Nicole Bullock

Scale Victory – 45 Pounds Down!

March 29, 2012 by Nicole Bullock · 5 Comments

I’ve had a bathroom scale for a few years that has a capacity of 328 pounds. When I purchased it in 2008, I was right around the 300 pound mark. The scale has been just on the edge of it’s capacity several times, as my weight has fluctuated between 350 and 325 for the last three years. It hasn’t worked for me in 18 months, and it’s been a mini-goal of mine to be able to weigh on that scale.

For the last two weeks, I’ve stood on the sale almost every day, just hoping I might actually get a weight reading other than “ERROR.” Yesterday morning I weighed myself before my shower, and IT SHOWED NUMBERS! I weighed in at 327.5, which is a total loss of 45.8 pounds since I started my pre-op diet on January 30th. 45 pounds in 8 weeks is pretty dang awesome!

I had a hard time deciding what to name this blog post. In Weight Watchers, which I was enrolled in 8 times, we talked a lot about “Non-scale victories” (NSV). Sometimes in the weight loss process, you know you’re doing everything you need to, but the scale isn’t showing the progress. Non-scale victories can be inches lost, addictions overcome, or anything else that is promoting your journey to better health. In my case, I really DID have a scale victory…I had a great loss AND I can use my bathroom scale. I don’t have to weigh in at the doctor to know where my progress is at.

A few people have asked why I haven’t been putting my food diaries lately. My main reason is that I’m not blogging every day, and it gets a little tedious to remember back more than a day. But for those who love my food diaries, here’s what I ate today:

Simply Gogurt yogurt tube – 2 ounces
String cheese – 1/2
1 TB peanut butter
Refried beans with melted cheese and salsa
Cinnamon banana protein smoothie – 5 ounces
Skinny Cow light ice cream bar

Filed Under: weight loss · Tagged With: gastric bypass surgery, non-scale victories, scale victories, weight loss

Emotional Fatigue

March 26, 2012 by Nicole Bullock · 6 Comments

In the last 7 weeks since surgery, I’ve had lots of ups and downs, good days and bad days. My bad days are usually from physical symptoms, but today was a BAD emotional day.

I had some rough things happen at work, got very agitated emotionally. As a result, it affected me physically. I have a headache from crying. My body aches like I had a big workout at the gym. I was feeling fine, then suddenly I couldn’t make it at work anymore. I came home and took a long nap. Naps aren’t out of the ordinary since surgery, but I woke up feeling EXHAUSTED.

One thing that I haven’t talked about much on this blog is my long-time struggle with clinical depression. I started on my first anti-depressant at 15, have been in and out of therapists offices to deal with traumatic life events, and have even struggled with thoughts of suicide. It was very out of character for me, but I stopped taking my anti-depressants, cold turkey, after surgery. My main reason for stopping was that I was too lazy to make a doctors appointment to get a prescription for pills in a tablet form. I can’t take capsules right now because my pouch won’t tolerate them.

Surprisingly, the way I’ve felt emotionally since surgery has been much better than I expected. I haven’t really had the down days like I normally have. Today was tough, but it was more of a situational sadness. I’m not going to go into what happened today, but it was definitely the hardest emotional day since surgery. My friend Simply June wrote a post today to help with my bad day. Thanks, June!

I’m getting a little worried that I’m getting another stricture. In my Bariatric Bad Girls Club, we talk about getting “the foamies.” Right before vomiting, you start to get pressure in your chest/pouch area, food and mucusy saliva starts to regurgitate up, and it’s usually a sign that you’ll be vomiting in the next minute or two. I got “the foamies” a lot right before I had my dilation for my other stricture, and I’ve had the foamies a few times this week. I’m hoping that I won’t need another dilation…at this point I can still keep liquids down.

Filed Under: Mean People Suck · Tagged With: back to work, emotions, mean people suck, surgery recovery

When Do People Start Noticing?

March 24, 2012 by Nicole Bullock · 8 Comments

I know that I look at myself in the mirror more than anyone else looks at me. And I think the way I look at myself is more critical than others would criticize. I don’t consider myself overly-narcissistic (only a little narcissistic 🙂 ), but I often wonder if other people are noticing my weight loss. Several times over the last few weeks, I’ve asked myself, “When do people start noticing?” Thirty pounds? Forty pounds?”

