Gastric Sleeve Surgery - A Wife's Perspective: Part 7 - Living Life

Every Wednesday I am going to write about the process of Eric going through weight loss surgery to record my feelings and perspective as the wife on the sidelines.  *This hasn't happened every Wednesday, so I apologize for that.  As this is an extremely personal decision on Eric's part to change his life, I am trying my best to stay true to my feelings, while at the same time accurately recording the events.

To date, Eric has been through an informational seminar, a physical, a nutrition class, completed the swallow test, had an endoscopy completed, had a psych evaluation, had the surgery, and is recovering well.

I usually take pictures of the myself and the kids, so this is the last picture of Eric that was on my phone.  He was outside helping Hudson with his new bike wearing clothes that would previously not have fit.

Life lately has been fantastic!  At exactly 8 weeks post surgery today, Eric has lost approximately 55 pounds, he has tremendous energy, he likes to exercise, and he has experienced several NSV (non scale victories...I'll get into those later in this post).

Let me back up a little bit.  The first week after surgery was rough because Eric was on a clear liquid diet.  That was hard on him.  It was also hard on my watching him feel so frustrated with his lack of being able to eat anything.  I was also fearful of eating in front of him because I didn't want to make him feel bad.  It took a little time for me to get to a place where I am able to eat food in front of him that he can't have.  I still try not to flaunt my choices, but I also realize that he is not resenting us for eating foods he can't digest at the moment. (With that being said, I have overhauled our diet as well. Better choices are being made for the whole family.)

Little by little, Eric was able to add new foods into his diet.  By about week three or four, he was pretty much able to eat what he wanted except for breads, rice, pasta, and popcorn.  He won't be able to have those items for at least six months.  Every once in a while I miss having microwave popcorn.  I also get a craving for pizza.  Funny enough, when you get past the temptation, it feels empowering!

The day he was able to eat a salad was a triumphant occasion!  Eric eats pretty much what he wants, just in small portions: steak, chicken, sausage, salad, eggs, and so much more.  At one point his weight loss seemed to stall for a few days.  After doing some research, he figured that he needed more protein.  Given his height, he needs to eat something like 90+ grams of protein a day.  That is pretty tough given that he only eats three small 3 ounce meals each day.  He has started supplementing with protein shakes.  As soon as he started doing that, the weight started dropping again.

We have definitely changed some things in our house.  Changes that come to mind include: no more diet soda in the frig, staggered eating schedule, no more rice or pasta, limited bread, no candy.  Eric drinks a TON of water.  I should take a lesson from him!  There are days when we simply can't eat dinner as a family anymore due to his need to eat at regular intervals.  In the past on late soccer nights, we would all just wait until practice was over and eat dinner together at 8:30 at night.  We just can't do that anymore, and Eric usually eats dinner at work before driving to practice.  This requires a bit of extra planning as well because now he has to think about lunch and dinner on some days.

There have some great changes for the kids and myself as well.  I don't serve rice or pasta at dinner anymore.  Those items don't add much in the way of nutrient benefits, so it's a good thing.  Instead, I usually serve fruit.  (I've lost weight along with Eric!  Yay!)  I'm trying to focus on balance for our meals more than ever.  The kids are actually trying more fruits and vegetables, and everyone seems fine with the process.

We rarely ate out for the first month or so.  Now that Eric is able to eat meat, we have a few more options available to us.  For instance, we went to Sweet River last night and he ordered steak.  He only ate about three ounces, and the rest is left overs.  I ordered a chicken sandwich, and after receiving it, realized I didn't need or want the bun.  Again, trying to make small and healthy changes.

One major thing that I did was to give up candy.  It was a show of solidarity for Eric who has had to give up so much (willingly, but still!).  I haven't had a single piece of candy, chocolate, jelly bean or sweet tart in eight weeks.  At first it was tough.  Now I don't crave the sugar.  If I truly want something sweet, I still allow myself a cookie, cupcake or cake, but we rarely have those items in the house, so it really isn't an issue.

Two nights ago, I was CRAVING sweets.  Eric even offered to drive to the store to get me cake.  As much as I wanted something like that, I knew it wasn't really going to make me feel better.  Instead, I made a cup of my Folgers Vanilla Biscotti coffee with two Spenda packets and two tablespoons of caramel creamer.  That did several things for me.  It gave me something sweet.  It gave me something to do with my hands.  It was warm and soothing.  It took a while to drink.  By the time I finished the coffee, my craving for cake was gone.  *Note to self...do not drink coffee at 8 at night!  I need to get some decaffeinated tea k-cups for those types of late night cravings!

