Tag Archives: vsg and work

Work In The Way Of Life

This post is going to be a fast one, as I’m slowly excavating myself from under a pile of grading.  It is the end of the semester, and grades are due tomorrow at 4, so I’ve been grading like a mofo every night this week.  Progress is slow, because it’s all essay reading.  But I haven’t forgotten about the blog!

In the next few days, I will:

  • Write a piece on mindful eating.  We had a great session about it in group tonight that I think is worth sharing.
  • Write a review of Dr. Nicholson’s new book, Weight Loss Surgery:  The Real Skinny.  Outstanding resource for those who have had or who are contemplating WLS.
  • Comment on how I navigated a week’s worth of food celebrations and possible poor choices.  Hint:  I did pretty well.
  • Compile a post that will be helpful to those who are early on in the process of pursuing bariatric surgery.
  • Write a third installment of “Things I Wish My Doctor Had Told Me” since I’m approaching my 6-month surgiversary.
  • Catch up on my Daily Bites series.  I know some of my readers use the photo collages to help them see that eating post-op doesn’t have to be boring.  I’ve snapped photos but haven’t had time to organize them.  Thankfully, I have MyFitnessPal records to help me there!

And now I return to the kitchen table to plow through the last set of essays to grade until bedtime, and then sleep…sweet, sweet sleep.   Until tomorrow…

“How much have you lost?”

As of yesterday, I’m down a hair over 85 pounds.  And I feel fantastic.

The weight loss is noticeable enough now that people are starting to ask questions.  Not everyone I work with knows that I had surgery, but bear in mind I also work with 400 other faculty and staff–the school where I work is incredibly large.   And because it is so large, I don’t see most of the faculty I work with on a regular basis; I am mostly confined to my little corner of the world where I work  and interact with about 8 other teachers on a regular basis.

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Learning a New Routine and First Fitness Goals

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Today’s food choices, from upper right: DaBecca maple honey ham with melted mozzarella; Trader Joe’s turkey meatballs with 1 T. Rufus Teague’s Touch of Heat barbecue sauce; chipotle lime chicken drummettes; Sargento reduced fat cheese stick; mini turkey sausage omelet and Applegate Farms pork sausage links (I only ate half my omelet–I wasn’t feelin’ it this morning); calcium and multivitamin x2. I forgot to snap a photo of the green chile chicken stew I ate at lunch.

One week of school down, 35 more to go!  This week definitely presented its challenges, as I tried to learn to adjust to fitting my new lifestyle into my workday.  I knew ahead of time it would not be easy, but I didn’t realize just how difficult it would actually be until I had to live it.

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First Day of School

Today was my first day of school. I decided Saturday that I wanted to look totally FIERCE. I figured, new body, new clothes for a new school year–one in which I will undergo continuous transformation. I had this dress packed away in the closet–it was one I’d bought pre-op because I knew I’d be able to wear it eventually; I just didn’t know when.

Well, I found out Saturday afternoon, and decided I’d wear it to school today.

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Getting Ready for School

My classroom is ready.  I have been working like a fiend for the past two days to make it so–this is why I haven’t posted here for two days!  I still need to make a few copies for Monday, but I’m going to arrive early so I can run off the few that I have to make.

My outfit and accessories have been chosen.  I just need to put them all in the same place so I can dress quickly after I eat breakfast.  Also?  My outfit is totally FIERCE.  The best part of this fierce outfit?  It’s a size I haven’t worn since I graduated high school.

Mind. Blown.  For real.

This week more than ever, planning for my eating and activity is going to be critical since school is about to be in full swing.

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Back to the Grind

Today was my first day back at school after a summer which was anything but ordinary.  I won’t lie, I am completely wiped out.  I had not anticipated this level of fatigue before today–I thought because I was feeling really good, and getting in all my protein and water that I would be fully energetic all day long.

WRONG.  So.  Very.  Wrong!

By the time I got home this evening, I could barely drag myself out of the car–and I still had things to bring in from there!  I had to run a few errands after work because I knew if I didn’t do them today, they wouldn’t get done at all.

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Post Op Week 6 Progress Report and Returning to Work

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The scale didn’t budge much this week, but I know exactly why.  This week, I am retaining more water than the Titanic.  Thanks, Nature and your damned hormones!  I was told at my two-week follow up, “Your periods will probably be irregular for the next few months.”  Ummm, no…that hasn’t happened…yet.  This one, just like the last one, will be Right. On. TIME.

I am getting 96 ounces (or more) of water daily, I’m hitting at least 70 grams of protein and less than 40 grams of carbs daily, and I’m taking all my supplements.  So I know it’s not that.  My caloric intake is less than 800 calories daily and hovers slightly above 600 calories most days.  I simply cannot eat more than that right now.  There’s just not room.

Biology tells me that the scale will move again in the downward direction.  Per my BMR, I’m burning more calories than I’m eating.  The inches I’m losing also tell me more about my progress than the scale does.  So I’m not bummed about losing a few ounces.  If this process goes slowly, so be it.  I am feeling good, I am off my diabetes medicine, my blood pressure medication was cut in half, my joints don’t ache like they did before and I get around a lot faster.  Those things mean I must be doing something right.  As long as I continue to show a downward trend in my weight, that’s also progress to me.

I FEEL AWESOME.  And I am proud of myself.

This week is a big week in my life for several reasons.

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