Two weeks ago when I went to Portland, I was traveling with my friend Chris, who I hadn’t seen since Christmas time. He was teasing me for my packed lunch of 2 ounces of lunch meat, string cheese, yogurt, and other bypass-friendly items. We talked a lot about my surgery, but I was curious if he could SEE a difference. I stood in front of him I flat out asked him “Can you tell a difference in my body yet?”, he said “Not really, I just look at you and know it’s you.” At that point I’d lost 30 pounds, and was hoping he would give some kind of raving compliment, but he didn’t. And it isn’t his fault that he didn’t see it. But it felt like a little bit of a let down.

But then again, there are people who seem to notice every little change in my body and give me lots of verbal encouragement. My coworker Nick has this crazy gift of guessing how much weight I’ve lost…”So Nicole, you’ve lost about 35 pounds now, right?” And he’s ALWAYS right, it’s uncanny.

With how active I am in social media, I usually have at least one event per week that I attend. This week I went to Social Commerce Exchange, and saw a few friends I haven’t seen since before surgery. One walked into the room, and I stood up from my chair, and he said “Wow, Nicole, you look gooood!” Getting these types of compliments really make me smile, and give me some validation for all the hard work I’ve put into my weight loss. It also helps alleviate some of the social anxiety I have developed in the last few years as my weight spiraled out of control.

I think one of the things that makes it hard for others to notice the weight loss is my lack of muscle tone. I’m losing weight, but I’ve also lost my muscles, especially in my abdomen. If I wear tight clothes that hold me in a bit, you can see my loss much better. But since I spent so much time in bed over the last 6 weeks, and have only walked for exercise, I’m getting anxious to get my muscles toned. I’m going to start some weight training next week…my arms are in desperate need to lose some jiggle.

I went to City Creek Center, the new mall in Salt Lake City, twice this week to walk, window shop, and wander. I’ve found that it’s much easier for me to get in a good walk when there are interesting surroundings, which is why treadmills typically are not my favorite way to get in a walk. As I was about to walk across Main Street, a sweet girl came up to me and asked, “Are you Nicole? I read your blog, and I just want to tell you that you look amazing!” She was someone who is an online acquaintance, and we talked a little bit. She said she loves to read my posts, but doesn’t usually comment. I was happy that she stopped me to talk, because I otherwise wouldn’t have known that she read my blog.

I weighed in this weekend, and I’m at 333.1. I’ve finally hit the 40 pound mark! This is a big step for me because I’ve tried to lose weight in so many ways, but the weight loss typically putters out around 25-35 pounds. I’ve never been able to lose more than 40 (except when I lost 50 pounds and I got rid of an ex-husband at the same time). I told myself that I would celebrate my 40 pound mark with a new pair of jeans. I love getting new clothes, but I’ve kept my purchases to a minimum because I’m changing sizes so rapidly.

Tonight I had a little extra time, so I went over to Lane Bryant to try on some jeans. I bought a pair of 26s a few weeks ago, but they’re already looking too baggy on me. LB has a line called T3 jeans that help tighten your tummy. I tried on several pairs of 24s and 22s…and the 22s fit! I totally jumped a size in jeans! They’re a bit too tight in the calves, but hopefully the jeans will stretch or my calves will shrink.

40 pounds feels like such an exciting accomplishment, I can only imagine how the other milestones will feel!

Filed Under: weight loss · Tagged With: gastric bypass surgery, weight loss

In A Groove And On The Road

March 21, 2012 by Nicole Bullock · 6 Comments

It’s been 6 weeks since surgery, and I feel like I’ve hit my groove. I’m getting better at listening to what my body needs and what I can safely consume. I’m usually at good energy levels, but still not as high as before surgery. Life feels different since surgery, but it’s a good different.

As funny as it might sound, my biggest complaint is my CPAP mask. I don’t know if it’s because I’ve lost so much chub in my face, or strictly because a TSA agent screwed it up (which wouldn’t be the first time), but I can’t get the mask to seal on my face, no matter how I adjust the straps. It hisses through the night, which wakes my husband up. It shoots dry air up towards my eyes, which dries them out…and has even made my eyelid chapped. The eyelid, right by my tear duct, keeps splitting and bleeding. I’ve been vigilant to apply Neosporin to the area, but it’s just not getting better.

I’m working 20-25 hours a week, and a few days I’ve made it over 7 hours. I usually start feeling fatigued in the early afternoon, and will head home to nap. But if I have a meeting or an urgent task to complete, I truck on through. When I’m lucky, I’ll hit my second wind. It’s SO difficult to get through the sleepy afternoons without caffeine.

