3 Week Update

So, I am three weeks in and I lost a little more weight!  I'm excited that I am loosing still!! It is a little surreal mostly because when I get on the scale I am so surprised at the number and how "easy" it seems because I'm rarely ever starving hungry, when I am hungry I will eat until I am satisfied and then stop.  In the past if that is what I did I wouldn't loose ANYTHING in fact I would normally gain weight.  So that is why it seems "easy" but then I remember all the pain I am in and the the serious pain I was in just three weeks ago and the foods that I can't eat but want to, even the healthy stuff like chef salad or raw fruits and veggies, and I am reminded of how "easy" it isn't and probably never will be.  Though my surgery was 3 weeks ago unlike a csection or most other surgeries the effects from this, both good and bad, will always effect my daily life.  Now this is something that I thought of before hand and I understood and grasped that; but I don't think anyone can fully understand the magnitude of it until they are in it. 

My incisions are healing great, the pain overall is better but I seem to have this pain in my mid to lower abdomen on the left side that comes and goes.  I finally called the doctor's nurse today because I was told that I could get some pain like that but this pain was just staying around and not going away.  The nurse said that the pain may be from constipation as well as the deep stitches that they did.  That darn deep stitch will be the death of me I swear lol.  I am happy to say that my daily reflux issues seem to be GONE!!  I have had acid reflux, that was pretty severe, since I was about 18.  They found I had a hiatal hernia and fixed it so no more reflux!!  I was having a lot after surgery but I think that was more from the healing and swelling then anything else. 

So, Last weeks number, if I am remembering right was 228.4 and this weeks number is:

That is a 1.4lb loss this week, If I'm doing my math right!!!

Looking to the Future

I'm so excited to get back into the swing of things.  I keep thinking about getting back to the gym.  I use to go to the gym for 2 hours at a time a day atleast 3 days a week until I was 7 months pregnant.  I had to stop at that time because I was having severe back pain and a rib was being pulled out on my back because of the combination of my weight and the hormones that are released that make a womans ligaments and muscles looser to let the belly grow for baby.  I wasn't able to workout after #2 was born because of the c-section and then because I was home alone with the boys and the gym wouldn't watch #2 until he was 3 months old.  To say the least I was bummed when I found out I had to wait a whole 4-6 weeks before I could get back to the gym, though I know now that I need that time to recover. 

This weekend, however, I went and looked at a few gyms.  I wasn't able to look at all my options, but I will by Tuesday.  It was nice to just be out there looking at things and seeign the gyms!  I've never done good with home gym/DVD workouts, I just can't get motivated and I have a hard time finding the time with two little ones running under my feet!  With a gym I can drop the boys off to someone while I workout and I don't have to worry about finding motivation, the $$ is the motivation along with the idea of having some kid free time, something a SAHM doesn't get a lot of!

Overdue 2wk Update

I am a little overdue for my 2 week update but only by a couple days.  It has been CRAZY around here as we are in my husbands one bedroom apartment for 2-3 weeks and then we will move to one of the two bedrooms in the same complex.  So, we have been going through boxes and deciding what to unpack and what to wait on and where to put everything for a family of four in this little one bedroom, it has been a bit crazy to say the least!

Now for the important stuff: the weight loss and band!  The weight loss is not going to well.  I did weigh in on Thursday and I had gained all 10 lbs back, to the last ounce.  I was so bummed but honestly I have been eating mashed potatoes and shakes and ice cream a lot.  Being that we were on the road for five days I was limited to what I could and couldn't have.  There were days in which I was seriously hungry because there wasn't anything around I could eat.  I have been trying a few things in the last few days that aren't pureed but I have been focusing on chewing and chewing and chewing before I swallow anything.  Since being home I haven't had any ice cream and have tried to limit my carbs as well, though it hasn't been easy since carbs seem to be the easiest to eat right now.  To top everything else off I haven't been able to find my blender.  We planned on buying the Ninja blender but wanted to wait a little while, unfortunately I was forced to buy it this weekend after we determined that it may have been packed in the storage unit.  It will be here on Wednesday!! 

As far as the band is concerned I look pretty well healed on the outside, the incisions are doing better and better all the time but the pain on my inside is still pretty bad.  There are days that I am fine and other days when I hurt to do anything other then to sit. The doctor said that the pain is normal and will continue off and on for another week or so.  I hate this part of it but I am hopeful that it will improve over time.

UPDATE: OMG!!!  So, I obviously remembered wrong.  I thought that I had gained all my weight back but after updating the numbers (on the right hand side of the blog) I realized that I actually lost 2.2lbs!!  I guess I was doing okay after all, though I'm not going back to the shakes and ice cream anytime soon lol!

Moving 1 Week After Surgery

Moving after surgery has NOT been easy.  I thought the packing and loading would be bad, but with all the help we had it actually wasn't that bad.  The plan was to move two weeks after surgery but when #1 fractured his foot we had to move up our moving plans.  I was having very little to no pain by the time we left on Thursday, exactly one week to the hour after surgery.  Today, however, I am having horrible side pain and it is to the point that I can't bend twist or walk without being in pain.

