1 Year Ago Today!

I cannot believe that 1 year ago today, I made the best decision I have ever made for myself. 1 year ago today I had gastric bypass surgery. It has been an eventful year, to say the least. I had surgery, I started a job I love, travelled, and oh yea, lost 115 lbs! My only regret is that I did not do this sooner. Here are some before and after pics....
Before

After

Before

After

Randomness from 35,000 Feet in the Air

Gotta love free wi-fi on an airplane! I am currently on a plane on my way to San Fransico! Mr. Sully has been at a work conference there all week, so I am flying to meet up with him for the weekend! Yes, I am flying cross country for all of 2 days. Tomorrow we plan on heading up to Wine Country to visit some vineyards, which is something I have always wanted to do. Saturday we will probably do some wicked touristy things, then back to Boston on Sunday. So, as I sit here on my 6 1/2 hour flight, here are some thoughts on my weight loss progress, how things have changed, and the holidays....


WEIGHT LOSS

My weight loss is at 106 lbs lost! I go through plateaus where I won't lose for a week or 2, and then I will lose a few lbs, and then plateau again. I am not really bothered by it, because I know the scale will move again in the right direction. When people ask, and I tell them, how much weight I've lost, it is now usually followed with "how much more do you want to lose". I have no answer to that. I have decided, and I know, most Dr.'s won't agree, not to give myself a goal. I refuse to fixate on a number. I have spent my entire life fixating on a size, a weight, how many pounds to lose, etc. I have given that all up. My goals are to be healthy, happy, and to hopefully be able to get pregnant. I will know when I get to where I want to be. Some people say without a goal (as in goal weight) that it will not motivate you. What motivates me is the scale going down. Here is an example of how my perception has changed: Before if I started a diet, got on the scale and lost between 1 and 3 pounds, I saw it as failure. It wasnt enough. Now, even after 106 lbs, I still get excited about losing 1 pound, because I know another pound is sure to follow, and another after that, and so forth. It's not a race; it's coming off, and thats all that matters to me.

With losing this amount of weight, and my body forever changing, I, an admitted shopaholic (since long before surgery!) now find myself COMPLETELY OVERWHELMED when I go into the stores. For the very first time in my adult life, I no longer have to shop in a plus size store or section. I always knew what store, or corner of the store I needed to go in. Now that the rest of the store is opened up to me, I find it to be a very daunting task to shop. Scary, and overwhelming. I dont like unfamiliar territory, and yet that is where I find myself. I am slowly getting used to it, and yet strangely enough I will walk by the plus size section and miss the comfort I felt knowing exactly where everything was, how it fit, etc. I know it sounds crazy, and it is something no one ever told me, and nothing I have read about, so hopefully someone reads this that is going through the same thing, and feels a little better that they are not the only one that feels this way.

THE HOLIDAYS

Today is December 9th, and I am really so sick of listening to people complain...complain about Christmas, complain about the cold, complain about Christnmas music being played so early blah blah blah! ENOUGH! Try stopping complaining, and try to ENJOY the season! Remember the feeling you had as a kid that usually started at Thanksgiving? It was a whole season of excitement...making out a Christmas list, putting up decorations, getting the tree, listening to Christmas music and Christmas specials. I loved Christmas Eve! We would always get new pajamas, and could open up 1 gift. I couldnt wait until it was time to go to bed, only to not be able to all asleep. And then finally, Christmas morning! So maybe now we are not waiting for Santa, but I still love the Christmas season. I still love to decorate the house and the tree, I still get excited when Rudolph is on, and of course, have to watch A Christmas Story any time it is on. I love listening to Christmas music, the hustle and bustle in the stores, and riding around looking at Christmas lights. My favorite is Christmas Eve, as I play host to both my family as well as my husbands. I love starting and carrying on traditions. As adults, we have a lot more responsibilities and a lot less time. Maybe during this time of year we should just try to slow down a bit here and there? As adults, when we get overwhelmed with the "grown up stuff" I think most of us at one time or another have said something along the lines of "I wish I was a kid again" Well, we can't go back in time and be a kid again, but maybe if we CHOOSE to try and enjoy the season a little more, look at some lights, listen to some music, watch a Christmas special from your childhood, maybe you can get back that "feeling" we had as kids.

Just a thought.

OK So It's Been a While!

WOW! It has been MONTHS since I have updated my blog! The Sully's have had a really busy summer and fall...lots of fun, but very busy! We have had lots of weekend trips, to Cape Cod, Foxwoods, and Maine. I went on a girls weekend to to Foxboro. Doesnt sound very exciting, but it included a Bon Jovi and Kid Rock concert and a day of shopping at the Wrentham Outlets! In October we celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary at Sandals, Montego Bay in Jamaica. We went there last year, and could not wait to go back, we had such a great time! When we came back, we went to the annual Pumpkin Festival in Keene, NH. That weekend was followed by my sister in laws bachelorette party, and then her wedding...told you we were busy! I really think Mr. Sully and I have had maybe 2 weekends to ourselves (at home!) since the summer! Here are some pics from our adventures....


Mr. and Mrs. Sully at Mohegan Sun


my view every day on the beach in Jamaica





Mr. and Mrs. Sully went ziplining!

