Amber K.

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So I've been extremely busy and thought it was time to write another blog entry. I've lost a total of 51 lbs so far! I'm down to 192 lbs and I've gone down 8 BMI points which is amazing. I feel great and it's allowed me to feel like my old self again. I haven't been working out due to such a hectic schedule and I lost my work out buddy for 5 weeks due to her work schedule changing. Now that she's back on days I'll be going back to the gym. My goals to lose another 30 lbs by August which should totally be doable if I recommit to the gym and continue staying active. I'll write soon, I hope everyone else is accomplishing their goals !

So it's been a lot longer then I hadhoped since my last repost but man I've been busy! So first and foremost I've lost 38 lbs! It's such a great feeling. Sadly it could be more if I would make time for exercise... I work full time as an engineer and I moonlight as an artist so I am constantly swamped. I am trying to make an effort by joining the daily burn website. Its only 12.95 and you have over 300 workout videos that you can pick a difficulty level and a time amoutn so I'm hoping this helps me get into a better workout regime.

My first fill went really well! I was worried about the needle but I was in and out in under 10 minutes! I've had a few issues when it comes to eating and almost getting sick but it's more I drank water to close to eating and when I did get spit anything up it was just water. Otherwise I've had no issues and I am loving my results so far!

So it's been a bit since I updated (I've been busy) but today I'm feel healthy and energized. I'm at 22 lbs lost total so far (So another 7 pounds since my last post) and I've found that the fitness pal ap is a godsend. It is so great to be able to scan what I'm eating and track! I have been keeping well under what it says I can eat. I've found that those little protein P3 packs from Oscar Meyars are awesome! They fill me up and their stats aren't too bad either ( 170 cals, 3g carbs, 14g protein, 11g fat and 470 mg of sodium). The sodium is a bit high but honestly I eat under 1000 grams of sodium so it doesn't really affect the rest of what I eat.

I join the gym on Saturday with one of my really good friends who is getting married so I'll have some strong motivation to go (she'll force me).  Nervous about my first fill but I still have 2 weeks to fret over that ! Anyways back to the midweek grind

It’s amazing how different you feel when you eliminate all the junk you used to eat. My body feels so different. In a good way though. I obviously no longer drink soda. My sugar, fat, and carb intake is low and my body feels less sluggish and almost rejuvenated. It’s a great feeling.

This weekend I started walking with the dogs. They’re such sweet hearts but man did it take a lot out of me. Maximus is a St. Bernard/ Great Pyrenees 1 year old that I adopted from the shelter at 3 months. He’s a sweet heart but at 130lb + He doesn’t realize how large he is. Mya is a husky mix (I’m pretty sure it’s coyote to be honest) and she’s been a part of my family since October. She came from an apartment and she acted like she’d never been walked so she had a blast. Max wasn’t too thrilled with all the dragging she did but they both enjoyed themselves, as did I!

I experimented this weekend with a couple of different foods, all with positive results. I’ve lost another two pounds and I’m losing inches around my upper waist just below my chest and my stomach is also shrinking a bit.

It's funny to think about how much I used to actually "enjoy" eating. I mean think about it... Eating is enjoyable and tastes great! But now... It's become what I think I should have viewed it as long along- a job. It takes a lot of effort to make sure to chew my food into mush... Makes eating far less enjoyable lol. Last night I experimented with new food introductions. I ate 3 mini potato and four cheese mini perogies (73 calories, 2.1 fat g, 11.6 carbs, 2,1 protein) for dinner and 1/4 cup of cottage cheese. I started by cutting the perogies into four pieces so they were super tiny and very easy to chew. I didn't have any real issue at all which was such a relief I was afraid I might, but thankfully after eating I felt content and not hungry. Later on in the evening I was hungry but I'm a little burnt out on cold snacks so I found some peanut butter and one trick I used to use while dieting is eating a spoon full of peanut butter to curb my appetite. SO I gave it a try. Lets just say that I had more than one spoon but didn't go crazy with how much I ate. It was unbelievably good and again, no problems what so ever yay!

My total calorie count yesterday was 1,088, I use fitness pal and I managed to almost stay with in the guidelines of carbs, fat, and protein. While the peanut butter was amazing, I do blame it on sending my calories and fat% sky high. My fat% was over by 22% (went over by 23g)! My carbs were under by 25% (under by 85g) and my protein was over by 3% (2g). I have my fitness pal set up for no more than 1,240 calories because at this moment there is really no need to need more than that. Since surgery my calories have stayed around 550-600 so I suppose having one day where I did get a little more won't hurt but I plan to strictly regulate my calories. I need to drink a lot more water and I'll be focusing on that more.

Don't be afraid to start introducing new food in very small portions. Better to eat small than it is to dive right in!

So Yesterday was my first visit with Dr. Rohrscheib since having my surgery 6 days ago (January 8th). I was excited and scared all rolled into one. The first thing I did when I was called back was face the scale. Now, I'm retaining water because of course, mother nature visited me. So I was really nervous and afraid I wasn't going to show much weight loss. I lost 15 lbs!!!!! I was so happy I though I might burst. I've been released to eat pureed food so cottage cheese is my new guilty pleasure. I got to remove my steri tape but my scars are pretty tender still, and on one, a dissolvable stitch is slightly poking out (from what I've read it is common, when it heals more I'll just trim it back). My first fill date is February 11th so I'm excited.

