Reflections at one year out...
Well I really have a super lot to be thankful for this year. My surgery was a year ago on the 23rd. (I know, I'm 2 days late in posting this but I was busy getting ready for T-day at my house for 25 people 
) Since
11-23-2004 I have lost 136 pounds and am 1 pound below my surgeon's goal. More importantly, though, I have taken control of my life again. I have been extemely blessed through this past year. I have had a "picture perfect" WLS journey. My family has supported me and encouraged me the entire way and I don't know who is more proud of my accomplishment me or my husband and sons!! So, in the spirit of my happiness and thankfulness let me set down my "statistics", so to speak, for the last year:
Weight - 285 pre-op - 149 today
Height - 5'3" (both pre-op and today )
Pants - size 32W pre-op - size 10/12 today
Shirts - size 4X pre-op - size petite large today
Hair - my hair thinned a little post-op but I was fortunate and it never
really came out in huge amounts. Today its still baby fine - just
like its always been - but it grows faster and seems thicker than
it was pre-op....maybe because I'm eating better and taking my
vitamins?
Vitamins - Speaking of vitamins....I take them faithfully - twice a day. As
of right now I take 2 chewable multi-vits a day, 2 Calcium
Citrate with magnesium a day, Vitamin B-1, Zinc, Vitamin A,
and 2 stool softners once a day. My labs have been good and
I go for blood work again this week.
Protein - I consume a minimum of 60 gms of protein a day.
Water - I drink a minimum of 68 ounces of plain water each day. I also
drink 2 glasses of skim milk and a couple cups of decaf tea each
day.
Food - I am extremely fortunate. I can eat just about anything I want
with no problem. The only food that really gives me any trouble
is beef. I can eat chop meat but any sort of steak is just too
hard for me to digest most times.
Dumping - nope, not me. I meant it when I said I could eat anything.
This includes sugar. This has been a good thing for me, I think.
It has made me much more conscious of what I put in my
mouth. I can't rely on my pouch to rebel and stop me if I eat
something I shouldn't have so I really have to work the tool
that I was given. Did I have a taste of pumpkin pie yesterday?
Yup I did - but I had 2 or 3 bites and was satisfied. And, I ate
it only after I had eaten my protein and veggies.
I've gained - freedom from knee pain, sleep apnea and insulin resistence.
Regrets - That I didn't have the surgery sooner.
Vices - I have become the ultimate clothes "ho". I love to shop now.
My closet has more clothes in it now then it ever did before
and I love wearing it all. (I even went to Victoria's Secret
before DH and I went to Vegas a couple of weeks ago and
purchased a flirty little piece of lingerie ) I also like to have
my picture taken now - I was in so many pics yesterday its
amazing. When someone said "Kathy, smile" I did instead of
turning away and running from the camera. In fact - I have
an appointment at Glamour Shots this coming week to have
some fancy pics taken - an early holiday present from DH.
Plastics - yes, I'm considering PS. An abdominoplasty, breast lift and
possibly brachioplasty. I'll make appointments with a few
plastic surgeons for consults sometime in the next year.
This board - Has been a Godsend. I've never been a prodigious poster
here but whenever I have posted a question or concern there
has always been someone out there to answer my question
or calm my fears or give me a pat on the back and a "way to
go!!" for my WOW moments. My thanks to all who have
encouraged me and given me inspiration along the way.
My Surgeon - I firmly believe there will be a special place in Heaven
someday for Dr. Michael Nusbaum. He is an awesome
surgeon who made my life today possible. I urge anyone
in the Central/North Jersey area who is considering WLS
to go and speak with him.
Ok, thats all. Thank you all, once again, for listening to me. Congratulations to everyone who has made the decision to regain control of their life whether its through WLS or another means. Life is so wonderful and now I can live it to its fullest.
Hugs and 
,
Kathy
) Since
11-23-2004 I have lost 136 pounds and am 1 pound below my surgeon's goal. More importantly, though, I have taken control of my life again. I have been extemely blessed through this past year. I have had a "picture perfect" WLS journey. My family has supported me and encouraged me the entire way and I don't know who is more proud of my accomplishment me or my husband and sons!! So, in the spirit of my happiness and thankfulness let me set down my "statistics", so to speak, for the last year:
Weight - 285 pre-op - 149 today
Height - 5'3" (both pre-op and today )
Pants - size 32W pre-op - size 10/12 today
Shirts - size 4X pre-op - size petite large today
Hair - my hair thinned a little post-op but I was fortunate and it never
really came out in huge amounts. Today its still baby fine - just
like its always been - but it grows faster and seems thicker than
it was pre-op....maybe because I'm eating better and taking my
vitamins?
Vitamins - Speaking of vitamins....I take them faithfully - twice a day. As
of right now I take 2 chewable multi-vits a day, 2 Calcium
Citrate with magnesium a day, Vitamin B-1, Zinc, Vitamin A,
and 2 stool softners once a day. My labs have been good and
I go for blood work again this week.
Protein - I consume a minimum of 60 gms of protein a day.
Water - I drink a minimum of 68 ounces of plain water each day. I also
drink 2 glasses of skim milk and a couple cups of decaf tea each
day.
Food - I am extremely fortunate. I can eat just about anything I want
with no problem. The only food that really gives me any trouble
is beef. I can eat chop meat but any sort of steak is just too
hard for me to digest most times.
Dumping - nope, not me. I meant it when I said I could eat anything.
This includes sugar. This has been a good thing for me, I think.
It has made me much more conscious of what I put in my
mouth. I can't rely on my pouch to rebel and stop me if I eat
something I shouldn't have so I really have to work the tool
that I was given. Did I have a taste of pumpkin pie yesterday?
