March 30 - 5 Day Pouch Test

MY NEW BUDDY, TEDDY P So I need my weight to move.. just move. I finally saw it go down to 171, and then swing back up to 173, sometimes 172. It's so annoying. Anyway a few girls on the group decided to do the 5dpt and I figured what the heck let me try and get ahead of the carb monster and maybe boost my weight. So yesterday was day 1, and it was hard not to be able to eat solid food. I messed up by having some pizza crust but other than that all i did was water, protein shake, soup, juice, yogurt, pudding, jello and coffee and that was it. obviously I was very hungry all day, having not eaten solids since Saturday night. It is now Monday afternoon and so far i've had 2 cups of coffee, a soup at hand, water, sf pudding no protein so far today. later this afternoon I will have some avocado and 1 string cheese and that's it. then some more soup for dinner. luckily tomorrow I get to add foods (tuna, eggs, salmon, and tilapia) all things I like and can survive on and I am allowed to eat it all I want, well as long as 1 cup or 4-6 ozs and I have to eat it in 15 mins. tops. I usually eat pretty quick but with "real" food I sometimes have to eat slow cause I get full quick, which is the entire point of doing this 5dpt to get your pouch to remember that full tight feeling from the first time after surgery. believe me I do still have that tight feeling, a few days ago I ate a piece of pizza too fast and I was in agony, it was really bad, I felt like the pizza was in a whole piece and it was tearing my pouch. whew, had to lay down and massage my pouch to try and get some relief, I couldn't even throw up. won't do that anymore. so I am off today cause since tomorrow is holiday I decided to make it a 4 day weekend. I'm sitting here browsing the before/after pics and reading stories, it gives me inspiration and ideas too. my little doggie is sitting with me, boy can he sleep. anyay soon I'll have a snack of liquid heaven and then take a nap. then later on I'll take Teddy for a walk. TTFN That's All For Now - Be Blessed In All Your Steps! Stay Strong! Judy

MARCH 23 -91 lbs. 8 mos post op

So I should have blogged yesterday but was busy and I forgot it was my 8 mos po and I didn't weigh in the a.m., so I weighed in today and was down to 171!! YAY - 91 and a whole heck of alot to go. 2 more lbs and I'll be overweight! YEAH can't wait for that BMI calculator to be nice to me. So I'm down just 3 lbs. since my 7 mos po man that sucks! I have to move my butt alot more. I just got a lil dog so maybe I can drag him outside to walk with me and get this weight moving. I'm still in pain, have to talk to gastro dr next week for endoscopy. constantly hurting, nausea, pain, now heartburn is back. not a happy camper. somebody has to fix this! okay back to work. That's All For Now - Be Blessed In All Your Steps! Stay Strong! Judy

March 18 -89 lbs. slow progress

So I am now almost 8 months post op and the scale is still moving but so slowly, in 6 weeks I've lost 6 lbs. even though I must say it seems like it's never moving but it is just slow. I was stuck for the past 3-4 weeks and even went up 1 lb. for the first time since surgery, but lost 2 lbs this past week so now I got to kick it up and keep it going down. I'm gonna be a bridemaid in May and I just fit in the size 12 dress I have to wear but I need to lost 5-10 lbs. to be a bit more comfortable in it. (see pic)

So I went to Florida the first week of March, my sis invited me on her vacation, I got 3 days notice! but I had a great time, got a tan, had my hair done (colored, highlighted and cut) and just got a break. sat on beach for a few days, some days were too cold to go on beach but I had fun. i'll post pics.

I am still having stomach pains, gallbladder ultrasound was normal so I don't know. going back to surgeon tomorrow. i really dont' feel well and I hope they fix it cause I don't want anything going wrong now after being okay for 8 months. anyway drama at home, my son and his gf broke up, so gf and my grandson moved out and I just miss my lil boy so much, I think that's wearing on me too. making me sad. i saw him yesterday but he was distant and only wanted his daddy. he's walking now and is so cute I sure am upset that I'll be missing his daily life after being with him for 11 months of his life. now him and my granddaughter are dividing their time between parents, it truly truly sucks!anyway, next week is my 8 months post op, I'll post again.

That's All For Now - Be Blessed In All Your Steps! Stay Strong! Judy

FEBRUARY 23 -88 lbs. 7 mos. post op

So today I am 7 months out. As of weigh in this a.m. I am down 88 lbs. 34 pre and 54 post. That's 4 lbs. less than 1 month ago. it's gone slow that's for sure. I try not to think of it too much or I get very let down about it. I am still having pain, couldn't sleep last night because I was uncomfortable. I emailed Kaiser yesterday but nothing yet. Had lunch, overate so was uncomfortable and got some pain but nothing major, I don't think it's gallbladder because it doesn't go nuts after I eat. the Pain is more all the time kind of pain, my chest wall seems to hurt too. the pain can get very intense and bad but if I move, massage and try to move the pain away it gets better, so who knows. Up until this odd pain started I have felt pretty good. It's hard to stay on track but have to do it. I had a piece of brownie yesterday, didn't hurt me or make me dump, of course if I had dared to eat more I would have been sorry but I don't do that. If I have a little piece of something sweet that's it cause otherwise I will get sick and why should I do that when I know darn well that my new system doesn't like sugar. anyway here is a new pic of me, taken today and a before/after pic.

