075 The Benefits of Sharing

I have been looking forward to the day that all the other gastric sleevers have been telling us about...the day the grocery bill goes down!

I haven't so much noticed it in our actual grocery bill yet because we have to buy staples like different flavors of protein drinks and stuff like that. However, I have seen a marked difference in our dining out bill.

Not only are we eating out less, but we are also sharing one meal between us! That still blows my mind. That got me thinking... Besides money what are the benefits of sharing?

So here are my Top 4 Benefits for Sharing Restaurant Portions after Gastric Sleeve Surgery:
1. Sharing helps keep Jimmy's portion size in check and help me eats a more accurate food portion myself
2. Sharing forces us to sit closer, look at each other, and talk during meals (no more stick in the television face)
3. Sharing often eliminates leftovers in the fridge that no one is going to eat
4. Sharing reduces the overall meal cost.

I know I said it's not all about the money but I have to tell you this story.

Jimmy and I decided to go out last week and try Mexican for the first time. So we went to our local El Maguey and as soon as we walked in we saw the beef and bean burrito was on the specials menu. Perfect! We sit down and we order two waters and the burrito special. The hardest thing was resisting the chips which we asked them not to bring but they did anyway (I blame the language barrier). When the burrito comes we decided to open it up on the plate and scrape the insides out onto the cheese sauce which the burrito had been smothered in and we didn't eat the flour tortilla shell. We finished our meal and we were both comfortably full without over doing it. We didn't have any leftovers and for the first time in our lives we were able to tip about 100%! Our meal was only $3.65 so we gave the waitress a $4 tip just because we could. It was an awesome experience.

We didn't think that we would but we actually love sharing. So we share the majority of the time now.

069 Home from the Hospital

For everyone who doesn't already know...

Jimmy got to come home from the hospital on Saturday. It's nice to be home and relax. Jimmy is doing better but has doctor's orders to rest and make sure that he is hydrated for a few days before he can even think about going back to his normal routine.

So for now he is kicking back, reading the books he got for Christmas, and drinking lots of water and low calorie Gatorade.

Thank you for all the prayers and concerns. They were felt and appreciated!

067 The Constipation Saga Continues

Last night was another long night. We are still dealing with Jimmy not feeling well. I guess last night it was just the last straw so we ended up in the emergency room.

Because of the pain Jimmy was having they first thought that he might have a fecal impaction so they did abdominal x-rays to check for blockage and one of the doctors stuck his finger up Jimmy's bum (T.M.I. I know!) to see if their was any hard blockage near the entrance of the rectum.

The Verdict
Jimmy does not have blockage.
Jimmy does not have a fecal impaction.
Jimmy did not have a septic bowel movement.
JIMMY IS CONSTIPATED.

Evidently constipation can cause diarrhea because the other poo is forced around the harder stuff in an effort to leave the rectum. In Jimmy's case, the frequent trips to the bathroom have aggravated his hemorrhoids and the wiping has made his bottom very raw and tender. This has resulted in all the pain and discomfort Jimmy is experiencing.

Because Jimmy went to the ER they also called Dr. Hornbostel. Dr. H says that Jimmy is supposed to call him today and he has to go back to the Liquid Diet until further notice. So I will keep you posted.

For now, I am going to try to focus on work through my haze of tiredness and this too shall pass (no pun intended). Hope your day is better than ours was yesterday.

065 Happy New Year

Just wanted to take a moment to say "Happy New Year!" May your 2013 be filled with even greater joys, happiness, and blessings than 2012. God be with you as you celebrate today. Be safe and we will see you back here tomorrow on Jimmy Goes Gastric!

063 Christmas at the Mustions

Hope you all had some very Merry Christmases. I know we had a great one here at the Mustion House.

Christmas is the only day of the year that Jimmy voluntarily gets up early. This year I was fortunate enough to be able to sleep until 6:40. First thing that we did was get up and open presents. We both got some books, blu-rays, and misc other items -- no candy (thank goodness!).

Our next tradition was always to have a big Christmas breakfast. This year we compromised. We did something small versus this huge entourage of biscuits and gravy, eggs, bacon, etc. We both had a slice of turkey bacon, LIFE cereal, and I had some pineapple.

After breakfast we were supposed to go and see Les Miserables but we have both had a cold so we decided to relax around the house. *Side note: Saw Les Mis last night and we both thought it was amazing!* So instead of going out we pulled out the Hunger Games puzzle Jimmy got for his birthday and we had fun getting it started while we watched some of our new movies.

