Hair Loss!

Hair brings one's self-image into focus; it is vanity's proving ground.  Hair is terribly personal, a tangle of mysterious prejudices.  ~Shana Alexander


I am now 4 months post-op and I have dealt with stall's and now I am experiencing  hair loss.  I have read on other blogs about hair loss and have seen the endless posts on WLS Facebook groups about it. It started about 3 weeks ago and it was not just a little bit, it would fall out in handfuls. I freaked out when it first started and I even cried. As my hair continued to come out I started noticing how thin it was getting in the front. I became very self conscious about it.  Hair loss is just one of the side effects from having WLS! It isn't preventable it is just one of those things. While you are on your pre-op all liquid diet you aren't getting all the nutrients your body requires. I was also on a clear liquid only diet for the first 3 weeks post-op and I know I was not getting the protein I needed since I wasn't allowed to have protein shakes. It is now catching up to me but it will grow back.

 I was so stressed out from the clumps of hair I would lose on a daily basis and it was making me depressed. So I decided it was time for a new look. I went to my favorite hair salon "Scissorhands' where my fabulous hair stylists works. Monique is the bomb and always makes me feel beautiful!

I went from a very light blonde to a nice dark brown and she cut some nice thick bangs to cover the thinness in the front. It was a drastic change but I love it!

I am now taking Biotin 2x a day , I upped my protein to 80 grams a day, and I started using Nioxin  shampoo and conditioner all in hopes of kick starting my hair growth. Non of these products will stop the hair loss it will just help with the new growth! My advice is to start taking the Biotin before surgery it may not keep you from having hair loss but it should make it minimal. Also I can't say it enough protein, protein, protein!

My new friend instagram!

So I have been hooked on instagram lately and have found some great WLS patients that are going through the same experiences as me. It is so nice to see such brave men and woman share their WLS journey through photo's.

There was one photo that stood out to me and actually brought tears to my eyes. Her name is Tina aka rocktheshade (That's her instagram handle). I just searched #wls and her photo popped up. It was a split screen of half of her body before surgery and the other half after losing 320lbs with the help of gastric bypass and a lot of hard work. It was truly inspirational. I was having an emotional day and this photo just showed me that it takes time and a lot of hard work to get to your goal weight. You don't just wake up after surgery skinny!! I highly recommend following her on instagram you will be amazed by her transformation and all of the things she went through to get to where she is today. Here is the link to rocktheshade's  instagram page http://instagram.com/rocktheshade .

I also found this really cool website thanks to some instagramers. It is called I lost what? http://ilostwhat.com/  You just type in your first name and the amount of weight you have lost and it compares that weight to everyday items such as tires, phonebooks, and even dimes. It definitely put's things into perspective.  Here is my ilostwhat picture:

Learning to Love Exercise....

Not so long ago I would cringe just thinking about exercising. Why would I want to get up off my comfy couch and have to put down my can of soda? This is the thinking that got me to where I weighed 345lbs. I was lazy and depressed and my way of dealing with it was to do absolutely nothing. Sure I would get to a point where I would get on my treadmill and try to eat healthy. That lasted a week or two at a time and quickly my treadmill would be back to collecting dust and only get used by hanging clothes on it. I felt I was a lost cause and why bother? Then one day that all changed and I realized the path I was going down was going to lead to an early death. Now fast forward three months and here I am after having the Gastric Sleeve surgery 65 pounds gone and I turned my whole life around. I couldn't go back to the way things were just a short time ago!

I embraced change and now I love to workout and get my sweat on! I am still a beginner and am learning my way into this world of healthy living. I found some really great video's on YouTube. You just have to find what you enjoy. Like I have mentioned in the past I love to swim and workout in the pool. When I am in waist deep water I run from one side of the pool to the other and you feel your calves burn, I also swim laps, and just lean on the wall and kick my legs until I can't anymore. I also enjoy racing my 13 year old son and now I can even beat him. 

Working out is just a daily part of my life now and I am enjoying every minute of it! This is a picture of me after I did my new favorite treadmill workout. I will post the workout video below it.

 

Come on get off your couch and get healthy!

 



 

 

3 Month Post-Op

So Yesterday was the 4th of July and not only was I celebrating our independence but I was celebrating my 3 month " Surgiversary ". I am now 63 lbs down and I am very proud of how far I have come. I also realize I still have a little over a 100 lbs to lose before I meet my goal.  I have a long road ahead of me but I will get to where I want to be!



Below is a side by side picture of me. On the left is me at 317 lbs, it was taken just a day before my surgery and to your right is a current picture of me at 282 lbs.

