New Normals!

As we go through different seasons of our life, we have to adjust our thinking and our actions to accept the "new normals" of our lives.  As my husband and I have both had VSG, we are experiencing new normals every day.  I have to get my head around the facts that this is my new life - small portions, protein based diet, low carbs, no diet drinks (still miss every day), exercising, and planning for meals and snacks. Here's a list of some of my NEW NORMALS!!


1.   Getting off medications
2.   Having the twinkle back in my husband's eye as he feels better than he has in a year!!
3.   Packing lunch for my husband in his bento box every day
4.   Packing snacks in my Vera Bradley Lunch Box
5.   Crystal Light Mojito
6.   Baggy pants
7.   Saggy bra cups
8.   Clearer skin
9.   Hearing "Wow - I can really tell in your face that you've lost weight!"
10.  My Fitness Pal
11.  Having to always average my weekly weight loss to keep from getting discouraged when only lose      one pound or not at all. Currently at 3.74 lbs a week.  Yeah!
12.  Trying not to compare myself to others on message boards.
13.  Reading OH daily to keep inspired.
14.  For Fast Food - getting Chick-fil-et grilled chicken nuggets kids meal with iced tea
15.  Sonic Happy Hour - getting unsweet Route 44 Iced Tea with sugar free Mint flavoring (also sugar free Mango, Peach, etc)
16.  Looking forward to snacks such as Greek Yogurt & Baby Bel cheese
17.  Exercising - still have to make myself go to the gym or for a walk (this hasn't gotten easier)
18.  Feeling excited about the future!
19.  Vitamins -( loving Calcium Citrate chews instead of Starbursts)
20.  Talking daily to hubby about our constipation problems and bathroom successes and failures??

Slow Weight Loss????

Okay, last week was my toughest week as far as wanting to snack and just having slow weight loss for the past couple of weeks.  But I powered through it, worked out 3 times at the gym with weights & cardio, walked a couple of times and LOST 3 POUNDS!!  WOO HOO!!  My husband was also out-of-town and I didn't overeat without him here (might have happened in the past!).

I discovered that Sonic has unsweetened iced tea with sugar-free flavorings to add - I love the Mint with Splenda added to my tea.  I order a Route 44 (biggest size) and a cup of Sonic Ice to go.  If you go between 2-5, you get HAPPY HOUR prices - half off!  Yeah!  I still miss my diet drinks so this is helping.

I have also found that when I eat beef such as a steak - I don't get hungry for a long time - must be the dense protein takes a while to digest.  I haven't eaten beef very much but think I'll start having it more.  I also have been looking at My Fitness Pal and think that cheese and crackers are not a good snack for me - I love the crackers too much.  Guess I need to try cheese with an apple or other fruit.  I love the Baby Bels!

Okay stats - two weeks pre-op diet I lost 10 lbs.  One month post-op - 12.6 lbs.  Second Month - 11.6 lbs.  Average weight loss - 3.42 lbs a month.  So why am I whining about being a slow loser??? Just not every week is a 3 lb loss - some weeks are not losses or just a pound.  It all evens out.  I'm not sure what my goal will be but if I want to lose 100 pounds - I'm a 1/3 of the way there with 34.2 pounds lost!! I'm a happy camper!!

Normally I'm be Giving Up by now.....

Okay, at 8 weeks post-op I'm hanging in there.  On other diets, I'd be ready to hang it up by now - I'd be tired of the slow results.  The last two weeks I've had slow weight loss but the scale is moving.  For example, last week I just lost one pound.  I don't know why I'm a slow loser but the good thing is I can't "quit" my sleeve.

I'm getting kinda scared of how much more I can eat now - yesterday I did not put my food into My Fitness Pal until the end of the day and I ended up eating almost a 1000 calories - not bad foods just too much of the good foods!  My NUT wants me at 1200 - 1400 calories a day but I want to stay around 600-800 calories a day as the veterans on the Obesity Helps recommend and have had success with.  I do get hungry every couple of hours - so I need to be conscious of eating healthy high-protein foods every two hours - or low cal foods then.  Also, I need to get my water in.  Ugh!

I'm finding myself wanting to snack more now that I'm further out - not a good sign.  I've been trying not to eat after dinner at night but now I'm finding that I'm really hungry a couple of hours after dinner and my water isn't cutting it.  I'm going to need to plan a good snack for after dinner.  The past 3 nights I've grazed too much - crackers & cheese, another whole wheat Ritz cracker here or there or a graham cracker.  Maybe I'm eating too many carbs with the crackers and that's causing my cravings for something to eat.  Is it emotional eating cause I'm maybe bored at night?  I don't want this weight loss to end - I need to keep working my high protein - low carb new lifestyle.  At least I'm not giving up as I usually would by now!!

