A cause for celebration!

So I did a weigh-in this morning, and I am down nearly 40 pounds since I started the Weight Management Program in July of last year! 40 pounds!  That's like carrying around my daughter all day every day!  They say that for every pound overweight you are, that's an extra 3-5 times that weight on your joints. So if you lose 10 pounds, it's like relieving an extra 30-50 pounds of pressure on your joints!  So by the time I get down to my goal weight, I will have relieved 600-1000 pounds of pressure!  THAT BLOWS MY MIND!!!!  I am so glad that I am getting this surgery now.  It is so sobering to think of how this affecting my whole life.  It has affected my confidence, my lifestyle, relationships, job opportunities, career adancement; everything.  And that's just on the outside.  Imagine the damage being this heavy has done to the inside!  How long can your heart continue to pump when it's got this much body to pump blood through?  How long can your liver keep processing crap?  I am looking at this surgery not only as a life-style changing tool, but a life saving tool.  I want to be there for my family.  I want to be able to run and jump and play with my kids.  I want to be there when Gracie falls in love and gets married, and when she has babies (when she is 30!).  I want to grow old with Keith, side by side in our matching barca loungers.  I want to go on a Ferris Wheel and ride comfortably on an airplane and so much more!  My life is just beginnig with this surgery.  I can't wait to see where it takes me! I'll keep you posted!!

The Very Hungry Jenny

Today is a hungry day.  I am still down 20 lbs. which is great, but I am kind of at a plateau.  Right now, I am on Day 11 of my 21 day fast; the end is in sight!  However, I am starvin' Marvin today!  The Opti-Fast shakes are great to an extent, but they definitely do not satisfy my popcorn craving!!!  I am finding that I am lacking patience, too, which doesn't help with two little monkeys running around!! 

I had my appointment yesterday with Internal Medicine and Anaesthesia, and it looks like we are good to go!  We are waiting to hear back from the Hospital now as they need to confirm an ultrasound that was done on my heart after I had Gracie.  I had an enlarged valve due to complications in childbirth, so they are just confirming that it is back to normal.  No worries, it's all good! 

It is so hard to believe that I will be on the other end of this in less than 2 weeks.  I feel like it has been such a long journey to get to this point and I can't wait for the next step!  I also can't wait for some real food!!  I have been craving scrambled eggs for the last few days; definitely the first thing on my list when I get to eat in 4 weeks!! 

That's all for now!  I'll keep you posted!

BAD BREATH!!

Oh holy man, I can't believe the breath situation over here!!  Because there is literally nothing in my stomach, there is some serious stank going on here!! 

OK Rant over.  :)  Day 7 is drawing to a close, and I am now 20 pounds lighter!  My face is thinner, my arms are thinner and my rear end is thinner!  (true story!!)  Today I also reached a MAJOR milestone in my weight loss, and I was able to comfortably recline in the tub.  I took a bath, and I lounged!  I haven't done that since high school!  There was nothing digging into my side, there was no discomfort at all.  I fell asleep in the tub!  It was awesome!  I've never had that luxury before!  It felt so good to know that I  am making such huge steps!

I have now told every member of the family about my surgery now, and I am so thrilled to have their support and love.  I have also been incredibly blessed with some amazing friends who have been more supportive than I could ever have imagined, and I also have a wonderful new friend that I actually met through the Weight Management Program who just had her surgery a few weeks ago.  I am so grateful and thankful for a mentor who has gone through it!!  She has given me so much advice and support, and it has definitely made my journey a ton easier! 

Week two starts tomorrow, so I'll keep you posted!

Day 5: Stronger than I thought!

Well, it is now day 5 and I am down 17 pounds!  That's right!  17!!  I am thrilled!!  I can't believe how much better I feel, even with just 17 pounds!  I say "just" 17 pounds, but it really is huge!!  I feel lighter, if that makes sense!  I am finding that I have more energy, and even the hunger pangs are subsiding!  I made a vinegarette with just plain white vinegar and Splenda for a no-calorie spritz!  It's just a bit of flavor for those dull salads!  I got to have 2/3 of a cup of chicken broth, and I swear, it was the best thing I had ever tasted!  I also got a sugar-free jello - I was in HEAVEN!!  It's so great to be able to have a small treat like that once in awhile!  I ate it with one of BabyJ's spoons, so it felt like more and I ate it a lot slower!  It was awesome! 

