Goals

I thought it would be a good time to sit down and write out the goals I have in terms of weight loss. According to the bariatric center and the "average" weight loss they expect me to get to around 200 pounds as a goal. I was fine with that before losing 45 pounds on my own. Now I see 200 as a short term goal and ultimately I'd like to get to 150-175. I know it will be a lot of hard work but I'm up to the challenge. To break it down further here are my short term goals:
245 by Aug 17 (post op appts and first fill)
225 by Halloween
210 by Xmas
206 by Jan 11-my bday-I'd LOVE to be done 100 pounds by then!!!!

Most of these goals are based on losing 2 pounds a week. 1-2 pounds a week is average for a bander so I am shooting for the high end here but I have high hopes.

(disclaimer: while I know I will be disappointed if I don't hit the goals I also know that it's OK. Really, as long as the scale moves in the right direction, no matter how fast or slow I will be happy)

One Week

One week after surgery and I feel good! I wake up pain free and remain so for most of the day. Usually starting around dinner time I start to ache around my port area and if I do anything at night it hurts enough to say ouch when move but not really need any meds. I can sleep on my stomach and have been since a few days post op, phew! Food is still a challenge. I just made it through a lovely round of PMS when I was stuck on liquids so I'd say that's a success! This first week I lost around 6 pounds and I haven't really devoted any time to exercise yet. I was really busy and I know that helped but I also know that when I start walking again it should help even more. I hope to start that tomorrow, tonight I have t-ball with big guy :)

Last night I spent some time re-reading old blog posts. I cried. It's amazng to me what can change in 8 months. I have come so far and am so proud of myself. I struggled for a few months in the middle there but I didn't give up and here I am today. I am stronger than I ever knew. I am so much happier at the weight I am at now than I was 50 pounds ago. I know I have a long way to go but it feels good to be comfortable in my own skin again.

I'm thankful I hit rock bottom, I'm thankful I had a friend talk about wanting lap band surgery (thanks Jules!!), I'm thankful for every minute of ths journey and I am thankful to have all of you by my side.

Wow

50 pounds gone forever, amazing. I have never, ever, lost that much weight. It's exciting and motivating. Another 50 and I'll be the same size I was sophmore year of college when I thinned out for a year (maybe less). I loved that time, I was a size 16 and could shop just about anywhere. Yay!!

Food and Fun

It's been a busy few days for me! Post op Day 1 I went with Grammy and the boys to the Bounce Zone and out to lunch. I was sore and tired by the time we got home but it was fun. Post op day 2 we all went mini golfing and to lunch at a little diner. Again, sore and tired when we got home. That night I was really sore, really. Post op day 3 I took the car for an oil change and then the boys and I headed to Grammy's house for a sleepover. I got to take a nap and then we hit the beach for a walk, took the boys to the playground and then headed home for the night. Today, post op day 4, we went to an amusement park!! I lasted 3.5 hours before really feeling sore and needing to leave.

Food has been interesting. Mostly I have been focusing on getting in enough fluids. Slim Fast is still a good friend of mine since it helps with the protein. I have also been eating low fat cottage cheese, fat free refried beans, healthy request cream of chicken soup, cream of wheat, and SF pudding. I haven't had a problem with any of it. The first two weeks post op I have to stay on "liquids" but the list they gave me includes quite a few foods that I would call "mushies" (stage 2). Whatever, it works!

I feel hungry a few times a day and it hurts!! My stomach rumbles and grumbles and it causes some pain around the band area. It takes only 3-4 ounces of food to fill me up depending on the consistency. Things that are more liquidy obviously go right through the band opening and the thicker things take longer.

One of the more interesting parts in being so active post op is that food choices on the go are hard I bring my water bottle everywhere but sometimes I need to eat!! At the diner the other day I ordered a side of mashed potatoes (soooooo yummy). I ate about half before I was full. Today at the amusement park my only option was soft serve ice cream. It was really yummy but not the best pick nutritionally. Oh well, had to do what I had to do.

My incisions are healing well. All of my steri strips are off now :) The little incisions are great, some a little itchy but not horrible. They all have some bruising. The bigger incision, where the port is, hurts the most. It's quite bruised and itchy right now, yuck.

Hmmmm.....anything else you want to know??

Bucket List

There is a whole bunch of stuff I want to do as I slim down. Things I didn't do before b/c I was too fat. I thought I'd start making a list here so I don't forget.

1) Kayaking (I was always afraid I'd sink before)
2) Horseback riding (I won't need the huge draft horse anymore :)
3) Get a hammock on a stand for the back yard (I was always over the weight limit before)
4) Wear dresses! I love casual cotton dresses but looked horrible in them before.
5) Go to Disney World!!! (I'll fit on the plane and on the rides-yay!)

Done!

I am officially banded! I went in this AM, had to arrive at 9:30 for a 10:30 surgery. The surgeon was running late so I got bumped back a bit. It went pretty well. They had a hard time getting my IV in, ouch! It took three sticks but finally I was hooked up. I got a blood thinner injection in my belly (another ouch) and was good to go. I barely remember the operating room, they got me knocked out pretty quick. I woke up in recovery and was a little nauseous but it went away quickly. I went through the paces so I could go home as soon as possible. I got dressed, went to the bathroom, and drank the required 300 cc's of water. They say I got to recovery at 12:40 and I was discharged at 3 :) I have a little pain but it's not bad. A lot of the pain is from filling my abdomen with gas for the surgery. The rest is like really bad pulled muscles. I have been taking in water, had a few bites of cottage cheese and am now working on a high protein slim fast so I can make sure to get enough protein. Before surgery I took body measurements that I'll post another day. I weighed in at 261 today so I have now lost 45 pounds!!! 5 more to 50, woohoo!!!

Come On Out!

Now would be a great time for any and all lurkers to come on out and say hello!! The pre-op jitters have begun and I can use every ounce of encouragement you all can send my way. I know there are people reading this blog, that counter on the bottom keeps moving. Come out come out wherever you are!! :) To those of you who faithfully leave comments, thank you! It's nice to hear from you and your support is truly what keeps me going.

As for the pre-op jitters, yikes!! I'm back to thinking that I have already had 5 surgeries with no complications so I MUST be tempting fate by going in for another, right? UGH. It's not a horribly risky surgery but EVERY surgery has risks and I can't stop myself from thinking the worst. I'm also starting to stress about recovery. It seems most people either do really well and are up and around the next day with mild discomfort or people don't do well at all and it takes them weeks with a lot of pain. There seems to be very little middle ground. I am hoping, with all my might, that I will do well. With S being broken and on crutches I really need to be up and about as soon as I can. My mom will be coming to help as will S' mom but it's just not the same (if you know what I mean).

So come on out and leave a comment, I really need them right now :) THANKS!