All About My Skin Removal Surgery, Part 2: The good, the bad, and the ugly

Click here to read Part 1 first.

Having a lower body lift after losing well over a hundred pounds was one of the best decisions I've ever made. It's been over seven weeks since surgery, and I'm SO HAPPY that I did it! It wasn't all sunshine and roses, however. Here, I will share the good, the bad, and the ugly parts of the skin removal surgery...

The Good

I'll start with the obvious: My mid-section looks a million times better than it did before surgery! Even from the first day post-op, I was thrilled with the results.

The surgery wasn't nearly as painful as I thought it was going to be. The first few days were rough, which I'll talk about in "The Bad" section, but the rest of recovery was pretty easy. My stomach and incision were completely numb, so it didn't hurt. I switched from Vicodin to Motrin after about a week, and I'm sure I could have done that even sooner.

Before surgery, I was very worried about the incision across my back (which is at the top of each butt cheek, very low). It really scared me to have an incision that went all the way around. But after the surgery, I actually paid very little attention to that part of the incision, because I kind of forgot about it. The back lift part of the lower body lift was the easiest part of the surgery.

The compression garment wasn't nearly as annoying as I'd read about online. Actually, I kind of liked wearing it. It's a secure feeling. It's very tight, but I wasn't uncomfortable wearing it at all.

I was able to move easily on my own after about five days.

I was cleared to start running again (or any exercise except ab work) after just eight days post-op (but I chose to wait until 4 weeks).

I feel SO MUCH MORE CONFIDENT in my body now. I don't feel like I have to "hide" my figure, and I feel confident to wear cute clothes and tight jeans. It has done wonders for my self-esteem!

I recovered very quickly. I thought I would be layed up in bed for six weeks, but I was moving around easily by two weeks post-op.

I didn't have a single complication. This might have been luck, or maybe the fact that I followed my surgeon's instructions right to the tee, but I was very happy not to have any complications.

The Bad

I was extremely nauseous after surgery for about 15 hours. I even dry-heaved a few times in the hospital, and it hurt very badly because my abs were sore. I've never experienced nausea like that! It was so bad that I cried (which made it hurt more).

My mouth was extremely dry after surgery for about 24 hours. I was told that part of the anesthesia causes you to stop producing saliva for about 24 hours. It was extremely difficult to chew and swallow food because I had no saliva in my mouth. I drank a ton of water just to be able to eat.

It's hard to get comfortable while lying down, and it hurt my abs very badly to turn over. I slept on each side and my back, turning every couple of hours so I didn't get too stiff, but turning over was very painful in my abs.

I was extremely weak. I cannot believe how tired I got from everything I did. For about the first week post-op, I became exhausted from something as simple as taking a shower or walking to the bathroom. I would have to do my shower quickly enough so that I could lie back down. I was out of breath from just walking to the bathroom. It was a weird feeling, because I was in great shape prior to surgery, running 3-5 times a week. I can't imagine doing this surgery if I was OUT of shape to start with. The weakness was probably THE hardest part about the surgery.

The drains are a pain in the ass to carry around. I had four of them, and it was impossible to tuck them into my pants, so I had to come up with other creative ways of wearing them. While at home, I just hooked them to my shirt or waist band, not caring that they were visible.

I had a weird burning pain on my thighs for a few weeks. It was a surface pain that felt like I had been burned (like a sunburn). I don't know what it was from--the skin looked totally normal there--but it resolved after a few weeks.

After taking four weeks off from running, I wasn't able to just pick up where I left off. It was painful in my abs, but mostly, my lungs felt like they were on fire from being out of shape. I was very winded, even going at a slow, easy pace.

My hip bones felt very strange for a few weeks post-op. They weren't really painful, but I couldn't stand to press on them or have any pressure on them. I couldn't wear tight jeans for a few weeks because they pressed against my hip bones and it was a very weird, extremely uncomfortable feeling.

My abdominal muscle repair was the most painful part of the surgery. Like I said, my incision didn't hurt, but my ab muscles were sooo sore for about ten days. I walked hunched over for about a week. Sneezing, coughing, and laughing were pretty painful for a couple of weeks.

I had to eat a ton of protein. This is under "The Bad" because I've never been a "protein person". I don't like meat very much, and it's hard to get a lot of protein without eating meat. I ate a LOT of pan-fried salmon, tuna fish, and nuts to get protein. I had a protein shake every morning, and my snacks were string cheese and nuts. My doctor wanted me to get 100+ grams per day, and I complied by getting probably about 130 grams. That is VERY hard to do!

Salmon and parsley potatoes--my lunch every single day!

I definitely needed help around the house for the first five days or so. Luckily, I have a super supportive mom and husband. They took great care of me! When Jerry was at work, my mom came over and did housework for me and helped me move around. Jerry waited on me hand and foot. My parents kept my kids for a few days. This surgery would be extremely difficult to get through if you don't have someone to help you.

The Ugly 

Initially, the incision looks kind of gross. There is a lot of dried, crusty blood, but I didn't want to peel it or pick at it for fear of opening up a wound.

My belly button still looks red and irritated, but it's just the color of the incision right now. It doesn't hurt (and never has) but it looks kind of gross for a while. When I first came home, I had gauze packed in there with tape over it.

On each side, just behind my hips, there was a spot in the incision a couple of inches long that looked puckered. I asked my surgeon about it, and she said that it was normal and after the sutures dissolved, it would smooth out. (She was right, it has smoothed out now). But the first couple of weeks, it looked gross--wrinkled and kind of gathered on the bottom half of the incision. My surgeon said it was from the bottom half being larger than the top half--which makes sense. Of course the skin isn't going to line up perfectly. So it was wrinkled while it healed. (You can see that in the below photo)

My back was very bruised (from about the middle of my back all the way to the incision line). This was from the small amount of liposuction that my surgeon did on my lower back. The bruising didn't hurt, but it sure was ugly!