That's All For Now - Be Blessed In All Your Steps! Stay Strong! Judy

February 18 -87 LBS. Weigh Day

2-15-09 well down to 175 lbs. today. I've been struggling with the same couple of pounds for a couple of weeks. very frustrating, as many of you know very well, but it moves eventually. of course it would move way more if I actually moved my butt more, I've actually been home since last Monday after work. tuesday and wednesday my neck arthritis was aggravated and I had been suffering with that pain in my neck and the headache is causes for a few days and then it finally got too much and i stayed home from work on tuesday and wednesday. Thursday was a holiday, friday I had vacation day and then it's a long weekend. this tuesday coming up brittany is having her 4 wisdom teeth yanked so I'm staying home to watch Bella. so i won't be back to work until wednesday. so i've been sitting at home since tuesday, haven't gone out, been eating okay. the food supply is kind of low so I've been eating what I can. yesterday I had some white rice with 1 egg and suddenly was in pain and had to make a few runs to the b/r. then later on in the night i had like this heat rush and heart palpitations and just felt shakey don't know why. i've been having some weird pains in my stomach, and right area so i'm not sure what's happening but i'm just keeping an eye on it for now before i call the doc. a few minutes ago I was cleaning the floor, bending down wiping the tile and when I got up my chest is in agony, I guess I pulled something inside but now i'm sitting here in pain. the pain is behind my chest wall must be a muscle gone wrong so we shall see. the weather is so crappy, it's been raining all week and will continue to rain for the following week. it's rain season so no big surprise. i think that is what is aggravating my neck arthritis which of course inflames my neck and causes the headaches. so I've been pretty miserable for the past week. apparently the news is reporting that the stupid governor has come to some sort of agreement with the union about cutting the furlough days down to 1 instead of 2, and we lose 2 holidays but get 2 floating holidays. very odd negotations but oh well. this may mean that instead of an almost 10% pay cut we will get an almost 5% paycut which is course is much easier to handle but still stressing me out. i think the stress is causing me the added stomach pains and added neck pains. and my not eating properly, all of it sucks right now. i reupped my eharmony script to see if anything happens in that area of my life so at least I have someone to hang out with sometimes instead of always being home stressing with all these kids here all the time I get pretty tired of not having a life of my own but that comes with the territory I love my kids and I now have 2 grandbabies to love and they all need help so for now I deal with it. still would be nice to have a "buddy" to hang out with and chill. on a nice front mariaelena called today and we have an appt. set up to pick out our bridesmaids dresses, so so odd to be a bridesmaid at my age but okay, exciting. soooo glad i'm somewhat slimmer, i'm hoping I can lose another 20 lbs by wedding day which is May 30th that gives me 3 months to drop some more weight. we are wearing teal and I hope silver sandals. melina said she'd help me pay for my outfit cause obviously I can't afford it. anyway that's the update for now :) Be blessed in all you do. Update 2-18-09 so it's weigh day today, i "officially" weigh in on Wednesdays, so lost 3 lbs. this week. pretty good so far have lost 4 lbs in february. March 7 I have to go pick out my bridesmaid dress and i'm hoping to be down another 6-10 lbs. and hopefully by the time the wedding comes around on May 30th I'll be down 20 lbs from what I am now, that would be real close to my goal of 145 which is the high weight for my height but last time I got as low as 146 i looked really thin and was wearing 8's and big 6's so i think that's good enough. of course my body may decide i need to be healthier and allow my body to keep dropping weight so we shall see. i've been eating crackers this week so that isn't too cool but not too bad. have to cut it back down cause my body does better without the carbs. i think it's the lack of food at home that has me eating whatever I can and crackers are inexpensive and something I can get in a bigger size for the entire family. we ran out of rice so that won't be an issue :) also no more potatos so can't make those. and we've been out of bread for awhile so haven't had that. should be doing mainly proteins anyway. my neck/headache felt quite a bit better today, have a little headache now but it's this darn cold weather. my chest hurt a little this a.m. but it's not so bad as it was doing. it's really a struggle to deal with this weight issue and still have so many aches and pains that keep me from doing more things. i do feel better don't get me wrong but sometimes i feel frustrated cause i don't feel 100% - been taking my vitamins and the extra d prescription dr. gave me still have a few weeks to take that pill and i hope it helps. in May I have to redo my labs to see if the extra vitamins helped up my deficiencies. we shall see. i do look thinner and folks make comments but I am so flabby, lord without jeans things are flying all over. not a pretty site. okay well that's all for now. "I strive for progress, not perfection" (Carnie Wilson) That's All For Now - Be Blessed In All Your Steps! Stay Strong! Judy