Onederland!

I can't believe I reached Onederland again!  I was last there in 2007 after dieting for months on a high protein monitored diet (Quick Weight Loss).  I never thought I'd gain the weight back plus some extra pounds - such is the life of a yo-yo dieter!

I have mixed emotions about reaching this goal - I thought I'd be happier.  The weight is coming off slowly too me with lots of scale fluctuations so I thought I could be right back up on the scale the next day - I didn't.  I also haven't told anybody how much I weigh - except my husband now knows - so I couldn't celebrate with friends - I'm ashamed of how much I weigh.

I also look down at my body and all I can see is how big my stomach is and how far I have to go.  Why can't I be happy I'm down 30 lbs and celebrate?  I gotta work on my head and celebrate these victories as they come!  Never have I lost 30 lbs in 9 weeks - it's always taken a lot longer for me to lose weight. Time to schedule a facial for my reward!  Next small goal - 189!!

My Menu...

As I'm seven weeks out now, I feel like I'm getting my diet down.  The weight is coming off slowly - last week 3.7 pounds - this week only 1.8 pounds.  Including my pre-op diet for 2 weeks, I'm averaging 3.44 pounds a week -  YEAH!!

What I'm eating for breakfast:

Protein coffee -coffee w/scoop Syntha-6 Cookies & Cream protein powder
or Oatmeal -with tsp of Splenda Brown Sugar Blend
or GNC Lean Shake - Vanilla Bean - 170 Cal 25 gr protein

Lunch:

Boars Head Turkey rollup with baby swiss cheese -
Tuna Fish Salad with egg & 3 whole wheat Ritz Crackers

Dinner:

Rottissiere Chicken  Baked Sweet Potato with Butter
Steak & Green Beans
Shrimp Cocktail w/ Cocktail Sauce
Salmon

Snacks:

Dannon Light & Fit Greek Yogurt & Graham Cracker
Cheese & crackers
Sugar Free Popsicle
GNC Lean Shake
Half a Quest Bar
Cottage Cheese

I probably shouldn't be eating the whole wheat Ritz Crackers or a graham cracker but I can't tell you how much I enjoy the crunch of the crackers!  We've started going out to eat a little = I've had the Chick-fil-et kids meal with 4 grilled chicken nuggets with the Chick-fil-et Sauce - awesome (but I don't eat their applesauce - too much sugar).  We've eaten at our favorite seafood restaurant - I love their salmon on a cedar plank - have enough for 3 meals.  I also got a crab cake last week with a salad - ate half the crab cake and a few bites of the salad with no problem.  I felt guilty about the crab cake because it was fried but I still lost weight the next day.  I absolutely love baked sweet potatoes with butter - I eat so little of it as I eat my protein first - but the few bites of sweet potato that I do eat are awesome! I go ahead and fix it with butter because I know I'm eating such a small amount and I refuse to eat margarine. I also love the Dannon Greek Yogurt - yes - I'm eating the ones with the fruit on the bottom  - blueberry, cheery, strawberry and pineapple - but they are only 70 calories, 7 grams of sugar and 12 grams of protein- delicious treat!

I've averaging between 600-800 calories a day with 60-80 grams of protein- probably a few too many carbs but I do enjoy when I eat them!  I still can't believe I've been sticking too this diet for 9 weeks now with no diet cokes, no cookies or candy, and no pizza or chips!  I'm taking this a day at time - so far totally doable!  Yeah me!

Quit Comparing Myself!

I've been reading the weight loss surgery websites religiously since I began researching the VSG surgery.  They have been full of information for me.  I love the www.obesityhelp.com site the most but also like www.thinnertimes.com and www.gastricsleeve.com. On all the sites, everyone seems to ask the same questions about stalls, constipation, hair loss, carbs, and exercise.  The veterans are mostly patient about answering these questions over and over again.  I appreciate their wisdom!

I'm having a hard time reading these websites and hearing about how fast so many people are losing weight - not me at this time yet!  It is hard not to compare yourself and to give props to yourself when you know you are eating the right amount of protein and low carbs & calories.  I've been getting around 70 grams of protein a day and keeping the calories under 800.  I will admit - getting 64 oz of water in each day is hard and I'm probably not there yet.  I've been exercising about 3 times a week - some weeks more.  I could also up my exercise.

