Compliments :)

Yesterday was a day full of compliments.  I worked the night before, and one of my coworkers that came in for day shift just kept looking at me.  I was finally like, "What???"  She said she just couldn't get over how thin my face looked.  I was floored.  This is someone I see every week or every other week, so I was surprised that she noticed such a change.  Several other people (not present for that conversation) said the same thing, that they could really tell a difference in my face and neck.  Even Trainer Tim said I was looking good and that he could really tell that my face is slimmer!  62 pounds down, apparently that's when people start noticing.  All the kind words really made me feel good about myself!

Last night, I went through one of my storage totes with old clothes in it, and I ended up with probably 15 shirts (mostly tees) that now fit that didn't a month ago.  Such a cool feeling!  I need to look through my stuff more often, though, because there were several pairs of pants and shorts that are too big already, and I never got a chance to wear them.  Oops!

Tomorrow is measurements day with Trainer Tim.  Hopefully the numbers will reflect what everybody sees!

Courtesy of Pinterest, I made these Motivational Marbles jars (see pic).  Every pound I lose, I move a marble from the "Pounds to go" jar to the "Pounds gone" jar; I have clear and white marbles for each pound, and heart shaped ones for each 5 pounds.  Very gratifying!  I just need a "prize" to put in the bottom of the "Pounds to go" jar for when I reach my goal weight!  Trainer Tim loves this idea, and he actually wants to use it.  :)

More of the head trip...

Wow, I've been horrible about posting!  I'll try to do better.

First off, I'm about 10 weeks postop now, and 58 pounds down (that's in about 16 weeks, not 10 weeks, just to clarify) at my last weekly weigh-in.

Today, I finally bought one new set of scrubs.  They are a different brand, which I believe runs a bit smaller than my other ones, and they are fully 2 sizes smaller than my old ones.  Yay!  I also bought a dress at Old Navy.  Yikes!  And despite these new, smaller clothes, I'm still playing that game in my head.  When I look in the mirror, all I see is the fat girl.  I mean I know I'm still really fat, but I still see the 285-lb girl.  I wish I knew what to do to make myself appreciate all the hard work I've done.  I mean I'm kicking ass at the gym, and doing a really great job with eating the right things.  But I just feel like I'm not losing fast enough.  Yes, I'm fully aware of how ridiculous that sounds.  Someone tell me what to do to fix my head, and I'll do it!

Oh, and I believe my hair is starting to fall out a bit.  :(

Trying to stay positive...

Measurements

Got measured by Trainer Tim today.  It has been about 2.5 weeks since our last measurement day.  During that time, I've lost 0.5in off my arm, 0.75in off my chest, 9 pounds (according to their scale), and 1.7% body fat.  Nothing off my belly this time (screw you, monthly bloat!), or my hips.  I was actually pretty surprised about the 9 pounds.  I had been in a little rut, but I had finally dumped some weight when I weighed this week.

I give so much of the credit to Tim for pushing me!  I'm (slowly) learning not to let the first thing that comes out of my mouth be "I can't do that!"  Sometimes I still say it, but I'm trying to just shut up and try what he tells me to do.  Today, for instance, it was pushups.  Girl pushups, but still.  Someone who still weighs what I do should not be able to do pushups.  I told Tim the same thing.  But then I did them.  He pushes me beyond anything I ever thought I could do, and I'm so grateful.  I was just thinking that I could be working out on my own, but there's no way I would have forced myself to push out that fourth set when my whole body was shaking if I had been on my own.  So, all in all, working with a trainer, and specifically Trainer Tim, has been the best investment I've made for my health and well-being.  If you're in the area, check him out at Fit For Life off of Evans Rd!  :)

In other news, I finally checked out the Southern Surgical Associates monthly support group last night.  It was pretty decent.  There weren't a whole lot of people there, but there was a good mix of people.  I think there were 3 or 4 who haven't had surgery, one guy 2 weeks out, one lady 10 years out, and a big range of people in between.  I think it will be helpful to see what's coming for me in the upcoming months (apparently some sort of emotional/mental breakdown around 6-8 months out), and a good forum to vent and to get feedback.

Possibly working the next 3 days, then headed to the beach this weekend.  I'm hoping it will re-energize my soul!

At least I'm not the only freak...

So I've been reading some other blogs for a while now, blogs written by people who have had WLS (weight loss surgery).  Check out Eggface's link on the left side of my page.  I've gotten a lot of recipes off of her page, stuff even non-ops might find appetizing.  Trainer Tim has sampled and enjoyed a couple of things I've made.  What I need to do is look for my info that tells me when the support group is for patients of my surgeon and go to those meetings, but I digress.  This morning, I read a conversation going down on one of these blogger's facebook pages.  It was a "guess the acronym" type of thing.  The acronym was LPS (little pouch syndrome), meaning a day when you feel like you just can't eat much at all.  Especially when juxtaposed with BPS (bottomless pit syndrome), or those days when you feel like you can eat a lot.  Well I had no idea these two syndromes were common among WLSers.  I just thought I was the weird one for having one day where I can eat enough, no problem, and then the next day, I feel full to the gills after 3 bites.  So inconsistent!  I also read in that conversation that it's a very common thing for WLSers not to be able to eat as soon as they wake up in the morning (or in my case, in the afternoon).  Big sigh of relief over here.  I may be a freak, but at least I'm not the only freak...

Side note, 52 pounds down on my last weigh day (I'm shooting for Sundays or Mondays).  The weight loss has slowed way down, but I'm trying to focus on what I need to do every day to keep up this healthy LIFESTYLE. I'm also trying to be a good girl and to stay off the scale except for on weigh days.  This. is.  HARD. for. me.  !!!!!!