GOAL is in my sights!

It has been another amazing month.  I am now 4 months post-op, and as of this morning have lost 72 pounds!  I weigh 169, I started at 241. My BMI is now 27 (started at 40), and I am wearing size 10 jeans (started at 20-22) and MEDIUM tops!!!  I feel amazing.  The last time I wore size 10s, I weighted 155….so all of the exercise is clearly paying off in inches off my body!  My goal is 145,  at which point I will be consulting with the plastic surgeon to remove the excess skin and get a tummy tuck and raise the girls up!  People tell me that will take another 5-10 pounds off, so that will put me at my personal goal!!!  I am planning the surgery for this coming December.

So the training – I got a stress fracture in my right foot a few weeks ago from over training that kept me out of the Colfax Marathon Relay.  I wanted to cry…but stuff happens.  I am walking my dogs as much as ever, I am not wearing a boot (even if it takes longer to heal I am not wearing that thing) and weight training.  Speaking of my dogs – we adopted a very sweet 4 year female Great Dane whom we have named Dodi (it means Beloved in Hebrew) to be a sister to our male Great Dane Asher (also 4, and his name means Good Fortune).  They are so much fun, and I love my walks and hikes with them.  I truly think that dogs are a great addition to the family and the exercise regimen!!  They WILL help you get the weight off and build your endurance.  I urge you to ADOPT (please do not buy which only supports the brutal puppy mill industry!) and save a life!

I had a long plateau this month – I went almost 2 weeks with the scale not budging at all.  And to recap – I AM 100% compliant to the food and exercise plan – so stuff just happens.  I kept going, and voila!  It finally started moving again.  I AM IN CHARGE here!  Not the scale!

I still struggle a little with keeping some stuff down, and that is normal.  I am very gradually trying new proteins.  Some work, some don’t.  My 50th birthday was 2 days ago, and I was not successful keeping a beef slider down.  Live and learn.  My stomach pouch is still quite tiny – maybe 2 ozs, so I am working on getting it a bit larger.  I am having to eat about every 2-3 hours to get 65-80ozs of protein in per day.  I have mastered the fluids and am getting 70-80 ozs in per day.

I saw the dentist for a cleaning last week, my gag reflex is awful – and worse since the surgery, and I warned them….but they didn’t believe me and they paid the price if you get my drift.

So, my Arbonne business trip was in late April, and I had SO. MUCH. FUN!  I had cute clothes, I felt fabulous, I lost weight while I was there and EVERYONE just about flipped when they saw me.  That has to be one of the most gratifying things about this transformation – besides how darn great I feel!

Top photo is me at the Arbonne conference at 176lbs. I am down 7lbs from this photo. The dress is a size 12. Light grey dog is our new girl Dodi, and the darker dog is Asher my boy!

Stay tuned!!

Lots of Progress!

It has been an amazing month.  I am almost 12 weeks post-op, and as of this morning have lost 60 pounds!  I weigh 181, started at 241. My BMI is now UNDER 30 (started at 40), and I am wearing size 12 jeans (started at 20-22)!!!  I am shopping in normal stores, I feel amazing, and I look better than I have in over 20 years.  One of the things that is really mind-blowing to me is that the last time I wore size 12s, I was in the high 160s….so all of the training that I am doing for my races is clearly paying off in inches off my body!

So the training – I am so blessed to be a part of the Overweight to Endurance Athletes group that Richard Kalasky put together to give back to the community that helped him lose so much, and he is now a triathlete!  We are running the Colfax Marathon Relay on May 20th with 2 teams, and I am also running in a few other 5Ks.  I run 3-4 days per week – about a 5K each run (3.2. miles, never less, sometimes more), and weight train 2 days a week as well.  I do not currently have a huge desire to run a marathon, but I am eyeing doing a half marathon by the end of the year.

