How do you get use to this....

Since I have never been a small girl, I have always been a bigger girl, now that I am down to a size 12/14 tops I am beginning to buy tops that actually fit my body. How do I get use to something that is fitted? I am so self-conscious. Iam having an issue getting use to actually seeing myself. Does that make sense to you? In these tops I actually have boobs. :-)

I just don't understand some people....

Ok, so I was going to start the 5 day pouch test today, but realized that I didn't have any of the required eating items. So off to the grocery store I went. While I was shopping a friend and her hubby came up to me. We were just talking when her hubby picked up a brochure for slimfast and gave it to her (she is about 6 foot and 280-290), he then gave it to me and when I saw it I automatically said, "oh, I already got the weightloss going, but I wouldn't use SlimFast, it has to much sugar." I wasn't being rude, they both are good friends and know what I have been through. She then looked at me and said "oh, well I am going to have the surgery when we get settled after our move this summer." Well, good for her. She then proceeded to inform me that our insurance would in fact pay for lapband as of the 1st. Well, duh, I called and told her about it when it first posted on the message boards of obesityhelp.com. When I first told her that I was going to have the surgery she was happy for me. For her she said that she didn't need to have the surgery that she would just get her fat cut off of her. She then went and paid cash for a tummy tuck. While I have to admit, they did cut it off, and she did look good, she had a really hard time and ended up having to stay in the hospital on two seperate occasions and had an infection and a blood clot near her heart or lungs, I can't remember which. Not a very good experience, but she is a trooper and did good. The point of my rambling is that when she finally came home she didn't change her eating habits and although she has an ab lounger, an elliptical and another piece of workout equiptment she does not use them. She told me the other day that it was her husbands fault that she had gained her weight back and she has always said that it was his fault that she got fat in the first place. She use to be a size 8 and after marrying him and having kids she gained weight. Ok, I am getting to the point....she has seen me struggle with having the surgery and making adjustments in my eating habits and she still thinks that the surgery is a sure fire fix. In the beginning it is a great way to lose the weight, but if you don't change your lifestyle then you will gain the weight back. You have to want to have smaller portions, you have to want to exercise, you have to want a better life for yourself. You have to take responsibilty for your actions and not blame your weight on others, unless they are holding you down and force feeding you on a daily basis. For some reason I just don't understand some people.....

I am doing the 5 day pouch test.....

Well, I am joining my challenge buddy and her daughter for the 5 day pouch test. I got a challenge buddy from signing up to do the Valentine's Day challenge on obesityhelp.com. She had the idea and I asked to join in. I am going to the grocery store tomorrow for some food items. No carbs is the main thing to remeber. Wish me luck!!!!

You want me to what????

Well, my hubby finally told me that today there would be a cookout at the hunting club. (and I needed to bring potato salad) You want me to do what???? Just to let everyone know, I am no Martha Stewart. If I can't buy it, I don't bring it. Another problem is that I tend to be shy, yes I said shy, and I wasn't sure about walking into a group of people that I didn't know. Anyways, me and the kids went ahead and went to church (we tried the chapel on base and the kids loved it, small, but welcoming). Afterwards we came home, loaded up again and headed to the cookout. In all actuality it wasn't that bad, kinda made me feel like being back around my family in Alabama. A bunch of Rednecks. :-) (not all of them, just some) Needless to say, I didn't eat any of the deer meat. Yuck! I was tempted by the chili, but thinking it may have been made with deer meat I threw it away. I am told that when prepared correctly it is quite good. I personally had a bad experience with deer meat early on and have had no desire to be around it since. I don't handle it, cook it or eat it. Those are my rules. Overall it was a good time to be had and Colton won a flashlight in the drawings.

Is it possible to become addicted?