Finally we had dinner with some friends, read the Christmas Story, and drove through the light show at Krug Park. It was an amazing day and we are truly thankful that we got to spend it together.

Jimmy got me a Diet Dr. Pepper case for my phone. I admit that I am an addict.

Jimmy just as we are opening his Hunger Games Puzzle.

I don't know if this is actually a gift for me or for Jimmy but it had my name on it.

I look forward to reading Enclave. Jimmy and I must have both thought it looked good since we both ended up getting it for each other.

Jimmy's Christmas Haul including his stocking and some gifts from my family.

060 Celebrate the Season

Jimmy and I wanted to take this opportunity to wish you Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and all that jazz! I hope you enjoy our Christmas card. I designed it myself! Today I also wanted to share with you an edited excerpt from a post I wrote on my long standing blog Life as a Minister's Wife.

So here it is...

Celebrate with Custom Cards and Support a Good Cause

Almost two months ago, Jimmy had weight loss surgery. This is an amazing tool to help him fight his life long battle with obesity. However, it is also a major life adjustment so 99% of my time has been devoted to helping Jimmy adjust and to making his whole surgery and recovery possible. 

With the other 1% of my time, I have been working on getting my own freelance graphic design business up and running. I am starting small with a website and selling some things on Etsy. In addition I have done some custom gifts for friends. I love it! It is relaxing and refreshing to be able to sit down and create something that I know someone else is going to love.

Plus, all the money I make from the cards is going toward paying Jimmy's surgery and hospital bills! So it's a great way to support a local minister and his family during the holiday season. If you are interested in seeing some of my designs/gifts, please visit Mustion Design on Etsy.com .

I hope you have a happy holiday season and a Merry Christmas!

Grace and Peace,

047 A New Way to Celebrate

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JIMMY!

That's right. It's my hubby's birthday! Yes, we have back to back birthdays but he got his much earlier than I got mine ;)

Alright, I was dropping hints before but now I am going to tell you...We have to change the way we celebrate. As hard as it is to change your daily routines I was anticipating it being even harder to change our special occasions.

Special occasions invite excuses not to change like "It only happens once a year" or "But it's my birthday!" It is all to easy to rationalize your conviction away. We decided that no matter what we really had to take this serious. If we compromise just two and half weeks after surgery then we will be compromising for the rest of our lives and we will never see the full benefit of Jimmy having gastric sleeve weight loss surgery.

So here's the deal...

In the past we have combined the celebrations of our birthdays to have a two day Jimmy and Christiana Fest so that we both get twice the benefits. On one day we would usually go and DO something fun and on the other we would EAT somewhere and go all out on it. We don't normally exchange gifts or anything like that so we have more money to eat and do whatever we feel like that year.

So what to do...

We decided that we would still have two days worth of Jimmy and Christiana birthday fun but we have to do a few things differently. In the future we might still be able to go out to eat as a part of the celebration (not an option this year with Jimmy on his Stage 2 Diet) but it can no longer be the whole focus of that day of celebrating. It's time for new traditions to go with our new lifestyle! (I will probably write about how this will change our Christmas traditions when we get closer to that time too)

So here's the plan...

For one day of the celebration we are getting together with some of our friends to have a game night! It's going to be fun. We are sharing our days with people we really care about and we're going to have some good, healthy competition to go with it ;) Love it! Maybe I am too competitive...nah! Day two, we are going to go to the movies (sans popcorn) in North KC and then we are going to walk around the shopping center and see what we can see. Of course the walking may be short this year because Jimmy still wears out pretty easy but his stamina is increasing with his ability to increase his protein shake so next year we will be able to walk around and enjoy each other's company much, much longer.

That's our story and we're sticking to it!

TO JIMMY:
Happy Birthday, Baby! I love you and I am thankful for you everyday (even when you drive me crazy!). I hope you have an amazing birthday this year and for many more years to come.

045 Post-Op Week Two Update!

Good Morning! Good Morning to you! As those of you who follow us on Facebook already know, Friday was the two week anniversary of Jimmy's gastric sleeve WLS! It is so unreal that it has only been two weeks because it feels like forever (and then sometimes like no time at all--go figure)!

