Before and after WLS

Just wanted to post a piccie :)

Before taken on surgery day April 27, 2011
After(current) taken at my Christmas party Dec 15, 2012

Extra skin

Saw a new doc this week that will be our new family doctor here.  He was a sweet old guy, very kind and soft spoken.  He seemed genuinely concerned about why I had WLS and asked me about skin folds.  I think this is a great thing.  He documented my folds and mentioned skin removal... I said yes i wanted it. From what I've heard, if its documented well enough, they will cover it on the BC health plan.  Fingers crossed.

For reference... this is what 15 yrs of yo yo dieting from 250-130 lbs does to my body for extra skin.  I have a push up bra on so you can't see the carnage up top unfortunately but after that appt, I thought I should document this somewhere.  This is why there will not be a midriff baring ANYTHING on me until this is dealt with.

:(

Plastics...

I've been seeing the amazing results from a few different WLS patients surgery recently and I'm amazed at the results so early post op... it makes me envious!

It's definitely something that I want to do for myself in a year or so. I want to wait until my weight has stabilized for a longer term before I make that move as I know that it will re-distribute a little over time. But the extra skin that plagues my sight makes me uncomfortable naked. I feel like I look great in clothing but out of it my panni, the saggy boobies that look like water balloons .... the skin so loose I can grab it and pinch it and it STAYS pinched... those are the parts of my surgery experience that I don't like.

I'm happy with my size and I feel healthier than I have in a very long time. I don't have the issues with my knees or back like I once did. I don't huff and puff going up a set of stairs anymore. I feel GOOD. Next, I want to look as good as I feel and I know that means that plastics are in my future at some point.

New bloodwork results!

 

GREAT NEWS!! For those that didn't see my FB... I just had new blood work done last week.

My iron went from 17 to 47 with the injections! WOOT... Doc still wants it over 50 but this is awesome  I can definitely tell the injections were working, my energy has increased tenfold and WAY less dizzy issues

My Vit D is still lower than she wants but everyone in Canada is low in Vit D so I just have to double my Vit D dose and I should get that up easy.

1 YEAR!!

TODAY IS MY SLEEVE-VERSARY!!!

1 year I've been rocking my sleeve and regained my love and zest of life!  I feel amazing!

My highest weight ever was 245 (around 2004), surgery day I was 223 lbs.

Today I am 132 lbs and living the maintain lifestyle! 


My single regret about my surgery?


NOT DOING THIS SOONER!!!!

If you're thinking about this surgery, do your research, ask questions, send me a message.... I will help any way I can!  This is about YOU, YOUR HEALTH, and the rest of your life.  Which will be longer because you will be healthier without that extra weight on your body!  Do it!!

Latest.... April 2012

I know I haven't been around in the last couple of weeks.  Sorry :((((((   (my version of a HUGE sad face)

Things that are new... lets see....

I've really been working out the last few weeks and I'm feeling really good and strong these days.  My iron issues may be working themselves out... I still have another set of bloodwork to get through but its looking better.  I feel more energetic in the last few weeks since I've finished my iron injections and been taking Cyklokapron during my cycle to reduce the bleeding during my cycle.  I'm hoping they're doing the trick as I really feel that this isn't something that is going to get better with high iron foods.

Time is ticking by with our move to BC.  We're about a month away now.  Thankfully we've managed to unload one of our homes by doing rent to own and we're hoping for an offer to purchase on the other this week coming up.  I'm a little stressed as I've accepted the Manager position in the branch in Vancouver and I'm nervous about the changes.  A new home, new province, new branch.. and new job.  It's a lot!

I've lost another pound in the last few weeks.  I'm ok with it as it's only a pound and its happened in the same amount of time that I've been working out so its not that bad.  I'm still hoping I don't reach the 120's though.  I'm currently at 132 lbs.



Lastly....




I seriously love www.bariatrictv.com

They are hilarious and informative!! Check it out!

Had a pretty good day all things considered.  I slept late, lazed around a little bit and then went out and got some flowers and went to the cemetery. It was good, I feel very peaceful after spending some time there.  Afterwards I went and got a lottery ticket ... fingers crossed!!

Came home and spent some time doing computer stuff with my bro, tried on some new threads I picked up yesterday and then had a good workout with Bob and Biggest Loser on the Kinect.  Feeling good

Only minus to the day... I ate too fast and ended up worshipping the porcelain god.  Haven't done that in awhile.... my bad.

Mini fashion show below :)

Weight updates

Today I'm at 133 lbs.  I'm not trying to lose any more weight.  It's still coming off too easily for my liking.  I've added Pro Performance Mass I.V. instead of the lower calorie one (1/2 serving) to get more calories in.  I am striving to get in 1200-1500 calories a day now that I've finally gone back to the gym.  I've been twice now with the new trainer.  I hurt.  lol.

http://www.gnc.com/product/index.jsp?productId=12409762"]http://www.gnc.com/product/index.jsp?productId=12409762   With 980 calories, 60 grams of protein (from 8 different sources!) and only 10 grams of sugar, Mass I.V. gives you more of what you want and less of what you don’t.