To exercise? I bought an elliptical and am loving it, although it is kicking my butt. I will get on it, turn the tv to mtv or vh1, whomever has videos going, and close my eyes and just listen to the music as I get my butt kicked. Funny thing is, the music that is usually playing is not something that I would normally listen to while in the car, but for me to workout it seems to be just perfect. I find myself torturing myself throughout the day, but I just can't seem to stop. So, is it possible to become addicted to exercise? Apparently so, because I certaintly feel as if I am. Not that I am complaining, I am simply loving every minute of it. I just hope that it helps me lose more weight and tighten my butt area. :-)

I bought an elliptical!!!!!

I had been trying to decide on if I wanted to get an elliptical of a stationary bike. I have knee issues because of my arthritis and I have also had other issues with torn ligaments due to step aerobics. I wanted something that I could do here in my home. I looked at several different versions and looked at prices also. I didn't want to spend alot of money at first. I finally decided on an elliptical that was at Wal-Mart. It was around $268.00 and was just what I needed. It has 8 different workouts that I can program in and will change from 12" to 18". It is not all that bulky and fits nicely into my living room. Not to mention that it is quiet. My hubby and I put it together last night in about two hours. Probably wouldn't have taken as long if he had listened to me reading the directions and if I hadn't put something on backwards. :-) I got on it this morning, turned on the music channel of my tv, told the kids to move back and proceeded to get my butt kicked. Did I mention that I only lasted 5 minutes.....by the time I got off my legs were like jello. I am going to try again in just a bit and my goal is to work up to 15 minutes. Setting the goal low so I don't disappoint myself. Hopefully withing the next couple of days I will get up to 30 minutes, but I will take any exercise compared to none at all.

Addicted to the scales....

Ever since surgery I have not had any scales in the house. The reason was that I didn't want to become obsessed with how much weight I was losing. I would simply wait until I went in for my dr appt and at that time I would get my weight. Now this does not mean that I didn't, upon occasion, step onto the scales at my friends home to see what her scales would say. Anyways, I decided that since I was now at the point to where I don't go back to the dr for three month increments I would go and purchase some scales for home so that I could see if I was losing. I looked around on the message boards and was trying to determine what type of scales to get. Some people buy the scales that monitor not only your weight, but your BMI also. Most people who had the scales that monitored the BMI said that overall the BMI wsa not always accurate. For this reason I decided not to spend the extra money on a scale with the BMI monitor. I looked around at Wally World and finally decided on a simple, digital scale that ran around $20. I then proceded to weigh myself every day all day long. I would get on the scales at all hours of the day. The one thing that I did not want to do, become addicted to the scales, I was becoming addicted. I needed to get myself to the point where I had the scales in my house and only weighed myself once a week. I haven't gotten to that point yet, but I have gotten to the point where I only weigh myself every other day. Morale of the story, be aware of the fact that while scales are ok to have, don't let it get to the point where you feel the need to see how many ounces you are losing each day.

Just me rambling away.....

There are so many things that are going on right now. Meetings, Sessions, carpooling, going here and there, just life in general. While Dec. was a slow month, January is off and running. My schedule is jam packed with things that need to be done. I suppose it would be true to say that I thrive on this kind of activity. Today I am going to the dr to get my thyroid checked. Yet another issue that I have and something else that slows down my weight loss progress. The thyroid controls your metabolism and if your thyroid is not up to speed then neither is your metabolism. Yikes! Anyways, after that I still need to find childcare for Taylor for tomorrow so that I can attend the meeting with the CO, SgtMaj, the FRO and their spouses to decide on how they would like things done over the next couple of months. As the KVC alot of responsiblilies have fallen on me, but with the changes that are occuring throughout the Marine Corps the responsibilities will now go to the FRO and the Deputy FRO. (Family Readiness Officer) This is a good thing for the families and their Marines. It will be interestig to see what all happens. I have also applied for some jobs that will be opening up with MCFTB (Marine Corps Family Team Building). I believe that if it is meant for me to get a job then God will provide the way, otherwise I will continue on the path that I am currently on. A volunteer. On another note, my ex husband has actually made a child support payment, the first in a year, and the only reason that he has done this is because the judge put a warrant out for his arrest. Yea for the judge!!!! Of course, my ex told me that it wouldn't do any good to put him in jail, it would just mean that I would not get anything out of him. As if I get anything other than a migraine now. Oh, well life goes on and I must get up and get moving if I am going to make it to the dr on time. Until next time......

