Quick update

My bloodwork came back...most of which was good.  Turns out that I am still anemic.  Pretty major.  I am also vitamin D deficiant.  Who isn't?  So this sets me back a bit while I take more vitamins than I would ever want to try to bring it all up.  They'll retest in a month to make sure my levels go up.  Especially the iron because after surgery, I will be having to take iron anyways since I won't absorb the nutrients like normal.  Fingers crossed!!

Also because I tend to get headaches, Dr Brandon referred me to a sleep specialist who set me up for a sleep study to see if I have sleep apnea.  That would normally be just fine except they soonest they can get me in is JULY!!  Ugh!  I wanted to have everything done and submitted to insurance by then.  So that was kinda dissapointing but oh well. 

So that's it for now.  Just trying to be patient as much as I can.  I also decided to go back to college to get my teaching degree... so that's kind of big news! Lots of changes in 2012!!!!!

A step in the right direction

I had my dr appt today with my primary care dr to get a letter of approval and support as well as blood work done.  I had a mini freak out this morning because everything that could go wrong was running through my head.  What if she doesn't think it's a good idea?  What if she won't write the letter?  What if she did but the insurance still doesn't think it's enough?  How can I get my brain to look at food differently?  What am I thinking?!?!
But part of those worries were calmed when I went to see the dr.  Turns out, she had GB 6yrs ago herself.  She has experienced everything that I am now.  Yoyo dieting.  Loosing weight only to gain it back.  Being heavy her whole life.  And she was 100% behind my decision.  We went over my dieting history so she'll know what to write in the letter. She understood the importance of this letter.  We talked about what I'll need to prepare myself for.  The difficulty at first.  The complete life change.  But she said despite it all, she wouldn't change a thing.  After talking with her, I had like 8 viles of blood taken and I left feeling more at peace with my decision. 
I decided however that I will continue to see a therapist after the procedure.  I'm the type of person who wants what I can't have- especially when it comes to food.  I love food.  And my relationship with food is why I'm here.  So I need to train my mind to view it differently. To see it as fuel- and not as my reason for getting up in the morning.  Obviously I haven't been able to do this on my own so I hope someone will be able to help me.
I also bought the workout set "Insanity" today.  Jons out of town right now but when he gets back, we're going to start it together.  I want to be in the workout mode again.  My biggest concern right now with that is loosing weight.  I'm barely eligible for the surgery right now so I can't afford to loose weight.  Unless it turns out that I have sleep apnea.  Then I'll be okay  We'll see.  But I'm looking forward to doing these crazy workouts with Jon.

Until next time.....

The jist of what happens

This is a quick animation of how the gastric bypass works.



Quick summary:
Gastric bypass surgery makes the stomach smaller and causes food to bypass part of the small intestine. You will feel full more quickly than when your stomach was its original size. This reduces the amount of food you can eat at one time. Bypassing part of the intestine reduces how much food and nutrients are absorbed. This leads to weight loss.

I just need to remember:

Source: operationbeautiful.com via Nicole on Pinterest

PCP appt is scheduled

Called and got my PCP appt scheduled. That will be a week from Monday. I have a feeling I'll run into a little bit of discouragement then but that's to be expected. However I'm firm on my decision and I think that'll make it easy for me to face the adversity.
I also was able to move my sleep specialist appt for a month earlier so that's scheduled for May 23rd.
I've been looking for support groups and just stories of the realities of gastric bypass. I think it'll help me to see it from personal perspective. My dear friend K.P. had it done just before school started and let me tell you- she looks and feels amazing! She's always been a beautiful person but she just glows. I want to glow!
Good news tho- I went to see Dr Huffnagle yesterday and I'm down 11lbs from January. Okay it isn't that great but hey- it's something. Plus it's good for my insurance to see the attempts are being made.

Source: bit.ly via Simone on Pinterest

Life changing decision....

Phatty is back. Phatter than ever! Literally. I fell off the bandwagon. Hell- I was thrown off and ran over. BIG TIME!

I don't run.

I don't walk.

I rarely exercize.

AND I'm the biggest I've ever been.

To be honest and real here, I weigh 228lbs. And I'm extremely unhealthy. To the point where my quality of life is slowly diminishing each year.

And today I made a big decision. So this is the start of my new journey. And this is the place I will be documenting this journey.

My journey into, through and after weight loss surgery.

Gastric Bypass to be exact.

Today I went to a consult to get an overview, met the surgeon Dr William, met the nutritionist and went over all the insurance paper work. Let me tell you- this isn't an easy process!!!

Where do I go from here?

I need to schedule an appt with my pcp (primary care physician) so get a letter of recommendation and a ton of lab work. Then records have been requested for the drs I've gone to for weight loss pills to prove I have attempted and failed.

In June, I have an appt with a specialist just to schedule a sleep study. I also have an appt with a psychologist in June as well as my 1st of 3 required meetings with a nutritionist. I also need to go to a bariatric support group. This is all BEFORE the info can even be submitted to insurance approval.

With all that said, this hasn't been a decision that is easy for me to make. It's scary. Do I want to have to go through this? No! Do I want to only be able to eat tablespoons of food at a time? NO! I understand the risks. I know it's not a miracle cure. But if I stayed the way I am right now, that cuts 8-9yrs off my life!

Phatty wants to run again!!!

Milestone

Today I accomplished something I never have in my whole life!

I ran 4miles STRAIGHT!

This is huge for me considering a year ago, I could barely walk 4miles in a week!!!

So 2011 marathon training is off with a bang!

Kristy got me some warmer running clothes for Christmas and I picked up a few things today so no excuses!!!

GO PHATTY!!!!!

Phatty is BACK!

Miss me??

Well I am back and in training mode again!

Jon and I both signed up for the Country Music 1/2 Marathon on April 30th so it's time to get our butts out there and in gear! It's going to be great because Karissa and Jeremy are also flying in from Az to run it with us!

I haven't ran in oh..... 5-6weeks since I did the 10k the week after my last 1/2 marathon. Not a good idea! It's been so stinkin cold but today it was in the 40's so I was ready to rock. Plus I've eaten SO MUCH chocolate lately that I need to jog just to keep the extra weight on!

Today I went out and did 4 miles. Slowly but I did. I ran up a hill I've never been able to tackle before and feel quite accomplished about that! I'm not ready to pick up where I left off.. going 7miles a few times a week but hopefully in a few weeks, I'll be back there again and then some! Fingers crossed!

My weekend training partner is growing a baby at the moment so it's hard for her right now to train but once that dreaded yuck feeling goes away, she'll be back in the game with me!

So I'm once again tracking my progress. I SOOOO hope I make progress anyways! I'm ending this yr off much better shape then I started it that's for sure! 20lbs less (would be more but gained a bunch during the summer), completed 2 half marathons and with more motivation and drive then ever before. Not a bad yr I would say! So 2011 just HAS to be even better!!!