Three Month Check Up! Word!

Well I had my 3 month check up today! And it's been almost 4 months since surgery! Hard to believe as I write this blog.

But first let's start off by saying that I weighed in at 284. So for you math wizards that's 92 lbs!! :D I'm quite happy with the results...of course! I've still been losing but when I weighed myself and posted the blog, I used my mom's scale which means I was prematurely 93 lbs at Christmas time! Lol but I still posted because I knew I would be at 93 in a matter of time! ;) so the doc's weigh in was spot on and I'm officially 93.4 according to my scale!
It's a silly scale superstition I have...and I'm sure we all have it! Lol

But back to my check up! So I'm waiting for Dr. Pullat to come see me and check out it Frankenstein-tummy. HEY! I like that name! Frankentummy is what my tummy shall be called!!! BAAAHAHAHA!!!

Anyways! Let me tell you a bit about Dr. Pullat, my awesome surgeon, he is a VERY VERY serious man! Very smart, very nice and quick to the point! Which I like...get me in and out of my appointments! And the fact I can make him laugh...I give myself mad props! :) so he comes in this morning after I get weighed in and checked in. And he asks me how much I lost! I told him 92 lbs. He said and I quote..."You're doing extremely well!" His face was priceless! He was very very pleased and I think he went into the hallway to brag on me! And I don't think he is the type of person to say that or do that unless he really meant it! So that made me feel good! To hear all that!

Then to add more to this awesome appointment! Geri Johnston, no relation, one of the head nurses for the bariatric program came in and talked with me and just to catch up because we have the same last name and are awesome! She asked how much I lost and I told her 92lbs and she was over the moon excited! So she began to tell me about the support that MUSC offers, which I already have attended one but I had handbells on Tuesday. But I talked with Brent, who runs the group and told him I needed to focus on this process and be with people who have been there done that. So I'm no longer doing bells, instead I'll be attending my support groups. :) YAY!!

I told Geri all this and she then said they were doing something new with the pre-op classes and the support group and have them on the same night so the people who are thinking about the surgery and see and meet the people who have been through the process. And she asked me if I would like to speak about my experience so far with the pre-op people. I was like yes! of course! So I'll be speaking to people who are thinking about having the surgery!! I love it! :) I feels so honored that she thought of me for this! I can't wait to see what happens and I'll keep you guys posted on how I do!

And lastly I can drink through a straw!! I asked Nina, one of the dietitians, she laughed and said I could. She actually said that one an old wives tale for the surgery. She said give a try and if it hurts don't do it and if you're tummy does fine then you have another way of getting your water in. But you're all healed inside and keep doing what you're doing!

OH! Here is another one of my favorite bloggers and fellow WLS gal! HOLLY!!!
She is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!! She inspires me all day long!! :) Read her story to see why!

And to finish things up, I want to thank all y'all for reading my blog, inspiring me, cheering me on, and your support through this amazingly and insanely wild ride! Thank you for putting with my grammatically challenged blogs and my randomly weird videos. I hope you continue to follow this blog through the new year and beyond!

Until next time! :)

No Bra...No Make-up...No Video

So because I don't feel like putting on make-up and bra for a video...y'all are getting a grammatically challenged blog! :) And plus I actually feel like writing. It's been brought to my attention that some of my readers like my writing...i.e. my mom. lol

Well first of all I survived the Mayan Apocalypse. Woo...I was a little worried about that one. I didn't think we were going to pull through. But here I type on December 26, 2012! Good trick Mayans...good trick!

And I really hope y'all are enjoying my videos...I really have fun making them. But I also miss writing. So I think it's best to do both. OH! And Dacia, I will do a video of Sally's voice soon! lol And just for you! ;) She and I, along with Jess...and I'm sure other crazy dog ladies...we have voices for our dogs.

Also y'all must check out their blogs! Dacia's blog is AWESOME! Dacia's Blog She is a runner, bicyclist, loser of a lot of weight, super sweet and a lover of dogs!! :)
And Jess's blog is fabulous! Jess's Blog She's a fun size, triathlete trainer, dog lover and battling the bulge with her adorable hubby! She's down about 50 lbs!

I've decided that I'm going to mention a couple of my favorite twitter/bloggers in my blog. Because their all awesome and on the same journey to get healthy! And who doesn't want a good social media support group!

Well the real reason you guys come to read my wonderful blog, is to see how my journey is going! And well it's going, of course! lol I'm melting away. I'm down to 93 lbs gone. I'm soooooo close to that 100 lb mark! HOLY CRAP!! I'm freaking busting from the seams. I feel like a kid on Christmas. lol The anticipation is driving me gaga!! I'm like OMG it's coming, OMG I'm wearing clothes I haven't worn in 5 years at least, OMG I'm the weight I was when Brent proposed 3 Januarys ago, OMG I've really done it!!! AAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!

So yeah I'm down 93 lbs and to boot, I've been running. Yes,on my own free will and not chasing Sally or whatever. I actually enjoy it, I like the fact it's just me and the pavement. I also have this AWESOME Zombies Run app. It's a couch to 5K program and it cost a couple bucks but I figure if it's gets my ass running and I really like it, then money well spent.

The back story is there is the Zombie Apocalypse and this survivor team has all their runners out, due to smoke inhalation...download to app the find out why or google it! ;) But they need new runners and so they're training you because they need runners to get supplies for the survivors need supplies and you need to out run the zombies...of course. So I'm love the app, you must check it out if you're tired of those old boring couch 2 5K.

So yeah recap: I'm done 93 lbs and I'm a runner and I'm badass!! Yay me!

Since we're talking about being proud. What have you done lately to make yourself proud?

Weekly Weigh In Video 12/16/12

Watch this one first!