One of the happiest things is that I’ve felt good enough to travel a bit. As a pilot wife with flight benefits, I have a hard time sitting still for too long. First I roadtripped to Portland to help a friend move up to the Northwest. The next weekend, our family was supposed to go to Anchorage to visit my brother and sister-in-law. But since flight loads were miserably full, Rosie and I opted to fly down to southern California.

One of the most humiliating things about being an obese traveler is needing to request a seatbelt extender. After losing 5 inches in my waist, I was certain that I’d be in the clear for buckling my seatbelt sans extender. This picture doesn’t accurately show the gap (buckling a seatbelt requires two hands, and I had one on the camera). I was about an inch and a half from securely buckling my seatbelt. Hopefully the next time I’m on the plane I won’t have to make the walk of shame to ask the flight attendant for an extender.

We flew into LAX, but after a one hour ground stop, we decided to grab a hotel and pick up our rental car in the morning. The hotel’s website said they had a “deluxe continental breakfast buffet,” which was actually just muffins, doughnuts, and a few mushy apples. I skipped the free food and went to Trader Joes to get some good food that I could eat on the trip. Afterwards, we drove up Pacific Coast Highway from Dockweiller Beach to Santa Monica. At Venice Beach, Rosie and I got out of the car and took a 40 minute walk on the cool, foggy boardwalk. It’s amazing how the ocean makes exercise SO much easier.

Being in California was tough this time, because I realized how much of my usual Cali experience revolves around food. I have a bunch of favorite Mexican restaurants, donut shops, bakeries, and dessert spots. I did indulge in a few restaurant things (like a little tiny bit of toppings from carne asada nachos from Tijuana Tacos in Pomona), but I avoided most of the places where I knew I’d get myself into trouble. My in-laws carefully watched me as I ate during meals, blown away at how little I was eating.

It was an enjoyable time in LA, but the trip home was tough. Due to a rental car return fiasco, we missed our flight from LAX. We ended up flying to Las Vegas, hoping to get a connecting flight to SLC. We lucked out getting seats in first class to Vegas, but flight loads to SLC were dismal. Instead of waiting 6+ hour for the next flight to SLC, I decided to rent a car and drive up to SLC.

Not only do I love air travel, but I love roadtrips. Unfortunately, I associate a lot of a roadtrip by the drinks and snacks I bring along. But by the time I got on I-15 in Vegas, I was dragging. I broke my 2 month Coke-free streak by getting a cup of Coke Zero, filled to the top with ice. I sipped it for the parts of the trip I was dragging, with Gatorade G2 and water for the rest of the time. But as I drove, I thought about what I wished I could be eating….chocolate Dunford donuts, caramel popcorn balls, and chewy candies like Swedish Fish. I was glad we stopped at a grocery store for some chicken salad at the deli to snack on.

It was tough to drive up to SLC without a relief driver, and I had to stop to nap a few times. I hit all sorts of weather…from warm cloudless skies…to sunny snowstorms in Central Utah, to torrential rainfall. When I finally arrived home, I was TIRED. I still feel like I’m recovering from the trip 3 days later.

I’d like to thank the people who checked up on me this week, worried because I hadn’t posted anything new in over a week. It was crazy with travel, and my personal laptop is having major issues. I hope to post 3-5 times a week from here on out.

Oh, and about my weight. I haven’t weighed myself in almost 2 weeks, but I’m guessing that I’m down about 40 pounds.

Filed Under: weight loss · Tagged With: energy, gastric bypass, gastric bypass recovery, post-op

Roadtrip To Portland – Part 1

March 12, 2012 by Nicole Bullock · 2 Comments

Ever since my dilation procedure, I’ve been feeling great. I decided I was in good enough shape to go on an overnight trip to Portland with a friend. He moved from Salt Lake City to Seattle, and needed a travel companion to keep him safe on the road. Originally my husband was going to go, but he ended up being scheduled on a trip of his own. It would consist of a drive to Portland and a flight back to SLC, all taking a day and a half.

Because the vehicle would be jammed packed with his stuff, I didn’t have a lot of room to bring what I needed to travel with. I packed a small carryon suitcase, but he said it wouldn’t fit. I told him the only way I could pack lighter was to not bring my CPAP machine, and he said he could handle my snoring. I did pack a back of snacks…an insulated back with some Simply Gogurt, Laughing Cow cheese, shaved parmesean curls, grapes, and some sliced deli turkey.

We left SLC around 3:20 on Saturday with the plan to overnight in Baker City Oregon. After a pit stop in Burley, ID, Chris decided he wanted me to drive. He soon fell asleep, and I got to enjoy rural Idaho through a very gorgeous sunset. We got to our mediocre motel in Baker City around 9:45, having to adjust to Pacific time for a few hours before Daylight Savings hit.

