Bahh... This is Nothin'!

Funny what a good night sleep can do for you!

Oh my gosh I feel so refreshed this morning. I took the advice of a fellow blogger (Vickyd My Shrinking Belly) and dug out my body pillow (which hadn't been used since months 8&9 of my pregnancy). Propped that baby right up along side me, snuggled up, and slept harder than a rock!!! Seems like it should have been such an obvious choice... but it took this fine gal recommending the body pillow to me, to get through a night that has since-forth seemed impossible to get through! So, might I suggest you go swing by and say hi to my hero Vickyd?!?!!!

On another bright note- I've had my first Non-Scale Victory (NSV)!!! My wedding rings and promise ring seem to be slipping right off of my fingers! Wonderful... I just had these resized (to be bigger) in April. But whatever! I still kind of love it! 

A Little More Difficult Then I Thought!

Before I even begin with my intended post, I sincerely want to thank all of you for your words of support and motivation. To come on here and see so many people supporting me does make this much easier, and ~every~ ~single~ ~comment~ just touches my heart. Thank you. So much.

I have been home for a few days now (since Sunday), and its been a rough couple of days. However I am feeling better and better every day. I have been doing just as you all have suggested and have been sipping water constantly, and trying to walk around every day.

Nights have been nightmares. Only being able to sleep on my back sucks. I'm hoping to be able to sleep at least on my side soon. But it seems like every time my head hits the pillow, my headache arrives, entire body aches, and I can't seem to get my legs to lay still. Also, the shoulder pain has been unreal.

This all seems pretty crummy right!? It's not as bad as I thought the recovery was going to be. Thats refreshing for me. As of yesterday, the scale revealed that I have lost a total of 21 pounds since beginning the pre-op liquid diet. So that's pretty neat! I just can't wait for this to be over. I am so anxious to get where so many other's are, living day to day, comfortably, with the Lap-Band.

I wanted to talk about my experience in the German hospital. I hated almost every minute of it. I never knew what was about to happen next. Every time someone walked in to my room, I would say to myself "Lovely, what now...?" It was so strange the way they did things, My IV lines were always messy, and they would leave my arm and sheets covered in blood. Another thing that was irritating for me, is they weren't to big on pain medicine. The things they gave me (which is a mystery in itself) didn't even take away the headache, and minor body aches I had. They sent me home with two pills (un-named) and just enough bandages for one change.

I have found for the past two days, that I have been craving solids more than ever. Not that I'm hungry, or could even eat them should they be placed in front of me... but I just ~want~ it. My husband made my daughter a grilled cheese sandwich for lunch yesterday, and I could have leaped across the counter just to grab a bight.

This whole post sounds like a lot of complaining, and that's because it is... Just wanted to be real about what I'm feeling and what I went through. But the fact of the matter is, I'm home, the Lap-Band is in place and the procedure was done very well. It's just been a crummy couple of days.

Home and Banded!!

Well... It certainly has been an interesting couple of days. But I am banded and home. My abdomen surprisingly isn't the most painful part of this experience, its the pounding headache that has come along with it. I'm assuming its because I haven't eaten or had much to drink in about 3 days. So I'm trying to slowly(very slowly) pump the water. The worst part of this entire process, is not being able to pick up, and snuggle my daughter.

I have lost a total of 17lbs all together!! Pretty exciting!!

Well I'd love to write more right now, but I am beyond exhausted. Will write more about the surgery tomorrow! Thank you all for your on-going support!

Final Pre-Op Stats!

12 pounds!!! Made this pre-op liquid diet worth it!!! I've lost 12 pounds already!

Getting on the scale this morning, I weighed myself 3 times. I just wanted to be sure I was reading it correctly. So happy with the results of the past 10 days. Nice to see hard work has paid off for once.

Needless to say I am up WAY to early. 6 am. Yuck.

So my before starting the liquid diet I was 255 lb. Today, the day I leave for Frankfurt for my surgery (which is actually tomorrow), I am 243 lb! 

Here's me! Bleary eyed and gung-ho! Ignore the crummy quality. 

Anyway! I'm off! Hopefully I'll be home Saturday! Banded! 

Pre-Op Jitters...

I'm NERVOUS! 

Not of the surgery itself... but I'm so anxious to be successful with my new friend the Lap-Band, that I'm nervous I will fail. 

Makes absa-tute-ly no sense huh?

