Tag: weight loss surgery

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Sun Kissed by Self Love

Love Thy Self

Summer is almost here.

Are you getting ready? Are you anticipating the warm summer nights and hot, hot summer days? The warm sun kisses that summer brings or the heat wave it guarantees?

I am and I am ready. As you may have read in my previous posts, I went through Gastric Sleeve Surgery in order to bring my weight back into the normal healthy range. I have lost 70 pounds in about 15 months and I am loving it.

I love that my knees no longer hurt, I love that I no longer snore and I love that I can climb up the stairs without going into what it felt was a mild heart attack. I love the physical benefits my body now enjoys from being less heavy and I definitely love the mental benefits that also come along with it.

Is my body perfect? Absolutely not. I have some saggy skin, I have lost some muscle tone and have a little wiggly thing under my chin. Guess what? I still love the transformation.

I am trying to get my body a little more toned so I have been working out diligently and slowly but surely my body has started to change. I see a little definition in my arms and thighs now. The point being that it’s my body and only I can take the steps to make it better.

Now that I have come to love myself and my body with all its imperfections, I feel that I can finally begin to enjoy myself the way I always pictured it. What do I mean? I mean that I have finally become a woman with more than one bathing suit! Yes, I have joined that fabulous group of people that just can’t have one bathing suit but multiple. In different colors and styles.

I am over 40 and this is a huge deal for me. All the years of yearning to love myself and be proud of my body have manifested into the woman I am today. Happy and with a positive outlook towards the future.

I wish everyone out there took the time to care for theme selves, life is but a fleeting moment, a blink of an eye. Do what makes you happy today and work towards to an even happier you tomorrow. Don’t give up don’t give in, keep pushing until you find that happy little point in your life that makes you smile, like my joy of having different bathing suits this upcoming summer. It’s the small things that sometimes give us that push, a glimmer of hope into what life should be like.

Take care,

MJ Jones

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The Weather and its Moods on us

Fire is always nice on a cold day

My oh my! What lovely weather we have in Central Texas today. As many of you know, Texas is known for being hot so when we get anything under 70 degrees we ENJOY it. Earlier today, I noticed the temperature had reached 66 degrees and we are now 48 degrees. So in true Texan spirit I had to make something nice and warm for dinner. I decided to make Caldo de Albondigas with spanish rice as a side and a few homemade blue corn tortillas. Ooops, I almost forgot to mention I also made a nice homemade salsa to give it some heat.

The husband and kids loved it. So of course, I was happy because what mom doesn’t love hearing her family praise her cooking right? I know I do, and my mom does too as my grandmother did when she was alive. It’s a right of passage I think, bragging rights to the kitchen.

Even after my bariatric surgery, I have managed to continue enjoying my cooking. I love to try new recipes and more often than not, while I work from home at my desk I plan dinner depending on my mood or source of inspiration. I can’t eat the same amount of food I did before but that the whole point right? It is why I chose to do this surgery, to lose and manage my weight. Having bariatric surgery doesn’t mean that I can’t enjoy my food, it only means that I have to choose wisely and manage my portions.

I’ve come across posts on social media about people that have this type of surgery and can’t wait to go back to old eating habits. It’s strange, because I wonder what was the purpose of doing it in the first place right? I think there’s some misconception about what this surgery does to us and what the expectations are afterwards. Anyways, that whole different subject for another day.

Back to this beautiful weather and how it makes us feel. I don’t know about you but cold weather is definitely my favorite. I do believe it is because we have so little of it here though, some folks up north might hate it and that’s because they truly experience cold weather unlike our mild temps down here. It sort of how we like curly hair when we have straight hair right? and vice versa. We want cold temps here and they want hot temps up there…ha!

Currently, since dinner is over and done with I am now sitting on my bed writting this post and looking out the window. I can see the breeze moving the trees and the grey clouds saturating the sky. Not a peep of sunlight can be seen, just thick grey clouds over us.

Do you prefer cold weather or hot weather? Why?

I will continue to stare out the window and hope this cold weather will last us at least a few days before we go back to our normal 80s. With this, I bid you good night.

Take care,

Mrs Jones

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FAMILY AND YOUR HAPPINESS

Hey hey!

Long time no read! I’ve finally sat down to write down my thoughts and share them with the world. So, first things first; I’ve realized that I will be blogging about not only my life after weightloss surgery but also it’s effects on my own family. Lets begin with our choice and it’s effects after surgery.

