Sunday, May 20, 2012

My 2012 Goals

  • Fit in an airplane seat without sucking in for X hours without wearing spanx so the seat belt doesn't pop.  My next plane ride for work is in September.
  • Fit in all the rides at the amusement park without doing the walk of shame when my boobs or thighs are too big to get the harness on.  We are going to Universal early 2013. 
  • Be able to ride all the rides at the water park without being caught for being over the weight limit.  The limit is 400lbs per 2 riders usually.  I need to be under 230 to ride with my daughter or son.
  • Fit in a movie theatre chair without turning sideways to put half my ass in then the other half. Weekly thing.   Dang armrests.
  • For my weight and size not to start with a two.
  • For my underwear size not to be double digits.

I'm leaving on a jet plane....

In 5 days!!!  I am down to 287.2, which is 22.8lbs down  from the first of May and 16.8 lbs from when I set my surgery date and started the mushy diet.  Omar texted me yesterday to check on my pre-op diet which was nice.   I have found my favorite protein shake so far Oh Yeah Cookies n Cream.  It was nice and thin with 32 whopping grams of protein.  Muscle Milk chocolate is ok but it is so thick.  Health Valley apple blueberry fruit yogurt smoothies are yummy too.   

Honestly, I'm not nervous about the surgery.  I know the routine and I'm mentally prepared for that.   I'm nervous about having loose skin afterwards.  I have pretty tight clear skin now (except my belly) so I want it to stay that way.  I bought Jergens skin firming lotion and Palmers stretch mark lotion with collagen yesterday .  I walked about 4 miles this week in 3 days and I'm ready to start exercising without getting swollen ankles.  I also bought Tarjay brand calcium chews.  They taste like a tootsie roll.  I'm going to start packing my today.  I'd had a dream I got all the way to San Diego and forgot my birth certificate and cashier check.  Scary.

My favorite hobby is yard saling and yesterday I did awesome.  When I come up to a yard sale with someone my size I get all giddy because there is a chance I will find me some new clothes.  I bought me a few things in 18/20.  For .50 each, it's a small investment for my future body.  I have an entire closet full of 22 jeans and capris that I could never part with which will come in handy hopefully in the next couple months.  I wish I knew what size I'd be in by the end of the summer.  

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

10 days to go!

I'm down 13 pounds since I set my surgery date.  A co-worker measured me and I'm actually 5'5.5", so my current BMI is 47.8.  I am so ready to be done with this mushy food stage.  Today I've had a sugar free pudding, 2 Gogo Squeez applesauces, and the broth from chicken noodle soup.  I'm on my 2nd bottle of water.  I love the Mio drops, tastes like koolaid because I am so not a water drinker.  I got my certified birth certificate this morning, a travel toothbrush yesterday, and I'm ready to go!  I am so bitchy this week it's ridiculous.  I'm a stress eater, I get stressed, I pig out, I'm all good, repeat.  My daughter broke her foot at school Thursday, after 3 doctor visits and 2 pharmacies I had fried chicken on the brain.  I ate (drank?) a protein shake.  I haven't started exercising yet, but I am starting this week.

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Doctor, Doctor Gimme the News

I'm so excited!  Dr. Kelly called me yesterday and waived the $500 fee for my BMI (50.6 vs 49).  He was very nice and answered all my questions and thoroughly went over my medical history.  Omar, his assistant, scheduled my surgery without a deposit since my loan isn't funded yet.  Prior to my surgery, I will get a cashier's check and scan it to Omar before bringing it with me.  I booked my flight immediately after and there is no looking back.  I was able to get a roundtrip non-stop flight to San Diego for $528.  I'll be flying in May 25th and having my surgery the same day.  I will be in the Florence Hospital Friday and Saturday night and the Hotel Lucerna Monday night and catch a flight back late Tuesday evening.  The price is all inclusive except for the flight, so my total out of pocket is $6,028.  Yesterday afternoon started my 2 week diet.  I bought skim milk, 100% juice, oatmeal, grits, lots of applesauce flavors, chicken broth, V8 soups, sugar free pudding, sugar free jello, and Activa yogurt.   My loan was 60% funded this morning and I'm finishing up my post to go make me some oatmeal.  Ready for the tummy growling to go away.

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Getting Sleeved in Mexico

After 4 years of thinking about getting sleeved in Mexico, I'm going for it.  I could have been normal by now.  My debt to income ratio is low enough to get a personal loan.  By reading on a message board, I found out about lendingclub.com .  I applied Friday and 5 days in I'm funded 46.67%.  My ID is Member_1512427 in case you decide to go that route.  I applied for $6000 and at a B4 credit rating, my interest is 13.11% for a 36 month loan.  The payments will be $202.xx the price of a used car.   It is peer to peer lending and individual investors contribute to the loan.  So far I have 56 investors!  I checked it out online and it appears to be totally legit.  I will be booking the doctor I choose as soon as my loan is deposited into my bank.