I seem to have FINALLY gotten my nutrition under control.  I was not keeping anything down, and Dr. Snyder assessed it as Tequila Syndrome – meaning that because everything made me nauseous, everything made me nauseous.  So I went back to liquid only for a week, and then started adding foods back in.  I am now down to just one protein shake per day and am chewing the rest of my food.  My stomach pouch is still quite tiny – maybe 1.5 ozs, so I am working on getting it a bit larger.  We also had to add carbs to my diet because of the training and that has really helped, along with an electrolyte drink when I train and energy gels that are full of carbs.  I was just so weak prior to getting this all worked out when I was training that it became a huge issue.

And – I can now brush my teeth without getting sick…you have no idea how awesome that is!

Some of you know that I am a VP with Arbonne – an amazing Swiss-based health & wellness network marketing company.  Our annual conference is at the end of April in Las Vegas, and this will be my 7th event.  I have always been the fat girl in the room….and I am SO excited to go with my new cute clothes, cocktails dresses and new attitude!  I am also getting a new haircut today as well.  And of course right before the trip, I am doing an organic spray tan, lots of waxing and mani/pedi….things I mostly did not bother with in years past because I just wanted to blend into the woodwork.  I will look and feel AWESOME!!

I LOVE the new sassy, confident and strong woman who is emerging from underneath the weight of the shedding pounds, the evaporating medical co-morbidities and my emotional health!!!  I intend to keep her around for the rest of my LONGER and BETTER life!

Stay tuned!!

Halfway there – with pictures!

As promised, here are photos from the night before my surgery (January 25th, surgery was January 26th), and a few progress pictures, all taken this past weekend at 9 weeks/2months post-op.

My stats:

Marie Silverstein, 49 years old.  Gastric bypass surgery January 26th, 2012. Starting weight 241lbs/BMI of 40.  Current weight 187lbs/BMI of 31.5.  Weight loss of 54lbs, halfway to goal of 135 (surgeon’s goal is 150 or BMI of 25)

Co-morbidities at start: depression, hypertension, pre-diabetes, sleeping issues, asthma and rheumatoid arthritis.  Depression is gone, hypertension is gone, pre-diabetes is gone, asthma and arthritis no longer require daily meds.

It is good to be me!

Stay tuned!!

6 Week Check up! March 7th

My 6 week check up and class went GREAT.  I am officially down 40lbs.  I feel great, I am focused, and now I can start eating more normal food – my new normal, not what everyone else can eat.  Because of my strictures my pouch is still really tiny, so a meal for me is still about an ounce of food.  I have to chew it like crazy, and I can no longer drink when I eat until an hour afterwards.  I am struggling a bit with getting in enough protein (65 grams/day for a woman) as a result, but that will get better with time.  I have to eat every 3 hours, and that is hard, because I am just never hungry, but I have to feed the machine!

I have this weird thing going on with brushing my teeth – I get a tremendous gag reflex, which is a big bummer.  I am really hoping that goes away!

I have now donated 7 garbage bags of clothes, and every day I find more stuff that no longer fits.  All I am wearing during the day are my workout clothes, and I have to go buy an outfit today to wear to an event Thursday and Saturday…and by 2 weeks from now, that won’t fit anymore, either.  It is a good problem to have.

I have LOADS of energy, and am sleeping better that I have in 20 years, maybe longer.  I no longer snore, and I don’t get up all the time during the night.

I am training daily for the Colfax Marathon Relay team, and taking lots of walks with my dogs and my husband….so much energy to BURN OFF!

And my business – I am an RVP with Arbonne – is BOOMING!  My renewed self-confidence is attracting people to me and my business because I BELIEVE IN ME!  And it shows!

A small part of me really wishes I had done this sooner – yet I know that I was not ready for whatever reason before now.  I am so grateful that I did make this HUGE change, and for all the people in my life that are so supportive.  And to the ones that were not supportive – you know who you are, bless your hearts – because you are no longer in my life.  I deserve to be surrounded by people like me who care for their loved ones and cheer them on!

