every vacation has a charcoal lining...

So...vacation was awesome!  We stayed at a friend's house in Cashiers, NC and got to have dinner with the lovely Amanda and her husband!  We hiked, we read, we napped.  Like I said--awesome!

Sadly, there seems to be a stomach bug rampaging through NC and I came home with it.  I even wound up in the ER yesterday because my surgeon's office on-call doctor was worried about blockage ( I called them after the 3rd round of vomiting).  Good news--no blockage!!!  Plus, I got some IV liquids and a prescription for Zofran.

I got home from the ER last night and started running a a low-grade fever.  When it reached 101, I took some Tylenol and now, after a day of sleeping, I feel better and my temp is normal.

I was so afraid that this was all because of a donut whole I ate at a party on Friday night!  I was almost relieved when Amanda told me about all of NC being sick with the bug.

Regardless, I won't be eating any more donuts for a while.

Cheers!

4.4 lbs

I went on vacation for a week.  I did not track my food.  I did not get on a scale.  I got home last night and weighed this morning.  I am down 4.4 lbs!!!

i am so ready for menopause...

I was feeling good about myself two days ago.  I ate well that day and drank a lot of water.  Yesterday I skipped my weigh-in, was very active (5 hours of dirty, sweaty, hard yard-work)  and drank lots of water.  Today I weighed and have gained 1.5 lbs.   Blech!!!  

According to MyCycle calendar, I will be ovulating tomorrow.  According to sources on the InterWebs, ovulation is associated with bloating, cramping & temporary weight gain.  So, I gain weight when I'm ovulating and I gain weight when I'm menstruating.  As a woman, I'm almost always doing one of those two things...it sucks!  

Also, my butt is sore from the yard-work yesterday--a lot of walking up and down a very steep hill carrying stuff like 40lb bags of grass-seed, mulch, topsoil, hay, etc.  More of that to follow later today.

Cheers!

Hola my peeps!

It's been a week since my last confession post.  The excitement is slowing down as my recovery levels off.  Here's a bullet recap of how things have changed in the last week or so.

• Today is my last day of soft/pureed foods--tomorrow I get to chew!!!  I still have to hold off until 3 months post-op (6 more weeks) before eating salad or raw veggies and the recommendation is 6 months post-op for bread.  
• Weight loss has slowed dramatically since I moved off of liquids, but it still goes down daily.  I am pleased.
• My total weight loss after 6 weeks=28lbs.  Body fat has gone from 50.8% (how embarrassing!!!) to 47.5%.
• I am 12 lbs away from my lowest, non-dehydrated Lap Band weight which I reached around December of 2011.
• I am still working hard to get in enough protein & water.  The protein should be easier once I'm on "real" food.  The water will just be a matter of me drinking. more. water.
• I haven't been back to the gym since Zumba last Tuesday--it kicked my butt that hard!  The Hubs and I have a gym date scheduled for this evening after work. 

In non-WLS news, tomorrow is our 4th wedding anniversary!  Sadly, The Hubs will be flying to Austin for a work conference.  I promised him a special anniversary breakfast of waffles NOT made with whole-wheat mix.  It's the little things, y'all. :)

Cheers!

PS  For those who have been married longer:  when do you stop counting married years vs dating years?  I still feel the need to tell people that even though we've only been married for 4 years, we have been a couple for 8 years.

exercise & NUTs...

I went to the gym this morning!!!  I had my first appointment with my YMCA Fitness Coach.  We talked about my surgery, set some goals, etc.  She also is bringing me a size 16-18 Speedo bathing suit that was her mothers so that I can take some of the water classes.  How sweet is that?!?!?  After getting everything set up, I walked for 20 minutes on the treadmill.  And, I broke a sweat.  I am seriously way more out of shape than I thought.

I had my 1-month checkup with my NUT, Brittany.  I've been tracking my food intake on MFP (MyFitnessPal) regularly for the last 2 weeks.  She says I'm doing great!  She even called me one of the "easy"ones.  Yay!  

Speaking of supplements, I went to the ObesityHelp conference here in Atlanta on Saturday.  There were 2 highlights.  ONE was seeing my doctor and giving him a hug!  He really is something special.  The SECOND was discovering a multi-vitamin that you mix with hot water and it makes JELL-O!!!  Check it out here.  They had samples and I ordered the Fruit Punch.  YUMMY!   

I can't eat that...

A very interesting and informative article via Can You Stay For Dinner.  I recommend taking 5 minutes to read it.

Click on logo above to be redirected to the article.

stalls & reflux...

I was awakened at 3AM last night with a puddle of stomach acid in my throat--talk about BURNING!  This is in-spite of the Pepcid that I took right before bed and the Prilosec that I take every morning.  I got up, drank a little milk for immediate relief in the throat and then chewed up a couple of Tums.  About an hour and a half later, things had "cooled" down enough for me to go back to bed.  This doesn't happen every night, but it does happen a couple of times a week.  Luckily, I already have an appointment with my PCP tomorrow afternoon to discuss the possibility of Nexium (or some other prescription PPI) since the OTCs don't seem to be working.  BAH!

I also have finally hit what is known in the VSG community as the "3-week stall."  I'm sure that PMS and the new scale (which measures about 1-1.5 lbs heavier) aren't helping.  My goal for this week is to maintain my 25 (ish) lb loss until I see Brittany the NUT on Monday.  Even if the stall lasts a full week,  25lbs in 5 weeks ain't too shabby!

In non-WLS related news, the house-cleaners are coming today.  I usually try to make sure the house is super tidy for them so that they don't have to muddle through all of our junk in order to to their job.  Today, I'm not sure I have it in me.  The house isn't bad--in fact, it would be presentable for a casual visitor.  But, there's a few dishes in the sink and some clean laundry lying around in baskets.  Not to mention the giant pile of "Donate" items that I need to bag up for the Kidney Fund pickup.

As I typed that last paragraph, I realized that I have skipped my Lexapro again for a couple of days which might explain the bad attitude.  Perhaps I'll talk to my PCP about getting back on the pills...the liquid stuff isn't exactly bad, but I do seem to have difficulty remembering to take it.

I guess the moral of this post is that the Honeymoon Phase is over and now it's time to get back into "real" life.  

Cheers!

starting to feel a little more normal...

I am feeling more normal every day!!!  My energy is better.  Now, instead of a 3-hour nap each day I can usually get by with just a few quiet minutes lying down with my eyes closed.  I can tell that the swelling is really going down because eating is easier and I am able to get in more actual proteins (as opposed to protein supplements & shakes).  My clothes are way more comfortable, too!

Even though I still have some healing to do, I feel much better now than I ever did after getting the band.  It's kind of like having a cold--you don't truly realize how bad you felt until you start feeling better.

Shout out my BOOBs-the-First roomie Roo who is having her sleeve revision tomorrow afternoon in Australia (tonight if you live in the US).  Love ya!