Today we went to a birthday party, and I was SO proud of my willpower!  There were vanilla cupcakes with vanilla frosting, my kryptonite, and I SAID NO!!  I didn't even lick the icing off of my fingers when I gave G her cupcake!  How strong am I?!?!  I wiped it on the napkin and I had some water instead!  Yay me!!!

I feel better already.  I'm finding moving a lot easier, and I am just feeling good.  I'm super tired sometimes from the calorie drop, but that is just temporary.  And if I have some water or salad, I am good to go again!  I wish I had done this years ago, but I am proud of myself for making this decision to do it now! 

I'll keep you posted!

Love J

Are you kidding me?

15 pounds!! I have lost 15 pounds!!  I can't believe it!! I have now officially lost all of my baby weight (it only took 3.5 years!!), and I am now thinner than when Keith and I started dating!  It's crazy!  Today is the first day that I feel like I actually have some energy, so my house is actually getting cleaned!!  I am finding that my body is now getting used to the caloric loss, and I am starting to feel really good!  I am sleeping better I am happier I am just feeling great!  I have more patience, I am less grumpy and life is good!!  After the 2nd day of fasting, I was seriously ready to giv eup and quit.  But then I realized that I am losing weight, and in doing that, I am saving my own life and getting my life back!  It's been such a hard road (I totally just wrote hard toad) to get here, but now that I am here and the end is in sight, I am so excited about getting my surgery and starting the next step in this journey!  It has been so much hard work and sacrifice, but every single morsel of food that I've passed up is completely worth it and I would do it again in a heartbeat!  At almost a week in, there are definitely things that I am missing, like popcorn.  A friend asked me to go to a movie this weekend, and I had to pass because I'm not sure I could handle the popcorn aroma!!!  Eventually, after I have my first fill (having fluid added to my band), I'm sure that I will be able to re-introduce air-popped popcorn.  But for now, I"m good with just veggies!  Although, I DO miss having a sauce or dressing for my veg!  There is only so much stir-fry I can handle, and I am already done with it!  So raw veggies it is, and hopefully I will figure out a yummy drizzle to put on top!! 

So that's what's new with us today!  I'll keep you posted!

Love J

Is that willpower or what?!?!?!?

So my 3-year-old is in preschool, and on Valentine's day, I was the parent volunteer in her class.  The day before I started my fast (the day before Valentine's Day so no romantic dinner for me!!), I had made cookies and prepared their snack so I wouldn't be tempted and was really proud of myself for thinking ahead!! We were supposed to go to a playdate that morning so I had som eextra cookies, and then when the kids got sick, I sent them to work with my hubby so I wouldn't be tempted by them.  Yay me!  The BIG test was, however, came at preschool.  When you're the parent volunteer, you do the craft with the kids while the teacher is, you guessed it, teaching!  Sure, no problem, I can handle that.  So I get to the class, and the craft is painting a strawberry with chocolate!!!  That was seriously rough.  But that wasn't the worst part.  I had to clean up after "craft" time, and her teacher told me that I could dispose of the chocolate.  SO there I am at the sink, dumping this bowl of beautiful, melted chocolate.  I desperately wanted to stick my hand in there and munch down!! But I didn't!  I stayed strong!!  I held my ground!! And even though a piece of my heart went down the drain with that chocolate, I am proud of myself!!! 

Day Two on the alien planet...

Welcome to Day 2!  I am on #5 of 63 Opti-Fast drinks.  Only 58 to go!  I have to admit, they don't actually taste THAT bad.  They are definitely not the most delicious thing that I have ever put in my mouth, but I have DEFINITELY tasted worse!  I get 900 calories per day to play with 800 of which are taken by the opti-fast.  I can have 2 cups of veggies per day, which sounds like a lot, but is actually not a whole lot at all, especially when it all has to be spread out throughout the entire day!  I made an amazing stir-fry last night with mushroom, celery and broccoli and 4 tbsp. of ginger-beef consumme,and let me tell you, it tasted fantastic after a liquid diet all day!  I also made a calorie-free slurpee for myself using crystal light, a bit of water and ice!  It definitely satisfied my sweet-tooth and fulfilled my required liquids for the day.  The ONLY problem is that it is SUPER easy to eat a lot of them, which makes you super have to pee!!  I will most definitely not be having one before bed again! 