Monicas' Hot Cocoa

1 pack of swiss miss hot cocoa, diet
2 scoops of chocolate whey protein powder
mix together in a large glass
microwave about 9 ounces of water for about one minute or until warm
do not allow water to get to hot or powder will curdle
mix together and ENJOY!!!!!

ARRRRRRGH!!!! INSOMNIA!!!!!

OK, this is starting to be a problem for me. From Thanksgiving until Christmas I did not lose any weight. I had hit a plateau. That really bothered me, not losing any weight. Making sure that I was getting in enough protein has always been an issue with me. I finally got to the point where I kept a notebook on the kitchen counter and wrote down everything that I was eating. (you can also keep track of your food at fitday.com) So I decided to bump up my the amount of protein that I was consuming. I started drinking my hot cocoa. (see additional post or the links on the left) With the extra protein cocoa I was consuming between 120-130 grams of protein a day. WHOA! This is alot I know, but I felt that I needed to do something. With the extra protein came extra energy and throughout the day I was not using up all of this extra energy. With the extra energy, and me not using it, I began to be unable to go to sleep at night. I mean, I was up until 1,2 maybe 3am every morning and then I would finally drift off to sleep and be back up around 7am. Have you ever tried to lay in bed and make yourself sleep? I would do this upon waking up and literally make myself miserable because I would want to sleep and my body would be saying let's go, let's go, let's go. I would get up, go on with my day and repeat the same thing that night. Night after night after night after night. ARRRRRRGH!!!! I finally called my dr this morning and asked what I could do about it. I told them that I had tried taking Benadryl and although it would knock me out quickly, it did not keep me asleep. Joyce asked me what I was doing to work off the energy and I heehawed around, making excuses basically, and she finally told me to get out and start walking. Even if there is a bench and I can sit down and enjoy the scenery, get out and walk. Apparently this is a common reaction to the increased amount of protein in your system. Your body just doesn't know what to do with it and if you don't increase your physical activities then you could suffer from the same problem that I have. So, here I go, out for a walk and if I am lucky I will go to sleep when I get home.

Yum, Yum, Yummy, I got pizza in my tummy...

I was having trouble thinking of something quick and simple to fix for lunch. It's just me and Miss Taylor so I didn't want to have to cook something major. So, I grabbed another tortilla shell and toasted it in the toaster oven. I then grabbed some pesto sauce that I had picked up at the grocery store the other day and added about 2-3 teaspoons. Pesto sauce is strong in taste so you only have to spread a little to get alot of taste. Anyways, I then grabbed a slice of thin provolone cheese and threw it on top. Broiled for about 3-4 minutes and presto! I cut off the extra tortilla that wasn't covered by the cheese and sliced it up like a pizza and yummy! Taylor has had 2 slices and I am enjoying the rest.

My version of cheese toast

Have you ever simply craved something that you knew was not good for you? I am. Cheese Toast. (sigh) Just saying the word out loud makes me want to plop down a slice of bread, throw on some cheese and then watch the cheese bubble as it cooks in the oven. I know, sounds good doesn't it. Well, since I can't, or don't need the bread, I have found an alternative. I took a Mission carb balance whole wheat tortilla and toasted it in my toaster oven for about 5 minutes. This gave it a crispy feel. I then put my Kraft 2% milk shredded mild cheddar all over the tortilla and put it back into my toaster oven on broil for another 3 minutes. Smells good and taste as close to a cheese toast as I am gonna get. I usually cut it up like a pizza, so that I can eat slowly and have several pieces to savor.

