Soooooo Close..

So I sorta broke my stall...sorta. Now instead of bouncing back and forth between 183-180 I am bouncing between 179-180. I'll take it. I am now 7 lbs away from being 100 lbs down!

Craziness.....and I am not mad that I haven't hit 172 yet.... because here is the comparison.

Long before surgery and probably close to my biggest of 272...very unhappy.

Me last weekend at 179 lbs!

By the way I went out in public INCLUDING a restaurant and pumping gas like this and didn't even care! hehe

Also, I have some good news. The stressful work situation is now resolved. I moved to a different department at work so the great source of recent stress in my life is more or less gone. I feel even more energetic and like I can concentrate on more important things. Granted...I took a pay cut. But sometimes your sanity is much more important than money. It's fucking priceless thank you.

So if you can't tell roller derby is more or less an obsession of mine. I just love it. It has been helping keep me sane as things had escalated at work. Never underestimate how much better hitting someone can make you feel after a horrible day :) 

Now that I have a bit more focus since my mind isn't preoccupied with work crap, I am starting a workout challenge. You can find it on FB and its the Roller Derby Workout Challenge 2012  . I started late but am doing the workouts and going more with the nutrition guidelines closer to when I was first pre op, except a bit more calories obviously.  

I just finished day 1, and since my practice days are on different days (tomorrow and thu) I swapped the workout days. So today I did the Roller Derby Workout DVD. Ladies, I reccomend this. even if you don't skate or even own a pair, it is an awesome workout. I am feeling the burn. 50 minute workout and it kicked my ass :)  

I am going to be sure to update on my progress through this challenge as I am very excited to see what sort of results I can get out of this, both healthwise as well as what I can bring to my game. This is going to be my first season and I want to be the best I can :)

See ya soon!

Jenn

The Post Op Excitement Continues

I know, I know! I am in the honeymoon stage with my sleeve. It is fine I am enjoying it and staying compliant. Keeping an eye on my intake and all that jazz. Now that I feel better able to drink stuff I am getting a bit more protein in. About 80 grams a day...and WOW has it made a difference. Or at least I think it has.

Today I am sitting pretty at 246.8lbs! I can see the 230's in the not so far distance! When I was on Medifast, that was actually where I started my Medifast journey...at 230.

So hey, at least I will have gotten rid of the 42 lbs over that I had gained over that number. I added another ticker to my progress page so yo can see my total loss as well as my loss since the surgery.

Today starts my full liquids! YAYYYY! I had a chocolate protein shake this morning, which with nonfat milk puts me at 34 gm of protein already. I plan on having a blended cup of soup (if I can eat the whole cup, if not I will save some for later) for lunch and another shake tonight. I should be close to if not at 80 grams of protein for the day. My carbs will be around 52 for the day, which is pretty much like my pre op diet I suppose and a lil higher than I'd like, but it's only for this week. That should be fine, right? Once I move to soft foods I think it will be a bit easier to cut out carbs and keep them around 30 a day.

I got a blender at wal-mart last night... a knock off magic bullet called the rocket blender. So far so good and it has multiple cups etc. My only complaint is that the storage lids are not water tight :( It would have been nice to be able to make a shake in the morning and one for lunch since I return to work Monday. Alas maybe I will just bring in soup for lunch. and do the shake at night.

Also I have a new addition to our household. I had been planning on getting a pet snake for a while now but Robert didn't want me getting it til after surgery because if something happened, he was freaked out at the thought of having to take care of it. So I got her this week.
Meet Harley Quinn (named after the villainess on Batman!) She is a hatchling hypomelanistic corn snake and is about 17 inches long! Sorry if you don't like reptiles or snakes...but she is actually pretty sweet and great being handled. I fell in love with her colors at first site. She is my "I got through the surgery like a big girl" reward I suppose.

Also another exciting revelation happened this week. I got a phone call from another work at home call center type job that they wanted to interview me. The interview went great and pending my credit check meeting their requirements (since I will be handling credit cards and payments etc) I am going to be employed by them part time. They pay hourly and there isn't any selling involved so this is a much better opportunity than the other work from home job I have been doing. I get paid regardless of if I get a call and they even offer benefits. If they are better than my current job I may have to switch over. I already know they have a matching 401k where my full time job doesn't. (lame I know...)