Stay tuned!!!!

And the training begins…..with a 7K!

I started training March 4th (5 weeks post-op) for the Colfax Marathon Relay (5 legs, I’ll be one of them) with other members of the Bariatric Team – Couch to 5K Endurance Athletes! We did almost 3 miles, and I ran 1/2 mile of that. Then I did the C25K training myself during the week.  Around that time, I responded to a Facebook posting that Richard Kalasky made about the team all participating in the Runnin Of The Green 7K that weekend.  I was a little bummed that there was no way I could do a 7K yet (4.35miles) and Richard resounded immediately that I could and should…..so I registered and Scott said he would do it with me!

I have to say I was pretty freaked out.  But determined.

Race day – March 11th – gorgeous Colorado day.  We met everyone in downtown Denver for the race.  We were in Corral 3, the tail end of the racers.  The rest of my group was in Corral 1 or 2. I was calm but nervous inside.  We took off, and my only goal was to finish.

I started at a light jog, and I immediately burst into tears – of pride, and joy, and accomplishment.  I didn’t even jog that long.  The hills at the start of the race were killers.  And I was only 6 weeks post op and had been training for 1 week.  I stopped crying and muscled it out.  I never stopped, and I kept up a solid fast walking pace.  Scott told me later he thought I would need a few breaks, but there was no way I was going to do that.  We crossed the finish line at 1:13:11.  16+ minute miles.  I was thrilled.  And crying so hard.  I am not sure I have ever been more proud of myself.  And my amazing husband was with me pushing my pace.  And the best part – my coach Richard Kalasky and several members of the group came back and waited for me to cross the finish line and took my picture.  I am crying again as I write this because it just felt so amazing.  I can do anything!

Stay tuned!!!!

 

 

 

February 28th Milestones

Several big milestones today! Finally was able to sleep on my side ~ so grateful for that! Walked Asher by myself for 2.5 miles, and am holding everything down! AND – I am under 200lbs and will NEVER go back! That’s 38 pounds gone forever! Woooohooooo! Feeling GREAT!

Stay tuned!

Stricture #2

A mere 8 days after my first endoscopy (about 4.5 weeks post-op) – and as predicted by Dr. Siegel – I was back in the Rose ER checking in for my second endoscopic procedure.  I knew since it happened only 3 weeks post-op I had an 80% likelihood that the stricture would grow back, and it did.  Same symptoms, same issues.  The great news was I was very relaxed, and Dr. Siegel assured me that this would be the definitive fix to the issue.  I was in and out in less than 2 hours, and went home and rested for the remainder of the day.  I was finally able to resume what is normal eating for a bariatric patient at that point and also started getting enough fluids.  Talk about a huge difference!  I had been so weak, and now I felt so much better!

Very happy that is behind me and so ready to start moving forward!

Stay tuned!

3 Week Check Up and Issues

So I have been struggling – seriously – with being able to get enough fluids in and keeping my food down.  I thought that it was mostly by body adjusting to the new system, but I discovered at my 3 week post op check up that I likely had a stricture.  A stricture is when scar tissue forms at the opening into the intestines directly under my little tiny new stomach pouch – so that’s not good.  No wonder stuff was coming back up all the time!  It was bad enough that my weight loss was much smaller than the other 2 people in my 3 week class, because I was not getting enough protein or fluids.  The nutritional aspect of the program cannot be overstated, it is SO important.

Here is why I love Dr. Snyder and his team so much – Dr. Snyder immediately whipped out his phone and texted Dr. Dan Siegel to get me in ASAP to do an endoscopic procedure on my stricture to get rid of it.  Amanda, Dr. Snyder’s clinical nurse, gave me Dr. Siegel’s assistant’s number and I called her as I was walking over to my mandatory 3 week Post Op nutrition class to see if I could see them yet that day.  I heard back from Michelle, the assistant, within minutes.  She told me to come on over to get the paperwork started, but that Dr Siegel was not available, one of his colleagues was instead.

