Saturday, October 29, 2011

Day #305 Another App, Progress and November Challenge!

I noticed that one of my cousin's has been posting her results from myfitnesspal.com on facebook, and I became curious, but not curious enough to actually look into it. Then one of my best friends said he was doing it as well and then I really had to know what it was all about. I was using the calorie counter app from fat secret but the new update made it wonky and hard to use, so I had abandoned it. I started using the myfitnesspal.com app on my phone (which was FREE!) and am IN LOVE! It's pretty easy to use and it lets your friends that are using it also see your progress. You can even comment on their status updates. It's like a facebook for weight loss.

The last few days I have eaten everything I could get my hands on. I think it's part hormonal and part fear that I need to eat everything I can't have after surgery now while I still can. That's not a smart way of thinking and I gave myself a giant wake up call today. I haven't lost any weight in the last two weeks and i'm disappointed in myself. I told the nutritionist at my last appointment that I could lose the 10% I need to lose for surgery in the first month and i've only lost about 5%. I'm excited that i'm halfway there but disappointed that I'm not where I could be if I had given 100%. My next appointment with the nutritionist is next week and i'm hoping that I can be closer to 7-8% of weight loss.

My goal for November is to be under 210 lbs. I'm going to accomplish this by counting calories using myfitnesspal.com and working out using my Garmin Fit app.

PS. Hey Sue, (http://skinnygirlsue.blogspot.com/) I tried to post a comment on your blog for the November Biggest Loser Challenge and it wouldn't let me! I'm in buddy!

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Day #302 Amazing Exercise App

I don't know why it's so hard for me to update my blog on the days I work, well, I do know, i'm so exhausted I fall asleep before I can do simple things like take my vitamins! I'm off today and then back to work tomorrow. I started working in the recovery room for overtime and i'm loving it, but working 3 twelve hour shifts, 2 9 hour shifts and taking call for 9 hours every week is starting to make me feel tired and less able to manage stress. I worked 9 out of the last 10 days and on days 7-9 I ate like crap!

I have the Nike + iPOD app that works with my shoes but it only tracks walking and running. I've been on the lookout for an app that allowed you to track biking since that's my newest obsession and found Garmin Fit. You input your height, weight, and age, select your activity and then start. You can even play songs from the library on your phone from inside the app. When you're exercising it shows where you're at on gps and at the end of your workout tells you your pace/mile, duration, calories burned and distance. I tried it today when I walked home from a friend's house, I did 2 miles in 34:05 minutes and burned 258 calories. I'm officially in love with this app. The best part was that it only cost 99 cents!!! A-mazing.

I hope you have a fantastic day tomorrow! I'm going to start making healthier eating choices as of my next meal, how about you?

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Day #296 Taking care of myself, in more ways than one

I've worked every day since my last post and have a really hard time working out after a long shift. Today was my first day off and I rode my bike 10.8 miles in 83 minutes. Last time I did 10.6 miles in 90 minutes, so I was really excited to shave off 7 minutes while adding .2 miles! Riding my bike makes me feel so carefree, I don't think about anything and just enjoy the moment.

I also got a massage today, it felt amazing. I'm working six days this week (four 12 hour shifts and two 8 hour shifts) so I wanted to take today to really take care of myself.

I went to a support group for surgery last night. I have a friend that is doing the surgery with me and we went together. I like hearing stories from patients post op. The patient that spoke last night was one week post op and was looking and feeling great. I have to admit i've been having doubts about the surgery. I love to drink a ton of fluid with my meals. I wish that as hard as I work that I could lose and maintain weight without needing surgery. I haven't had a "normal" BMI since middle school and can't wait until I get there, even if it means surgery.

Saturday, October 15, 2011

Day #291 Coffee Adventures, Weigh-In

I was addicted to coke. On the days I worked I would drink 2-3 20oz bottles of coke per day. I really don't like coffee, but have decided I need something to help me get through the ~13 hour days. When I was at the grocery store yesterday I asked my dad what brand of coffee he recommended (he's a coffee lover) and he said I should try eight 'o clock coffee. I decided to make it today and holy shiz! I have the type of coffee maker that grinds the beans and then makes the coffee...so I eyeballed the amount of beans I put in. It ended up being about half a cup! For only 2 cups of water! According to my dad the grounds soak up water so I only ended up with one cup of coffee with half a cup of grounds...needless to say I accidentally made espresso, lol!

I weighed myself this morning (I tend to be a daily weigher) and I weighed 220.8. It's hard to see these high numbers especially after I had gotten down to 200 before but I will get there again. The 2teens are so close I can taste them! I hope to get down to 200 again before surgery. I also can't wait for my scrubs to fit me again...they fit so tight I look pregnant :-( Hopefully once i'm in the 200's they'll fit again.

Friday, October 14, 2011

NSV-Grocery Store Success :-)

I went to the grocery store today at 4pm just when I started feeling hungry. I remember the nutritionist saying that after surgery i'm going to have to take in 60-80 grams of protein and that initially during the liquids phase that isopure was really good. I grabbed a cold one and drank it throughout the store. It was alpine punch or something like that, 160 calories, 40g protein. OMG! It does not taste yummy.....but it definitely filled me up! I bought some grape ones for at home, I hope they taste better :-)

I also bought some Jenny-O turkey 99/1. I'm going to use it to make tostadas, i'll let you know how they turn out!

Update: They were awesome! Each tostada with fat free refried beans (from a can) and weight watchers mexican cheese was 200 calories. It tasted exactly like the extra lean ground beef tostadas I used to make all the time.