Last week I lost 3.7 lbs - this week I'm stalled right above the 200 lb mark - I'm so close to onederland! Monday - 200.8, Tuesday 200.4, Wednesday 200.2, Thursday 200.4, Friday 200.6, Saturday 200.4 - UGH!!  Frustrating!

One day this week I had book club with my friends - we always go to a restaurant.  I ate a grilled shrimp appetizer that worked fine for my eating plan.  But when I was home that afternoon, I really wanted to binge eat.  Why??  I need to figure out why - did I feel insecure around my skinny friends?  Did it bother me that they were all planning on going to a formal charity gala and were looking at photographs of the dresses they were wearing (We aren't going - our choice)?  Maybe next year I could look good in a cocktail or formal dress but I'm not there yet.  Ok, it did make me feel insecure.

I'm a work in progress!  I need to work on not comparing myself to others on the weight loss and realize that some day I do have the hope of looking good in a dress!  Any other time in the past when dieting, when feeling insecure I would go home and binge eat and feel guilty about cheating on the diet.  Now I can't because of the restriction - I'm proud of myself for getting through that day without eating all day - I could have grazed all afternoon - eaten crackers for example - but I didn't.  Okay - I did have two whole wheat Ritz crackers - but that's it.  And I put them in My Fitness Pal - was accountable to myself.

Trainer!

As exercising is a struggle for me, I got a trainer this week.  I need to be accountable to someone as it is so easy for me to skip exercising if it's too hot, too cold, rainy, my knees hurt, have a headache, my dog needs her belly rubbed, etc.  My friend Milli is a trainer at the gym I go too - I've hesitated to ask her before to work with me since we are friends but decided I'd rather work with someone I know rather than a man or a stranger.

My first session was yesterday - it went well - I did weights in between sessions on the treadmill, arc cycler and the recumbent bike.  As I've been avoiding abdominal exercises, it was good to have someone work with me on that!  It was good having someone make sure I was doing the exercise correctly.  I wanted to call her last night and complain because I was so sore last night!  I took my tylenol before I went to bed!  Today I'm still sore - of course I need to move to make the soreness go away - I'm working on that motivation...

I'm planning on working with her twice a week and going to the gym at least one more time a week.  The other days I need to be walking.  Not only do I need to be moving for the weight loss, but also for my heart disease.  I wish I loved to exercise - nope - but at least I'm being accountable for now!!

Energy's Back!

I think I can finally say - at six weeks out - that my energy is back!  Monday at the gym I was able to do the treadmill longer without dying!!  I'm breaking up the treadmill into 10 minute segments - I was at 13 minutes before I knew it- last week I was dying 5 minutes into it.  Getting my butt into the gym was a little easier this week - people there are being nice. I decided to set up two sessions a week with my friend who is a trainer to help me with weights and to make sure I get there.  I don't have a working out buddy to make me accountable.  

I also went to Zumba yesterday - I couldn't do everything - walked through some of the routines but at least I was moving.  I also left 15 minutes early before they started their "killer abs" work - for some reason doing abdominal exercises scare me - could it be that I don't have any abdominal muscles as I hate doing any abdominal exercises and haven't done them in the last year at all???  

I know I'm losing but everyday I keep looking at my arms to see if there is any difference - I don't want to have any plastic surgery.  So far I still have "bat wings".  Please go away.  My boobs are getting smaller as I see my bra cups looking a little empty.  That's fine with me - I'd love for the girls to get smaller.  

Pretty exciting journey!!!

Scale's moving!!!

My scale is moving - yeah!! This week I'm six weeks out and have had my best loss since the first week out of surgery - that week it was 10 pounds.  This past week I lost 3.6 pounds! I lost the 10 pounds and then went on a 16 day stall.  Then it was like 1 lb,  2 lbs, 2 1/2, and now 3.6 lbs. I'm down a total of 28.2 pounds - that's 3.5 pounds a week since this process began.  I'll take it!!

I'm eating between 600-800 calories and getting between 60-90 grams of protein a day.  I'm not counting my carbs but not eating that many.  As I miss a "crunch", I do have 3 Whole Wheat Ritz Crackers with the turkey roll-ups or an occasional graham cracker with my greek yogurt.  I'm loving the Dannon Light & Fit Greek Yogurts - the blueberry & cherry are currently my favorites.  I'm having a protein coffee most mornings - helps get my digestive system going as far as the bathroom is concerned.   Getting my water in is a problem - gotta work on that.