OK, that’s all good…so I got there late in the afternoon, and I discovered that Dr. Siegel was suddenly available, he squeezed me in at 6:30 the following morning at Dr. Snyder’s request.  It was super easy – they knocked me out, cleared out the stricture and discovered that I also had an ulcer at the same location.  Apparently, about 6% of bypass patients experience this as a complication.  No biggie.  I have to say that Dr. Siegel is as wonderful at what he does (GI) as Dr. Snyder is at bariatric surgery.  And he made it clear that Dr. Snyder wanted the very best for me.

There is a very good chance that the stricture will come back since it happened so early, so I may need to do the procedure again.  I still consider all of this no big deal, it’s just a part of getting to where I need to be.

I feel so incredibly blessed to be headed down this path with the amazing team at Denver Bariatrics at Rose Medical taking care of me every step of the way!

I am excited to see my weight loss catch up in the next few weeks!  Even with all of this going on, I was at 207 at my check up.  I started this journey at 237 on Dec 22nd.

Stay tuned!

 

Surgical photos – warning one is graphic!

2 weeks post-op ~ lessons learned

I am 2 weeks post-op now, and feeling better every day.  There have been some MAJOR learning moments, and I know that is normal.

First – I have always bounced back pretty quickly from surgery, and I have had some big ones.  This one is kicking my butt.  Much slower recovery than I expected.  I am doing all that I am supposed to do including lots of walking every day, but I am just worn out.  I am in bed by 6:30 almost every night.  And I still cannot sleep on my sides, so I am not sleeping all that well yet.

Second – the primary surgical site hurts.  A lot.  It is still a sharp stabbing pain.  I do have pain pills, but I don’t want to take them as you cannot drive or do anything when you are on them.  It took quite awhile to heal closed, and it hurts almost as much as when I came home.  The other 4 sites are all fine.  This is the one that they did all the actual work in, and I can feel all of it.  I actually opened it up a little a week ago and had to re-dress it for a few days.  Oops.

Third – I just started being able to shower and get ready by myself without worrying about getting all woozy.  I made the mistake at about day 4 to try that on my own and wound up laying on the floor of my bathroom for 30 minutes while the feeling passed.  So silly of my.  But I felt so grimy I just did not want to wait for help.

At my one week check up I did great, got the tube pulled out (YAY!!!!) and got upgraded to what is called the pre-select diet.  Basically I get to eat one of the following every 2-3 hours in 1/2 to 1 oz increments: egg beaters, non fat yogurt, non fat pudding, non fat refried beans, non fat small curd cottage cheese.  I like the refried beans the best.

I need to drink about another 55-60 grams of protein per day because I need 65 total.  And I am shooting for 70+ ozs of liquid.  And that has to be zero or few calories.  That is harder than it sounds because you can only sip stuff.

And I am now on my vitamin regimen. I started out using what I have been using for 7 years, they are awesome, and just cutting them up, even though everyone told me to get chewables.  That worked just fine until Tuesday when a partial pill got caught in my new system….the opening is only 1cm, and it is rigid, vs what the rest of you have – 2cm of pliable opening that anything can get down.

Fourth – my HUGE lesson began.  My body spent all day trying to expel that pill, and it was not fun.  Let’s just say that nothing stayed down for about 18 hours, and as a result I felt miserable the next day as well because I was so weak.

Fifth – in my finest move yet, I did not measure my egg beaters, I just eye-balled it, so I ate a little too much and tossed those up as well.  The new pouch really is only 1 oz.  So I cost myself 2 days this week.  Ugh.  I guess most people learn this the hard way and I did.  I get it now.  Basically my body is busy resetting itself and it does not care that it is inconvenient for me!

As a result, I have  had to reschedule a lot of stuff. I hate doing that, but it is what it is.  I am learning to adjust, and cannot wait for when I can start training and getting in to my new normal life!

Thanks for your support and stay tuned!!!