The drain tubes coming out of my body didn't bother me, but I guess many people would consider it ugly ;)  There was one on my left hip, close to my butt, two just under my pubic hair line (one of the left, one on the right) and one on the front part of my right hip. The one on my left hip was pretty sore and I was relieved to have it removed.

My belly button looked off center at first, and I was worried about having to get a revision down the road to fix it. But it must have been because of swelling or something, because gradually, it centered. It's still a little off, but that's how it was before surgery. The surgeon doesn't actually MOVE your belly button--they just move the skin around it.

The swelling is pretty bad for a few weeks. Immediately after surgery, I was excited to see that I wasn't swollen at all. I thought I was just lucky. Then it hit me after about a week, and I swelled up a lot. Even now, I'm seven weeks out from surgery and my very low abdomen is still swollen--it looks like a baby bump.

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I think that pretty much sums up everything I can come up with about the surgery! Of course, I'm happy to answer questions, so feel free to e-mail me.

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All About My Skin Removal Surgery, Part 1

After losing well over a hundred pounds, I knew I was going to need some skin removal surgery--particularly from my abdomen. My skin was so deflated and saggy, and it got in the way all the time. I got rashes and infections under the "apron" of skin and in my belly button. Running for exercise was hard, because my stomach would bounce up and down, causing a lot of pain.  My clothes didn't fit right, because I had to tuck my extra skin into my pants. And no matter how big my pants, I always had a hangover of skin on my sides (love handles).

I called my insurance company, just to see if it was even possible to get the expensive surgery covered by insurance. Surprisingly, they told me that it's possible. They told me to go see a plastic surgeon, who would determine if it was medically necessary, and then submit the claim. I had no clue what the surgeon would be looking for, and more importantly, I had no clue how to pick a surgeon.

When I went for a consult (I'll explain how I picked my surgeon later), she told me I was a perfect candidate for not just a tummy tuck, like I was planning on, but a lower body lift (also called a belt lipectomy, or circumferential tummy tuck, among other names). Basically, the surgeon makes an incision ALL THE WAY AROUND your lower abdomen, and all the way around your upper abdomen, and then pulls the top down to meet the bottom, and sews it back together. It includes a muscle repair of your abdominal muscles, which pulls your muscles together and gives your stomach the very flat look--rather than a rounded, beer-belly look.

I was very anti-body lift, because I'd heard it was much riskier, and I really didn't care what my butt looked like. However, I eventually decided to get it (I'll explain that more later, too). I had the surgery and am THRILLED with the results! Here, I will write ALL the details for anyone who is considering the surgery. This is all from my own experience--remember, I'm not a doctor! ;)

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Candidates for surgery

This is NOT a weight loss surgery. I can't stress that enough. If you are overweight, you will not get skinny from this surgery. The surgery is meant for people that have lost a large amount of weight and have saggy skin around their middle.

To get an idea of the results you can expect, put your hands on your hips and holding tight, pull up all that skin--you'll notice your hips, butt, and abdomen all lift up tight. If you don't have a lot of flabby skin on your butt or hips, then maybe a tummy tuck would be the way to go. I would talk to a plastic surgeon and see what they recommend.

Insurance

There is a (very small) chance that your insurance company might pay for a part of your surgery. I almost didn't even ask, because I was SO SURE that my insurance company wouldn't cover it--but I'm glad I did, because I was pleasantly surprised to find out that they covered about 3/4 of the cost.

I would call your insurance company ask what the requirements are to get a panniculectomy covered. A panniculectomy is the removal of the "apron" of skin on your lower abdomen. This does NOT include  muscle repair or replacing your belly button to where it should be. I learned that a panniculectomy would be covered, but everything else would be considered cosmetic, and I would have to pay out of pocket for that.

The requirements for MY insurance to cover the panniculectomy were: 1) Must have lost at least 100 pounds; 2) Must have kept the weight off for at least 6 months, and 3) Must have rashes caused from the excess skin. Since I met those three requirements, my insurance covered that part.

The rest of my surgery--muscle repair, replacing my belly button (both of which are included in a full tummy tuck, or abdominoplasty), and the hip and butt lift part were considered cosmetic, and not covered by insurance.

Choosing a plastic surgeon

My selection process was actually quite simple. I only went to one consult and decided she was the surgeon for me. But first, to select a surgeon, I decided that I wanted to pick someone in the Henry Ford Health System. I've seen great doctors in that system, and I used to work for a fantastic OB/GYN in the HFHS. My jaw surgeries were at Henry Ford Main Hospital in Detroit, and I was happy with how everything went. So I started looking online at the plastic surgeons of HFHS, and reading their bio's. All of them sounded impressive. There were a few that specified they worked with post-bariatric surgery patients--while I did not have bariatric surgery, I did lose a lot of weight, so I knew that these surgeons were probably the right choice. One really stood out to me, for some reason--Dr. Donna Tepper. I never thought I'd pick a female surgeon, but I liked her bio.

I decided to e-mail the surgeon who performed my jaw repair surgery and ask him if there was a plastic surgeon he would recommend for me. I really liked him, and trusted his input. When he wrote back, he said Dr. Tepper--without my even mentioning that I liked her bio. So it was almost like a sign that I should choose her.

I set an appointment, which took about 5 weeks to get in for a consult. When I met her, she was VERY confident, and happy that I lost the weight through diet and exercise--she made me feel very comfortable. She had a great personality, sense of humor, and wasn't too pushy. She answered my questions and didn't seem like she was in a rush to get out of there.  I felt like I was talking to a friend. I really liked her, and didn't see any reason NOT to choose her. I listen to my gut feeling when I'm making an important decision, and deep down, I knew she was the right choice.