Eric and I have been to the gym quite a bit.  I told him I wanted to build back up to running a 5K or further.  He completely surprised me by saying he wants to run as well because he wants to do a Color Me Rad!  I about fell over!  This is the man who said that if he's running, there had better be something chasing him!  Cue tears!

We did a 6.5 mile walk on Memorial Day which would have been near to impossible before surgery.

I see such a big change in his face as he gets slimmer and slimmer!

There have been several NSV's as well.  Eric has been able to fit into many pieces of clothing that had been in his closet for quite some time.  He was able to buy two pairs of pants at Wal Mart.  This was huge because he used to have to go to the specialty store where they have nice things, but it is soooooo much more expensive.  The freedom to shop at place like Wal Mart or Kohl's is freeing.  The other night our 10-year-old was able to wrap his arms all the way around Eric's waist when giving him a hug.  And more tears.  Eric fits into booths at restaurants without me worrying that he is going to be uncomfortable. He is comfortable sitting in lawn chairs.

Our life has definitely changed.

I am so very proud of my husband.  He is using this surgery as a tool.  He doesn't have this unrealistic expectation that it is a miracle cure.  He doesn't try to cheat and eat food that he can't have.  He is very mindful about what he is putting in his body.  I am looking forward to so many more great days.  (We are even planning a big trip to Disneyland in February.  I have a feeling the man is going to be on every ride with the kids!)

Has this been easy?  No.  Would Eric do it all over again?  In a heartbeat.

Memorial Day - Carry the Load

A few weeks ago while on my 8th grade trip to Disneyland, I was talking to my principal's mom and she shared with me the special walk that her church was sponsoring on Memorial Day called Carry the Load.  (Yes, my principal's mom goes on the trip and she is spunkier than the kids!  Love her, and it's been a privilege getting to know her at various functions over the past few years!)

I asked Eric what he thought about the idea, and he was all for it.  I found out a little bit more about the event, and we planned to attend.

This is the second year the Clovis Hills Community Church sponsored this event and it brings awareness to "put the meaning back into Memorial Day."  A lot of us might spend a moment thinking about the ultimate sacrifice our service men and women gave for our freedom, but what do we truly do to show our thanks?  Have a BBQ?  Enjoy the day off?

None of those things are wrong, but it was really nice to do something concrete and significant to show our appreciation for the those who have served and lost their life in protecting the freedoms we enjoy in this great country.  Eric and I both wrote the names of our grandpas on our walk bibs.  Eric's grandpap, John Snyder, and my grandpa, Victor Hartman, both served in WWII.  They didn't die from the war, but we are appreciative of their service and sacrifice.  I remember seeing the telegram that my grandpa received letting him know that my dad had been born!  Crazy!

Up early on a holiday weekend and ready to go!  It was chilly at first.  We quickly shed the layers as the sun beat down and the walk got longer!  (Evan stayed home.  By this point, it had already been a really long weekend and he just wanted to chill out.  However, I hated that he wasn't there with us.)

 At this point, we were still with the group.  That changed after a bathroom break!

 Happy!

Since we are fairly new back into this healthy lifestyle, we figured jumping all in and walking 13.1 miles might be rough.  We decided to walk half of the half!  Eric parked his car at the Veteran's Memorial in Clovis (the halfway point), and I picked him up and we drove out to the starting point at the church.

There were probably a good 50 men, women, and kids doing the walk.  I can only hope that the event grows each year, because it was such a great way to spend the holiday morning.

We took off at 7 a.m.  By accident we started out in front!  People get shifting back behind me.  As we started walking, we drifted to the back.  About a mile in, Hudson needed to pee, so we stopped for him to go.  That pushed us to the very back of the group.  But it didn't matter!  We were doing it!

Eric hates this picture because his mouth is open, but I was just trying to get all three of us in the frame while walking.  Ignore his funny look!

The event coordinators were great about driving by to check on us.  We assured them we were fine.  Huddy got pretty tired in between miles 4 and 5.  I carried him on my back for a bit.  But overall, he was a TROOPER!  We were all feeling it by mile 6!  Sore feet and joints were making it a true reminder of the sacrifice that soldiers give.

We stopped to take a small break under some shady trees.  The trails in Clovis are really pretty with benches, trees, and sunny patches all throughout.  The paths follow the old railroad lines.

Such a great attitude!