We got back on the road around 7:45 am, and grabbed some breakfast. The motel offered a disappointing continental breakfast, but I couldn’t eat anything there. We went to McDonalds, and I got a sausage burrito. I opened up the tortilla, and ate some egg, cheese, and sausage. Chris was laughing at how little I was able to eat, especially as he downed 4 sausage biscuits. Funny to think that before surgery I could probably have eaten 2 or 3 of those biscuits.

Maybe it was from lack of sleep, or maybe because we were in a silly mood, but this road sign cracked us up. In Mormon culture, CTR stands for “choose the right.” We were joking that choosing the right is up for interpretation, and if you make the wrong choice, you’ll be sent to Hell’s Canyon.

It was an interesting day on the road. We had some light rain for the first hour of the drive, intermixed with partly cloudy sunny skies. When we got past La Grande and into the Blue Mountains, we got hit by a pretty crazy blizzard.

The Blue Mountains are notorious for snowstorms that pick up quickly and dump hard. Roads had not been plowed, and trucks were required to chain up. We slowed down to a crawl and followed the tracks in the snowy slush. There are some pretty steep downgrades, and we slid around a bit, but we made it through the worst of the storm, and it was raining by the time we went down “Cabbage Hill.” We stopped for some lunch outside of Pendleton, and I got a meatball sub at Subway. Of course, what I really only ate was a little sauce, cheese and nibbles of a meatball.

The rest of the drive to Portland was a mix between sunny skies and pouring rain. Driving along the Columbia River Gorge is one of my favorite parts of the drive to Portland. Lots of winding roads, little towns, elevation changes, dams and beautiful views. Right outside of Portland we stopped at the Multnomah Falls viewpoint. When we got into Portland, our first stop was at Voodoo Doughnuts.

To be continued…

Filed Under: health · Tagged With: food diary, Oregon, roadtrip, travel

I Want To Be Sedated

March 8, 2012 by Nicole Bullock · 1 Comment

Today I was sedated with Propofol, the drug that killed Michael Jackson. After the procedure, the PA said to avoid moonwalking for the rest of the day.

As I’ve mentioned in several other posts, I’ve been having a difficult time with keeping liquids and solids down the last 10 days. I’ve been having some pretty violent vomiting, which can cause scarring on my surgical anastamosis (where the stomach pouch and small intestine come together.) At my 4-week post-op visit, Dr Smith told me that I probably had a stricture, and would need to have an endoscopy to see if I needed to be dilated. Unfortunately, the soonest I could get an appointment was Thursday (today), so I’ve had a tough few days. Monday night I was in the ER to get hydrated, and I’ve still been having a tough time getting enough fluids.

This morning I had to be at St. Marks at 7:30am for registration. Once all the paperwork was order, I was taken into endoscopy. I got in my gown, was hooked up to IV fluids and monitors, and had an EKG. I was asked the most comprehensive health history questionnaire imaginable. I’m allergic to fentanyl, which is commonly used in endoscopic procedures, so they said they would be using a different drug on me.

Once all the pre-procedure stuff was taken care of, the took me into the endoscopy procedure room. They put me on oxygen by nasal cannula, and the tech told me about the functions of the endoscope. The actual scope was smaller than I expected, much to my relief. Within the black cable (which is hanging down in the from the machine on the right), there are functions to insufflate (blow air) and suction, as well as the camera.

They called Dr. Simper (one of Dr. Smith’s colleagues), who would be giving me the procedure. He reviewed all the risks and benefits of the procedures, then I signed consent forms. They started an IV push of Propofol, and everything got fuzzy until I fell asleep.

The procedure took less than a half hour. The endoscopy showed that I indeed had a stricture. A normal anastamosis is supposed to be 10-15mm. Mine was 4.5mm. This is like the difference between the diameter of a dime versus a pencil. No wonder I had such a hard time keeping things down! They successfully dilated me, and said I should be having immediate relief.

As I woke up from the sedation, I felt so loopy. I was jabbering about how colorful my dreams were, and how the wallpaper border of the room looked like it was moving like a conveyor belt. They told me that I was coming off of Propofol, which was one of the drugs that killed Michael Jackson. I was told to take it easy for the day, and to avoid any moonwalking for the rest of the day. I was advised to have clear liquids for the rest of the day and to avoid any “activities that require good judgement.”