When choosing a surgeon, it's VERY important to choose a surgeon who is board certified. Don't just take their word for it, either--you can look here to check for yourself. I would also recommend that you choose a surgeon who has hospital rights, or who only works out of a hospital. Some surgeons do the procedures in their own offices, so if something goes wrong, you can't just go to the hospital to fix it. Dr. Tepper works out of several different HFHS hospitals, which eased my fears--and also made it more convenient, because I was able to see her in different locations, depending on what was easiest for me.

Also, and this is just coming from my opinion, of course... the very very popular plastic surgeons are not necessarily the best ones. A lot of times, they are only popular because they have commercials advertised on TV, or billboards with their names on them. They are probably very busy and won't have much time for you--a lot of people don't put much thought into selecting a surgeon, so they just pick the guy who has a television commercial, because he "must" be good to have his own commercial.

I think it's very important to choose a surgeon that you can tell LOVES HIS OR HER JOB. Dr. Tepper was very excited about my weight loss and I could tell she was excited that I was going to have a good result due to my hard work. Seeing that she was excited about it, I knew she was in it because she loved her job--and because of that, I knew that she would want to do her best job during my surgery.

When I read the tummy tuck message boards, I notice that everyone asks, "Who is 'the BEST' surgeon in such-and-such state/area?" and they let that be the deciding factor. But a lot of those people don't have very good results after their surgery, and then they later find out that their surgeon doesn't have time for them to work with them and make them happy, so they are stuck with a bad surgery. 

My advice would be to do your own homework--choose a hospital that you trust, and check their website for plastic surgeons. Read the bio's and see if any stand out to you. See if they specialize in post-weight loss surgery. Then meet them and see if they seem confident, excited about their job, and tell you what to realistically expect from the surgery.

Questions for your surgeon

Once you choose a surgeon, you'll want to come up with a list of questions that you want answered before surgery. Make sure you carry a list everywhere with you so that you can add to it if a question pops into your head. Some questions I asked:

*Is it possible for this to be covered by my insurance? Do you submit a claim for me?
*How long before I can run again?
*How long can I realistically expect to need help at home?
*How long is the surgery time?
*Do you take precautions during surgery to prevent blood clots, since the surgery time is so long?
*Will I stay the night at the hospital? Can my spouse stay with me?
*What can I do after surgery to recover as quickly as possible?
*Do I need to buy a compression garment?
*Can you show me exactly where my incision scar will be? Will it be visible above my panty line?
*What positions can I sleep in after surgery?
*Will I have drain tubes? How many? Where will they be placed?
*If I have a question or problem after surgery, and I need to get a hold of you after office hours, what number should I call?

If you work, you'll want to ask about when you can go back to work, what the restrictions will be, etc. At your pre-op appointment, you'll want to ask everything. If your surgeon seems annoyed at the number of questions, I would definitely reconsider that surgeon! Dr. Tepper was very patient and answered everything I asked.

Pre-Op

I asked all my questions at my pre-op appointment (this was the appointment after my initial consult, and was more detailed), and was given the prescriptions for the medications I would need after surgery: an antibiotic to prevent infection, Vicodin for pain, and a muscle relaxer for muscle spasms.  I was also given two sterile antibacterial soap-filled sponges--one to wash with in the shower the night before surgery, and the other to use the morning of surgery.

I had about two months to wait until surgery, so I spent that time getting prepared. My husband requested some time off work to care for me, we started saving some money for those days he took off work, and I bought a few things that I figured I would need--gauze, medical tape, my compression garments that my surgeon told me to get, a Go-Girl thing so I could pee standing up after surgery (laugh now, but it was my best friend for two weeks after surgery!), and protein powder (the doctor wanted me to have a lot of protein).

About a week before surgery, I quit drinking wine :(  The instructions were not to have alcohol for 48 hours before surgery, but I figured a week would be even better. I filled my prescriptions so they were ready when I got home. I paid for the part of the surgery that my insurance wouldn't cover (see below for costs). I had to get some blood drawn for lab tests. And then I arranged with my parents for my kids to spend a few days there.

The day before surgery, I washed my bed sheets so they would be nice and clean. I cleaned my house and made sure there wasn't any clutter. That night, I washed with the special sponge they gave me, and I was told not to eat after midnight (I quit eating at 7 pm). I went to bed and set the alarm for 3:00 AM--crazy, I know. I was told to be at the hospital at 5:00 in the morning, and it was over an hour away. When I woke up, I took a shower and used the second sponge, then dressed in comfy, baggy clothes. Jerry drove us to the hospital.

Cost of surgery
The cost of the surgery I had varies ENORMOUSLY, but I'll share the costs that I incurred. The costs are broken down by anesthesia, operating room use, hospital stay, surgeon fees, etc. Keep in mind that my insurance covered a huge chunk of it...

Out-of-pocket expenses:  $134 one-time consultation fee; $200 for 4 compression garments; $4,380 for the cosmetic portion of surgery; $808.73 for co-pays to insurance after surgery. TOTAL: $5,522.73.

I'm not sure how much the surgery would cost if you paid straight cash (no insurance whatsoever) but I'll ask my surgeon next time I go in. The average cost of this particular surgery (from what I read online) is $18,800. Yes, that sounds like an insane amount of money--you could buy a car for that! But this is something that I wanted more than anything else, and if I have to make payments for a few years to pay for it, it's worth it to me.

But like I said, the cost varies enormously, so don't write off the surgery if you don't think you can afford it. I would at least go see a surgeon to find out the cost and what your options are. I was SHOCKED when I discovered that a huge chunk of the surgery was covered by insurance.

The surgery
You can read about my experience the day of surgery here.

