The Skinny on getting Skinny Healthy

I am a very bad blogger!

2012-10-18T20:11:00.000-07:00

I know I haven`t posted in months and it actually makes me quite sad because of all the things that have happened or are happening in my life right now. I am now going to start blogging more with recipes and pictures and really anything else weight loss surgery related. I have been a lot more active in my WLS group and doing lots of coffee meetings with the girls rather than sitting at my computer.

Well here I am almost 1 year post op and feeling great. Some days are definitely better than others. I find that the hardest thing for me in the last few months has been dealing with my brain. The only way I can truly explain what happens to you brain after weightloss surgery is that you are mind fucked. I remember having a conversation with a girlfriend of mine this time before my surgery last year saying that if I ever got to me in a size 24 (I was in a size 34 at the time) that I would be more than happy with my journey. Well OMG could I have been anymore wrong. I actually hate what I look like now more than I hated then and I feel like a giant failure. And yes yes I know you are going to say ``Shut up how could you possibly feel this way after losing over 200lbs` but it is the craziest thing. I know I don`t always make the best choices all the time when eating but I am human and I can`t be perfect but I can admit my faults. I find that one of my biggest problems is people checking up on me. I know there is difference between people asking how I am doing and people questioning me. I feel like sometimes that some people are expecting me to fail. I know that is a horrible thing to say but I am just being honest.

Well it is getting late and I have a few other things to work on.. (did I mention that I am moving 3 and half hours away in about a week and half and I am not packed yet)

Anyways blog just know you are always on my mind

Xo PouchGirl

I will catch up

2012-03-02T10:27:00.000-08:00

Due to a loss in my family my blog has been lacking but I will catch up soon.

-Pouch Girl

Day 1

2012-02-26T19:46:00.000-08:00

Well today was a pretty busy day. I went and met up with 2 girls that I went to college with for lunch and caught up on life. Then I met up with my nephew and got matching tattoos done. We both got the words "it gets better" on us. Mine is located on my back and his is on his forearm. I will post a pic of mine once its healed up and not as red. Now I am sitting in bed watching Celebrity Apprentice and watching the live Oscar feed on Facebook.

Today I walked 1km, not as much as I wanted but it's a start.

My menu for today was as follows.

Breakfast
-2 slices turkey lunch meat
-1 slice havarti
-2 tbsp greek yogurt
- sliced tomatos
-1 5inch whole wheat wrap

Lunch
-1/4 chicken leg (ate half)
-3/4 cup of caeser salad

Snack
-2oz of Chicken

Dinner
-half of a Chicken burrito

-Pouch Girl

8 week Challenge

2012-02-25T15:33:00.002-08:00

8 weeks from tomorrow is my 28th birthday. I have recently decided that 28 has become my lucky number. I created a bucket list post op where it says "be in the 200's by my next birthday" which is in 8 weeks.

So here is the challenge. I am 58 pounds shy of my goal of being in the 200's. I am averaging between 25-35 pounds a month weight loss since my surgery and that is with little exercise. I am going to challenge myself to see if I can amp myself through that 58 pounds. I will following all my guidelines and eating all that I am suppose to. I am going to change up my diet a little bit by only getting raw foods and avoiding all pre-packed and foods chalk full of preservatives.

The Plan
-Blog everyday or every other day
-Post what I ate
-Post the exercise I did
-Keep a running log of Km's walked
-Keep a running log of how much I've lost

Wish me luck!!

If you have any questions, comments or ideas... PLEASE SHARE!

-Pouch Girl

(quick edit) If I don't achieve this goal I will not be upset! This is just a personal goal I set up for myself. I am beyond proud of myself for everything I have done so far!

The Fate Dress

2012-02-22T18:04:00.000-08:00

This is the story of how fate made me spend $20 on a dress.

So about a month ago I was out shopping with my mom and I came across this blueish/purplish dress that I tried on and fell in love with but I talked myself out of. I tend to do this a lot when it comes to buying clothes. I find a way to make myself either hate or tell my myself that I will never wear it. That day I did just that, I talked myself out of it and got a black dress (yes because I always play it safe). I get home and all I can think about is that silly dress. The following week I go shopping with a friend and show them said dress that is still there on the sale rack and I don't get it. AGAIN I go back with a friend from work and show her the dress and she tells me how great I would look it in but again I talk myself out of it. Finally I can't stop thinking about it so I call up the store to see if they still have it and they don't. I am a tad bummed but not that shocked. So sad and defeated I head out to the other mall and get myself a pair of jeans (first pair post op YAY). As I get home and check my messages there is a message from the manager from the store saying they found the dress!! Of course I am over the moon and super jazzed so the next morning I call her back and ask her if she still has it. Turns out someone had bought it AND THEN returned it.