He's definitely gotten better about posing with me for pictures!

The same can be said for this one as well!  I love that he'll usually smile for my camera.

It was tempting to sit there for much longer.  But we had to get to the car!

After our little rest break, we got up and kept going.  We made it to mile 6.  For some reason, I really loved this mile marker and the message, "I got your 6!"

Rock Star!!

We made it to the Veteran's Hall in Clovis, got in Eric's car, and drove back to the church!  Only doing half was a really good call.  As Eric said, next year we'll ride our bikes out to the church, do the full half, and ride home.  #ambitious #lovethisnewlife

Once back to the church, we enjoyed a BBQ hot dogs, drinks, and chips.  We wanted to get home, and we were pretty wiped out.  But first we stopped by the Meat Market and picked up some yummy chicken for dinner.  Then we went to Mickey's Yogurt because we promised Hudson that he could have a giant frozen yogurt after walking his little legs 6.5 miles!

I swear there is yogurt in there!  It just felt right to load the cup up with fresh fruit.  So refreshing after the exertion of the morning.

We told him he could have as much as he wanted!

According to my Fitbit, I walked over 17,000 steps, got in over 7 miles of walking, and was active for 170 minutes.  I definitely reached my goals today!

And then we got home and I fell asleep for two hours!  The rest of the day was spent relaxing, eating the yummy chicken, and being with family.

Weekend Wrap Up - Schools Is Out!

School is over for the year!  The kids and I get a whole week off before starting summer school.  Well, my time is borrowed because I'm on call for jury duty, but I'm planning to enjoy my days of no plans!

Both boys cleaned up in the awards department on the last day.

Evan: Gold Honor Roll Trimester 3, Principal's Honor Roll (gold all three trimesters), Funeral Team, Excellence in Math, Excellence in P.E, Perfect Attendance Trimester 3, Year Long Perfect Attendance.

Hudson: Gold Honor Roll Trimester 3, Perfect Attendance Trimester 3, Excellence in Social Studies, Excellence in P.E.

I think I've got a couple of handsome, smart, and crazy boys on my hands!  And then they posed in my office with a lemon and a goofy face!


We went to Chowchilla to celebrate my nephew Hunter's promotion to high school.  Since I didn't take any pictures, I'll steal one from my sister off of Facebook.

We spent Saturday relaxing, working on laundry, and I went to the gym.  On Saturday evening, we drove to Hanford to celebrate our nephew Michael's graduation from Fresno State.  He is going to law school in San Diego.  Funny story...he is going to be roommates with my principal's son who is also attending there.  I facilitated that!  Now I hope it works out for them!

 The boys got to go swimming.  I made them take pictures with me as usual.

Special.

It was a loud and fun party.  I always feel like Eric's family is huge because he is one of five kids, and there are 13 grand kids.  When you come from a family of four that typically did not leave town for holidays, marrying into a large family felt overwhelming at times.

Well...let me just say that the Forcey Family has NOTHING on the Conway family!  Michael's dad (my brother in law Jim) is one of 10.  And they were mostly all at the party with spouses and kids.  Oh my!  The loud factor reached epic levels to my little homebody ears!  It was easy to tell that they have a lot of fun getting together!

On Sunday morning we attended Mass.  It was dedicated to the Sisters of the Immaculate Conception.  They are leaving Clovis and will no longer be associated with our school.  I am terribly sad and can't bear to think of our school without these beautiful souls scurrying across the blacktop.

The mayor of Clovis issued the Sisters a proclamation.  Apparently, her son attended OLPH many moons ago.

Sister Isabel prepared both of the boys for their First Reconciliation and First Communion.  She is just the sweetest and most caring person around.  She will be relocated to the Catholic School in Madera.  I sure hope she comes to visit.

Hudson wanted to go to 2Extreme trampoline place, so we all headed there for a few hours.  I read magazines.  The boys jumped.

 Then we came home and I made mango salsa.  Oh my goodness it was good!

I only intended to put one scoop on my tri tip, but I ended up eating all the salsa I made!  I'll have to make another batch tomorrow!  I really enjoy fresh fruit and veggie options during the summer.

I don't have jury duty tomorrow, so that means we can make it to our allergy appointment and our dentist appointments.  I'd also like to ATTACK the boys room and sort and toss their clothes.  It looks like a darn clothing store in there.  But not in a good way!

Summer (But Let's Recap the Last Few Weeks)

I was doing so well with my blogging at the beginning of the year.  I was enjoying the writing process and documenting our life.

