months of this.  I had to eat a very low calorie diet (again only Grand Health Partner product) for 2 weeks prior to surgery so it would shrink my liver and stomach making the surgery easier to perform and because of the type and quantity of food I was eating, it was a "low residue" diet - meaning I didn't need a bowel prep.  I had the surgery done laparoscopic so I only have 6 small incisions.  I stayed 2 nights in the hospital and am now at home recovering.  I am on a liquid only diet for 2 weeks with my goal being 64 oz of diet/decaf liquids and 4 liquid protein supplements.  Its hard to get it all in!  Because my sleeve of a stomach is still swollen I can only sip my liquids.  But I'm feeling better each day and the pain is less as time goes on.  Also on my goal sheet is walking.  So far I've only walked around the house and gone upstairs daily.  But the weather in Michigan has been in the 100's so walking outside really wasn't an option for me.  Today I will attempt to get out of the house for a bit.  I'm on day 8 post surgery.  I'm planning on going back to work on the 23rd, but maybe sooner if I feel up to it.  I've exhausted every last vacation and sick day for this recovery!

Phew!  I think that's enough for now. Sorry for the lengthy read!

Changes

I haven't written in a while... but I'm still alive! I'm still doing good on the diet - officially 40.5 lbs. down as of today. I had to go bra shopping because my boobs are shrinking! Just where every woman wants to lose their weight!

However, I'm getting a little bored of the food choices. I've been surfing the web a lot lately looking for good low calorie recipes that use a lot of veggies. I'm getting excited to experiment with new veggies that my family has never tried before. We have a farmer's market close by and I have to admit that I've never been to it. Well, that is going to change! In just a few weeks, I'll be back to regular food and I'm determined to eat healthy and pass this on to the rest of my family. Heck, they need to eat healthy too!

Some of the obstacles that have been in the way that I've managed to overcome: a bachelorette party, baby shower, birthday party for my daughter, having pizza in the house, mom's baked from scratch chocolate chip cookies and a couple of camping trips.

A few things that I need to improve on: more exercise, not giving in to tempting tastes and getting more calcium.

I'm going to keep plugging away. I'm thisclose to my first goal which is 250 lbs. My next goal after that is to be 234 which would put me in the "obese" category for my BMI. At that weight, I won't be "morbidly obese" anymore. It just seems weird that I want to be obese. But that is a good goal to shoot for and I'm going to get there!

Cruise Control

It's been a while since I last posted, but I'm now down 30 lbs. in 6 weeks. What a great feeling! I lost 7 lbs. since my last weigh in and almost can't believe it!

Can we talk about temptation? I baked a double layer, triple chocolate cake for my husband's birthday last week. It was also my daughter's birthday at the end of April and another cake. Mother's Day was also a temptation. I spent last weekend at my mother's and the good: I worked in the yard (hard labor type stuff) for two hours. The bad: she took the family out to Pizza Hut for dinner! Did I mention that pizza is one of my weaknesses? But I did good and kept my fingers off the cake and pizza.

At my latest weekly meeting, I was chatting with a fellow weight loss patient about our temptations. She said she wouldn't have been as strong as I was with the cake and pizza. That made me feel good.

There were a couple of days last week when I was just famished. I thought I'd be past the hungry phase, but not so. Luckily, most days I have to cram in the rest of my calories in the evening because I haven't eaten enough for the day. I'm thinking the hunger may have been because of TOM.

I've been noticing my rings are looser and my dress pants are nearly falling off of me. However, my jeans (which have some stretch in them) are not loose on me yet. Even though I've lost 10% of my weight, I can't help having that overwhelming feeling that I have so far to go.

How has my exercise been? Well...last week not so good. Which is why I'm puzzled as to how I lost so much weight. But I'm back on the bandwagon this week and got in a nice hour workout at the Y tonight with 30 minutes on the bike and 30 minutes of strength training. I'm blessed that my daughter Emma likes to go with me and enthusiastically pushes me to get out the door and get 'er done!

I'm going to say something nice about my husband. During our camping weekend a couple of weeks ago, I was helping the kids put together some hobo pies when my girlfriend asked me to make one for her too. My hubby jumped to my defense and said "don't make the woman who can't even eat one make one for you - make your own!" **smiles**

Recently, I was looking through some old pictures from last summer of my brother's wedding. I don't usually like to be in pictures, but this was a wedding after all. Good Lord - I look so incredibly fat in those pictures! Those pictures of me are a good chronicle of how heavy I had become. I dare say the heaviest I've ever been. They are good pictures of the "before" and I'm determined to have a very different "after" picture.

This week is the half way point for me on this program. I feel like I'm on cruise control. I hope it continues to be this easy.

I did that?