The hospital
I have to admit, when my doctor said she wanted to do the surgery at a tiny little hospital called Cottage Hospital in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, I was nervous. I was hoping she'd want to do it in the huge Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit--it just seemed "safer" because it was bigger. But the doctor's secretary told me that Dr. Tepper really likes the staff that she works with at Cottage, and that it's in MY best interest to go where the doctor is comfortable. I could have insisted that I have the surgery in Detroit, but of course I wanted my surgeon to be happy while she's working on me! So I agreed to go to Cottage. It was the best decision I could have made, and I'm SO GLAD that I had the surgery at Cottage Hospital. (So keep in mind that it's important for your surgeon to feel comfortable).

We were the only people there at 5:00 in the morning, which was a strange feeling. The whole staff that interacted with me was SO FRIENDLY and nice and made me feel very comfortable. There wasn't a single person who I was displeased with. All the nurses, the anesthesiologist, even the security guard who had to unlock the doors for us--super nice, and helpful.

My doctor had me stay for '23-hour observation' after my surgery, and I'm very happy I did that. I was literally the ONLY overnight patient in the hospital--crazy, right?! But it was fantastic--anytime I needed something, the nurses were right there. I had a catheter in, so I didn't haven't to get up to go to the bathroom at all. The nurses took very good care of me, emptying my surgical drains, getting me water (constantly, I was so thirsty!), even setting up a bed for my husband to stay with me overnight. Dr. Tepper came to check on me after the surgery, and then again the following morning, when she said I could go home whenever I was ready.

I honestly cannot say enough good things about Cottage Hospital.

Post-Op

I have a lot of blog posts about the aftermath of the surgery, but I'll explain the gist of it here.

I had four surgical drains placed during the surgery. The drains are tubes that come out of your abdomen with a bulb on the end that collects fluid (blood, saline from irrigation during surgery, etc) so that the fluid doesn't collect inside of your abdomen.

The drains were not painful to me at all--just a nuisance. You have to empty the drains and record the amount of fluid that you empty--and my doctor said she would remove them when they were draining less than 30 cc's per 24-hour period. Three drains were removed on Day 8. The last wasn't removed until Day 17. The removal did not hurt at all, it just felt very strange. It's important to leave them in long enough so that you don't have fluid accumulate and form a seroma, which can get infected.

I also had to wear a surgical compression garment. My doctor gave me a pamphlet at my first appointment and showed me the one she wanted me to order. She said to get two--one in beige and one in black. She told me to bring the black one to my surgery, and I would wake up from surgery with it on. (She said black because it would certainly get stained in the first couple of days, and the stains aren't as noticeable on the black). My garment fit like a pair of granny panties that went up to my rib cage--only very very tight. The garment is actually pretty comfortable, and I liked the secure feeling while it was on. I was told I would have to wear it 24/7 for six weeks (except while showering).

The incisions were very easy to care for. All surgeons have their own instructions, but my surgeon told me that there would be no dressings on the incisions, and I didn't have to do anything special. I didn't have external stitches--she used some sort of Dermabond to close the top layer. In the layers of skin underneath, there were absorbable stitches. There was also a strip of tape on the incision, but I didn't even know this until Day 8, when she told me I could take it off. It was stuck on there really good!

Because my incision went all the way around my body, I was told that for ten days, I would have to lie down or stand--no sitting! I could lie on my sides or my back, or even my stomach if it was comfortable (but I chose not to because of my drains). The reason for not sitting is because it would put strain on the incision across my butt.

I was given Vicodin for pain, but I learned that Vicodin doesn't help at ALL for me. I switched to plain old Motrin after about a week. The pain was the worst the first 2-3 days--it wasn't the incision that hurt, but my abdominal muscles. They were extremely sore, like I did a million sit-ups. After Day 3 or so, the pain wasn't bad at all for me. I still felt sore, but nothing unbearable.

I was allowed to shower from the day I got home from the hospital. She told me to wash gently with the regular soap I always use, and pat dry. The hardest part about showering was the drains--I had to put a chain around my neck and clip the drains to the chain. The first few days, I had my mom or Jerry reach into the shower and hold the drains while I washed quickly.

As far as exercise goes, my surgeon told me that I could exercise whenever I felt comfortable--just no ab work. I had no interest in exercising until about Day 14, but I hurt my knee, so I waited until almost 4 weeks post-op before I ran again.

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A few random questions that I've gotten...

*What happens if you become pregnant now?*
Jerry and I are done having kids--we made that decision 'permanent' after Eli was born ;)  I don't know much about this, because it wasn't relevant to me, but I would certainly recommend waiting until you're done having kids to get a surgery like this to get the best results possible. Pregnancy caused a LOT of stretch marks on me, and I'm sure that wouldn't be any different if I'd gotten pregnant after my surgery. But this is something that I would ask a plastic surgeon.

*Why didn't you wait until you were at your goal weight to have surgery?*
I never really reached my goal weight, and when I went to surgery, I was about 15 pounds higher than my goal. However, I had maintained that weight for about a year, and I was comfortable with my size--wearing a size 4/6 prior to surgery. My surgeon said I was at a healthy weight and she had no concerns about my losing weight before surgery, so I went for it.

*Did you pick November for surgery for a particular reason?*
I wanted to get the surgery as soon as possible after my consult, but I had to wait for the insurance clearance, and then I was in my friend's wedding in October, so I had to wait until after that. November was a good time because I would be all healed up by summer :)

*Did you have to wait six weeks to have sex after surgery?*
No, my surgeon told me that whenever I felt ready it was fine to have sex. But I wasn't interested for a while! I waited about 5 weeks.

*Was it embarrassing having Jerry or your mom help you in the bathroom/shower?*
They've both seen me give birth, so helping me in the shower was no big deal :)  I'm not self-conscious in front of Jerry at ALL, and while I was a little embarrassed to undress in front of my mom, it was certainly no time to be modest. I didn't need help going to the bathroom, but I needed help showering (they held the drains). And I felt extremely exhausted, so it was nice to have them there if I felt faint.