Anyway, to celebrate this momentous occasion I took Jimmy in to the weight loss center to weigh. He lost another 21 lbs since he weighed last Wednesday! That's a total of 73 lbs lost since Nov. 2nd, 2012!

I will let him fill you in on the rest as he has recorded a Post-Op Week 2 Update VLOG for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy!

044 Mind Hunger

"It's all in your head." You've probably heard that about a million times! I know that I have. Usually when people say that I just roll my eyes and sigh because they just don't get it. However, there are times that I would have to agree with them.

On occasion your brain reads things in peoples words and actions that aren't there. There are also the times that it tells you to do things out of habit. Or maybe you are really bored and your brain starts telling  you that you are sleepy but as soon as you quit whatever you are doing and start something else you are suddenly wide awake.

The human brain is an interesting organ. The mind is even trickier. Today I am sharing a video with you about the struggles Jimmy has had determining whether he is actually hungry or if it's just something his brain is telling him out of habit. I hope you enjoy!

031 Twenty Questions

Hi, everyone! We posted on Facebook and Twitter last week that we were going to have a Q&A post and that we needed your questions to make that happen. First I want to say thank you to everyone who submitted questions. I am sorry that we could answer all the questions (this got long as it is) so we picked twenty of the ones we felt we could best answer for you. So here it is...

20 Questions!

1. Is Gastric Sleeve Surgery safe?
A: Gastric sleeve is non-invasive when done laproscopically which decreases the risk of complications and speeds up the healing time. Also, gastric sleeve does not have any re-routing of the small intestine which reduces risk as well. Read More about the risks and rewards of Gastric Sleeve.

2. How long have you two been married?
A: Jimmy and I have been married just over 6.5 years. We were married in May 2006. Read more about Jimmy & Christiana.

This is one of our engagement photos taken by Hannah & Jeremy Tate.

3. Will I have to do a liquid diet if I have WLS?
A: It's possible. We have talked to several different people from several different surgical programs. Some had to do a full blown two week pre-op diet like we have and others had little to no pre-op changes in their lives. It really depends on your surgeon and the surgical program you are using. Read about the benefits of doing a pre-op liquid diet.

4. Will having WLS fix all my weight problems?
A: NO! WLS is a tool to be used in conjunction with a lot of sacrifice and hard work. WLS in and of itself will not solve your weight problems. If you are not following the doctors diet regiment, making changes so you have healthier eating habits, and exercising then eventually you will gain the weight back after surgery. WLS is a tool not a magic wand to make you suddenly skinny and never to gain weight again. Read forum posts about people who thought WLS would solve all their problems.

5. How long have you been in youth ministry?
A: Jimmy has been doing youth ministry since college. His first full-time youth ministry was in Texas in 1999. So that's something like 13 years of full-time youth ministry. We started doing youth events together when I was still in high school in 2000 but I didn't join his ministry full-time until January 2006 when I (Christiana) moved to St. Louis before we got engaged. We have been doing ministry together ever since! Our current youth ministry is called #winningSM and is located at McCarthy Baptist Church in St. Joseph, Missouri.

This is the photo we took at our very first Sunday School times at McCarthy Baptist Church.

6. How much does Jimmy weigh?
A: For personal reasons (and because we have found people to be really judgemental about the weight number), Jimmy has asked that I not publish his actual weight. However, we will be posting the number of pounds lost. Eventually we may post the actual weight in pounds but that will be determined later.

7. How much weight will Jimmy lose?
A: According to Dr. Hornbostel, Jimmy can expect to lose approximately 200 lbs within the first year of his WLS. Read more about the amount of weight you can expect to lose with WLS.

8. What kinds of food can't you eat after having gastric sleeve surgery?
A: The kinds of foods that people can and cannot tolerate after WLS surgery varies as different people's bodies handle foods differently. In general, individuals who have had WLS should avoid foods high in fat, carbs, and sugars. Read more about eating after Gastric Sleeve Surgery.

9. How much does WLS cost?
A: Without insurance coverage WLS can cost between $20,000 - $35,000. That's why it is really important to make sure that you have insurance pre-approval before proceeding with WLS. More about the cost of WLS.

10. How does your family feel about Jimmy having WLS?
A: Both of our families really support that Jimmy wants to be healthier and increase his chances of having a long and happy life. They also accept the fact that the best possibility for him to make this happen is through the assistance of WLS. It was really important to us to sit down and talk to them about this and to get everyone all on the same page. We really couldn't do it without them.

