Well, tomorrow marks 7 months since I had the gastric sleeve and just as I've said in my all other updates, I'm doing great!

Officially down 85 lbs now. That's 5 lbs in the last month, which I'm totally happy with. Yes, my weight loss has slowed down a lot but gosh, how can I complain about losing another 5 lbs?! I'm now at 157, which means I am getting really close to goal. I set 140 as my goal because that means I will officially be in the normal weight range for my height (according to the BMI scale). But seriously, I weighed in the 150's in high school and was very happy with my body so I'm thrilled to be in the 150's again. Of course, my body looks a lot different than it did in high school, but whatever.

Some good news is that I didn't have to try hard to lose this month. I went through a stall before where I chose to go back on liquids for a few days to get passed it. But this month I have been distracted and busy and just kind of said, "whatever. I'll lose or not lose. I'm not gonna stress about it." I actually quit lifting weights and doing squats for the last week and a half or so and just stuck to my daily walks and wouldn't you know it, I lost about 3 lbs in 3 days. Maybe lifting weights and squats, etc.. really was interfering with the scale because I was building muscle. Who knows? I'm not going to quit my weights and stuff because I do want to tone and build muscle but I can see how giving myself a few days off every now and then might actually be beneficial.

I am doing great on my diet, protein requirements, fluids, vitamins, etc.. I have struggled with getting in enough fiber in the past and had "bathroom struggles" because of it but I think I've finally figured that out and things have been really great lately.

For any newbies interested in my usual daily schedule concerning food, vitamins, and exercise this is a little run down:

As soon as I get up I go use the bathroom and then weigh. (I personally weigh every single day. Everyone tells you not to. Heck, I would advise you not to. But personally it works for me. I like to see where I'm at and how my actions the day before affected my weight. Yes, it's frustrating to see the scale stay the same for a few weeks in a row but for me, it only motivates me. I HAVE to hold myself accountable all the time or else I will turn a blind eye and that's where I get myself into trouble.)

First thing, I have a premixed shake. I don't like eating breakfast so this works great for me. Plus, I can get a jump start on both protein and fluids. My personal favorite is Premier Protein in Vanilla (30 grams of protein and 160 calories)

At this time I take my first round of vitamins for the day, which includes: 2 omeprazole, 1 sublingual B-12, 1 fish oil, 1 biotin, and 1 calcium chew. The omeprazole is for acid reflux and the fish oil and biotin are for hair loss. (more on that later.)

Then I usually go for a walk, pushing my toddler in his stroller. My usual daily walk is about 3 miles. I take at least one bottle of water with me and sip on it every few minutes and try to make sure I have it finished by the time I get back. I've always found it easier to get more fluid in when I'm walking.

Sometimes I lift weights and do squats as soon as I get back. I almost always did it until the last two weeks, which I have more or less taken a much needed break (mostly because of a horribly busy schedule lately). But for the most part I would do 3 sets of 20 regular squats, 3 sets of 20 sumo squats, 3 sets of 30 calf raises, and then a whole variety of arm workouts. I switched it up every day and tried to focus more on legs one day, more on abs one day, and more on arms the next and then repeat. I usually sip on more water throughout this.

If I felt up to it I would to to have some protein after my workout, which of course is the best time to get in protein since it's when your muscles need it the most for repair. But to be completely honest a lot of times I would take a small break and then have one of my indulgences, a cup of coffee. I swore off caffeine for months before and after my surgery and only the last few months have allowed it back into my life, in very small amounts. I make "half-caff" now and have one small cup, usually with some stevia and a little creamer.

For lunch I eat leftovers from supper the night before or have something small, like can chicken and light mayo, or scrambled eggs, or turkey and bean chili with melted cheese on top. Today it was leftovers which was chicken (that had been sauteed with garlic, chili powder, and a little brown sugar) and a teensy side of black beans. (LOVE beans, especially black ones! 8 grams of protein and 7 grams of fiber per serving. Double points!!)

I try to keep a bottle of water around me at all times to sip as needed. You will be surprised how much water you can get down when you take a sip every 5 mins.

Sometime around 3:00 in the afternoon or so I usually make a protein smoothie. I have found that this is a pivotal time of the day for me. Late afternoon, like suppertime has always been when I wanted to do all my eating. I let myself go too long then I will hurt myself at supper... literally. I'll eat too fast or too much (which still isn't a lot but enough to make me hate myself for about 20 mins). So making a smoothie around 3:00 has worked wonders. AND, added benefits are that I'm getting in more protein, lots of fiber, more fluid, and other added health benefits from blueberries and strawberries. For my usual smoothie I put about a cup of ice in a blender, then add in frozen strawberries and blueberries. (I don't measure but I'd estimate about a half a cup each). I then add a cup of water and last I put in a scoop of vanilla protein powder. (Again I have the powdered Premier Protein.) It makes a nice thick smoothie that takes me at least an hour to drink so it helps me reach supper not really hungry. (And yes, I do get hungry. Some of it is physical hunger and some of it is head hunger but none of it is anything close to what I used to experience and I am very quickly satiated.)
Anyway, smoothie has 30 grams of protein and probably 4-5 grams of fiber and has around 220 calories. AND I can count it towards my fluid intake!