Thursday, October 13, 2011

I feel like a 12 year old!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE riding my bike! I rode 10.6 miles today in 90 minutes. It was tough but fun. I love going down hills crazy fast with the wind at my face feeling like i'm flying...just like I did when I was 12! I have a very sore gluteus maximus!

I'm doing well eating-wise today also. After my ride I had Rudy's BBQ for lunch. I had half of an ultra lean brisket sandwich, half of a small container of potato salad, pickles, and unsweet tea. 406 calories. For a snack I had half of a pb&j sandwich for 215 calories. I've been trying to eat at least one serving of protein, one serving of carbs, and one serving of fruit/veggiese at each meal. I'm counting pickles for a vegtable :-p.

Since I slept through breakfast I have quite a few calories to spend and i'm contemplating dinner ideas.

On the WLS front, I saw my PCP, who is also a pulmonologist. He is writing my letter of necessity and giving me cardiac and pulmonology clearance. He's also the medical director of my unit which is totally awesome. He also prescribed me metformin to help with my insulin resistance.

I got a second job in recovery room today and i'm really excited about that! Today is just plain awesome. I hope you're having an awesome day too!

In response to a comment

Like you said, you don’t know me or my circumstances. I have severe insulin resistance, gaining weight after successful weight loss is inevitable. In order to maintain my weight loss and continue to lose I have to keep cutting down on calories and increasing my activity level. My insulin levels stay sky high making me feel like a starving lunatic 24/7. This surgery will eliminate my insulin resistance, allowing me to maintain weight loss for the rest of my life, and avoiding the diabetes and heart disease that my mom and maternal grandfather have.
Is it disappointing that I have to gain 30 lbs in order to have the surgery covered by insurance? Yes. I wish that with my risk factors and current comorbidities that my insurance would pay for it. But that’s not how it works, so if I have to play their game in order to avoid paying 20,000 out of my own pocket, then I will.
I’m not writing this blog to be an example to anyone, this blog is skinnynurseb-an icu nurse trying to lose weight, not skinnynurseb-do exactly as I do and you will lose weight too!. This is a BLOG, an online journal for ME to record my progress. Being a nurse has made me hyper-aware of the risks of the surgery as I understand exactly what they are. I have spent a great amount of time watching actual surgeries, speaking to patients of my surgeon, and reading experiences of others online. I’m not jumping into this because it’s the “easy” way out! Weight loss surgery is not the easy way out, and if you think that you’re ridiculous. Life after the surgery is difficult, mentally and physically. I’m as prepared for that as anyone can be until they begin to experience it themselves. I have an excellent support group to help me along the way.
I laugh at your statement about me not retaining any information from seminars because I’m just trying to jump through hoops. I have a second Bachelor’s degree…I understand nutrition better than 95% of the population. If I didn’t have insulin resistance I wouldn’t need this surgery as I would be able to maintain weight loss. I love to exercise and I love eating healthy foods.
My life isn’t going to dramatically change once “the weight” is off. I haven’t always been overweight. I started gaining weight when I hit puberty and developed PCOS, which triggered my insulin resistance. I’m a very confident, strong individual who knows what she wants in life and knows what she needs to do to get it. Thanks for taking the time to comment on my blog!

Day #289 Changing Course

The last time I weighed in was June and I weighed 202.6. Over June and July I hovered between 200 and 212. Quite a few of my coworkers have had gastric sleeve's done and I was very curious. I did some research and read blogs (of course!) of people who have had the surgery done and decided that this was something I was very, very interested in doing. Unfortunately my BMI was only 30 and I wasn't a candidate to have my insurance company pay for the surgery.

After talking to one co-worker in particular I decided to gain enough weight to have a BMI of 35. It took me most of August and all of September but I finally weighed 233.4 on September 29. That's the date of my first appointment with my surgeon. The surgeon that I have chosen is awesome! He always comes to the unit to put in cvp's and is very skilled. He also used to be my neighbor, which is cool too.

So, these are the things i've done so far in order to meet the insurance requirements:
9/28 Attended Weight Loss Seminar at my hospital
9/29 First appointment with surgeon
10/5 1/2 Support Groups
10/6 Meeting with Bariatric Coordinator, 1st Nutritionist Appointment, Psych Eval (Passed)

On 10/6 I was cleared to start losing weight by the nutritionist (who happens to be my buddy!). I started on a 1500 ish calorie diet and have been trying to exercise on my days off. Most of my meals consist of chicken or ultra lean beef, pasta/rice, vegetable, and fruit.

On 10/7 I walked 3.5 miles to my Aunt's house and then she dropped me off at home. I worked the next 4 days.

On 10/12 I walked 3.8 miles to my Aunt's house (different path) and then rode her bike back to my house (different path) 4.5 miles. I had a drinkable tiny yogurt when I got there. For lunch I had a subway 6" ham and turkey sandwich on wheat bread with american cheese and avocado. I also had a broccoli and cheese soup with 4 club crackers. NO CHIPS! To drink I had crystal light. I had two chocolate chip cookies for 100 calories for dessert. For dinner my husband got chick-fil-a grilled chicken sandwiches and I had the fillet and bottom bun, he also cooked broccoli pasta, and corn. For dessert I had a jello chocolate pudding. Total calories for the day 1585. Estimated exercise calories ~830. I weighed in this morning at 222.0.

I have my appointment with my PCP who is also a pulmonologist tomorrow. He will write my letter of necessity and provide my pulmonology and cardiac clearance. After that i'm pending one more support group, a physical therapy eval, and monthly nutritionist visits until I have a total of 6, then submission to the insurance :-)