QuitMeter Counter courtesy of www.quitmeter.com.
|
::Be the Butterfly::
A Journey in Metamorphosis
::Author::  Name::The Catapillar From::Houston, Texas My cacoon has begun to shed and I can see a glimps of the butterfly. I had Rny Gastric Bypass on 12/21/05 and these are my chroniclings... Weight Stats: Begining/Current/Goal 283/187/140 Butterfly Image from: http://www.tropicaldaystar.com View my complete 
::Recent Entries::
::Archives::
::WLS Resourses:: 
::Blog Traffic:: 
|
Tuesday, February 28, 2006 Almost An Angel... ... Is here! Although I have not yet delved into her blog I like what I see. Particularly her support or our Military. I have enjoyed my stay there and will continue to read and get to know her. Don't be shy :) give her a click and check it out. :) Tell her The Catapillar sent 'cha...  
Prayer Request  It has been a few days since I have been in a place to post. A lot has happened since last sunday. My mother has COPD which is a lung desease and suffered from lung failure sunday night. She was in the hospital on ventalators from sunday until wednesday until she was finally able to breath on her own. She remained in ICU for observation until thursday and then was moved into a room. Finally she has been released to go home. I believe that God granted us a miracle with her recovery. Although a long road awaits us as they decide if she will need a lung transplant. I ask for all of your prayers on this... as many as you can muster. My Family will truly appreciate it. Image: Praying Hands
The Two Month Pics  Hey, I got my two month pics online!!! check them out at Shrinking Beauty... my photo blog... I am pretty excited about being able to wear the outfit and look decent in it. :) Image: Photographer
It just dawned on me to calculate my BMI and it is Under 40 resting in at a 38.1 (based on my un-official weigh in)!!!! I am almost to the point where I would not qualify for Surgery! AMAZING!!! I wasnt expecting it to drop so quickly as well. Wanna Calculate yours? Go to Obesityhelp.com's BMI Calculator.
 Hey, if you are having trouble getting approval from your insurance you should check out the e-book written by The Gastric Bypass Guru and his lovely wife. It details how you can get your insurance company to say YES!If you pre-order you will receive a discount. But you'd better hurry! It hits the virtual news stand on February 25th. Have a look see.... Click here to go to his page.
Ok, I admit it... I actually step on the scale every day... There now, I feel much better for confessing that. I only count the Wednesday weight though. But, today when I woke up I stepped on the scale and lo and behold I weighed in at 222... Now that is an un-official weight loss of 61 lbs. I know it will fluctuate but I just had to say that one out loud. For some reason having lost more than 60 lbs sounds just like the sweet songs of a choir of nightingales to my ears....
The Guru is Here :) What an honor to rent my blog space to the Gastric Bypass Guru... If you havent been there you should click his thumbnail and go right away and if you have then click just so you can say Howdy. If you are considering, in process or have had any form of Weight Loss Surgery... If you are a non surgery dieter to get some very awesome, encouraging support you should stop by and see Craig. There are many avenues for support at the GBG site and as always lots of love. And you just have to hear him sing with his big band the Bada Bings! Go ahead... give him a click... Tell him the Catapillar Sent 'Cha!
