6 weeks

So I am six weeks out now and I am down to 221 which would be a total of 31lbs lost. I seem to be slowing down. I did have a 2 week stall where I did not loose anything and then it picked up again only to move at a snails pace...  I am happy to be down 31 lbs but would like to loose at least 4 lbs a week. I need to excersise more. Going back to work I just have not had the motivation to work out like I did while I was at home. 

I can pretty much eat whatever I want now. I just eat smaller portions and still do no carbs or sugars, no carbonation or alcohol. Also eat only good fats. I had a piece of bacon on Sunday and was sick for 2 hours after. Grease no bueno!!!

5 weeks out an 30 lbs gone!

Fast food Nation

So as I venture out into the world smaller and happier I notice the fast food places still irritate me. I don't reat crave fast food but being with my husband and kids in the car when they are hungry proves to be a small challenge. 

So today while my husband and I drive an hour to my surgeons office for my post op and an hour back we both get hungry at about noon. Ok normal. So I remember seing a commercial from chick Fil A that they offer grilled chicken bites. Yum! Lean Protein! 

So I order a kids meal that consists of fruit, grilled chicken and water. At first I was like, "wow, this is great", especially seeing my husband order the spicy crispy chicken sandwich and waffle fries.....but it was delish! I could not even eat it all! I had leftovers! So it can be done! You can eat healthy at some fast food places!

1 month post op

Well it's officially been 1 month since I had gastric sleeve surgery! I feel pretty good! I finally had my post op appointment today. I was supposed to have it 2 weeks after but Dr. Eslami was in Vacation. So it was scheduled for the 3rd week but I was suffering from dehbitating constipation. So it finally was today! 

Fully dressed with shoes on I weighed 226 on his scale. This would mean 18 lbs since surgery day of May 7th and 8 lbs from pre op diet, totaling 27 lbs. (my weight has been fluctuating during this stall period) plus I am PMSing and retaining water right now. 

He was extremely happy with my results though. He looked at his little iPad and his eyes got big and his head cocked back. He was all, "wow awesome!" So if he's happy I am happy. He told me to start working out and I told him I walked daily. He said to join a gym. I will not be joining a gym because I don't want to pay for it. So he suggested lap swimming. I'm down with that! 

My incisions have healed nicely and I'm almost ready to go back to work. I am just taking my time. 

So her it is, 4 weeks and 26 lbs gone!! Dr says he wants to see me in 3 months another 30 lbs lighter. Bring it!!!

Down 27 lbs!!

Ao today marks 3.5 weeks since my sleeve surgery and I am down 19 lbs since surgery day and 27 lbs total since my journey began. Just thought it was time to share some pics. 

May 30th

May 30th

2 weeks Post op

Well I made it to 2weeks post op and I'm coming around day by day. I'm down 23 lbs, (15 since Surgery) 

I'm on the purée stage of my diet and happy to not be on liquids anymore but anxious to start the next part of my diet. One more week and I can transition to soft foods! Something I can actually chew!!

Right now my puréed diet is like this: 

Breakfast: Premier Protien Shake

Snack: 2 tbsps cottage cheese

Lunch: blended Tuna with a tsp of Mayo, salt and pepper. (About 2 tbsp) 

Snack: protien shake 

Dinner: blended meat (1 big tbsp)

            Blended veggie (1 tbsp)

Snack: sugar free pudding Cup

I sip about 45 oz of Cherry Pomegranite Crystal light throughout the day. 

This seems like it's so much! But it's not. I'm doing good. 

I walk for about 30 min a day. Sometimes way more. 

I am still pretty tired and the muscles in my stomach ache. I will get there!

What is the Gastric Sleeve?

I get a lot of puzzled looks when I tell people I got the gastric sleeve. Lots of people have never heard of it and that's cause it's a fairly new (10 years) procedure that has not gotten much publicity.   Celebrities like Lisa Lamponelli and Rosi Odonnel have recently had the sleeve making it more well known. 

When I first thought about weight loss surgery I was dead set on the lap band. Lap band is where they place a foreign peice of plastic around your upper stomach that can be tightened and loosened to create restriction in your food intake and help you loose weight. The pros of the band was that is not permanent, it's reversible and you pretty much control it. The cons were; slower weight loss, band slippage, band erosion, throwing up, plus you have to go in and get fills and infill a all the time the maintenance was constant. I noticed that 74% of people who had the band gained all the weight back and 58% converted to the sleeve or bypass. So I thought, "if I'm gonna do this It's all or nothin". In my first seminar with Dr Lara Machado she was against the sleeve. She said she did not like doing the sleeve. She had me so freaked out about the sleeve I was totally against it.  Then I started doing research in her and found out that she wa a very capeable surgeon but she had only done 3 Sleeves. Well that explained a lot. So I went searching for other surgeons. 

I was referred to Afshin Eslami by my PCP Dr. Miller. He was all the way in S Sac and I was like "really?"  But I made the journey and went to the seminar and a support group, then had my consultation and did a nutrition class.i was very impressed!  

Afshin Eslami, M.D.
Bariatric Surgeon

Afshin Eslami, M.D.

Dr. Eslami earned his Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of Tehran in Iran. Upon graduation, Dr. Eslami completed two years of service in the military as a general practitioner. In 1999 he relocated to the United States and completed a residency program in General Surgery at the University of Maryland in Baltimore, and was awarded a chief residency completion in both surgical trauma and intensive care shock trauma. He then went on to the Baylor College of Medicine in Texas to complete his fellowship in Advanced Minimally Invasive and Bariatric Surgery.

In addition to his formal education, Dr. Eslami has been very involved with clinical research, and often presents his articles at various conferences around the country.

Dr Eslami is an active member of the medical staff at several Mercy Hospitals. He has obtained Board Certification in Surgery from the American Board of Surgery. He is a member of theSociety of American Gastrointestinal Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES) . Dr Eslami is designated as a Center of Excellence- Bariatric Surgeon through the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS) of which he is an active member. Dr. Eslami is an avid runner, biker, and swimmer. He enjoys boating, spending time with friends and family, participating in cultural meetings, and reading history in his spare time.

 I then started researching the Sleeve VS Bypass. I have many friends who have had the bypass and have been successful. I just was really curious about this sleeve thing. So what it is; the surgeon goes in laparoscopically and removes 85% of your stomach. Yep that's right! Instead of rerouting your intestines they just remove pRt of the stomach. 

This makes the existing stomach smaller about the size of a small banana. This way you still have the use of your stomach for digestion. With the bypass everything you eat goes in your esophagus and out your intestine and your stomach does not ever encounter food again. This causes malabsorption issues because the stomach is designed to absorb nutrients and create the natural stomach acids to aid in digestion. This is why the sleeve made sense! No malabsorption, the use of my stomach and there was one more plus I discovered.. Ghrelin!! Ghrelin is your hunger hormone. That's right girls just another annoying hormone that makes your body do things you don't want! Ha! Your stomach produces Ghrelin at a fast rate. The more you produce the hungrier you are. The bigger your stomach is the more Ghrelin is produced. Well with the sleeve a large part of your stomach is removed so you in turn produce less Ghrelin! So not only will I have less room but my appetite will be less! It just made sense!! 

So those were my findings regarding the sleeve. I am happy with my educated decision and feel confident I will succeed!