JANUARY 23 -83 LBS - WOOHOO 6 month SURGIVERSARY

Friday will mark my 6 month surgiversary. sooo, I hit 179 this morning! woohoo. lost 4 lbs this past week (wednesday is weigh day). looks like upping my walking, and dropping the carbs helped. I was just looking through my weight loss log and I have to kick myself because I never feel like I'm losing weight but looking back at my log, I notice that since 12/31 I've lost 8 lbs. (3 weeks) my goodness it is moving. I guess we still never give ourselves any credit for anything. have to change that attitude. good day, as I sit here in the size 14 Old Navy jeans my daughter bought me :) which are a little baggy already and I just got them :)~ funny thing is I see people at work looking but it seems they just don't know what to say :) I can tell by that look on their face. LOL I feel good too, the 3.4 miles I walked on Monday didn't cause me any pain, and that my friends is the biggest biggest miracle I can hope for right now. less pain! Judy - Thinking Positive Works Better! HW 262 <<<< >>> CW 179 My Journey: http://judywlsjourney.blogspot.com/

JANUARY 8 - FRIENDS THE GREATEST PART OF THIS JOURNEY

MAKING NEW FRIENDS IS THE MOST SPECIAL PART OF THIS JOURNEY!

So yesterday was my 6 months post op checkup. As I already knew my labs were not all good, so I have to double, triple up on some of my vitamins and take a prescribed vitamin D pill to fix my severely deficient vitamin D issue! That was my day yesterday, first had an appt with nutritionist and then in the p.m. saw the surgeon. The best part of yesterday was meeting up with 3 of my online support group friends. Debby who I met in December 2007, and who I have shared this journey with along the way. Debby had her surgery in January 2008 and I made it a point of meeting her for lunch each time she drove down from Elk Grove to Fremont for her appts. I was her surgery angel and she was mine, she is someone I consider a friend and who I enjoy sharing with. She also drove down for Melina's baby shower and I truly appreciate her doing that. So we also met up with Valeri, Valeri had her surgery right before I had mine. Back in May 2007 we had a Northern California meeting and that's where I met Valeri. she's a great person, very warm and kind. So the 3rd buddy at our lunch was Jessica, I met her on obesityhelp.com and invited her to the online support group. I was her surgery angel. So I invited her to meet us for lunch so we could meet her face to face. After Debby, Val and I had our check ups the 4 of us went to Red Lobster and had a very nice lunch, chit chatting about our journey, it was great and I was so glad we met for lunch. We will definitely do it again. That's All For Now - Be Blessed In All Your Steps! Stay Strong! Judy

DECEMBER 30 - A YEAR ALMOST GONE

FIRST CHRISTMAS ---- TRAVIS & ISABELLA ----

MY ANGELS

So Christmas is past, and the New Year is upon us. It's been a crazy year. I have 2 new grandbabies, Travis is now 8 months and Isabella is 7 weeks! Of course Isabella pretty much slept through Christmas Eve, Travis was awake making an attempt to be interested in opening presents but more interested in climbing and tearing up everything he could get his hands on. He is a little comedian, he sure can make us laugh. Isabella is too small to do anything but cry and stare at us when we ignore her crying (which is never). She is finally gaining some ounces and starting to fill out her pj's. These 2 babies couldn't be anymore different but they are both so cute and comical in their own way. As for my 3 big kids and my "adopted" daughter (my DIL) they are another story, each so different its ridiculous. Joel is the arrogant, funny man, Melina is the old soul, serious and judgmental, Joshua is the angry soul but a sweetheart inside (tries to hide that) and Brittany is clueless, she's a happy camper, doesn't let anything get her down, she may shed a tear but then she's over it. I have a full house that is for sure. Never a dull or peaceful moment, but yet they can't understand why I'M tired. Let's see why I may be tired, hmmm... I had major surgery 5 months ago, still haven't gotten my energy back from that, I don't eat enough to give an ant energy, I work full time, I come home to a crapload of people, including 2 babies I take care of every chance they get to cry for grandma, I have to make an effort to keep my home in some kind of organization or I'll go nuts. I have arthritis that won't let me be in peace, something always hurts and being in pain sucks the life out of me! I rarely sleep peacefully because of this same damn pain. and now with the cold my sinus' are aggravating me and I constantly have a headache, another reason I am drained. I have to find a way of exercising, my weight loss is slow. I just made my 5 months post op and I should have lost approximately 50 lbs. but have only lost 43 lbs as of last week (weigh day is tomorrow). I am really disappointed about that, so many of my online buddies have lost way more than me in the same amount of time. I need to lose 23 lbs to get to -100! hard hard struggle. since last week getting strange pain right side, this week its a little more intense. not sure if gas issues or what. But onward I go, no turning back. Christmas was good, the babies got alot of stuff. Isabella not so much cause she's too little to know anything. Travis got lots of toys and clothes. He's such a cutie. I did good too. From work I got a nice watch from Gen, gc to Starbucks, a NY calendar, and a beautiful platter. from kids, Josh had bought me the Wii Fit already, Joel got me sneakers, the Twilight book, the Katy Perry CD, starbucks cd and a starbucks mug in RED! awesome. Mellie got me clothes, 5 beautiful sweater in size L!!! 2 jeans and a couple of cami's to wear under my sweaters :) she also got me this beautiful watch I wanted it is the most beautiful watch I have ever seen, it's a Seiko, with 20 diamonds around the face, mother of pearl background and sapphire crystal inside. it is very expensive but when I saw it I just wanted it, so Mellie got it and I appreciate it very much. can't wear it yet needs at least 4 links removed, my wrists have always been small now it's ridiculous. I had a good Christmas Eve, Brittany's parents came over for dinner, then me, the kids and babies watched movies then opened gifts. I have the New Years weekend off too, 4 days off, YIPPEE! So next week if my 6 months post op check up, I'm concerned about my labs. I know I haven't been eating properly and I don't always remember to take my vitamins, so I am praying I am not deficient in anything. I decided to go back to fitday.com and track my food for 2 weeks so I can take it to the nutritionist instead of sitting there trying to guess what I am eating when she asks me. So that's it for now. I will post some pics from Christmas sometime this week. That's All For Now - Be Blessed In All Your Steps! Stay Strong! Judy