Anyway. I leave bright and early in the morning to have all of the pre-op tests done. Physical exam, ultrasound, lab tests, chest x-ray, EKG, lung function test, and an endoscopy. Totally the most fun I can even imagine to have scheduled on a wonderful day like Thursday! 

If your new to sarcasm, follow my blog for a week, and you'll be a pro in no time.

Friday is surgery day!! =0 Ahhh!!! Pretty excited! 

The only thing I am not looking forward to about this hospital stay, is that my husband won't be staying with me. He has to stay at home with our 14 month old. She'd be a little crazy in a hospital for 3-5 days. Not to mention it'd be boring for her! Gosh, it's gonna be boring for me! I'm hoping that I'll sleep non-stop until they discharge me. A room with no internet, and the only English speaking channel is CNN...

This weekend is going to be STELLAR!!!!

So, needless to say, I won't be able to update my blog for DAYS! I don't know what I'm going to do!! Will you survive without me? Hope so. Gonna need you when I get home! 

I plan to have one last visit with you all tomorrow morning, give my "final pre-op weigh in" and body shot that I promised a few days ago. I'm excited to see what the that sweet scale says in the morning. 

Revamping Campbell's Tomato Soup

As you all know, over the past 10 days, I have been on the pre-op liquid diet. Right around day 3, the things that I have been allowed to eat, got really boring. Really quick.

One of the reasons I think I put on so much weight is my "salty-sweet-salty" eating pattern. I would have something salty for lunch, and want a desert after that was sweet. Then right after that desert, I would want something salty again, so I would maybe have a handful of chips. And just continue on and on and on. 

So with this liquid diet, it has been difficult to do that. So many of my choices are sweet. Protein drinks, jello/jello pudding, smoothies, juice, popsicles, hard candies. Sweet. Sweet. Sweet. My saltier choices are pretty limited- V8, broth, and tomato soup. I know that's not all there is out there, but its all that was really appetizing to me in the slightest. 

Well this lead me to the experimenting with seasonings and such. And I hereby present my revamped tomato soup!!

Here's what you'll need-

Throw it all in a pan and your done! No, just kidding! =)

But not really- Follow the directions for the tomato soup, and then basically just through in a little dabble of all of the other things! I really really like dill. So I add two big pinches of the dill weed. Then a shake or two of the garlic salt, and a shake or three (if you like it hot... who doesn't ;) of the hot sauce! Heat it all up and HOLY YUMM-O! I would say this would be marvelous with crackers or grilled cheese... but... ugh... not for a liquid diet!

This has been the best meal for me. When my hubby isn't home to cook his amazing tomato soup from scratch, that is. 

Zumba w/ a Side of Sweat! Hold the Broken Ankle!

This is the first time working out has been nothing but fun for me!!!

I have tried many different ways of working out. Gym, walking, running, Wii Fit/Plus and more. Blah. Blah. Blah. This "game" is a straight up blast! 

I tried the actual Zumba class on base, and it resulted in me fracturing my right ankle, due to being distracted by trying to make sure my daughter wasn't getting into anything. They claimed it was a "Mommy and Me Zumba class". Not quite. Regardless of the poor setup, I wasn't comfortable. Being surrounded by a dozen skinny people who had been attending the class for months, was a less than stellar experience for me. I'm happy for those who enjoy the classes on base, they all seem to have a lot of fun, but it just wasn't for me.

Maybe I didn't give the real classes enough of a chance, but I can't pass up the connivence of having my very own Zumba class in my living room! I can lay my daughter down for a nap, pull down the blinds, and get to dancing!  

The thing I like the most about Zumba for Kinect, is the fact that I don't have to focus on holding a remote, or focus on my movements in order to score points. I can focus on the work out, on my body burning calories! I make the movement, and the Kinect picks it up. Done. Simple.  Fun! 

Well, the weight is still coming off, and I'm holding on strong to this liquid diet. My surgery is in just a couple of days! I can't wait to get it over with. 

Happy Tuesday all! 

Day 8 Pre-Op

I was going to take a break today... but then I saw a little something special on my computer screen this morning...

I thought this was fun! I have my target weight set at 190, because thats right around my pre-pregnancy weight. Essentially I would like to get to my healthy BMI. In my mind, if I break it up into two chunks (goals) then it seems more realistic! 

Don't you love Lap Band's ways to celebrate!?! I kinda love the whole list. To celebrate today, I certainly will kick back and relax, watch a movie, write a blog entry about this achievement (currently underway), and most definitely will hug someone! I'm probably even going to add...