Protein Absorption

From the main OH forum in October 2007

...bariatric conference of surgeons in Maryland last week [Oct 2007]said this: Protein absorption The commonly touted myth of only being able to absorb 30 grams of protein at one time is not true! In any 24 hour period, we can potentially absorb as much as 300 to 400 grams of protein. This is obviously not recommended because there are complications associated with this high amount of intake. (kidney problems). Recommended range of protein per day can be up to 120 grams. Absorption of protein relies on many factors, including source of protein, length of the Roux limb, size of the pouch, and our intake of micronutrients like zinc.

Alcohol and WLS

Article from Forbes via Men's Health Blog:
"Oprah Winfrey's influence may now reach into medical science: her show led researchers to confirm that gastric bypass causes people to get drunk faster.
The reason, scientists say, is that bypass surgery cuts the amount of alcohol metabolized by the stomach.
The weight-loss procedure also seems to extend the time people need to sober up, the team said.
The research has implications for the 150,000 Americans who have already undergone this procedure and the thousands more who may be considering it.
"At the end of the day, this is the only enduring and effective intervention for morbid obesity," stressed study senior author Dr. John Morton, director of bariatric surgery at Stanford Hospitals and Clinics. "We don't want to deny them, but we want to make sure they are fully prepared to meet these challenges after surgery."
"This might let folks know to be a little more careful if they have a drink," added Dr. Joaquin Rodriguez, assistant professor of surgery at Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine and chief of minimally invasive surgery at Scott & White Hospital in Temple. "They need just to be aware that the same amount of alcohol may affect them differently than someone who hasn't had a gastric bypass," said Rodriguez, who was not involved in the research.
Study lead author Judith Hagedorn, a medical student at Stanford University, is scheduled to present the data June 14 at the annual meeting of the American Society for Bariatric Surgery, in San Diego.
In October 2006, Winfrey aired a show called "Suddenly Skinny," which noted that gastric-bypass patients often felt they had faster alcohol absorption after the surgery. Also discussed was "addiction transfer," when a person swaps his or her food addiction for an alcohol addiction.
Winfrey and her producers are clearly up on current health trends: Obesity is one of the leading, if not the leading, public health crisis in the industrialized world. More than 60 percent of adult Americans are overweight, 23.9 percent are obese and 3 percent are extremely obese. Being overweight can lead to a slew of life-threatening problems, including diabetes, heart disease and even cancer.
According to the new study, bariatric surgery -- especially gastric bypass, which reduces the size of the stomach and adds a bypass around part of the small intestine -- is the most effective treatment for morbid obesity.
After the Oprah episode, Morton, who has performed about 1,000 such surgeries, was inundated with questions from patients. "This prompted me to dig a little deeper to find data and, much to my surprise, I didn't find a whole lot of data," he said.
Rodriguez said, "There are a couple of other reports that have shown similar things, but it's mostly anecdotal. Patients come in and say they had wine or a margarita and got drunk really fast."
So, Morton undertook his own study involving 19 people who had had gastric bypass surgery at least one year prior and 17 control subjects without such histories. Each participant was asked to consume five ounces of red wine.
All participants then underwent an alcohol breath analysis every five minutes until the levels reached zero.
The gastric bypass patients had a peak alcohol level of 0.08 percent, vs. 0.05 percent for the controls. In some states, 0.08 is considered intoxicated, Morton said.
The gastric patients also needed an average of 108 minutes to get back to zero, while the controls needed an average of 72 minutes.
"The alcohol peaked higher and stayed around longer," Morton said.
Also, the gastric bypass patients reported the same symptoms, even though their breath alcohol levels were higher.
"This led us to think that some of patients may have high breath alcohol level and not be aware of it," Morton said. "One drink may be too much, especially if you are going to have a drink and drive."
The main reason for this enhanced susceptibility to alcohol is that the surgery bypasses the stomach, which is one of two places the enzyme responsible for metabolizing alcohol is present, Morton said.
"If you're bypassing the stomach, you're bypassing most of the ability to metabolize alcohol," he added.
According to one survey, 83 percent of gastric bypass patients consume alcohol after surgery and all of them need to be cautious for any number of reasons.
"Sometimes alcohol use after surgery can wreck havoc on weight maintenance," Morton said. "Alcohol relaxes you on the outside, and on the inside, too. With alcohol, patients can be able to eat a little bit more because of the relaxation of the lower esophageal sphincter and the intestine as well."
Also, as patients start to lose weight, they often become more socially active, a pastime that often includes alcohol.
"This is also something patients have to be aware of," Morton said. "The bottom line is alcohol use after gastric bypass should be used with caution, and certainly patients shouldn't have even a single drink and drive."
More information
There's more on this type of surgery at the American Society for Bariatric Surgery.

