LauraAG

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It's been such a long time since I have written. I pretty much stalled for 4 months and have decided to try the pouch test. Very disappointing how the good old fat just wants to hang in there. Today is the first day of the pouch test for me. I can't believe how hungry I have been the last four months. I seem to generate toward slider foods and it has really affected me physically and emotionally. I need to get back on track so I ordered the pouch test and received the booklet yesterday. I have got to also get more motivated to go out and exercise more which has also been a downfall of mine lately.Poor Logan has also put on weight and you know what they say....if your dog is overweight then your not getting enough exercise.

I made it to my one year post-op mark....Yipee!!....I am not near goal yet but hey...it took me a long time to put the weight on and it will take me awhile to get it off. I have about 50 more pounds to go to goal and I am hoping to be closer by Christmas. I keep going up and down on the scale like a yo-yo so basically I stopped weighing myself except once a week. My exercise is sporatic as I have been doing so many other things outside of the house that has been keeping me occupied. I get Logan out almost everyday especiallly to the lake as when the cold weather comes he won't be able to go and we will be doing other types of Winter outdoor activities. I am currently dating again so having a social life is also keeping me from spending time on the boards. Life sure is great!!...the best thing I could have ever done for myself.

YIPEE!!!!....I can't believe it I finaly made it to Onederland...It has taken me 10 months to finally make it. I can't believe it took so long. I have not been writing and decided not to until I finally made it here. This Summer has been going so well...with camping and all life is grand. I will be on my new bike this Tuesday and also roller skating, Logan is doing awesome and has been my little furry rock throughout all my journey. Nothing more to say but I want to hopefully be close to goal weight by Dec....cross my fingers.

I know it has been awhile.....I have been experiencing this dreaded little plateau in my weight loss. I keep going up and down the same four pounds and I am just about ready to throw my scale out the window. My eating is good and healthy....my choices are good and I don't eat very often. I am wondering if it has anything to do with my less then stellar water intake lately. I will have to get myself in gear where my water is concerned and see if that's the problem. My exercise has more than increased. I take Logan on very long hikes and was fortunate enough to do some snowshoeing and cross-country skiing this Winter. I have some pretty active plans for this summer which include bike riding, roller skating, kayaking, camping and backpacking. I feel real great and my blood pressure and cholesterol level are normal. I can finally eat meat if I chew it extremely well and slowly. The only thing I have not tried is salad. I really hesitate to try salad because I remember even before my surgery salad never really did digest well with me. Oh Well....when I get the nerve I will give it a try. So...I am on a two week vacation right now and plan on going up to my condo in Oregon...I had to make a note on here because I have been slacking.

As stated before had my follow up visit with my doctor. My Iron level was low so he told me to take an iron supplement and just today I got a call from the office stating my B1 was also low.....so I will need to supplement B1 also. Otherwise I am doing well and on track with where i am supposed to be as far as weight loss and diet. 
The weather has been turning nice up here and I can hardly wait till the warmer weather hits and the lakes fill to capacity. I hope this is a awesome summer as I plan on doing some long hikes with Logan and camping with my new TT.Till later all.....