*Did you get to see the video of your surgery?*
Not yet--I'm going to ask my surgeon for a copy of it when I see her next week. My surgery was videotaped (with my permission) for educational uses. I didn't think I'd want to watch it, but I kind of do now!

*How was the drive home from the hospital? When were you allowed to drive after surgery?*
I don't remember the drive home very much, but it wasn't TOO bad. My husband was careful going over the bumps :)  I had to recline my seat back as far as it could go. I was able to drive once I was off the pain meds AND it was at least 10 days post-op--because my doctor wanted me to lie down flat for 10 days, only sitting to go to the bathroom. I was driving by day 11.

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I think this pretty much sums up all the facts about the surgery. In the next post, I list all "the good, the bad, and the ugly" parts about it!  Click here for Part 2.

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A new year

It's so nice to start the year without a resolution to lose weight! For nearly my entire life, Jan 1st was the start of a new diet--with a promise that "this time is different". And of course, it never was!

Yesterday was just another day for me. I picked the kids up from church and then we went to my mom's house for dinner. She made my favorite dinner--'beef and sliders'. It's a pot roast with large, flat, homemade noodles cooked in beef broth. It's total comfort food for me. I ate a little more than I would have liked, but I didn't go overboard by any means. She made Reese Cup Pie for dessert, which was delicious too!

Jerry and I decided to make mimosas last night, because we've had a bottle of sparkling wine in the fridge for a couple of months now. He ran up to the liquor store to buy some orange juice, and we each had a couple of mimosas while we played cards. It was a fun evening.

When I woke up this morning, I saw some snow outside. This has been a VERY unusual Michigan winter so far, with temps in the 40's. I haven't even needed to wear a winter coat more than a couple of times. The boys were super excited about the snow and ran out to play--although there wasn't much to play with!

Noah was a little dramatic with the ski mask in the 1/4 inch of snow ;)

I decided to make homemade chicken noodle soup for dinner, so I threw the chicken into the pot and got that started on the stove, then finally quit procrastinating my run. I did three miles on the dreadmill. I started at 6.0 mph, then threw in a handful of 7.0 bursts for a minute each. If I ever want to get my speed back to what it was before surgery, I need to start doing some speed work!

I finished three miles in 28:45, so that's about a 9:35 average pace.

I spent some time working on a budget for the new year. Like I said, I'm DETERMINED to pay off $5,000 of our debt this year. It's going to be extremely difficult unless I monetize my blog soon. I applied to a few different ad networks, and I was just accepted by one of them, so I have to figure that stuff out. Jerry's been working a lot, so his first two checks this year should be nice--and hopefully I'll catch up on the bills! ;)

One of the changes I'm going to make is to grocery shop ONLY once per week. No matter what! Even if I forget something "important", it'll have to wait until the next week. I'm budgeting $100/week for groceries, which I've been doing pretty well at for a few months now.

Speaking of groceries, the last time I went to Wal-Mart, I saw some Biscoff cookies. I've heard of these only recently, because a lot of people were asking me if the Cookie ButterI eat is the same thing as Biscoff Spread. I have no idea if it's the same, but when I saw the Biscoff cookies, I had to buy some--to spread with Cookie Butter, of course!

The only thing tastier than Cookie Butter is Cookie Butter spread onto a Biscoff cookie ;)  Oh yum--my new favorite treat.

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Robin was so nice to make me a new, simplified banner--I love it!  It's a little more fun than what I came up with, but still clean and simple like I wanted.

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Well, I have a TON of laundry to do before the boys start back to school tomorrow!

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Top 11 of 2011

Since I have no plans tonight, and I'm sitting home on New Year's Eve, I decided to go back through my blog and write a list of eleven of my favorite things that happened to me in 2011. This year has been a really big year for me--some exciting things have happened!

11. I started the year off in January by getting my arch bars removed. After breaking my jaw in November, I had to wear the ugly things for about 7 weeks. Getting them off was one of the most horrifying experiences of my life, but I was SO HAPPY to have them gone! ;)

Not one of my most flattering pictures... ;)

10. In February, my kids went to Florida with my parents, and Jerry and I had a "staycation" at home. It was so much fun! We felt like we were married without kids for five days, so we went shopping, made "adult" food for our meals, went to a comedy club, and slept in every day.

9. I started my Runs for Cookies blog in April. After blogging on Open Diary from 2000-2011, it was a drastic change! I'm still amazed at how much the blog has grown in just eight months. As of today, I have 299 "followers" and 653 "subscribers". That seriously blows my mind! I cannot imagine my life without Runs for Cookies now :)   Here is my very first entry I wrote on this blog.

8. Also in April, I went on an AMAZING vacation with my family--my parents, my sister and brother-in-law, my brother Brian, Jerry, me, and the kids all went to Tennessee and stayed in a cabin in the mountains. I went zip-lining, which was completely out of my comfort zone, but so glad that I did it! I also went on a run through Cade's Cove with my brother, despite tornado-like winds, hills, and a downpour of rain.

Zip-lining in the hills of Tennessee

7. In May, I ran the Indy 500 Festival One America Mini-Marathon! This was a HUGE accomplishment for me. I walked this in 2008, 2009, and 2010. I never, ever, imagined that I would one day run it. I finished in 2:10:40, a respectable time, and I loved every second of the race.

6. In June, I bought a hybrid bike as a present to myself for maintaining 100+ pounds lost for a year. I've never owned a "nice" bike before, and I was so excited to get this. It took a couple of tries, but I had to conquer a fear of going into a bike shop first.

