Slacker Blog Girl!

That's what Jil calls me.. I guess that's a hint that I should blog, eh?

Well, I'm doing alright on my GOALS for 2009.
I've been to the gym at least 3 times, probably more, but my brain is not functioning properly today. I also joined Weight Watchers on the 4th of January. I know it's odd for a post-op RNYer to join Weight Watchers, but at this point, I am on my own as far as my weight loss goes. I am finding that I can eat like a "normal" person, so I might as well learn how to eat properly. I follow my plan first - which is high protein, low fat. But I also stay within my points. I think it's going to be very successful for me, and I have found that I was over eating, which is why I essentially stopped losing weight. I'm not ready to be done losing weight. I'm going to hit my goal this time, and I'm going to stay within my goal! :) I'll actually hit lifetime in about 10 pounds, which is awesome. I never thought I'd EVER get to the point where I can go to Weight Watchers and not have to pay for it! hahah.

Work has been amazingly stressful for me lately, hence no blogging. I hope things calm down soon, or I will need to check myself in somewhere! heheh

Ok, back to work now...
Later!
xoxo

Another Year is Here!

Wow, I really can't believe it's 2009 already. So much has changed in the past year, and I'm looking forward to seeing what 2009 has to bring!
I'm really facing the challenges of losing the last few pounds (15-20 more is my goal), keeping off what I lost, and making sure that I get myself mentally on track.. I have mirror image issues, and still think I'm always the biggest one in the room. I am ready for that to escape me! :)
I'm not a big resolution type person, but here are my GOALS for 2009.
1) To make it to the gym more often.
2) To get out of debt, or at least close to it.
3) Declutter my life.
4) Go back to school
5) Come to terms with the new me, and try to know myself again. :)

Hope you all had a happy and safe Christmas and New Year :)

xoxo

Doctor's Appt Follow Up

Met with Dr. W yesterday.. all was well, except Vitamin D still low. Next time I go in for labwork, I only have to get my Vitamin D tested... I'm done with the rest... woo hoo!
He prescribed me xanax for my "anxiety" that my therapist says I have... we'll see if it makes me stress less.
Anyone in the houston area have any ideas for a good therapist? Mine is weird. lol

Kim - I gave Dr. W your message and he said, That's Great!

Jil - I told Dr. W you missed him but you're healthy so you haven't needed to see him. I think he understands and will start the healing process soon.

well, I am leaving early today and I have a lot to do, so I will write again soon!

Peace out! hehehe

WOW!

'Nuff Said!

December

Wow, how lame am I? This is my very first post for December. I've been busy. Work is crazy... My sinuses hate me right now.. and It's Christmas time! Am I all done with my shopping? Not even close.
I've been stuck at the same weight again for a few weeks... 169.6... Too close to 170 for me to feel comfortable with at this point, but we shall see. I have been a slacker, and not working out. I've also been making stupid food choices, so I guess I should be grateful for 169.6! lol

I go see Dr. W tomorrow to follow up on my labs and to inform him of all of my adventures in life.. ie. therapy, hormone problems, etc. It should be an interesting little visit! :-) His goal for me is 160 and I wanted to be there by the next time I saw him, but unless there is a miracle, I seriously doubt I will be dropping 9 lbs in 24 hours. heheh

Well, I will try to post again tomorrow to let you all know how my appointment went! :)

Ciao!

Fun lil Name Quiz!

I got this from one of the blogs I read faithfully, and I figured I'd play too!
WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother's & father's middle names)Ann Charles

NASCAR NAME: (first name of your mother's dad, father's dad )Alfred Seymour

STAR WARS NAME: (the first 2 letters of your last name, first 4 letters of your first name) Salaur (wow i sound like a dinosaur)

DETECTIVE NAME: (fav color, fav animal) Orange Chimpanzee (ask me again in a week and my first name will change!)

SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you live) Ann Houston

SUPERHERO NAME: (2nd fav color, fav alcoholic drink, add "THE" to the beginning) The Pink Pomegranate Martini! I sound delicious!

FLY NAME: (first 2 letters of 1st name, last 2 letters of your last name) Laer (WTF is a FLY name?)