REALLY?? This like NEVER happens!

I was sooo happy! The only thing that was different between this dress and the one that I tried on was the one that I tried on a month ago was a size bigger. Well let me just say I am happy I got the size smaller because it fits me like it was made for me.. when you really think about it IT WAS!!

So I am going to wear my fate dress to see Kelly Clarkson March 8th!

Let this be a lesson.. If you see a dress you love on sale (80% off) JUST BUY IT!!

-PouchGirl

Size really does matter.

2012-02-17T09:11:00.000-08:00

This subject has been one that I really have wanted to post about. I do believe that people who have already had WLS will understand this and those who are going to have it here is your warning.

No matter how much or how fast you lose weight... you mind always lags behind.

I have lost over 130 pounds and I can honestly look in the mirror and acknowledge that the weight is gone but still not actually see it as gone. It is something that is impossible to understand because I always swore I would never be that person. I remember one night at my friends house we were discussing my surgery (my friend had already had hers) and she told me that I would not see it even though it actually happened. I swore up and down I would never be that person and that I would celebrate every single milestone and be so jazzed no matter how much I lost. I mean anything was better than what I was at pre-op. Now here I am 3 and half months later staring in the mirror in drastically smaller clothes thinking "I just don't see it" I get comments from friends and family all the time telling me that I look great or that I seem to have all this life and energy in me and I don't see it. Now this isn't me trying to be modest at all, I am being honest. Your brain and body has gone through so much post op that it takes it out of you and it's hard for your eyes to catch up to your brain.

That all being said if anyone else reading this thinking to themselves "I feel the same way" You aren't the only one. I do that all the time thinking I am the only that thinks this way when really almost everyone in our situation has thought this way at one time or another.

Just make sure to remember when someone tells you that you look good/great/amazing! Take it and thank the person because let's be honest who doesn't like being told they look good! lol

Til I post again...
-Pouch Girl

So true...

2012-02-16T12:33:00.001-08:00

Inspiration-- What Inspires You?

2012-02-16T11:44:00.000-08:00

Inspiration can be found in some of the most random places you never thought to look. For some people it's music, for others its friends, family and even celebrities they look up to.

You know I have that word thrown at me a lot since having my surgery. I keep having people telling me that I inspire them and honestly I am not trying to be modest but I don't see how I would inspire someone. I had my surgery because I knew I needed to and because I knew I deserved a better life than the non-life I was living.

I personally find my inspiration from 3 places.

First of all that being my mom. My mom is a freaking superhero. She may drive me batshit sometimes but I am not exactly the easiest person to be around all the time. Anyways, she has been sick for the last 25 years of her life battling cancer more than once and a daily fight with diabetes. She also basically raised me and my sisters (which is a task in itself) pretty much on her own while holding down a full time factory job. I may not always act like it but I am so lucky to have a woman like that in my life to inspire me.

Secondly would be my best friends. I have lots of people that I consider friends from all over but there are core group of people that are my best friends. These are the people I can tell anything to without having to think twice about anything. I don't fear judgement when I open my mouth. They love me for me and have been there since I was at my lowest and have been seeing me though all my change with open arms. I don't need to name names because these people know who they are. Each one of these individuasl bring something to the table that inspires me. The confidence, the smarts, the job and the willingness to never quit or settle anything below them. It constantly pushes me to want to be a better person.

And finally my last source of inspiration comes from music. More specifically my inspiration comes from artists like Kelly Clarkson and Lady Gaga. Both artists I have had the pleasure of seeing live and I get to see Kelly Clarkson again in 3 weeks (YAY) I love these women because they are both legitimately talented people with amazing voices that don't need auto tune to sound good. They both do their own thing without caring what others think about them and on top of all of that their songs and lyrics are inspirational!

"There's nothin' wrong with lovin' who you are She said, 'cause He made you perfect, babe So hold your head up, girl and you you'll go far Listen to me when I say"

"You think you got the best of me
Think you had the last laugh
Bet you think that everything good is gone
Think you left me broken down
Think that I'd come running back
Baby you don't know me, cause you're dead wrong

What doesn't kill you makes you stronger
Stand a little taller
Doesn't mean I'm lonely when I'm alone
What doesn't kill you makes a fighter
Footsteps even lighter
Doesn't mean I'm over cause you're gone"

I hope you all have a wonderful day! And don't forget to smile because you might just be inspiring someone and you just don't know it.