Exercise is my new goal I plan to start this week. I should be healed enough and hopefully not as sore this weekend so I plan to take my dogs for a nice walk. They're going stir crazy! I hope to weigh another 15-20 lbs less at my next appointment! ^_^ 

I can't believe it has been four days! The pains from the incisions are gone, but I still have pain from the bruising. It's nothing too serious but enough that I can't lay on my side and I kind of hold my stomach as I go upstairs. The biggest pain is the gasses still trapped in my body from surgery. The pain in my shoulder is unreal! Feels like I got socker punched but I'm slowly getting through it.

Post op diet hasn't been TOO terrible. I've made sure I drank 60 ounces of water a day and I've been taking my gummy vitamins. I drink at least one adkins protein shake in the morning and then treat myself to turkey broth for lunch ( It is really good). It sucks though because the decrease in fiber has led to other issues but I'm slowly getting them worked out too. It's just a slow process. I'll be excited to start pureed food hopefully Thursday. I'm mentally ready to chew food again lol.

The biggest advice I can offer is TAKE IT SLOW. I've not had any complications and I honestly hold that to taking it extremely slow. It feels weird not to be hungry knowing I've only eaten 320 calories but listen to your body. Make sure you try to eat your three meals a day even if it is just broth and protein shakes. Keeping that schedule is key to disciplining yourself when it’s time for food versus when you just want to eat something.

Hey everyone!!

So today is post op day 1 and its been nothing like I imagined. I'll walk through yesterday and then kind of touch on today.

They require you not to eat or drink after midnight on the night before surgery. I stopped drinking at 11:30 and I wasn't really hungry when I got home form work but I ate a spoon full of peanut butter at about 6:00 to tied me over. Then it was surgery day!! Yesterday I arrived at the surgical suite at 8:15 and by 8:30 they were prepping me. They required just a little bit of pee in a cup (I'm assuming pregnancy test) and then I went to my room and changed into my gown. Let me just say that the nurses were the nicest people and made the whole prep before surgery so nice. I wasn't nervous at all! I got my IV in and they kind of just asked me the generic: Are you allergic to medicine, if you were in need of blood can we give you a transfusion, etc. Before I knew it I was off to surgery (this was at about 9:00)! This is where it becomes slightly fuzzy lol I remember laying on the table and being put to sleep slowly. That's about it :P After I came to though I kind of glanced at the clock and could kind of make out 10:15, my vision was pretty blurry still and my nosed itched so bad... But every time I went to itch it I hit the oxygen mask and the nurse could tell I was getting upset so she itched my nose lol. I then dozed off and on for about an hour and my mom (who is my biggest supporter) was able to join me in my room. Now something I was not prepared for was the tube they put down your throat while you're asleep. They do tell you before hand but it does leave your throat really sore ( I spoke funny all day yesterday because of the soreness). At about 11:30 when I was up walking and used the restroom once they allowed me to go home with compression cuffs for my calves (These basically just apply slight pressure to your calves to make sure blood clots do not develop, you wear them when you aren't being active for 7-14 days post op).  Bumps were my enemy on the way home but it wasn't like I was in a lot of pain per say ( I got a nice dose of pain meds and nausea medicine for my trip home) it was more an agitation. I picked up my meds from the pharmacy and spent few hours sleeping off and on. I spent the majority of the night just resting and taking it easy.

Today I have been up and about. I was easily able to take a sponge bath and clean my hair. and at about 1:00 I attempted to eat some sugar free jello with only 5 calories. Now it's been close to if not more than 40 hours since I last ate anything but honestly I'm not even hungry. I know that I NEED to try to eat something just to get something in my stomach so I chose something very simple. I've drank 17 of my 60 oz of water which hasn't been hard to do. It pretty much fills you up which is why I am not hungry. I'm in very little pain today, although walking up and down the stairs does cause some discomfort. I've not been violent ill or sick to my stomach at all the key I think is to really just take it easy sipping on your water and when attempting to eat anything! I did photograph my bandages, which I'll upload later :) I need to still take my picture and measurements so I can accurately document my weight loss! I think that'll be key to see what I've accomplished.  I'll try to touch base as I move on to each milestone from post op and try to describe it as best I can. OH! The lap band that the Dr. put in is the Allergen Lap Band. He said he's seen faster weight loss with this model versus the Realize band. ^_^ can't wait to see results!

Two days until surgery!

My pre op diet hasn't been too terrible either. The guide lines are 70-80 carbs, 70-90 protein and between 800-1000 calories. I've found that a great way to stay within the limits is simply a piece of cheese/yogurt for breakfast with a glass of water. For lunch I usually have two weight watchers chicken breasts (140 calories each with 31 grams of protein) with spices over them and I eat the same thing for dinner. Snacks are either a piece of cheese or yogurt and I allow myself three a day. Puts me at about 920 calories with some wiggle room if I get really hungry but my carbs are pretty low while my protein is extremely high. I usually don't find myself too hungry either.

I'm a little nervous about Thursday but I can't help but to be excited either. I'm not allowed to eat or drink after midnight but I still have to take my blood pressure medicine that morning... DRY! Yuck! I think that'll be one of the worse things ever. Well I won't write until probably Friday or Saturday to desribe what it's like so see ya then!!

I can't belive that I have 10 days before the big day. I've started preparing to start my pre OP diet. I was told I could start it one week before the surgury but I've been easing into it for the past few days so that I'm used to it when I HAVE to be on it.

My biggest challengeso far has to be the caffeine migraines. They're horrible! I've severely cut down my caffeine intake and the goal of course it to hit zero. I will be so happy when I get rid of it from my life completely. I received my food scale and portion bowls from amazon yesterday. They're so freaking cute and they were such a great deal!

The year of 2015 will be one of several life changes and I am so ready to embrace them all head on!!