Well, I have been having some issues for the last couple of weeks with sleepy extremities. So, I finally broke down and emailed my Dr's PA and he told me to add b supplements to my daily vitamin regiment. His order to take the B-complex prompted me to do some further research on the whole vitamin B thing. B is very important for just about everything. Wow, I should be doing lots more research. These vitamins are essential for: The breakdown of carbohydrates into glucose (this provides energy for the body) The breakdown of fats and proteins (which aids the normal functioning of the nervous system) Muscle tone in the stomach and intestinal tract Skin Hair Eyes Mouth Liver This is a quick guide from Howthingswork.com: (Vitamin Food Sources Importance When You Take Too Much When You Take Too Little) Thiamine (B1) cereal, bread, meat, rice, yeast, corn, nuts carbohydrate metabolism, nervous system none known beriberi (anemia, paralysis), movement & memory effects Riboflavin (B2) grains, milk, meat, eggs, cheese, peas maintains skin, mucous membranes, eyes, nerve sheaths None known skin & oral problems, anemia Niacin (B3) Meat, milk, eggs, fish, legumes, potatoes healthy skin, nerves & GI tract, metabolism of food flushing, itching, cramps, nausea, skin eruptions pellagra (diarrhea, dermatitis, dementia) Pyridoxine (B6) organ meats, brown rice, fish, butter, soybeans metabolism of food, amino acids nerve damage skin & nerve damage, confusion, mouth irritation Folic acid (B9) yeast, liver, green vegetables, whole grain cereal DNA, hemoglobin synthesis, formation of blood cells, protein metabolism convulsions, disrupted zinc absorption anemia, mouth irritation, poor growth cyanocobalamin (B12) liver, meat, eggs, poultry, milk metabolism of food, blood cell formation, DNA synthesis none known pernicious anemia, mouth irritation, brain damage Pantothenic acid N/A; made by our intestines meats, legumes, whole-grain cereals breakdown of carbohydrates, lipids, amino acids diarrhea none known Biotin N/A; made by our intestines beef liver, egg yolk, brewer's yeast, mushrooms functions as coenzyme in caroboxylation reactions none known scaly dermatitis Its funny (and scary) how in my reading this article I realized all of the symptoms I am having. Sleeplessness, sore muscles, fatigue, and much much more. I am going to get my B12 shot and some b-complex sublingual tomorrow (or at least talk with my PCP on what I should be doing for suppliments).
Dumping my concerns Well, this week has been filled with concerns. I just can’t shake this icky feeling that I have peaked and I won’t loose more than I have and if you just read the last post I have found one of the lost (unwanted) pounds. Deep down I know this is unrealistic, and although I am well aware of the possibility that I can mess this up for myself, I feel like I may just be having some anxieties about adding the foods back into my diet. I keep thinking I am stretching out my pouch, I shouldn’t be able to eat this whole serving, what the heck am i doing? AAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGG!!!!! I guess these are normal thoughts How much should I be able to hold in my pouch this early out? Why have I not dumped yet? Shouldn’t something bother my new anatomy? God Please don’t let me mess this one up
 It was bound to happen! I have gained one pound... Making my total weight loss slide back to 54lbs.... I have to say though that, although it does bother me. I am ok because I know weight bounces back and forth and I have added some new foods back to my diet. I still believe I am doing well and next week will show a loss.
 In my son's history class he had to bring a dish that represented his heritage. We had a variety of backgrounds to choose from the largest being Italian followed closely by Hispanic and rounding up third is Hill Billy... Well, my boy being proud that his great grand parents floated over here in the late 19th century early 20th decided to pick Italian. Its the day before he needs to bring this dish and the conversation goes something like this "Did you write your assignments in your agenda?" "No" "Do you have any projects due soon. any assignments that take a while?" "Ummmm....." "Something I can help you with?" "No" "you sure?" "oh, mom..." "yes" "I have to bring a dish to school tomorrow" "Why am I just finding this out now?" "Because You reminded me when you asked about projects" Great!! So we discussed a few things and the final choice was Arancini di Riso, made from Mushroom risotto with peas. I used the recipe from the show "Everyday Italian" on Food Network (my new obsession)  It turned out to be an awesome dish. I think it is one of my very favorites now. We then set out to make a small pamplet about this dish. It contained a brief discussion on the origin of the dish and the recipe for both. It is pretty cool. He said the kids and his teacher loved the dish and tomorrow he has to give his presentation and pass out his hand out. We enjoyed working on this one together. We cooked and researched and learned something about our Italian roots. The risotto dish will quickly become a family favorite as I plan on cooking it more frequently. His hand out looks like this: Front View
Back View
Been a long time I hope everyone had a wonderful Valentines day... I have been pretty busy lately... working, helping mom move, packing because I am moving. Cooking for my son's bring a dish day. buying and selling on ebay. more to come later...
I Won! I can't believe it I won the $50 for my Idea for Craig the Gastric Bypass Guru to be the Friggen Best Husband on VDay! My Idea was this: ...I typed up about 25 reasons why I love him and printed them out. Cut them into individual slips and about three days in advance I placed them all over the house. In the coffee canister, in the bathroom taped to the milk etc… On V-day I cooked his favorite meal and just before dinner I sent him to the store. I set out the candles and the wine and I had also written him a song (which I sung to him after dessert)... There were so many great Idea's I had no idea I would win. Thanks Craig!
