Friday, December 30, 2011

10 weeks post op

Weight: 263
Average calorie intake: Still not keeping track
Average exercise: using the treadmill from 15 to 30 minutes a day (3 to 3.5mph and 2 to 7% incline)
Weight loss in last 2 weeks: 7lbs
Total weight loss: 57lbs in 10 weeks

I hope everyone had a great Christmas. I had family in town and my present to them was 4 days of the best food I could prepare. Rack of lamb, a shrimp boil, duck, a chicken wrapped pork wellington and even biscuits and gravy.

Through all of it I was able to have my couple of bites and stop. I did finally reach the point of disappointment though, having all that great food on the table and totally unable to enjoy more made me just a little envious but knowing I was half way to my goal made things a LOT easier.

I don’t feel that sick to my stomach feeling as much these days and I have really learned to just have a couple of bites of something and not always try to eat my 4 ounces. I found that stringy meats are not good to eat, I made a beef brisket that just did not feel good after eating it but the rack of lamb was easy to eat. It helps to take small bites of medium rare meat and chew well.

I have also noticed that ice cream and sorbet goes down well. I made a cinnamon pumpkin pie ice cream to go with an apple crisp and it was a great treat. Fruit smoothies are easy to eat as well and God knows I can use the fiber. I also found that I can eat FiberPlus cereal for breakfast every day to get more fiber and even having milk with it does not hurt my stomach.

I have stepped up the exercise and started using the treadmill every day now and I can really feel the difference the weight loss has made. I am doing 15 to 30 minutes a day and even did some jogging. I usually do about 3.5mph and 3% incline but I get up to 7% and even make 5mph in a fast jog. I am confident that continued use will help get over these no loss days I tend to hit.

I also can see some of the saggy skin that I have been hoping would not show up. Under my arms, and around my chest and even my legs seem to be the worst places. I have bumped up my protein intake (I have been slacking there) and I hope it will help. Otherwise I may have to consider a frickin body lift after I lose another 50lbs.

To people considering the surgery, I can tell you that it is a great tool for me. I made the decision prior to my surgery that I would no longer live to eat and that food would just be something I USED to enjoy. I am very fortunate that I enjoy cooking for other reasons than eating. This is a life changing event: one that tests your patients as well as your will power. It often makes me feel like shit but I know I am headed in the right direction. The choice to have it done is your own and don’t do it for anyone else but yourself.

I hope to see everyone on the other side of 60lbs next week.

Friday, December 16, 2011

2 Months post-op


Weight 270
Average daily calorie intake: still no idea but not much
Average exercise: occasional walking and 4hrs of kitchen duty a day
Weight loss in last week: 5lbs
Total weight loss: 50lbs in 8 weeks

This has been an interesting week (and not in a good way). Last Saturday I spent the day with some type of intestinal bug that dehydrated me badly. Then over the first part of the week I hit a plateau and then dropped a little more yesterday but over all I am down 5 from last Friday and have reached the big 50# mark.

I don’t think I have seen this weight in 20 years and at this weight there are a few other things I have not seen in 20 years……. No, my feet get your mind out of the gutter! But you know things
always grow better when they are not kept in the shade.

Today also happens to be my LAST day at Le Cordon Bleu. I have finished my classes and now just have to do a 12 week externship (work and get graded for it) before they will have me a diploma. I have gotten the bar I used to work at to allow me to do it there. They are accommodating when it comes to working around my other full time work so this should work out at least for the next 12 weeks. I start Sunday morning back to making biscuits
and gravy for all my stripper friends.

I am looking forward to having some free time to be able to start some type of workout plan. I am starting to see a lot of areas that need toning to minimize the need for removing excess skin.
You know they always end up using cadaver skin for burn victims. Why don’t they work out something to use our (recent weight loss patients) skin instead? Just pay for the procedure and I will give you mine! I can see it now, “The National Bank of Excess Skin” I am not just
the president but I am a member too……

I still can’t eat anything without feeling like puking, small price to pay I guess. I just had a beer battered Tilapia and after 3 bites just could not handle any more. The best way to eat seems to be
ask a friend to lunch (Dave) by telling they you will buy them lunch if you can eat off their plate. At least I got value out of that meal. Ninety percent of the fish I just paid $10 for got trashed afterward.

Next week most of my family is headed to my place for Christmas. So far I am planning dinners like duck a l’orange and rack of lamb and I will eat my fill with a taste of this and a taste of that making sure everything is done just right. It sucks to be related to me. We never eat
anything good.

So until next week, here’s watching you eat.

Saturday, December 10, 2011

Seven weeks Post Op


Weight 275
Average daily calorie intake: still no idea but not much
Average exercise: occasional walking and 4hrs of kitchen duty a day
Weight loss in last week: 3.6lbs
Total weight loss: 45lbs in 7 weeks

Well this week started out flat. I was not losing anything in
fact I gained a couple of pounds but by the end of the week I was back to
loosing.

I would have posted yesterday but I picked up some type of
intestinal bug that really laid me out for the day. I missed work and class but
today (Saturday) I am feeling much better.
This morning I tried something new for breakfast. In the past I had eaten Fiber Plus cereal to up my daily fiber intake but after the operation I was reluctant to try it because of the milk added to it but I had a half of a cup of cereal with milk and had no problems. This is great because that is the one thing you just don’t get is fiber.

My problem with over eating seem to be fading, I simply don’t eat more than a couple of bites of something. I also don’t seem to have the issues related to carbonated drinks as bad as I was told to expect. Root beer seems to be the worst one to drink. Ginger Ale, 7-up and even sparkling wine
seem to be ok in moderation.

Not much more to report this week. Finals for Le Cordon Bleu are next week and then I will be working at the old bar I used to work “The Hammer” on occasion for my externship. This should really free me up to start my exercising.

Have a good week

Friday, December 2, 2011

Six weeks Post Op


Weight 279.4
Average daily calorie intake: still no idea but not much
Average exercise: occasional walking and 4hrs of kitchen duty a day
Weight loss in last 2 weeks: 6.6lbs (out of town last week)
Total weight loss: 40.4lbs in 6 weeks

I managed to make it through thanksgiving without over eating. In fact I had two bites of
turkey, one bite of sweet potato and one green bean and I am NOT exaggerating.

I had my five week doctors follow up this week and he said things were looking good. I asked
about the nausea I seem to feel these days when it comes time to eat and he said it was not unusual and that patients who felt this usually got over the feeling in the first 4 to 5 months after surgery. He also said that the 2 or 3 ounces of food capacity I have will likely expand to 5 or so ounces in the future, He also said that my weight progress was good.

The best part is that I stopped taking my blood pressure meds a couple of weeks ago and when checked at the doctors I was 135/63, yippee!

The last couple of days I really have been feeling nauseous though. It is a pretty crappy feeling. It is kind of like being on the edge of being sick without really being sick; we’ll call it pre-puke sick….. and it just stays there on the edge. I say get sick or get over it damn it!

Interestingly, I do not feel a lack of energy. I am not getting tired at work (bored maybe) and I breeze right through class at night (2 more weeks of culinary classes people!). I have decided that because I will have a significant bock of time become free in two weeks I will start a daily regimen of exercise which will include 6 days of tread mill and 3 days in the apartment workout room. I am starting to see the excess skin and need to really concentrate on firming up. This should also
help drop a few more pounds the right way.

Have a good
week everyone.