seeing the big picture

Hi all! I know it has been a while since I last blogged. Honestly I planned to blog at one week post-op but decided not to because of the negative outlook I was having at the time. Surgery went well, it took about 3 to 4 days of laying around before I really felt "back to normal." Once the soreness was gone and some of the swelling went down I started to feel HUNGER! I was on a liquid diet for 2 weeks post-op and I was hungry...all of the time! Protein shakes got old really fast and although I wasn't a soup eater before, I have now tasted every soup imaginable. When the one week mark came around I was so consumed by the hunger I didn't feel posting would be very positive, so I chose not to.

I am now 2 weeks and 1 day post-op and I am able to eat solid foods again YIPEE!! I also now have a much better outlook and I am able to see the bigger picture instead of focusing my energy on the small things.

For example, I am an avid scale user. I weigh myself every morning without fail and most nights as well. (Even though I know the nightly weight-in isn't accurate.) So about 1 1/2 weeks after surgery my weight STOPPED. I didn't gain (thank God) but I also wasn't loosing consistently. I emailed the nutritionist  and asked why this could be happening and she told me it was because of the sodium in the soup I was eating. Yes it was a bummer and it slowed down my progress but the big picture is that I have lost 20 pounds on this journey that I carried around with me just 4 weeks ago! I will post my 2 week progress pictures even though I cant tell a big difference, and hopefully 2 weeks from now I will have rocked it out and lost more weight!! Thank you for reading and supporting me!

 

the first day of the rest of my life

Today is the first day after surgery! I have to say I am beyond thankful for all of the family and friends I have supporting me. It was such a wonderful feeling to see Facebook messages, texts, phone calls, and voicemails sending me words of encouragement. Also to have my husband and daddy by my side in the hospital; Travis is doing an amazing job taking care of me I couldn't have gotten through the night without him!

So for the people who are curious I'll give you a run down of surgery day and what happened while in the hospital. Once we got checked in I was taken back to a prep room where I got an IV and met all of the doctors and nurses that would be with me in the OR. I didn't know I was dehydrated until it took 2 nurses and 4 sticks to get an IV through. After that ordeal was solved they gave me a couple of liters of saline to get some fluids in my body before surgery. The scariest part was definitely being pushed into the OR and being strapped down to the table. After that I was put to sleep and the surgery began. The next thing I remember is having to lift my back up to get an x-ray of my stomach which was painful. I knew there was a chance I would get sick from the anesthesia because when I had my wisdom teeth removed I got sick. The nurse told me they had given me 3 different medicines for nausea but I guess that wasn't enough. :/ After they got that under control I was taken to a short stay recovery room where Travis and my dad met me. It was so good to see them but I was in a lot of pain at that point so the nurse gave me some medicine and all I wanted to do was sleep. After a while I was ready to go home! I was pretty sore last night but after resting and taking some medicine I was able to get some relief.

So far today has been easier. I haven't needed as much medicine and I have been moving around a lot more. After today I should be able to add some liquids other than water, ice chips, and protein shakes to my diet. Well, that's all for now. I will update again in a few days! Thanks again for following my journey! :D

2 weeks down and the BIG day

Progress, progress, progress! It's going to be a long process and the progress will be slow and steady but I am ready! Today is the last day of my pre-op diet and I am happy to report I am down 13 pounds in 13 days! Every pound was earned let me assure you :D This hasn't been an easy two weeks but it has been worth it.

Tomorrow is the BIG day! I will have a surgery that will change my life, and I cannot wait. The surgery and all that it involves is scary but I know my God will protect me. I can't wait to share my progress along the way but for now I will share pictures from day one to day 13!

milestones

Hi y'all! Sorry it has been a few days since my last post. I have been at the beach, in Florida, getting a little R&R and great fellowship with these ladies.

 

I am one week into my 2 week pre-op diet and I wanted to report my struggles and successes. When I started this diet a week ago there were two things on my mind.

 

1. This is not going to be easy by any means

2. This is the first "diet" you can't quit...it's a LIFE change for the rest of your life

 

With that in mind I also decided I would take it very seriously and try my hardest not to cheat because the bottom line is, the doctors could say my liver didn't shrink enough to do the surgery. The first day was the hardest. I probably cut my calorie intake by 2/3 and I was starving all day. As the days passed the hunger started to subside but the temptations were still there.

 

We went to a Mexican restaurant at the beach one night and all I could think about were the chips and salsa sitting just out of my reach. (I only ate 4 chips when normally I would eat a whole basket) I also passed up Chick-fil-A on this trip, which if you know me you know how much I love Chick-fil-A!

 

However, with all of the struggles I faced, to eat carrots instead of cookies, there was success! I have lost 10 pounds in 7 days!!! YAHHOO!! I know for some of you, you are thinking well why don't you just stay on this diet and not have the surgery. I could but it would turn out just like the other 500 times I've started a diet and lost weight. I end up giving into the junk food and gain it all back plus more. I am determined not to let my temptations interfere with the surgery that will help/force me to get healthy and stay healthy....forever.