Jimmy and Me with Jimmy's Mom (Shirley)

Left to Right: Me, Dad (Jim), Jimmy, Mary, Scotty, Gretel, and Mom (Janice)

11. How long does it take to get back to work after Gastric Sleeve Surgery?

A: The typical recovery time is 2 - 6 weeks. Each individual is different and recovery time varies. Your recovery time is determined by your progress and your doctor's assessment of your body's healing. Find out more about Gastric Sleeve recovery time.

12. How long will Jimmy be in the hospital after surgery?

A: The average hospital stay for laproscopic WLS is 1 - 2 days. Keep in mind that every person is different.

13. What food will you miss eating the most?

A: PIZZA! Although Jimmy will continue to be able to eat the cheese and the toppings, pizza just won't be the same so I know this is definitely the food he will miss the most.

14. Do people who have WLS have issues with excess skin?
A: Yes. Most people who have WLS have issues with excess skin. The amount of excess skin varies depending on age, weight (pre surgery), skin elasticity, etc. Find out more about excess skin issues.

15. What do you plan on doing while recovering at home?
A: Great question! Jimmy has been planning ahead for this one. I think that his major plans include starting a new TV series on Netflix, playing lots of Halo 4 & NBA 2K13, and finishing The Mark of Athena.

16. Other than food, what will be one of the biggest changes in your life after surgery?
A: This answer may surprise you--clothes. Jimmy is going to lose weight rapidly and so he is going to go through several wardrobe changes over the next year. Also, once he loses all this weight he could very likely be able to walk into places like Wal-Mart or Target and be able to buy clothes off their racks for the first time in many, many years.

17. Is it really important that I attend support group meetings?
A: Yes. It is important to get all kinds of support from your friends and family, but don't miss out on the support from the people who have been there and are waiting to meet you in the support groups which are often provided my your surgical group. Read about the importance of support groups

18. Is it true that you will have to take certain vitamins for the rest of your life?
A: Yes. Because the stomach is smaller after WLS, you have to take vitamins to help the body absorb all the nutrients it needs to keep you healthy. Some vitamins you may have to take include: B12, B Complex, a mult-vitamin with iron, and calcium citrate. Learn more about taking vitamins after WLS.

19. Are their side effects from WLS?
A: Absolutely! You may experience discomfort and gas from the surgery itself and then later you may encounter side effects such as nausea and diarrhea if you are not following your diet properly. Read more about WLS side effects.

20. If people could help you and Christiana in any way, what would it be?
A: Please keep us in your prayers. The liquid diet has not been easy. You feel hungry all the time and that makes things tense and stressful and we still have a few days left of that. Also pray that everything will go well with the surgery on Friday. Going under the knife is always scary no matter how safe the surgery is supposed to be. Also, please pray for a swift and easy recovery and adjustment period.

We really appreciate everyone who has already been supporting us and praying for us. We really and truly couldn't do it without you. Also a quick word of thanks to everyone who has been reading the blog and especially to those of you who have been commenting, it's really nice to know that all the work that has gone into this has not been in vain! Thank you all so much!

Jimmy and Christiana's 6th Anniversary in May 2012

Grace and Peace,

025 Ode to Jeff Foxworthy

This weekend Jimmy and I were experiencing all the nuances of being on a liquid diet for the first time. While I was preparing one of our meals I began to think about just how funny it all was. The funniest thing was that it popped into my head in the form of one of Jeff Foxworthy's "You Might Be a Redneck" jokes. So I decided to test a couple of my thoughts on Jimmy. Well...he laughed so I thought I would share a few of them with you.




An Ode to Jeff Foxworthy:
Top 5 "You Might Be on a Liquid Diet" Jokes

5. You might be on a liquid diet if you have 4 empty gallon milk jugs in your trash at the end of the week.
4. You might be on a liquid diet if your dishwasher is full of cups but no plates or silverware.
3. You might be on a liquid diet if you have more Gatorade and Crystal Light in your kitchen than the local high school locker room.
2. You might be on a liquid diet if you crave Jell-O to "fill you up".
1. You might be on a liquid diet if the answer to "What Do you want for Dinner?" is either chocolate or vanilla.

I hope you had a laugh readying our little jokes. If you have your own Liquid Diet jokes, please feel free to add them to the comments below. We love your thoughts and comments.