5. In July, Jerry, me, and the kids went to Illinois to visit my sister. She kept the boys overnight and Jerry and I went to Madison for a night. It was one of my favorite trips I've ever been on, even though it was short. We loved Madison!

4. Also in July, I went on a super fun overnight girls trip with Renee, Jessica, and Rachael. We spent 24 hours drinking wine, laughing hysterically, and hanging out on the beach. So much fun!!

Rachael, me, Renee, and Jessica

3. In October, I flew to Arizona to be matron-of-honor in my friend Sarah's wedding. I was terrified to fly, but the trip made the flight totally worth it. I loved seeing Sarah's house and seeing Arizona. Her wedding was fun and beautiful.

 

2. In November, I was a guest on The Dr. Oz Show! One of the most exciting moments of my life. I flew to NYC all by myself, and had my hair and make-up done by celebrity stylists/make-up artists, and stepped waaaay out of my comfort zone onto national television. I still can't believe I actually did it!

1. In November, I also had a lower-body lift, something I've dreamed of for at least a decade. I've never had a flat tummy, and now I absolutely love it! My doctor removed 2-3 pounds of excess skin, and it has made a world of difference in not only my appearance, but my self-confidence as well.

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Some fun facts of 2011:
*I ran 679 miles.
*My longest run was 13.1 miles.
*In September, I ran the most miles I've ever done in a month--106.2.
*The food I consumed the most of was probably peanut butter.
*My most memorable meal was a pasty from Teddywedgers in Madison, WI.
*I conquered my fear of flying twice--once to Arizona and once to NYC.
*I'm finishing 2011 at the exact same weight that I started it.
*My most memorable run was a scheduled 12-miler the week before my half-marathon.
*I quit drinking coffee.
*My longest binge-free streak is 48 days (and counting).
*I ran a minimum of three times per week every single week (except for the four weeks after my surgery).

And finally, a few goals for 2012:
*Maintain a weight of less than 135 pounds.
*Run a minimum of three times per week.
*Stay binge-free.
*Pay off $5,000+ of credit card debit.

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Desserts

I took a break from the computer yesterday to spend some quality time with Jerry. He only had to work a half-day (midnight to 6 AM), so we had the afternoon and evening to hang out together. But first, I went to lunch with my mom, a couple of my aunts, and some of my cousins. My cousin Kaitlin just graduated from nursing school, and we went out to celebrate.

We ate at TGIFridays, and I think I only ate there once before--many, MANY years ago. I ended up ordering "Wildfire Chicken", which was just okay (I really wanted the Wildfire salmon, but it was like $4 more than the chicken). The sauce tasted exactly like the sauce from my General Tsao's Chicken, which I love. I ended up scraping most of it off, though, because they sprinkled cilantro on top--and I can't stand cilantro!

We ordered two desserts with 12 spoons, so that everyone at the table could have a couple bites of dessert--a great idea, I think. We had an Oreo dessert and something called a Brownie Explosion. The Oreo dessert wasn't anything special, but the Brownie Explosion was ORGASMIC. Warm, gooey brownie with ice cream and whipped cream.

Later, when I told Jerry about the dessert, we started talking about the best desserts we've ever eaten at a restaurant. I will never forget the Chocolate Chimichanga from Rio Bravo (who is no longer in business, at least around here). A Hershey bar, wrapped in a flour tortilla and deep fried, topped with hot fudge and vanilla bean ice cream and whipped cream. SO GOOD.

When I got home, it was about 3:00. Jerry and I took the kids to Wal-Mart, because they wanted to spend their Christmas money that they got from my brother Nathan. I also had promised the kids that one day over Christmas break, we'd have ice cream for dinner. I was freezing and ice cream didn't really appeal to me, but the kids picked some out for themselves, and then Jerry and I checked out the bakery for something else. We ended up buying two carrot cake cupcakes.

When we got home, the kids played their new game on the Wii, and Jerry and I played cards and then Monopoly--which we haven't played in YEARS. I always enjoy Monopoly until people start building houses and hotels--then I quit when I don't have enough money to pay rent. I never mortgage property or anything. I just look at my cash, and if I don't have enough, then game over for me. It annoys the heck out of Jerry ;)

While we were playing, we decided to eat our cupcakes and have a glass of red wine. Bet you can't guess which cupcake is mine:

BAHAHAHA, of course it's the one on the left, because it has the most frosting. I'm like a child when it comes to cake and frosting. I like about a 50/50 ratio of cake and frosting, so when I eat a piece of cake, I will usually eat the frosting and the top half of the cake. I eat cupcakes a little strangely, too:

I pull off the bottom half of the cake part, and flip it upside down onto the frosting, so that the frosting is sandwiched in the middle. That way, I don't get all the frosting on the roof of my mouth where I can't even taste it. It's just less messy that way, I think.

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So it was interesting to read the comments about the new blog look. Some of you think it's incomplete; some of you think it's boring; and some of you like that it's clean and easy to read.  I'm so glad we're all in agreement ;)

I was going for "clean and easy to read" and maybe a little more professional looking than before. While my blog will never be "professional", I just want it to look a little more adult and not so teenager-y. Does that make sense?

I like having a white background, and a simple header. I'm not so sure about the gray on white though, so maybe I'll change the gray stuff to a brighter color to be less boring. I'm totally open to suggestions about the whole thing but obviously I can't please everyone. I feel like I have too much clutter in my sidebars, but I don't know what to get rid of without deleting information that I feel is very relevant to my blog.

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My food log from yesterday:
Breakfast- jamocha/banana protein shake
Lunch- TGIFriday's Wildfire Chicken, couple bites of dessert
Dinner- chicken stir-fry, toast with peanut butter
Snacks- cupcake, two glasses of wine, two spoonfuls of Cookie Butter, spoonful of peanut butter (yup, I really need to quit eating the "butters" right out of the jar--or at least limit it to one spoonful a day!)