DECEMBER 21, 2008 - 77 LBS.

WELL 77 lbs down. many more to go. here are a few pics taken on Friday, 12/21/08. I got decked out and unveiled my new me, complete with a new hair cut. It was for our office holiday luncheon. got alot of compliments, and that helped make it a good day for me.

That's All For Now - Be Blessed In All Your Steps! Stay Strong! Judy

DECEMBER 7, 2008 - 75 lbs. IT'S MY BIRTHDAY

MY 48TH BIRTHDAY - SUNDAY DECEMBER 7, 2008

Went out to dinner with my kids and grandbabies! great time. nice restaurant, Scott's at Jack London Sq. in Oakland. Beautiful place by the bay, view of boats and water. very pretty.

This past year quite full, I have 2 new grandbabies, had my surgery, my daughter moved back home. I have a full house of kids and grandbabies. I am blessed.

That's All For Now - Be Blessed In All Your Steps! Stay Strong! Judy

NOVEMBER 17 -70 lbs AND A NEW GRANDDAUGHTER

haven't posted in awhile. lot's going on. so as of last week I am down 70 lbs. 34 before surgery and 36 afterwards. it hasn't been easy and even right now i'm sitting here with a bellyache and it sure has been slow but I'm hoping the old saying "slowly but surely" applies here. I am right now so tired I can't even type.

Sooo HERE SHE IS - ISABELLA ANN, born November 8, 2008 at 4:16 pm, weighing a whopping 6 lbs. 7 oz and measuring 19 inches long. She's a little feisty one!

she's a screamer, at the top of her little lungs. we don't even need sound monitor can hear her.

I was off last week just got back today and I am so exhausted. I got a migraine on saturday and it's still lingering, think it's due to the stress, no sleep, hectic chaos with the crazy week we've just had. haven't eaten a whole lot, been so tired and yuck all week.

I can't believe Thanksgiving is around the corner, it's just too quick. I really am not in the mood for holidays right now. too much hassle.

That's All For Now - Be Blessed In All Your Steps! Stay Strong! Judy

WOW Today Another Drop 197!!

OCTOBER 20, 2008- Okay so this a.m. 197 -65 lbs now. 31 post op. OCTOBER 18, 2008 - I did it, finally. 199 lbs. -63 total. Hard road but so glad I'm on it. slowly but surely I will get there. Today is Melina's baby shower so gonna be busy and so exhausted but that's ok too.. . That's All For Now - Be Blessed In All Your Steps! Stay Strong! Judy

12 WEEKS POST OP - Slow Progress

OCTOBER 15, 2008 - 12 Weeks Post Op - It's been hard for sure, now standing at 201 for the past couple of weeks. Total pre and post surgery loss is 61 lbs. but my post op loss is going so slow it's really upsetting me. I try to eat more, I try to eat well but that's not always easy cause of finances. Sometimes I'm starved, other times i'm not in the mood. It's all a huge learning process, and it is very frustrating. Joined Curves trying to be good and get there at least 3 times a week, last week I did it. this week haven't been yet, going today even though i am forcing it, not really in the mood. Saturday is Melina's baby shower and that's another issue, lot of work planning a party. I just pray it all works out. I did have a piece of her b/d cake yesterday and my pouch didn't appreciate it so I won't be doing that again. I am pretty tired this week probably cause it's that time of month, praying that when I weigh next week I get at least the 2 lb drop to get me into onderland. I wanted to at least be down 30 lbs by 23rd which is my 3 month anniversary, so maybe I could feel like I'm doing like the average folks who lose 10 lbs a month. so we'll see how that goes. It would mean I need to lose 3 lbs by next week. I will surely pray for it. That's All For Now - Be Blessed In All Your Steps! Stay Strong! Judy

SEPTEMBER 23, 2008 - 2 MONTH POST OP! WOOHOO FINALLY

That darn scale finally budged properly! Went to Curves today and I dropped 4 lbs since last week, what a relief I've been so stuck. and I ate PIZZA this week too, gave in and had some so I could up my calories and unshock my system, so it seems to have worked. thankfully cause the past 2 weeks I lost 1 lb. each week and it was bouncing up and down, very frustrating, but finally! that makes me feel so much more positive. I truly was starting to feel like the scale wasn't gonna cooperate and that I might be someone the surgery doesn't work for, crazy I know but it's been 2 months today and to just have lost 21 lbs. it was depressing, so now I lost 25 lbs. in 2 months still not great but it's something. So now I am going to do Curves and hopefully that will help keep my spirits up a little, I did the circuit just once by myself today cause it was my first time and I need to see how it was going to affect my surgery spots since it's the first "real" exercise I've done since surgery and because I am still so sick with this cough, cold and headache didn't want to overdo it. But I'll be there tomorrow!

