I'm just sayin....

41 pounds! YIPPEE!! My minigoal was to lose 42 pounds by my birthday. Well, that was yesterday and I fell just 1 pound short. I am NOT going to beat myself up about it at all! I'm feeling grrrreat, not just physically...I feel better self esteem wise too. It's all paying off. I still get mad when I get full though. LOL!

Next week, I will be heading to Curves to start working out. This will only push me even further in my goal. I'm super excited and know that only good things are coming.

I'm just kinda using this blog to show off if you don't mind. I'm lookin kinda cute if I say so myself. ;)

Just checking in...

Nothing much to report. Down about 38 pounds, and still trucking right along. I got my third fill the other day and can really tell a difference. I usually sit and nibble on some Goldfish Crackers with Coby in the evenings...not anymore! After just a small handful, I can fill they start getting a little stuck. I knew the day would come when yummy carbs like bread, crackers, and such would be painful and out of the question...here I am. But it's weird because it's not like that all the time. For the most part I have to be really careful how I eat. It's challenging.

When I went to get my fill this week, it was the first time to see my surgeon since the day of surgery. When I walked in, he said, "You're looking good, girl!" Now, he might say that to all his patients, but I'm taking it! LOL! And the girls fawned over me and my accessories and acted like my BFFs. Treating me as a person, rather than a number is so important through this process. They did remind me that in just 12 more pounds I will get to go get a complimentary mani, pedi, or facial at their spa. That's something to look forward to! The doctor encouraged me to start working out...something I have all the best intentions of doing...I just haven't. This is where I could list all my excuses, but they're really not good ones. I would lose so much faster and would tone up considerably. I just need to get off my hiney and do it!

Another thing the Bariatric Center is doing is having a "Clean out your closet" sale on Saturday May 22 from 9-12. This gives us a chance to sell our stuff that we've "undergrown." I have soooo much that I'm ready to part with. What's bad is all the clothes that I've either worn only once (maybe twice) or never even worn! My mom and Ashley are coming with me to help, so if nothing else, it'll be fun!

So I leave you all with this note from Coby:

jttfjggjfffffjzjjjjjjjjjjjtfrfrtresdddddddddddddddddd

***Translation: MY MOM ROCKS!

:)

Frustrated

Okay...so you had to know the happy and optimistic posts would have to one day give way to a sour frustrated one. Well, here it is.

I'm down 32.2 pounds. Which is great, right? But one of my loves is shopping. I love to shop. Well, not anymore! I have no idea what size I am anymore. Hardly anything fits right! Plus sizes are really getting to baggy on me, but Misses sizes are just way too small, WAY too small. So it's not even like I'll be in the Misses until I lose another 15-20 pounds.

I go into a store and LOVE the clothes. Start grabbing the pretty floral dresses, cute denim skirts, springy tees. Then I get to the fitting room and one by one, I'm flinging them off in a fit. I leave the fitting room totally frustrated and near tears.

I just keep pulling up the pictures from my previous blog and looking at those, hoping to get my spirits up and KNOW that so far I've been pretty successful.

Who would have thought that losing weight would be this much of a downer?

:)

THIRTY!!!

So I'm down 30 pounds. My mind plays tricks on me. I look in the mirror and I don't see it, and I knew this would happen. Soooo...I had Chaston take pictures of me right before surgery so I could do before/after shots. What a motivator this has been for me this week! I can't wait to see the next 30 pounds vanish! YIPPEE!!!

I got a brand new pair of blue jeans

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wpx9js5b21U&feature=related

Blue jeans. I am obsessed with them. I have more pairs than should humanly be allowed. I'm always on the lookout for the perfect fit/color/amount of distress/length.

And jeans tell no lies. You don't have to ask if they make your butt look big. If you've gained a few, they will tell you. You don't have to ask if your diet is finally paying off. If you have lost a few, they will tell you that too. Who needs a digital scale to tell you what you already know because your jeans have screamed it to you already?