• Go to a Zumba class

...to the list! So the class might take place in my living room... whatever! Zumba is Zumba is Zumba! 

Day 7 Pre-Op

First off, I have to apologize for my blog being a mess today!! I was doing some revamping that took WAY longer than I expected!

Well!- the festival was fun. But a lot more difficult than I had imagined. The food was everywhere, as it should be at a festival. It was as if I could not escape the amazing smell of it all. However, I lasted three whole hours there, with out failing my diet! I enjoyed watching my friends and family go on rides, roaming the fun festival games, and most of all... people watching. Couldn't help but chuckle at the people who were completely wasted off of the fresh German wine.

Today has been relatively easy to get through. I could have clobbered my husband when on our way to church this morning. We always stop at the mini-mart on our way to church to pick up a drink and a small snack to have before service. So this morning my only request was a bottle of water. He came out with my bottle of water, accompanied by my favorite German snack (Zweibelwringes, like Funyons only better) and a Red Bull. I then had to sit right next to him as he ingested the delicious smelling munchies all the way to church. Now I don't expect Joey to stop eating the things I long for, just because I can't. But it certainly drained everything in me to not munch along with him. Self control. *breathe* Self control.

But aside from this morning, eating hasn't really been on my mind at all. As a matter of fact... I am just now realizing that the only thing I've had for nourishment today is a creamy tomato Soup At Hand and some water. Guess it's time to find some dinner!

Getting closer and closer to the surgery day. I am getting really nervous. I leave for Frankfurt bright and early Thursday morning. Friday morning I get the Lap Band (yay!). So nervous. I've never had any type of a surgical procedure done before. Ok... unless you'd include wisdom teeth being removed. I think that's the only time I have been knocked out, and that was back when I was a junior in high school.

Anyway... surgery is coming right up! YIKES!

<---Good for a giggle? Who doesn't need a giggle?

Day 6 Pre-Op

I have a challenge before me today.

A little reasoning first- My husband is a soldier in the United States Army. We have been living in Germany for a little over 2 years. I have enjoyed it so much. There are two traditional German events that I have not taken part in since being here. The first- Christmas Markets. The second- wine fests' or festivals.

I have a challenge before me today.

Today, on day six of my pre-op liquid diet, I am attending one of the largest festivals in Germany.

 ~Dürkheim's Wurstmarkt~  

I'm very excited, and not worried about failing my diet. The thing I'm most worried about, surprisingly, the other friends, and other people in my husband's unit, finding out that I am having a weight-loss surgery. Pretty silly, huh? 

I have only told a small handful of people about my surgery. I've really only told family. The unit my husband is in is really close knit, and there is a lot of drama. This may be a little conceded, or a little self-centered, but I don't want my name being passed around the unit because I chose a road to a healthier life.  

I haven't yet gotten these obnoxious comments-

"You know Kelly, if you just continue to be successful with this diet, you won't need the surgery!"

"Have you even tried just plain old diet and exercise?!"

"Do you really think your that over weight? Isn't a surgery a little bit over-kill??"

And I'd like to keep it that way. Which is why I have chosen to keep my surgery my business, and no one else's. Maybe someday I won't fear those comments. But I guess I'm just a little too sensitive today to let to many people in. 

ANYWAY!- Back to today! Should be interesting. I plan to bring a couple of my protein shakes with me and a couple bottles of water. It's going to be some kind of difficult to walk by the amazing German cuisine. But I have to remind myself that the liquid diet is not going to last forever. And that the result of my hard work and discipline are showing on the scale!! 

Plus, there is more to do at a festival then eat... right!?! I can't lock myself up in the house just because there might be temptation at my destination. Today I will have my husband, and the one other family here in Germany that knows about the journey I'm on, there to support me. Also, looking down at my daughter is motivation in itself. 

