*So Fat 4 Me* I hate Blogger! You and others still not showing up in dashboard, but....

I see something different in the Followers section on the blogs that I am following that do not show up in my dashboard!

I will use one blog as an example and maybe the owner of the blog can check for me!!!

On so fat 4 me's blog, when I look at the blog, in the Followers section there is no button for me to follow. However, I am a follower and my picture shows up at the top of all the little picture boxes of followers.

On blogs that I follow that show up in my dashboard, there is a follow button AND my little picture box shows up in the order of picture boxes when I followed.

Does this make sense?  I even 'unfollowed' So Fat 4 Me thinking that I would than follow again.  Didn't work, same thing happened.  So, I'm thinking that maybe there is something in the setup of the blogs themselves that is preventing their blog to show in my dashboard?  Very weird.  Just doesn't show up as a blog that I follow and therefore new posts do not automatically show up in my dashboard.

Blogger question

I am having issues whereby I am following some blogs but their posts do not show up in my dashboard.  Does anyone know why this would happen?

Thanks!

Official 1 week weigh-in!

8 lbs!  I am beyond ecstatic about this.  My first week with the band I only lost 7 lbs and I was 57lbs heavier.  I just know I made the right decision!  Have a very happy Friday!

Check in with Surgeon today

I met with my doctor today....5 days after surgery.  The main purpose was to do my "leak test", yay...no leaks!...and to remove that blasted drain!  Removing the drain was a trip in itself...very surreal.  While it didn't hurt at all, it was the weirdest sensation, almost a suction type feeling as he pulled it out of my body.  Good riddance draino!

He told me that I had an exceptionally large Fundus.  ummm, thank you?  He said that this is a huge indicator that I had a very healthy Ghrelin producing hormone factory going on and that even if we would have been able to reach a good level of restriction with the band,  chances are that I would never have gotten to the "I'm not hungry" sensation that a lot of you experience.   I made sure I asked him if I still had a large Fundus and he said that he 110% removed the whole darn thing!  I can honestly say that since the surgery, I have not once had the "hunger" sensation.  I was so worried about this too because you know, if there is a chance that someone could still have "hunger" pangs after this surgery, odds are that it would happen to me!  But it didn't.  He said without a doubt, if I am feeling like this now, I am home free.

He couldn't get over how great I am feeling and that I only had to take pain meds once when I got home from the hospital.  No gas pains at all which was a miracle in itself!  The best part?  Knowing that I am a charts and graphs kind of girl, he warned me that I should not compare what I lost in the first few weeks with the band to what I lose now with the sleeve because I weigh a lot less now.  He explained that I would be losing less weight BUT it would be a bigger percentage because of the lighter starting weight.  Well, get this: week 1, 7 days,  with the band I lost 7 lbs.  Day 5 with the sleeve I am down 7 lbs!  Yes, I realize I am on a liquid diet and that its expected to lose weight but I was on liquids last year too!

I realize I am not even one week into this new way of life but I am beyond ecstatic and I know that this was the absolute best decision I could have made!

All for drugs....what a f'king tragedy!

My sister lost one of her favorite students Sunday morning when she was murdered, execution style in a robbery at the pharmacy where she worked.     There were 3 other people killed also.
Please keep Jennifers family in your thoughts and prayers.

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2011/06/20/2011-06-20_long_island_bloodbath_high_school_senior_among_four_bodies_found_at_pharmacy_aft.html

Days 1 - 3 in the history books!

Here I am, day four from surgery and I don't want to say this too loud but I feel good.  I have not taken the pain meds since day two when I came home from the hospital.  Yesterday I had a little headache that hung on all day and I did take two doses of liquid Tylenol.  I think it was due to eating no food per se and no caffeine.  The only pain I continue to have, although it is much less now, is from the largest of the 5 little incisions. This is the incision where  I believe a lot of action went on!  The stomach portion that was removed in the operation (85%!) came out of this hole and I'm guessing my band and port did also.

