NEW GOAL?

I have been amazed and humbled by how fast I have lost so much weight.  I have always had to work so hard for weight loss - no matter how low my calories and high my exercise level, it has always been a struggle.

October 2012 I had already lost almost 20 lbs pre-op.

Now not quite 9 months since surgery and I am down 126 pounds.  Today I updated my "weight loss ticker" and see I am 4 pounds from my original goal and am wondering what my new goal should be.

 I am already focused on my fitness, so that continues to be something I want to challenge.  I had a great meeting with a trainer and got a whole bunch of new stuff to work on.  Tom and I did  25 miles on the bikes today and it was so easy -  now I need to see if I can do more hilly rides to challenge myself (I had to walk the bike up one hill today...)

But the weight thing, I am not sure about.  I have not been especially weight focused through life because I have always "weighed more" than I look.  Maybe aiming for a clothing size?  I am not all that attached to being a certain size but it was a bit of a thrill to buy a pair of size 12 capri pants.  Most of the things I have been buying are 14 or a large, but I have a couple of mediums, now, too.   I was a 12 when I got married and even though size 12 is bigger now than it was then - hey - a size 12 is cool with me!

July 4, 2013

Some people do lose more weight after this surgery than they plan on.  I really hope I will not be one of the people who end up having an issue with that.  I am noticing every week now that I can eat more at a sitting and make an effort to add more fruits and veggies to my daily meals in addition to the required protein.

I try to add fat where I can, too.  Sounds funny in this fat phobic world, but I need more fat since I only absorb about 40% of what I eat.  Fat is good for hair, skin, digestion and vitamin absorption.

This morning we went out to breakfast on our bike ride and I had 1 egg with some cheese scrambled in and 2 1/2 slices of bacon.  I was amazed I could eat all that!  I couldn't last month.  So if I keep this up I should be able to stop the weight loss and start the life long maintenance of my new, healthier bod.

8 MONTHS POST BPD-DS WEIGHT LOSS SURGERY

I am just past the 8 month mark following my surgery.  I have lost 120 pounds.  I bought a size 12 Land's End dress last week.  I haven't worn a 12 in over 20 years!

I am fairly settled in to my routine.  I gave a good system for keeping track of my vitamins and supplements.  I get all of them in pretty much every day. 

I also have a good routine for my protein requirements.  I have a small breakfast before work, usually something added to Greek Yogurt (5-10 g).  Then on the drive to work I get a protein drink started and finish it at my desk (30g). I munch on a protein bar during the morning (20-30g).  I am especially happy I found Quest Bars because they have such a great variety of flavors. (I am so very sick of fake chocolate and peanut butter flavored stuff.)

Lunch can be a challenge because I am usually pretty full from the drink and bar; so I have something small like some almonds and cheese or leftovers (5-10g).  Then another snack at my desk later in the afternoon, like protein chips, sunflower seeds or more nuts (5-12g). 

Dinner varies a lot.  If my protein is on the high side I relax and don't worry about stuffing something down.  Today I needed another boost so I made my taco salad mostly  ground beef beans and avocado. I'll probably have another protein bar or drink this evening to get to my 90 grams of protein.

I do find that the evening is hard for me, my stomach is much more fussy at the end of the day so I find I graze a bit in order to find what feels right going down. Also I notice by evening, my stomach will not tolerate a lot of food.  We went out the other night and all I could eat was  3 shrimp.  Then I  waited a couple of hours and had 2 more from my "doggie bag."

My family is concerned that I am not eating veggies and fruits - I do eat a few bites of salad greens, broccoli, spinach or other veggies most days.  I indulge my love of fruit more often eating berries and grapefruit every day.  This week I have had some watermelon and peaches, too.

Sometimes I wonder if I will be able to keep up with the protein requirements in the long haul - I hope that my stomach capacity will grow so I can get more of my protein from food rather than supplemental drinks and bars.  For the time being I am very mindful and just do what it takes!