Day 5 Pre-Op

So... I've lost 5 pounds since beginning the pre-op liquid diet! Pretty amazing! That's a little more than a pound a day! And actually its the only thing keeping me going. It's been a little bit tough so far. But not tough enough to the point that I have cheated the diet, or even thought about it. The times that it has been the toughest are when I see others eating. Just looking at it, and smelling it, makes my mouth water, and the hunger pains begin. With that being said... These are things that I used to take for granted. When I would make myself lunch, I was too focused on the consumption of what I was making, to actually enjoy what it looked like, and what it smelled like. I now am seeing that food had to be an instant gratification for me. I was "hungry" therefore I had to eat RIGHT AWAY! Now I am seeing things a little differently. And I like it.
So here are the things that are giving me strength: Of course the family and friends that know about what I'm doing have been power houses of support! And this has been wonderful. Knowing that I have people pushing me, and cheering me on has been a motivator. And I don't want to let a single one of them down. Another thing keeping me going are the numbers. Seeing my weight just gradually decrease more and more is awesome. Not seeing the number on the scale go up all week is really just exhilarating! But I know it's not all about the number. And if I didn't own a scale, I would be ok, because here's what else has been uplifting through this- the way I feel when I wake up in the morning, and how I feel through out the day until I go to bed, is such a drastic change. I used to wake up in the morning thinking (sadly) what am I going to eat today? What can I have for breakfast? Maybe we can order out for dinner tonight! SO obsessed with food. But lately... it's not my first thought. It's nice. Refreshing. I don't feel bound by food anymore. I feel happier through out my day, knowing that I am succeeding, and that I am getting healthier and healthier everyday!
If someone tried to tell me 2 weeks ago that I would be happier this way, I'd say "That's nice, where's my eggs and bacon for breakfast!?" I'm just happy, that for the first time, I'm on the other side of my addiction that is food.
In other news-
My husband has always been a marvelous cook, and he has always enjoyed cooking up wonderful creations for me! So this has been a challenge for him too, to find out what he can make me, that is within the boundaries of my liquid diet! So... we've both just found out that he makes some amazing soup from scratch. Campbell's has nothing on his tomato soup! I've been pretty blessed to have my husband by my side, supporting me, and keeping me on track this week! I'm so grateful!

13 September 2011 Body Shot

Wanted to add this photo, taken last week, during my trip to Paris. Here I am in front of the Louvre! It was a fun trip, but it was hard on my ankles and legs. I can't wait to return when I am in better shape! 

My weight in this picture is 255 pounds. 

The next photo I will upload will be the day before my surgery! 

Day 2 of Pre-Op Liquid Diet

Yesterday and today have been interesting being only on liquids! Yesterday was especially difficult, because I wasn't even sure if my surgery had been approved yet. Only 10 days away, and my insurance still didn't have an answer for me. So when I had to start the liquid diet yesterday, I was feeling kind of anxious about the fact that I was getting my hopes up and spending my time, energy, and money, on beginning this diet. Though even if I did start the diet, it wouldn't be a lost cause if the surgery didn't end up being approved. I knew this. I just wanted to know that it was going to pay off in the long run.
Today, day two, was alright. I found out around 1500 that it was all approved and that I was good to go. So that felt like a giant weight lifted off my shoulders! No pun intended =)
Some of the things I've been consuming are-
Yogurt
Hard Candies
Cream of Chicken Soup
Tomato Soup
Ice Cream
Special K Protein Shakes
Apple Sauce
Pudding
Plenty of Water
Juice
Tea
Popsicles


I must say, it's been a lot easier the second half of today, to stick to this diet, knowing that I am working hard toward a specific prize- the surgery. I've learned a lot about self-control just in these past 48 hours. I've also learned that I am not going to wither away if I don't have a huge breakfast lunch and dinner.

I have only told a few of my friends and family about this surgery. The first person I told (aside from my husband) was my  Dad and Stepmom. She also has struggled with her weight, and has successfully had the Lap Band for several months. So she has been a huge support system for me. The second person I told was a fellow army wife, who has been a very dear friend of mind since we moved to Germany. She's one of the few people I can trust to not judge me. And she also, has been a wonderful supporter for me. Then I told my Mom, and my younger brother. This so far, has been it. I have been hesitant to tell many more people, because I am afraid they won't understand, will pass judgement, and/or will gossip about me.
Well, that's all I have for tonight! I'm off to watch "Tommy Boy" with my husband! Good night all!

Intro

Hey all. My name is Kelly. I'm writing to share my journey of weight loss with all who are interested. As of right now I weigh 254.5 pounds, and I am only 22 years old.
I am married to a wonderful and supportive man named Joey, who loves me no matter what I look like. We started dating in 2006, and got married 2008. We also now have a daughter, Alexis-Rae Elizabeth, who is almost 14 months old.
While I was pregnant, I put on a total of 70 pounds. I only lost about 20 pounds of that baby weight, and have basically remained at the weight I am today for about a year.
I am scheduled to have the Lap Band surgery 23 September 2011. My husband is active duty army, and we are stationed in Germany. So I will be having the surgery in Frankfurt.