This is also the hole where my drain tubing is hanging out of.  I am sure the pressure of having a long tube with a pouch on the end is causing some pain.  I actually have the pouch attached to a lanyard around my neck in order to support the pouch and not let the weight of it hang from the incision.  I've noticed the red color is much lighter today and there is a lot less when I drain it.

I am going to see my doctor on Wednesday for the "leak test" and removal of my drain.  My doctor is so  adorable, when he signed me out on Saturday he told us "I taped your operation, we'll look at it together!"  Uh, yea, Doc, about that?  Maybe not.  It was hard enough watching it on a stranger on YouTube!  He also told me that I may experience more pain due to all the scar tissue from my band. He said he was surprised I had as much being I only had the band for about 15 months.  Again, on a pain scale of 1 - 10, I am currently at a 3 and at the highest it was maybe a 7 and that was day one into day two.

I have been on clear liquids for the first 3 days and today I move onto full liquids.  It amazes me how full I feel from just drinking liquids. I cannot imagine what real food will feel like!  My doctor also told me it was ok to drink caffeinated coffee but no more than two cups a day.  I am taking him up on that one for sure. I hope it gets rid of this little headache I still seem to have going on.

I took my first shower yesterday and that made a huge difference in how I feel.  I may even put on some makeup today after i shower and take a pic to share with everyone!   I have no plans on leaving the house because I look ridiculous with this bulge of the drain sticking out from under my shirt!  I may take Brutus for a little walk in the yard but thats it as far as socializing.  Wednesday will be here in no time and than I can face the world again!

Thank you for all the love and support you have given me through this drama.  While I pray that no one else needs to revise from the band, it is great knowing that there are options out there for us!  Please know I am always here if anyone needs more info.  My email address is jdt36x@yahoo.com if you want to talk to me privately.  We can even exchange phone numbers from there and I am more than happy to share everything I've learned from my experience!

Happy Fathers Day

We miss you both more than words could ever say.

Home again

We got home from the hospital a little while ago.  I have pain in the large incision site and some nausea.  All and all, I feel pretty good.  I've been walk, walk, walking and sip, sip sipping!

Steph came to visit me last night and it was great seeing her smiling, skinny face!

:

See...just as happy and perky as ever!!

Thats all for now, I am heading to my bed!

Its 3:10 a.m. - I'm ready to go!

Unfortunately, we are not leaving until 4 a.m.  princess Stephen is to be awoken at 3:30.  So, I am sitting here doing what I always do when I need some calmness and reading all the comments from my post yesterday.

Can I just say THANK YOU, to all of you.  I couldn't imagine a more caring group of women and men and I am so blessed that I have found you all!  Lord knows you have been with me through a lot these past 15 months and have each helped me through the good and the bad.

Stephanie is coming to visit me in the hospital tonight and wants morphine pictures....no problemo!  I am sure she will share.  I hope to be home early tomorrow and will definitely drop in for a minute or two to check in and give Amy her requested drug induced blog!  I love you all and thank you for being here for me.

Before surgery to VSG pics

Hopefully any new followers will look back on my journey and realize that I've had a Lapband for 15 months and not think that I am a crazy person trying to become anorexic by getting VSG!  Even I look at these pics and think "I think I look pretty good right now and I'm so close to goal.  Why can't I just be like everyone else and have a band that likes being inside me and lets me continue to lose and maintain my weight!"  Believe me when I say that I did not make the decision to have my band removed and revised to VSG lightly.  I have and continue to agonize over it but I am putting myself into my doctors hands tomorrow morning and I know I will be ok.

Here are some pics from my journey.  I apologize for the pics that I took of myself today...my husband/photographer is not home right now and I do not own a decent full length mirror!

A few days before Lapband surgery - March 2010

213 lbs.

Day before Lapband removal/revision VSG - June 2011

160 lbs.

Wish me luck tomorrow!