ROCK STAR NAME: (current pet's name, current street name) I'm using the street I grew up on instead of the current one, cuz I can (I'm with ya girl!) Roxcee Viking

PORN NAME: (1st pet, street you grew up on) Cinnamon Cheshire

A Breakup Letter

Dear Evil Scale,
I am sick of you running my life and basing my self worth on what you tell me each morning, afternoon and evening. I will no longer let you decide how I feel about myself. Our relationship must end, and although I need you in my life, you will not control my life. I will visit you once a week instead of three times per day until I can get over my obsession with you.
I hope you understand that this MUST be done for my own sanity, along with the sanity of my friends who have to tolerate hearing about how poorly you treat me every day! Our love/hate relationship has been an interesting one over the past 13 months, but now it's time to live life on MY terms. I will make the right choices in life and THAT'S WHAT MATTERS!
Love/hate always,
L

Weekend Update

Well, it's Monday again... ::sigh::
I had a nice weekend though with the exception of a few bumps in the road!
Jil came over Friday night and we had a little slumber party.. woo hoo! We went to return a few things and ended up going to sleep pretty early b/c of the OH Conference..
Then Saturday, we went to the OH Conference with our friend Rosanne. I had a great time, got to meet a lot of great people, and left feeling motivated to get this last 20+ pounds off of me. It made me realize how much I need a support group, especially now that this weight is becoming more and more stubborn about falling off of me. There were some fantastic speakers there, and if the OH conference ever comes to your area, GO! You will leave feeling like a new person.
We didn't stay for the casino night and dance afterwards, and went pickle shopping and clothes shopping as well. There are the most awesome pickles at Droubi's Market on Hillcroft. I must say, amazing.. and I'm not a pickle person.. well, now I am, but it's because of these damn pickles! Then we went to the Cypress Outlet mall.. It's nice trying on clothes and liking how they look on me.. huzzah! Soon after though, I lost my wallet. I had all my credit/debit cards in there, as well as my license and social security card.. I know you're not supposed to keep your social with you, but I had it, and now I have to replace it.. UGH! I had cash too, but it was only about $30-35, so not too terrible. I did get all my cards cancelled before they were used, so that's great news! :)
Sunday I woke up with a nasty headache, but I took a Maxalt and all was good within an hour or so.. I got a lot of work done for my garage sale this weekend, so I'm grateful for that. And thanks to Jil for helping me so much.. you rock! WOO HOO!
Wow, I'm rambling... I bet it's the coffee! lol
Well, I better get back to work for now...
Til next time! :)
L

I love coffee! OH Conference Tomorrow.. YEAH!

Yeah, I know we're not supposed to have much caffeine.. But, everyone has to have a vice, and mine has been chosen. HEB has this Almond Joy coffee and OMG it's so delicious. Caffeine effects me like it never has before.. I am bouncy and talkative and my mouth moves faster than my brain. My poor co-worker next to me.. good thing she loves me! haha

Anyways.. I'm going to the OH Conference tomorrow, and I'm really looking forward to it. I'm getting to the point where losing an ounce is a struggle. I can eat like a "normal" person and making the best choices aren't as easy as they used to be. I'm optimistic that I will be leaving the conference tomorrow with fresh ammo to make it through and have a renewed spirit when it comes to this journey I'm on. I hope to meet some new people that I've seen on the message boards on OH and match faces to the names! :) It will be great!

I started my new meds for my PCOS on Tuesday night. Wednesday morning was tough... and Wednesday afternoon was even worse. I have been exhausted and I'm finally starting to feel a little more awake now.. But again, that's probably the coffee. It's probably not a good week to start the meds b/c I have mother nature visiting, just got over a 60 hour work week, new meds, garage sale prep stress, etc. It's a lot going on for me, and adding on side effects probably isn't the smartest thing! LOL Oh well, I'll get all the crap over with at once!

I'm really looking forward to Thanksgiving. Last Thanksgiving I was on soft foods, and it was kind of torturous. This year, I can enjoy my turkey that I am in love with! Hurray! :)

Well, I should probably get back to work... I hope to see some of you at the OH conference this weekend!
Hugs to all!

169!

I finally got out of the 170s... After 3 months of being there, my stubborn body broke out of the 170s.. granted, I may not be done seeing them, as we all know the scale can be very cruel to us.. but I have been in the 169.0-.8 range for 3 days now, so I think it's finally done with the 170s.. now, to try to get to the 150s... My original goal was to weigh 150 by January 15th, but I don't think that's going to happen with the slowness of my weight loss. I know it's possible, but it will be very tough to get there!

