Tag: "weight"

Goodbye Morbid Obesity!

I’ve just come from the land of hot. (Dr Hottie is what I call him.) I lost 18 pounds in the last six weeks, bringing me down to 244. I am no longer morbidly obese! I am so excited!

drs scale 244

Jun 02, 2010 | 8 comments | View Post

Wordless Wednesday - RB In My Pants - My Jared Photo Moment

Almost wordless. One sentence. One year, 111 pounds and 55.5% of my body fat - all gone!

val scale one year 262

val pants

va lrb in pants

Thanks for stopping by! If you have a picture up for Wordless Wednesday, leave your link below on Mr. Linky! Then head on over to From Val’s Kitchen, Here And There, What’s That Smell, Wordless Wednesday, Go Graham Go, 5 Minutes for Mom and The Not-So-Blog Blog for more wordless fun!

Apr 21, 2010 | 25 comments | View Post

100 - An Announcement And Time For Audience Participation

272 drs scale

It’s official! I’VE OFFICIALLY LOST 100 POUNDS!

Actually I’ve lost 102 pounds. I went to the surgeon’s office this afternoon for a fill. I cried when I saw the scale. Then I jumped off the scale, grabbed my phone and jumped back on to take a picture. I was on a scale that said I’d lost 100 when I left for Disney Social Media Moms Celebration a few weeks ago but I don’t consider any weight official unless it comes from the surgeon’s scale. I’m less than one year out of surgery. I’m more than half way to my goal and I am so excited! I feel like I’ve had about fifty cups of extra caffeinated coffee. I just want to run in the streets and yell. Do you think the neighbors would mind?

So here’s a question for you. Hence the audience participation part.

I haven’t bought any new clothes since surgery except for a single pair of jeans. My underwear and pants are literally falling off of me. Last time I bought underwear there were only like two kinds. I was in the store today and now there are like fifty. What kind of underwear should I buy? Think comfy.

Mar 15, 2010 | 29 comments | View Post

Fall Fashion Shopping At Marshalls And TJ Maxx

It may be fall here on the Jersey Shore but the weather has swung wide, from summer warmth to winter cold. Neither CJ nor I were prepared for the winter - CJ because he outgrew a size and me because I’ve lost 80 pounds. I was sent a gift card for both TJ Maxx and Marshalls and decided that it was the perfect time to see what kind of outerwear bargains I could find at each store.

I went to Marshalls first, because it was near the drugstore I had to stop at. They had a huge section of coats for the whole family, including larger sizes for women. I found three that I liked and narrowed my choice down to this one.

marshalls columbia jacket

It’s a Columbia ski jacket. First let me say how thrilled I was that I fit in a 2x jacket with room to spare. Second let me tell you how shocked I was at the terrific price that coat was selling for. $80 instead of $210! Score!

marshalls columbia jacket tag

Wednesday on the way home from sign class RB and I stopped at TJ Maxx. They too had a large area of coats for the whole family. There must have been at least seven choices of different coats in CJ’s size. We chose a blue Columbia ski jacket for CJ. It was really warm and nice - not thin like some of the coats you see. It was on sale for $24.99 - how can you beat that! In other stores it would regularly sell for $79.99. At the rate most kids outgrow clothes who could afford to spend that much money?

tj maxx cj coat

I’ll definitely be checking here first before I buy any more coats anywhere else. While we were there we walked the whole store. They had an amazing footwear department with loads of really nice boots. I’ll be popping in again this coming weekend because they had some boots that I’ve wanted for ages on sale for under $40 but didn’t have my size.

If you’re shopping for outerwear, or any other fall fashions, be sure to check your nearby TJ Maxx and Marshalls. I’m sure glad I did.

Nov 15, 2009 | 1 comment | View Post

Weighting For Insurance

Life insurance is very hard to get for overweight people. I’ve had a very small policy for about ten years that I just canceled for financial reasons. Every year one thing I do with my bills is get quotes from competitors. One of the bills that I haven’t been able to lower in the past is that life insurance bill. Because I am overweight most companies wouldn’t even give me a quote never mind insure me. Hopefully by the time most of the weight is off money will be better. Then I’m hoping the term life insurance companies will consider me once again.

Nov 07, 2009 | 1 comment | View Post

6, 75 and 300

A couple of people have emailed me asking how I’m feeling. Well, I can’t believe it’s been six months since surgery. I am so thrilled to be able to say that I have lost more than 75 pounds and weight less than 300 pounds. I haven’t weighed less than that since TJ was born. I have to get a bunch of bloodwork done to be sure everything is going ok that way before I see the surgeon for another fill in two weeks. I’m feeling good and am still certain that surgery was the best and healthiest decision for me.

Oct 28, 2009 | 2 comments | View Post

A Trying, Crying Experience

jeans pile

I have never liked clothes shopping. All that trying on is a big pain in the ass. I especially hate trying on jeans. I’m not one of those people that likes jeans. I haven’t liked wearing jeans since I was about 18 years old. I haven’t liked anything I’ve worn in a long time, that comes with being morbidly obese. But most of all I hated the way I looked and felt in jeans. I’d take stretchy pants over jeans any day, because they were loose and not restricting.