Airfare is $528 with US Airways nonstop from Charlotte to San Diego and back.  The shorter transit time the better so I'm considering this a fixed cost.  I've been in a plane 4 times for work and the flights have lasted a little over an hour.  I have a secret...shhh...lean in...I'm afraid to pee in a plane bathroom.  I don't want to get stuck.  The look so tiny on tv.  I guess with a 4 1/2 hour ride I will find out!

I have narrowed down my choice in doctors to 3- Almanza, Kelly, and Ponce De Leon-all in Tijuana.  90% of the people I've told are against me going to Mexico.  I don't think I'll be caught up in a drug war, get kidnapped, or any other horrible thing that no one I know has personally experienced.  I've been reading various message boards, ObesityHelp and VerticalSleeveTalk to read every review of my favorite doctor choices.  Kelly is my top choice.  He has tons of glowing reviews online, it sounds like he is very personable and  he doesn't do drains which hurt coming out-bonus.  My BMI is over 49% so I would be charged $500 additional for a total of $6,000 all inclusive except airfare.  Ponce De Leon has a great coordinator, Trish, and has positive reviews as well.  His cost is $5500 all inclusive except airfare and I can get a video of my surgery if done at INT.  Almanza seems to have the love 'em or hate 'em reviews online but has done the highest number of surgeries and is the lowest cost at $4999 plus airfare, 1 night in San Diego hotel, $20 x-ray, and 2 nights at a hotel if I don't want to stay at the recovery house.  It totals just under $5300.  Decisions, decisions.

Fat kid loves cake

I was always a big kid from about age 8.  When someone called me fat or made fun of me, I got them back.  I ate more.  My grandma used to hide her Little Debbie snack cakes from me and my cousin while she was at work.  It was our mission to hunt those babies down and devour every.single.one.  I was at around 180 pounds in 9th grade and my gym teacher pushed us hard.  We had PE every other week and most of the time we ran...then ran some more.  I could do a mile in about 11 minutes, whoop whoop.  I started eating only grapes, strawberries, cucumbers and vinegar, spinach or greens from a can and lost down to 145lbs.  I wore a comfortable 11 or a skin tight 9.  Remember those colored jeans in the mid 90s?  I wore a size 9 in those once lol.   That lasted about a year. 

When I was 16, I went to school, came home and scarfed down supper my grandma had made, then went to work.  We were a meat and potatoes household and I love me some homemade mashed potatoes dipped in fried cube steak.  I'm drooling thing about it.   The school lunch was horrible, so I would buy a slice of pizza, fries, and a gigantic chocolate chip cookie almost daily from the school canteen.  It was "low fat" b/c I wrapped the cheese around the fries and tossed the crust.  I worked fast food, so had access to chicken nuggets, apple pies, and other goodies before they were thrown out at night.  Guess what I worked?  I kept it at around 170-180lbs.  I was in JROTC and my grandma said my uniform kept getting tighter and tighter. 

When I met my current hubby, I was 20 and in an XL/16.  I had two kids both by c-section 15 months apart.  I gained 80 lbs with my daughter and lost most of it.  I ate healthy portions of meat and veggies and tons of fruit and water with her.  With my son I was tired.  I had a 6-mo old baby, I worked full time, and I was pregnant again.   My daily craving at work were a microwaved moon pie and a mountain dew.  Seriously, my coworkers had them on my desk every morning.  You want me to move your project in, oh you brought me lunch, ok top of the list!  I gained 60 lbs and kept all of it on.  I was given a prescription from my OBGYN, Meridia but the co-pay was $100 and the leaking side effects were not worth it.  I also joined LA Weight Loss but it didn't help either.  I was admonished for eating shrimp and chicken in the same meal like a 5 year old and I quit.  I kept it around maybe 240-250.

Two years ago my appendix ruptured.  After waking up on a Saturday morning, my cat walked on me and it felt like an elephant with claws so I went to the ER.  I had an abcess the size of a football and had surgery to remove it.  My gallbladder went bad at the same time, but I was too sick to have both removed.  I lost about 30 lbs and 3 months later had my gallbladder removed.  Recovery was very smooth with the gallbladder surgery, but I blew up like a balloon weight wise.  My stomach looks like the goodyear blimp that got attacked by Freddy Krueger.

That leads up to my current situation.  I hit the 3-0-0 mark.  My rolls have rolls.  I'm tired of being fat.  I work full-time but have no insurance and probably won't anytime soon.  I support 4 people and 2 cats and bought a new house last year.  When I stress I eat and I stay stressed all the time.  Last year for my daughter's birthday we went to Carowinds and I cannot fit my butt or chest into most of the awesome roller coasters.  This Saturday we are chaperoning a school field trip and I get to sit and watch.  It's embarassing for me and I know it is for my daughter.  She is my mini-me.  I also love waterparks and  last year had a season pass.  When me and one of my kids or sister would go down and it said 400lb limit I'd be thinking "don't even say thing to me" instead of thinking of having fun.  Starting this year, I want to have fun not fat.  Ok, one more confession.  All of my pics are ALWAYS taken chest up and I suck in all the time.  I also don't allow my glasses in photos.  You'll see that in my before-before photos.  What I post from now on is the real deal.  Just remember that when you OMG!