Hospital called today...

and they want me at 6 a.m.!  WTF?  Don't they know I live 125 miles away?  Yup...unfortunately, they don't seem to care!  She must have said 3 times, "wow, you live all the way in Ormond Beach?"  Actually, I had already said to Steve that I hope its early....I just didn't mean that early!  Be careful what you wish for, right?

I also started my "low-carb" diet today.  Thats all I have to do, keep my carbs under 50 for 3 days prior to surgery.   I am so lucky that this is the second time that I've had surgery and both times I've bypassed the dreaded 2 week liquid diet!  Yay!  Its so much easier to do it AFTER surgery...I really give you guys props who've had to do it.

With the exception of the drain that I will be coming home from the hospital with, I am so ready for this, you cannot imagine.  I want it to be Friday already.  The thought of having restriction again and seeing the scale go down is mind boggling to me at this point.  I am so happy that the day I was discussing the surgery with my surgeon Steve suggested I do this now as opposed to waiting until August like I originally wanted to do.  Now, I will be 100% healed by the time we go to the Duck, Outer Banks of NC with our family in August and with a little luck and hard work, I will be at goal!

Crazy, right?

I am my mothers daughter!

The difference is that my mother cooks like this all the time. Me?  not so much!

In preparation of this Fridays surgery, I have been cooking up a storm in order to have meals ready to go for Steve.  If you have been reading my blog for any length of time, you know that my husband eats to live while I live to eat!  Yes, opposites do attract people!

My nutrition requirements at surgery will be as follows:

First 3 days:  Clear liquids - water, crystal light, broth, jello, etc.
Next 4 days:  Full liquids - protein drinks, SF pudding, yogurt, cottage cheese, etc.
Wk 2 through 4:  pureed food

So, as when I had my band surgery last year, I do not want to be worried about cooking while I am drinking so I have been making some meals for Steve and freezing them as I go.   Yesterday I made a huge pot of sauce and I made a lasagna that I baked, let sit for a while until it got cold, than cut and placed on a baking sheet so it would freeze.  Once frozen, I placed in FoodSaver bags and sucked and sealed!  It is now in the freezer in individually wrapped packages just waiting for him to heat up!  I also made a pot of chili that I portioned out for a few dinners.  I will be able to eat this during the pureed stage as well.  I also made 2 batches of brownies and a pound cake that I also cut up and packaged individually in  packages and they are also in the freezer.  While my husband may not be a big fan of food, he does love his desserts!  I make him chocolate chip cookies that I freeze and he will literally take 1, yes you read correct, 1 cookie out every night and have with his coffee.  Who can eat just 1 cookie?  My husband!  Today I will be making eggplant parmesan and doing the same thing, baking, freezing and bagging.  This is his favorite!

I have also been thinking ahead for me as well for when I get to the pureed stage.  Anytime I've made something that can be pureed, I have been doing just that and freezing it in ice cube trays. Each cube holds 1 oz which is perfect as I will only be able to eat 3-4 oz. at each meal.  This is the most amazing thing for me about VSG.  I will have restriction from day 1.  There will be no "bandster hell" that we all experienced before our first fill.  Nope, surgery, restriction, boom....done!  It has been a very long time since I have had any type of meaningful restriction so I am really looking forward to that!

My hopes are that a lot of the food that I've made for Steve will still be in the freezer when I go to NY in July.  This way I can go visit the girls and not have to worry about him not eating.  Seriously, I left him a lot of food in Jan. when I went to NY, he ate it for dinner every night and lost 10 lbs!  Why?  Well, that was all he ate!  No breakfast, no lunch!  Without me around nagging, he didn't eat other than dinner.  The dog gained weight though, not sure how that happened!  These are the things I worry about when I leave...Steve losing and Brutus gaining!

I'm thinking once I get past the first 2 weeks after surgery, I will be feeling up to cooking so I will be able to make things for us to eat.  The fact that I will only be eating 2-3 oz. (in the beginning maybe not even) at a time should leave room for lots of leftovers to be frozen for Steve.  Works for me!

Call it whatever you want but I am on a diet!