That's All For Now - Be Blessed In All Your Steps! Stay Strong! Judy

SEPTEMBER 11, 2008 - 7 WEEKS POST OP

WOW, so it's been 7 weeks and it's been going slow for me. I've lost 20 lbs since surgery and that to me is a huge disappointment, I thought I would at least lose 30 lbs or more in the first month but that wasn't to be

and I'm sad about it!

I have been stuck for most of the time, last night I somehow finally lost 1 lb. so maybe the scale will start moving. Anywho, unbeknowst to me I still had the UTI, which turned out to be bladder infection and I finally got the correct stronger antibiotic last week, so maybe that will help my body cooperate. Could be that infection had me bloated and why I felt so yucky. Then to top it off last week I got a flu bug, i'm coughing, congested and then sick to my stomach. A whole lot of folks at work sick too. I had to miss a day of work this week and I was not liking that, I did not want to miss any time until Nov. when I have to be off for Mellie's baby coming but my stomach was sick so obviously I couldn't leave the house.

All in all I'm okay. Enjoying my grandson he's so beautiful 4 1/2 months old and a precious gift. he's so funny, he plays, rolls around, talks alot, smiles and is just so happy. 8 more weeks and granddaughter arrives. I'm gonna have my hands full with 2 grandbabies in diapers. I tell you Travis is a handful, he's so active, it's exhausting. But he's fun and I miss him when he doesn't come to visit me in my room.

It's so weird how sometimes I actually have to remember I had surgery, I actually forget! One day this week I forgot and I ate a piece of toast so fast it was very painful. just got back from lunch and of course had to make myself stop eating to avoid major pain. I'm still training myself not to eat with my eyes, to listen to my pouch. which is the entire point of the surgery to have a smaller stomach that tells you to stop stuffing your face, unfortunately I still have days when I think I'm right and not my pouch and I take one more bite and then I'm in trouble. have to quit doing that, but I've been alot better than I was when I first had surgery. takes time but I'll get it. Now if my foot would stop hurting I could get to some exercises. I still walk as much as I can but it hurts my foot i have to get back to podiatrist to see what else can be done, barring surgery, don't want to do any of that for a long time.

So that's about it for now, i'm still learning how to work with my new pouch, sometimes not even remembering I had the surgery cause it seems like a dream now. Still going on with my life, trudging along.

That's All For Now - Be Blessed In All Your Steps! Stay Strong! Judy

AUGUST 25, 2008 - ONE GOAL ACCOMPLISHED!

So it's almost 5 weeks since surgery and I've had some rough days but for the most part I'm doing okay. I had put 1 of the goals on my Obesity Help.com blog that I wanted to lose 50 lbs. well as of this a.m. I have lost 51 lbs. 34 pre op and 17 post op. So I am closer to goal than I could imagine. My vacation was great, my sister Jean is always good to me and showed me some fun in the sun and at a Yankee game. it was awesome. Today I am back to work after 5 weeks off, man it's tough I am pretty tired. my energy ran out about 12 and i'm about to fall asleep. I feel pretty good, everyone at work was very welcoming and complimentary and made it easy for me to come back. it's been a long day but it's almost over. I can't wait for it to be done so I can go home and throw myself in bed. not even hungry today I had: turkey, cheese, fruit, propel water and two chicken wings (no drummette) I'm not hungry but I will be soon. gonna eat a little something else before I leave here so I won't be starved by the time I go home. I must say it hasn't been easy, it's actually harder than I imagined. Of course going from size 22/24 to size 16 is awesome but it's alot of hard work. it's hard not to eat what you want, it's hard to sit and watch others eat what you want. it's hard to control your mouth and not overeat because the pain afterwards is unreal. BUT it's great to feel good, walk up stairs without a problem, which I did yesterday! feel good about how I feel, I still need to lose about 60 lbs. to be down good but every morning the scale is moving now 1 to 2 lbs. a day so I will get there eventually. Now i'm about to search for a gym. i need to do something for me. if not, i'll join curves. i need something.

HERES A PIC OF ME AND MY SISTERS ON FRIDAY 8/15!

well off to the races, i will be leaving soon. so glad i made the entire day I didn't expect to.

That's All For Now - Be Blessed In All Your Steps! Stay Strong! Judy

AUGUST 11, 2008 - IN NEW YORK!

