Neglectful...

Wow, I can't believe I've been so neglectful to this blog. I promised myself I would never be that person... the one who is so "in touch" with the support group prior to surgery and then slowly phase out my involvement. And yet it has happened. I completely left out month 8 updates... barely did month 7... and now I'm almost to my 9 month mark. I promise to give you something for that month. And I promise  to update more.

One big thing that has happened lately is that I finally made an appointment to do family photos. I won't even hang up my wedding photos because I was so embarrassed of how big I got. Let's just show a photo so we all know what I'm talking about...

I will redo my wedding photos one day. Another big promise I have made to myself when I started this journey.

Now? It's not perfect, I still have a lot more to loose... but I couldn't be happier with where I am in our "first" family photos that will grace our Christmas cards, my office desk, and the walls of our home :)

Back to Christmas activities on this cold December morning...

Month 7 update!

Don't be fooled... The exclamation mark would leave some of you to think that it's been a good month when in reality I'm just now hopefully ending the stall. So the scale didn't move this month and I'm still a couple of pounds shy of hitting the big 100 pounds lost.

So in honor of my 7 month coming short of my 100 pound goal I decided to come up with a list of 7 things that I'm thankful I can do now that I couldn't do 91-93ish (stupid stall) pounds ago.
1. Cross my legs and sit comfortably
2. Fit in a booth at a restaurant
3. Tie my shoes (and not have bows that are off to the side)
4. Be IN pictures and not just taking them
5. Not have to wear the same pair of jeans multiple times in a row before they get comfortable
6. Get dressed up for Halloween with my friends
7. Wear heels with little discomfort (still working on the walking in them part....)

Alright, here you go. Scale:

That's a 90.2 pound weight loss in 7 months!

Not where I wanted to be... but I'll kick this stall... I think I can, I think I can, I think I can!

So.... I still have not taken by before and during photos for this month... and then when I was about to tonight I realized that I will be taking my 8 month photos next week... so... I'm not going to. I know, I know... I promised monthly. I just have been so busy! But just think of how GREAT my 8 month photos will be... right? RIGHT?! :)

6 Month Update.... Boo!

I'm so sad that this update isn't happier. The hardest and yet most exciting 6 months of my life has gone by and yet I'm dreading this post. I've hit a huge stall and the scale has became my dreaded enemy. I hate my pictures this month, I hate my scale this month, I hate everything. But... I've put it off as long as possible. Here is goes:

Yeah... not good. A 6 month weight loss of 86.8 pounds. 

Sigh... so here we go... the before and durings:

Next month will be better? Right? :(

Skinny Jeans and other NSVs...

So for my non-WLS'ers NSV is "non-scale victories"... other ways we get to measure the success of our decision to have surgery.... one of mine? Buying skinny jeans!

I can't remember the last time I've been able to go into a normal store and get jeans. Most of my clothing and jeans had to be bought at "the fat girl store" (AKA. Lane Bryant). I dreamed of the day I could go into an Old Navy, pick out a pain of in style and cute jeans, put them on, and walk out.

My day has arrived!!!!!

I'm definitely not the size  I want to end up at... and it was hard to find the largest size they had there. But they did. I almost tried them on as a joke. And you know what? They didn't look that bad! And better yet? They fit! I don't know if I'm ready to wear them out to places where people I know will be out... but I wore them last night for the first time. And it felt really really good :) NSV #1

Another NSV was a really awesome trip to Brown County, a good local spot here in Indiana known for it's outdoors-ness, hiking, horse back riding, etc. Not a place I would choose in the middle of summer to spend my day. But we did and I felt awesome. I actually got on the horse... didn't stand by to just take pictures. I'm loving what my new body allows me to do. NSV #2


In not-so-good news... I'm not looking forward to this upcoming weigh in and picture taking. I have finally hit a stall, my friends, and I'm stuck. I have been tremendously lucky to not hit a stall up to this point (and if I thought I have it was a couple of days stall) but this has been going on for almost 3 weeks now. My body has been through a lot so I'm hoping that it's just coping and healing. We will see.

Until then...

Month 5 Update!

I can't believe another month has past... and what a month it has been. It was literally a roller coaster ride this month of feeling great and absolutely horrible.

Basically, everything went to hell about 1/2 way through this month. There was no warning whatsoever but I ended up going into the hospital twice and then had to have emergency surgery. Oh yes, you read that right. It was just as big of a shock to me. Let me explain:

So remember all the tests they ran on me prior to surgery? (Think:pre-op requirements) They check everything: heart, lungs, blood, urine, gall bladder, etc. Everything obviously came back fine since I was cleared for surgery. I specifically remember my surgeon telling me how she was surprised that my gall bladder looked so healthy for being as heavy as I was... Well, it didn't like the changes I have made to say the least because it caused me hell this month. I came home from the pool after relaxing and swimming all day to start feeling really ill. I ended up in so much pain my husband took me to our local ER who stated after a CT scan that my gall bladder looked "a little inflamed" and they suggested calling my RNY surgeon. So, I did. They scheduled a scan for Friday that week. In the meantime I was suppose to keep a bland diet and go back to the ER if they pain increased.