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Simple Changes

My cats have found a new favorite place to hang out...

Estelle (the ugly cat) is usually right ON my lap, but she doesn't like Paolo (the white fluffy cat), so she is ignoring me at the moment.

So yesterday, Sarah and I went to see The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. The movie was actually much better than the book, in my opinion. I don't think I've ever said that about a movie before!  The rape scene at the beginning was hard to watch because it was so brutal, and I kind of stared at the wall for a minute until it was over.  I had forgotten about that part of the book.

I managed to forgo Mrs. Fields while we were at the mall. I thought about getting a cookie to have for my treat at night, but I realized I didn't REALLY want one. I thought that if I was going to have a cookie, I want to make homemade oatmeal cookies (really big ones) and have one of those instead. I know, I don't know what's wrong with me--no buttercream frosting?! But I love love LOVE my homemade oatmeal cookies. The ones I almost barfed up when I binged on them and then went for a run. Maybe I'll try and come up with a single serve oatmeal cookie recipe.

I have been on a salad kick lately, for some strange reason. I normally can't stand the stuff, so I don't know where the craving came from. But I've been eating a salad every day for lunch. It's always the same--romaine lettuce, French dressing, ranch dressing, diced chicken, and cranberry/almond granola. (And yes, I use a combo of both dressings).

I've had this same thing for lunch every day for the past week. I'm sure I'll be sick of it soon, and go another ten years before eating another salad!

I made another change recently too--I was at Target for something when I remembered that we needed mayonnaise at home, so I checked out Target's (very limited) selection. The only mayo they had was the Hellman's full-fat mayo, which I never use. I usually buy the Kraft Olive Oil mayo or the light mayo. Even when I was fat, we used light mayo. But while at Target, I asked myself, "How often do I really use mayo?" and the answer is probably about twice a month. I only ever use it if I'm having canned tuna.

So I bought the full-fat stuff and tried it in my tuna the next day, and it was AMAZING. I never really realized what I was missing out on. I didn't even need bread or crackers with it--just the tuna with mayo and relish was delish.  The next time I had to buy sour cream, I did the same thing--I usually buy fat-free (because I really do like it, and it was a change I didn't mind making in the beginning). I bought the full-fat sour cream (since we don't use it very often anyway). And when I had some chili with a couple tablespoons of sour cream, it was heavenly.

I KNOW that "light" and "fat-free" stuff is usually more processed, and therefore not as healthy as the "real" stuff; but I think there is room for EVERYTHING in one's diet--including processed stuff. And eating the light and fat-free stuff helped me stick to my calorie goals, so it helped me in the long run.

Yesterday's food log:
Breakfast- jamocha/banana protein shake
Lunch- salad with dressing, trail mix, and chicken, Dr. Oz brownie
Dinner- scrambled eggs with ham, cheese, and ketchup; toast with sunflower seed butter
Snacks- two spoonfuls of Cookie Butter (my favorite way to eat this is right off the spoon!), graham crackers with peanut butter and chocolate chips, 1/2 a Dr. Oz brownie

Today marks 46 days binge-free!

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The clothes that $9 can buy

When I went to my favorite consignment store yesterday, I was super excited to see that all of their marked-down clothes were $1. Normally, they mark them down to 50% off; and once every quarter or so, they do a $1 sale.

Since it's a consignment store, the clothes are more expensive than Goodwill, which is another place I buy my clothes. But I had brought some clothes in to consign recently, and I figured I'd just use that money to buy a pair of jeans or something (most jeans are around $10; most shirts about $6-7). I had $14 in my consignment account, so I happily shopped the $1 racks and found some goodies:

Purple sweater by Ann Taylor Loft, $1

Pink/red striped sweater by American Eagle, $1

(Super cozy!!) Pink sweater by Gap, $1

Plaid button-up shirt by American Eagle, $1

Blue t-shirt by Abercrombie, $1

Black terrycloth hoodie by Moda International

Brown hoodie sweater by Ruff Hewn, $1

Blue long-sleeved t-shirt by Aeropostale, $1

Jeans by Abercrombie, $1

I'm wearing the pink Gap sweater right now, and it's SO cozy. It's a medium, which is a little big (especially since Gap seems to vanity size their clothes), but I made an exception because I love how comfy it is. So I'd say that the $9 shopping spree was successful. I bought a few things for my boys with the other $5.

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Some of you were asking for an update on where my Garmin is now... Jen has it in Texas right now, and she just wrote a blog about it. I was so surprised to see the notes that everyone has been passing along with it--I can't wait to read them! I think there are about 5 or 6 more people in queue for the Garmin right now, so it'll be a while. I'm glad that everyone seems to be enjoying trying it out, though!

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Today was my Wednesday Weigh-In, and I'm happy with the results this week:

Weight is 134, down 1 pound from last week (and only 1 pound away from goal!)

Body fat is 19.8%, which is up 0.2% from last week

I'm not worried about the body fat percentage being up by 0.2%. So many factors have an effect on that reading (hydration levels, water retention, etc). If it was a large amount or if it keeps going up, then I'll worry about it. (For those of you asking about my body fat reader thing, I made a "Favorite Things" tab on the blog where you can find it--along with a few other things that I get asked about frequently).

I'm only one measly pound from goal weight right now!! I'm so happy to be maintaining the weight loss that I've had--and I know from experience that the longer I am at a particular weight, the easier it is to maintain it.  I've now lost 10% of my weight since the beginning of November. Maybe (hopefully?) I'll be at my goal weight next week for my weigh-in.

I still haven't binged even once since my surgery 44 days ago. There were a couple of days this week that I ate for emotional reasons (boredom, loneliness) rather than hunger, but I was aware of it at the time and I didn't turn it into a binge. I'm okay with that. I think even "naturally" thin people eat for emotional reasons once in a while.

