New Blog started to catch up ....

ironingoutmylife.wordpress.com

If you want to see how I am doing 7 years post op ... please read the link above. Be prepared for honesty! 

Rice...update. Milk too.

Just a quick update on rice. Earlier this year I had written a blog entry regarding Milk and Rice.
This past weekend I had some rice in a fajita burrito I had gotten for dinner this past weekend. I ate the rice sparingly and nothing bad happened. It seems that rice in small quantities is ok.
Milk, on the other hand, still does not agree with me. It probably never will. *sigh.

2 year anniversary, long awaited update.

Hello! May 19th will be my two year anniversary. Can you believe it has been twenty four months since I had surgery? These two years have been the most amazing two years of my life. The rollercoaster of emotion, the image change, the increased energy have shaped the last two years. I wouldn't change it for the world. I can still honestly say that I am really glad I had this surgery.
During the winter months I did end up gaining ten pounds, however, now that the winter has turned into spring, I have lost all ten of the pounds I gained. So technically I have maintained my weight at 177, give or take a few pounds up and down.
I have noticed an increased appetite in the last few months. I have been able to eat more than normal. That kind of scared me a little when I first realized this. I have quickly realized that I can control how much I eat.
As for my appetite, I have been eating regularly. I am sick of chicken. I have been sticking to protein mostly. Eggs, chicken, beef, pork. I have had an obsession lately with mushrooms. Taking mushrooms and cooking them in EVOO has satisfied my taste buds recently.
I bought more clothes. Just what I don't need. I think I have more clothes than a normal department store. I think I have transferred my addiction from food to buying clothes. Now that I actually look good in clothes, I actually like looking and shopping for clothes. I currently wearing size 32 waist pants (jeans, shorts, kahki's). Most of my work shirts are size large however many of my t-shirts and leisure shirts are size medium. Hard to believe that at one time I was wearing size 60 waist pants and 4-5X shirts.
One of the hardest things to deal with after surgery is emotions. With all the changes my body went through, it was hard to keep up with all the changes. The emotional rollercoaster I have been on has been quite an interesting experience. For the past couple months I have been taking Lexapro to help with the anxiety and to keep my emotions in check. I have noticed that I am dealing with change much better, I am calmer also. This isn't by any means saying that the fault is because of the surgery. I just had some issues with changing so much, so fast. It is part of the normal process of this surgery.
I would say that this surgery has been a major success for me. It has brought new meaning to my life as well as to others around me. Quite a few people say to me that they don't even remember me being almost 400 pounds. They say that I am so outgoing now that I have a new refreshed image, which has made people forget the old me. I will never forget who I was. I can't forget who I was when I was almost 400 pounds. I fear that if I forget, I will go back to being that old me again.
Another milestone came up in the last few months. May 31st of this year I will be graduated from high school 10 years. There is a 10 year high school reunion set to take place in August. I couldn't believe it was 10 years already when I got the email. That is when I started thinking about my high school years. I was this overweight kid that was picked on constantly in high school. Currently I am 75 pounds less than I was the day I graduated high school. There is part of me that really wants to go so people can see what I look like. There is all the other part of me that doesn't want to go because I want to keep the new me separate from the old me. I am currently on the fence about going. One day I will decide to go and then the next day say I won't go.
I will be posting updated pictures shortly.

12 month video

Update

Today I am currently 21 months post op. Come this May, I will be 2 years post op.

My weight management has been great. I feel as if I am in a cycle now where I will gain a few pounds, then lose it. I always end up in the 168-171 range. There have been days where I weigh in at 175, but there have also been times where I weighed in at 166. Depending on the day and exercise routine determines my weight. I can say that so far, so good on the weight maintenance.

I was asked the following question the other day:
"What happens if you become 400 pounds again?"

First I have to say that that is my biggest fear. I sometimes have dreams that I am back to being 400 pounds trying to put on a pair of jeans, etc...
Being 400 pounds again isn't an option. I would have to be in a really bad place in my life if I ever get back to there. I will do everything in my power to make sure that I maintain the current weight.

