The "skinny" on our family's journey from FAT.

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

8 weeks out!

Hello! Yes, yes, I know, it's been TOO long since I last posted and I'm sure you have all been on the edge of your seats awaiting this glorious day, or not, whatever. So, the big news is it has been 8 whole weeks since my giant step into skinnydom! I have lost around 50 pounds post surgery making a grand total of 122 since I began my journey on my own in January after tipping the scales (tipping? more like crushing!) at nearly  400 lbs! Today I am 272 (still quite large and in charge) but feeling amazing and soaking up the compliments! 
What do I eat? Mostly I am still sticking to the 2 oz of 70% protein, 30% veggies and it's getting old fast! I eat a lot of Wendy's chili, beans, tuna, cheese and various deli meat. I had to lay off the yogurt, scrambled eggs and cottage cheese because I totally burned out on those in the beginning!  Tonight I made a spaghetti for my family and, thanks to that wonderful friend who has been my mentor through this process and told me about a fantastic way to eat Italian, I am enjoying my delicious sauce over cottage cheese topped with Parmesan which makes it taste almost like lasagna! (I don't even miss those darn noodles, ok, maybe a little) It's delicious! I drink a glass of skim milk a day which always tastes like a treat and I've been eating a lot of sugar free Popsicles as well! I have had no sugar so I have not experienced the famed "dumping" syndrome that comes with this surgery and, honestly, if you follow the rules, you don't get sick! Easy peasey lemon squeezy! ooooohhh lemon pie sounds SO GOOD!!! Anyway... the water situation is still a problem for me. I am getting sick of plain water and I really don't like the flavored waters that taste like watered down koolade, except for the lemon ones which I am also getting sick of.  I think I'm just going to bite the bullet and go back to my crystal light iced tea! At least with that I am getting the dang water and I miss it terribly!  It's also hard to wait 1/2 hour before and after eating to drink anything.  Sometimes I forget how long it's been and before I know it I have gone a half a day without hydration. It's a little frustrating.
Exercise, well, probably not as good as it should be but lately I have been doing better. We still haven't been back to the pool mainly because by the time I get home from work, do a little housework and errands my energy is very much depleted. It's tiring trying to survive on 6 oz of food daily!  I am, however, walking almost 2 1/2 miles a day at work, using the "shake weight" which is so awesome and the thigh master several times a day (my butt is looking great! lol) Once it cools down some I will start walking in the evenings as well. I do what I can do and I try not to get discouraged and I think that is a pretty healthy attitude!
Emotionally I am much better which I am sure my husband is grateful for. I still have "head hunger" even though I have not been physically hungry since my surgery. I am craving pretty much everything I can't have (especially that stupid pizza, although I did have just the toppings off a papa murphys cowboy which tasted AMAZING!) I have also been craving peanut butter which I curb with a finger full every once an awhile, so that one isn't too bad. I haven't had any more breakdowns and I think a lot of that has to do with the awesome support group I have that tell me every day how amazing I look! How could anyone get bummed out hearing THAT on  a daily basis?! I had a friend ask me if I am getting sick of people telling me how good I look and I was all, um NO, when you have heard insults, endured stares and dirty looks from strangers and been bullied throughout your entire life, daily compliments are a godsend! I encourage all of you to compliment anyone you see, especially if you can tell they are struggling, it will mean the world to them and make life a little brighter!
On a personal note, and if you are squeamish or a man you don't have to read this paragraph but I want to document it for my own reasons, my cycle is back to normal! Now, the reason this is such a good thing, is because I had not had a period since I became pregnant with Hunter who is now 3 1/2!  I knew it was probably because of my weight, so for a long time I didn't worry about it and relished in the pad-free life! But when I decided to have the surgery I  wanted to see my OB for a yearly (which I also hadn't done since I had Hunter) but I, of course, couldn't get in to see Dr. Bierer so I saw the "new guy" and it was the biggest mistake of my life! I went in there and told him I had not had a period for a few years and he freaked out and told me I had cancer and needed a biopsy THAT DAY! Seriously, no, it could possibly be this and maybe we should schedule a test yadda yadda, it was I HAD CANCER. I told him, no, I think it's because of my weight cuz it's happened before and he said nope, it's cancer the end. I was in tears by this point and told him that I would not have the biobsy that day cuz I needed my husband with me, so, reluctantly, he scheduled it for the next day. Tom and I went in and I had the most painfull experience of my life. See, and I'm getting personal again, I have an abnormaly shaped cervix which is why I had both my kids c-section, so the procedure of going up and getting the tissue sample felt like a hot, double edged sword jammed inside me! I screamed, cried and prayed for God to make it stop and finally it stopped but the relief was short lived when he said that he didn't have enough tissue and had to go again. I died a little but my sweet husband held my hand, wiped the sweat from my forehead and whispered I love you in my ear the whole time and after what felt like a lifetime it was over. Then we waited. It was the longest week of my life. 6 days later, what do you know, everything came back normal, NO CANCER! I despise that man. It, indeed WAS my weight, and ta-da, 122 lbs later everything is back to normal and all is right with the world. I defiantly think I know my body better than that idiot!
So, now that I've babbled on forever and probably shared a little TMI, I need to be getting ready for bed. I still have absolutely NO REGRETS and I am feeling better and better each and every day! Thank you to everyone who has stood beside me from birth till now and supported me through it all! I love you all more then you will ever know!!
And now, PICTURES!!! Ok, these may be a little hard to look at but I know you all have seen TLC's Fatty shows so you can do it! :)

3 days before surgery

8 weeks out

Nasty!

Not as nasty but still a ways to go!

thoroughly embarrassing!

Still embarrassing but worth seeing the comparison!