I know many of us are adverse to "dieting" but the bottom line is the band, or my soon to be VSG, is just a tool which helps us in losing weight and keeping it off. The bottom line is 'calories in, calories out'. In addition to this, I do not believe all calories are created equal!

I am really sick of dieting too but that's what I am doing in order to lose my weight. I had lapband surgery to HELP me lose weight and keep it off. That is all its meant to do when we follow the rules. That is all it does when it works for me. I am still the one dictating to my fork what to put in my mouth. If I am presented with a 1/2 cup of chicken and a 1/2 cup of Ben & Jerry's Cherry Garcia, I have to make a conscious decision to eat the chicken. If I eat the chicken, there is a very good chance that I will not be tempted to want the ice cream later.

That is the beauty of the band for me. It limits the quanity I can eat and satisfy's me because I am eating lean proteins and healthy carbs. When I feed my body this good stuff, I can fight the sugar monster. When I throw in my exercise regime, the Lapband or soon to be VSG and healthy eating, I will continue to lose this weight and hit my weight loss goal. Is this dieting? You bet my soon to be skinny ass it is!

Once I hit my weight loss goal, that is when I expect my VSG or band to really kick in and help me to maintain! Once all this weight is gone and off of me, I will feel like I evened the playing field with my thin counter-parts and I can begin to eat just about everything I want IN MODERATION. If I gain a lb here or there, I know how to get it off. But what a difference getting off a few lbs will be compared to the daunting task of getting off 50 or 75 or 100 lbs???!!!! Never again.

I have lost 50+ lbs. since being banded in March of 2010 and I have kept it off to this day even with my numerous problems with fills/unfills. This is the first time in my life that I have been able to accomplish this. While I would like to say that I owe it all to the band, I can't. The band showed me that I could do it with help that it provided. Once I saw this was possible, I was determined to continue my weight loss journey. I fought my doctor with each fill/unfill knowing that without the help of WLS, I couldn't do it. He knew pretty early on that my body was not tolerating the band. I thank him from the bottom of my heart for never giving up on me and being patient with me until I finally got it. In me, he saw a women who was not going to let go. He saw how hard I was working to lose more weight.

For me to continue to lose the rest of my weight, I will need the help of the VSG (as the band is coming out next Friday) If I eat primarily high protein, low carb and continue my exercise regime, I will lose weight. I will be dieting...plain and simple but with the help of WLS, it will make the dieting a little easier.

WLS is providing me with a "do over" in life that I am forever grateful for. I will never allow myself to disrespect my body the way that I have and to become overweight ever again!

TRX Suspension...Can I just say OUCH!

Yea, I am so hurting today.  I woke up this morning and thought "hmmm...not too sore....off to the gym I go and maybe I will even go tonight for a step class as I cannot go tomorrow."  NOT!  I am so sore that i can barely type.  If I had to rate whats the most sore, I would start with my hands!  Yup...hands.  Gripping on those straps for dear life as I did not want to fall on my face!  Next would definitely be tri and bi-ceps, than core than legs.  Got all the muscle groups, not to worry!

This class was just a demo class and the real classes will be incorporated into the gym schedule beginning in July.  Once I am given the green light to start with the weights, I will definitely be incorporating these classes into my weekly schedule.  It was a really great workout and the 45 minutes went so fast!

Tomorrow Steve and I are going to visit my Dads companion (for lack of a better word...they were together 8 years when he died) for her birthday.  It is so hard for me to go there as it is the place where I expect to see him and it hits me so hard that he is gone.  I feel the same way when I visit my sister.  I miss Jimmy all the time but its not until I go to her house and go into the yard where I would always find my Brother-in-law doing something that I miss him most.