Catching Up....

Summer is here and is a very busy time in my household. Not only do I have my teen and toddler but I nanny three other school age children during the summer months. When I am not taking the kids to the pool, zoo, park, indoor bounce house, water days in the back yard, I am trying to catch up on house work (mostly laundry since it is never ending). The busy life of a stay at home Mom! So please forgive me for not posting more often.

July 4th will be 3 months post op for me. I can't believe how fast the weeks have flown by. I am proud to say that as of today I am down 61 pounds since the start of my journey. The weight loss has slowed down. I lose a pound to 2 1/2 pounds a week now. I know that it is due to the fact that I am not working out like I should. I could go on and say I am so busy with the kids, but there is no excuse for not sucking it up and taking an hour a day to work out. I have to get myself back on track even if I am exhausted from a busy day I just have to do it. After I am done catching you up to speed I am going to get on my treadmill!!

Adjusting to my new sleeved life has been fairly easy. I am using my fitness pal to help track my food, protein, and water intake. Water is still a daily struggle though but everyday it is getting better. I am enjoying trying all these new high protein low fat recipes that I have been finding online. My Pinterest  board "Healthy Eats" is overloaded with them. My family is also loving the healthy meals I have been cooking. Life is good and I am learning the in's and out's of my sleeve. If you are thinking about WLS let me just tell you it is the best decision I have ever made and I wish I would have done it sooner.

Short and Sweet.....

I know that it has been several weeks since I posted anything. I was sick for two weeks and then my toddler caught my cold, double ear infection, and one of those childhood viruses at the same time. So after a few doctor visits and some antibiotics we are both feeling better.

I wasn't able to really work out during all of this. I was up most nights with my toddler and during the day I was exhausted. I did however stick to my diet and made sure to push the fluids. I thought for sure I would drop zero weight so I refrained from weighing myself until just this week. I dreaded stepping on the scale in fear of A) not losing anything or B) gaining weight. I was pleasantly surprised that I lost 6 lbs with little exercise. Then I got upset and thought if I would have worked out more then I could have lost more. But instead of getting into a bad head space I just relished the thought of dropping those 6 lbs. My surgeon said my weight loss would start to slow down and I would only lose 8 to 10 pounds a month. I can live with that!!

As a sleever it is so important to eat well, drink our 60oz of water, and to get our work out on. But sometimes life just happens and you get off schedule for a bit. Don't feel bad or disappointed in yourself just dust yourself off and get back on track!!

 

1 Month Post-Op Life

So  I hit my 1 month mark as a 'Sleever" and I am starting to feel like a normal person again. My energy level is up and I am able to start eating soft food such as (shredded chicken, scrambled egg, cottage cheese, and Greek yogurt). Getting in my 60 ounces of water is still a daily challenge but I am doing better. I cannot tell you how wonderful it was to take a bite of chicken after being on liquids for 5 weeks (2 weeks pre-op 3 weeks post-op). But after three bites of that chicken I was full and that was a very weird but exciting experience. Food no longer has control of me and I only intend on eating healthy and nutritious food that my body needs.

I also started exercising and that has really helped with my energy and overall mood. I walk for 30 minutes in the morning and later when my 2 year old naps I either do Lisa Whelchel's Everyday Workout for the Everyday Woman, or I go on Youtube and get my blood pumping with Denise Austin: Fat-Blasting Cardio Walking Workout- Beginner. I am not the most coordinated person in the world but these two woman make it easy for me to follow them and to keep up. The one thing I cannot wait for is to be given the green light from my surgeon to start swimming again. Swimming works out your entire body, burns calories, it is easy on your joints and most importantly it is so much fun!  I had to order a new swim suit since my old one is now to loose. Sadly it is the top that is really loose. It is always the boobs that go first when you start to lose weight (boo).

It is such a great feeling when your clothes start to get big on you and you can fit into a size smaller shirt. I went from a 4x to a 3x-2x and a size 26 pants to a size 24. Let me tell you how happy I was to be able to zip up my pair of size 24 pants that haven't seen the light of day since I got pregnant back in 2011. All the up's and down's of going through this surgery is really paying off and I couldn't be happier with the way things are going.

I want to leave you with a headshot of me. The picture on the left was taken at my highest weight which was 345 lbs just this past February. The picture on the right was taken just this week and my weight is 301 lbs. It is not easy for me to post my weight since it is very embarrassing and I am really pissed at myself for letting my weight get so out of control. But I am on my way to dropping all this weight and leading a happier healthier life!!