Divine Lady

Send Message

Block

Add Friend

My wonderful Angel: Hair Teacher

7/5/05

I am looking into WLS for the 2nd time. I started this process over 1 year ago. At the time I weighed 304 lbs, I have mobility problems due to arthritis in my hip. I have borderline high cholesterol and borderline diabetes. I have dieted most of my life. My PCP suggested weight loss surgery too take some of the pressure off of my hip and to delay hip surgery until I am a bit older. Hip replacements generally do not last more than 20 years and since I am barely in my 40s, I will be headed for multiple hip replacements throughout my lifetime, at least as long as there is enough bone left to do a replacement. After that, I will likely be headed for a wheelchair. I researched and researched the benefits and the possible complications, put together my diet history, got a referral letter from my PCP, read 3 books on weight loss surgery, attended a seminar put on by the Cori Center and passed my H-Pylori test. I have tried diet pills, Weight Watchers, South Beach, Fit or Fat, Atkins, 24 Hour, Protein shakes, etc. I was 100 lbs lighter when I started trying diet after diet. I would lose at first but then gain every lb back plus more. Despite this poor history. I decided to try dieting an exercise one more time. With this last diet attempt, I netted a 10+ weight gain. I would lose 3 lbs one week but gain 4 the next. My attempts at exercise have proven futile. With all of the excess weight and a bad hip, it is very difficult to get in any meaningful exercising and to top it off, I am now experiencing shortness of breath which I did not have last year. I am now more afraid not to have the surgery.I called the Cori Center again to get the process re-activated. I hope the insurance process will not be long.

8/4/05

 I am going through all the steps for approval. I have submitted an updated diet history along with a personal statement on why I need WLS, records from 3 diet doctors, and a letter of medical necessity from my PCP. I tested positive for the H-Pylori bacteria so I am on the Prev Pak for 14 days. I completed my pysch evaluation 2 weeks ago. I have a followup meeting on 8/8/05 to find out the results. After the Pysch results are sent, I will be ready to submit for insurance approval. I hate this waiting period because it just makes me nervous and unfortunately when I get nervous I eat like crazy. I can't afford to gain another pound.

10-3-05

It has been a while since I have updated my profile. I was on my way to backing out again. I started a partial liquid diet and lost 20 pounds pretty fast and then the weight loss stopped. I figured I needed to add exercise. I was hoping that after losing 20 pounds, it would hurt less to exercise. I tried to add exercise but each time I would exercise I would have so much excrutiating pain that it would be difficult for me to walk for the next 2 weeks until the inflammation in my hip would go away. This is so depressing and discouraging. I don't feel like anyone around me understands. They say things like you just have to work through the pain. Well my pain is not from being out of shape it is the pain of bone rubbing against bone because I have not cartilage left in my hip. It only occurs on my right side. The pain starts in the top of my hip and shots all the way down my leg. It feels like someone is sticking a knife in the ball of my hip each time I put any weight on that side to walk. While I was nursing my hip with a heating pad, I received my insurance approval in the mail. I was shocked that I was approval on the first try. I put so much work into my documents prior to submittal. I researched, I put together my weight history with pictures, I included everything I read that people have said was required with an appeal, I researched the criteria that my HMO uses for approval and asked my doctor to reword his statement per the critera to use the exact words, I rewrote my personal statement about 10 times and then when I got the approval I was numb. I guess I had convinced myself that the approval process would be a long hard fight and that I was still more than a year away. I started to come back to life today and realize that I need to begin making plans. I called the CORI Center and the patient coordinator said that she had been trying to reach me and had sent me a letter. I had been away from my office for a few days and she had the wrong home phone number for me. I need to complete my EGD (scheduled for this week) and then the consult with the surgeon will be scheduled once the results are in (7-10 days). I am not going to allow myself to get nervous again until I get my surgery date scheduled.

10-7-05 CW: 299, size 22

Good Lord!! I am really on my way!! I had an EGD today and it was non eventful. I don't remember a thing. They first sprayed my throat with an anesthesia to keep me from gagging during the procedure. Apparently gagging is a natural body reaction even if you are out. The next thing I remember was someone calling my name. I thought they were about to tell me to shift my position for the procedure but I was actually in recovery and they were waking me up! There was a little mix up with my paper work and while I was waiting to get it straightened out, I heard the doctor talking to a patient, I heard him ask her if she had gained any weight back and he told her that he would be sending her results to Dr. Wood. After he left, I went over to her and first apologized for being intrusive and asked if she had WLS. She was very friendly and invited me in. She told me that she was 2 years post op. I asked her opinion of WLS. She said her only regret was not getting it 20 years sooner. She loved Dr. Wood, said he was the best in her opinion. She said the reason she was there because prior to surgery she had severe GERD. It cleared up after WLS but she now has some problems with acid reflux but not as bad as before. I didn't get a chance to ask any more questions because I was being called for my test. I called CORI today and my consultation with Dr. Wood is scheduled for Tuesday, Octber 11th. They told me that I could possibly get my surgery scheduled 2 weeks later! Yikes!! I am going to try to get a date in early November. Things start to slow down at my job right after Thanksgiving through the Christmas Holiday.