Speaking of my sister who is a H.S. Italian teacher, she was given the honor of having the 2011 Yearbook dedicated to her.  I cried when she read to me what one of her students wrote about her.  Just beautiful.  'such an inspiration, taught her students to pick themselves up when knocked down and that bad things do happen to good people'.  They even went behind my sisters back and had my niece give them pictures of the family, including Jimmy, which were included in the yearbook.  They had a little ceremony the other night and included my niece, nephew and even my daughter Jordan who lives with my sister.  What a great group of kids.....I still remember meeting them at Jimmy's wake last year.  Very sweet.

Anyway....that's all the typing these hands can take for now.  I guess I will go watch Nancy Grace to catch up on what I missed of the Casey Anthony Trial today!

Chuckle for the Day!

I love this Doctor!     Q: Doctor, I've heard that cardiovascular exercise can prolong life.  Is this true?  A: Your heart only good for so many beats, and that it... Don't waste on exercise.  Everything wear out eventually.  Speeding up heart not make you live longer; it like saying you extend life of car by driving faster.  Want to live longer?  Take nap.   Q: Should I reduce my alcohol intake?   A:  No, not at all.  Wine made from fruit.  Brandy is distilled wine, that mean they take water out of fruity bit so you get even more of goodness that way.  Beer also made of grain.  Bottom up! Q: How  can I calculate my body/fat ratio?  A: Well, if you have body and you have fat, your ratio one to one.  If you have two bodies, your ratio two to one, etc. Q: What  are some of  the advantages of participating in a regular exercise program?  A: Can't think of single one, sorry.  My philosophy is: No pain...good!       Q:  Aren't fried foods bad for you?   A:  YOU NOT LISTENING!  Food are fried these day in vegetable oil.  In fact, they permeated by it.  How could getting more vegetable be bad for you?!?   Q:  Will  sit-ups help prevent me from getting a little soft around the middle?  A: Definitely not!  When you exercise muscle, it get bigger.  You should only be doing sit-up if you want bigger stomach.   Q:  Is chocolate bad for me?   A:  Are you crazy ?!?  HEL-LO-O!!  Cocoa bean!  Another vegetable!  It best feel-good food around! Q:  Is swimming good for your figure?   A:  If swimming good for your figure, explain whale to me.  (I laughed soo hard when I read this one) Q:  Is getting in shape important for my lifestyle?   A:  Hey!  'Round' is shape!     Well... I hope this has cleared up any misconceptions you may have had about food and diets. And  remember:   "Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways - Chardonnay in one hand - chocolate in the other - body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming "WOO-HOO, what a ride!!"  - George Carlin    AND..... For  those of you who watch what you eat, here's the final word on nutrition and health.  It's a relief to know the truth after all those conflicting nutritional studies.   1. The Japanese eat very little fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans. 2. The Mexicans eat a lot of fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans. 3. The Chinese drink very little red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans. 4. The Italians drink a lot of red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.   5. The Germans drink a lot of beer and eat lots of sausages and fats and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.   CONCLUSION:  Eat and drink what you like.  Speaking English is apparently what kills you.

Next Friday (not this Friday!) is THE DAY!

Wow....to say that I am not scared about having the band removed and revision to VSG is an understatement!  I cannot believe that 6/17 is next Friday already.  My weight has been fluctuating up and down 3  - 4 lbs since my unfill on May 9th and I am ok with that due to the fact that I know I will be losing again when I am on liquids/mushies for 4 weeks!  I just so want to get to goal already.  I am so close and this has really set me back mentally!

However, I am so grateful that we are in a position to self-pay for this and to have it done by my doctor who has been taking care of me since I had my band surgery in Mexico.  While I was so impressed by both my Mexican Doctor and the hospital in Mexico, I could not see doing this more invasive surgery and then flying home to FL.  In all my research for VSG I found that there are so many people going to Mexico for this surgery.  Many more people seem to be going to Mexico for VSG than the Lapband.  At least thats the way it seems to me.  I am sure its because 1) not all insurance companies cover VSG and 2) it is a lot less dinero to have it done in Mexico than the US if you are self-pay.  I totally understand, but I am so happy that I am having it done here at home.  I am also very happy that I did not wait until I had a more serious problem before having the lapband removed because I would be crazy if I had to wait months between each surgery.

