crazy4squirrels

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I haven't been on this site in forever!  I guess I stayed on through the weight loss and then was doing ok for quite a while.  Then I hit a roadblock or maybe just a few bumps in the road.  I knew that after the "honeymoon" stage it would be up to me.  But I don't think that I can get back on track alone.  Last year, at my annual visit with my surgeon my weight was a little up but my surgeon said that this was not that bad and I was still within the range.  Now, it's a couple of months until my next annual visit and I find myself up again.  This past year has had it's share of emotional ups and downs and my tendency towards emotional eating has reared its ugly head once again.  In the end it doesn't matter what the reasons are.  So, now I find myself searching for my way back and know that I will need to find a place to get support from others who have been there too.

It's hard to believe that it has been that long since my surgery.  I have been maintaining my weight to within a 5-10 lb. range.  Although I do not stress out about it as much as I used to when I had a lot more weight to lose.  It seemed like every 1/2 lb. gain would send me into a tizzy.  My health is the best that it has been in ages!  So, why am I back on this site posting this message?  I just wanted to encourage those considering the surgery to run and not walk to a bariatric surgeon.  There is only one regret that I have and that is that I wish that I would have done is sooner but even that doesn't bother me any more because I know that I had to get my mind around it and sometimes that takes time.

Good luck making your decision!  It is a very personal matter and one that should be made at your own pace.

Tuesday is my day to weigh-in and I haven't missed many Tuesday weigh-ins.  However, this one was not a good weigh-in.  I had an emergency appendectomy on Sunday night and got out of the hospital Monday evening.  I know that they do a lot of things to you when they operate but I don't get the weight gain.  Anyway, I hope things go back to normal next week Tuesday! 

Update...one week later and the 7 lbs. are gone, plus a little. Ok, so it was just the surgery!

This past weekend I decided that it was time for a total closet make-over.  I am now in a size 12...so why was I hanging onto all of those other sizes?!  I guess I had been on so many diets and have put larger sizes away too many times only to bring them back out.  It was a tough thing to do, giving up some of my "good friends".  After all, my closet was exploding from too many clothes in the first place.  Since I didn't know what size that I would be back in next spring, I decided to bag up all of the clothes that were a size 16 or 1X and up.  I couldn't believe it when I filled the trunk with all of the bags.  Today, my husband took them over to a place in our area, similar to Goodwill, and now there is no going back!

To replace my wardrobe I have been shopping at Goodwill-type stores.  I have decided that these clothes will be temporary and I will make new "friends" with the smaller clothes that I will be buying.

The best is yet to come!

At this time tomorrow, we will be on a plane leaving for Seattle to leave for our Alaskan Cruise!!  I am really looking forward to a vacation!  With 75 lbs gone, it should make a huge difference on the things that I am able to do.  My 6 month check up went great, all of my numbers from my bloodwork are normal.  The best part is that my HA1C is 6.0 compared to just 6 months ago when it was 7.5 and rising!  

Bon Voyage!

It's hard to believe that it's been 4 months since the surgery.  With 60 lbs. gone, I'm at the point where people are noticing that something is different.  What I've noticed is the increased energy that I have!  I've signed up for a 10,000 step challenge with my surgeon's clinic and just recently signed up to do a 5k walk (not run) next month.  My husband decided to join me, which kind of surprised me but I'm glad to have someone to walk with.  We have been walking together in the evenings at least 3-5 days per week and have been slowly increasing our distance.  We haven't hit 5k yet but we have about 3 weeks until the event and my goal is to go and walk the course at least once prior to the big event.  

I'm flying solo for the next 2 weeks since my husband left for college yesterday.  This summer will be the end of his 1 year program to complete his teacher's certification.  In August we are going on an Alaskan cruise to celebrate

That's all for now!

I had my 3 month checkup this week and everything went great.  The labs were all within normal range, so I just have to stay the course for now with no additional supplements.  According to their calculations, I have lost 32% of my excess weight.  They go by my weight on the day of surgery but I still go by what I weighed when I walked in the door for my consultation.  Hey, that's an extra 10 lbs. that I lost prior to surgery! 

I was looking over some of the blood work and comparing it to my pre-surgery blood work and it hit me that my HA1C, that my regular doctor requested to be retested, looks great!  This is the test that they watch when you are diabetic.  In January 2010 it was 7.5, which was the highest that it has been in 2 years.  The recent blood work showed it at 6.2, which is right above the normal range (4.8-6.0).  I go to see my regular doctor tomorrow for the first time since the first week in March.  My thyroid is out of whack, which I expected since it usually varies when I either gain or lose weight. 

Anyway, I am so happy about the HA1C!!!  This was the main reason that I wanted to have the surgery...to combat my diabetes!  Take that diabetes!!!!!!!

I just snuck in to Onederland!  I hope I stay there!!

I can't believe that it's been 9 weeks (and a day) since my surgery.  I've been doing pretty good, in spite of the fact that the Easter bunny didn't leave me any treats  This past weekend we hosted a bridal shower for my son and his fiance.  Everything turned out beautifully!  I didn't have a problem with not having Easter candy or a piece of cake from the shower...what I did have a problem with was the Girl Scout Cookies that my niece delivered.  I forgot that we ordered them back at Christmas and since she came to the shower, it was delivery time.  Now don't get me wrong, I didn't take a bite but it made me sad to think that I gave up having Girl Scout Cookies ever in my life again!  When I finally got over it, I had my husband store them in the freezer in our basement, which I hardly ever (or should I say never) visit.

Just when I start to feel that things are normal, as far as my eating goes, I realize that I don't know what normal is.  I seem to have some troubles with certain foods, like chicken and pork.  Maybe I am eating too quickly or maybe the texture is just too dry for me yet.  I guess it makes me realize that there is a HUGE learning curve that I need to go through. 

I just need to look at the triumphs, like the fact that I am nearing the 200 lb. mark...which I haven't seen in about 20 years!  Ok, I feel better now

Well, I wasn't exactly sure that I wanted to post my weight for this week.  I actually gained 2.4 lbs. and do not know why.  I promised myself that I would only weigh myself on Tuesdays since that was the day of my surgery.  Maybe my weight was down because of being sick for 2 weeks prior to last week.  I don't know for sure but I will measure myself later today and maybe there is more positive news. 

Aside from that, I am on regular foods now and slowly moving into the normal world again.  Whatever normal means?!

Bye for now,
Donna