I went to my doctor's appointment on Monday to find out about my hormone hell. Apparently my prolactin (the hormone that produces milk) is twice as high as it should be, so my body thinks it is pregnant.. wtf!? Anyways, my birth control pill has been switched for a different one, and I'm on Parlodel to help with the prolactin. My testosterone was also high, but that will change with the birth control pill change. So, once I find Prince Charming and decide I want to have babies, I will likely need fertility medicine for that... Sigh..

I got my labwork done for Dr. W, so I just need to schedule him in.. I will probably try to go Thanksgiving week, or maybe the week after.

Well, I better get back to work! I just wanted to check in and update you all on my weight and my crazy hormones!
Till next time! :)

Yeah, I know I'm a slacker

I have the best intentions when it comes to blogging, but sometimes it just doesn't happen for me. Maybe I should make that one of my New Years Resolutions.. to blog daily! It's very therapeutic and I feel like I get a lot out of it. So why don't I do it as often as I should? B/c I suck, that's why!
Hmm, what's new with me...
Well, I broke up with my boyfriend last month. It was for the best. I'm in a self discovery stage in life right now, and I really feel like I wasn't in the right place for a relationship. So, I'm single again! WOO HOO! lol
I am STILL in the 170s. They are never going to go away are they? I was 170.8 this morning when I hopped on my scale. Maybe I should get on my Wii fit.. that's on carpet, and it's very nice to me with my weight. lol My Mii character on there looks like Mr. T.. Am I cool or what? hahah
I got bad news from the endocrynologist at my ob/gyn office. My hormones are still completely whacked out. Everything else has fixed itself but this. I have an appointment on November 10 to get more details about this, but I do know that I still have PCOS, and I also know that I have EBV (Epstein-Barr Virus) which is chronic fatigue syndrome. It all makes sense now! Apparently about 90% of Americans have the virus, but it lies dormant in most. Well, we all know I'm not like most... It's super hyper active in me! No wonder I have no freakin energy lately. So, I'll find out what to do about all this crap on Nov. 10. Then, I go see Dr. W sometime in November after I get my labs done. Aye! Hopefully he will have words of wisdom for me as well.
I started going to therapy too. My second session is this Saturday morning. I left my first session feeling really enlightened and feeling like I know myself a little better. The therapist told me that I was very intelligent (duh! haha) and that I seemed to have great insight into myself, just not knowing how to fix certain things.. She thinks the root of a lot of my issues may be self doubt. That makes sense.. or does it? There I go doubting myself again! ::sigh::
Work sucks.. I'm still there actually.. I already have over 30 hours this week and I still have 2 days to go. I am ready to have normal hours. Thank heavens for OT though!
Well, I'm sure there is much more going on in this lil brain of mine, but I will save it for another blog!
Toodles! 'Til next time!

Size 12!!!

Thanks to my dear friend Jil, I now know that I can fit into a size 12. I've been wearing size 16 Levis b/c they were comfy, but I tried on three different brands of size 12 jeans at TJ Maxx on Saturday, and I was able to squeeze my squishy thighs and toosh all the way in and close em up! LOL I was actually shocked that I am in a size that is officially not plus size at any store.. I think I may have been in 2nd grade the last time I was not a plus size girl. And I was then too, but I was able to wear junior girls clothes and the like instead of being in the "husky" section.
Anyways, I wanted to share my joys with you all!

I had a great time this weekend.. Friday night I hung out with my friend Rosanne.. we went to the gym and out to have a healthy dinner. Saturday morning, Jil came over for awhile.. we went to pick up our pottery at Young at Art, drove around taking pictures of VW bugs, and went to Luby's for lunch. Then, I managed to spend almost $200 at TJ Maxx. It would have been more if I hadn't put back half of what I wanted! LOL Saturday evening we went to Scream World, a haunted house in north Houston. Wow, that was fun! My friend gave us free passes, so I think it was more fun not having to pay $35 each for a 20 minute screamfest! Then on Sunday, I went to the Texas Renaissance Festival. (See above pic with two barbarian beauhunks! woo hoo!) I had never been before, and wow! If you love to people watch, this is certainly your place!

