I WANT A PLATINUM BLONDE LIFE...

almost 5 months since surgery...

2008-11-03T17:19:00.000-08:00

So, I am approaching my 5 month mark since being "banded" and so far everything has gone great!

I have now lost a total of 58 lbs and cant wait to go in and get another fill so I have more restriction... hopefully that will drop another 10 lbs or so.

I have had 2 big victories since my last post:

1) I am now under 280

2) I have lost more than half of my goal weight!!! Only 50 more lbs to go!!!

I have slipped up a couple of times and eaten somethings I shouldn't, but it is very easy to get back on the plan... especially when I think about me paying out of pocket and having my monthly bill come in. Also, I am constantly reading forums and websites that keep my inspirations high and I am continuously getting new info and ways to make the band work better for me.

I need to post some before and after pictures so you guys can see the difference... I think it's pretty dramatic...

WOOT WOOT!!!

2008-09-04T12:15:00.001-07:00

ALRIGHT... HERE'S ANOTHER UPDATE!!!

I AM NOW UNDER 300 LBS!!! i HAVE LOST A TOTAL OF 38 LBS WHICH BRINGS ME TOO...

DRUM ROLL PLEASE!!!

296!!!

I THINK I AM ABOUT READY TO HIT THE GYM AND BUILD SOME MUSCLE...

Oh wow...

2008-08-17T21:59:00.000-07:00

Sorry I haven't really been posting as much as I should but it has been a crazy few weeks for me...

Let me give you an update...

I am now almost 1 1/2 months post-op and I am feeling GREAT!!! I have lost a total of 32 lbs. as of today!!! GO ME!!! Also I had a "fill" last Wednesday... which if you don't know what that is here is a brief explanation... they insert a needle into my port (which is right underneath the skin) and inject my band with saline which tightens the band down on my stomach and restricts the flow of food into my "2nd stomach"... which makes me feel full longer. When I went in for my doctors visit on Wednesday I had no idea I was getting a fill... I thought the doctor was just gonna see how I was doing... but no... I got injected... I was so excited!!!

I am at work right now but when I get off in the morning at 6 a.m. I am meeting one of my best friends, who works the same schedule as I do, at a park and we are gonna start walking together! So needless to say I am starting back on a work out routine!!! AND in about 2 weeks I can start weight training again!!! Things are going great and I can't wait to share the progress with you all again shortly!!!

PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST!!!

Me

Day 5... Post-Op

2008-07-10T07:32:00.000-07:00

Alright... It has been 5 days since my surgery and I am feeling great!!!

It doesn't hurt to take a deep breath anymore and I feel fine on the inside. My incisions are still a little tender but nothing to bad. I have been on nothing but liquids which include chicken and beef broth, slim fast shakes, sugar free Popsicles, sugar free jello, water (of course), propel water, and pain medicine (lol). This hasn't been as hard as it sounds but it hasn't been fun. The one good thing is that I got on the scale today and I have lost 11 pounds!!! Very exciting!!! That's 2.2 lbs. a day!!!

I have discovered some really good alternatives to the boring broths and Popsicles... I have had onion soup from a nice french restaurant near my house and some tropical ice from an ice cream shop in the area. Those were the highlights of the last couple of days... lol

Next week should be easier. I will be adding thicker soups and yogurt... which I know doesn't sound all that great but when you have had the restrictions of nothing but liquids... you would be excited also!!! lol

I hope everyone is doing great... and believe me I am very thankful for everyone that called me, texted me, emailed me, and came over and hung out with me!!! you all made it much easier to just be sitting around the house healing.

I can't wait to get back out and start having fun and enjoying my new life... because that is exactly what I gained...

38 hours away...

2008-07-07T16:49:00.000-07:00

Alright... I'm only 38 hours away and I have some great news!!!

The nurse called me this morning and informed me that my test came back negative!!! YAY!!!

Now I'll tell you the story since I don't have what they thought I did...

I get these blemishes on my stomach right where my pants sit and I figured I always got them just because I sit at work for 8 hours and my pants are usually tight... I seriously just thought they were ingrown hairs...

Well on my pre-op directions it said if you have any skin irritations to let the nurse know... so I did when I went up there on Thursday. She looked at it and called my doctor and spoke to another nurse there and came back with two staph infection test kits...

STAPH INFECTION!!!??? No, I knew she was wrong but of course I was still scared of the test coming back positive.

But it came back negative... and the surgery is still on for Wednesday!!! yay!!!

So I probably will not post again until after my surgery... so everyone know... I love you all and I'll talk to you n few days!!!

