Happy Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving. The day of eating until you can't sit down or breathe.  Oh and of course being thankful for this and that and the other. For a food addict however it is a day of uncomfortableness.  It's gluttony at its finest or disgustingness really.  Prior to having the surgery I was seriously worried about all of the food on the holidays.  I grieved long ago about all of the food I wouldn't be able to eat.  I thought I'm seriously having this surgery and will immediately be facing Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.  I was genuinely scared.  I made it through Halloween and the days after eating a tootsie roll here and there.  I thought I would want every Reese's I saw but I didn't.  I thought it would be hard not to raid the candy bag but again it wasnt.  I have been asked multiple times how I was going to handle Thanksgiving. I've been asked how I would feel cooking all the food and not being able to eat it.  So here I am on Thanksgiving typing up my blog at 4:56 p.m. and I'm content.  Very content.  I've ate everything I've made for the most part (no rolls or bread) just a bite here and there.  I haven't felt famished or deprived.  I've felt thankful for the tool gastric bypass has become for me.  I've felt thankful that I don't have the mentality that I need to clean my plate anymore. I am thankful I can eat a bite of something and feel satisfied. As far as cooking...I love to cook.  Cooking is a stress relief for me.  This surgery hasn't changed that.  I love to watch my family enjoy the food I make.  On this Thanksgiving Day I weigh 195 pounds.  I have lost 43.6 pounds.  My BMI has went from 46.6 to 38.1.  I'm making a new life and am loving it.

Our Thanksgiving spread.

My leftovers. I ate a piece of turkey, 2 cubes of sweet potatoes, 2 green beans, 2 bites of potatoes, and a bite of stuffing.

Week 7.

I was 7 weeks post op gastric bypass as of yesterday.  This week has been pretty good actually.  I feel like the dehydration is getting better.  I feel more energetic and actually have been able to do things after work besides sitting on the couch.  I have had some bouts of nausea almost everyday.  I ate chicken one night this week and it got stuck so I hung out with my buddy the toilet for a little while.
My foot is feeling so much better! I think I need 1 more injection and I will be like brand new!
*if you are my father or daughter stop reading!  You have been warned.
Losing 41 pounds has helped with sex! Yes I said sex! It's amazing how much weight hinders you between the sheets.  The increase in energy is amazing.  I am a whole new person.  The increase in libido is incredible. Of course confidence comes with all of this too which is awesome!
I am getting to where I actually feel positive about the surgery. It's been a challenging 7 weeks. I'm not going to lie and say it's been easy because that would be so far from the truth.  I am rarely satifised when I eat and actually despise eating now.  I get hunger pains and think I am starving and then I eat and feel blah.  It's really hard to figure out what I want to eat when nothing sounds good or appeals to me.  I am getting use to the life changes slowly but happily!

New Milestone.

As of this morning I am officially 40 pounds lighter!!!!   I weigh 198.6! So excited for the months ahead!

It happened!

I made it to ONEDERLAND!!!! I have waited for that number to pop up on the scale ALL week! It is so exciting to see the numbers going down and the changes happening with my body. I am now at 39.6 pounds gone forever! I can't believe I have almost lost a total of 40 pounds. I just want to go and dance around outside! Lol.

The weight loss is getting noticed by everyone now and its still strange to get compliments. A lot of my patients are asking questions and I never know what to say.  They all want to know how I'm doing it and for some reason I'm ashamed to say I had gastric bypass. I don't know if its because bypass has the "easy way out" connotation that comes with it??  I know its not the easy way out. Some of this process has been hard as hell. Well most of it really. Everyday is a new part of the process. Do I just say "I'm watching what I'm eating and exercising???". I guess I will figure it out.  

Today I'm going to enjoy being 199 pounds!

So close.

I am so close to ONEDERLAND that I can taste it. I am teetering between 200.8 and 200.6. I can't wait to see that number 1!

I have been doing pretty good until last night.  I am on soft solids so I've been introducing more foods.  I still can only eat a few bites of things which is okay.  I'm trying to drink as much as possible but I can tell I'm getting very dehydrated again. My energy level keeps dwindling.  Last night I got incredibly nauseous from my vitamins. I went to bed thinking I was going to vomit at any moment. I woke up this morning and tried to eat pears (I eat these every morning) and ended up with incredible stomach cramps and a whoosh of chills. It was bizarre. So I for see this day being kind of shitty.
I went to the podiatrist yesterday because I've been having left foot pain. It's been going on for 6 months or so and I had hoped with weight loss it would get better.  He said I have something called cuboid syndrome. Apparently my cuboid bone partially dislocates. He injected it yesterday so I am hoping it gets better.  If it hasn't improved in 2 weeks I have to get an MRI.  It's really interfered with exercising.  I want to start running again but I'm having a hard time just walking.
One awesome NSV is how loose my scrub pants are getting! Check this out;

These were so tight the pockets would come out when I would sit down. Now I can't hardly keep them up!

NSV

NSV= non scale victory.
I was able to easily put on a pair of size 16 jeans today! I have went from a size 24 to a 16!  So as frustrated as I am about the constant stomach trouble this has me pretty stoked.

Praying to the porcelain God.

This has been another hard stomach week.  I wonder sometimes if this is how its going to be for the rest of my life. Sometimes I wonder if I made the right decision in getting the surgery.  Another moment of weakness I suppose.  I'm 5 weeks out now and still get sick a lot.  Like a lot a lot.  I have the hunger pains and frequent cravings but as soon as food hits my stomach I instantaneously become nauseous and have stomach pain. I usually have to lay on the couch rubbing my stomach for 20-30 minutes until it passes.  Today I must have ate my lunch to quickly or didn't chew enough and ended up getting food stuck in my chest.  I had to fly from the table and into the bathroom.  The pain and pressure in my chest was intense.  It seriously felt like I was having a heart attack.  I sat on the floor of the bathroom at work for a good 20 minutes foaming at the mouth.  I ended up being able to vomit a little bit (bloody puke) and the food slowly passed. I HATE feeling this way all the time.  It really makes me not want to eat. I can't enjoy a meal without feeling like shit.  I still get stomach pain with drinking liquid.  I went walking this morning and came home and I swear unconsciously gulped a ice water.  I regretted that quickly.  Very quickly.  So fellow WLS peeps if you ever think your pouch isn't working gulp some water.
I have been able to exercise three times so far this week which has been amazing!  It's always nice to sweat!  I would think some more weight would fall off this week but I'm stuck at 203.8.  Sooooo close!

Transformation station.

I have not realized the difference 34 pounds has made to my body.  It was amazing to put this together and see the changes.  It makes all of the setbacks totally worth it.  

I got out for the first time in 4 weeks and exercised today!! I realized that I am VERY out of shape and still very short (jumping puddles)...lol.  It felt so amazing to sweat and walk the track. Thank you Danielle for coming with me!

Now I am trying to choke down a protein shake for the day.  Easier said than done!  Happy Sunday everybody!