ONE HUNDRED AND TEN FREAKING POUNDS GONE!

I have never been a skinny girl but I have apparently lost the weight of one off of my body. Wow. 


This model claims to weigh 110 pounds - I lost the equivilant of her...)


I am now 6 and a half months post op from BPD-DS bariatric surgery. I have lost 90 pound post-op and a total of 110 pounds since mid-September when I found my doctors and was scheduled for surgery. They said "lose 20 pounds in the month before surgery" so I did. 

As mentioned in a previous post, I had my 6 month lab tests done and there were just 2 tweaks.  I added a separate Vit A supplement because even though my dose was big from the 2 supplements which included it, my Vit A levels were low.  Also, my protein levels needed to be boosted as my "pre-albumin levels were slightly low."  I had been aiming for 80 plus grams a day but now I aim for more like 100 grams.

I am tolerating more foods, but still not much volume.  For instance, I ate a string cheese stick and some almonds for lunch today.  For several lunches  latelyI have enjoyed little "Caprese" salads made of 2 oz whole milk mozzarella, a very small cut up tomato, fresh basil and olive oil.  It's the perfect size for my stomach.  My breakfast lately has been  between 1/4 and 1/3 cup Greek yogurt with 2 sliced strawberries. I snack on almonds, sunflower seeds and peanut butter stuffed celery.

I eat those little meals and snacks every two hours (which is hard to do some days at work) but it doesn't add up to 100 protein grams.  So I supplement - each mid-morning I have a 30 gram protein drink and mid-afternoon I have a 20 or 30 gram protein bar.  If I am coming up short at the end of the day, I do my best to add something else.

Between the little meals, snacks and my vitamins, I am "eating" all day!  I don't have much variety or opportunities to eat anything other than protein foods, but I am certainly not hungry!

102 POUNDS LOST



100 pounds of fat - kinda gross shown this way...

 Finally made it past the 100 pound mark - have I talked enough about it? Sorry.  These numbers start carrying so much importance.  When I was young and trying to look hot my best I always thought 125 was a magic number.  I made it and maintained it for only a few weeks and, surprise!, nothing magical happened.  The scale moved back to my more comfortable 130 and that was where I continued to work hard to stay.

Now my goal is to be at 150.  I think I can do that by summer based on the rate of weight loss I am currently experiencing.

I know 150 sounds like a lot.  I was present when someone I know was weighed at 150 and I gave her a little cheer.  She looked at me like I was crazy!  I explained that was my goal weight.  She understood but still acted like I was undershooting by a lot.

This weekend was a weird one.  I had two meals which were of my normal tiny portions but felt sick after.  Sunday I mostly snacked all day because I felt hungry but couldn't eat more than a few bites at a time.  I made an effort to get my vitamins in this weekend, but didn't make my protein requirements (meaning I was under 90-120g.)  Today, Monday, I am already feeling better and have gotten 50g before noon! 

Day by day.

DOWN 10 MORE

This is hard to explain but sometimes I worry that I will just keep losing weight until I disappear.

Don't take that to mean this weight loss is easy.  It isn't.  I work hard to meet my nutritional needs every day.  I have to take a lot of nasty vitamins and supplements 4 times a day. My diet doesn't have a lot of variety and while I am experiencing more hunger, most of the foods that sound good are off the table either because they are carb heavy or because when I go to eat them they don't taste good or feel good in my stomach.

I am loving being down 90 pounds!!  I am actually down  119 pounds from my highest weight a couple of years ago. I intend to lose at least 40 more.  Maybe 60 more.  That would get me to the weight I worked really hard to maintain in my 20's, so it seems unrealistic - but maybe not!

I had a good session with the trainer at they gym and have a long list of exercises geared to make me stronger and, with any luck, help fill in and take up some of the slack skin.

I don't think I'll disappear - but I am working to be a new, improved model of myself.