Then, as it always seems, YEARBOOK took over my life and I lost focus.

Anyhow, today was the last day of school.  Hopefully, I can enjoy my week off before I start Summer School on the 15th.  I say hopefully because I am scheduled for jury duty.  Fingers crossed that I am simply not needed!

 Received this gorgeous scarf as a gift from one of my 8th graders.  Love it!

 Evan and Hudson both got a track award for the third trimesters sports.

 The second to last week of school is the last week for the 8th graders.  All the other kids have an extra week.  We take that week to practice for graduation and have tons of fun.  The above photo was from our trip to the water park.  I was bored and alone.  The kids were all off having fun in the water.  I was busy taking a bunch of selfies because I liked my hair and makeup.  #vain

 The next day Father Robert, through the generous donation of kind parishioners, treated the class to lunch at Chipotle and popcorn at the movies.  We saw the Avengers.  How cool is our priest that he hangs out with 8th graders and treats us to lunch?!

 Bags of chips for everyone!

 Later that night we took the kids to Roger Rocka's for dinner and to see the musical Oliver.  They are required to dress up and represent OLPH well!

 I look like a very sad lollipop head.  I think the week was taking its toll on me.

 Pictures with my baby on 8th grade Farewell day.

 I'm going to miss these crazy kids!  They are such a talented and fun class.

Besides all the fun stuff we did all week, we have a really unique tradition at OLPH School called Farewell.  It takes place on their last Friday at school.  There are speeches, a few awards, a few moments of recognition, and then all the younger classes give a farewell gift to the graduates.  The 7th grade class prepares an AMAZING lunch and party for the kids after the Farewell.  We had a great time!

 Graduation Day.  Such pretty girls!

 And handsome boys.

 After the THREE hour graduation, I needed a diet coke in the worst way!  Those bubbles never tasted so good!

 Then we bought Hudson a new bike because his old one was too little for him.

This week mostly consisted of attending the lower grade field trips and writing awards.  I'll continue with the catch up in another post.

Wedding, Soccer, and Memorial Day - We've Been Busy!

It's been a packed three-day weekend, but a great one!

 We got ready for Amanda and Seth's wedding after spending a few hours outside at the Pumas soccer tournament.  I got a new dress for the occasion!  That is a rarity for me.  I really like the dress.

 Ready to go!

 The wedding was beautiful!  And like a good Catholic, I did not take pictures inside the church...even though I really wanted to!  Sister Pilar, Sister Olvido, Sister Isabel, and Sister Monica were the bridesmaids along with Amanda's actual sister!  I started crying as soon as I saw the Sisters walking down the aisle.  Couldn't stop!

The ceremony was perfect.  Father Robert and Seth's dad (who is a pastor) shared the wedding duties.  It turned out great!

 Then we walked over to the Hall and enjoyed a great party!  Jacqui and me at the reception.

 The Sisters walking into the reception.  The colors were navy blue and yellow.  So pretty!

 I snuck a picture of Mr. Dodd!

 I couldn't get over the decorations at the Hall.  Stunning.

 Having a good time!

 Mr. and Mrs. Davis!

 I couldn't wait for her to get over to my table, and when she did, we squealed and cried and then did that some more!

 Toasting.

 Grampy and me.

 Having a bit of fun!

 Sure do love this man!

 Amanda's dress was PERFECT!  A la Grace Kelley.  She was just adorable.

 The back.

I am so completely over the moon happy for this girl!  She deserves it all...love, happiness, health, babies, or anything she wants!  She's just the brightest light and I am privileged to call her a friend.

I had a wee bit of fun at the party the night before and was not feeling so great on Sunday morning.  To make matters worse, we had to get up early and go to day 2 of the soccer tournament.  Eric was fantastic and told me to stay and sleep a bit more in the car.  Yes, I took a picture of myself.  #noshame.

 After an extra hour of sleep, I was feeling a little bit better.  We watched Evan play three games and Hudson played one.  Evan's team made it to the finals and got 2nd.  It was funny because we were all under the impression that these games were just for fun exhibition games.  Then it got all intense when people realized that we were playing for prizes!

I am liking my hair because I finally touched up my roots.  #redhead

 Group shots.

 More group shots.

He can never just smile at the camera!  Sigh!

We had a pretty amazing Memorial Day with a special half marathon walk, but I'll put those pictures into a separate post.  Good weekend.

Busy week ahead with graduation prep.  I need to keep exercising to keep my sanity!