As far as food is concerned I am able to eat more and more all the time.  I tried mashed potatoes and clam chowder yesterday and the both went down well.  Granted I added a little bit of milk to the potatoes because they were a bit thick and I chewed the soup a lot.  Then for breakfast I had grits.  Most of my food, however, is still protein shakes and baby food simply because it is easy to travel with.

Because of the hurricane coming in we have held up in a hotel for the next 24 hours so I am going to be taking the time to sit and lay and not move much.  Hoping my pain subsides soon!

Pictures of surgery

These are pictures from my surgery.  They are both pre-op, one is when I got there and the other is right before they took me back.  I don't have any from after I got out of surgery because my husband is horrible about remembering to take pictures and I was to out of it to remember.

Surgery

Well, I did it!!  I had my surgery on 8/18/11!  It was interesting, painful and a long day.  I had a hiatal hernia that had to be repair and this has caused some extra pain, atleast that is what the doctors and nurses keep saying.  I am not good when it comes to narcartics either, I get a little loopy and tend to freak out a little, it's my issue with the out of control feeling; I like to feel in control and I don't with those meds.  So, when I came to I did a little freaking out.  It didn't help that I had completely forgot where I was or that I had been in surgery.  I didn't remember being taken back to the surgery room or anything so when I came to and I was in so much pain and completely confused it was a bit of a shocker.  I immediately started asking for DH, though I was still freaking out when he came back in the room lol.  It took awhile for me to calm down.  I was released to go home 4 hours after surgery started which was a good thing because as nice and calming the place was, I wasn't able to relax and rest at all until I was home in my own bed. 

I was able to sleep a couple hours after I got home but then I was up for the whole night and all day friday because I am unable to sleep with Hydrocodon in my system.  So, Friday afternoon I had to switch to tylenol which has been VERY difficult since it doesn't help a lot with the pain. 

In addition to recovering we are moving.  DH's job has moved him out to Maine and after a lot of back and forth and debating the benefits and downfalls we have decided to join him.  So, this week we are packing and moving and I am unable to help near as much as I would like.  I am confident that we will make it but It would be nice if I could do more. 

Lastly, we orginally decided to move 2 weeks from now but the reason we moved it up was because we found out the day before my surgery that #1 probably fractured his foot when he slipped on a stool.  We  had to have a boot put on him on Friday and thus the move up in the move.  There was no way I could care for #2 and #1 the way he would need so my husband had to stay home. 

To say the least, we have had a crazy few days.  And it looks like another crazy week or two!

(pictures to come)

Pre-Op Diet Update

So, I will admit, I haven't been following the diet to the T for the whole 2 weeks.  It has been extremely difficult especially in the beginning.  I have the last couple days though and it is getting easier and easier everyday, especially since I found out there were a couple things that I didn't know I could eat in the beginning that I found out about after reading some other blogs. 

I keep counting down the days until I am done with this diet and on to surgery (2 days of protein diet + 1day of clear liquids +1/2 day of nothing!!).  I am dreading the day before and the day of surgery though.  The day before I am only allowed clear liquids ALL day; no protein shakes no applesauce.  Then the day of surgery I have to stopping eating/drinking at midnight.  normally that wouldn't be an issue for me but my surgery isn't scheduled until 1:30 in the afternoon, and I will have had nothing of any substance in a day and a half! I keep telling myself though that this feeling will be temporary and that I will be having a hard time getting anything down pretty soon. 

The good news about my diet is that I am already down about 8lbs in a week and a half.  I knew I would lose some weight but my gosh!  I am predicting 10lbs gone BEFORE surgery! 

I have had some concerns since seeing the nurse for my pre-op.  I was originally told that I would need someone around for the kids for the first 48 hours after the surgery but then I should be okay with the boys, I just couldn't lift them over my head (this is what the doctor told me).  Well at the pre-op the nurse said I can't lift more then 20lbs AT ALL for the first two weeks.  This isn't normally an issue but there are the occasional times when #1 likes to not listen and I am forced to pick him up, and he weighs 35lbs.  Not to mention he is still in a crib, though I am hoping we can get him switched over to a bed right after surgery before DH leaves.  I just want to make sure that everything heals right so that I can have the best shot at this without complications.

Lastly, the cravings!  I have been having some fierce cravings the last couple of days.  I have never been one that was good at denying my cravings, I know this is going to be my biggest challenge of them all (even after surgery).  I think the reason they have been so strong is because everything I have been consuming, outside of jello and applesauce, has been in liquid form and something crunchy just sounds good! 

As usually I am also having my sweet attacks too.  My favorite thing in the world to splurge on is a nice warm chocolate chip cookie with some milk!  My mouth is watering just thinking about it!  I don't think I could ever eat them on a daily basis by any means but once a week--HECK YEA!!   

I am trying really hard to remember my goals! The big picture!  And all the $$ I spent as well lol!!  To help me remember those I purchased a shirt in a smaller size and it is my GOAL shirt!  Once I lose this weight I am so going to wear it everywhere lol!!  It happens to be the same size I wore in highschool--before my stint in the army!