Pictures!

I put the few pictures that I had from last night on my profile page I think! I am not that good at it so if you have problems I am not surprised! Carmen

Carmen- Are you the Carmen that has 8 kids? I am pre-op right now (lap RNY) and have 4 kids (5 yrs, 3 yrs, and 10 month twins). If this is the right Carmen, I would love any advice about how your lifestyle change has affected your family, especially eating, meals, grocery shopping, etc. Thanks in advance! Belle

Bella- Hi it's me Carmen!!! I just hadn't had a moment to get back too ya yet. Sorry about that. Yes I do have 8 kids, but it is never chaotic at our house. We are very organized and have very little time in our day for trouble. I have been doing this for too long to be able to handle much monkey business. When we had just 3 or 4 kids it was nuts but now it is a time issue. I had my lap RNY in April of this year. I have lost 185 lbs. It has come off pretty fast, but I work on it every day. I spend at least 1 hour each day working out and most days closer to two hours. I keep my calories very low as well as my carbs under 25 per day. I have been very good about keeping my protein up and have never missed my vitamins. I have not had too many post op problems other than vomiting. I seem to do that a lot. It didn't start until I was about 4 months out. I also lost what seemed to me like a ton of hair, but now that it has stopped falling out it really wasn't that bad. Things are very different for my family. We are gone doing things a lot before i was always home. I shop for food more often and bring lots more fresh food home than ever before. I really cook and pay attention to what goes into our food. I used to only make things from a box, bag, or can. I think we spend a little more each moth on food now, but our going out to eat bills are all gone!!! My kids are learning lots of great new habits. They read labels and think about how to get more exercise each day. My husband has lost 66lbs. since I had my surgery. Mostly because he lost his eating partner. We are not a sugar free home, but I try to stay sugar free myself. I tend to sneak a bite of sweets sometimes, but pay dearly for it over the toilet. I have so much energy that it sometimes makes my husband nervous. I was on soooo many meds for my heart and stuff preop, and now I take none. I have taken lasix a few times when I am especially swollen, but I am sure that is from eating too much salt. My new favorite foods are pickles, sauerkraut, raw veggies, and nuts. I also use a ton of soy products. We do not eat seafood at our house or red meat. I use turkey or chicken for most dishes. Some hams, and bacons, but not much. I have used tofu, but the kids just aren't fond of it. I always read the labels!!! One of the struggles for me newly preop was cooking for the family. I would be doing my thing in the kitchen and the next thing I new I was popping something in my mouth. I can't tell you how many times I had to spit food out. (I wonder how much weight I gained just while I was cooking dinner?) Habits become very clear in the first few weeks postop. I also had to learn to chew my food and slow down!!! If you don't it comes back out, but is also very painful. I hope I didn't go on too long, but if you have any questions just ask me. I am not shy anymore and have found that if one person is wondering something, then someone else probably wants to know too. Blessings, Carmen

Carmen- Thanks so much for your wonderful response. You answered tons of my questions. How old are your kids? I bet they are so proud of you! 185 pounds seems pretty shocking for 8 months, but it sounds like you have earned every pound. Do you mind me asking what you EBW was before the surgery? Mine is 155 technically, but 140 from where I really want to be (or atleast what I weighed when I was thin and active a decade or so ago!) Sounds like your surgery has had many positive benefits for your family's health as well. Although I am the only one who is heavy, it sure wouldn't hurt any of the other's in my house to eat better. Of course, we cannot cut back on beef like you since we raise cattle! And no, tofu would not go over well in a family of ranchers. lol! I am worried about fast food. I know I will have to really be careful since we are on the go SOOOOO much, we eat close to one meal a day in my vehicle! That will be a major adjustment for everyone. Thanks again for sharing! Belle

Belle- Ashley is 21 Andy is 17 Colby is 12 Erica is 12 Taryn is 9 Aliah is 7 Talea is 4 Jimmy is 2 When I started I weighed 326 lbs. And I told myself I would be happy to loose 100 lbs. So when that came and went I had to really rethink my plan. I sat down and looked at the BMI stuff and really wondered what would put me at a healthy comfortable weight. I am 5'7" and decided that my secret dream goal would be 158 lbs. I didn't really think I could make it, but that was what I wanted. Well this AM when I got on the scale, it said 137 lbs. That means that I have lost 189 lbs since my surgery day. I put 8 lbs on in the three weeks just before surgery! I had so many one last time meals. Anyway I hope that is what you were asking about. Oh and I just wanted to say that I too eat on the run all the tome and now I just bring it with me. Cheese sticks, veggies, soy nuts, almonds, turkey jerky, pickles..... You will find a way! Carmen

OMG! 189 pounds?! That is fantastic! You must be so incredibly proud of yourself not to mention how good you must feel! Awesome... Are Erica and Colby "regular" twins or Irish twins? A 19 year span from oldest to youngest! What a wonderful family! We got one more than we bargained for the last time. Our plan was to stop at 3, so I had a tubal. No more babies for me. One more question... You had said earlier that you exercise daily for an hour. What kind of exercise do you do? Belle