10-11-05 CW: 302, Size 22

I completed my consultation today with Dr. Wood. It went well. He gave information on his complication rates:Zero leaksZero spleen issuesZero internal bleeding4 deaths out of over 2000 WLSHe was everything I had heard about him. He told us he always leaves a minimum of 6 ft of intestines beyond the roux-en Y to avoid diarrhea. He said that the operation is designed so that the patient will lose 75% of their excess weight and that you could easily set up the operation such that people lost 100% of their excess weight but that is too risky and he likes the 25% margin. One of the reason I picked Dr. Wood because I heard that he had a more conservative approach and would not do anything risky and he has an excellent reputation as a surgeon in his field. In order for the patient to lose 100% of their weight, they will have to put work in such as watching their diet carefully and exercising. I found out I need to complete my sleep study that I started and that I need to get clearance from the cardiologist relating to my recent stress test.I may be having my surgery in 3 to 4 weeks!! 

10-29-05 CW:302??, Size 22 (tight)

I have a little over 2 days before my big day!! I have a just over 2 days before joining the loser's bench!! I have had dreams that something happens and my surgery was delayed or that my surgeon could not do it and an inexperienced surgeon was stepping in to take his place.I have gone down the checklist:I have comfortable house shoes for walking in the hospitalI have my clear liquids for week one.I have my full liquids and no sugar yogurt for week 2I have vegetables to puree soup for week 3 and 4I have a liquid vitamin for bariatric patientsI have liquid calcium citrateI have sublingual B-12I have a liquid protein to take during week 1I have whey protein stocked for the weeks following week 1I have my post op prescriptionsI have pahyzme for gas.I have Mylanta.I started my 3 showers a day today with antibacterial soap.I start my full liquid fast tomorrowI start my clear liquid fast on Sunday along with a bowel prep.I still have a lot of nervous energy. I think I will iron my son's uniforms for the week so his dad doesn't have that to do.Me and my hubby went out and bought new items for our bedroom to make it more comfortable. We bought an ab lounger which I can't use until I get under 275 which is okay because my stomach needs time to heal. We now have a full gym in our house!! We have a treadmill, a stationary recumbent bike, weight equipment, barbells and dumbbells and an ab lounger. No excuses for not keeping up with some form of exercise!! I am looking forward to some weight coming off so that using this equipment will not be so difficult.For the first time, I imagined myself wearing some of the sexy clothes I passed in the store while we were out shopping. I hope to be able to shop in that section of the store by next summer.

10-30-05

Today I did a full liquid fast per my doctor's instructions. This was much harder than I thought. I had 4 protein shakes, 4 cups of watery, strained cream soup and water and a cup of watery mashed potatoes. I was kinda of hungry. I went and bought quick foods for my family to eat. Lots of deli meats, lots of frozen meals. It was difficult smelling and watching them make sandwiches with turkey, corned beef, salami and cheese. It smelled so good!! My husband was worried that I would break down and cheat. I told him that eating a sandwich knowing that I am going under anesthesia would be like me trying to commit suicide. I don't think so!! I will not complicate my surgery for a moment of pleasure. I don't know how I will handle tomorrow when I can't even have protein shakes. I have to do all clear liquids and then nothing after midnight. I will try to drink as much water during the day so I am not dehydrated on the morning of my surgery. Tomorrow I will weigh myself and take a pre op picture. I plan on wearing something tight so I can easily see changes. I know my weight has to be up with all of the lunches I hade with friends in the prior weeks. I posted 302 for yesterday but I have a feeling it may be more like 308. Tomorrow all truths will be revealed!!

10-31-05

Always follow your first thought!! Here I was thinking my surgery is scheduled for 9:30 am. I was planning to get to the hospital by 7:30. I called the hospital because I had not received my confirmation call as promised on the day before surgery. The nurse was at lunch and I didn't bother to call her back because I figured everything was all set. Well she called me a couple of hours later and my surgery was scheduled for 6:30 am not 9:30 am!! I would have missed my appointment entirely!! Also the instructions I was given was to not have any thing by mouth after midnight. Well the nurse said nothing after 10 pm. I am so glad she called. I am sooo thirsty right now. I had to take the Phospho Soda and a high blood pressure pill today and its past 10 pm so I am feeling very dry!! Time to go to bed. In a few hours, I will be on the losing side!!

