6 months

In some ways, I can't believe today marks 6 months since my surgery. In other ways, I feel like the time is dragging! Today was a big milestone - not only has it been 6 months since my surgery, but I've also hit the 100 lbs loss mark with a total loss of 100.3 lbs! I'll take it! I am very proud of my loss but I still have at least 60 lbs to go. I have to keep my eye on the prize and lately, I've been losing very slowly. (TMI alert) I actually got a period on my own, which is a huge deal for me! 4/5-4/11, which means I probably didn't lose weight that week. But I wouldn't know because I was too scared to weigh! Anyway, I've only been losing about 1 lb/week which is in the right direction but not as quickly as I'd like. At that pace, it would take me over a year longer to lose the rest of the weight - and I'm sure I wouldn't be able to maintain that because gradually I'll be able to eat a little more and take in more calories. The "honeymoon" period is already over and it only gets harder from here! This is when it kicks in that the surgery is only a tool. It enables me to make healthier choices and also got me to a size that is comfortable so I can exercise.

Part of the reason I think my weight loss has slowed is because of LIQUID CALORIES. BOOOO. See, I gave up artificial sweeteners but couldn't do plain water without getting nauseous. So I started flavoring my water with 100% fruit juice. Slowly, I went from 1/4 juice in my drink to 1/2 juice in my drink. Then, my hubs bought me a fantastic new tumbler - which I love - and it has encouraged me to drink more. Which is usually great! But, I'm just drinking more juice. About 1/2 a bottle a day. I calculated it today and it's 480 calories a day just in juice. That is ridiculous. Especially since most wls patients only take in 600-700 calories a day in the weight loss phase (as opposed to the maintenance phase). Sooooo...what's a girl to do? I hate to do this, but I think I'm going back to Crystal Light for now. I actually didn't notice a difference when I stopped using artificial sweeteners - no boost of energy or anything like that. Psychologically, I'm much happier not using them. But I can't sabotage my weight loss like this. There is a new Crystal Light called Pro Fitness or something like that and it uses real sugar to sweeten it - just a little. Unfortunately, it only comes in three flavors and they are very tart. I can't stand drinking tart things all day - it's like only drinking lemonade - it gets old very fast. So we'll see. I just know that I need to cut down on juice.

Tonight, Steve and I went to the gym at my work for the first time! I went 30 minutes on the treadmill at 3.0 speed. I'll work my way up, but I was maintaining a "weight loss" heart rate the majority of the time (except for warm-up and cool down). It feels great working out - I only hope I keep it up. I always go through these phases in life. I used to go through diet phases - I would have never kept up 6 months of healthy eating if it wasn't for the sleeve. If only there was a surgery that forced me to exercise!

I had my annual exam with my gynecologist last week. In addition to the usual unpleasantness, I spoke to him about my weight loss, PCOS bloodwork (need to get that done), and TTC. He said that he'll be curious to see how my body cycles once I'm under a BMI of 30 (I'm at 36.2 now). Me too! My next appointment with the bariatric surgeon is 4/27. I'm going to ask him about when he'll clear me for TTC - before surgery he said 12-18 months. I'd like to know when he'll give me to ok - do I have to be at a certain weight for a certain period of time? Anyway, Steve is going to come with me so I have his support too. I'm soooo eager to start trying - Steve too. We can't wait to have a little munchkin. We've been picking out names to keep us patient. It helps us to feel like we are still moving towards that point. We've also begun thinking about nursery plans. It's somewhat embarrassing to admit these things, but it does help us during this waiting period. 6 months down and at least 6 months to go!