Also, if you are interested in how Jimmy is doing on his liquid diet he will be posting a vlog on Friday which contains clips he has been recording over his first week of the liquid diet. It should be pretty interesting so make you come back on Friday to see it.

Grace and Peace,

MORE Liquid Diet Jokes
- You might be on a liquid diet if you suddenly see food in every TV show, commercial, or movie you watch.
- You might be on a liquid diet if your nightmares suddenly revolve around food.
- You might be on a liquid diet if you can smell everything cooking within a 2 mile radius of your current location.

019 Jimmy's 3 Week Pre-Op Update

Hi, everyone! Today marks three weeks to the day out from Jimmy's surgery (November 16th). Yesterday Jimmy had to go for a check-up with the cardiologist to get the ok for surgery. Needless to say we had A LOT of waiting at the Cardiologist's office so we decided it would be a great time for Jimmy to record another vlog for you.

Hope you enjoy!

018 Portion Size Matters

Another of the appointments we had during our doctor appointment blitz was with a Nutritionist named Krystal Staggs. Let me tell you right now that Krystal is A-MAZ-ING! I know that she has really helped Jimmy A LOT! So much so that we have even set up additional monthly meetings with her so that Jimmy can talk about ways he can prepare himself for healthier living and what he can be doing now to gradually ease into the new way of eating he will have after the surgery.

The biggest realization that we have come to is that PORTION SIZE MATTERS. I would guess that about 90% of people are regularly overeating and they don't even realize it. It's not because they are "pigging out" necessarily but it is because of an ignorance of portion size. I about cried laughing when Krystal pulled out the little rubber piece of beef that was an ounce portion. It was minuscule compared to what is normally on my plate. When she held it out to us she said, "This is how much Jimmy's stomach will be able to hold right after surgery." Let me tell you that my jaw about dropped to the floor. I mean--come on--I knew that he wouldn't be able to eat a lot but this easily fit into the palm of my hand!

It was in that moment that I truly realized just how much I was overeating without even giving it a second thought. I know that Jimmy must have been thinking the same thing from the look on his face. So in addition, to setting some other realistic goals for ourselves--like not keeping chips or sweets in the house--we also decided to make a conscious effort to actually pay attention to the amount of food and the number of portions we were putting into our mouths.

Because PORTIONS DO MATTER!

017 Jimmy's BIG Dreams

Today you are in for a real treat! Jimmy is writing this post himself. Then at the end I am posting a photo collage of some of the things I dream of us doing after the WLS.

As promised, here is Jimmy's post of his big post surgery dreams…





Losing hundreds of pounds is a good thing. It will make life even more crazy than it already is. Christiana has asked me to write a blog post about things that I look forward to doing once more and more weight comes off. So since I like Top 10 lists, I thought it would be fun to do the:

TOP TEN THINGS I LOOK FORWARD TO DOING AFTER I LOSE WEIGHT OR TTTILFTDAILW for short.

Here we go.

#10. Go to more concerts. I like going to concerts but I don’t like traveling distances and standing for a long time. But losing weight means that I will be able to do both. It will nice to see that a band is playing within driving distance and not working about going to it. Plus this might mean that I will be able to attend some actual music festivals. Such as www.lifelight.org. Its only 5 hours away therefore I will be able to travel to it. Speaking of….

#9. Travel It will nice to not be hindered by being stuck in a vehicle or a plane or a train or a rikshaw uncomfortably as now. It will be nice to take trips to places that are off limits to me know like, I don’t know, apple picking or nascar races. That is the point. I can travel more easily.

#8. Paintball, lazer tag and other such. If I were to go PB or LT now I would be pretty pointless and useless. Serving as a very easy target. But once I become more mobile, quicker, sleeker, sneakier, more spy like, I will be a valuable to a team and more fun. Go ahead and lump Mini Golf in this category too. My wife always wants to go to mini golf. Oh and Picnics. Oh and playing basketball.

#7. Stand Longer. Might seem kind of boring and lame but true. Its annoying sometimes when you get stuck somewhere without a place to sit and you leave. Or having to take a chair to places where you need to be able to sit down. Or just simply to stand longer in the pulpit to preach. Either or. It will be nice to stand for longer period of times.

#6. Easier times at restaurants. There are certain places that we avoid simply because there are no tables, or the chairs are bad or there is limited space. It will be nice because we wont be as limited with this as we are now. Granted its not going to be there over night but it will be an improvement. Of course there will be way less eating out now. LOL.