11-4-05 On the losing Side/Pre-Op weight 299 day of surgery

Thank you Jesus for watching over me, my family and my surgeon!! I made it home yesterday. My surgery went very well. I had no complications from the surgery and no pain afterwards until I had to give up the epidural pump. When I arrived home. I started to experienced what felt like menstrual cramps. I didn't know if I was starting my period or if I had gas. I walked around the house and then took some of my pain medication. The medication took the cramping away but also made me sleepy. Taking the recommendation from a fellow OH member, I took the medication on a regular basis to avoid the pain from returning. That worked but I stayed very groggy. Each time I woke up, I drank liquids. My goal for this week is to stay hydrated. Based on my experience here are my recommendations:Pre-opFirst and foremost, follow all your pre-op instructions. I wanted to be as strong and healthy as possible going in because your system is comprised during surgery. Pre-op I started taking bariatric liquid vitamins. I was doing about 100 grams of protein per day, I drank vitamin waters with immunity boosters.  Post op1. Get an epidural if available. I was walking the halls as if I didn't have surgery as soon as the anesthesia wore off. I do think it helps in speeding up your recovery. It also took away the usual pain in my joints so walking was a breeze.2. Use Petroleum Jelly lotion for the itching from the epidural. The epidural causes you to itch all over. The nurse offered me Benaydryl but I didn't want anything that would make me groggy or slow me down if I could avoid it. My husband rubbed the petroleum jelly lotion all over my body and I had not itching after that.3. Walk as much possible for the best recovery and to avoid pneumonia. I had 4 surgeries prior to this one (mostly due to a car accident) so I knew that the sooner you start moving and keep moving the better off you are. I didn't wait for the nurse to get me up (my nurse was a bit lax) but I called to have someone help me up as soon as the anesthesia wore off enough so that I could walk.4. Use the spirometer over and over and over. This will keep your lungs clear. It will cause you to gag and cough up phlegm in the beginning which is good because it is getting your lungs clear.5. Cough as deep as you can to clear your lungs even though it feels uncomfortable.6. Know what is supposed to occur for you as a bariatric patient.A nursing assistant tried to get me up without a binder and Itold her I needed my binder first.I was brought liquids in a straw which I knew I was not supposedto use. I always asked what was in the IV bags as they were being putup. I knew I was supposed to get antibotics. I also got a vitamin bag besides the general IV bag. Make sure that your liquids are coming through the IV. I went for several hours without my liquids coming through and my nurse never noticed it but I noticed I was getting weaker. 7. My goal was to get out of the hospital as quickly as possible. If you need to be there, then by all means don't try to rush outIf you are feeling ok, you are better off at home. Hospitalsare very germy. The day that I left, the room across the hall from mine was set up for someone who possibly had an airbornevirus. They pasted warning signs on the door and the staffwas going in and out with masks on. Needless to say I was ready to go home!! 8. Keep your binder open while lying in bed. Having the binderclosed affects your deep breathing and you want air to getto your incision for faster healing - I had one very good bariatric nurse during my hospital stay and she gave me lots of good information. 9. Goal for the first week - stay hydrated!! It will keep you from feeling naseauted and week. Post Op ObservationsLots of patience is required. I am on clear liquids this week. It is such a slow process. I drink 1/2 oz to an oz of liquids at a time. I have to give the liquids a few minutes to drain out of my stomach before taking in more otherwise it will hurt. When you have to take in a minimum of 32 ozs a day, this is a slow process. Each time I woke up during the night, I drank liquids. If I was had some pain or discomfort, I made sure I got in my liquids prior to taking my pain medication because the medicine makes me to sleepy to complete the task and it is like a chore.Post Op Pain:None with the epidural.Minor at home without the epidural. Controllable with pain medication (I was given liquid Loratab) but it makes you sleepy.Biggest discomfort is just not being able to bend your stomach like you normally would. Yesterday my stomach felt stiff and not very flexible. My husband helped me in and out of bed initially. By the end of the night, I was able to get in and out of bed by myself. We placed a chair with arms right next to my bed. I would swing my legs into the chair, raise myself to a sitting position and then get out of bed. When my legs were messed up from my car accident, the occupational therapist showed me how to place my legs under a larger bath towel and swing the towel over the edge of the bed with my legs in them. These are my food instructions:Week 1: Clear liquids - sugar free jello, minute maid light, diluted apple/grape juice (1/2 water, 1/2 juice); low sodium chicken broth, water Week 2: Full liquids - protein shakes, runny mashed potatoes/grits, sugar free yogurt, blenderized cottage cheese. Week 3 & 4: Pureed foods; no raw fruits or vegetables Week 5 & beyond: gradually add foods starting with thin sliced deli turkey, fish, etc. avoid tough meats, beef, etc. I hope this information is useful. My first Post-Op appointment is a week from today on 11/11/05. 

