New Job, Mom's Rock & 8 Weeks Post-Op

Tomorrow is my 8 week mark post-revision to the sleeve.  I am still chugging along.  They say, slow and steady wins the race right?  (I keep telling myself that hoping I'll believe it one of these times)  Things are progressing, albeit slow.  I've been about 210 for a little bit now.  I admit, I haven't planned nearly as much as I should lately.  I KNOW that I do better when I plan, but that hasn't been the case much.  I have some non-scale victories to report though!  My mom is super sweet and the cutest thing ever.  She sent me $100 to get a few new items to wear to my new job (I'll get to that in a minute...).  In NYC, $100 doesn't usually go very far, so I took my ass to Target and hit the mark down racks, then to Old Navy and hit up whatever sales were going on.  Here is me 8-weeks post op, taking a pic to send to my mom to prove I was buying clothes with her money and not making student loan payments:

Now here is my victory.  I am wearing size 16 pants in this pic (don't mind the crazy hair day I'm having, I think I used a fork for a comb or something), and the pants are actually a little too big!  Not only that, both the top and the sweater are size large and fit just fine!  NO XL's or XXL's here!!  That's a first!  I don't know how long it's been since I was able to be totally out of the XL zone.  I'm shrinking before my very own eyes!  Even though the scale isn't screaming "you've made it to the 100's!" just yet, my body is whispering (...you're almost there!).  I am committing in the very moment to go walking a minimum of 3 lunchtimes this week.  

I mentioned a little while back that I was interviewing for a new position in my hospital where I work.  Well I got the job!!  Woot!!  I gave my 2-week notice and will be starting my new position on October 14.  I am very excited to move on to something more challenging.  Of course this means tons more work, with not a huge pay increase, but I'm hoping that I will be able to prove myself important enough very soon to get a promotion that my new boss said we will have to get the compensation department to note and pay me accordingly.  All in all this has been an excellent couple of weeks.  I have been totally distracted from meal planning and school because of all this new job business, but I'm prepping to have a great fall season.  Squash recipes await!

Ten Things Thursday aka Coming Out of My Slump

1. I'm NOT crazy (and neither are you Dawnya!).  I spoke to the doc and nutritionist and both agree that I have been experiencing Dumping Syndrome on occasion.  This is usually due to poor food/beverage choices.  Funny thing is, I don't make them often, but when I make em, they're pretty bad and the symptoms SUCK ASS.  At least now I know what the heck is going on.  I had thought this only happens with bypass patients, but they assured me that it is now becoming evident that VSG patients also experience this too.
2.  Took a quiz in my Spanish class Monday.  Had no idea about it since I took off class on 9/11, so I quickly learned all new material 10 min before class and still rocked an 88%!
3. Saw my doc/nutritionist for my 6 week follow up as I mentioned before.  I've lost 16 pounds since my surgery date.  I was concerned with a recent stall but I am encouraged by my visit.  I think all will be ok. 
4. Exercise needs priority.  I need to get on this!  Feel free to hold me accountable!
5. I'm still waiting to hear the "official" news on the job I interviewed for.  Seems like it's a Jewish holiday every other day this month.  I'm on hold again. lol.  Keep your fingers crossed.  It's pretty official that I got the job, just all the kinks need to get worked out.
6. I still really want to get a bike.  Just a beach cruiser or something not too crazy difficult to manage.  Anyone got an old one they want to donate to a fat girl, feel free to speak up! ;)
7. The weekend is only 24 short hours away.  I'm stoked.
8. I got volunteered by my fiance to cook dinner for his family for Thanksgiving.  This NYer is going to be cooking a big southern family a Thanksgiving dinner...  IN ALABAMA.  No pressure there!  Not to mention, I'll probably not even have dinner, as we all know that just taking bites to test for seasoning etc will likely be enough to fill me up!  Is it weird that I'm already planning and it's 2 months away?
9. I miss my mama and want her to come visit, but I know it's expensive to fly and that she's saving to come to the wedding in Alabama next summer, so I feel bad even considering asking her to come.  But I miss her.
10. I'm excited to see the Harvest Moon tonight!  The man and I are driving to a nice lookout point tonight at the very south end of Brooklyn to get a nice view.

