Shamed and caught up.

I am properly shamed into adding a post to the blog. Stephanie *wonderful daughter* is so faithful with her blog that as I was reading it I thought, "I don't remember her telling me this?!" But of course, IF I had kept up with her blog and she with mine, we would be in a whole new world of communication.

So, let me begin by bringing some of you up to snuff with the latest. On November 21, 2008 I underwent gastric bypass, also known as Duodual Switch, which is a fancy way of saying I now have use of 1/3 of my previous stomach capacity. Very interesting, at least to me, as this procedure has lead to a loss of about 55 pounds since said operation.

Fast forward to the changes involved with such a drastic decision. I never thought it would be the "easy way out", just that I had battled with this weight over the last 26 years and frankly I was tired of losing ..... the battle. I also considered the health issues of high blood pressure, pre-diabetics, and loss of energy. I felt I had a lot to live for and short circuiting it with added pounds wasn't in my best interest.

I was not totally prepared for the journey. I didn't know that I would come to "hate" food. You see, part of the program is consuming 60 grams of protein a day, 2 liters of fluid *water*, and exercising 4-5 times a week (when your body is ready for it). 60 grams of protein is like, A LOT of protein. Oatmeal, 1/2 cup = 4 grams. I can't eat a half cup!!! 1/2 Chicken breast = 8 grams. If I could take more than 4 bites it would be great! So, you get the picture??? Hence, I have resorted to protein drinks. Ah, yes, those wonderful grainy, gag if you will, liquids that give a bang for the buck. I found some online that claimed to have 50 grams in the bottle! Whoo Whoo... except I cracked one open last night and said, " Who let the cough medicine out, who??" It was thick and too sweet (even though it claimed to be sugar free) and had that ingredient the makes you twitch and cringe when you swallow, like cough medicine!!

When I do cook now, which is another reason I hate food, I think about how I used to cook and come up with all these intriguing flavors, textures, and combinations and present a good meal. Now, I have to think mono item on the plate, yes protein, and to heck with the sauces, spices, and side dishes. Poor David, he is used to something so different, but he doesn't complain at the single fish fillet of salmon, again. I am frustrated at my lack of inspiration. I take a bite and nothing tastes, well, like it should. I have heard from the support group I go to that this will change....none to quickly for me!

On to the exercise portion of this blog. Well, I always thought that if you weren't sitting in a chair 8 hours a day, yes, you were exercising. I thought I would join a gym, but money being tight I have to be more creative. Like, on Wednesday, I arrived a work to a totally blacked out building. Power outages bring new opportunities. I work on the 6th floor. So, even though I wouldn't be able to log on to the computer, I logged onto 6 flights of stairs for my exercise! Wow, was great until I got to the 5th floor in the stairwell and the door suddenly opened with a strange man on the other side! Yikes! I about fell the 5 floors down again. Not in the exercise program. After I regained my composure, I completed the last floor, totally out of breath. But with the light bulb going off in my head, I proceeded to "take the stairs" the next two days. Cheap, good exercise. And I thought that if on a particular day I didn't want to take the whole 6 floors, I could just get off and take the elevator the rest of the way! Pretty clever, hun?

Another benefit of the weight loss is fitting into the clothes I have in a more intended way. No more buttons straining against the bod. Pants that I can now breath in. You get the picture. Well, another downfall of the weight loss is NOT fitting into the clothes I have!! HEE HEE. I almost walked out of a pair of pants I had on last week. Belts. Suspenders. Maybe they are a way of life for me now. I decided not to invest in a new wardrobe until I was sufficiently down in weight. But I did take advantage of my local Target for one pair of cheap jeans. I figure that can carry me through without breaking the bank. I went to the "fat ladies" department on auto pilot. Checked out the sizes and thought, "OK, I have on a pair of 24's that are pretty lose, what number should I look for?". I ventured to the 20's and took a pair of 18's on a whim. Well, lo and behold, the 18's fit!! Ok, I am not into numbers on a regular basis, but I can't remember the last time I saw 18 except on the way up! It was a good feeling. Now for a delicate subject. We are talking the tatas... they go away, sort of making a full cirlce from age 11 to now. You worry you won't have any and then you have too much *I am talking first person now*, and then they go away again. At this point it is sort of a fold and roll process. Enough said. That is the one thing I believe plastic surgery is good for. Tatas. Not to make them bigger, but better.

So, you can see that the blog has resurfaced again, I have caught up with the latest and the latest.

I am looking forward to adding more, like the trip to North Carolina on Feb.13th to see our newest family member, Rebekah! I get to travel with Stephanie and Jimmy and Kaitlin. Kaitlin is so absolutely, wonderful! When I talked to her a couple of days ago, I told her that we get to fly together to see Rebekah. She was very excited too, and then she told me, "you know what I want to be when I grow up? I want to be a pilot, a teacher, a cheerleader, a firefighter......." I said, Katilin that is going to make you a very busy girl! What are you going to do when you are flying a plane and there is a fire? She giggled. Sweet. So sweet!