It's my 6th month mark. I can't believe it I am down 75 pounds and it feels great. I have a appt with my surgeon today and I haven't seen him since three months post-op. The weather has been very bad up here huge amounts of snow which has kept me from going down to see him. I got my first set of lab results back and they were all normal except my iron level is really low so I am sure he will be placing me on iron. I guess that was the reason for me feeling somewhat fatigued and tired during the day and night. 
My eating habits sure have changed...I eat every couple of hours when I can as I do get hungary and eat small amounts. I have had the weirdest craving the last three months and that is for cottage cheese and peaches. It has to be this combination as nothing else is satisfying to me. I eat this everyday at least twice a day. Milk gives me gas but I love it and still drink it...even putting it in my cereal. My favorite cereal is called Heart-Heart and I find it great with milk or without. I still have problems with solid meat and chicken and have not attempted to eat it unless it has been saturated in a soup or stew. I really don't dump on sugar but too much of it makes me nauseous. I love smoked salmon on crackers which gives me no problems either. I have not attempted a sandwich with actual bread. First off I don't want to fill up on bread as I could and it was one of my downfalls pre-op as I loved bread...my favorite being sourdough. So I just want to stay away from that and will stick with crackers. I take my Multi-Vits everyday and am working on getting my calcium in.
I have gone from a size 24-26 pant to a 16-18 pant size. It's a good thing I have a lot of different sizes of clothes in my closet as I have gone through tons of them. I can actually fit in mostly all of my old clothes. I have gotten jeans and sweaters at the thrift store as I wanted some new things but don't want to spend the money on stuff that won't fit in a matter of weeks. It's always an adventure going into my closet.
Activity wise I have been having a ball. I snowshoed for the first time this Winter and loved it. Next Winter I plan on learning to cross-country ski. I had downhill skied in the past but didn't really enjoy it so I think I'll try the cross country type. Yesterday was the longest walk yet I took with my dog Logan....we went 5.5 miles. I went with a doctor friend of mine and her dogs also. She told me it was 5.5 miles at the end of our walk. She said she wasn't going to tell me until we were almost done as she wanted to surprise me. The very cool part was that afterwards I didn't even feel tired I could have walked more. I got home and then felt like taking a nap (so did Logan) and we did but while I was walking I felt great. 
People at work are really noticing my weight loss. My friends ask me each week "How Much Now"? ....it seems to be everybody's business which is fun. I get called skinny, and people tell me I am melting away ...but it's cool. They always ask me about my health and what can I eat. When we all go out for lunch they always seem concerned if there is anything I will be able to eat on the menu. My friends at work are awesome. I have a great support group there....no negativity just positive energy which has really helped me. 
OK.....so I have caught up on my journal here. My next update will be sooner than before. Anything added after my appt today and I will make a entry.

I haven't posted for awhile....I got through Christmas and can honestly say this is the best Christmas I ever had in a long time. I am down 60 pounds and even though it's slow moving that's alright. The weather has been pretty snowy up here so my main exercise will be blowing snow and dealing with my deck. Talk about a workout....it's exhausting. I don't have a heck of a lot to say as I see Dr Jenkins on the 11th and I still don't eat as much as I should. Oh!!....I do have my days when I eat more frequently than others but in general. I still can't do meats that are not saturated in moisture but I have no trouble with pretty much anything else. I also know I don't dump on sugar and can actually drink milk now. Anyway...that's it for now...will journal more later.

Time for a quick update...well I hit the big 50 this month and was given a BD party by my friend Deb. It was a great party and a lot of friends showed up. I found out that I don't dump on sugar as I did have some of my birthday cake. I was very upset to find out that meat and turkey just cooked really does a number on my stomach...I mean my stomach goes into these spasms of pain so I'll stay away from that. I do not have this problem if meat or chicken is in a soup base....I am assuming because of the moisture. Anyway I am close to 50 pounds down and can fit into XL clothese....how totally cool is that.

Happy to say my wound is healed....unhappy to say that this was my first weekend back to work and I had to return not feeling well. I have caught some bug that has given me a chest cold which in turn I think is affecting my GI tract as I have been experiencing small occasional stomach aches. My hungar is still not really present as I continue to try and get my protein in daily. I am not near still where I should be in the amount of protein and my docs P.A Linda wants me to go from Stage 4 to solid food this upcoming weekend. I can only say this is not happening...my stomach can't go there yet. I don't have a appt with my doctor until Dec so I will extend my time on stage 4 and see how it goes. Happy Holloween!

Saw the P.A Linda today. I have lost two pounds and my wound is healing very fast and better. I feel great and have no pain. I am to move onto stage four diet on the 20th and I really need to eat. I can't even describe how good I feel...It's like a breath of fresh air. I also couldn't believe how well I did on the two and a half hour dog hike I did yesterday with my friends....I was never short of breath once.