OK OK I know when I did wrong

It was too good to be true right?  You mean the weight will not just drop off of me because of the surgery? 

Well it was a week of being very busy but not exercise busy.  We had something going on at church almost every night this week and we had been busy doing other stuff and I really didnt have time to do the normal walking I had been doing the previous weeks. (OK I could have made time… yes I know that!!)  Add in the fact that my diet has also changed again in that I can now eat normal foods but obviously in MUCHsmaller quantities made for a challenging week, weight loss wise.

While Sharon and I have been eating well and it has been 4+ weeks since anything fried has passed our lips but it appears we have been eating well but our exercise lacked any attention this week.  I had a total weight loss of 1 pound for the week and even though the doctor said 1-2 pounds is normal and the safe way to lose weight I am so disappointed in myself.  I have now lost a total of 31 pounds since the surgery but I was really hoping for 50 lost before I returned to work.  I  have to get back and do some walking to burn the calories I am consuming each day.  I do miss the walks down by the lake and just enjoying the natural beauty that God has provided for us.  Its funny that I have passed the beach area in Williams Bay, Wisconsin almost every day and would occasionally look and say that the water looks nice and wouldn’t it be nice to take a boat out there.  But this time off from work and the walks we have taken by the beach have really opened my eyes to the beauty of the area and it has also shown me that I can make this change in my life and the natural beauty I see is something I can actually be around for a good number of years to observe if I can meet this weight loss challenge.  I have friends to make, Grandkids to get to know and relationships with those very close to me that need to be restored.  This week gave me a “gut check” and made me realize just because I have a device implanted in me helping to lose weight does not mean it is just going to happen like magic.

I know this weight loss will take patience and it will also teach me many lessons about my life so I am not getting down or beating myself up yet.  Next week will be the key for me to show me that when I weigh in I not only ate correctly and exercised but also showed my family and my God that they mean more to me that anything that could ever pass my lips.  This weight loss is for them and not for me!!

I return to work this week and that is probably best for me.  I can no longer sit around the house and be tempted by nibbling here and there on healthy foods but it will also force me to get some exercise.  I will have to park my car so far out in the parking lot that I need a GPS to find my way to my office.  A brisk walk into work as well as a walk out of work to my car will be combined with taking 7 flights of stairs in and out of the building will give me the exercise I need.  I do also plan on walking somewhere on the way home to get that “extra” shot of fat burning exercise I need to make sure that when I weigh in on Saturday I will not see a 1 pound loss again this week.

Have a great 4th of July and I will be sure to report again this next weekend what the weight loss was for this week.

Please feel free to leave comments on my blog either good or bad.  I like to see who is reading my ramblings…there are a few of you out there.  Why? I am not sure but I at least I hope you are entertained!!

Stitches, Diet and various other things

I am now 3 weeks out from my surgery date and at this point the incisions are healing nicely and I have finally been able to remove all the orange stuff they slather onto you before surgery.

Sharon and I have been watching very closely what we eat and for the 1st time in our lives we are actually reading labels and are amazed at the garbage we were filling our bodies with. It is no wonder how we became as large as we have after looking at the calories and fat grams in just one tube of those Pringles we would buy at the store for 99 cents. Who would of thought that for a buck you could purchase over a thousand calories and a large amount of fat grams….what a bargain! And don’t even get started on the lunch meat and white bread I would consume as a part of what I thought was my balanced diet of white bread, lunch meat and skim milk because of course that was better for me.

3 weeks out from surgery and I am happy to report that I have lost 30 pounds and Sharon has lost 5 which is a huge accomplishment for her. I cannot tell you how proud I am of here and how she has really stuck to eating right. We have been trying to do as much walking at the lake as we can but it has been a hectic 2 weeks but we have kept ourselves busy.

I am now able to eat anything that I can actually handle that does not make me feel like throwing up. I have to watch the quantity of what I eat and make sure I am not drinking water 30 minutes before or after eating as this will help flush food through the restricted opening and making me feel hungry all over again. I also have to make sure I chew food completely as large pieces could potentially get stuck in the restricted opening causing some major issues. I have actually found that this process of actually chewing my food instead of the normal gulping I did previously has made me feel fuller quicker because I get the satisfaction of eating that I craved because it does actually take me longer to consume one very small meal.

