9 month Follow-Up - and what I've learned

I had my 9 month follow-up appointment today. I went by myself, because I wanted to make sure I really talked one-on-one with the RN that I've been seeing for my follow-ups (Rose). And what I had been "fearing most" came true - I had only lost 2-3 pounds in the past 3 months. How, you ask? Lack of exercise, too many carbs, falling into bad habits like grazing (sorta) and emotional eating and/or out of boredom. We talked about all these things, and a few others, and of course realizing these things is half the battle. Now I've just got to kick my butt into gear and get back to walking, to the gym, to whatever. Get back to protein! I have been craving Special K lately, which is all well and good, except...not protein. They have a Special K Protein, but it's not the same as having a piece of chicken. When I eat dinner, it's generally just meat...and maybe something on the side, if I can eat it (like a little bit of potato, pasta, veg.).

I have been severely slacking on my protein.

So, anyway, now that I'm this far out, here's some of the things that I've learned:

1. It will pass. My hair thinning stabilized and I believe it's growing back. There are still times I eye my wigs optimistically, wishing I was able to put them on with better results, but I don't feel embarrassed about my hair anymore.

2. It will pass. The things they say you can't do - for example, gulp things, or eat fast - you can do. Gulping liquids I have done and do do on a semi-regular basis. Eating fast I do do as well - but that you pay for, and you know it. But you don't end up having to eat at a snail's pace if you don't want - just be cognizant of the fact that it's an "at your own risk" situation.

3. Exercise. You need it, I need it. It's a major reason a lot of us sleevers ended up in this situation! So get off your derriere and get moving! Walking is especially good.

4. Stop making excuses. I can make an excuse for anything it seems - having a broken finger to deal with for the past 2 months or so has been difficult. Dave having lost my keytag for Planet Fitness made going to the gym...complicated. So, I haven't been to the gym in quite some time.

And there are other things, of course, that I can't think of off the top of my head. But there are other "exciting" details to get on to -

I have been working on making some friends in my area. It's been...mildly successful? Anyway, one of the ladies I've made friends with recently had an Roux-En-Y gastric bypass surgery. I don't know if she has a full program with the doctor she did it with, but it doesn't seem like it. She's only a few months out and kind of eating whatever she wants. She's had alcohol, and soda. And I'm like O_O whaaaaaaaaaaat. I've been absolutely 'straight edge hard core' about that. In my mind, there was the one year ban. So I'm wondering how she's doing it. I'm worried about her a little, and I talk to her about my journey, so I'm helping I can be a positive support for her.

Additionally, something that's been stressing me out (other than everything? lolz) is that I'm starting up as an official crafter again, with my spanky rebooted Etsy shop. Which you can check out here: The Salvaged Soiree. Buy something, huh? I do crafts for stress relief - though lately I'm so stressed just trying to figure out what people like! But you can only make so many pairs of earrings for yourself. Trust me. I have over 100 pairs of earrings, and I think maybe two of those are ones I've made. Hence, selling! Somebody gets to have something pretty, my crafting is validated, and the money goes toward crafting...more... Pretty much, yeah.

Easter is coming up shortly - a little bit of drama with that, but it is what it is. I will just be happy to see my parents and spend time with my mom. And dye eggs. <3

77 Bariatric Recipes!

Got this link today from my weight loss program (Greater Baltimore Medical Center - GBMC - Comprehensive Obesity Management Program - COMP)... A downloadable, printable booklet. Lots of recipes, with dietary information. Pretty much definitely gonna keep this handy, even if I've been bad lately.

http://read.uberflip.com/i/272797/0

Currently...

1. I'm currently addicted to animal crackers and Dove (milk) chocolates. I was all up on guacamole and tortilla chips for about a week or so, but the availability of both is so-so. Plus, the guac can be a bit too acidic for my stomach at times.

2. I have a broken finger. (I broke it while trying to give Dave a literal piggy-back ride. Doesn't work now that he's a good 70 lbs heavier than I am.)

3. I just moved. The stress of moving - and costs related to such - have been debilitating. I haven't really been interested in any kinds of food in particular, I've been getting a lot of headaches, have been incredibly on edge, and having my broken finger, I wasn't really able to do any stress relief (generally, crafts) or do as much packing and moving stuff around as I would be able to had I been fully-abled.

4. I've been trying to make some new friends via meetups. There's one group of ladies that I'm starting to bond with, and have had some great times with so far. Unfortunately, between my incredible social anxiety and my stomach, inevitably I get terrified shortly before anything happens and end up unintentionally making myself sick. In any case... one of the girls just recently underwent bariatric surgery herself, coincidentally! I'm going to be seeing her on Sunday for the first time since the surgery, so I'm probably going to bring some "party favor" protein powders with me, lol. It's not cheap...and it's always good to sample new things.

Recent pic

Also, let me post a [very] recent picture - as in, taken in the last 24 hours. Sorry it's blurry - that's my boyfriend for ya.

Holiday Recovery & Follow-up Appointment.

So, a holiday recap. This is how you handle the holidays successfully after bariatric surgery:

You don't.

The holidays were tough. With every one of them, I ate too much and was overly full and feeling slightly nauseous. I've been lucky that I rarely vomit, though, so that may have been what kept me going. That, and taking lots of precautionary/reactionary meds - Prilosec, Promethazine, Tums, and Gas-X. (I don't know if it really matters - and I think it does - but I use mint-flavored tums and the dissolvable mint gas-x strips. I find that mint flavor generally soothes my stomach, even if it's a complete placebo effect.) Even eating minimally, I still ate too fast. "OMG this is so good!!! *snarf snarf snarf*"

And that's becoming a bigger problem for me... But I'll get to that.

In addition, there's the cookies. Oh glorious, glorious cookies. I made some as usual, though a lot less than normal. (Pretty much nobody got a full tin, though I did bring plates kinda sorta everywhere.) I did do a good amount of grazing, but nowhere near as I used to eat. Still! It was risky. I was about 6 months out, and that was when I should have been only starting on breads/rice/pasta/potatoes... But I did ok. If I ate too many, I had diarrhea from all the sugar and fats. As usual, your body will tell you when you're eating what you shouldn't - either quantity or "quality."

Overall I came out all right. I did more binging (eating lots, and fast) than I hoped I would, which has tapered off significantly after the holidays. I think a lot of that was derived from stress. Emotional eating is a hard thing to remove from your life, but I think as time goes on, I am having more and more success. The most important thing about that is to be mindful.

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In other news, I had my 6 month follow-up! Ended up being more like 7, because I had to reschedule, but whatever. I weighed in at 195, which is 60 lbs since my official weigh-in at surgery! Pretty proud of myself. Some of my vitamin levels are still low (the same ones - B1 and B12), but I have been falling behind on taking those a bit. >_< My liver enzymes were still a bit high, but we'll just keep watching those.

Clothing is still kind of wonky, but I'm fitting into my own skin a bit better, which is nice. I got some gift cards for Avenue & Kohl's for Christmas. I'm so-so on the Avenue stuff, since I'm getting close to the bottom of their sizing (and their stuff runs large anyway), but I'm sure I can work it! :)

New picture for New Year's!

I need to post a holiday sleeve recap, but in the meantime, here's a pic!