Exercise, exercise.  I wish I loved to exercise.  It's not getting easier for me to get my butt in the gym - last week I just went twice (ok- it was my birthday week - doesn't that count for a good excuse?).  I also didn't walk as much as I had been - I'm wearing my Fitbit so it measures my steps.  UGH! Maybe I'll go back to Zumba this week - I do love that but not sure my fitness level is up to do the whole hour.

I'm glad to see a lot of positive results 6 weeks out!  I'm 6/10 a pound away from onederland!!! WhooHoo!! Down 28.2 pounds total!!

25 Pounds Down - Nobody's noticed??

I had a great birthday week!  I got together with two different sets of friends for lunch and I've noticed that my girlfriends seem to be reluctant to compliment me on my weight loss or they just don't see it yet.  My husband is very complimentary!  My one friend called me after lunch and told me that she could tell I'd lost in my face but didn't want to say anything in front of everybody because she didn't know who knew I'd had surgery.  She also told me she couldn't tell in my clothes - I guess I haven't worn
form-fitting clothes in so long that it is hard for people to tell when I have lost weight.  I know that my pants are a smaller size and I'm fitting into smaller clothes.

Going out-to-lunch with friends was a new post-op experience for me - I'm 5 weeks out and am on soft foods.  I noticed that they were all keeping an eye on what I ordered and how much I ate.  I was surprised at how fast everybody ate and how I was still eating when they were finished.  At both lunches I ordered a chicken dish with mashed potatoes and green beans - food I knew I could tolerate very easily.  It was hard to eat slow and not drink along with my meal - I kept reaching for that glass - but would stop myself.  I did eat 2-3 ounces of chicken, a few bites of potatoes & beans, and took home the rest of the food for later.  Fun lunches!

I'm amazed at when people know I've had this surgery, they have to tell me their dieting stories - how they've lost the 10 pounds they needed too.  I have to pretend to be polite and listen but inside it is so hard!  How can they tell an obese person their dieting successes when all they have to lose is 10 pounds?  They can't relate to what an obese person has to go through to lose weight - we've been losing that same 10 pounds over and over and put on more and more as we go.  "Yes, I'm happy you have it figured out with your diet and exercise programs but please STOP!!"  I know they are just trying to relate to me and be nice - I have to work on my attitude!!!

Time to keep plugging along - someday people will notice I've lost weight!!

Happy Birthday to Me!!

Well - today is my 55th birthday!  Can't believe I'm this old!  For the first time in a long time, I'm really excited about the new direction my life is taking - all because of the VSG surgery!  I have HOPE that I can finally get this weight off that has been a part of my life for so long.  I'm 5 weeks post-op and with the two week pre-op diet, I've been eating right for 7 weeks - and I'm down 25-26 pounds!!  Usually at this point in a diet, I start getting discouraged because the weight always comes off slowly- I'm averaging 3.7 lbs a week.  I just had to do that math because I had a 16 day stall, lost 2 1/2 pounds 2 weeks ago, and about 2 pounds last week.  That felt really slow to me but to see 3.7 lbs average is really exciting for me!

This is the first Easter ever that I did not have a bite of something sweet ever - the pastel malted milk eggs are one of my favorite candies ever - not a bite.  This time of year is always hard when I got started on my  usual January diet with first the Super Bowl, then Girl Scout Cookies, Valentine's Day, then Easter.  On every other diet I've done, I've always given in to a little bit of temptation on these days- right now I'm so strong because I'm scared to start with the sweets as it might put me over the edge.  I'm also scared to eat anything off plan because of how my sleeve will react.  Wow - now I've got to work on my head because I know next year my resolve won't be as strong.  

My husband is doing great three weeks post-op - the weight is falling off of him!  He's losing 2 lbs to my every 1/2 lb!  And he's feeling better than he has in a long time.  He probably has more energy than me.  I'm so grateful we are doing this together - makes our small meal planning kinda fun.  We've been packing his lunch every day with yogurt, applesauce, turkey roll-ups, & soup.  That has been working out well - he was used to getting fast food almost every day for lunch (which he loves).  

Now I'm off to celebrate with friends - lunch then Casablanca on the big screen. My husband and I decided not to go out to eat tonight (we would usually go for a nice steak dinner to celebrate) but I think we are going to have some cocktail shrimp for dinner.  I've looked at the restaurant menu where I'm going to lunch today and I'm ordering a chicken dinner.  Can't wait until I can eat salad again - and I can't believe I'm saying that!  

Feeling very encouraged about life - it's going to be a great year!!!