I hope it gives me the energy, calories and protein I need to build some muscle and stop losing weight!

Latest pic!

GOOOOOAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLL!

GOAL baby.... GOAL!!!!

I reached my ultimate goal weight this morning!

135 lbs!
10.5 months since surgery and I'm so much healthier.

The small things I notice... NSV's!

I can see through the space between my thighs standing normally!
My visible collarbones are a permanent fixture.
I can RUN! Even with asthma, I can run and not get light headed or out of breath!
My knees don't click anymore!
My lower back doesn't bother me anymore!
I couldn't care less about the scale these days. I jumped on this morning purely out of curiousity
Hubby can now wrap one arm all the way around my body
I now search for Size Small (sometimes Medium) and/or Sizes 4-6 and not 18/20 or XL/1X
I haven't been on anti-depressants in nearly a year (although I nearly went on them again back in nov/dec, I'm feeling alot better now)
I feel STRONGER. Mentally. Emotionally. Physically.
I feel empowered.

I CAN do this and I am so excited for everyone in their own journey to see that regardless of how we get there, we all have the same goal at heart. Our health!

I'm so so so happy

A teensy scare, a new low, a great day and a fun site

For the first time in YEARS, I took a pregnancy test.  I was scared and completely in denial that I could be pregnant.  Hubby had the snip a year ago but hasn't been tested so there's always a little niggle at the back of my brain that says "oh please, don't let it be this time".  This month I was 8 days late.  I haven't been this late in a long time and so I began to worry.  Bestie tried to talk some sense into me but I alternated between panic and outright denial.  I didn't want to test because I was afraid... what if it was positive?  I've never ever wanted to be a mother.  As a step-mom I'm happy but I never wanted to bear children myself.  I couldn't imagine going through that at 35.

I bought my first First Response test in a very long time and thankfully I tested negative on Friday. I was still worried since Aunt Flo hadn't made an appearance and I wasn't feeling any of the usual signs she was on her way.... well other than extreme annoyance at hubby for minor things but I don't need Aunt Flo to help me with that ;)  She showed up this morning with a vengence and as usual I went through the hating her but silently (or not so silently) cheering that she'd made an appearance at all.  After a day of cramps, I loathe her again and lament loudly at being female.

Also yesterday, I reached a new low on the scale.  138lbs!  Even with menstrual bloat I'm at this weight!  I feel amazing and can't believe that I'm 85 lbs down and will see my goal before my 1 year surgiversary at the end of April.  Heck, I will likely surpass it although I'm really determined now to put some muscle back on and get strong so maybe I'll be able to stave off any further losses on the scale.

Today, Aunt Flo and all, I met with a great lady that helped me become this healthier version of Cheryl that I get to see every day since April 2011.  I met up with Colleen from Weight Loss and Beyond Consulting and spent the afternoon with her and a friend that I referred for her sleeve surgery coming up March 15!  I'm super excited for her to start her sleeve journey and feel this excitement that I enjoy every day!  She has a cautious and reserved attitude to this process and I know that once the pounds start to come off and she starts feeling as great as we do, she will be just as thrilled to share this journey with others. This process is about sharing your journey with others, I think its an important part of the whole thing to be able to pass on your experiences, share in the highs and lows with those that have been there and those that are considering this path.  I don't regret my sleeve for a moment and I wish that I'd had the courage to share it with more people sooner than I have.

Lastly, I HIGHLY recommend you all check out this site.  These gals are HILARIOUS and give so much great information for post op patient of bariatric procedures.  I wish I had the time to spend watching ALL of their great videos!     http://bariatrictv.com/

FMM: Befores..... Better late than never!!

If you’ve taken part in FMM then you know the rules. If you’re new, please take a moment to answer this week’s question on your own blog then add your link in the comments section here at: www.alltheweigh.com so we can all see your FMM questions and answers. Please invite your blog readers to add their links here too so everyone has to opportunity to be seen. The idea is to connect with other awesome bloggers so take a moment to post your own FMM post and comment on a couple of other posts. Now it’s time for this week’s topic!

FMM: Before Photos

1. Are you on a weight-loss journey?  Have you lost weight in the past? Are you trying to lose it now?  Yes I am.  Finally feeling success at last thanks to my life saving/cheryl saving Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy surgery nearly 10 months ago!  I've lost and regained hundreds of pounds over the years.  I'm no longer in weight loss mode.  I'm eating what I want (within reason) and keeping my choices high protein and lower white carbs.  I'm 84 lbs down. 4 lbs to go to my ultimate goal of 135!
2. Do you like being in pictures, or do you shy away from the camera? These days, I'm liking myself in pictures more and more.  Although the image in the mirror still is alot bigger than the image the camera sees.  I'm learning to love them both
3. Does looking at old photos of yourself motivate you?No it makes me sad for that me.  I wish I'd known then what I know now.  I would have chosen this path when I was teetering on 250lbs 5-6 years ago instead of a few failed diets down.
4. Weight-loss bloggers, do you post progress pictures on your blog?  Yep…here and there.  When I'm excited mostly... or just feel too hot to NOT share!
5. Will you share a before photo with us (even if you don’t have an after yet?)  Here you go.... my heaviest...