Speaking of feeling hungry there has only been one time since the surgery that I actually felt hungry and that was because we had been out and about for a number of hours and actually forgot about eating. Sharon and I are now amazed that we can go out and run errands or actually be out for a long time and not think about stopping anywhere to eat anymore. We have dedicated ourselves to eating at home where we can control the fat grams and calories we consume. There has only been one time since this surgery that we stopped anywhere and that is because we were literally out all day and did not eat anything up until that point. We did stop at Culvers and split a GRILLED chicken sandwich where I actually tossed out the bun and had the chicken only.

I have just re-read what I wrote and realized this blog has turned into something like those crazy Christmas letters everyone gets sent by their crazy aunt and uncle telling them every little boring aspect of their lives…I mean like anyone cares right? Well since no one besides Crystal (Hi Crystal.. Love ya!) is reading these blogs I guess that is ok but I promise to make these postings more lively and more frequent in the future. I will blog again this Saturday as that is the day we will weigh in and see if any more weight has been lost from our over sized bodies.

( this post and the next one were saved as a draft for a couple of weeks now but I totally forgot about them.   I did add some updates but for the most part they are my thoughts from a few weeks back.)

5 little holes

Its done…… Yes the long journey towards the surgery is finally complete and now the long journey to a changed life starts right now

After numerous setbacks and issues the surgery was performed on June 4th resulting in me having 5 little holes on my chest and belly. The surgeon reported that the surgery went better than expected and he appeared pleased.

I spent one night at the hospital as they held me for observation.  They said something about a 500 pound man and blood clots blah blah blah but to be honest the only thing I remember is tubes in both of my arms and a oxygen sensor on my finger.  I was of course free to do what I wanted including going to the bathroom.  Let me tell you it is a experience trying to navigate through the hospital room with a rolling IV tower, tubes coming from every which way and the ever present oxygen sensor on your finger. Once I  actually made it to the washroom, all the while controlling these tubes and sensors and trying not to dip the only gown the hospital has in your size into the toilet itself made me more determined to just “hold” it until I actually went home.

MY menu at the hospital consisted of various different colored jello’s and ice water.  They allowed me to order from a normal hospital menu but even though I ordered the chopped steak I still somehow managed to receive the pale green jiggly jello that I came to despise.

I was finally released and had to be wheeled out of the hospital in this rather large wheelchair that was brought to the room by a elderly woman who took one look at me and announced for the whole floor to hear, “I cant push this one….we need someone else!”  Sharon, my wife stepped up and said she would do the pushing if the lady would clear the path for us as we made our way to the exit.

As we left my room I was piled high with all the things you collect from your normal hospital stay. Breathing machines to make sure your lungs are clear,  The CPAP machine I was given the previous week for sleeping which I was told it was very important I bring this machine with me to the hospital……even though it was never used.  No get well cards or flowers for me but a large stuffed teddy bear and other bags of stuff piled high as I was wheeled through the halls.  I also need to mention that all the while I was being wheeled I did it in bare feet.  Yes, my wife forgot to bring my shoes and socks back to me and so everyone in the hospital saw this large fat man being wheeled through the halls clutching various bags and of course the teddy bear with no shoes on.  I was then released at the main door where I stood with all of these items….barefoot and teddy bear in hand….as I waited for Sharon to get the car that seemed to be parked 15 miles away. I must have looked like a lost child just waiting to be found as visitors and hospital staff filed past me while I waited.

I did make it home and enjoyed my 1st week of eating which included only liquids.  But at least the liquids did have some flavor to it as I was allowed to drink various items like Ensure and Carnation instant breakfast, which actually gave me my first opportunity to toss my cookies after I drank it a little too fast the 1st time.

So just for the sake of being totally honest and so my progress can be tracked I am more than ashamed to admit my pre-surgery weight was a official 527 lbs.  Yes, I am and was huge and I am totally ashamed of that as I have no idea how I got here.  Blaming my girl friend Little Debbie might be a good start but in  the end it was all my doing.