2 Days until surgery...

2008-07-06T11:30:00.000-07:00

Well two days until my surgery and I have hit a small bump in the road...

When I went to the doctors office on Thursday to pay the remaining balance on my surgery something happened that made them want to run one more test on me before I go in on Wednesday. I don't really want to go into details but the test result won't be back until Monday or Tuesday... MONDAY OR TUESDAY!!! That's like the day before my surgery!!! How am I supposed to prepare for that!?

So needless to say, I am in a state of limbo right now and am having mixed feelings. I pretty sure the test will come back in my favor, but you know there is always that chance that you're not as healthy as you think you are.

I will keep everyone updated and we will see if Wednesday is in fact going to be my surgery day or if I'm going to have to reschedule...

*~sigh~*

Sleep... I gets none...

2008-06-27T20:24:00.000-07:00

So I think I have really been feeling the anxiety of the fast approaching surgery. My off days from work are Wednesdays and Thursdays and both days it took for ever for me to fall asleep and every time that I was lucky enough to slip into a dream like state it would only be for a maximum of 2 hours.

I hope this is the worst of it but I don't think it will be... I am 11 days away and I can't sit still.

I sometimes feel like I am going to have a flood of emotions... I am so happy and nervous and scared and anxious that I fell like I'm going to laugh cry and have a panic attack all at the same time!

I decided it would be best for my mental stability to take a leave of absence from roller derby until a month after my surgery... I feel like a big weight has been lifted off of me just because I don't think I would have been able to give them 100% due to everything going on in my life right now... but I know if you give me 2 weeks I will be missing my skates.

Well I hope everyone is doing good and having fun... and if it's without me... shame on you!!!

lol

Love you all!!!

Final step complete before surgery date...

2008-06-24T17:47:00.000-07:00

So I met with my surgeon today (Dr. Hollis)(sp?) to go over pre-op directives and kinda go over what the days after my surgery are gonna be like.

He seems pretty cool and I got a good vibe from him. He has a sense of humor and answered every question I had and I didnt feel like he was rushing... (even though I know he had a full schedule).

So this was officially the last step before the actual surgery. I am now 2 weeks away and I am so excited!

Now I need to take some pictures so I can track my progress!!!

Side notes:
*I was told I should quit smoking...(but what doctors not gonna tell you that)
*I was told I could wear plastic retainers in my piercings!!! (yay!)
*I was told my blood work looked good... no need to be on a special diet before the surger (yay!)
*I was told that the band wont melt if I get a job with a fire department and go into a burning building (lol... i was really worried about this)
*I got my books in the mail!!!

Post Surgery Reading Material...

2008-06-23T02:49:00.000-07:00

Ok so I just ordered me two books to read while I am recovering from my surgery...

The first one is:

How to Make Love Like A Porn Star, A Cautionary Tale
By Jenna Jameson (her autobiography)

And the second one is:

30 Days of Night
By Steven Neils (its the graphic novel that the movie was based off of)

So now I am all set to do a weeks worth of setting and healing... I'll let you know how the books are...

My stats

2008-06-21T11:54:00.000-07:00

Here is a little about me currently:

*I am 24 years old

*I am a white male

*I am 350 lbs

*I am 6'00" tall

*My BMI is 47.5

*I am obese and have been for too long

*I have had asthma for years

*My knees are starting to hurt

*I have to have a seat belt extender on airplanes (very embarrassing)

So now I would like to post some pictures of me so everyone can kinda see where I am starting from... I am gonna take some more pictures in the next couple of weeks just to have some current ones and also ones that are specifically to show my progress...

2 week count down...

2008-06-21T03:12:00.000-07:00

For those of you who have not talked to me in a while...

I am a little over 2 weeks away...

I am having my surgery in 2 weeks!!! It's crazy. It seems like everything has come so easy and that a door of hope has been opened for me.

I still feel like I am kinda going into this blind. Good thing I meet with my doctor on Tuesday because I am going to have a notebook full of questions lol.

So you may be wondering "why start a blog?" "why call it 'i want a platinum blonde life'?" "what can I look forward to in this blog?"

well here are the answers:

1) I want to track my progress from beginning to end. Share how I am doing with my family and friends and have a centralized place to share this experience.

2) "I want a platinum blonde life..." is a lyric from one of my favorite songs by my favorite band No Doubt. I guess I just kinda relate that line to my current attitude.

3) From here on out you can look forward to my rambling, pictures of me and my progress, pictures of anything I find interesting, audio and videos that make a difference in my day or life.

So lets start now... Here is a youtube video for the song that this blog is named after. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do...

Love you all... and until next time...

http://youtube.com/watch?v=KEGaBwB5iX4