 I am sure you are all wondering what the total was for this week. I have to say it has been quite touch and go as the scale tettered back and forth on its edge waiting to land on its precise destination. Well, I was waiting on baited breath myself. The scale finally resting on its designated target of 228 A grand (and I mean grand) total of 55 lbs Gone Forever!!! PRAISE GOD!!!! Image: Scale
My New Tenant Hey everyone, Take a moment and check out my new blog renter. They have some awesome looking recipes. Too bad I cant make them right now. :)
Ok, I knew I was going to have to buy new cloths, bras, underwear, etc... but I had no idea i would need new shoes. I am half a size down already. I was a 9 prior to gaining weight and was up to a 10 after and headed into a 10 1/2 or 11 just in the last year. I am down to a 9 1/2. Anyone need size 10 - 11 shoes?
How I quit smoking... (pt 1) ... And how its going to help me with my food addiction.  I would not have been able to do this without God. The funny part is that I didn't want to quit. I liked (except for the side effects) smoking. My son begged me; I didn’t want him to become a smoker so how could I tell him not to and partake myself. I know I am his mother and that give me the right to say no but the example of hypocrite I did not want to lead. The other reason is that in my family it is apparent that smoke related lung disease is pretty likely. My grandmother was diagnosed with Lung cancer in October 1999 and passed do to the disease on January 2, 2000. My mother who suffers (just as my grand mother did) from COPD and only has 1/3 of her lung usage could likely end up with cancer as well. Not to mention the massive amounts of medication she is on. These things sent up red flags all through my mind and I realized that if I didn’t quit I may not be there for my own child or grand children. So the Journey Begins...  Nov 1 2004. D – DAY. This was the day I decided I would quit smoking and this time I was going to be successful no matter what. I had spent a good $120 on tools for quitting smoking (I was not going to waist this money yet again). I got the Nicoderm patch (the strong one), Smoke Away and some chocolate. I probably should have left the chocolate behind but you know… The night before I still had 4 cigarettes left and it was bed time. I didn’t really want to go to bed with cigarettes but I couldn’t smoke anymore. Just in case you were wondering. It wasn’t about waste, I knew if I had any left that I would smoke them. That was the last night I had a good nights sleep for quite some time.  I woke up on Nov 1 ready to start my journey into the land of non-smoking. I did (as I knew I would) have one cigarette before applying the Nicoderm patch and taking the first dose of my smoke away. The day went by pretty well for a new non smoker who could only think about that cigarette. I didn’t bite anyone’s head off and I had a fairly productive work day. So I was thinking it wouldn’t be quite as hard as I thought it would be. NOT! I had a drag from a co-workers cigarette and I had one from my last three. Not bad really for a pack and a half a day smoker. Let me tell you if you smoke with the patch on you can get pretty dizzy. One more cig before bed and that was my day. Not too bad. I didn’t sleep well the next night as I didn’t read the fine print on the patch “… may cause restless sleep…” or something to that effect. Well they were right. No sleep for the weary… I had two drags from co-workers and half of the last cig at work. The last half of the cig was had before bed… The next day I had one drag and that was it… By NOV 3 I was tobacco free. I continued to wear the patch for two weeks then I took it off. I didn’t finish the smoke away but from previous attempts to quit with it if you take this med and smoke you will become physically ill. I have thought about a cigarette and smoking one every day and in the beginning it was every minute. I told myself that I was not fighting the monster of addiction I was fighting a weak little cigarette and I was not going to loose that battle. The mindset worked and I am still a non smoker today. 15 months and I am still a non smoker. And it is getting easier… How is this going to help my addiction to food???? Stay Tuned to find out :)
 Win $50 via PayPal or Amazon Gift Card The Gastric Bypass Guru is having a contest to find the best valentines gifts for his lovely bride and he has potitioned your help. Click Here to go to his site and submit your suggestions. The criteria must be that it is $150 or less and he can purchace by Feb 10. I know you have a great idea! Let's Help him be the BEST Husband on Valentines Day :)
Well I didn't actually have to learn java. I found there are lots of people out there who create FREE blog templates so I got one. Tell me what you think. Also, if you are useing IE you may even see some floating butterflys.