Hi there, well I'm in New York now, it's been 3 days. I am now 19 days out from surgery. I arrived in New York on Friday morning, with no sleep all night on the plane. got to my sister's hung out for awhile and then we headed to upstate New York to Ivonne's marriage ceremony (2 hour ride). It went beautifully (see pics) but then we went to dinner at a seafood restaurant and I lost my mind and forgot that I am a gastric bypass patient and I cannot be eating with my eyes anymore. I started with eating plain shrimp (5) no problem but I didn't stop there, I had 2 small slices of bread and butter and then I ordered an entree of salmon, baked potato and veggies. I ate half of the salmon, within minutes I felt about to die. I got hot and clammy and thought I was gonna be sick I didn't get sick but the entire ride home I felt all the food sitting in my pouch. It didn't help that it took 3 hours to get home cause of the horrendous traffic and then a rain storm to boot. By the time we got home my stomach had settled and I felt a little better but I was exhausted, had a headache and just felt drained. Hit the sack woke up a better person :)

Saturday we spent the day by the pool with Yvette and it was very cool. I ate better that day trying to be careful. Sunday I spent the day hanging out in the house and then outside by pool with Jean for awhile. Jason had his friends over and then Jean had a friend over and I had a nice time. I felt okay, was careful not to overeat!

Today we're doing the beach, it's beautiful outside after a horrendous storm last night again! So I am going to brave the sun and try to get some color on this whiteness.

I think the hardest part of this journey is getting used to eating to fit my pouch not my eyes, it tastes good and I like it and I have to remember to stop before I get sick. I haven't lost anymore weight and that concerns me it's almost 3 weeks and I've only lost 10 lbs. and it's starting to bother me. I am eating more so my body shouldn't be thinking I'm starving, I walk and try to stay mobile, I haven't done any real exercise cause I still hurt especially when I make too quickly. I will be doing alot more moving and walking in the next 2 weeks so will see if that does anything. I haven't weighed myself today to see if anything happened. I don't care how much it moves, 1 lb. would be cool I just want the darn scale to move!!!!

That's All For Now - Be Blessed In All Your Steps! Stay Strong! Judy

AUGUST 6, 2008 - 2 WEEKS POST OP

Well today I am 2 weeks post op. I'm still at -10 lbs since surgery. Tomorrow is my post op appt. so we'll see what happens at the appt. then tomorrow nite I leave for NY. I've been feeling pretty good, some pain yesterday and today at my main incision site but not too bad it just hurts more when i'm walking around and I have to kind of hold the area so it won't pull down and hurt me. I am packed and ready to go on my trip. Can't wait to just sit by the pool. I got a swimsuit this week and I was happy I could get it a size 16, it fit good, not counting my chunky legs but oh well nothing I can do about them right now. Hopefully soon that will go away too :) I still have some swelling but not too bad considering it's only 2 weeks out. Tomorrow at my appt. the surgeon should change my diet to include some more good stuff. So I'm 2 weeks out, it hasn't been too bad, it's more getting used to portions and knowing when my pouch is full and I should stop eating. All in all so far so good. Let's see how it goes when I'm traveling and when I return to work.

That's All For Now - Be Blessed In All Your Steps! Stay Strong! Judy

JULY 31, 2008 - 8 DAYS POST OP

So it's finally 8 days post op. I weighed myself yesterday and even with the swelling and having my cycle I lost 10 pounds this week!! I been actually feeling pretty good I can't really complain. a little ooh's and ouches but that is expected after all I had major surgery. yesterday I went out for the first time and I started feeling clammy and not good so I came back home. Turns out that I may not be having enough calories, cause I asked the group and alot of them said I need to try and eat some more. I actually got to sleep last night for 5 hours straight and then for about another 1 1/2 hours so I felt good today. Did alot of organizing and arranging stuff for my room, did my laundry and even walked Suzie. I did pretty good. I ate cottage cheese w/jam 3 times, soup 2 times, jello 2 times, a little protein shake cause it tasted awful, then I got a little bit of that yucky feeling again cause I needed food, so I had Josh buy me some string cheese I had 2 of those 1 with some soup each time. So I'm hoping that it helps me feel better to get a little extra protein. However, I did eat the 2 string cheeses without any problems, i had to chew it carefully and to mush but it landed well! Yesterday while getting in and out of car I felt little stings or tugs inside that were painful so I gather it was the inside of my incisions healing and tightening today I didn't feel it. I spent a lot of time with Travis and I did okay, I get tired faster cause I can't hold him the way it's comfortable cause I don't want him to kick my tummy but I got to babysit him and I am happy about that cause I miss him and I leave next week I won't be able to see him for 2 weeks. I can't wait in 1 week I leave for NY, at this time next week I will be on plane. I just hope my dr. releases me to eat more foods cause I miss eating something besides liquids. Right now the only thing I have to chew is cottage cheese and string cheese and come on how much chewing is involved in eating that. I can't wait to see how much I lost next week! My stomach is going down, my incisions are closed and look like they are healing well. the only one that still has the tape is the largest of the 6 incisions I guess since it's larger it takes longer to heal. but no problem it's only pinching me a little bit sometimes. I just want my left side to strengthen up so that I can sleep. The past week I haven't been able to sleep cause my left side is uncomfortable. I'm not sleepy until late and then I couldn't sleep, I can't even nap, except today I napped for about 1/2 an hour. anyway off to bed, gonna try and sleep. tomorrow is melina's first lamaze class and I'm gonna try and go with her. hopefully I will feel okay to do it but anyway it's at the hospital so if I don't feel okay I'm in the right place. Right now the only time I feel odd is when my blood sugar drops and I need to eat, so I just have to avoid that. good night That's All For Now - Be Blessed In All Your Steps! Stay Strong! Judy

JULY 27, 2008 I'M A LOSER, Finally!