Enjoy yourself and your family!

More than once I’ve come across pages or posts about folks complaining about not being able to be around their family during preop or after surgery. Lets start with: Why not?

I believe that the first step in truly understading the process is to know that life goes on. Meaning? People should not stop eating around you because you have a restriction. The truth is that if you decide to do this, than you have to be ready to live with food around you.

I know that its hard and that it may seem impossible but it isn’t. Its ok to miss food but its also ok to move forward and adjust your mind to the new you. Its not fair for your family to be deprived of your company. It’s not fair for you to miss their company.

The only way to be successful after surgery is to embrace the new you and your new way of eating. Be happy and know that change is good, remind yourself of why you chose to do this and why you should stick to it. It is possible to reach your goals and enjoy your family at the same time. Its all about how you look at life and food. Dont miss on memories because of your own weakness. Go out there and enjoy yourself. Mingle, cook, whatever! Be with family and love yourself in the process. You’ll feel better at the end and have the struggles to push you forward. You got this 😀

Hope you are well and safe. Take care. Love yourself!

With Luv,

MJ Jones

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Food choices and Bariatric Surgery

“Let thy food be thy medicine, and medicine be thy food” – Hippocrates

Obesity, the silent killer everyone sees but no one speaks about. Obesity, the reason for my drastic choice. To succeed I must learn to first: respect and appreciate real good food.

It has been a long while since my last post. I have been busy trying to adjust to my new life after Gastric Sleeve Surgery. To say that it was a big change is an absolute understatement.

Not only is this a physical change but also a mental one.

One of the things that I must write about is the fact that once the surgery is done, there’s no turning back. With most of the stomach having been removed, theres hardly any room for food. The width of your new stomach pouch is 14 mm. So you are able to eat and drink very little. As time goes by, theres room for about half a cup at each meal.

However, I would be lying if I did not write about the mental anguish and longing for food that comes everyitme I eat. I sit with my family and yearn for a full plate, not three or four bites of food.

Along those lines, I end up eating my food cold. It takes that long to eat it now. The pain is real.

But not all is bad, I am now down 47 pounds and learning to make better choices. Protein intake is at top of my list every single day. Then water. Then anything else. I also make sure to take my supplements daily as the level of nutrients absorption diminishes after surgery and the chances of vitamin and mineral deficiency increase.

If you are looking into this procedure, I urge to do some research. Nothing is the same after it, therefore you must be ready to accept the pros and cons from it. It wont be easy but is definitely doable. With patience and a positive attitude, you too will see the results and will begin to enjoy your new body and life.

Til next time,

ThatMrsJones

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A Life Changing Decision

As a lay here on my bed at home, I find myself wondering if I have made the right decision in regards to my weight loss surgery.

I am aware of the life changing effects this surgery will have on not only my weight but also my overall physical and mental health. I find myself questioning if this is indeed, the right step to take.

But, while I question myself on this decision I also am very much aware that I am getting older and every year that goes by, weight loss get harder to accomplish and pursue. My weight is affecting my quality of life and it is simply not fair.

I want to enjoy more of my life, we are living in a time when society is more accepting of our decisions and choices. It is a time to let lose and truly give in to live life.

More and more I think about decisions I made when I was younger, decisions not made on my happiness and desires but rather, decisions made to please others. And I regret many of them. I wish I had had the freedom that society has accepted and adopted today.

And yet, I am afraid. I have been struggling with the decision of whether I would share my decision with friends and family to have bariatric surgery. One thing I do know is that even though society has morphed and come a long way from years past, there is still a stigma that follows those of us that are considering or have had bariatric surgery as being lazy and glutons.

I wish it wouldn’t be something to look down on but alas! Here we are in 2020 and still judging others based on weight and then judging on the decision to have surgery as a “quick, easy way”, let me tell you that there’s nothing easy about this procedure or the life changing effects that follow it.

I will be documenting my own journey, I feel that I have to be able to see my progress from the beginning in order to give me the strength that I know I will need in the future. I will need to remind myself why I have chosen to do this and why I have to keep up with new healthy habits.

Wish me luck on my journey and pray for me, it will not be easy. Send me your positive vibes and stay tuned for my next blog.

Thank you for reading!

With luv,

Mrs Jones