Before I had this surgery, I used to take things so personally. I was always living on edge, afraid of the worst. I always looked at things with Doom and Gloom. I cared so much what people thought of me, being self-conscience. Certain things that would happen causing me to get all bent out of shape. Now that I am almost 2 years post op, I have built the confidence needed to deal with stressful situations properly. I look at things rationally and realize that I can't control everything. People opinions don't bother me anymore. I have come to the conclusion that if people don't like the way I look and judge me solely on my appearance then it is their loss. Not mine. I am not on edge about anything anymore, I don't fear the worst. Moments still arise where I think there are things I will never get through, but that quickly is washed away after I completely think it out.

Food is everywhere. I remember when I lived to eat. I remember looking forward to just eating. I would sit at work, school, etc. waiting so I could get home to eat. It is hard to explain but food was my best friend. Deep down inside I knew that it wasn't healthy. I didn't care because it was a satisfaction that I was all too familiar with. If I were to do that today, I would make myself sick. I get filled up so fast. Granted I can eat more than right after surgery, but I know almost instantly when I have taken one bite too many. I hate that uncomfortable feeling. I still look forward to eating but now it is a much more enjoyable experience knowing that I will be comfortable after I am done eating.

I am starting to get hiccups again. For the longest time I never got hiccups after surgery. The hiccups I get now don't last very long and are easy to get rid of but after the 5th hiccup in a row, my stomach starts to hurt. Also, indigestion; for the longest time after surgery I never got indigestion, now once in a while I get it. After I take a chewable Prevacid, it disappears.

It is currently winter, temps have been really cold. I have been wearing layers of clothing. I get really cold, really fast. When I was heavy, i would have to open up windows in the dead of winter just to cool down. Now I am turning my heat up, sleeping under multiple blankets, wearing sweatshirts on top of winter jackets.

I am still working on the YouTube video, slideshow of sorts. I am trying to pick out the perfect song to capture the importance of this weight loss. Needless to say I haven't found the perfect song yet. I also have testimonials from fellow friends and family on my weight loss journey. I will be posting those soon.

Big Medicine... .New Season

If you haven't done so yet, please take some time on Wednesday nights, 9pm central time, to watch an episode of Big Medicine. It airs on the TLC channel. I love this show. Good to this website to read about it:

http://tlc.discovery.com/tv/big-medicine/big-medicine.html

I didn't have the opportunity to video tape my progress. Big Medicine follows each patient step by step, from beginning to the end, good and bad.

Let me know what you think!!

Happy New Year and resolutions....

At midnight on New Years, I took ONE sip of Champagne and that was it. As you can see in the picture above the Champagne glass is still full!!! I took the time to really enjoy New Years this time. My friends and I had a great time. It had been a long time since I stayed up past midnight, but I managed and I am really glad I did. There was Food, Karaoke, cameras, noisemakers, hats, beads, etc...
I decided that I wasn't going to make a New Years resolution this time. I have achieved so much this past year. I am going to the this next year bring what it has in store. I am however trying really hard to make sure that I take my vitamins everyday. Lately I have been forgetting to take them. Not by choice, but for some reason it was slipping my mind. I have set up a system now where I will not forget to take them.
Exercising this year will probably get a boost. Mainly because for Christmas I got a new ipod!! I have nearly 620 songs on it already!!
My plan to maintain my weight and still be careful what I eat. 2008 is the first full year that I will not be obese, so there will be no excuses for not trying something new.
Happy New Year everyone!!!