#5. Discovering other fun activities besides eating out. Maybe hot air ballooning, maybe, maybe archery, perhaps fencing? Any of those and things I haven’t thought of yet. It will be neat to see what kinds of things Christiana will do that we don’t even know yet. I guess that is part of the excitement vs the depressing part of this. I got to focus on the things that I can do now vs the food I cant eat now. BYE BYE Capt. Crunch. (a little veggie tales reference for you)

#4. Going to the Theatre. Christiana and I both love the Theatre. We have only been once since we have been married. Why? Seating mainly. But again, that will be easier. I wont like dressing up but at least….

#3. Dress clothes more often. Do people even realize how expensive clothes for big people are??? Especially dress clothes, if you can even find them. I know that my lovely wife would love for me to dress up for often. Maybe even a dress shirt and tie. MAYBE! But I would love to be more like Corey Matthews of Boy Meets Wold and rock the Sweater vest some!! Again, more options. Clothes are still expensive but some are worth it like….

#2. Buying jerseys and sports clothes!! I always wear shirts and I never get to wear anything to rep my STL Cards or My UCONN Huskies. Well beside hats. I cant wait til I cant get that first Jersey or Uniform. Its going to be awesome. Also a nice plus will be WWE shirts. So I can walk around chanting YES YES YES YES to everyone. (like 3 people will get that. LOL)

#1. Not being embarrassed all the time. Overweight constantly fight self image issues. Since I view this surgery as very PRO ACTIVE it will nice to know that even if I am still a big guy (face it I will never be 150) I will know that something is being done about it and I can feel easier and better about myself.

Christiana's Dream BIG Collage:

016 Dare to Dream BIG

As I mentioned in my last post, we had a Dr. Appointment Blitz on August 10th. If you have no clue what I am talking about then feel free to read my last post “INSERT TITLE & HREF”. One of the appointments Jimmy had that day was with Dr. Taylor who is a local Psychologist who works with the WLS program at Heartland. As a part of Jimmy’s WLS team it’s her job to make sure that Jimmy is mentally prepared for this surgery and the lifestyle changes it will entail.

I think it’s really a no brainer that Jimmy was the most worried about his appointment with Dr. Taylor. I mean--come on--no one wants people to analyze all the things going on in their heads! Thankfully our appointment went really well and Jimmy didn’t have to lay down on any therapy couches :) One thing that we really did take away from our visit with Dr. Taylor was that Jimmy needs to dream big and think about all the things that he really is looking forward to/wants to do/wants to have that he was physically unable to be/do/have before and that this surgery and changing his eating habits will allow him to be/do/have now.

Dr. Taylor made a great point. She said that if he can think about and make a list of all the things that he wants to come as a result of this surgery then it will be easier to follow his doctors instructions and his new healthier lifestyle because he knows what he is doing this for. So when he is really tired and feeling lazy and wants to order a deep dish meat lovers from Pizza Hut instead of giving in he should say/think something like “I am choosing not to have Pizza Hut because I would rather be able to wear a UCONN Jersey.”

If you are planning to have WLS think about what you want to achieve through this surgical experience and make a list. Next time I will be sharing some of the things from Jimmy’s list with you!

Until next time!

015 Dr. Appointment Blitz

After completing the six months of doctor supervised weight loss, Jimmy was scheduled to go in for what we have affectionately deemed the “doctor appointment blitz”! Our blitz was on July 10, 2012. What it entailed were back to back visits with the Surgeon, Dietician, Physical Therapist, and Psychologist. Basically it was everyone you needed and wanted to see to finish getting your insurance approval.

The blitz lasted for approximately five hours. During that time we collected a TON of information, answered a plethora of questions and were given various tests to determine Jimmy’s physical and emotional/mental preparedness for his WLS. The best thing about the whole experience is that this team of blitzers will be helping Jimmy prepare for his surgery, file his insurance paperwork, performing his surgery (ok just the surgeon) and helping him with adjusting to a new diet and exercise program. So it was really great to get a chance to finally meet these people.