I went in for my week 4 weigh in and have lost another 5.3 lbs. I'm down 20.3 lbs in 4 weeks. It's hard for me to wrap my head around this!

This has not been without struggles. This past week, I was very hungry and one night I cooked some porkchops for the family (note: I haven't cooked since going on this diet) and it smelled so good that I cheated and had a small bite of a porkchop. I also had fat free creamer in my coffee 2x on the weekend. These are definitely not on my plan. I was thinking I would be lucky to lose 1 lb. but just over 5?! Wow.

A couple of days ago, a friend asked my husband and I over for dinner. THEY had ribs, coleslaw and biscuits. I brought my program food to eat and they felt so bad for me. I don't want people to feel sorry for me and I don't want them to feel uncomfortable eating in front of me. I just want to get on with life. The next day, I got an email from my friend thanking us for coming to dinner and said after we left, her husband told her that he was just amazed at my willpower. She gave me kudos and told me what an inspiration I am to her. Me - an inspiration? It was a nice boost.

I'm still trying to figure out a way to have a healthy relationship with food. It seems like I think about food all the time. I saw a KFC commercial the other night and was practically drooling over their new chicken sandwich without a bun. The perfect sandwich for me! 2 fried chicken breasts with bacon, cheese, lettuce and tomato sandwiched in between. I've never really been a bread person and typically peel most of the bun off my sandwiches. I know deep down that I can never have this sandwich, even when I'm off the plan. I'm one of those people who you give an inch and I want to eat the whole mile.

So anyway, we are going camping this weekend. It's supposed to be fairly decent - in the 70's and only a chance of rain Friday night after midnight. We are excited to get more camping in because we just bought a new camper last fall. We went from a 1982 popup to a 2005 hybrid camper with a bathroom! Gotta love the potty in the camper!

It's also my daughter's 16th birthday tomorrow and I am taking her to the Secretary of State office in the morning to get her driver's license. Yes, she gets to skip a bit of school. Hey - it's her birthday! I'm a bit nervous turning over the keys to the car and trusting her to do ok, but she really is a fairly good driver. Not so good at directions, but she does a decent job driving.

Well, it's off to bed and on to another day.

Things are Rollin'

I know I haven't posted in a while, but things are going pretty good. I lost 4 lbs. for my week 2 weigh in and I just weighed in again tonight and lost 3 more. That's 15 lbs. in 3 weeks. Not too shabby.

The food is tolerable. I'm experimenting with different flavors of things and have decided that I like most of what is available. It's amazing what you can do with a packet of powder! And it keeps me fairly full. Some days I can go all afternoon without eating and then realize at the end of the day that I've only eaten 600 calories. Luckily, that is easily remedied with a chocolate peanut butter bar and a beef stick.

The weekly meetings are very informative. Last week's meeting was about learning a new type of exercise - tai chi. This week's meeting was about the 5 steps of grief and how we can relate them to grieving our previous way of eating.

My husband continues to cook dinners for the kids and I conveniently make myself scarce. He says because of my diet, he is eating less now too. My 14 year old daughter who is slightly overweight is also starting to count her calories and frequently accompanies me to the gym. I had no idea this would be such a big impact on my family!

Speaking of the gym, I've been working out 3 times a week. Mostly riding the recumbent bike and using the weight machines. Last Saturday, I brought home a pickup truckload of mulch for the gardens and spent the afternoon shoveling mulch from the driveway into wheelbarrows and then into the garden. Talk about a good workout! I felt that in my back and legs the next day!

I'm starting to notice a difference in how my clothes fit me. My size 26 jeans (which were actually getting tight *YIKES*) are now fitting me comfortably. I have a pair of underwear in the bottom of my drawer that are a size too small for me, but I keep as a backup pair. They would always roll down my gut because they were so tight, but I tried them on and they fit fine now! Some of my friends are telling me they can see a difference in me too.

So, I will continue on the straight and narrow. This plan is becoming very easy. I don't even have to really think about what I'm eating. My fear is what life will be like when I have to go back to regular food. Knowing my past, maintaining my weight loss will be my biggest challenge.

Here we go!

It's been nearly a week on the VLCD. The first day was really rough. I was hungry pretty much the whole day and by the time I came home from work, I had a bad headache. The second day wasn't as bad, but still had a nagging ache in my head.

Planning my meals isn't hard to do, since I have a good template for what I should be eating when. Breakfast is a packet of powder that when mixed with water and cooked in a small frying pan, can be either an omelet or scrambled eggs. It isn't horrible, but does taste...well...powdered! Mid morning snack is a protein drink of some kind. There are several to choose from. I've tried hot cocoa, strawberry smoothie, choc. shake, and a lemon raspberry flavored drink. I liked them all. Lunch is vegetarian chicken fajita soup. Mid afternoon snack is again, some type of protein drink and dinner is a little microwave meal. I even get an after dinner snack - a caramel chocolate protein bar or one that tastes (kind of) like strawberry cheesecake. I have a sweet tooth at night so that works out good.