I need to weigh and measure again, but I did not eat well at the RenFest, and mother nature is mean to me this week.. So I will post an update on that again soon. For now, knowing I can wear a 12 is good enough for me! :P Oh yeah, I fit into a size M top as well! woo hoo!! Unforunately, I may be in a training bra again by the time I am done losing weight.. ugh!

Ok,I'm off for now!
xoxo to all! :)
Laurie

The Difference A Year Makes

Well, today it has been officially one year since my life changing surgery. I have gone from 312 pounds to 171 lbs.. From a tight 28 to sometimes 30 jeans, to a loose size 14.. From 4X shirts to M or L... It's just amazing.

I'm nowhere near the end of my journey, but I'm definitely at a milestone! I hope to continue to lose weight.. not really sure how much more, but I will know when I'm more comfortable. I'm not sure if plastics are in my future or not, as I'm not sure how long it would take me to afford anything, and nothing is bothering me too bad yet.. so, we shall see what the next year brings.

October

Shame on me! I completely skipped over September in my blogging. Good excuses though, I suppose. Hurricane Ike came through Houston, work has been hectic, and I went on vacation for a little over a week.
Not much has changed in my world. My last weigh in was 176.8. I won't reach my goal by my 1 year surgiversary, which is October 15. Instead of beating myself up, I need to be proud. I'm not 310 lbs anymore like I was a year ago! That is a remarkable feat!

I will write more later.. just wanted to check in and let everyone know I'm still around! :)
Hugs to all!

179.8

That's where i am now.. I finally, after well over a month and a half, made it out of the 180's. Granted, next time I drink or eat something, I may be back in the low 180's, but at least I saw it once so far! :-)
Sorry my blogging has been spotty at best.. Just haven't had much to say I guess.
I either have an enemy or there are some total thugs in my neighborhood, or both! My car was broken into Sunday night, and my radio was stolen. My shoes were removed from my car and thrown into a neighbors yard, and my glovebox and center console were open and gone through. How frustrating! :( I have also had my car keyed on two separate occasions. I can not wait to move! It is extremely ridiculous..
Anyway, that's all that's been going on in my neck of the woods as of late.. I'll try to be a little more interesting so I have more to write about! lol :)

My Doctor's Appt

I had my appointment with Dr. W yesterday. Everything went well. My labs were great except for Vitamin D (was at a low 11 on my first lab, and now it's at 28 - if that means nothing to you like it does me, it's supposed to be between 32-100). I'm not anemic, and my protein levels are good, but closer to the low side so I want to focus on that. My liver function was high last time (likely from getting a massage or lifting weights, according to Dr.W), and that was fine this time around.
My official weigh in on his evil scale was 181, so it wasn't as evil as it used to be! :) I'm 3 days shy of 10 months, so my average lost per month is 12.9 lbs. Not too shabby! I really need to kick it up a notch or four now though - I really want to hit my goal by January!
Other observations from Dr. W - my resting heart rate was in the upper 80s in the beginning - now it's in the upper 50s-low 60s. My heart isn't working so hard just to live anymore! My blood pressure was 110/61. On a good day pre-op it was 150/90.
I have absoluetely NO regrets having gastric bypass, besides of course not having it sooner. I feel so much better about myself, have so much more energy, and am just in better health!

Slowing Down..

Last week was incredibly busy for me at work, hence no blogging from me! The first week of every month, I have to get all the billing done for the previous month and we have some pretty tight deadlines. I am always sure to make my deadlines, but I did manage to have to work about 7 hours worth of overtime during the week. That's ok though, I need it! The check that I get the overtime in is the check that my car note comes out of, so it's nice to have a little extra padding that week! hehe This week has slowed down a bit though, so hopefully I'll get back into my blogging. I really feel that it is therapeutic for me! :)

Today I have my checkup with Dr. Weinstein. I'm kind of disappointed in my weight loss since my last checkup. The last one in April I was 213, and now I'm 185. That comes down to a little less than 9 lbs a month (since I'm a little late on my checkup). I was hoping to stay above 10 lbs a month - I know it slows down, but damn it, not this soon! LOL I hope to be to my goal by January 15 of next year - that's 15 months. Only time will tell, right?