Before surgery I was in a size 28 (sometimes 30) in jeans and they were tight. My clothes are now all too big. I have pants that are actually falling off. I’ve been holding off on buying any clothes for a number or reasons but decided I was going to break down and buy one pair of inexpensive jeans. Last week I went to Walmart to carry out my mission. I grabbed a pair of size 26 jeans and brought them into the dressing room with me.

I took the jeans off of the hanger and pulled them on. They didn’t even come up past my hips. They were way to small. At this point I actually sat on the dressing room bench and started to cry. I couldn’t understand how I’ve lost the weight I’ve lost and not gone down 1 size in jeans. I surprised myself at the sadness and emotions I felt. I decided I must have really stretched out my old jeans and hadn’t changed sizes as I’d thought.

As I was gathering up the jeans to take them out of the dressing room I noticed something on the tag out of the corner of my eye. When I went to look closer I noticed that the tag said size 22. I’d been trying on the wrong size jeans!

What’s the worst experience you’ve ever had trying on clothes?

Oct 22, 2009 | 4 comments | View Post

What’s Your Favorite Form Of Exercise?

So. Exercise. Not my favorite thing to do. The weight isstill coming off but I want to exercicse more. And truthfully, I need to exercise more. So I want to find some fun ways to do it. Someone suggested I try a Kettlebell workout but their site says it’s strenuous so I’m not sure how well that would work. What’s your favorite form of exercise?

Aug 04, 2009 | 1 comment | View Post

Three Month Update After Surgery

Well, today I hit the three month mark. It’s hard to believe that it’s been three months since I had the Lap band surgery. I have lost fifty pounds since I began this journey. All in all I feel good. I have more energy. My knee and back have benefited greatly from the weight loss, the pain has noticeably decreased. I’m sleeping better and have even had some dreams, which must mean the sleep apnea has been positively affected. I was even able to go to a concert this past weekend where I was on my feet for six hours.

I haven’t had caffeinated coffee since the day before surgery. I’ve successfully switched to decaf and found that it tastes just as good as the caffeinated I used to drink. I’m able to eat regular food but sometimes I feel more comfortable with my soft stuff like mashed potatoes. I still haven’t tried rice, something I live, because I understand it often swells in the pouch and leaves you feeling bad. I’m learning to listen to my body and the signals telling me I’ve had enough. I’ve ignored them once or twice and learned that it’d be better to listen to them than be sick.

I once again fit into a 2X tee! I can fit in my jeans! My shoes are even looser. My ankles don’t swell nearly as badly as they had been and my socks don’t cut off my circulation any more. My own clothes are loose and too big, and there is one pair of pants that falls off. I haven’t done any clothes shopping yet but will probably have to get a couple of things towards the end of summer. Hubby says that my ankles and my butt look smaller. Some of the women at work also tell me my butt looks smaller.

I grow surer each day that goes by that I made the right decision.

Jul 17, 2009 | 4 comments | View Post

Eight Week Update

I can’t believe it’s been nearly eight weeks since my Lap band surgery. I had my first fill in May. It wasn’t quite what I expected. It worked well for the first week but now I’m getting a little hungry at times (nothing requiring weight loss pills or anything). I think I need more restriction. From what I’ve read finding the right amount of restriction, or finding the sweet spot, is a normal process. I don’t see the doc again until next month, at which point I know I will need another fill.

Jun 16, 2009 | 0 comments | View Post

Lucky 13 And My First Fill

I saw Dr Hottie the surgeon today. I had my six week follow up appointment and first Lap band fill. The first thing they did was weight me. Now I’ve been a bit hungry and eating for over a week. Not hungry and eating like before surgery, a lot less than that but more than I’ve been supposed to be eating I think. I went prepared to be told that I’d lost no weight. I was just praying I hadn’t gained any. I got on the scale and was afraid to look down. I said “please just tell me it’s not more than 344″. The assistant said “well I could tell you that but it would be a lie, you’re 331″. Once again I doubted what I was hearing so I looked down and saw it for myself. I got a little teary eyed. I can’t believe that it’s over 40 pounds already! So then it was time for my first fill, which I was welcoming.

The fill is an interesting experience. It wasn’t horribly painful, just uncomfortable and weird. My appointment was in Radiology, because they do the fill and a swallow under xray. So they had me lay on a table and my feet had to be flat against this plate at the end of the table. First the doctor checked my belly and then he found my port, the spot where he’d be injecting the saline. The saline travels through a tube and fills the little pillows in the band and provide restriction around the stomach. To make sure he was in the right spot he had to press and push all around the area. Then he put a needle in.