11-6-05

My goal is to keep my profile updated during my recovery. It is still uncomfortable to sit straight up which makes it hard to update my profile. I am getting in about 100+ oz of liquids (diluted juices, water and SF Jello). My friend made fresh apple and grape juice which is the best!! The grape juice was so sweet I had to add more than 50% water. Today is the second day I did the warm up section of my walk video. I also do laps in the hall outside my bedroom. I am taking the pain medication because it takes away the cramping feeling but it also makes me sleepy. I started my period which had been missing in action for a couple of months. I am feeling hungry and a little weak today so I added some of my liquid protein to my diluted juice. The liquid protein is the only protein I can have this week (Whey protein allowed next week). The liquid protein is nasty but you only need 2 tbsp for 15 grams of protein so I just add a little at a time. It really does work in making you feel stronger also it helps you heal faster. I look forward to the 3rd week when I can add pureed foods. Back to bed. 

11-8-05 291.5

Bending and moving is getting easier by the day. I was even able to sleep on my side. I rode my exercise bike for 6 minutes. I weighed myself and I was down to 291.5.My highest weight was 316; My weight at my surgery consultation was 302; My weight day of surgery was 299; my weight 1st day home from hospital was 310.5.I have 2 more day to take my heparin shots. My husband has been doing them. The last few hurt like "H.." I cried and told him I was not taking anymore. I made the mistake of telling my friend and she would not let me off the phone until I promised to take it. I looked at the video again prior to doing the shot myself and guess what? It didn't hurt at all!! I think my husband was shooting me in the muscle. I told him he was too close to my naval but he assured me he knew what he was doing. That was like giving him directions in the car. I don't know what I'm talking about of course. I will be finishing the last 2 days myself!!My appetite is different. When I am hungry I crave everything I see on tv, hamburger, fries, seafood, pasta... However after eating a couple of ounces of blended cottage cheese, the cravings go away. My mashed potatoes were from Boston Market. I put a couple of teaspoons in my magic bullet with a little gravy and enough water to make the consistency like a thin soup. I blended my cottage cheese with water and a couple of pieces of banana (freeze your unused banana in a baggy). My protein shakes have been a challenge which surprised me. I don't like the shakes that I loved prior to the surgery!! The nectar tastes way to sweet and no matter how much water I added, I just didn't like it. I was able to do the IDS chocolate and the Vanilla from New Lifestyles (but the aftertaste seems more pronounced now). My search for a good protein shake is starting again. My bariatric vitamin tastes yucky sweet although it too was not a problem prior to surgery. I am going to use the vitamins because I paid too much money to throw it out.

12/17/05 284.5

I have been negligent in updating my profile. As you can see my weight loss is slow!! The good news is that I feel wonderful. I have been able to sleep on my side since the 3rd week and on my stomach since week 5. I stopped wearing my binder after week 4. But I do wear panty girdles. The only time I had pain in my hip was during my PMS period. I am not sure why my hip tends to get inflamed during that time. I don't get sick on anything which is a blessing and a curse. I mostly stick to the healthy choices of foods, baked and low carb. However, I have had a few indiscretions with chips, fried fish and sugar free chocolate. I have not gotten into a routine for my exercise. I exercise one day and then I skip 2 or 3 days. I start back to work on Monday so I hope that being back in a regular routine will help me stay on track. I can fit clothes that I could not fit before. My friends and my husband rave about how good I look but I really think they are exaggerating. I don't see much of a difference. I love them for caring so much about how I feel emotionally and mentally.Eating at 7 weeks: Nothing seems to make me sick but I am careful to avoid the foods that are to be avoided. Fried foods don't make me sick but it tastes very greasy now. Exercise: Not in a regular routine yet. I feel strong enough although I still feel tired late in the afternoon.Vitamins and Supplements:Vitamins: Miracle 2000 Liquid Vitamins with Chelated MineralsIron: Chelated Chewable Iron with with Vitamin C/or Floridix Liquid IronCalcium: Liquid Calcium Citrate Note: I take the Calcium and Iron at least 3 hours apart.Protein Shakes: I mix 1 EAS pre-made shake in a glass with 1 scoop of natural protein and a little water (to bring up the protein count to 30), twice a day.Sublingal B-12 dots: Twice a day 6 Week Check up with Surgeon:My surgeon says my weight loss is okay but he would like me to speed it up a bit. He told me that I was not eating enough times a day. I was eating twice a day and drinking 4 to 5 protein shakes and 64 oz. of water. He told me to put something in my mouth every 2 hours to keep my metabolism up. It could be a piece of string cheese or a handful of nuts. He also told me that I wait too late to eat my first meal. I should have some food or a shake in my system within a 1/2 hour after waking. He also told me to drink less shakes so as to get more food in. So I now drink 2 shakes (just added more protein to those 2) and I keep peanuts and water bottles in my purse and car. The CORI dietician also called me this week and wants me to keep a log for a week of what I eat, how much and when. She also wants a log of my exercise (this should motivate me to do more). I will see if this advice helps. Slow Losers be encouraged:I do believe that I am a slow loser. My niece had WLS this summer and she is also a slow loser. Slow losers be encouraged. My niece has lost quite a bit. She has been a steady slow loser. Also I met a woman at the CORI Center on the day of my 6 week check up. She is 7 years out. She told me that she was also a slow loser but that her weight loss for steady and that she lost 152 pounds over an 18 to 24 month period. I also searched OH for slow losers and found quite a few and the encourage thing is that most lost at least 100 pounds within a 12 month period at a slow and steady pace. I have an angelette. Her name is Majeeda Newsome and she is scheduled for surgery on 12/19/05.