Holiday Recap

Christmas 2005 (360 pounds) above

Christmas 2006 (218 pounds) above

Christmas 2007 (168 pounds) above

I had a very enjoyable Christmas!! As you can see in the above pictures, there has been quite a change in me from 2005 until now. Can you believe it really is me?? I sometimes can't believe it. A few family members had mentioned that when I walked into the room they had to take a second look to believe that it really was me. It is interesting to see how people react to seeing me for the first time since surgery.
I got through the holiday's without overdoing it food wise. I did have some cookies, candy, etc.. I won't lie. There is absolutely no way I could ever go back to eating the amounts I used to before surgery. I even baked some cookies this year. They were good. I thought to myself that before surgery, I would have kept all the cookies for myself and eat 10-12 at a time. After I was done baking them this year, I actually gave most of them away, while the remainder that I kept remain in the freezer as I type this.
I did notice a small weight gain during the holiday also. It seemed that I gained 3 pounds. However, since going back to work and getting back into reality, I have since lost the 3 pounds.
I am still, being 20 months post op, really glad that I had this surgery. Who knows where I would be if I didn't have this surgery. Maybe heading towards 500 pounds?? Well, I don't think about that. I only think about what this surgery has done for me. Many people can do it on their own, I am grateful that they were able to do it. For those who can't do it on their own, I consider this surgery to be a lifesaver!!

happy holiday's..... and update

Happy Holiday's everyone!

Cookies, candies, fudge, chocolate, sugar, sugar, sugar everywhere!! At home, work, grocery store, even the mall!! I am doing good though. I am keeping myself in check. Have I tried some? Yes. I wont lie. Did i go overboard, no. I have found that when i try it, it tends to be enough. I don't get the warm fuzzy feelings after eating sugary things as I used to. Sometimes my stomach hurts for hours after I eat something with sugar.

I have noticed that with all this energy I have obtained over the last 19 months, my life seems to be non-stop. I haven't had much time to keep up with the blog. I apologize. So, my New Year's resolution is to keep up more with this blog. Many people are depending on my progress and I promise to keep up.

I the next couple weeks, i will be randomly posting stories from family, friends, co-workers regarding what they saw me go through with this surgery. For a long time before and after surgery I really only considered myself through the entire process. I quickly realized that this surgery I had didn't only just affect me. Many people around me had to adjust as well.

A few months ago, I was going through old pictures and found one of me right before I had surgery. I was huge. My nephew Ryan was with me at the time. He was looking at the picture and i said "who is that?". he responded, "that's you silly, uncle nick". I smiled and said "are you sure?" He responded seriously "i am sure, i don't like that uncle nick, i like you uncle nick!!" as he pointed at me. May not seem important, but it was at the time. That is when I realized that for all my selfish reasons, I was not the only one affected.

There has been quite a bit of major changes in my life this past year outside of losing the weight and surgery. Some good, some bad. Emotionally it has been stressful. It is no secret that emotions take a major hit after surgery. Some can deal with them, some can't. I have done pretty darn good at keeping my emotions in check. I ran into a fellow gastric bypass acquaintance the other day while I was shopping and we talked about emotions. We both came to the conclusion that it is highly important to keep up with the Psychologist and mentor. I personally see a Psychologist once a month just to talk over things that could be bothering me etc. Why? Really no reason why. I keep in contact with many support group people as well. This is how I keep myself in check. There have been a couple times where things got stressful and I would review what I ate that day and realize that I ate more than I probably should have.

Now to the good. I went clothes shopping a couple weeks ago. More clothes?!?!?!?! What was i thinking right?? Well, when it gets to be 12 degrees outside, one tends to become cold. I needed winter clothes. Long Sleeved, sweaters, sweatshirts, etc. Some people suggested I wear turtlnecks, ummmmmmm no. I do not look good in turtlenecks. I did however find quite a few long sleeved shirts that look great on me.

The cold. This is really the first winter at my lowest weight. Last winter was my first after surgery but I will still around 225 pounds last winter. Now i am down to 168. I am NEVER warm anymore. I can remember times before surgery that I would open windows in the dead of winter because I was so warm. Now, i can't turn the heat up any higher. Not that i want to be that warm again, I am not complaining. It is nice to sleep in bed at night covered with 30 blankets. I can wear sweatshirts without dehydrating from the heat. Sometimes I even sleep with sweatshirts on because I am so cold.

I had blood work done about a month ago to see that everything was going well. Everything turned out good. Cholesterol was down to 130 which is low end but still good. When I went in for surgery I was at 255. I can't remember the exact numbers of everything but everything was in the normal range.

I hope that everyone has a safe and productive Holiday. Spend time with family, friends, etc.. Enjoy a piece of chocolate if you can!! Watch for updates and those stories I mentioned above. Many people wrote very insightful things!! Bye...