I was given some apple juice with Sprite to drink, so they could see if I could keep it down. I was excited that I was able to drink and keep the drink down without discomfort. After finishing more IV fluids, they released me. I spent most of the day sleeping, which wasn’t hard because I was still so groggy from the sedation. I sipped on broth and juice, and had some sugar-free popcicles. After being on clear liquids so much this week, I’m VERY excited to go back to soft foods tomorrow. Bring on the cottage cheese and yogurt!

But enough about Michael Jackson, endoscopic procedures, and liquid diets…how about The Ramones?

Filed Under: surgery · Tagged With: complications, dilation, EGD, post-op

Four Week Post-Op Report And Vlog

March 6, 2012 by Nicole Bullock · Leave a Comment

Monday morning I had my 4 week post-op visit with Dr. Smith. In the waiting room, I ran into Barbara, who was one of my surgery buddies from the pre-op class, who had her gastric bypass the day after me. I weighed in at 341.2, which is down 32.1 pounds from my pre-op weight. We talked about how I’ve been having some bad days, dehydration, and how persistent my nausea and vomiting is. He was concerned that I may be dealing with an esophageal stricture, and ordered an endoscopy with dilation. This procedure requires a clear liquid diet, for at least 24 hours.

The scheduler tried to get me in for a next day appointment, but the soonest she could get me in was Thursday. I’ve been trying to keep to the clear liquids diet, but it actually makes me more nauseous.

I went into work for 3 hours, and was not feeling quite right the whole time I was there. I went home napped, and got progressively worse through the afternoon. By the time I decided to call my surgeon for direction, it was 5:15 – just missed his office closing.

I called the answering service, and Dr Smith called back a few minutes later. We discussed my symptoms, and he agreed that I was dealing with severe dehydration. He advised me to head to St. Mark’s ER for IV fluids.

I arrived at the ER a little after 6pm. Luckily the waiting room was pretty empty, and I was through triage within 20 minutes. By the 30 minute mark, Dr. Paradise was in the room assessing my symptoms. I got started on IV fluids and had a series of tests done. I was so dehydrated that I hadn’t urinated all day, and I wasn’t able until a liter of fluids was in me. As I got more hydrated, I was more comfortable and felt less yucky. Once my levels were what the doctor wanted them to be, he had me start sucking on ice chips and sipping salty Sprite (I can’t have carbonation with my gastric bypass, and salt will counteract the CO2). When I kept them down, I was able to be discharged.

Today was a lot easier than yesterday. I was properly hydrated, so I felt less fatigued. I worked for 3 hours, was able to attend a fun lunch with some bloggers, and relax and recuperate for the afternoon. Rosie wanted to audition for a play, so I helped her prepare a song and resume, took her to the audition, then went home and got straight in bed.

I got an extremely loud case of hiccups, and decided to record it…but as soon as I hit record, the hiccups were gone. But since I had the camera out, I decided to do a quick vlog post for a 4 week post-op update.

Filed Under: surgery · Tagged With: dehydration, ER visit, post-op

Stomach Flu? Or Just A Bad Pouch Day?

March 4, 2012 by Nicole Bullock · 1 Comment

It’s been one of those days that I don’t really feel like documenting because I’ve felt so miserable. Do people want to know that I threw up 5 times today? Sometimes I’m not sure. I know I’d much rather talk about weight loss and good days.

Since I’ve been back at work, I’ve been around a lot of sick people. It’s frustrating when people come into work sick and germy because I usually catch anything that’s going around. Especially since my immune system has been down since surgery. I take my vitamins and supplements daily, and I’m vigilant about washing my hands. But today I’ve been sick enough to wonder if I picked up what the boys at work have.

I couldn’t keep anything sizeable down until about 3pm today. Had egg whites and melted cheese for breakfast – lost it. Had a few bites of pudding – lost it. Had a little bit of tomato sauce with melted cheese – lost it. I tried to make up for a lack of nutrients with a protein shake, lost it (twice). I couldn’t even keep down water very easily. I made it through half of church, but I was feeling dizzy and nauseous, and decided it was time to go home.

I kept down a few bites of light yogurt, then took a long nap. When I was up, I had a little bit of shredded meat, enchilada sauce and cheese, and didn’t lose it. I sipped water through the evening, and had a little bit of vegetable broth. I kept my emesis basin handy for all the regurgitation and times I though I’d lose my dinner…but it wasn’t fun at all.