Weight LossStarting Date (liquid protein diet): 8/7/05

Highest Weight 318

Weight date of surgery consultation m(10/11/05): 302

Weight day of surgery (11/1/05): 299

Weight first day home from hospital (11/3/05) : 310.5 (Wow!! I was retaining lots of fluid after surgery) 

2/11/06 Weight: ?? Clothing Size 18/20 and 1XA long overdue update!!

I am feeling really good. I have not had any problems from the WLS. The foods I eat have changed since my surgery. I still have no food intolerances. I always liked salads but now I eat them all the time. I have salads almost 3 times a day. I make sure that I get chicken on my salad for protein. Ranch dressing used to be my favorite, now I don't like creamy dressings. I only use italian dressing. The weird thing is that I eat a lot less now than I did right after WLS. I don't like fried foods anymore although I craved them right after WLS. I am mainly following a South Beach/Low Glycemic style of eating. I like it because it is exactly the way I was told to eat after WLS; 3 small meals and 3 snacks using lean proteins and limited complex carbs. I don't ever get hungry since I have been following this plan. You must eat something every 2 hours and drink at least 64 ounces of water. I drink 2 shakes a day, 30 g protein each. I make my first shake when I get up in the morning. I sip it while I am getting dressed for work and in the car on the way to work. My second shake is in the evening. I add all of my liquid vitamins to my evening shake. I am also riding my exercise bike 1-1/2 hours every other night. The support group leader told me to focus on weight resistance to up my metabolism especially since I had been on a supervised liquid protein diet prior to my WLS. She said that being on a liquid protein diet will bring your metabolism to a screeching halt and weight resistance exercises is the best way to increase it again. I started doing my weights on the nights that I don't ride my bike. So far I don't havmuch sagging skin. I will post my weight after my next doctor's appoint in early March. I hope to be down another size by then.  

