More weight gone forever

So, I stepped on the scale this morning to a pleasant surprise. I'm over yet another plateau, and I'm 60# down in 4 months. And before anyone asks, yes, I'm still moving forward with the surgery. I know that 60# seems amazing, but, I still have like 150# to go, plus, I know that the surgery is what will really help me keep the weight off. So, here's my new weight loss shot. :)

Anyone else get any good news over the weekend or this morning?

~♥~
Lady D

Meds? What meds? :)

So, my six month blood work came up this past week to check my liver for my cholesterol meds. Well, when I went and saw my doc, she said that my blood pressure was beautiful, and the dose of my blood pressure medication was so small (5mg of Lisinopril), that she was going to take me off of it. She also said that my numbers weren't super bad before, and she wasn't sure I needed to be on my cholesterol meds. She offered to just let me go off of it, but I was curious, and wanted to check my numbers again. So, we did a fasting blood draw. I actually had decided the day I got home to take myself off my medication, and was curious as to what would happen with the draw.

Well, Monday, I got my results back, and my cholesterol has dropped 50 points! :D No more cholesterol medication. So, at this point, I'm down to my allergy meds, and my Prilosec, which, if everything works out the way I'm hoping, I'll get to go off of post-op as well. So, allergy meds! Yay! :D

Now, I'll still be taking multiple pills per day for the rest of my life in the way of supplements. As I'm sure that I mentioned before, RNY is a restrictive and malabsorptive procedure, which means that my body won't be absorbing nutrients like it does now. So, I'll have to take: calcium citrate, Iron, Vitamin D3, and Vitamin B-12 for the rest of my life. But, the trade off? It'll be a much longer life. Besides, there's a really yummy (orange pineapple) chewable vitamin that I can take post-op that has everything I need in it. :D

So, how's your week going?
~♥~
Lady D

Brownie Pancakes and Progress Photos

So, Friday night I was massively craving chocolate. So, I needed to do something to fix that, before I went crazy and ate everything in the house that was chocolate. So, here's what I came up with. Brownie Protein Pancakes. Yes. Yes. Yes. They were as good as they sound. So, without further ado, here's the recipe.

Brownie Protein Pancakes

-1 scoop Vanilla Protein Powder
-sprinkle of table salt
-2 tbsp. cocoa powder
-4 tbsp. Splenda
-2 large eggs
-1/2 c. 1% or skim milk
-2 tsp. vanilla extract
-1 tbsp. SF Hershey's syrup
-1/2 tbsp. mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
-SF Hershey's Syrup (to top)
-SF Strawberry Preserves (to top)

-Preheat your oven to 200* (to keep the pancakes that you've made warm while you're waiting on the others to cook)
-Mix all ingredients together until well combined (except the topping ingredients)
-Spray a small, non-stick pan with a non-stick spray of your choice
-Pour the batter into the bottom of the pan, and let cook until the batter looks "dry," and there are bubbles in it
-Flip once (like when you're cooking an omelet)
-Cook until the pancake is loose in the pan
-Put the cooked pancakes on a cookie sheet topped with aluminum foil in the oven until all are done
-Top with the SF Strawberry Preserves and the SF Hershey's Syrup
Enjoy!



So, I've decided to post progress photos on here too. I don't think you can really get the scope of what I'm doing without them. So, here goes. The first photo is me at my heaviest (2009, 393#)versus me a few weeks ago at my 50# photo, and the second photo is me at the start of this journey... a little earlier, but about the same weight (Dec. 2016, 363#). I will keep posting updates, but, this will at least show you where I'm coming from, and my progress in real time. :)



~♥~
Lady D

Weight Loss Classes

So, the supervised weight loss classes are interesting in that they sometimes say the same things over and over. If you pay attention in each class, you're literally going to end up hearing the same things. Granted, they do go more in depth with each class. For example, in the first supervised weight loss class, where they tell you all about your new diet, and give you the 4 pages of information on it? If you pay attention in that class, and read the handout, you'll know the topics for the rest of the classes. Since then, I've had a class on exercise, a class on protein, a class on liquids. And as I said, each class goes a lot more in depth than the glossing-over that they do in the first class, but, it still gets a little old sometimes.

I know why they do this. Not everyone pays attention in class or reads their handouts. And it makes sense. I do still take some notes, and while I do listen, I tend to drift a little. LOL.

One thing that I am sad about is that they got rid of the food journals. It makes sense, since there are so many ways online or on your phone that can help you journal your food, but, I like writing it all down. The journaling definitely helps to hold me accountable too. So... I made my own. It has all the same information in it that the other journal has, just handwritten by me, in a much cooler journal (I used a journal I bought at Barnes and Noble for it).

So, I went and saw my family doctor yesterday, just a general check-up. She was thrilled by my progress so far. She thinks I'm going to do amazingly with my surgery, and can't wait to see my results. She's taken me off my blood pressure medication, and we're rechecking my cholesterol, which will most likely lead to me coming off my cholesterol medication. Happy happy girl right here. That just leaves me with the Metformin, which isn't actually for sugar control, but for my PCOS. So, if I can literally just be on my metformin, allergy meds, and Prilosec (which I won't need after surgery either!) I'll feel awesome. :D

Have a FANTASTIC weekend everyone!

~♥~
Lady D

Introvert tendencies

**Comments Intentionally turned off**

So, most of you who know me know me as a bubbly extrovert. Heh. That's not actually the case. I'm a bookworm who loves nothing more than to be at home hanging out with my husband and daughter. It actually takes work to show the extrovert. One thing that this change has made me notice is that it's bringing out my introvert tendencies more... except for at concerts. I was dancing like no one was watching, because well, I like to dance. I can't dance, but I like to dance. So, I was the crazy lady who looked like she was convulsing, most likely. :D

But, especially at work, where I used to be more of a social butterfly, talking to everyone, hanging out in my co-worker's office, and chatting while we work, I'm not so much anymore. I like to stay in my office, and keep my head down while I get my work done. Honestly, I think it's made a bit of tension between me and a couple of people. I could be reading too much into it, but, there you go.

I think most of this is a body image issue I'm having right now. I'm transitioning, and I don't really feel confident, or beautiful right now. And no, I'm not fishing for compliments, that's just how I feel. My husband has had to reassure me several times that he still finds me sexy, even as I'm going through this. I know that once I lose the weight, too, I'm going to have to have plastic surgery at least on my arms, if not my belly. So, that will be another hit on my self-esteem, since I will be much smaller, and healthier, but I will have loose skin hanging all over. So, be prepared for your mental health to change a bit while going through this process. I personally don't think I'm as cranky anymore (my husband might disagree with me on that ;) ), but I'm much more inside my head. A lot of reflection is happening right now.

~♥~
Lady D

Time Flies

I can't believe how close it's getting! Tomorrow, I go to my second to last supervised weight loss class (my last one will be in September). My husband and I started seriously sitting down and talking about dates for surgery. We know that we're waiting until after the cruise (at the earliest, I'd be looking October for surgery, otherwise, and being 1 month out of surgery and going on a cruise? No thanks.), but we don't know exactly when we'll try for. I have a few things I need to work around, which aren't a problem (time off at work, ect), but I can't believe that I could be having my life changing surgery in as little as THREE MONTHS! :o I'm astounded.

~♥~
Lady D

Benchmark Weight Loss!

Good morning everyone!

I hit a weight loss benchmark this morning. When I weighed myself, I was 313.8... which means... Drumroll please? I've lost FIFTY POUNDS. Fifty pounds are officially gone forever from my life. It's not been easy so far, and it's only going to get harder from here. But it's totally going to be worth it. :)

~♥~
Lady D