-Pouch Girl

Your best friend Post op-- Just sayin'

2012-02-15T19:08:00.000-08:00

I got this on ebay and I LOVE THEM SO MUCH!! I would suggest this to anyone post op who is feeling a little self conscience.

And everything in her store is SOO AFFORDABLE and AMAZING QUALITY!

Check it out at stores.ebay.ca/Jennys-Best-Deals

-Pouch Girl

Eggface

2012-02-15T16:38:00.000-08:00

I love this woman so much! I count my blessings everyday for her! Her recipes and posts are amazing!! I have been lucky enough to have had a few Twitter conversions with her and she is beyond the sweetest!

Check out her website!

http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/

From the Beginning

2012-02-15T16:26:00.000-08:00

Welcome to my first of many posts I hope and plan on doing in the future.

I thought I would start out with introducing myself. I am 27 from Ontario, Canada and am 3 months opt op RNY Gastric Bypass surgery. I had my surgery October 28th, 2011 at Toronto Western Hospital and my procedure was performed by the talented and yummy Dr. Timothy Jackson.

My journey started in December 2009 when I went to see my family doctor and approached him with the idea of having Gastric Bypass. He welcomed the idea with open arms and was beyond willing to help me out. He was to send my referral to the Bariatric Registry than I would hear from them what the next step would be. It took a year before I had my orientation letter sent to me in December 2011 informing me of my orientation in February 2011.

After that everything just kinda flew by! I honestly don't remember going to half the appointments I went to. Everything went by so quickly that by summer I was just waiting to have a scope done and my file would be sent to Toronto. It took 13 days from the time my file was sent till I got my call from TWH.

I remember it exactly because I had just been on the phone with the Assessment Centre because the doctor who I had the scope done with wanted to have a follow up appointment in December and I was freaking out at the thought of delaying this process anymore. I remember thinking when the phone rang "It better be the freaking Assessment Centre calling me back or I am going to flip shit" and all I remember hearing was "This is *insert name I don't remember* from Toronto Western Hospital" and my heart sank. I knew this was the moment I had been waiting for forever! So I took a deep breath and confirmed my identity to the woman who then told me that Dr. Jackson would like to meet with me on Thursday. Of course I naturally said "yes yes of course I will be there" not thinking at all because I was so excited. I hang up the phone after writing all the details down and thought to myself "Oh Shit, how am I going to get there" I was so excited I didn't think of anything else but saying yes. Regardless I was able to get ahold of the cash needed to take the Greyhound (Which I will NEVER do again) to get there as I was meeting one my best friend there who would later bring me home.

But this isn't the end of my story, not at all. If you know one thing about me is that it's never a dull moment with me around.

So I take the 1am-6am Greyhound with the drunks and sluts from Southern Ontario to Toronto where I meet up with another one of my best friends at a Tim Hortons around the block from the bus station. We sit, we chat and liaise about the excitement and what not. Of course my friend decides he is going to text his boss and tell her he isn't coming in because of his friend going to the hospital (not a total lie just made it sound a lot more urgent then it needed to be) We spent a few more hours at Tim Horton's checking out the view and chatting before we hopped into a cab to TWH.

We arrive and find our way upstairs to where my appointment is. Now this is where the story kind of goes blurry for me because I have no memory of anything prior to meeting Dr. Yummy. I remember my other best friend showing up and the 3 of us sitting in the waiting room with 2 of our cell phone plugged into the wall charging and that's about it. I was then called into the Dr. office to wait to meet Dr. Jackson. Now normally I thought 20-25 mins tops. Nope, 2 and half hours later Dr. Yummy walks in sits with me and we start chatting like old friends. We discuss my file and the risks and yadda yadda and he agrees to do my surgery. I remember wanting to cry I was so excited. Of course I don't share the news to my friends but instead I text them telling them I got declined and that I am a wreck and I need some time to compose myself. From what I remember I do believe they started to freak out and to formulate a plan to make me really happy really fast. I was in the office for another 45 mins but felt like forever while I picked my date for surgery.

I finally leave the room and I am walking down the hall (but in my head I was totally skipping) I calmly come around the corner using my file to cover up my face. My one friend gets up right away to hug me and ask if I am okay while the other one stares at me. I walk up to my second friend and put my hand on my knee and say "What I am doing October 28th, 2011 cause I totally got my surgery date" They were sooooo not impressed with me but it was totally worth it lol I was given 5 weeks of Optifast which is a shake that I had to drink 4 times a day leading up to my surgery. The first week felt like forever but after that I honestly feel like it flew right by.

That pretty much sums up the experience leading up to my surgery. I think I will save my experience with the surgery for another post.

If you have any questions feel free to post below I would love to answer them!

-Pouch Girl