Yup I did - but I had 2 or 3 bites and was satisfied. And, I ate
it only after I had eaten my protein and veggies.
I've gained - freedom from knee pain, sleep apnea and insulin resistence.
Regrets - That I didn't have the surgery sooner.
Vices - I have become the ultimate clothes "ho". I love to shop now.
My closet has more clothes in it now then it ever did before
and I love wearing it all. (I even went to Victoria's Secret
before DH and I went to Vegas a couple of weeks ago and
purchased a flirty little piece of lingerie ) I also like to have
my picture taken now - I was in so many pics yesterday its
amazing. When someone said "Kathy, smile" I did instead of
turning away and running from the camera. In fact - I have
an appointment at Glamour Shots this coming week to have
some fancy pics taken - an early holiday present from DH.
Plastics - yes, I'm considering PS. An abdominoplasty, breast lift and
possibly brachioplasty. I'll make appointments with a few
plastic surgeons for consults sometime in the next year.
This board - Has been a Godsend. I've never been a prodigious poster
here but whenever I have posted a question or concern there
has always been someone out there to answer my question
or calm my fears or give me a pat on the back and a "way to
go!!" for my WOW moments. My thanks to all who have
encouraged me and given me inspiration along the way.
My Surgeon - I firmly believe there will be a special place in Heaven
someday for Dr. Michael Nusbaum. He is an awesome
surgeon who made my life today possible. I urge anyone
in the Central/North Jersey area who is considering WLS
to go and speak with him.
Ok, thats all. Thank you all, once again, for listening to me. Congratulations to everyone who has made the decision to regain control of their life whether its through WLS or another means. Life is so wonderful and now I can live it to its fullest.
Hugs and ,
Kathy 
Hi Kathy... 
WOW!... What a glorious 
account of your journey and reflections on your life...
Such sincere feedback makes it ALL worthwhile... I can't wait to write the same thing a year from now... 
Perhaps you can help me out here... Protein 60g min, water 68oz min but have you developed a sense of what the minimum daily amount of grams do you need for 1. fruits (40 grams perhaps) 2. vegetebles (40 grams perhaps?) and startches (50 grams perhaps?)...
I find weighing food much more convenient than measuring volume so I just wanted to have a feel...
Thanks a lot... and my heartfelt congratulations to you... 
Neil 
www.gastricbypass.com
WOW!... What a glorious account of your journey and reflections on your life...
Such sincere feedback makes it ALL worthwhile... I can't wait to write the same thing a year from now...
Perhaps you can help me out here... Protein 60g min, water 68oz min but have you developed a sense of what the minimum daily amount of grams do you need for 1. fruits (40 grams perhaps) 2. vegetebles (40 grams perhaps?) and startches (50 grams perhaps?)...
I find weighing food much more convenient than measuring volume so I just wanted to have a feel...
Thanks a lot... and my heartfelt congratulations to you...
Neil
www.gastricbypass.com Hi Neil,
Thank you for you kind comments. To answer your question concerning fruits and veggies....well, I really can't, . I monitor my protein intake and my water intake. If, after eating my protein I have room left in my tummy I'll eat a little bit of veggies..I've never been a huge veggie fan so I'm not really concerned if I don't eat them except from an "elimination standpoint" if you get my drift....not enough fruits/veggies = constipation.
I eat one or two pieces of fruit a day. Generally a banana and then either a clemmentine or a small apple. (the apple I have to cook in the microwave to make it "baked" or its too hard for me to digest). As far as carbs go I don't count them. I eat what I want and right now I'm still trying to add enough calories into my diet so I don't loose any more weight. I still have a pretty small pouch capacity even at a year out. I can't generally eat more than 3/4 of a cup of anything and that stuffs me full so that I have to wait several hours before I would be comfortable eating again.
Sorry I couldn't be of more specific help to you. If you're really concerned about the fruit/veggie angle you could always check with a nutritionist. My surgeon required that I see one post-operatively. I really didn't care for him though so after my last visit with him in August I decided that from now on I would let my PCP follow my labs and nutrition. I'm fortunate that he's really supportive of me and has personal experience with WLS because of a family member who went through it. He's really up to date on all the research and data and I feel totally comfortable with my decision to let him follow me.
Thanks again for your kind comments.
Hugs,
Kathy
. I monitor my protein intake and my water intake. If, after eating my protein I have room left in my tummy I'll eat a little bit of veggies..I've never been a huge veggie fan so I'm not really concerned if I don't eat them except from an "elimination standpoint" if you get my drift....not enough fruits/veggies = constipation.
I eat one or two pieces of fruit a day. Generally a banana and then either a clemmentine or a small apple. (the apple I have to cook in the microwave to make it "baked" or its too hard for me to digest). As far as carbs go I don't count them. I eat what I want and right now I'm still trying to add enough calories into my diet so I don't loose any more weight. I still have a pretty small pouch capacity even at a year out. I can't generally eat more than 3/4 of a cup of anything and that stuffs me full so that I have to wait several hours before I would be comfortable eating again.
Sorry I couldn't be of more specific help to you. If you're really concerned about the fruit/veggie angle you could always check with a nutritionist. My surgeon required that I see one post-operatively. I really didn't care for him though so after my last visit with him in August I decided that from now on I would let my PCP follow my labs and nutrition. I'm fortunate that he's really supportive of me and has personal experience with WLS because of a family member who went through it. He's really up to date on all the research and data and I feel totally comfortable with my decision to let him follow me.
Thanks again for your kind comments.
Hugs,
Kathy Most Active
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