How to break a plateau...

#1 - Do this for 10 days to break a plateau
#2 - Drink 2 quarts of water a day
#3 - You must have 45 grams of protein supplement and all your vitamins/minerals supplements each day
#4 - You may consume up to 3 oz of the following high protein foods, 5x a day
beef
pork
chicken
turkey
lamb
fish
eggs
low fat cheese
cottage cheese
plain yogurt or artificially sweetened
peanut butter
beans/legumes

You may also have:
sugar free popsicles
tea or coffee
sugar free soda
sugar free jello
broths/bullion
crystal light drinks

#5 - If it's not on the list, you can't have it for 10 days!!!!
#6 - Keep a food diary and try to get up to 30 mins of exercise

this was posted by: LindaL Dallas, TX RNY (07/25/05)

Still trying to figure all of this out...

AAARGH!!!!!! Since I am new to the blogging scene, this trying to figure out how to put my page together is driving me crazy. While I do have some things up and looking ok, other things are giving me some trouble. So basically what I am saying is to hang in there and eventually you might find my ramblings helpful.

Change of Command

Today was crazy. I finally thought to call and get someone to watch Colton and Taylor, for me to be able to go to change of command. For those of you who are wondering what this is, let me explain. My husband is in the Marine Corps. For his particular job he is assigned to a squadron which happens to be VMFA-122. The Crusaders. We are a jet fighter squadron of single seat(meaning only one person per plane whereas many jets have a pilot and a co-pilot) F-18's. Every year and a half the squadron changes commanding officers, whereas the term change of command. This is a proud moment for any Marine and the ceremony is traditional. I was already emotional as I drove onto the Air Station just seeing the flags along the road way, when Lt Col Lieblein got up to give his speech, thanking those who had helped to make his year and a half successful, he pointed me out and asked me to stand so that he could offer his thanks for all that I had done as the KVC. (Key Volunteer Coordinator - a volunteer position that is held by a spouse of the squadron and the main responsibilities are to keep the other spouses informed of what is going on with their Marine while the squadron is deployed and to relay any information that the commanding officer feels is important, normally there are additional Key Volunteers that are able to help you with calling other spouses.) Well if this didn't make me cry even more. Then when we got to the reception they awarded his wife a certificate for all that she had done as the Advisor for the Key Volunteers. She then proceeded to say that she felt that I should be the one getting the award and not her. I had to give my input at this time and let her know that I couldn't have done what I did without her great leadership. She truly was, and still is, an inspiration to me in what a military spouse should be.

Who I am...

Hello to all, I have decided to start a blog because of the things that I experience in my life. My husband is a Marine and I am extremely proud of what he does. We are currently stationed in South Carolina, but are originally from Alabama. Becuase of deployments, I find myself learning to be extremely independent and often go through a cycle of emotions that range from anger to fear to contentment. I have three wonderful children that range in age from 10 to 16 months. They are my pride and joy and Ienjoy spending much time with them. On top of all of this, I had weight loss surgery in April of 2007 and have learned much on my WLS journey. This blog is for anyone who finds themself in something similar to my situation. I love to blog and enjoy posting things that I find of interest or value. Hope you enjoy reading what I have to say.....