2/18/2006 Size 18/20 and 1 X. Weight 270

Even though my weight loss is lower than others that had surgery at the same time as me, I am finding that my weight loss has increased since I started following the low glycemic diet. After being on a serious plateau, I lost almost 10 pounds in 2 weeks (without being hungry!!). I bought new pants last week in size 20. They fit last week and now they are sagging!! I hope to be down another size by the end of the month. I must truly be insulin resistant but the low GI diet is a good weapon for that!! It is important to find out where your carb count should be for losing weight and keeping the cravings down. For me, I function and lose the best when I keep my carb count between 75 to 100 per day. When I was craving foods, I was truly hungry!! It was not head hunger. When I tried to just ignore it, my weight loss slowed down. Sometimes hunger is a way that your body is trying to communicate to you that it needs something that you are not providing. It may crave fries or sugar but that is because it is over-reacting to a feeling of starvation. The only cravings I have since starting the GI diet are my once a month chocolate cravings. I eat a couple of squares of dark chocolate (sugar free) to cure that. Dark chocolate is low GI as long as you don't go overboard with the portions. The purpose of the low GI diet is to keep you insulin level throughout the day and control insulin spikes which in turn cause cravings and will cause your body to store fat rather than burning it. It is different from other low carb diets in that it focuses on the quality of the carbs and the amount of carbs in each meal. You cannot save up your carbs for 1 meal. They must be distributed among your meals and snacks during the day. It is required to keep your carb count between 20 to 30 at each meal and 10 to 15 for your snacks. You have to eat your meals and snacks even if you are not hungry. You wind up eating every 2-3 hours but very small amount. I added my calories for the day in fitday.com and I am around 1000 calories, per day, 60 fat g per day (healthy fats) and between 75- 100 carbs per day. I didn't follow this regiment 1 day this week in that I didn't have carbs for breakfast and very little for lunch. By 3:00 pm I was craving everything and it lasted all night, even after I ate. Needless to say the next day I was back on my regiment. I don't always make it to 10 carbs for all my snacks. If I have a few pieces of cheese for a snack, the carb count is close to less than 10. You have 3 meals per day plus 2 to 3 snacks. The carbs should be complex carbs. Refined, "bad" or quick digesting carbs are not eliminated but if you have them you must consider the Glycemic Load. They have a high glycemic index so if you have them you need to cut way back on the portion size to keep the GL low which may not be very satisfying. For example, I bring my own low carb bread (1 slice) to work to toast each morning. If I forget to bring my bread, I have 1/2 slice of the regular wheat bread from the cafeteria. If I have pasta, I only use 1/4 cup pasta and add 1/4 cup non-starchy vegetables. Vegetables slow down the digestion of the carbs. Dreamfield pasta is the best!! It only has 5 grams of digestable carbs but you can't distinguish the taste from reqular pasta. There are some rules for cooking it however. You should not overcook it (recommended 5-6 minutes) and don't cook it in your sauce. Add your sauce after it cooks. The acid in the tomato sauce can cause a change in the pasta such that the carbs become digestable (see the mendosa link below, once inside the site, click food, more diet, Dream field pasta for results of the glycemic test done on Dream field pasta). For fats I cook with cooking spray and I also use healthy fats like Olive oil. I eat nuts for snacks (10 almonds or 1/2 serving bag of nuts), nonfat light yogurt (3 oz - which is half of my 6 oz container because I like Yoplait light which is 19 carbs and I usually add in a few nuts), cheese. I don't always get to 10 or 15 carbs for my snacks but I definitely try to get adequate carbs for breakfast lunch and dinner. It keeps your metabolism burning, keeps your insulin level so that you don't have cravings. My best remedy for cravings is a small serving of a complex carb. I have beans (field peas, black beans, etc) at least 3 times per week. 1 tablespoon gets rid the cravings and keeps you full. I mix my with mixed vegetables and a little cooking sherry. For breakfast I drink my protein shake on the way to work (5-6 grams carb, 30 g protein) and I have my 1 slice of toast with 1/2 packet of jelly when I get to work (approx 15 carbs). I eat a boiled egg about 2 hours later. Lunch 2 hours later (chicken or fish and my bean and mixed vegetable mixture or a chef salad with olive oil and vinegar dressing), snack of nuts with yogurt 2 hours later, dinner is similar to lunch, evening snack of a shake and nuts or cheese. Here are some links to the GI diet. It has helped me to get my weight loss moving. It is the diet recommended for people that are diabetic but it was found that many overweight people are insulin resistant even if they are not diabetic. Nutrisystem is based on a low GI diet. So far it has been easy to follow because I don't crave foods.

3/20/06 265

My weight loss is still very slow but at least it is steady. My weight loss is really noticeable now. Everyone is encouraging me to take new pictures but I think I will wait until I hit 250. The low glycemic diet helps in that I don't seem to be hitting any plateaus since starting it but my weight loss is about 1 pund per wwek. I am settling into acceptance that I am a slow loser and I am feeling optimistic because the loss is steady. I am setting my goal one month at a time. I am also weighing myself only once per month and I am sticking with the low gylcemic index way of life. I think it will benefit me in the short term and in the long run. I am having trouble getting in the required amount of vegetables. I will have to find ways to get more vegetables in. Because I am eating so many more vegetables, I have to be more diligent about getting my protein in as well so I have to do 2 shakes a day becasue that provides 60 grams of protein. Then I only need to take 30 more in from my food. I normally get at least 40 grams from my food. I had a scary incident recently. I was not feeling well, my stomach was feeling queasy and I was feeling dizzy for over a week. I had completely lost my apetite however I was forcing some food in several times a day. A couple of days ago, I got really bad chills. I went to bed and piled on lots of blankets but I could not get warm. In the middle of the night I woke up burning hot and dizzy. I passed out for a few seconds in my bathrroom. My husband wanted me to go to the hospital but I told him I wanted to try getting some fluids in because I felt that I had gotten dehydrated. I had not been doing well over the past 3 weeks in getting enough water in. My mouth was feeling very dry and I was getting leg cramps. I drank water for the rest of the night, put cold damp towels on my body, took tylenol and took my temperature every 10 minuites. I told my husband that if my temperature did not start to drop within the hour, I would go to the hospital. My temperature slowly dropped. The fatigue and dizziness continued but not as bad over the next day. I keep a water bottle in my hand the whole next day. By the 2nd day I was feeling good. I can't believe I allowed myself to get so dehydrated. Getting dehydrated can take you down fast and it is hard to get yourself back out. When you are feeling sick and dizzy, the last thing you want to do is drink or eat anything but if you don't, you just get worse. I focused on just getting water in first and now my appetite is back to normal. I am now counting the cups or bottles of water that I drink each day. I want to lose weight but I do not want to get sick in the process. 