By Tuesday night I was vomiting because the pain was so severe. I made my husband take me back to the same local ER who ran blood tests. Turns out I was in a fatal levels of liver enzymes and needed emergency surgery to see what was blocking my liver. They transferred me to the hospital I had my RNY at (it's a much bigger and more equipped hospital) and I was on a morphine pump all night while they ran a battery of tests to determine the problem. After a night of tests I was scheduled for surgery the following morning. The diagnoses? A gall stone was blocking the duct to my liver (causing the high enzyme levels) and my gall bladder was grotesquely diseased and infected. My surgeon told my family that she has never seen such an infected gall bladder. She was shocked at how quickly it went bad too. Her only explanation was that my gall bladder "didn't get with the program" when I changed my diet and continued to act as if I was eating all the fat/oils that I use to. It basically overworked itself to death. So after a few more days in the hospital to give my body proper antibiotics and heal I headed back home.

Recovery after this surgery was almost worse than the RNY recovery. *TMI WARNING* Not having a gall bladder is poopy- literally and figuratively. I haven't had a normal bowel movement since surgery. I am having to relearn foods again because now without a gall bladder I'm even more sensitive to oils in foods- natural or not. Luckily I am still very strict about my diet so it hasn't been too big of an adjustment.

One great thing about being so sick is the lack of appetite which means a help in the weight loss department! So without further ado.... my month 5 pictures!!

Oh yeah! That's a total of 82.4 pounds since March 17, 2011!!!!

And now the comparisons.... It's silly to say since it's only been 5 months but I don't even remember that girl in the left anymore :) And that's a good feeling!

Can you tell a difference? I'm happy to say that I can. 

Goals for this month? 

1) Work out more... I was doing so well and then with surgery, recovery, and now waiting for my surgeon appointment so she can clear me I have slacked.

2) Blog more! I love being apart of the WLS community and hope I can keep everyone in the loop more often! 

Love you all :)

Happy Birthday to Less of ME!!!!!

 Happy Birthday... to Less of Me!!

I found it horrifically sad that I couldn't find a picture of me last year to put up a comparison... but I guess that was normal in my old self. I wouldn't dare let myself be in front of the camera- and if I did- I was ultra depressed with the results. Now, I love to look at pictures and think... "wow, is my face really shrinking?!" or "wow, I'm glad I have pictures of me and _____". It's a nice change.

DO NOT WORRY FELLOW WLSers.... the cake was for the pose. I am definitely not eating/attempting/wishing/hoping/tempting any cake. At this point it is hard to keep some fruits down because of the natural sugars and I definitely don't want to upset my pouch over processed sugar crap. 

It's hard to imagine what next years pictures will look like... but I am ready and excited to see them. The more weight I lose the more motivated I am to make changes to my life as a whole. This week? It was bringing less processed, more lean lunches to work. And I felt so much better. Lean chicken, lean fish, fresh veggies and fruit... yum! It makes the thought of eating the bad crap not a thought at all. 

Now if only I could break this stall!! I've been in the 260s FOREVER it feels. Cross your fingers for me that this week we see some pounds shed or I may go crazy. I have been pretty lucky to not have stalls last too long. On OH I read about people who stall for weeks at a time- thank god I'm not there yet. A 5-6 day stall is enough to drive me crazy! 

Until next time friends :).........

Month 4 Updates!

Here we go... a quarter done of my new life! What a journey it continues to be. We just got back from an amazing vacation so it is a nice way to wrap up the summer. Some things that made vacation awesome compared to last year?
1) I sat indian style... on the beach... without it being uncomfortable!
2) I felt way better in my swimsuit than last year
3) The summer is hot (Indiana is in the middle of a heat wave as we speak) and I wasn't 1/2 as uncomfortable as I was last year
4) Swimsuit buying wasn't so bad (see my previous post about that)
5) I was actually in family photos this year!


As the months crawl by I get more and more happy about the decision I made in March to have this surgery. I had my 4 month check up with my doctor and she was happy with my progress. She did switch me to a new antacid medication that she hopes will help my nausea as I am still taking anti-nausea medication daily. We will see. I also switched to B-12 injections instead of the sublingual. I don't know why but those seem to work better for me. 


Without further ado... Weight loss for Month 4?

261 pounds even! That's a total of 70 pounds lost since March 17, 2011!!!

And now the me today versus the old me:

I feel definitely feel like I look more "put together" this month. I think I need to go down a size in my jeans though... I'll try for month 5 and hopefully the effect will be more noticeable!