Under Construction  You may be seeing lots of changes. I am working on customizing my page but dont know java so it is going to be a work in progress. If you see something you like or dont let me know.
 Food has been my addiction substitute for a very long time. I come from a long line of alcoholics and drug addicts (maternal side) and as a child I watched them become mere shells of themselves and I swore that I would never do the same. That’s why prior to surgery I drank maybe twice a year (and I would usually be the designated driver) and drugs have never interested me. Now I can’t drink for a while and it doesn’t bother me one bit I could just leave it be. Now back on track. Since I was not going to be what I saw in the people I loved my addiction became food. I eat when an alcoholic drank and when a drug addict would use. It’s funny how you see these things only when you have been removed from the situation. While I was eating (until about a three years ago) I never would have thought that I was an addict. When I look back I can see clearly situations that showed my addiction. Now that I am on soft foods I am paranoid. I for one don’t want to gain weight or sabotage my progress. I almost liked not eating much of anything at least I knew that I wasn’t going to gain weight that way. So now I sit here wondering if I should eat, feeling like I have made a pig of myself all day… The truth is I have only eaten one scrambled egg and then one boiled egg (I deviled it) I had a bite of potato salad but my tummy objected to that instantly. I have brought for lunch one half a pimento cheese sandwich and an orange that I peeled and cut up. I don’t plan (nor do I think I could) eat them at the same time. But I am not sure if I should eat after all I have eaten so much already today. It feels like I can eat a lot in one setting. Shouldn’t I only be able to eat half an egg? My biggest fear as I state so often is that I will stretch out my pouch and then be able to eat what ever. I am already having an issue as I feel like I can eat anything I want to. That scares me tremendously. When I was pre-op I would often times talk myself into being hungry just so I could eat. I know that seems a little weird but as most of us I felt comfort in the eating process. I hated myself the entire time but I would still do it. I longed for that feeling of being over stuffed. It was my security blanket. Just as the fat that surrounds my body. As long as I carry this extra weight no one will hurt me because they wont come near me. A lot lately I have found that I want to begin the cycle of convincing myself that I am hungry and it takes great force of will to reject those thoughts. By the grace of God I am able to over come these things and I don’t succumb to the food calling unless I am really physically hungry (which I judge by my stomach purring). All I know is this war is quite difficult and I have to utilize my entire arsenal against it. God has enabled me to win the battles so far and I trust I will win the war. I will break this chain so my children and their children have a better chance of living a normal life. Image: Break the Chain
My Bid Accepted Hey, I am the proud renter of space at Paddy`s Place of Prattling. A very fun place to be. Go by and check it out. Tell him The Catapillar Sent 'cha.
I went for my 6 week check up today and there was a little good and bad information received. First off my blood work came back with normal results in all area's but one. It seems I am not getting enouph fluids and I am "Really" dehidrated. I will need to add gatorade to my liquid intake. Yuk! well if the Dr. says drink it I guess I will drink it. I am now on soft foods !!!! I had some fish with veggies for dinner. It was the best fish I have ever eaten. I only had about 2oz of it but it was good. I'll have the rest for lunch (since I am on the midnight shift lunch is around 3am for me). You may have wondered, "did she get any sleep today" the answer to your burning question is no... I had a normal night sleep and have been up since 730am or so. No sleep for the catapillar today... I will however be sleeping tomorrow.
Official Weigh Day - Week Six  It is hard to believe that this is the beginning of week seven or the end of it. My brain is pretty fried. On a pretty awesome note (brain or no brain) I have lost a total of 50 lbs!!!! In 6 weeks! Here's to more pounds gone forever. 
Hey, I am officially renting some blog space over at Written In Stone. Take a moment and go say hello. Tell 'em The Catapillar sent 'cha :)
|
::Rent Me::
Take a moment and say hello to my Tenant! You know you wanna see whats over there :)
Tenants of the Past Scroll down for the list of who has graced my blog in this coveted spotThe Catapillar Was Here Also go by and say Hi to the people who have allowed me to grace their blog (you'll see the list down below
::Blog Roll::
::Links::
::Tenants of the Past::
::Catapillar Was Here::
::Credits::
::Recent Visitors:: |