My weekend was uneventful for the most part. The busy week left me exhausted, and on Saturday I cleaned quite a bit and played World of Warcraft. Ugh - my friend had been trying to get my to play this game for over a year, and I finally gave in, and it's addicting. On Sunday, my sister came into town with my nephews. We all had dinner, and watched the boys play guitar hero on Wii. They put me to shame. BIGTIME! My boyfriend came over and got to meet some more of my family. :)

Someone at my work started selling this product called Monavie - it's an Acai juice that gives you your 8 servings of fruits and veggies in 2 oz. It is actually pretty tasty and they have an active blend that has glucosamine in it. Since I have arthritis in my knees, I got that kind. I did notice that my knees didn't creak going down the 5 flights of stairs this morning from the parking garage. I hope it helps with that! I will probably become a distributor as well - I already have a few friends wanting some, so why not, right?

The Weekend Has Arrived! Huzzahh!!

Well, this week has been very long a tortuous. Not for any reason really - I'm just burned out at work, not getting quality sleep, and just overall a blob. Doesn't that sound fun!?
Tonight I'm going to an Astros game with Jay.. they're playing the Mets! Every Friday at the Astros games, there are fireworks after the game. I really like watching that.. it's not a cheap production at all! Then after the fireworks, I'm going to Barnes and Noble's release party at midnight to get the final book in the Twilight Saga - Breaking Dawn. This is the fourth book, and I'm in the middle of the third one. I have been reading it slowly because I know I'll want to start reading the final book immediately! My friend Michelle turned me on to these books. They're actually Young Adult books, as she was a 6th grade reading teacher before moving to social studies. I really really love the books though, and it's not about what I would typically want to read.. maybe that's why I had her copy of Twilight for 4 months before I even started reading it! LOL But, once I started, I couldn't put it down, and had to go buy all 3 of the current books, as well as the author's first adult book (not adult in that sense, just a book written for adults), The Host. I'll let you know how that is when I get to it! :)
Other than tonight, and church on Sunday, I don't have much planned. Personally, this is a great thing! My computer should be arriving today sometime, so maybe I can get that set up. When I left for NYC in June, I turned my computer off. I rebooted it when I got home from vacation, and it turned on, then I got a white screen, and nothing ever happened with it again! Hmm.. who knows what the deal is! I found a good scratch n dent one from dell.com and am awaiting it's arrival. It has Blu-Ray on it, and a media bay for the SD cards.. I'm kind of excited about that! :)
Ok, I've been rambling on and on today for no reason... so I will be off... I hope all of you have a lovely weekend!
xoxo
GG

The difference in 10 months...

Anytime I get frustrated with my slowing weight loss (which is on a daily basis nowadays), I try to think of the changes in my life in the past 10 months since my RNY surgery.

• No more high blood pressure
• No more sleep apnea
• Normal cholesterol
• Went from Super Morbidly Obese to Morbidly Obese to Obese - just 6 lbs from being "overweight"
• Went from size 28 or 30 jeans to size 14.. and if all my weight weren't in my ass and thighs, I'd be a 12.
• Went from a 4x top to size L
• I can ride comfortably in an airplane seat
• I can ride any rollercoaster I want
• Chairs with arms don't stay attached to my ass when I stand up anymore
• All booths are comfy
• I can cross my legs
• I get attention from the opposite sex
• People see me as an inspiration (yeah, I don't get it either!)
• I'm not the biggest girl everywhere I go anymore
• I'm more assertive... I don't hide behind my weight anymore
• I am comfortable doing any number of activities that my size would have hindered before.
• I have energy now
• I am learning more about nutrition and health than I ever thought I could know

Yes, I have a ways to go to reach my "ideal" weight. But, my journey is far from over. This is just the beginning!

Xoxo to all!

Obesity Help Convention

OOooh, I just found out today that there will be an OH Convention right here in Houston. It is November 15-16 at a hotel in SW Houston. I absolutely cannot wait to attend! At this point I will be 13 months out and struggling even more to lose weight, so this could not come at a better time for me personally. :)
I hope to see you all there! The tickets are $60, but I think that is very reasonable for a 2 day convention. The support is priceless in my opinion, and seeing SOOOO many people who have gone through the same things will be wonderful!