A good thought

I have an issue that is undiagnosed. I have huge calves. My Doctors says I am carrying about 50-60 pounds of weight in my lower legs. Is it lymphodema or not? I have no reason to have it as it generally affects just one limb and it is a by product of Chemo generally after Breast cancer. I have not had cancer and my calves have always been larger than my body but my ankles are still AWOL.
The fact is my calves are huge... and have been for years although now that I have lost just about 200 pounds it is more noticeable. No cure... no real treatment. Just keep losing weight and see what happens. Went to a specialist and have now seen 3 Doctors... no studies being done, no research on it. A good friend mentioned to me today however that even if I have only 30 pounds of water in my legs I have reached the over 200 pounds lost! And that is a VERY GOOD THING :)

Holiday Blessings or ... gee it's not fun to eat anymore!

Amazing but true. Eating or rather the act of eating is a lost art. A HUGE part of any Holiday used to be the meal. I think normal weight people loved the meal too .. right? But it appears now as they don't... well at least I no longer enjoy it. I love the look and smell of the food but honestly, it's just not fun eating anymore. No matter where I go or who I eat with... eating is an ordeal of epic portions. My eyes are still bigger than my stomach although when I look at their plates I am shocked knowing that just 2 short years ago my plate was at least that overflowing large as well. Mine looks miserly as a comparison but then eating it also becomes an event. Protein first yummy, potatoes or veggies a bite or two then Protein., and wow I'm almost too full.. gotta slow down gotta be careful... what a drag! But 200 pounds less of a drag and frankly I 'll TAKE IT!
Merry Christmas!

Under 200 pounds... soon!

I HOPE to be under 200 pounds by Christmas or New Years... that's just 8 pounds (it was just 5 pounds YESTERDAY!) I do not even remember being under 200 pounds... maybe 1976 or earlier? Oh My Goodness!
Need to get my blood panel done. Had the bone density although the Dr. did not read it today. Must must must keep up the testing to make sure that the Frankenstein stomach and intestines are working at their optimum and keeping me on track. What a shame to go to all this work and fall apart and crumble from too little calcium or vitamins.
Whoo hoo 199 here I come!

hahaha Driver License

My life is sooo very exciting... and so full of ahhhhhhh moments recently. I screwed up the post about getting a test done and being handed a gown and asking the nurse if the gown would fit me and she looked at me oddly and said "uhhh Yes!" It was just a natural reaction from a formerly fat, very fat ok morbidly super obese person. I was so shocked I took a picture... hmm I wonder if I can load a picture? Oh yes I did it! hahaha Please note sweater and shirt still on as I was freezing! See it's a 3 arm gown and I was able to fit in it Yeahhhhh me!

Ok so today I had to make a copy of my license and noticed that I am 3 pound below what my Drivers license says I am!! Geez to think it took me 78 weeks to get to my DL weight but at least I'm there!

hahahaha Ain't life grand?

A WOW moment flat on my butt :)

hehe
It was a GREAT moment this morning. An unseasonably wet morning and I as usual went out to retrieve my newspaper. I was wearing my slippers that are worn thin and whoops I slipped and splat fell flat down on my fanny! This in itself was freaky... so why was I smiling? I could GET UP WITH NO HELP!!! This has been my biggest nightmare and one of the 120,998 reasons why I chose to have WLS surgery the fear that if and when I fell I would not be able to get myself up. I tripped at work one day a few months ago and others rushed to help me... but I kinda felt as though I could have done it myself but was to timid to try it again by myself. I not only was able to get up I did it this morning with absolutely no problems. Well except to see if my fanny is going to be black and blue tomorrow... but I was laughing and ^5ing myself as I went up the stairs! What a great way to start the day! I can GET UP!!!