I'm Getting OLD!

Totally forgot I blogged about thinning hair and cutting it short LOL oh well, more pics anyways :)

One of the first things they tell you is a side effect of weight loss surgery is hair loss. That has really been my only fear. Not dying, not being sick, but hair loss. Before surgery, I had long, thick, curly hair. In 35 years, I have never appreciated my hair-until now. It has thinned out some, most people cannot notice it, but I could. I hated how it felt, the clumps of hair every time I touched it, washing it, you name it. So, I decided to cut it. It has definitely helped make it less noticeable and feels so much better. I will prob keep it short for a while until the hair stops falling out, which I think stops around the year mark. So, while snapping pics of my new short 'do, I also took some "after" shots. So, here is what my new hair and 72lbs gone is looking like:





Hmmm...must do something about those arms!

To Eat or Not to Eat (or what do I eat) That is the Question!

Prior to me having GB surgery, most of my blogs were about food. What I was eating, what I was making, and so forth. I loved food, I still love food. I didn't know what to expect after surgery as to what my relationship with food would be like. Would I still be able to eat this or that ever again? Will I have to live on shakes? Yes, yes, and no. I can eat basically whatever I want, it's just now I make better choices for myself. GB is not magic...I now and for the rest of my life will have to watch what I eat. I know what I should eat and I do pretty well at eating right. I occasionaly treat myself. I never feel like I am denying myself anything. If I want something, I have it, but in a small portion and that takes care of my craving. When we go out to eat, I order everything, and finish nothing. Or sometimes I will split a meal with Mr. Sully. So, with all this, it brings new challenges: What are new, healthy ideas I can cook for breakfast, lunch and dinner and how can I modify existing recipes. Going forward, I will try to share some more of these ideas. Todays idea? LUNCH! I bring breakfast and lunch to work everyday, so here is what I have been doing.

Breakfast: I usually keep Quakers Weight Control instant oatmeal in my desk (variety pack) and eat that for breakfast. Occasionally I will bring a yogurt, or cottage cheese, or cereal (Special K) instead.

Lunch: Tuna, ham and cheese, turkey and cheese wrap. I bought a great lunchbox and is awsome in helping with portion sizing.



It is called a "laptop lunch". Basically, it's a bento box with perfectly sized containers. Use them all at once, or just some of them. Here is one of my favorite lunches that I have been bringing to work this week.




(from the top left) Falafel, cut up peppers and grape tomatoes, cantaloupe, and Sabra Hummus.

Falafel-I bought these premade at Costco, as I have no idea how to make them. LOVE THEM! I also bought a package of these mini sweet red, yellow, and orange peppers. Also from Costco, I purchased single servings of Sabra hummus (which is my new fav!)

So here is what I will bring with me to work tomorrow....



In addition to my falafel, veggies, fruit and hummus, I am bringing Special K with Yogurt, and water. Not pictured is my ice tea (unsweetened) that I bring every day (16oz). My water jug is 32 oz. My goal is to finish my ice tea and the water and that would give me 48oz before I got home from work. Going out somewhere with my sister in law for dinner tomorrow night, so we will see what that brings for food! Good night for now!

Mrs. Sully's new 'Do

Mrs.Sully got a new haircut. Major haircut, like my hairdresser asking me twelve thousand times if I'm sure I want to do this. Why so drastic you ask? Well, since I have breezed through this whole gastric bypass experience so well, there was bound to be at least one bump in the road. My bump in the road=hair loss. I knew to expect some. I wasn't thrilled about it, but I knew it could happen. I was told to start to expect it around months 2-3. Yea right. My head has been hemorrhaging hair like the BP oil well is hemorrhaging oil since day 5. I am very, very, very lucky to have started out with a full, thick head of hair. A head of hair I never really appreciated until now. What started out as nice and thick and full, is now thin, not so thick, and noticeable. Anytime my hands touch my hair, I got clumps. Listen, I'm a girl, I've had long hair, I know hair come out, and sticks in the tub, and all that good stuff. I'm not talking about that. I am talking every time you shampoo, condition, rinse, comb, blow dry, put hair up, take hair down, run hands through hair, clumps every single time. My hairline looks like it's receding. When I feel my hair, I can feel how thin it is. Regular claw clips I used to have to by the huge ones, because that is all that would hold my hair. Now, I can put all my hair up with one of the really small ones :(

Here is what my hair used to look like



I don't really have any pics that show exactly how thinned out my hair got. I rarely wore it down, and when I did, I would wear a headband so you could not see how thin it was. I decided to cut it, and start over. I'm hopeful my hair will eventually grow back! Here is how it looks now. Unfortunately, it was pouring when I left, so it doesn't look quite as good as it first did, but you get the idea!





Seriously, these are not great pics. My hairdresser is awesome, and these pics really don't show what a great job she did. What you can't see in the pics is how healthy and shiny my hair looks and feels, and how much more volume it has, it actually feels thick again! I will post more pics on a better hair day lol. So would I have the surgery again knowing exactly what would happen to my hair? Absolutely. I have lost 67 pounds in 4 months, and still losing. This is just my vent. I have been very lucky, I have had no issues, (knock on wood) and I can eat just about anything I want. Oh well, that's all for now.