briebrie77

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Goodness! What an amazing, busy and life changing journey this last year has been! I've lost over 108lbs since my sleeve in 12/2013. I still maintain my portion sizes, focus on protein intake and exercise 3-4 days a week for 30 minutes to one hour at least. I have made it down to 161lb, size 8 in pants and even a size 6 in some dresses. I hope to reach my goal weight within the next couple of months. There was a period of over 6 months when I hovered at about 174lb. I had to go see my primary care doctor and have labs drawn to see what was going on. Thyroid was a little high, but not enough to put me back on medication. Before my surgery I was pre-diabetic, my lipid profile was awful and I was on Metformin and thyroid medication. I have not had to take those in almost a year now. I had to start exercising a lot more and really reining in my carbs in order to get momentum again. As a side note: Water, water, water!!! That has also been a big factor in maintaining fullness and flushing fat out. Blessings everyone!

Any minute now the scale is going to tip below the 200's! That being extremely exciting, my excitement is overshadowed by a powerful feeling of mental and physical exhaustion. I have been sick with horrible asthma for a month now. It was never this bad before my surgery. I haven't had this much trouble with Asthma since I was a kid in and out of the hospital for it twice a year at least. It has forced me to take stock on things. 1) Dramatic weight loss is obviously quite the stressor on my system. 2) Full time job 3) Mom to three kids 4) Full time college student working toward my Bachelor's Degree in Health Care Administration 4) Planning a wedding in October. No wonder I am at the end of my rope these days!!!! I have to try to reduce the burden somewhere or get a little more help somehow. My fiancée has been wonderful throughout all of this, helping with the kids and being super supportive of my weight loss journey. But he works full time and is also studying for his Bachelor's Degree in Information Management. I have decided to drop the current class I'm taking and pick up with the next one that opens up in a few weeks to give myself a little break. Hopefully things will look better by then and I will feel a little less overwhelmed. We shall see how this goes. Blessings all of you! I have a couple of new pics as well....

Our wedding is in October, hence a couple of pics I just attached. I ordered my gown a size smaller than the snug one I tried on and then if it is too big it can be taken down up to two sizes. Never thought I would have that problem! My wonderful fiancée has been there for me throughout this whole process and has loved me no matter my size. What an awesome journey this stage in my life has been!!!

I ALMOST BROKE OUT IN TEARS OF JOY FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE MY SURGERY. THIS WEEK I MADE IT OVER THE HALFWAY POINT. I KNOW NOW THAT I CAN REACH MY GOAL WEIGHT WITHIN A YEAR : ) Off with the caps lock now. This has been serious business. Once you can eat solid foods and have more food choices available to you, it is up to you how successful you are with your sleeve. If you decide to drink sugary beverages, milkshakes and eat ice cream or carby snacks regularly you can sabotage the whole thing. Solid foods are great because you can only eat very small portions at a time. I limit my carb intake and eat mostly lean proteins. Getting enough water is always a challenge in a busy hectic life, so I always keep my water bottle handy. I have gone from almost 270lbs (It hurts to say I ever was that big) to 207 lbs since December 11, 2013. I am feeling blessed and thankful to Jesus for His strength because I could not have done this without it. I was fortunate not to have any complications throughout the whole process. I will post some more pics next. God bless all of you on the terrible, wonderful journey to successful weight loss!

Update since my VSG on 12//11/13....Finally feeling better after a bout with a stomach virus and then Shingles. I posted some pics to show progress, lots of non-scale victories such as  being able to easily cross my legs and losing 3 - 4 pant sizes depending on where I shop. I went from a size 20 - 22 fitting tight in the waist and butt to a size 14 fitting comfortably. Before my pre-op diet my highest weight was 269.8. I am 219.8 today, finally reaching the 50 lb mark! Diet wise I eat all my proteins first, trying to minimize risk for protein deficiency. The down side - I have noticed some hair loss starting the last few weeks. I don't have a bald spot or anything - it's pretty diffuse - just thinning. Thankfully I had a lot of hair to begin with. Overall,  I am thankful for the progress I have made and the wonderful support of my family, friends and the resources I have found through Obesity Help.com!