Information on Low GI Diet

http://www.mendosa.com/gi.htm

http://www.lowglycemicdiet.com/lowglycemicdietfaqs.html

4/20/07 CW: 240.5

It has been a long time  since I have updated my profile.  As you can see, I have only lost 25 pounds since my last update.  I have never had any regain, I just have long stalls in weight loss.  Actually I just lost 7 of the 25 pounds last week after starting Nutrisystem.  So far it is the only thing that appears to have gotten me in the losing mode.  I really like the program for the convenience and also I like the food. I want to lose at least 30 more pounds this year and 30 next year (yes I have accepted the fact that I will probably be an extremely slow loser to the end).  I just put in my second order for the next month of Nutrisystem.  The reason I put the order in so early is because it can take over a week for your order to be delivered and also I did not custom select the meals for my first order and some items are just not right for me such as the oatmeal (35 carbs--way too many carbs), the breakfast and lunch bars (too high in carbs).  This time I custom selected my foods after looking up the protein and carb contents on the Nutrisystem web site.  I still don't dump but I get really sluggish if I eat too many carbs at one time.  Health wise I have been real good.  No problems except my iron was borderline low.  I upped my iron intake and I plan to do another test real soon.   I promised some of the posters that I would keep my profile updated with my Nutrisystem progress so I will be updating again next week.  I hope I have good news to report.

4/28/07

Reminder to myself:  Post an updatede picture. 

Well I have good news to report.  I just finished my second week on Nutrisystem and I lost another 1/2 pound.  I am officially down 6 pounds in 2 weeks.  Now to some who have not had difficulty losing may say what is so great about that.  Well considering that I only lost 45 pound from the date of my WLS until my 1 year anniversary, I am very happy to see 6 pounds gone in 2 weeks.  The best part is that it has been an extremely easy plan to follow and it has given me more free time since I don't have to cook special meals for myself.  I pretty much just grab and go.  My child is involved in a lot of extracurricular activities so when I run in the door after work to pick him up for his activity, it takes me no more than 1 minute to warm up my meal in the microwave.  I take it with me and a snack and I sit in my car and eat it once I drop my son off for his activity.  His activities after school include music (he plays 2 instruments--trumpet and piano), karate, art (he has art in school but nothing like what he gets with this art teacher), ice skating, golf, math and reading camp (2/week, ran by my sister who is a teacher)and science camp (2/week, local program).  When people say "make time for yourself", I find those words to be meaningless without a strategy to do so.  What is helpful is to cut out the things I can.  I am not willing to cut out my son's activities because I see how he is benefitting from them.  Giving up the extra time in the kitchen has been a no brainer.  I am trying to merge my exercise with some of my son's activities so I am going to start ice skating (even though I prefer roller skating) and I am planning to sign up for karate when his next session starts.  I do my resistance training exercises while watching the evening news.

5/4/07

I remain complication free since the day of my surgery.  My only issue has been slow weight loss.  When I lose it stays off but it comes off really slow. 

I started my first ice skating class last night.  It was fun and I look forward to the next class.  It is very good exercise. 

I can honestly say that I love my WLS and I also love Nutrisystem.  I love my WLS because I feel the restriction after I eat a small portion of food.  I have no desire for fatty foods and I only can stand low sugar and low salt foods.  I love Nutrisystem because it is first and most importantly, low glycemic, low fat and low sodium.  It is also super convenient, there is no excuse not to stay on plan.  The food is delicious.  The snacks are delicious. My favorite food is the flame broiled beef patty (4 g fat, 2 g carbs).  I also like the pizza.  I top it with a low fat cajun chicken sausage.  My favorite snacks are the pretzels (11 g carb, 11 g protein and low glycemic).  My favorite desserts are the chocolate crunch bar, chocolate covered carmel corn and the almond bisotti.  Believe it or not all of the desserts I just named are low sugar, low carb and high protein.  When is the last time you had a chocolate bar with 8 g of protein!  The week I did not believe I could lose weight eating this type of food but I lost over 5 pounds.  I am already seeing a difference in my waistline  and I just finished my 3rd week.  

My Control Plan: 

I am a Process Engineer.  I make my living not only developing processes for companies to operate by but developing control plans so that those processes remain in place.  Recently I thought "why not develop a control plan for staying on track with my weight loss goals".  Below is my control plan.  I will add to it and modify as required.  I am going to print this out and tape it to an index card to keep in my purse.  It may sound a little anal but I am after all an engineer.