I talked about my weight loss, which is 84.6 lbs!!!!
I also talking about important it is to get your water in!!

 

I really hope y'all enjoy these videos because I actually enjoy making them!!
And Tiffany's name is DanceLiftRun. Sorry I got your name wrong! :)

And here is my email, as promised, if you want to contact me: the218lbelephant@gmail.com

Houston, We Have A First...

Well I did it! I posted my first video! YAY!!

So please tell me what you think. I know it's very rough and very unedited but that will come in due time. Also please subscribe to my channel and you can see my beautiful face every Wednesday!! :)

Enjoy!

What is this Feeling?

So sudden and new. I felt it the moment I laid eyes on you! Loathing!

Yes...I just quoted "Wicked"! Boo yah!

And I am loathing right now. It's the first time during this process that I've felt like WTF did I do! I can't do this, I can't do that...blah blah blah. I understand I "did it to myself"...but these are my feeling and it's probably dashed with a bit of PMS as well but nonetheless they're there...front and center.

First of all, let me say I DO NOT regret doing the surgery. I actually am very much glad I did it! Regret is not even in my mind. I believe my feelings are old habit feelings. Now that I can eat solid foods and things are staying down. But some foods and drinks I actually miss...like nachos, margaritas, beer, bacon cheeseburger, fries, slushees! I think I'm coming to a road in this process, that I'm feeling better...FINALLY. I'm down 51 lbs, my smaller clothes are fitting me, everyone is noticing. And I get excited!

But I still have "Fat Lydia" in my head. Not that she is bad but her choices in food clearly weren't the greatest. Hence reaching 377 lbs. So I've been battling my wants with what my body actually needs. I know I need at least 64 oz of water, my vitamins, protein, veggies and after that I don't really don't have room for anything else. But I still have those cravings in my head but most if the time I can handle them but for some reason as of lately they have been a wee bit stronger. Outside of this little battle...which I will conquer...everything else is doing fantastic.

I feel alive. I feel like I can actually PHYSICALLY take on the world. I have no pain. I don't get winded going up stairs. I feel like I've been brought back to life and not just coasting. Which is the best feeling to me in the whole wide world. So no matter what cravings I have...it's not strong enough for me to go back down that deadly road.

And once again for those who think this is the "easy way out" Kiss my ass. This shit is straight up hard...but like anything else that is that has it's challenges this one is well worth it.

"Food was your life, now fun is your life." Brent said that when I was bitchin about not being able to eat anything. And it made sense to me. Fun is my life now. And I'm having a blast with my baby tummy! lol :)

Game Day

Well the day was 9/12/12. The day that my life really began.

I get up at 4:00 AM after tossing and turning and waking up every hour. I took my shower with the sterile soap that they gave me.

So we head out around 5ish. We arrive at the hospital, I get registered and sent up to 4th floor!

Then the fun begins! I get this sexy hospital gown along with tubes going in and out of me! And to top it all off I get the blue shower cap! Oh yeah ready for a good time!

At this point, to my surprise, I was pretty calm and ready to go.

So I say my "I love yous and see yas" to Brent, Elizabeth and my father in law.

I get wheeled to the back after they give me feel good medicine. I arrive in the OR and see big silver UFO shaped lights and next thing I know they are sticking this gas mask on me and telling me to take 5 deep breaths. I think I got to 3 or 4 and then I was out.

Next thing I know people were yelling at me to wake up in the Post-OP area and checking my stats and everything and I was good to go.

Well come to find out I thought it was like 9 or 10 am but it was 12! I was able to have people come back to see me, to make sure I was a-okay! Brent and my parents came back. And that's when I found out why it took so long. Brent told me the surgeon wasn't at one point sure if he could do it laparoscopically . Because since most of my fat is in my belly area, that caused my liver to be super fatty. And it was/would be in the way. But thankfully and luckily he was able to do it laparoscopically. Now I have 7 battle scars on me and I feel like 50 cent...the rapper.

I spent 3 days in the hospital...2 days to long. I was about to tell them throw me in the insane part of the hospital! I was straight up starting to get cabin fever! I was dirty, I was tired of being poke and prodded, and I was just plan tired. I wanted my own house and bed.

Now my time in the hospital was great. MUSC has been totally wonderful this whole process! Now my pain was relatively low. I don't think it got past a 5. I was walking the next day and getting the gas out of my belly. And the docs where impressed with my progress. So yay me!

So I went home and the transition was a wee bit harder than I thought. Not pain wise but the mental wise. It was a hard adjustment food wise. Nothing serious just like ooh okay I have to eat pureed foods...boo! But it's all good.

But I survived and I'm doing well. I'm really glad with my progress so far. I'm glad I've done it!

So that is my blog about my experience and I want to thank everyone for the prayers and positive thoughts and for just checking on me! Thanks y'all! :)

LJ

Days Before

I know this isn't the blog y'all want to read first but it's part of the process.

So last Monday 9/10 I went grocery shopping for after surgery...pretty much I'm suppose to eat pureed foods for the first month and then I can move on to introducing regular foods again! :) I'll be able to chew again! lol

While I was shopping with my buddy, Elizabeth. I was trolling around the store and looking at labels and processing this situation what was about to go down. Then it hit me...HOLY SHIT!!!! I was going to be having surgery in 2 days and what the heck was I getting into. The nerves started to take over. The thought of backing out actually ran threw my mind but I was like I've come to far and I'm not going back.

Most of Monday I was a weepy basket case. And then Tuesday I settled down, to some degree and then I got the call from the hospital about my of arrival time. I had to be there at 5:30 AM. I relaxed a bit and then I couldn't sleep that night...of course! :)

On to the next blog!

LJ