I've been pretty good about staying between 800 and 900 calories. I haven't gone over so far. Also have to drink 64 oz of water each day. That can sometimes be a struggle, but I've done good this week and got them all in. I'm trying to experiment with different snacks and discovered I didn't like the pretzels or the so-called "cookies". Also, there are a couple of different options for breakfast instead of the "omelet". There are little bags of cereal which taste almost like Cheerios. I can have that with 1/2 cup of skim milk and it's pretty good.

There have been plenty of temptations! Especially this past couple of days. I cooked Easter dinner for my extended family last night and we had Honeybaked ham, vegetable risotto, rolls and my sister-in-law brought over a yummy (or smelled that way anyway!) broccoli slaw salad. My mom brought pies and I had bowls of Hershey kisses all over the house. I was a good girl and didn't eat a bite.

Today, we took my mother-in-law out to Olive Garden. Everything on their menu is soooo gooood! I didn't even look at a menu. I brought my little microwave meal and the waiter was nice enough to microwave it for me! After I put it on a fancy plate, it almost looked as good as the stuff everyone else was getting!

My husband has been really good. He did the grocery shopping for the week and made dinners most of the nights. I'm proud of him and grateful that he is stepping up and helping me avoid temptation.

I've been getting some exercise too. Went to the YMCA twice this week and did 1/2 hour on the bike which turns out to be 5 miles, and did 1/2 hour on the weight equipment. My hubby took me on an hour bike ride through our little town today. On the way back home, it was all uphill - and it about killed me, but I made it! I'm committed to continue the exercise and just keep reminding myself that it will eventually get easier.

One bump in the road: I saw a podiatrist about my plantar fasciitis and he showed me the x-rays of my feet. Not pretty. I have two bone spurs on both of my heels. He told me I can't go for walks anymore. I need to stick to bike riding, swimming or the elliptical for cardio. It's a hurdle, but one I can manage.

The diet works. I've been weighing myself on my crappy scale at home and so far, I've lost 6 lbs. We'll see if that's accurate after tomorrow's weigh in at the clinic. To be honest, I'm not hungry all the time anymore and I have more energy. I get up in the morning and I don't feel like a slug. And, of all miracles, I'm not cranky. Definitely a plus for my family!

I hope the next coming weeks are as easy or easier. I'm looking forward to falling into a routine and eventually not thinking about food all the time. I'm going to make this work one way or another.

The Countdown Has Begun!

Today was my appointment with Dr. White at Grand Health Partners for a physical and EKG. The meeting went very well and she answered all my questions. She wants me to get labs done again - bummer! I guess my last labs didn't include everything she needed. This seems to be a very thorough program!

One thing I learned is that I have plantar fasciitis in my right foot and I will probably need to see a podiatrist. Dr. White says it is extremely important to fix any problems I might have that will hinder my ability to exercise. I have still been walking, but especially after last Tuesday night's walk, I could barely use my right foot. Dr. White gave me some referrals that I will follow up on.

Finally - a date to start! I have an appointment on Monday to get the actual VLCD program started. I will meet with the nutritionist and behaviorist. When I go home, I'll have the food and everything needed to get started.

Unfortunately, I must admit I've been pigging out. These last few days before the diet, I've been trying to savor everything. I've had Chinese food, Mexican (my favorite!) and Girl Scout cookies! According to my weigh-in this morning, I've gained a couple of pounds despite my twice weekly walks. Seems a little counterintuitive to put on weight before a diet, but I don't want to deprive myself before I have to!

Something I don't think I've mentioned before is that my girlfriend called me up last week and told me about some free diet food she saw on craigslist. I ended up getting a bag of sample food that is actually for my diet! I've been cautiously testing them to see what I like and don't like so I don't waste my money on stuff in the store. This morning, I tried the apple and cinnamon oatmeal (pitiful serving!) and decided this flavor is definitely not for me. The little freeze dried apple bits kept getting stuck in my teeth! But some of the other stuff was ok, like the protein bar and chocolate shake. There are a few more things to try, like spaghetti and meatballs and vegetarian fajita.

I'm so glad this diet allows me to eat somewhat regular food. During my research online, I've found some people on the VLCD only get shakes and bars. That would be a very boring (but convenient) diet. I've found a couple of blogs to follow: "The Skinny on VLCD's" on blogger.com and "Tricia's Blog" at deanrefreshyou.com. It seems these ladies are going through what I'm ready to do, and I need all the inspiration I can find!