And now..... taken this morning :)

Now it’s your turn! Don’t forget to come back and link up in the comments!  Happy Monday friends!

Eeeeeeeeeee!!

Can I get a WHAT WHAT!?!?!?!?!?

musings

Reached 140 today :)
I'm actually starting to get excited now about seeing the 130's on the scale.  I'm still occasionally nervous that I won't be able to stop the weight loss but I'm just trying to focus on eating right and hopefully I can maintain in the 130's.

I've been reading alot of accounts lately of other sleevers and how much they can eat.  It used to baffle me that post-op someone could eat 2 eggs.  Now I see that it appears to be more the norm than the exception.  I truly believe that my sleeve is small.  My surgeon uses a 32f bougie to do the surgery but I think perhaps my anatomy is such that my stomach itself is just short.  I can barely get a single egg down in a serving even still at 9 months out.  When we go out for breakfast I will order 1 egg over medium and a side of bacon.  I eat 1 slice of bacon and hubby gets the rest.  I can usually get about 1/2-3/4 of the egg down.  Any more than that and I'm feeling nausea and very burpy.

Latest pic

Hubby was doing the whole... "rawr do a spin, you look hawt" comments so I'm smiling like an idiot :)

weight loss thoughts

One of the things I find that people losing weight do is compare themselves to each other.  It's so destructive because we all have our own reasons for why we gained the weight and our body has its own timeline on how its going to come off as well.  Just ask anyone that considers themselves part of the "slow and steady" club.

This weight loss journey is so very very individual its really hard to compare yourself to others that have had the sleeve as well. The size of a person's sleeve is so personal to them purely due to anatomy (as well as how much their surgeon chose to remove). If you have a short stomach anatomy-wise, you will have a smaller sleeve in volume than someone with the same amount taken off but a longer stomach. That's why some people can eat more than other's post op. For me, I think my sleeve is small. For solids, I can still (at 9mo out) only get around 1/2-3/4c of food. The denser the food is, like fiberous meat, the less I can eat before I'm stuffed. I try to stick to fish, eggs and cheese for my protein (other than protein shakes for breakfast)... its funny, I'm almost doing a version of low carb or something along those lines now... without even trying!

Everyone has stalls and I was no different. Mine was Oct - Dec... I lost very little. Thats when I really started to measure and I saw the most changes in my body physically even though the scale wasn't cooperating.

Tell me I'm being stupid

I've never worried about this before in my life. Never. I still am well within the BMI range of normal at 144lbs. I still could lose another 25 lbs and be within that range (low end of the range, but in the range). For some reason, ever since I hit my goal weight, I really feel like I should be slowing down.

I've lost another 5lbs since Dec 22. That's 5 lbs in 2 weeks. And I've been really bad at getting my protein in (my bad, I know I know) AND I've been eating poorly when I do remember to eat. I still enjoy the no hunger benefit of the surgery... the only time I get hunger, its like a weird empty feeling more than real actual hunger. Most of the time I eat because I have to remind myself to do it, or someone reminds me to.

I also don't exercise. I really haven't since my surgery. Now, I'm kind of afraid to exercise because I don't want to spur further weight loss. How messed up am I... I literally was looking up how to GAIN weight online.

I don't know. I feel like I'm still losing pretty fast considering I've already lost the majority of the weight I can lose. Suddenly I'm worried that I won't be able to stop losing weight. :S

At long last...

My pictures from the "during" weight loss phase of my photoshoot done when I was 50 lbs down.  So around 175 lbs.  I'll have another shoot when I'm at my Ultimate ultimate size :)

I can definitely see that I'm thinner now.  I'm not a huge fan of the makeup either.  It looks cakey IMO.

Lots of the same pics over in different poses... sorry!

http://photobucket.com/cherylscott

151 lbs!!!

The lightest I've been in over 15 years!  I really didn't think the scale would be showing a loss as I've been hovering over the same few pounds for a few weeks... and I've been having some issues in the bathroom..TMI I know!

I'm so happy I had this surgery.  Best decision ever.

Today, I'm going to work the Health & Lifestyle Show for Weight Loss and Beyond.  I'm a little nervous someone I work with will see me and find out I've had the surgery.  I'm still keeping that on the down low at work.  It's a hard line between wanting to tell people I know and keeping some personal privacy as well.

Last night was my company Christmas Party.  I rocked a sweet dress...

NSV!

I've hopped on the scale a few times in the last week because I'd noticed my Size 8's getting loose.  Looks like I'm on to Size 6 now!  Also.... I can wear knee high boots.  WITH ROOM TO SPARE!  No acrobatics to get into or out of boots that previously would have taken up shop at my cankle and refuse to move an inch further. 

I'm also nearly "NORMAL" for my BMI!