tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54190479052946020172025-03-02T01:51:11.412-05:00Follow me on my journey back to me via gastric bypass surgery.Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10406259487150705458noreply@blogger.comBlogger205125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5419047905294602017.post-33221291853751521372014-05-23T11:06:00.001-04:002014-05-23T11:47:50.080-04:00

In the past year or so, I've let old habits creep back into my life and I have the regain to show for it. These past couple of weeks, my focus hasn't been on weight loss specifically, but to break those habits once again. I had started doing sabotaging things like bringing unhealthy food into the house, regretting it, then rationalizing "Well, it's here, I'll eat it but won't buy any more." It

Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10406259487150705458noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5419047905294602017.post-3228048618474478602014-05-07T10:53:00.000-04:002014-05-07T11:19:06.540-04:00

It's time to get real. By spending the last nine months sitting on my ass recovering from tummy tuck surgery, recurring sinus infections and a knee injury, I have found myself in a dreaded situation. "Re-gain" is a term easily found on bariatric message boards and in support groups. Some people try their best to hide it, some ignore it, some justify it, some tackle it head on and get back to

Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10406259487150705458noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5419047905294602017.post-73949865782077601852014-04-23T12:15:00.001-04:002014-04-23T12:15:20.430-04:00

At some point, we have to admit our humanity. Since losing weight, I've done a lot of things I never thought I could. One that I enjoy most is participating in running/walking events. From my first 5K to the half marathon I completed last year, they are all exciting milestones in my mind. As a heavy child/teenager, I never participated in sports, so this whole thing of pushing my body towards a

Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10406259487150705458noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5419047905294602017.post-81719552378795009032014-03-27T13:50:00.002-04:002014-03-27T13:50:37.330-04:00

You are stronger than you think. This has been my motto on my journey to better health for over five years now. In my moments of self-perceived weakness, I found strength in myself. When I decided to have RNY gastric bypass surgery in 2009, I didn't join a support group. Indeed, I didn't know there were any to join; there may not have been any at the time in this area. I made my own phone calls

Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10406259487150705458noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5419047905294602017.post-57132566270550881802013-11-28T12:54:00.000-05:002013-11-28T14:46:08.096-05:00

Tummy tucks are...challenging for the impatient. I am now 14 weeks post op and lemme tell ya something; I am nowhere near back to normal. Not that I ever WAS normal, but....you know what I mean. My RNY gastric bypass was a walk in the park, recovery wise, compared to this. It's not that I've had any complications or anything like that. On the contrary, I'm doing very well! It's just a long

Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10406259487150705458noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5419047905294602017.post-84039551864097162742013-11-17T12:49:00.000-05:002013-11-17T12:49:03.077-05:00

I was in a pretty bad state of mind when I wrote my last post (duh). But this past week, I decided to take at least one step in the right direction and get things back on track. A few times a year since my surgery, I do something called the 5 Day Pouch Test (5DPT). It's always helped me get back on track both physically and mentally. And I do notice that, of course, when things go off the rails

Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10406259487150705458noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5419047905294602017.post-19470048607075205792013-11-12T14:57:00.000-05:002013-11-12T14:57:02.709-05:00

I notice I tend to put off posts when I feel like I don't have a lot of good things to say. This wasn't the case in the past; I used this platform to blow off steam, vent about my frustrations and generally bitch and moan. But in the past year or so, I feel like my posts should have a positive spin, some lesson to be learned. But I haven't been in a positive head space lately. I've lost a ton

Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10406259487150705458noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5419047905294602017.post-82189630907549148462013-09-15T03:56:00.000-04:002013-09-15T04:12:17.345-04:00

Probably not too smart to do an entry at 3am but I'm a WTF kinda girl, so here we go. Day 34 post-op. I had an appointment with my surgeon on Thursday. Well...it was supposed to be with my surgeon, but I was almost 30 minutes late due to the total suckage of Toronto traffic - I left early and took the supposedly super-fast toll highway and was still late - so I ended up seeing his partner

Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10406259487150705458noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5419047905294602017.post-59376954238444199642013-09-05T18:11:00.001-04:002013-09-05T18:21:50.988-04:00

