6 Week Blah...

A week ago things couldn't have been better... finally had some energy, was able to have a date night with my husband, and got all dressed up and went to dinner. We had such a good time :) He has really put up with a lot so it was nice to take him out and let him know how much I appreciate him. I am really starting to notice the weight loss in my face. Here's a picture of our night:

It feels really good to start being in front of the camera instead of hiding behind it because of how I look.

Anyways, woke up Easter morning and that's when it started. Horrible pain in my lower abdomen and couldn't keep any food down. And this continued... until Wednesday when I wasn't able to keep liquids down either. I finally called my doctor and they scheduled an endoscopy on Friday. 

Friday comes and I'm weaker than I was the day after surgery. No food for a week and minimum liquids really did a toll on me. Waking up after the scope wasn't as bad as I thought. It felt like I closed my eyes and blinked myself back to the recovery room. 

And the results? The opening to my pouch had tightened a lot so they stretched it a bit. I also have 3 small ulcers. They didn't give me a reason as to why I would have ulcers already but prescribed me some medication to help heal them. It doesn't help that I had really bad acid reflux prior to surgery though. 

So, at the 6 week mark things are kind of blah. It's basically been a week off all my vitamins and protein so I am tired, weak, and really having buyers remorse. I woke up this morning feeling some pain in my pouch (I'm assuming its from the stretching) but otherwise a little bit better. I will definitely keep you up to date on this! 

Food Network and Man vs. Food

I'm addicted. I can't stop watching Food channels. Can this be healthy?? I've never watched these shows before- and now... I'm DVRing them. I'm not writing down the recipes or eating myself to death while watching the shows. I just watch... okay, I do sometimes wish I was eating what they are eating (who doesn't?!), but I get over it and flip to the next food channel.

Any insights? Am I just mourning the lost of my bad eating habits and living vicariously through the shows? Or am I looking too much into this and it's just me watching TV? I mean... I watch Teen Mom and I'm not running out looking for a Baby Daddy to complicate my life, am I? No. So it can't be that bad... right?!

Month 1 Updates!!!!

SUPER excited to share my Month 1 Updates with you all!!

Weight:

Oh yes, friends, that is 34.4 pounds in 1 month. I was a little scared at first that my doctor would think that I was losing too much too quickly but she said that it should slow down soon but she was very happy with my progress! And the most important thing??? GOODBYE 300s!!!!!

And here it is... My "During Pictures" for Month 1:

 Perks of these photos: I'm wearing jeans 1 size smaller than the month before and the shirt was MUCH easier to fit in this go around.
Blahs of these photos: Still fat

My 1 month doctor visit was very uneventful. She didn't even look at my scars! I was moved to pureed foods though so I've been enjoying chicken, turkey, and cantaloupe! Yum! It definitely takes my pouch some getting use to new and different foods. So far the only thing that it wasn't happy with was watermelon. I think I will try that again may in month 3.

I was also cleared for all activity. I'm really going to try this week to do some exercising. I think that will help me see the weight loss more.

Overall, month 1 was hard... but it's getting easier every day. I'm looking forward to a day when my pouch is happy all day- hasn't happened yet- but the times when I feel yucky are much more farther out now.

Cravings!

Only 4 more days of my full liquid diet and then I'm allowed to start pureed. I don't think I have ever been so excited to eat pureed food in my life. My head is constantly rambling with all my food choices that are able to appear these next 4 weeks. I love looking at recipes and I can't wait to try some of the new ideas I have found.

With that being said, my biggest obstacle (other than the complete lack of energy) is my cravings. I have two different craving moods I have found to lurk in:

1. Pre-Surgery Cravings: I still find myself wanting things I had pre-surgery. Like pizza... oh pizza. There are days I would kill someone for a bacon cheeseburger. It is really hard some days and other days I don't mind at all. My work had a huge pitch in the other day... filled with lots of sugary sweets and to my surprise it didn't bother me at all. What I wanted the most was to join my co-workers the day before out to a local burger joint. Of course, I didn't. But I definitely gave them the "stink eye" about it and complained the rest of the day. :)

2. Post-Surgery Cravings: I can't wait to eat cucumber slices. I have no idea why. It sounds so unbelievably good to me right now. I'm really excited that I get to start them with my pureed foods. I am also craving cantaloupe, salads, and tomatoes. The last two are still 4+ weeks out but you can bet that on Thursday morning I am eating some cantaloupe!

I see my doctor for the first time since surgery on Tuesday. I'm nervous/excited about this. I am nervous that my doctor's scale doesn't show the progress that mine at home does. I am excited that I will be moving to pureed foods (after a month of liquids). I am nervous that there is a complication I don't know about. I'm excited to have 1 month over and behind me. I am also hoping that my doctor clears me for exercise. I think that will help boost my energy levels!

See you Thursday, Friends!!!

Hi-Ho-Hi-Ho... It's back to work I go!

After 2 1/2 weeks it was time to head back to work. So this Monday I made the journey to the office. My job is a pretty stressful one... not so much on my body or being active but very mentally stressful. I thought that maybe it would help me get my mind of things at home and help with making my new life schedule.

Monday morning at 5:45am.... It hit me. Oh my Gosh: I am so not ready for this. I struggled to get down a protein shake that early and headed into the office. I felt horrible. Even though people in the office don't know the particulars about my surgery I heard more "why don't you take the rest of the day off?" comments than I've ever heard before. But, I stuck it through.

Tuesday morning at 5:45am.... Even worse than the day before. More exhausted. More pain. I came home from running errands after work and went to bed by 7.

Wednesday morning at 5:45am.... Perfect. No pain. No sleepiness (other than normal 5:45am sleepiness). I felt great. And you know what? It lasted all day. I got all my vitamins in, all my protein in, all my walking in, all my food in, and I had energy. I felt somewhat normal and I loved it.

And today? Felt not as amazing as the day before but still good. I really hope I'm getting the hang of this. I'm sure there will still be days I'm exhausted... There will be days I am better than yesterday too though. I am liking that I am able to figure out my routine and what I need to do at the times I need to do it. I don't have it perfected yet but I'm hoping in another week or so I can have it down to a science.

And weight loss? I can't wait to tell you... but you'll have to wait until next week for that. I'm not sure we will see any real difference in my 1 month pictures... but it will be fun to do anyways. Next Tuesday is my doctor's appointment and I'm hoping she is as happy as me when she sees the scale.

I do have two new goals for this next week though:
1) More Protein: I really need to focus on getting more and more of this done. I know I can do it... it's just struggling with getting it all in every day.
2) Adding more exercise: I haven't been released by my doctor but I need to be walking more and trying to be more active and not rely on my family to help do things as much anymore... Even though it has been nice not doing laundry for 3 weeks ;-) Hopefully I get released on Tuesday by the doctor to do more exercises. I really loved doing the Biggest Loser Weight Loss Yoga and felt like I was able to tone up some with that. We will see!