Week 60

Wowee Zowee... how is it possible? If I looked forward 58 weeks ago I would not and could not have imagined the changes in my body that would occur over the next year. I had no clue. Yes I have hanging chads... errr skin issues and yes I have psoriasis now which is an autoimmune disease which is largely from stress and is chronic. But many people only have to endure one outbreak and I am hopefully that this is my one. I am taking steroids for it which I am not crazy about taking but this may help to control the symptoms. There is no cure and no real studies going on apparently. It can be aggravated by stress and about a zillion other things.
The good news is things could be worse A LOT WORSE and for that I am very grateful.
My skin issues are not a surprise but I am surprised at how a modest 2. - 2.5 pound loss a week for a year could create this much skin and I still have almost 100 pounds to go. Oy vey!
I am a new GP Dr. She pointed at my stomach and said... "Are you going to do something with that?" I hadn't really considered it and if truth is known any time someone mentioned it I recoiled in horror. Why would I have my skin cut off INTENTIONALLY? Can you can I imagine the pain of having yards and yards of skins surgically removed? Ewwww But a couple friends have told me that after all of this hard work don;t you deserve to have a body in clothing that looks more than just a hanging deflated bag that sways too and fro... OH. Ohhhhhhhhhhh
Now It's becoming more clear. Maybe I need to change my Insurance deductible to a lower level. What are you thinking about?

I did not mean to type about skin issues. But I guess I was thinking about it more than I thought I was.

Jamie Oliver The post below

This is an incredible video. Please take 20 minutes and watch it. Particularly if you have kids.
XO

Jamie Oliver's TED Prize wish: Teach every child about food | Video on TED.com

Jamie Oliver's TED Prize wish: Teach every child about food Video on TED.com

It's a Strange Strange Strange New Tummy World

It continues to amaze me even 58 (!) weeks post op how things change and how things remain the same. The RELATIONSHIP we WLS peeps have with food is a nasty little devil... but with our tool... the surgery it slaps us upside the head and says No No Noooooooooooooo I think NOT. Gone are the days when I looked forward to a solitary meal as a delight, a comfort, a fun time . Food now is a necessary maybe not an evil but something that I must do to 1. stay healthy 2. groom myself for stamina and 3. Get through.

Sunday used to be my favorite day of the week to eat and Breakfast my favorite meal with Dinner right behind and yesterday ...just yesterday I realized it's lost it's allure . Now its not planning "ohhh ewww goody what am I gonna eat?" It's "okay I need to eat a little and what is it going to be ?" "Can I get close to 20 grams of protein?"...again a feeling that I think regular weight people have who have normal weight and treat food as fuel feel. Eat it get it over with and move on. I kinda sorta miss the food... I sorta miss the high, I sorta miss the friend that was food but then isn't that how I got here?
I'll STILL take THIS new feeling rather than the old feeling any day however! How about you?

Happy Surgiversary ME!

Whoo hooo One year ago today I started one of if not the most exciting journey of my life. I would never ever go back... only forward and not one regret. Every day is new day, every day is a new challenge and every day there is joy that I am where I am and I look forward to tomorrow.
Am I successful every single day ? nope but the majority of every day yup!
Congratulations ME.
This has been the shortest year I have ever had and the longest and the most fulfilling and the worst full of agony and pathos.
I will NEVER regret this!
On a side note today in the obits was a notice for Marian the first actual person I ever met that had WLS. She lost 100 plus pounds about 20 years ago when the surgery removed a lot of intestine. She passed away more than 80 years old and I am certain she lived that long due to the enormous amount of weight she lost. She was truly a success! An early success and mentored me a bit to think about surgery.
Rest in Peace Marian!

BMI and Me

Okay I am writing this down so I won't forget it. AT my height 5'1" I will have to get to 158 before I am only obese and not Morbidly obese. Yikes that is over 80 pounds away and almost at the initial goal weight I set for myself of 145. Okay I REALLY want to be 125 but I think at 145 I will be soooo happy.
Okay I just checked again and I will have to be 132 to have a normal BMI. Maybe that will be my new goal.