I know it's been too long since my last entry, but I have a good reason. The feelings I'm having are a little complex, enough that I have been having trouble putting them into words. So now I'm 24 days post-op from my tummy tuck (TT) and doing pretty well. Well, if you don't count the stun-gun zaps from nerve regeneration and the feeling like Mike Tyson has been using my abdomen for a sparring

Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10406259487150705458noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5419047905294602017.post-18205116079744930512013-08-25T18:25:00.000-04:002013-08-25T18:25:01.398-04:00

Thirteen days post-op! No way am I ready to do cartwheels, but things are definitely chugging along. Both drains came out this past week - two days apart - and GOOD LORD!! Those things were really long. I had no idea I had that much room left in my abdomen. LOL! It didn't hurt at all. Like, not even a little bit. You know what was painful? Getting the tape off my pubic hair. Yes. I would have

Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10406259487150705458noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5419047905294602017.post-36390020133443552832013-08-20T22:11:00.002-04:002013-08-20T22:11:58.255-04:00

It's been eight days since my tummy tuck and I have to say this isn't as hard as I feared it might be. I still have two drains in my abdomen, dressings and a ACE bandage-like binder to contend with, but the pain isn't so bad. The recommended dosage for my percocets is 1-2 every 6 hours. I never had to take two and am now taking one about every eight hours. We keep stretching the time between

Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10406259487150705458noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5419047905294602017.post-47256294876872617762013-08-11T11:28:00.001-04:002013-08-11T11:35:02.420-04:00

Tomorrow I will get up at the butt crack of dawn and head to Scarborough, on the east end of Toronto, to once again pay a surgeon to cut me open and try to repair some of the self-inflicted damage I have done to myself over the course of my life. It's hard not to feel some guilt about the whole thing. It's my fault, after all! But I continue to attempt to forgive myself and learn from the

Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10406259487150705458noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5419047905294602017.post-30310009805974622772013-07-24T11:09:00.001-04:002013-07-24T11:21:46.484-04:00

A friend of mine shared the following image on Facebook a few days ago and it's resonated with me ever since: First of all, can we all agree on the Melissa McCarthy love? She is so awesome. I love her to death. And in this instance, she is totally spot on. So many of us who go through dramatic weight loss think we'll be pleased when we get to the "end" of our journeys. We think if we can

Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10406259487150705458noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5419047905294602017.post-57809841317618193862013-07-14T11:03:00.001-04:002013-07-14T11:03:23.833-04:00

Ok, are you ready? In my last post, I talked about how we sent my PS the check for my tummy tuck via Purolator on July 2 since the PS's assistant was having a fit and insisted they needed the money right away. After we got back to the house, I called the office and told her the money had been sent per her instructions. I had an appointment to see the PS and do my pre-op testing on July 4, but

Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10406259487150705458noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5419047905294602017.post-12447099368788529402013-07-07T11:28:00.000-04:002013-07-07T11:28:12.294-04:00

Today is what I like to call my rebirth-day, or, as it's known in the weight-loss surgery community, my "surgiversary." Four years ago today, I had RNY gastric bypass surgery and my life has never been the same. I won't bore you with all the details of how much better I feel now, how I can do things I never thought possible. It's all true, but I would just be repeating myself! It never gets old,

Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10406259487150705458noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5419047905294602017.post-18443577604021991852013-07-01T12:53:00.000-04:002013-07-02T08:19:24.174-04:00

Since working afternoon shift, I don't seem to have time to do much. It's all I can manage to get up at a reasonable hour and run errands, go to the gym, clean the house, do laundry, etc. I need to do all these things BEFORE I go to work because while I am a bit of a night owl, I'm not much in the mood to run around all over the place at 1 a.m. So this blog has been very neglected. When I logged

Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10406259487150705458noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5419047905294602017.post-43903296284252238192013-04-28T10:48:00.002-04:002013-04-28T10:48:36.890-04:00

