Two months down....forever to go

It's been two months now since my surgery and I'm feeling great.  I have a lot more energy and getting better adjusted to eating without vomiting.  I've lost approximately 50 pounds and I am totally pleased.  I have been digging into the Halloween candy a little but, I have managed to get myself into check.  I am still walking 15 miles a week but I have added floor exercises to my program.  The floor exercises consists of sit ups, push ups, leg raises and donkey kicks (that's what me and my girl call it).  All in all, things are great and life is wonderful. 

Halloween Aftermath

Yesterday was Halloween and we had a blast!!  Dylan was a zombie punk rocker and Jackson was Woody from Toy Story.  They were so adorable, of course.  We went to my in-laws in Central and the boys got waaaaay too much candy.  People kept giving Jackson extra handfuls because he was so cute.  So, to avoid temptation I brought Jackson's bag to work and filled candy dishes all across the office.  My friends Matt, Renee and their son Ethan came and introducted us to some friends of theirs, Jason and Kaci, that seem pretty cool.  They brought their two little girls that were very sweet.  We had lots of food that I could only taste and a really good time.  By the time we got home at 9:00p.m. my boys were completely sugared up and out of control.  Tonight will be the Halloween aftermath of two sleep deprived little boys that want to eat candy all night.  Here are a few pics from last night.

Happy Anniversary!

Today is mine and Doug's 9 year anniversary.  Look what I got.....

Kids say the darndest things!

I met with Dylan's teacher earlier in the month for parent conference day and I got his report card.  Which by the way he's on the honor roll.  When I walked in his teacher asked me how I was feeling.  I said good but was puzzled because I didn't tell her anything was going on.  She then proceeded to tell me that Dylan told her that I was having surgery (at the time) and she asked him if I was ok.  He told her "yes ma'am, she's just going to get skinny".

THANKS DYLAN!!  I could only laugh.

FRIDAY BLAH'S!!!

It’s Friday and most people are really excited and happy that the weekend is approaching. Today, not so much for me. I can’t really explain why so, I will just call it the Friday Blah’s! I think I’m going to blame this mainly because 2 of my 3 boys are going fishing this weekend and it will be just me and Jax. While, I’m excited that I can have complete control of the remote, I’m going to be lonely. I am starting to get sick with sinus and really don’t feel like socializing with ANYONE, so, I guess it’s a good thing I will be by myself . Maybe my blah’s are because I’m mentally missing food. Most of the time I’m not hungry and have to make myself eat but there is the other occasion that my head overrides my stomach and I have bad thoughts. Thoughts of all the things I’m not supposed eat so I try to shake it off. I haven’t walked at all this week because my walking buddy is out of town and I’ve been super busy...ok, still no excuse. Next week back on track with my walking, clear head and high spirits. Sounds convincing huh? Hope you have a great weekend! Mine will be filled with pulling weeds, cleaning house and kissing on my yum yum, aka...Jackson.

Say no to pizza...

Ok, so last Thursday was another late night getting home from football with Dylan.  Football in Watson for 7year olds is something taken very seriously, lol.  Anyway, we got home at our usual 8:00 football night and I was whooped.  Me and Doug did paper, rock, scissors, over who was going to cook and Domino's Pizza won the toss.  I was so hungry by that point so I decided that I would order thin crust and just eat a little.  So, that is exactly what I did and boy was that a mistake.  I ate about a 2 inch square and about 15 minutes later it all came back up.  I will remember that memory for a while and not touch pizza.  Other than that things have been good.  I'm up to walking approximatley 15 miles a week and eating my small rations.  Of course, just like most people, the weekends are the hardest.  We are always on the go with Dylan in football and life that I have eaten a McDonalds chicken nugget here and there.  And, yes I mean 1.  I'm completely blown away by the small amount of food that a person can survive on.  I added calcium citrate to my list of supplements recently.  I swear that my supplements are a meal in themselves but I know that it is all worth it. 

Until next time!!

One month down!!

So, on September 8, 2010, I underwent Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy. For those of you who don't know Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy, aka "the sleeve", creates a banana shaped stomach by resecting the lateral aspect of the stomach. This reduces the stomach capacity from about 16 ounces to less than 4 ounces in size. The pylorus, vagus nerves and antral pump are all intact preserving the functional integrity of the stomach. I have battled with my weight what seems like my whole life. I remember my mom bringing me to the mall as a teenager and sitting in the dressing room crying because nothing fit or nothing looked right. All of my friends were small and I just didn't understand WHY!! My parents, at my request, sent me to weight loss doctors, Weight Watchers, aerobics, and anything you can think of. My mom, dad, and brother are all in very good shape, so, at times, while I feel overly loved, I feel out of place. But, all these years and two babies later my weight and health has gotten completely out of control. I have wanted to have weight loss surgery for years but the dream was just too far out of reach. At the early part of this year I started really looking into this procedure and how it could change my life. I sat at my computer in my office contemplating if this was something that I could do, would I be able to face the challenge. At 30 years old I have high blood pressure, insulin resistance, polycystic ovarian syndrome and depression. I want to be there for my boys, to see them grow up, and be healthy enough to enjoy life with them. I thought about Doug and how withdrawn and antisocial I had become and decided it was time for a change. I prayed that the opportunity would present itself and that I would be strong enough to handle it.  The door was opened to me and I scheduled my appointment.  I had to do so many tests and meet the dreaded dietician.  She was wonderful and assured me that I could do this and how great everything was going to be.  I left there a little overwhelmed and wondering if I had made the right decision.   I guess in my mind I thought that I could eat what I wanted but less and I would lose weight.   I was under the misconception that surgery was the easy way.  That day I learned that I was going to have to eat right, drink lots of water, lots of protein, exercise and supplements.  Being the head strong, determined person that I am I kept moving forward.  My surgery was one week away at this point and in my head I was having that “last supper” syndrome.  I was completely out of control, so , if there was a doubt about whether I made the right decision, I had just confirmed it.  My last meal two days before my surgery was Sammy’s Grill.  I had fried catfish with this wonderful white seafood sauce on top, baked potato, cheese sticks, and cheese fries.  Yes…I had lost my mind at that point.  The next day was basically HELL.  All liquids and jello.  Those of you that really know me, know that I hate jello.  But, I managed and the next day checked in my for my surgery at 7:30 a.m. at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Gonzales.   I was really scared but I did put up this front to my husband and mom that I was completely cool and not at the least bit scared.  Dr. Hargroder, his staff, and the staff at the hospital were wonderful.  My surgery was great but I did experience more pain than I thought.  Doug and my mom were with me the whole way so I was taken care of completely.  The first two weeks were absolutely miserable.  The question of “why did I do this” did pop through my head a few times.  I was in pain, I had to drink all this nasty protein, and I was missing food.  My husband turned into mister mom and really was AWESOME.  He ran the kids everywhere, changed every diaper, and waited on me hand and foot.  My two week check up went great, I lost 25lbs and was very happy.  Since then I have started introducing new foods into my diet, vomiting on occasion, exercising, and have lost another 10lbs.  This blog will serve as a journey in my life as I turn over a new leaf.