Ok got the Cumin

Rainy, stormy weekend... (I wonder whatever happened to my junior high school friend Rainey Allen?)I tried googling her but no luck. I hope she is happy and successful no matter what.
Anyway I got the Cumin and some fresh garlic now what? A weigh loss successful meal this weekend. Must have chicken I think.
Soup form last weekend was a success. Green pea from the Thanksgiving ham bone and Honeybaked Hams special soup packets. Love them L.O.V.E. T.H.E.M. The leak was good but no spectacular. Think I will stick with straight leek potato and not try and make it creamy next time.
I need to go and check out Eggface and what she has for a stormy weekend. Wondering how I can add a link to this blog or a pciture.... hmmm maybe read the instuctions? Weigh in on Monday .... 50 weeks!!!!!!!!!!

WTF is Cumin?

Am I the only person who doesn't particularly care for Bacon? Now that I am 48 (YES 48 Weeks!) weeks post op I have discovered that I lose weight more consistently when I cook from scratch. Prior to surgery I was about a 75% fast food person . Honestly though I wasn't a hamburger, fries and a shake girl but a grilled chicken sandwich and a lemonade and maybe a starch but probably not. Yeah Yeah Yeah almost 400 pounds and you ate lettuce leaves right ? No really but I ate too much and too often perhaps. ANYWAY I also ate a egg mcMuffin's and that can't be just good food right?
So Post op and past the slimey egg stage I started to reintroduce myself to food. Well not so much. For the 1st 8 weeks and longer I was struggling with still being massively overweight and throwing up at almost every meal. The 1st 8 weeks it was nausea every day. So the POINT (Get to the point) I still ate some fast foods. I ate the grilled chicken salad. like about 4 bites. I ate a El Pollo Loco leg and the soup at El Pollo omgoodness the soup saved me... it was hot and nutritious I felt almost human and I didn't barf.
Gradually however as I begin to be more mobile for longer than 10 minutes at a time, my cooking gene became aroused. I stared experimenting with old favorites and then new stuff and I became interested in looking at cook books and EggFace became my (unbeknownst to her) my mentor. I WISH I had the time and the brains she has to create as she does.
ANYWAY
I now cook if at all possible once at least a week and make enough for several meals. I am way into casseroles with meat and beans and this weekend I have big plans for those 2 chicken breasts that were left from my meals in restaurants and am planning a leek and chicken soup. Oh Yuma Arizona.
ANYWAY I had a point. Yup I did, Yes I did I DID!
Cumin - WTF is Cumin and why is it featured prominently at my favorite Trader Joe's and why didn't I pick it up last night because it appears EVERYWHERE in every silly recipe and Paula Deen I think says it's smokey and yummy or is that garlic and butter? Or is it Ina?
Oh Never mind. Well TJ's didn't have Leeks either so I have to go to a regular grocery and get those so perhaps CUMIN the miracle spice is on my list if it's under $4.00 a jar (note to self: look up Cumin and see what it is in a Mexican spice as those are so much cheaper at the market)
OK I'm done ... for the moment. :) As you were

Happy Weight Loss Over the Holidays?

I reluctantly weighed myself yesterday morning. Who doesn't cheat or go off track just a wee bit over the Holidays? I can't say I was perfect but gee whiz when you compare it to this time LAST year I was incredible. Thank you Gastric Bypass! Had a few issues with throwing up as I over filled or maybe it was sugar but when I stepped on the scale I had lost 11 pounds in the past 3 weeks! I was shocked and got off the scale and then back on it again. I haven't seen THAT number ....in years.
It's now week 47 and what great a 47 week ride it's been. A big learning curve but very rewarding. It's hard every day and I am still learning what to eat and what not to eat. I have started in the past few weeks having intense gas pains like menstrual cramps in the evening. I think it may be the carbs breaking down in my system. I bought a bottle of Beano and have tried to remember to take that with the Gas X before or during each meal that has a gassy food in it. Beano before the meal...Gas X during the meal. It's not yet working correctly but I think I need to be more vigilant. The gas is odoriferous as my Mother used to say. Ugh that is embarrassing.
Friends over the Holidays were very complimentary and considerate which was a big concern. Small plates, smaller amounts of food and good company what could be better? Oh yes 141 pounds gone FOREVA!