Introducing.....Tracy!!

After 6 years and 110,000 miles I have retired my Isuzu. It's 11 years old, has 186,000 miles and was costing me an arm and a leg in repairs and for gas. I was averaging about 15mpg and spending $110-$150/week on gas just to get to work....not to mention the radiator going out, the starter, the alternator, the brakes, the tires, etc

Originally I was looking into a small SUV.....Ford Escape, Kia Sportage, etc then gas prices started to rise which got me thinking that maybe I need to be looking into other vehicles that are better on gas.

I did some research and found that the Hyundai Sonata was rated high in gas mileage, affordablitly, safety and came with a ton of standard features. After a few trips to two dealerships and five test drives later....I was HOOKED. I have a 2012 Hyundai Sonata SE Turbo.

It's stylish, beautiful, smooth and SO much fun to drive.

Originally I was looking at a used Sonata but the price difference in the used vs new was so little that it just made sense to buy the new one. I paid $4,000 less than blue book value, I was able to negotiate a free window tint and I got the full 10yr 100,000 mile Hyundai warranty.

It's the first new thing I've ever had in my life. The odometer read 9 miles when I drove it off the lot. It's the 5th car I've owned and undoubtedly the nicest!
So, her name...Tracy.....let me give you a little background....

One of my good friends and I used to joke that we had our inner "fat girl" and they each had a name.....mine was Tracy. So over the years it just sort of became an on-going joke. I was trying to figure out what to name her and my brother actually came up with calling her Tracy. Here's why: Since having the surgery it's safe to say that my inner fat girl is gone....the cravings that "Tracy" had from time to time are gone, Tracy's ability to eat an entire meal is gone and she has exited the building!! She's been REPLACED by a great car that I love!!! :)

I'm Still Here!

....Okay okay I'm sorry! I fell off for a little bit! As soon as surgery was over life went into over-drive but things are starting to calm down a little bit....starting to....

I am 25 days post op and 33 days since I started the preop diet. I have lost a total of 32lbs, 1.5 inches in my neck, 3 inches in my waist and 3.5 inches in my bust.  To say that I am thrilled would be an understatement!

I never took any "before" pictures but I took these after loosing 25lbs.I will have to use these as my reference point as I continue to loose more.



My recovery was SO easy! I have felt great 99% of the time and I am learning what my body likes and dislikes. It's amazing what my body has gone through in just a few short weeks but I am adjusting well and me and my new belly are really getting along great! I've learned to listen to my body and I know when to stop, it's a wonderful feeling to have complete control again!

A typical day with my "new" stomach:

Breakfast

1 egg scrambled

1/2 piece of turkey bacon

Lunch

1/2 Turkey Burger (just the patty) w/cheese

1 oz green peas

or

1oz turkey lunch meat

1 string cheese

Snack

Bariatric Fusion Protein Shake

Dinner

1-2oz grilled chicken breast

1-2 grilled jalepenos

This is one of my recipies I found online during my "mushy" phase I was in

Ricotta cheese, w/plain pasta sauce, covered in mozerella cheese. It was actually REALLY good!

All through out the day I am drinking water. I have two 24oz Turvis tumblers-one at work and one at home and I try to constantly have them filled with ice water. I've found the only way I'll actually drink it is if its slammed full of ice....but hey, whatever works right? :) 

One of the biggest challenges I had during the first few weeks was making time to eat. May sound strange but as I am out trying to take care of life I would be gone from home for 3-4 hours at a time and in the middle of it I would realize that I was starving. The first few weeks my food options were extremely limited.....not many places carry sugar free pudding, applesauce and tomato soup. But now that I'm farther out I have a much easier time. It's all about making the right choices! Did you know that Chick-fli-a has a grilled chicken nugget kids meal that is only 160 calories (6 grilled nuggets, a small fruit cup and water), 25grams of protein, and 4grams of carbs...and that's two meals for me! It's a little high in sodium so it's def not something to eat a lot of but it's a great "go-to" when I'm on the road.

My next step is to start getting some major fitness goin'! The doc has told me to get moving, so that's what I am gonna do!

I am slowly but surely running out of clothes that fit and finding clothes that have been buried deep in my closets that are starting to fit again! It's good to have some things that fit still but it's not going to be long before I'm out of clothes to wear...especially with the summer approaching very quickly. Luckily my Mom helped me scope out a really nice thrift store in Raleigh, I will be hitting it up very soon....no sense in spending a ton of money on clothes that will hopefully be too big in a few months! :)

Who knew this was going to be so easy?! :)

Update!

Well, I'm home now and resting up. Figured I'd blog a little about my experience.
Originally I was scheduled for 9:45am arrival and a surgery time of 11:45am. The doctors office called me Wednesday evening and asked me to come in later. So I had to be at the hospital at 11am and my surgery was at 1pm. I checked in and sat around with Dana, Mom & Jason for a little while before I was called to the back to get prepped and ready.

The nurse took my vitals, had me change into a gown, started my IV, gave me the sedative I had asked for (which didn't even end up working for me) and then I was taken to another part of the hospital to wait for it to be my turn. I met with my Dr. briefly and spoke to a few more nurses and about 1:30ish they came to get me...it was time! At that point I got really emotional and was very scared. I hugged everyone and was wheeled into the main OR. I had never been in an OR before so it was a really scary experience. It was really cold, there were people everywhere, very bright, machines and equipment everywhere...pretty intimidating to say the least!

I had a nurse on my right side and the anesthesiologist on my left. She was talking to me and next thing you know, I woke up in the recovery room! Who knew it would be that easy! :) I was in the recovery room for about 3 hours since they did not have an open room for me yet. I didn't care much because I was being pumped full of meds to keep me from being nauseous and they made me really sleepy. Apparently, Mom, Jason & Dana were getting antsy...which I can't blame them! That's a long time to just wait around!

I finally got in my room and I don't remember a whole lot after that. Thursday night was pretty much a blur. Everyone eventually went home and I was left to sleep. I was woken up quite a few times over the night by the nurses and that was some what annoying but I guess that's how it goes.

Friday morning I woke up feeling like a new person. I was in some pain but not nearly as out of it as I was the day before. I had to go get an upper GI test done to make sure that my new stomach was how it should be and those results came back fine. The Dr. came in about 12-1pm and told me that he was going to send me home since I was doing so well.

Around 2ish I got my first bit of water and "food". Crystal Light lemonade, vegetable broth, and jello. I drank 4oz's of water and two spoonfuls of the broth and I thought I was going to get sick. It was amazing how fast my stomach filled up and I didn't even notice until it was too late. To put it lightly, it SUCKED and I was miserable for a few hours.

I waited for Jason to get off work at 10pm last night to bring me home. I didn't want to have to deal with Toby by myself if someone else had brought me home. (Love my puppy but he's a little much for me to deal with while being under the weather.) We made it home about midnight last night and I had never been so happy to see my own bed!

So now, here I am at home trying to get adjusted to this new stomach of mine. I haven't been able to eat much of anything and I'm trying to stay focused on drinking the fluids I need to drink so I stay hydrated. I've tried chicken/beef and vegetable broth and all of them taste like dirt. It's going to be a long week until I can have something other than broth, jello and water...but it's for the best I suppose.

Thanks to everyone who came to visit me, called/emailed/texted/prayed, etc. It means so much to me that I have wonderful people like YOU in my life to help me get through this!! :)