The needle sort of stings when it’s being out it. I thought the feeling during the fill was a little uncomfortable because I could feel the needle moving around. Once in the port I felt the saline going in and the band change and get tighter. Next, the table moves from horizontal to vertical, all while I was still on it with the needle in my belly. What a freaky ride this is! Time to drink the nasty stuff. Just like the day after surgery, I had to drink some really gross liquid while being monitored on xray, to make sure I could still swallow without any problems. I had to drink it twice and he said things were moving as they should be. I was then able to walk off of the table and leave. My next appointment should be in about six weeks.

May 28, 2009 | 3 comments | View Post

Review Of Designer Whey Strawberry Protein Supplement

Designer Whey graciously offered to help me in my endeavor to lose weight through bariatric surgery. They sent me two 4 pound containers of their Designer Whey Original Protein Powder in the strawberry flavor. I have been using Designer Whey Protein Powders exclusively since coming out of surgery.

I haven’t mentioned it previously but until I made the decision to have bariatric surgery I associated protein products with unpleasant tasting shakes. I couldn’t have been more mistaken. You can mix the Designer Whey with all sort of things including water and milk, or even foods. Their Strawberry has actually become my favorite protein drink of choice because I can do so many things with it. The taste is that of a mild strawberry. My favorite way to drink it is to have it is in a Strawberry Smoothie. I love flavored waters and mixing this with plain water makes for a pretty tasty Strawberry water. If you’re into milk, mixing this with skim milk is like a mild strawberry Quik. My favorite ways to eat it are mixing it with vanilla pudding, mixing it with plain yogurt and mixing it with jello.

Designer Whey Protein Supplement can be purchased online and in stores across the nation and available in Chocolate, Strawberry, Vanilla Praline and Chocolate Caramel Peanut. One serving has 18 grams of protein and 100 calories.

May 25, 2009 | 2 comments | View Post

Week 5 Post Surgical Update

It’s hard to believe it’s been a little more than five weeks since I had surgery. I went for a follow up visit a week ago and was a little bummed to find that I hadn’t lost any additional weight. (I hadn’t gained any either, thankfully.) See, I’d started being a little hungry. The surgeon told me that I was in a place he calls Lap band hell, and that once I had my first fill I’d be in a better place. Interestingly enough, even though I hadn’t lost any weight I have noticed things seem to be redistributing - I can see my feet, my ankles aren’t always swollen, my socks don’t leave deep lines on my legs and my work shirt is looser in the arms and chest. And, for the first time in years I can wear a 2X tee.

Now I’m still getting a bit hungry and want to eat. I don’t want to eat like I used to before surgery. But I do want to eat more than I should be. I don’t think I’ve lost anything again this week. My first fill is Thursday. I’m looking forward to it. (That way I don’t have to start reading some diet pill reviews, LOL.)

I’m still tender in the belly and still have some discomfort at times but I’m ready to exercise. I’ll be riding the exercise bike every day starting today.

May 25, 2009 | 1 comment | View Post

Chris Freytag Personal Fitness Blender review

This is a short video review (5 minutes 10 seconds) of me using the Chris Freytag Personal Fitness Blender to make a smoothie (shown above) with strawberries, skim milk, ice cubes and Strawberry Designer Whey Protein Powder. The blender did a great job mixing everything and the resulting smoothie tasted just as good as any that I’ve ever bought out.

WPvideo 1.10

I was lucky enough to receive a Chris Freytag Personal Fitness Blender to review. This blender is so cool because after you make your smoothie the container becomes a to go cup just by changing lids. It’s small and would be great for home or travel. I absolutely love it.

The Chris Freytag Personal Fitness Blender is only available to purchase on QVC.com. The blender has a two speed 350 horsepower motor and comes with the blender, container, blender lid, to go lid and recipe book. It’s currently on sale for $23.62.

In case you’re wondering who Chris Freytag is, she’s a mom of three and she knows a lot about fitness and weight. Check out her credentials!

ACE certified group fitness instructor
ACE certified personal trainer
ACE certified lifestyle and weight management consultant
AFAA certified group exercise instructor
YogaFit Certified
STOTT Pilates trained on the mat and reformer
Member of the Board of Directors for ACE (American Council on Exercise)
Fitness Expert and Contributing Editor for Prevention Magazine
Master Instructor / Trainer for Gaiam and SPRI® Products, Inc.
Health and Fitness Expert for NBC Kare 11 Mpls/St Paul affiliate.
Trainer and instructor for Life Time Fitness

If you’d like to learn more about Chris, check out her website at www.ChrisFreytag.com.

May 17, 2009 | 1 comment | View Post

A little bit here and there

Well it was three weeks ago today that I had surgery. Last week I wrote that when I went to the surgeon’s office I learned I’d lost thirty pounds when I thought I hadn’t lost any. A few people have called and emailed me asking if I noticed a change in the way my clothes fit. I really hadn’t. I guess the problem with being as overweight as I am is that the weight lost comes from all over instead of one area. So things seem to be continuing in that direction for the moment. There is something I need to buy. No it isn’t exercise equipment. I need to buy a new scale. We don’t have a working one in the house.