Good morning all, well it's been 4 days now it hasn't been a picnic far from it, i had a rough couple of days but today is the Lord's day and I am so grateful to be alive I can't complain. Today is day 4 and I'm doing pretty well. i had a hard time sleeping cause I can't quite find my spot but i managed to get some sleep and I will survive with my naps. Today I woke up with less discomfort and I changed into one of my snazzy nightgowns (thanks Sharon)cleaned my room a little and I'm trying to keep a positive attitude cause I know that will help me feel better. so far today my menu has consisted of van. pudding, chamo tea and water. I decided i am not overdoing it because yesterday i started with jello tea and water and felt pretty good but in the afternoon i had isopure, water, jello and homemade chicken broth and it ruined my afternoon and night. i had to literally lay down from about 3:00 until this morning in order to try and relieve the discomfort, and maybe sleep through it. today I woke up with no discomfort but now have a little from the moving around and eating but put on a heating pad and should be feeling better soon. I know everyday will be better so that's all I can do is hope for the next day. let me tell all of you something particular, i don't know if you remember that I mentioned I get panic attacks. when i went in for my endoscopy but in december I had one when the nurse was going to put the mask on me. so i told my surgeon that i needed something to help me calm down before everything started. well they called me back to the preop area and started with the talking, iv's prep, shots etc. and I was pretty good. my stomach was nervous but also still having noisy issues from that wonderful prep stuff. anyway, when they said lets go and i got up to walk to OR, i said goodbye to my kids and walked straight back there walked in and waved hello to everyone inside! laid my butt down, the anesth guy said here we go and then I was awake in recovery. GOD IS SO GOOD, if you don't know it, you should find out! I woke up in recovery again no anxiety, no crying. I was relieved it was over. and it only took exactly 2 hours, actually a little less. anyway i just wanted to mention this because I am a worrier, i need everything written and drawn out for me before I do anything, and I was preparing for anxiety, I thought this is gonna freak me out and I'm gonna pass out before they come near me. BUT God covered me, the love and support of everyone covered me and I didn't freak out. I surprised my own self. I haven't been on my pc since Tuesday, my posts have been through my blackberry but today I felt well enough to get on here and post something substantive to let anyone who is waiting to do this know what happened to me. Is it painful, duh! yes! even with drugs. scarey? sure it's major major surgery even if all you see are tiny little bandaids. all you want is to sleep and i can't even count how many nurses and shots i went through. the scariest part was the vomiting of the yucky stuff, scarey cause I thought oh Lord if this continues they have to go back in and check, I will be 1 of the few who has problems. NO! I refuse. i am gonna be okay, once the nurse checked the blood and told me it's old don't worry i said okay. good to go. of course when you are doing an exorcist all over yourself it's hard to believe that it's gonna be okay but what else can we do but have faith in the people who are caring for you. Let me tell you something else, for all the "bad press" Kaiser HMO gets, I got nothing but 100% care. from the moment I checked into admitting from the moment the guy put me in the car. they were nothing but caring and sweet to me. I would suggest though that the perfume on the nurses be toned down, that was killing me!!!! I wish I could tell somebody that part. they'll probably send me a survey, I hope. anyway. if you are waiting. keep pushing for yourself. the past 4 days have been a learning curve, I have had it in my mind "what was I thinking" all this to lose weight?? for heavens sake. no way I am having PS, I don't care I won't put myself through it again unless the extra skin is a problem for my movement or sanity, or health. For now, I am done. I am sticking to my diet to the letter, walking my butt as much as I can but not gonna stress about anything. I will do what I am supposed to do, ask questions when I'm not sure and continue my journey as a loser the best way I have been taught. BTW for all my fretting I was 8 lbs under goal on surgery day. what a relief!! but I wasn't even worried about it cause I knew I was down enough. That's All For Now! Be Blessed In all Your Steps Judy

JULY 22, 2008 - TOMORROW IS THE BIG DAY

JULY 22, 2008 - Well it's here. Tomorrow is the big day. Today is pretty sucky cause I am not feeling well and in a little bit I will have to take the cleansing stuff and I'm not looking forward to that part. It's been a long time coming but I guess not as long as it has been for some. For me it's been 9 months since the referral was submitted to surgery day. I still can't believe it's tomorrow already, WOW. It seemed like forever when Nancy called and told me July 23rd, that was 5 weeks ago and now it's here. I am going to take the cleaner in about an hour or so. just want to get it over with. I am not in the writing mood. maybe tonight, if not then I will come on and write when I get back from hospital. That's All For Now - Be Blessed In All Your Steps! Stay Strong! Judy