Well, I have had to clean out my closet of my bigger size jeans, and pulled forward all the old jeans that were too small last year. My jeans have finally realized my weight loss and are too big. This is a victory for me. I am wiggling between misses and plus size right now and am so looking forward to not being limited to shopping in the plus size section.

My weight loss to date is 30 pounds!!! **doing the happy dance**

Random Thoughts

1. Please don't ask me, "Can you eat that?" Yes, I can, watch me. If I pick something up and put it in my mouth, it's because I can eat it.

2. I have no idea how to respond when someone who is very very overweight says, "I have the lapband, it didn't work for me. Good luck." What am I supposed to say to that??

3. Not getting to drink with my meals just plain stinks! After I eat, I'm thirsty. I really think this might be one of the most difficult things for me.

4. I've lost almost 25 pounds. This is GREAT! But when I go shopping I want size 12s to fit. They don't. Still have a long ways to go. But when I was painting my toe nails today, I didn't get out of breath from having to bend over.

5. I miss having a Diet Coke at 2:30 PM every week day.

6. I get sad when I'm full. Like tonight...I had Parmesan crusted tilapia with tomato sauce. It was DELICIOUS. I only got halfway through it before I was stuffed. This makes me sad. I wanted more.

7. I have found the best sugar free cookies. But I want to eat more than one. Must. Stop. Buying. Cookies. Even sugar free ones.

8. Thank you IHOP for catering to people who have different diets. Your Egg Beaters Turkey Bacon Swiss omelette is the best!

9. If you're reading my blog, will you please say so? I think my mom is the only one who reads this...well, and everyone else she makes read it. Thanks to my biggest fan! Love ya, Mom!!

My first fill!!

Well, I got my first fill today. I have to admit that I was pretty nervous. I had done so much research and asked so many questions about the surgery (I even went as far as to find a video of the surgery on YouTube!), that I felt I could have performed it if I needed to. But when it came to the fill part of the equation, I was pretty clueless. Sure, I had read about other people’s experiences, but they vary so much from doctor to doctor, that I had no idea what I was going to deal with.

So here’s how it worked…

I got there, a little early as I usually am, and weighed in. I’m down exactly 20 pounds since starting this journey back on December 29, 2009. So, YAY ME! Anywho… The Bariatric Center is in the process of moving their offices, so we were in a teeny tiny room at the Outpatient Pavilion. And in this tiny room is a HUGE machine…HUGE! And a little cot looking thing, and a table with a few syringes. YIKES! I’m told to lay down and pull up my shirt. I suck in my stomach. HELLO, Chrysta…you’re fat, and they know it. So I try to relax while the nurse rubs something on my belly to disinfect the area. Doc comes in and they roll this big machine over me and there on a little TV screen is my insides!! How cool is that? My dad would have loved this! I can see my port, and my ribs. Cool!

He sticks me with a little lidocaine and then injects 2 cc’s of saline. I’m watching the screen and can see when the saline makes its way down the tube. Cool! I feel a little bit of pressure, but nothing horrible. And…DONE!

I get diet instructions for the next 5 days: full liquid for first 2 days, soft/puree for 2 days, soft solids the last day. PHOOEY! I just got the taste of food back in my mouth and now I’m back on protein drinks. Oh well…SOOOOO worth it!!

I did ask about the burping. Doc said as long as I didn’t have heartburn, it was just a minor inconvenience and maybe it will go away as I get filled. My kids LOVE it! All day I try to let out little burps as quietly as I can. But when I’m at home in the evenings…I just let them out. Coby cracks up every time! He’s such a boy! Chaston just tries to top mine. HAHAHA!

Now I sit and hope that I don’t get as hungry as I have in the past. He said it’s not unusual to fill little to no restriction with this little amount, and give them a call in a couple of weeks if I need more. And I am released to start exercising. YIPPEE!!

Oh…and Mom…I can pick up Coby now.