For supper I usually try to make something on the healthy side but since this is a meal where I have 5 men/boys to feed and considering they are bottomless pits that are always hungry there are times when we get pizza or I make spaghetti. If we eat pizza I either eat something else or I eat the toppings off and throw away the rest. It's greasy and horrible and I don't do it very often but I hey, the cheese and meat are protein, right? And it makes me feel normal to sit down with a slice of pizza with my kids. More often though we have baked pork chops, or grilled chicken, or baked fish fillets. I bake veggies a lot, especially sweet potatoes (my favorite) and have a whole cabinet full of different beans we swap out. But I do include mac and cheese still. And cheesy potatoes, and corn. These are my kids favorites and sometimes these are the bulk of what goes in their tummies. We are working on it... My ten year old has autism and is actually in a food science class that's main goal is overcoming food aversions. Autistic kids are notoriously picky eaters and my son is no exception. So I do what I have to to make sure he eats supper. But my point is, I don't fret too much about supper. I aim for healthy but I also aim aim at filling my kids bellies. If its comfort food, so be it. And like I said before, I eat a little, focus on the protein and don't stress. I'm very happy with this freedom in the kitchen, too. I don't feel like I'm restricted or sacrificing too much.

Anyway, between supper and bedtime I try to get in more fluid. I usually make me a hot mug of decaf tea and add a little stevia and honey. It's like a little nightly sweet treat. I sip on another bottle of water before bedtime and hopefully got most of it down. I take my last round of vitamins right before bed, mostly because my multivitamin has made me nauseous before and taking it right before I go lay down seemed to help that. I take 3 multivitamins with iron, 1 fish oil, and 1 biotin. By the way, I make sure and avoid calcium for at least 2 hours before this and try to get in that glass of water. I have always taken my vitamins regularly and was surprised when, at my 3 month check up they told me I was a little anemic. I realized I was having a protein shake too late in the day and thought it might be to blame. And drinking a glass of water before taking your vitamins helps them to absorb so, anyway, I started doing that and noticed a boost in my energy.

I haven't had my 6 month checkup yet, we had a scheduling conflict but I'm all set for the week after next so I'm curious to see if my anemia has improved.

So, anyway, that's my day pretty much. At least concerning gastric sleeve related stuff. It sounds like a lot when wrote down but really, it's all so much a habit now that it doesn't take long, or much thought at all. I used to think getting in my protein or fluids or taking my vitamins was gonna be such a hassle but now I realize, once you set those habits it just becomes life. I'm not dieting, this is just how I live now. It's not work.. it's just a part of my routine. Like brushing my teeth, or putting on makeup.

Anyway, I said I was gonna talk about hair loss. Around 4 months I started noticing some fairly significant hair loss. It was pretty scary for a while. I tried a lot of stuff to help it.. quit styling my hair so much, started taking biotin and fish oil, used coconut oil hair masks, quit "brushing" my hair (switched to a wide tooth comb), etc.. My hair was already pretty thin but got really super thin. I kept looking for bald spots but luckily never saw any. It just got really thin.

The last few weeks I think (I am cautiously optimistic) that it might be easing up a bit. I've noticed I'm not getting quite the handfuls of hair in the shower that I usually have. There's still a decent amount when I comb it but I'm almost positive it's not as bad as before. Of course, it's possible that I'm just getting used to it. I'm paying attention and hoping I see little tiny hairs of regrowth soon.. I'll let y'all know!

So that's basically it! In other aspects of my life, my older boys are all back in school. My oldest is in his first year of middle school and that's been... interesting. My little sister got married 2 weeks ago. I was the matron of honor and me and my mom organized and planned the whole thing. It was a beautiful success but I'm so glad its over! My brother and his wife are about a month and half away from the birth of my niece so I'm bouncing off my seat for that. A stray cat I feed had kittens on my neighbors roof and as she was birthing the last 2, the first 3 fell off the roof. It's along and interesting story but the conclusion is that I currently have a wild momma cat and her 5 babies in a large dog crate in my bathroom. 4 of the babies are doing wonderfully but one baby has some problems. Amazingly enough he wasn't one of the ones that fell off the roof. But his head flops all over the place and he is constantly tripping and rolling over on his back. He hasn't once successfully managed to latch onto his momma so I have been bottle feeding him every 3 hours since birth. He is 8 days old today and I'm super proud to say he is growing and his eyes are just starting to peek open. If he has the condition I think he has (called cerebellar hypoplasia) then he will be a disabled special needs cat forever. We will find homes for all the other kittens but will mostly likely keep him. Also plan to spay momma and find her a home. We are at a nervous truce right now... she tolerates me but isn't my biggest fan. Shes also getting a little stir crazy and I think its making her more tempermental.

I'm also gearing up to start school again. Going for my prerequisites for nursing before I try to get into nursing school next fall. Hoping that gives my toddler enough time to get potty trained and get a little bigger before I try to go back to school full time. But still, 2 classes a semester for now will probably be a lot to handle with my schedule... Oh well, I'll figure it out!

Lots of exciting things going on. As always, busy busy busy! But at least now I have the energy to keep up!!!

Thanks for reading.