A few days ago, I saw a plastic surgeon in Toronto to see if I can finally move on a little from the brain-numbing excess skin situation. I've written extensively and openly about my issues with my excess skin. It bothers me in a way I wasn't really expecting. I knew it would be there, of course, but the way it messes with my brain was surprising. Not everyone is affected this way. There are

Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10406259487150705458noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5419047905294602017.post-53163901714157047542013-04-23T13:40:00.000-04:002013-04-23T15:00:04.289-04:00

So I did it - last month, I completed by first running 5K. Now, will I do it again? Probably not. It was bitterly cold that day and since it was an inaugural race, pretty poorly organized. Some runners, myself included, got a little turned around on the badly marked course. I estimate that it affected my time by 2-3 minutes. Aggravating, to say the least. The day before the event, I went to a

Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10406259487150705458noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5419047905294602017.post-50708901646023289262013-03-12T10:57:00.002-04:002013-03-12T10:59:04.854-04:00

All the Bruce Springsteen fans landing here via some Google alert...sorry. You can click out now. In some sort of misguided and arrogant flash of confidence, I signed up to *jog* (not walk) a 5K event on March 23. I loaded the app Couch to 5K on my phone and got to work. I have often written of my desire to run. I equate it with a certain level of fitness, leftover trauma from elementary school

Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10406259487150705458noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5419047905294602017.post-88416651421766058452013-01-09T12:41:00.000-05:002013-01-09T15:19:10.533-05:00

In the interest of full disclosure, I'm a big believer in the Internet. My presence is very visible in this blog, on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn - not much into Pinterest as of yet. I need some form of 3D life. And of course, as I've spoken of many times, my immersion in Bo Bice's fan club/community has been life altering. Used correctly and responsibly, online communities bring like-minded

Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10406259487150705458noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5419047905294602017.post-75420293411752374782013-01-07T13:05:00.001-05:002013-01-07T13:06:35.572-05:00

Ah, the excess skin issue. It doesn't go away for those of us who have lost massive amounts of weight. Recently, an articleappeared in an area newspaper about a woman who lost weight successfully with weight-loss surgery but felt she needed to have the excess skin removed from her abdomen to feel "done". And she believes OHIP (Ontario Health Insurance Plan) should pay for it. I agree on both

Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10406259487150705458noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5419047905294602017.post-76316897585408442222012-12-10T13:00:00.002-05:002012-12-10T14:02:37.532-05:00

'Tis the season to be inundated with "helpful" tips to keeping your waistline trim while you navigate your way through office parties, get-togethers with friends and celebrations with family. Here are my thoughts on this, likely to be controversial. Isn't there enough to stress out about? Enjoy yourself a little bit. Why in the world would you have half an apple and a full glass of ice water (

Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10406259487150705458noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5419047905294602017.post-47072227436527282612012-12-02T12:37:00.000-05:002012-12-02T12:37:51.885-05:00

What are we afraid of? I'm not talking about things like ghosts, spiders or heights. I'm talking about what it is we think will happen if we go for what we want. What's stopping us? What's stopping you? What's stopping me? I've been thinking a lot about this lately. Making excuses for not having what we want...that is a form of self-flagellation, isn't it? I don't have time. I need to do 1),

Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10406259487150705458noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5419047905294602017.post-62201853456281855572012-09-27T19:47:00.000-04:002012-10-04T15:54:16.297-04:00

You all know my motto is "You are stronger than you think you are." The reason I tell myself this all the time - and ask you to do the same - is it's true. My body continually surprises me with what it can do. My 10K was this past Sunday and well, I did great! Smashed my goal of 1:45 and really proved to myself that when I want to, I can achieve a lot more than I think. Chip time (each bib was

Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10406259487150705458noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5419047905294602017.post-3570361502582411262012-09-22T13:06:00.003-04:002012-09-22T13:06:24.471-04:00

Tomorrow, I'll participate in my first 10K "race", Minds in Motion KW Walking Classic, a competitive walk that funds good shoes for people using exercise to recover from mental illness. I feel ready for it. I've been training for eight weeks and while I have by no means been perfect, I've stuck to the schedule pretty well. My knees are "meh"....they're ok but it is what it is. For some reason,

Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10406259487150705458noreply@blogger.com2