Today I am officially under the 200 pounds mark! I can’t believe it… it happened so fast! I now weigh 198 lbs! My goal is 180 and at this rate I will be there in no time. I am still not very hungry and struggle to get all my protein in. I am really addicted to popsicles right now. I can’t go down the frozen food section without picking up some new bit of frozen food coloring treat! I had blood work done and my numbers were good with the exception that my reserve iron(ferritin) was low. I am on iron pills to see if that might bring it back up. Overall I feel pretty good. I have had some bouts with extreme tiredness after eating which may mean that I took into too many carbohydrates at that meal. It could be a mild dumping syndrome. I also have had some episodes of feeling lightheaded when I stand up too fast. The doctor thinks I should try drinking fluids that have more electrolytes in them to see if that would help. I haven’t been back to the gym since my cellulitis attack, but it is on the list to do! My BMI is now 29.2 which takes me out of the obese category and now makes me just overweight. I would have to lose another 30 lbs to be classified as normal weight, but I am looking pretty slender now. At this point I really have no control of what my weight will end up at as I am eating all that I can.

Current Weight: 205 lbs Weight Loss This Week: 1 lbs Total Weight Loss So Far: 55 lbs

Current Weight: 224 lbs Weight Loss This Week: 3 lbs Total Weight Loss So Far: 36 lbs

Current Weight: 227 lbs Weight Loss This Week: 2lbs Total Weight Loss So Far: 33 lbs

I feel like an ad for the weight loss you see posted on telephone poles! It has been three weeks since my gastric bypass surgery and I seem to be doing well. I am not hungry at all and I am eating small meals throughout the day. I am on the soft food stage and it seems that I can tolerate most foods fairly well as long as I eat slowly and chew them thoroughly. I am finding it hard that I really can only fit in the protein at a meal. I know how important after gastric bypass surgery it is to get in 60 to 70 grams of protein, but protein does get boring after a while. I know that I will fit more in later in the diet, but I have no delay of gratification! I admit that I have tried a few crackers now and then and a bit of toasted tortilla and that really satisfied me. I made sure to chew, chew, chew and they went down fine. My energy seems to come and go but I guess that is normal considering the limited amount of calories that I am consuming. I haven’t been on a scheduled exercise plan yet, but I am increasing my distance while walking whenever I can. I would like to go to the gym this week and get back to the arc trainer. I am interested to see how long I can last. I was up to 45 minutes before the surgery and I think I will have to build up to that again. I am in no pain and my incisions are healing well. I had a meeting with Dr. Lautz’s office for my first post surgical follow up and was given the go ahead to take my medications in pill form as long as they were no bigger than my pinkie fingernail. This was great news as I hated crushing pills and chewing chaulky ones! They also let me switch from chewable Pepcid back to my Prilosec in pill form. Pepcid never really worked for me before surgery with heartburn, but Prilosec always did the trick! I didn’t meet with Dr. Lautz at the appointment, but did see him in the hallway and shook his hand. He asked how I was doing and I told him great!

Current Weight: 231 lbs Weight Loss This Week: 2lbs Total Weight Loss So Far: 29 lbs

I just haven’t felt like writing much so I thought I would give a video blog update instead!

Well I made it home! Finally! Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers. I will write more of the experience after I get my strength up. 13 pounds are already gone!

Today was Gay Pride in Boston. Mike and I hadn’t been in the last two years because the weather hadn’t seemed to inviting. Today was a beautiful day and we had a nice time. It was really fun to link up with friends that we hadn’t seen in a long time, as well as make some new ones! For years I have always headed to Bennigan’s after the parade and had their Monte Cristo sandwich. This year was no exception. Although the sandwich is exceptionally greasy and unhealthy, it is definitely a tradition I wanted to follow for another year. I doubt I will be able to stomach it ever again after my gastric bypass next week. It was a sad farewell, but I am sure that I can find much more healthier things in the future!!

View Photos from Boston Pride

Today I had my final preop meeting with Dr. Lautz. I had to wait an hour and a half before being seen, but it went well. Basically they went over my records and I signed a consent form.  As I was leaving the receptionist told me that she was moving my surgery to the 23rd instead of the 16th. This gives me only two weeks to recover before I go to take my summer microbiology class. It bums me out a bit, but at least I won’t have to be on the preop diet while I am in Walt Disney World next week. After the meeting with the Doctor I had preop blood work and met with a nurse and the anesthesiologist. My appointment was at 12, but I didn’t get in till about 2 PM. Now there is nothing more to do but wait.

This is an excellent piece on gastric bypass that was on 60 Minutes.

Today I had to have and upper gi and also meet with the nutritionist for the first time. Dr. Lautz wanted to rule out whether I have a hiatal hernia since I have gastric reflux. I had one back in the 90’s and it was negative, but he wanted to make sure.  The Upper Gi was much easier than I remembered. I drank a lot more barium when I had this first done. This time it was only 1 bottle and I think I had 3 last time! It isn’t the greatest tasting stuff, but it is a painless procedure.

Next I met with the nutritionist, Linda Antoniro. She wanted to know what a typical day of eating was like for me. The majority of the meeting was about what my preop diet should be, and what it will be after the surgery. Since was on a liquid diet in 1996, I kind of know what to expect. I will only be on all liquids for two weeks after the surgery which seems doable. I don’t have any other meetings until I meet with Dr Lautz and the anesthesiologist on May 29th. The journey continues.