I feel hungry a lot, but I maintain less than 800 calories most days and I got to start working out at the gym again this week. I started out with treadmill, recumbent bike and the elliptical machine. It is easier to get tired and dehydrated now than it was before. I notice I need much more water at the gym now. I get thirsty easily and my mouth gets parched. I have lost about two full dress/ pants sizes and can almost fit in to my "skinny" clothes in my closet (if you could call them that). Size 14's and 16's are my "skinny" clothes...lol! The biggest trip about the VSG so far is that I will feel like 2 McDonald's Big Mac Combos hungry, but I can only eat about the equivalent of 1/2 of a regular little cheeseburger - not that I have tried. Since surgery I am super careful about what I put into my body. I am not ruining my hard-earned weight loss with McYuck's any time, EVER!!!! Going to post pics soon if I get a chance, but I am sure the biggest and best weight loss will come on my 3 month, 6 month and 1 year photos.

Blessings!

Brie

My first post-op appointment went really well. Dr. Le says I am right on track so far and my incisions are healing nicely. The nausea is annoying when I drink and eat at times, but thankfully still no vomiting. Dr. Le released me to return to work on Monday, so I am preparing for that. I went to the store and bought some snack foods I could eat while at work like no sugar added diced peaches with low fat cottage cheese, skim milk, no sugar added applesauce and of course sugar free Jello. I plan on keeping some of these snacks in the fridge at work instead of indulging in the usual temptations that arise working in a medical office. Part of the reason I am obese is I had no willpower around foods I shouldn't eat and pharmaceutical reps bring lots of goodies to the office on a regular basis like bagels, donuts, and Mexican food. Thankfully I do not really desire sweets or fatty foods after WLS. Instead, I crave things I should eat. It will be awesome when I can have Romaine salad with tuna and slivered almonds and light ranch again. I LOVED that salad. Staying hopeful and looking forward to future milestones helps me stay on track for now. I may not be able to do or have certain things at this time, but it is only temporary. In a few weeks and in a few months, everything will fall into place. God is my friend and helper right now and I rely on Him to give me strength and courage to reach all of my goals. It will be my biggest dream come true when I am no longer overweight.

Blessings!

Brie

I see my surgeon tomorrow for my first post-op appointment and official weigh in. I believe I have done the very best I can and pray everything goes well. There are so many days I want to eat more than I can, so I can see how my self-discipline will come into play and I will have to remain strong through some tough times. I did not lose the sense of hunger at all once my sleeve was done. The pre and post-op diets were difficult for me at times. I have stuck with it and plan to continue to do my very best to bring about a happier, healthier future for me and my family. Praying for a great appointment tomorrow and will post my official weight from the doctor's office when I return.

Feeling somewhat better since I have been able to eat some mushy foods now. I had a little oatmeal and a scrambled egg for breakfast and it was so good to eat real food finally! I am also pleased that I get full very quickly. I stick to 1/2 cup portions of whatever I am eating with small snacks in between.Not much to say except we had a wonderful Christmas and look forward to a very blessed 2014. Oh and posted 2 week post op pics as well.

Blessings!

Brie

It's been good to get out and walk here and there before the next round of horribly cold weather sets in. There is a cold rainy forecast for the next few days. Although I tire out easily, 8 days out pain is mostly down to a dull ache and the incisions are itchy. I made the mistake of scratching one of them recently, but won't be repeating that again any time soon. I just realized that if I lined them up, my incisions would be about 8" long! That is not a small surgery by any means, so it will take time to heal. I finally made it below 250lbs (249.6 to be exact) which made me feel very happy this morning. I did the first of what will hopefully be many happy-dances on the bathroom scale. My pants are looser, bras also getting looser. From my top weight of 269.6 (Can't believe I ever let myself get that big) to today I have lost 20 lbs. Ten lbs off on the pre-op diet, 10 more after VSG a little over a week ago. My husband and I were amazed that if I keep losing at this rate, I will be losing almost 40 lbs per month! That seems crazy to me since I have had a horrible time most of my life losing 40 lbs over many months, much less one. Looking forward to reaching my goal weight by late summer if possible, but still having trouble believing it will happen. Right now everything is still setting in. It takes me over two hours to finish a protein shake and about the same amount of time to eat a yogurt cup. My patience with eating and drinking is wearing thin, so hopefully it gets easier with time. I do feel blessed that I have been spared the vomiting that many of my fellow VSG'ers have had to deal with. I have been extra careful though with tiny bites, small sips and letting them sink down fully before trying to take another.

Blessings!

Brie