In other news, I am down 6 pounds already.  What's that?  Six pounds?  That's right!  SIX!!!!  I had to re-weigh myself 4 times to make sure!!  If nothing else, the weight loss will keep me motivated!  I'm really excited to already be seeing results! 

I'll keep you posted!
Love J

Day One In The New World

Well, today marks the first day into the journey of the rest of my life!!  I am T-21 days until I am the lucky recipient of a Lap Band.  It is so hard to believe that a year of preparation, diet and exercise has finally come to fruition, and I am about to get my life back!  I have been both dreading and looking forward to this time, wondering how I was going to get myself through it.  Wondering if I could even do it.  And now, today, here I am, starting the first day of my 21-day fast.  This is what I am doing:

Opti-Fast:  It's a high protein beverage that (seriously) tastes like bottom, but will provide me with 800 calories per day of pure, blended deliciousness diet power.  To be totally honest, it's not actually that bad (she said after only one dose!).  It's basically the consistency of thick whole milk, and the Vanilla flavor tastes like very sweet vanilla pudding.  I am able to mix it with ice and a sugar-free syrup from Starbucks, which gives it a consistency similar to the Ice-Cap's from Tim Horton's.  Not awful, but definitely something that is going to take some getting used to!

In addition to my Opti-Fast, I also get to enjoy my fill of some delicious vegetables:
Peppers
Onion
Mushroom
Cucumber
Tomato
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Beans
Asparagus

So I will be having a lot of stir-frys and soups for the next 3 weeks!  I have 100 extra calories to play with, so that could include a sugar-free popsicle or sugar-free jello as a snack, or some consomme soup or clear broth.  NOT a whole lot to work with, but hopefully it will help me from being hungry (and cranky!!)

The ultimate goal of doing this fast is to help shrink my liver.  When you are overweight, your liver is more prone to bleeding.  It becomes fatty, which can cause bleeding if moved, which is (of course!) a huge problem when you're having stomach surgery! 

Liver facts

• The liver is the largest solid organ in the body, weighing on average about 3.5 pounds.
• The liver carries out a large number of critical functions, including manufacture of essential proteins, and metabolism of fats and carbohydrates.
• The liver also serves to eliminate harmful biochemical waste products and detoxify alcohol, certain drugs, and environmental toxins.
• The liver forms and secretes bile that contains bile acids to aid in the digestion and intestinal absorption (taking in) of fats and the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K.

(taken from http://www.medicinenet.com/liver/article.htm).

So the liver performs a lot of necessary functions in the body.  Unfortunately, because the liver sits on top of the stomach, it is in the way!  Here is an image of how it works:

(From http://www.debakeydepartmentofsurgery.org/home/content.cfm?proc_name=LAP-BAND&content_id=272)

So the lapband is placed at the top of the stomach and creates a small pouch.  This is all done lapiscropically through approximately 5 incisions.  They place the lap band around the top of the stomach, and then they close it sort of like a zip-tie.  Then, there is a port that is placed in the abdomen, which is where they can add or remove fluid to adjust your band.  This can be adjusted depending on your needs.  So if you are having trouble swallowing food or are losing weight at a super-fast rate, then can remove some fluid to allow more food in.  If you have reached a plateau or if you aren't having weight-loss success, then they can add fluid to tighten your band.  This is what the band looks like:

(From http://www.ggarwoodmd.com/procedure.html)

Those little pillowy things in the middle are where the fluid goes.  It is inserted via a needle, and takes under 20 minutes to adjust.  Not bad! 

I'm really getting excited about the surgery.  It's been a lot of work to get to this point, and the best is yet to come!  I've already seen results just from doing the weight management program, and once I start getting the fluid in my band, it's going to be amazing!  I've had a lot of love and support from family and friends, even from people that I wasn't sure how they'd react.  I feel so blessed and so loved, and I"m excited to see what's next.  I'll keep you posted!!

Love J