If it’s the flu, I hope it’s just a passing 24-hour thing. If it’s an unhappy pouch, I’ll be discussing that with Dr Smith at my post-op surgical appointment tomorrow morning. I’m going to talk about the ongoing nausea and fatigue that I deal with every day. Some people have suggested me upping the amount of protein I consume, and I also switched the type of B-12 I take from sublingual drops to sublingual lozenges. I’ll report my weight in my post tomorrow.

Food diary:

Egg whites and cheese (lost it)
A few bites of pudding (lost it)
Tomato sauce and cheese (lost it)
Protein shake (lost it)
1 oz light yogurt
2 oz shredded pork, enchilada sauce, and melted cheese
2 oz vegetable broth
5 grapes

Filed Under: health · Tagged With: bad pouch day, sick, surgery recovery

One Month Of Beauty And The Bypass

March 2, 2012 by Nicole Bullock · 8 Comments

It’s crazy to think it’s been a month since I started my weight loss surgery blog. 5 weeks ago I publicly announced that I was having gastric bypass surgery. I’ve talked about what I’ve eaten, the surgery process, emotional struggles with my obesity, post-operative complications, and added pictures along the way. Already I’m feeling healthier and more confident.

It hasn’t always been easy to talk about what I’m going through, and I’ve tried to be as honest about the process as possible. It’s been incredible to see how many people have reached out to me – those who have had surgery, those who are thinking about surgery, and those who purely appreciate sharing my journey. I’ve had some haters, I’ve had some rude and insensitive comments, but overall…I’m SO glad I decided to document the process.

Since I started the blog, my BMI has gone from 53.5 to 49.2, meaning I’ve gone from “super obese” back down to “morbidly obese”. Next step, I’ll just be “obese”. I’m down a little over 30 pounds, and I’m shrinking all over my body. These are my current measurements, with a total of how much I’ve lost:

Neck 16 (-.75)
Bust 50.5 (-1.5)
Chest 44 (-2)
Waist 45.5 (-4.5)
Upper belly 49 (-4)
Hips/butt 59.5 (-2.5)
Thigh 31 (-3)
Calf 23 (-1.5)
Ankle 11.5 (-1)
Bicep 18.25 (-1.75)
Forearm 13 (-1.5)
Wrist 7.5 (-1.5)

Being back to work has been a challenge. I’ve struggled with some major fatigue, some days it’s hard to stay even 3 hours, and I always follow-up my work shift with a hefty nap. I’m not sure how I’ll feel through the next few weeks, but I’m trying to be patient with my recovery. I’m still dealing with a lot of nausea and vomiting, but I’m getting more comfortable with what I’m able to eat (and how much). I’m still craving things that I can’t have (like Easter candy), but there’s reassurance that avoiding those “bad” foods will help me avoid getting sick.

Today’s food diary:

Light yogurt
1 TB peanut butter
2 oz marinara sauce, mushrooms, and cheese
2 oz shredded pork, enchilada sauce, and cheese
3 oz Simply Apple juice
String cheese

Filed Under: Introspection, surgery · Tagged With: back to work, gastric bypass, surgery recovery

Down 29 Pounds – 3 Weeks Post-Op

February 28, 2012 by Nicole Bullock · 4 Comments

After a tough day yesterday, I promised myself I wouldn’t overdo it today. I had to wake up at 5 to pick my husband up from the airport, but I was already half awake when my alarm went off. After having Taylor home for 3 weeks, 4 days apart felt like a long time. Seeing him was worth the 5am wake up call.

I went in to work to work on a proposal that was due at 10, had a meeting, and was out of the office by 11:30. I was gone before I was exhausted, which was a nice change. It was hard to turn down urgent projects, but my body is much more important than my work at the moment.

I spent the better part of the afternoon in bed, took a two hour nap, and regained enough energy to leave the house for a few hours. With how many people ask me about my weight loss, it’s been frustrating to not have a scale at home (that goes high enough to track my weight). We did a little shopping, picked up a scale, and visited some friends.

I weighed in this evening, and I’m down another 7 pounds, which puts me at 344.2. This means I’ve lost a total of 29.1 pounds since 1/30/12. Today I also fit into another pair of smaller jeans. After so many years of weight loss failures, it’s exciting to see the progress to quickly!

A friend mentioned to me tonight, “You’re getting numbers like on The Biggest Loser.” Funny that I auditioned for The Biggest Loser, and didn’t get a callback. Although it would have been interesting to be on a TV show, I think that weight loss surgery was a much better long-term decision for me. It’s crazy to me that 3 weeks ago, I was laying in a hospital bed, only allowed to sip one ounce of water per hour.