And there you have it!  Whew... didn't know if I would get through that one!  I'm def in a good mood today.  Hoping nothing knocks it down.

10 Days Out

That's right kids!  It's been 10 whole days since surgery.  Time is flying!  It's sad to think that I'm already 1/2 through my time off work... SOOO we'll stick to the positive things!  Lets look at some stats for instance.

6/18/13 248 lbs -Dr. visit to start the process to seek insurance approval again for revision
7/11/13 240 lbs -Began pre-op diet (it's usually only for 2 weeks but my nutritionist decided she wanted to torture me I guess
8/5/13 228 lbs -Surgery Day! (Seeing that the torture paid off)
8/14/13 218 lbs -First follow up appointment with Dr/Nutritionist

So there you have it folks...  I am officially down 30 lbs from 6/18/13.  And if we want to look wayyyy back to before I got my band starting my pre-op diet in 2011, I was 287 lbs.  (I was even more before that!).  So basically in all from band to post-revision I am down about 70 lbs.  I feel accomplished.  

5 Days Post-Revision

I'm home still recovering from my surgery which was Monday August 5. It's now Saturday and I'm feeling much better. Unfortunately my time of the month has landed in today and its making me sleepy just when I finally feel well enough to get back to some activity. So some progress notes.  The hospital stay was great. The bed is so high tech. Some people might get annoyed by the beds shifting mechanically (built in mechanism to prevent bed sores) but I was thankful for it. I got some of the best sleep there. Since I've been home sleep hasn't been quite as restful. Taking pain meds isn't just a push of a button anymore either. I have to actually get up and take something if I need it. Mostly I don't, but I find myself tossing and turning a bit if I don't. I'd probably be more cozy on the couch, but my man isn't there so automatically the bed is much cozier by default of him and his snuggles.

Eating, or drinking rather has been pretty uneventful.  I have my recommended 2 protein shakes a day.  Sometimes I finish the whole thing, sometimes I don't.  Like yesterday I was feeling a little meh, I added a 1/3 of a banana to my shake for some added sugar to maybe give me some energy (not realizing I was just feeling PMS sleepiness). I could only,ake it through 1/2 of my shake before I was F U L L. Another thing to mention, just because you just have surgery, when the time of the month comes, the cravings are still right there like the annoyingly faithful friend, asking you for salt, sugar, fried carby goodness. I was able to knock this out with some puréed tomato soup topped ever so slightly with Parmesan cheese. All those PMS cravings got their kick in the pants and I felt much better. 3 oz of soup was all I had and it was plenty. I haven't had much to eat outside of that. 

The only other thing is something called "Buddy Fruit". It's all natural fruit blend that comes in those squeeze pouches that they make for kids. I bought these as an alternative to apple sauce, as I could recap it if I couldn't finish it.  They come in small portions, at 3-4.5 oz each. 

These guys are all fruit, natural, and inexpensive. I got them for about $0.69 a piece at Walmart.  They weigh in at about 50-60 calories. It's fruit so yes the sugar content is there so I probably won't continue these once on solids, but for now they're good and help break the monotony (and I can add some to my Prilosec capsule that I need to open and mix with something to take!). 

Finally, my weightloss progress. When I first visited the doctor on June 17, I knew this was the visit where we'd be gathering up my info to submit to insurance for approval. I hadn't been trying terribly difficult to lose weight as I mentioned in previous posts. I am happy to say I am back on track. On June 18 I was 247 pounds. This morning in all my menstrual glory, I was 223 pounds. In 7 1/2 weeks I have dropped 24 pounds. The day of surgery I was 228. 5 days later I'm 5 pounds lighter. Progress I think. I can't wait to see what the next few months holds for me. I'm officially back on track.