JULY 15, 2008 - 8 DAYS TO GO

JULY 15, 2008 -"hello" well just about a week to go. I feel so yuck today. Woke up with headache, neckache, and my entire body hurting, i think that is because of walking yesterday and to top it off my stomach is still iffy from yesterday. I really don't feel good but i'm not going to claim that because I positively cannot get sick now. I lost another pound 229 now. So I am now 7 lbs under surgeon goal and hopefully safe from the difference in scales. Maybe I am hungry that's why I feel crappy, worn out. So Mellie has decided to come stay with me instead of me staying with her, so that's cool I sorta kinda wanted to be in my own chair, room, bed. But I also kinda wanted the peace at her house. It's lunch time now I'm just going to have some soup, which probably won't help my lack of energy but on top of everything else I do not have money for eating anything else, so that's all I can do. My head is hurting too, I can't take sinus meds cause they knock me out and I hate that feeling. Other than not feeling good, I'm doing okay. Looking forward to surgery, don't feel nervous right now.

That's All For Now - Be Blessed In All Your Steps! Stay Strong! Judy

JULY 14, 2008 - 9 DAYS TO GO!!

JULY 14, 2008 - Single digits days to go - 9!!!! *HELLO* Well it's finally here, the week where I can say I am having surgery NEXT WEEK! It's been a long road but not especially hard. I've been on no carb/low carb for the past two weeks and that hasn't been wonderful but it's been manageable especially since I know it's short term. So as of today I am at 230!!! I haven't seen that in ages. and it's the first time I see it while I've been losing. I am now down -32 since October when my PCP did the referral for me. It took me this long because I wasn't working on it 100% as hard as I should have, I took my time losing the weight and really didn't put a rush on it until February when I joined Nutrisystem and then continued dieting after that. This is my last week of work and I'm glad about that too. This week I am having the Atkins shakes for breakfast, then protein at break and then simple lunches and dinners. Lots of water and tea too so I can keep dropping water :) So all is well and here we go, countdown now.

The day is almost over and I am soooo glad. I am exhausted. and I'm hungry. don't know why I ate, not a whole lot but I had the atkins shake for breakfast. then turkey and cheese for break, then some chicken, steak and salad for lunch. I just had a boiled egg at 3:00 cause I am hungry. No clue why, only thing could be cause I didn't start the day with protein and fill up, so now i'm starving. well all i can hope is that it helps me lose weight.

That's All For Now - Be Blessed In All Your Steps! Stay Strong! Judy

JULY 13, 2008 - 10 DAYS TO GO!

JULY 13, 2008 - *HELLO* So now I'm 10 days away from a new start in my life. I really don't know how to feel or what to think. It's like unreal, i can't explain it, all I know is that I don't have a clue what is happening. Like I know i'm having surgery but I can't get around the fact that I'm having surgery. So Friday was my pre-op, I was 4 lbs under weight and that is just great. I had an ekg done, and saw the doctor. She was very happy that I had lost 30 lbs. and we discussed the entire surgery day from start to finish. I will be her first surgery of the day so I have to be there at 6:30a.m., she said if all is on schedule I should be in surgery by 7:30. it takes about 2-3 hrs. and then I go to recovery and then about 5 hours later I need to get up and walk. I should be discharged the next day by 6:00 p.m. I will be sent home on a Stage II diet which is the soft stuff. On the 21st I have to get my lab work done, which works out because I am going with mellie to hospital to get her lab work done, her ultrasound done and her OB appt.

On Tuesday 22nd, I am stuck at home, soft food liquid diet and then the "cleansing" Surgery day I have to be there at 6:30 a.m. whew that is early but I'm glad I didn't want to sit around house waiting to go to hospital. if all goes the way the good lord intends I will be in my room by Noon! This is my last week at work and I am soooo thrilled about that. It's the first time since 1991 that I am off more than 1 week, even when I had knee surgery I was only off 1 week. and in 1994 when steve laid me off I was only off 3 weeks before I started my new job. so pretty much I've worked non stop since 1991. I need a break for sure.

So I emailed my BFF Ivonne about my trip to NYC and she just emailed that she is crazy excited and that she is getting married on Aug. 8th. I emailed her back to see what's up maybe I can be there. Will have to talk to Jean and see if she can take me. Jean and excited to see me and I am double excited to see her too. This all is a blessing for sure. Jean is sicky with shingles (adult chicken pox) but she should be better by the time I get there.

So today i weighed myself and I am up 2 lbs. go figure, this week down to the nitty gritty, lower calories/carbs and a little extra walking cause I don't have much time and I have to stay under weight. I kinda packed my hospital bag and I also put stuff in there to go stay at mellies for a couple of days. then when I come back from Mellies I have to pack for my trip, exercise everyday, eat right, take vitamins and start my routine of learning how to eat. I just started taking my iron pills, finally, new calcium and new multivitamin pills and they sure make me feel full. I am good to go. just waiting and counting the days. I may take a walk a little later with suzie (my furball) hopefully the weather will cool down.

That's All For Now - Be Blessed In All Your Steps! Stay Strong! Judy