Why Low Glycemic?

The purpose of eating low glycemic is to keep your blood sugar balanced so even when you are eating complex carbs, you have to keep them limited to a certain number at each meal.  My rule of thumb is around 30 for each meal and about 10 for snacks.  I do 3 meals(about 60 g protein) per day and 3 snacks ( about 20 g protein, at least 1 is a 6 carb protein shake, sometimes 2).  I also find that having a low carb shake before bed helps me to lose.  I snack on raw celery which is counted as my vegetable requirement, not my snacks.  My snacks are from Nutrisystem and is usually their chocolate bar (13 carbs, 8 protein, I eat half at a time) or their pretzels (11 carbs, 11 protein, again I eat 1/2 a serving at a time). Eating 1/2 a srvg of a snack is easy if you are keeping your blood sugar stable because you do not have cravings.  I eat something every 2-3 hours (even if it is a 2 celery sticks or 1/2 bag of NS pretzels) even if I am not hungry.  The key is to never let yourself get into that hunger mode. 

 Metabolic Syndrome

Some people have asked me about Metabolic Syndrome.  This is the explanation given by the doctor at the Hospital Weight Loss Clinic.  Metabolic Syndrome is when your liver and other organs involved in the metabolic process, operate in such a way as to prevent your body from burning calories as it normally should.  The body does this as a protection mechanism to maintain itself but it can prevent you from losing weight even while eating 400 calories per day.  In fact you may continue to gain even while eating a small amount of calories.  They have actually found some people that weigh 800 pounds or more to be malnourished and taking in very few calories.  Once your body reaches that state, only something drastic will get the weight off like an all liquid diet or WLS.  They want you to start off trying the all liquid diet prior to WLS to see if that will do it.  If that doesn't work, the next step is WLS.   Some people in  my group lost over 100 pounds in a very short amount of time ( i'm talking months, 4-6 months).  I only lost 18 over a 3 month period.  I lost 15 of those in the first month.  Even after WLS.  I was up almost 5 pounds when I left the hospital and I lost about 11 pounds my first month ( more than half of that was in the first week after surgery).  So the first thing I said to myself was here we go again!!  I am not going to lose even with WLS!!  Every tijme I went  back for another appointment, they would give me different instructions to get my weight loss going...drink more shakes, drink less shakes, do more exercise, do less exercise (too much exercise can supposedly slow your weight loss as well).  I decided to start trying to figure out for myself what works for my body.  I went back to the theory of the all liquid diet because I did at least lose almost 20 pounds which I could not do otherwise.  The theory is low carb, low sodium, low fat and low calorie.  I first started doing extremely low carbs (less than 20/day - and you can only achieve that by eating foods that say zero carbs, but you always need to add 1 carb even if it says zero because all foods have some amount of carb, they can publish zero if it is below a certain amount).  I did not lose following this plan.  Then I tried a low glycemic diet and limited my salt intake and limited the good carbs by meal because if you eat over a certain amount of carbs at one meal, even if your intake is low for the day, you have defeated the whole point and you are no longer in the low glycemic realm.  So I limited my good carbs to 30 or less for meals and 10 or less for snacks (my protein shakes have 6 carbs which I sometimes use as a snack).  Then I started losing, slow but losing.  The problem I ran into was all the time required to shop for the low glycemic foods and prepare them.  I was spending either my whole weekend or my whole evening preparing foods.  Nutrisystem has freed me from that and I now use that extra time to workout or do other things.

High Protein, Low Carb Nutrition

Isotone Chocolate Pudding:  20 g protein/2 g carb

Atkins Chocolate Royale Shake 15 g protein/6 g carb

Nature Plus Ultra Energy Shake Mix: 30 g protein/6 g carb 

Date	CW	Goal	Lbs to Goal	Tot. Lost
8/15/05	318	175	143
9/3/05 Pre-op	299.5	175	124.5	18.5
12/17/05Post  Op	284.5	175	109.5	33.5
About Me Suburb, MI Location 41.6 BMI Jul 05, 2005 Member Since Friends 25 Latest Blog 16 Dilated Stoma - Severe GERD Ailments WLS Prone to: Lupus, RA, Fibromyalgia, other auto-immu 7/7/07: Non-Invasive Treatment for Fibroids Old Weight Watchers Plan 6/28/07: My hemoglobin is on the rise!! 6/27/07: KAREN B'S "TIMER" PLAN FOR GETTING BACK ON TRACK 6/25/07 Low Glycemic Way of Life -Helpful to prevent Regain 6-22-07: Low Carb Out, Slow Carb In? 6/20/07: One day of indiscretions will not derail my plan!! 6/18/07: How to snack with Control ×