I am mentally prepared for the more painful recovery from this surgery than the Lapband and I just hope that its not as bad as what I am expecting.  That is how the Lapband surgery went for me.  I never had "the Gas" issues/pain that everyone talked about so maybe, just maybe, I will be lucky with this surgery too.

My pre-surgery diet is really nothing except the doctor just wants me to do a low carb/high protein diet 3 days before surgery.  I can do that and in fact, I have been over at Eggfaces blog and trying so many of her recipes which are very low carb/high protein.  So far, I love them all and Steve is onboard for everything I've made except for the Chicken/Artichoke Casserole.  He is not a fan of artichokes but he ate them.  It did disprove his saying "anyone who eats an artichoke, aughta choke!"  Nice, right?  I bet he doesn't say that again.  Or, knowing him, he'll change it to "anyone who knowingly eats an artichoke, aughta choke, as he didn't know he was eating it until he was done.  I didn't tell him and he ate some but was making a face of sorts, he kept eating it and finally, I could not take the face anymore and asked "what's the matter, you don't like it?"  he said, "it tastes funny, whats in it?"  I couldn't lie at that point so the next time I made it, I subbed the artichoke with zucchini and he loved it.

On another note, my gym has just installed a TRX workout system and it is the talk of the gym.  Tomorrow night they are having a preview or introduction to it and the sign-up sheet was full in the first hour.  Should be interesting.  I am a little sad though that I will not be able to exercise for at least a month and than for another 2 weeks for resistance/weights.  That is a biggie for me and I can honestly say that I did not feel that way 15 months ago when I had my Lapband surgery.  Exercise has become such an important part of my life.  I suppose that is a huge NSV for me, huh?

Why would I do this? (and new blogger alert)

I saw this recipe on a blog and I had to make them:

And then I had to eat the 2 little ones!  Living in FL after being born and raised for 45 years in NY, I am always on the lookout for good bagels and good pizza.  You'll note I said 'good'....I am a NY pizza/bagel snob so my expectations are not that high while on this quest!  Anyway, I made the dough, boiled the bagels and baked them.  They were very good but I don't think I will be opening my own Bagel store any time soon!  I actually made about 30 of them but only made a few small ones for me and the rest are for the hubs.  I froze them and he will enjoy them for the next 6 months probably as he is such a 'non-eater' it ain't even funny!  Opposites really do attract!

On another note, my daughter Mallory, over at I Spin for Cookies, (please visit her and give her some love if you can!) has finally received her wedding pictures!  They came out gorgeous.  If you'd like to see them, please visit me on Facebook and check out the Snapfish link Mallory placed on my Wall.  I still cannot believe my first-born daughter is married!  Every time I hear her refer to Kevin as "her husband" it hits me!  Is this normal?

I am not 'scheduled' to go to NY at all this summer!  Can you believe that?  Yea, me neither.  The whole family is getting together for a week in Aug. on the Outer Banks of NC, Duck to be exact but thats not the same....soooooo, I was thinking about this and asked Steve if he'd mind if I went up to Long Island towards the end of July.  I didn't even ask him if he wants to go because he will be spending a week, in one house, with my whole family so I didn't want to push it if you know what I mean ;)  I figured, my VSG surgery is June 17th, 2 weeks from tomorrow!!!!!, and I will not be on regular food until July 17th so I should make plans for the last week of July to go for a visit!  I just want to check with my doctor to confirm when my 1 month appt. will be and than I will 'book it Danno!'

Nothing else going on down here.  Its already nicely (uggh!) ensconsed in the hot, humid 90's!  This is not my favorite time here in FL I tell ya!  I am still following the Casey Anthony trial avidly to the dismay of my whole family!  Anything you want to know about this case, just ask me!  Very sad thing really and every day I ask myself, how do these things happen?  It blows my mind!  All I have to say is, Thank God for DVR's, without them, I wouldn't be able to leave my house!