During our Dr. Appt. Blitz we also learned that for Jimmy’s safety and a possible transitional weight loss method, Dr. Hornbostel (Jimmy’s surgeon) would like Jimmy to consider doing the gastric sleeve surgery. It will help him to lose weight quickly without the complications of replumbing of the small intestine (on a person Jimmy’s size) that the gastric bypass would include. He is confident that Jimmy will do well with the sleeve and should Jimmy need an additional weight loss push in a year or two the gastric bypass will still be open to him since Dr. Hornbostel will be pursuing the gastric sleeve as a treatment for Jimmy’s acid reflux. The only additional thing we have to do to qualify to have the gastric sleeve as an acid reflux treatment is to have an EGD (esophagogastroduodenoscopy) to prove that Jimmy has a hiatal hernia which is causing his reflux. We even scheduled his EGD for July 17th before we left the office.

All in all, we have nothing about great things to say about Dr. Hornbostel and his team. They really took their time with us and made sure that we understood what we were getting ourselves into. They were realistic with us about the positives and the negatives of the WLS and they are prepared to go through them with us. All in all it was one of the best Dr. Appointments we have ever had.

Over the next several posts I will be talking about some of the specific appointments that Jimmy went through and our experiences through it all.

014 Getting Down to Business

Unless you are still in school, on disability or in between jobs right now you know what it's like to go to work on a regular basis. You probably also know how good or bad employers can be about allowing you to take time off of work. That's why it is important for you to carefully think things through when considering whether or not to do a weight loss surgery (WLS).

WLS effects more than just your body. It effects your emotions, your mind, your family/relationships, your job and so much more. If you are going to do a wls you need to realize that your near future includes many trips to the doctors office along with various medical tests and expenses. You have to be prepared.

One of the biggest areas of preparedness is your job. It's important to know your rights and to keep communication lines open between you and your employer. When I was hired at the St. Joseph News-Press, I was open with my potential employer about the hours that I would be taking off so that I could attend doctors appointments with my husband and the hours I would take off when he finally has his surgery. They were okay with my choices and appreciated my honesty. I know that not everyone has a job like that. That's why it's important for you to know about things like the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Admittedly I don't know how best to explain it but you can learn more by talking to your companies human resources person and/or by visiting The Department of Labor Website.

No matter how easy or difficult your employer is to work with it is important to let them know how much time off you need, when you need it, and what they will be able to expect from you once your doctor clears you to come back to work after surgery. So get down to business and make a visit to your HR department. You need to know what you are getting yourself into before you dive into the deep end!

013 The Wonderful World of Water

Water is literally all around us. It’s in the ground, the air, and our bodies. So what the big deal with water?

In June, Jimmy and I went to Youth Camp. If you don’t know or don’t remember, Jimmy is a youth minister. This was his first ever camp that he planned from the ground up and we were both really excited to see how it was going to turn out. I was personally really excited that the camp had a swimming pool because I hadn’t swam in probably 3+ years. The thing about camp in Missouri during June is that it is HOT and it is HUMID. You just can’t get away from it! So to escape the heat you have to make sure that you are drinking plenty of water, and why not take advantage of that nice cool pool I was just talking about. That’s when it hit me that water is really great for Jimmy and me in two distinct ways.

When it comes to losing weight—especially when you are severely over weight—there are two really great things about water!

#1 Drinking water helps you lose weight. It flushes out your body and keeps you hydrated. Hydration allows your body to function properly and to get rid of toxins and excess water. I know that it seems really backward that you get bloated and hold on to water weight when you aren’t drinking enough water every day but it is true! So it you are interested in shedding the pounds and keeping them off make sure that you are fueling your calorie burning engine (your body) with plenty of H2O!

#2 Water exercises/aerobics are a wonderful way to burn calories that is easy on your back, legs, and joints. When you exercise in water you have the natural resistance that comes with being partially submerged but you also have a buoyancy (lift/floating) that reduces the weight your joints are bearing during the exercise. That means that you can exercise more efficiently with less pain and probably for a longer period of time than if you were to exercise outside of the pool.

Yes, Jimmy and I saw great results from drinking water. We were able to stay hydrated. We didn’t get sick or overheated, and we lost extra weight. Still I have to say that we both enjoyed the benefits of the pool the most. Jimmy got in a few days for about 2.5 hours each time. He had a blast and the next day he told me that he could really feel the difference that exercising in the pool made versus the walking he normally. So it was a great experience all around—even if a dog did run off with one of Jimmy’s water shoes!

012 Last Supper Syndrome

Just for you, I cornered Jimmy (well actually we were in the car) and made him make a vlog about what he has been dealing with food before he drove me crazy! So here it is...