So...wish me luck...send me some good vibes and hope that I am able to meet their credit requirements!I am pretty excited about it but trying not to get my hopes up. I am pretty sure I should be fine but...not positive lol.

What A Week!

Wow, I am already one week post-op! I can't believe it. And what's the grand total for the week?

8.4 lbs Down!

Not too shabby at all! Add in that I have in fact lost inches and feel just less fluffy in general and its been a good week. I am going to try and up my protein to see if I can't do a little bit more this week! Almost out of my clear liquids...YAY!!!!!! I am so ready for some cream of chicken soup or even just a protein shake. I will probably go get a single serve blender from wal-mart tomorrow.

So this past week I have been drinking liquid Isopure. Some people love it, some people hate it, and some just tolerate it. I personally found a flavor I love! GREEN TEA! It is so yum! To me, anyways, it reminds me a little of Arizona Green Tea. The other flavors I got, it was a chore trying to drink the whole bottle. Having the green tea flavor yesterday I had gotten in 40 grams before noon!

I am returning the last 2 of the other flavor for green tea either today or tomorrow. I can see even down the line ordering a case of the green tea and having them here and there when I am on the go. Zero carb and a yummy way to get in your protein. I have some other stuff to share but I will save that for another post so this one doesn't get too long. See you all tomorrow!

Loving The Sleeved Life...

So now that we are out of the hospital I figured it would be a good time to write a bit more about the last few days. So after quite a bit of traveling, from Orlando to LAX then to San Diego, we were picked up by Alberto the driver and taken into Tijuana. They were running behind so I didn't go straight to the hospital. Instead my coordinator took me to her hotel room , so I got to see the hotel I would be at today.

The hotel is very nice and comfortable, though admittedly I am having trouble getting comfy to take a nap.

Anyways, So finally they were ready for me. I get taken to the INT Hospital, am prepped for surgery and get all my pre-op testing done. After they finish testing, I was left in my room with Madi to wait while they got results back and prepped everything else. I broke down and cried, feeling bad that I have gotten to this point of needing the surgery to begin with. (This is normal I think though). Dr. Rodriguez came in and was so nice and kind and put my at ease.

Shortly after, the anesthesiologist came in and talked to me, then it was off to surgery. Surgery went well according to the Dr and was very text book procedure. When I came to though I was nauseated and in pain and quite fussy with everyone, though honestly I don't remember most of this. The next day however was much better. I still needed pain and nausea meds but I could walk around just fine and felt much better. I have since been tolerating first ice chips then fluids quite well. Later that day they did my barium swallow and it came out successful , no leaks!

Last night I had some trouble sleeping but overall any pain or discomfort was handled quickly by the staff. Today they released me and I am now at the hotel relaxing. Madi is finally getting sleep on a decent bed instead of the little bench they have in your room. I am feeling very upbeat and happy I did this today. I feel like I did the right thing for myself and have no gained some power back over my life. It won't always feel easy I am sure, but I think that this was the best decision I made for my life right now.

I have uploaded pics from both the hospital and the drive into TJ on flickr, so you can check them out here.

Reporting from the Other Side

Well I got sleeved yesterday, later in the afternoon. Last night was pretty rough for me. Didn't throw up, but felt like I would. Today has been better. I still have some gas pain but am getting there... walking lots, doing my breathing exercise, taking my gas-x strips annnd I got my cup of ice chips. Though honestly I am not feeling hungry at all.

Will give a bigger update probably from the hotel tomorrow. So far so good.

Post Op Supplies

Post Op Supplies, a photo by NoEscape21 on Flickr. (IF YOU CLICK ON THE PHOTO YOU CAN SEE MY NOTES :P )

Went shopping tonight and got most of my post-op supplies at wal-mart. I ordered a cute turquoise jersey fabric robe online (12 bucks and only a couple bucks shipping).

I also contacted Syntrax and am getting 13 sample packets of Nectar protein for 13 bucks. Everything from Walmart came to a lil under 100 and aside from getting chicken broth cubes, jello and crystal light I will be ready to go and have most of what I need when I get home. YAY!

Still no Passport for Madi, but if it doesn't get here by Saturday the representative's office said to call them again to let them know. So far still doing pretty good with my pre-op diet. accidentally when slightly over my carb limit (by a few grams) but overall I am going strong.