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I did a slow and easy 3-miler on the dreadmill again this morning. I'm afraid I'm never going to pick up my pace back to what it was prior to surgery. A 10:00/mi pace is hard right now. I'm not even going to worry about adding distance until I start training for the half-marathon. I'm just doing three 3-mile runs per week until February.

 Since my boys are at their Holiday Camp all day, Sarah and I are going to the movies. We're going to see The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I read the book, and thought it was pretty decent, although I didn't like it enough to read the sequels. Hopefully the movie is okay.

And hopefully I can avoid the pull of Mrs. Fields at the mall.... ;)

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RECIPE: My Dr. Oz Brownies

I call these "Dr. Oz Brownies" because they were a food prop in my segment of The Dr. Oz Show. I gave them the recipe and they had a food stylist make them. You can see them on the far left of this picture...

Some of my mom friends said that they make brownies by taking a boxed mix and adding a can of pumpkin to it and half a bag of chocolate chips.

Since I LOVE peanut butter, I changed it a little to exclude the chocolate chips but add some yummy peanut butter. When I told the producers how I like to make them, they decided to use it as part of the show (which was later cut out, unfortunately). I don't doubt there are a thousand different versions of these online, but here is how I make the super simple brownies.

These are extremely dense and fudge-like--not cakey at all. And they're rich! Which is why I love them :)

My Dr. Oz Brownies

1 box of brownie mix (I use the Betty Crocker family size one)
1 (15 oz.) can of pure pumpkin
3 Tbsp. peanut butter

Just combine the brownie mix and pumpkin in a bowl (nothing else). It takes a while to mix, and the batter will be very thick, but don't add anything else to it. Spread it in an 8x8 or 9x9 pan. In a small bowl, melt the peanut butter in the microwave (about 30 seconds). Drizzle it on top of the brownie batter (and swirl it around to make it pretty, if you like).

Bake for 30-35 minutes at 350 degrees. Let them cool completely before cutting (if they are warm, there is a strong pumpkin taste... once they cool, you don't taste the pumpkin). Cut it into 24 pieces (the pieces will be small, but because it is so rich, a small piece is satisfying).

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Six Weeks Post-Op

Yesterday marked six weeks since my surgery--which meant I could ditch the compression garment! I woke up at around 6:15 and decided to run on the dreadmill to get my run over with early. I left the garment on while I ran (and I'll probably continue to wear it while I run for about six months). I just did three miles.

After showering, I got dressed without the compression garment--and it felt so weird! When I pulled my shirt on, it felt so strange to be able to feel it drape across my stomach. But it felt very freeing, which was nice!

My kids are doing a holiday camp at a rec center near our house this week. It's Mon-Fri from 8:30-4, and they play lots of sports (kickball, flag football, soccer, ice skating, etc) and games and do crafts. My mom paid for it as a Christmas present for the kids, and she got 50% off from a coupon, so it was only $50 per kid for the week. That's a pretty good deal! Almost eight hours a day for each kid for five days, and only $100.

So I drove them to their camp, and talked to the woman who was in charge (I wanted to make sure I felt comfortable leaving them there). I told her that if they didn't want to stay, just let them call me and I'd pick them up.

I came home and cleaned the house because my friend Sarah and her new husband were coming over (Sarah is the friend whose wedding I was just in in October). I was moving around a LOT and after a few hours, my belly was really swollen. I probably should have taken it easy or just worn the compression garment for another day.

I picked up the boys at 3:45, and Noah kept saying how much fun he had. Eli said he "hated" it, but when I asked him if he wanted to go again tomorrow, he said yes. Eli's kind of pouty, and when something doesn't go his way, he thinks everything is just terrible. I talked to the teacher and she said he was upset because he wanted to play with Noah and ONLY Noah. She asked him over and over if he wanted to call his mom, but he said no. Today he was really excited to go ;)

The boys spent the night at my parents' house last night. Sarah and Ne came over and we ate dinner (chicken taco soup that I made in the slow cooker).

Then we played four games of Euchre (a card game). Euchre is definitely a Michigan thing, because most people from out of state have never heard of it. Sarah is from Michigan, so she knew it, but Ne didn't have a clue. (Are any of you Euchre players??)

We taught him how to play, and him and Jerry were teamed up against me and Sarah. Sarah and I were all about strategy, and doing well--but Jerry and Ne kept getting really lucky! And they won the first three games, which was so annoying ;)  We won the fourth game, and then we were satisfied. Sarah and Ne left at around midnight.

I probably should have taken at least one picture last night, but I am kind of a bad blogger  in that sense. When I'm doing something fun with other people, I much prefer to just live in the moment instead of taking pictures of each moment for the blog. So you'll have to use your imagination :)  We moved the dining room table into the living room, and Sarah and I were looking totally pissed every time the boys took another trick by pure luck.

It would have been so easy to overeat last night on snacks alone. I made hummus and I had tortilla chips and veggies to dip; I bought Doritos for the boys, because they like to eat them with Tapatio (a hot sauce). We had chips and pretzels, and I had my Dr. Oz Brownies in the fridge. But I ate a small bowl of chicken taco soup, some veggies and chips dipped in hummus and one brownie. I had one glass of wine, and then a few cups of tea. I went to bed slightly hungry, which meant I didn't eat too much.

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Since yesterday marked six weeks post-op, I took some more pictures. There are barely any changes from week to week now, so I'll just start doing monthly comparisons for about a year. Maybe I'll start showing my scar, to see how that changes too.

Before surgery, then post-op weeks 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6

Before lower body lift

6 weeks after lower body lift

I really AM going to post the promised post all about the surgery. There are actually two posts, because it is so long! I'll probably be finished in a day or two.

Right now, I'm going to the thrift store to get some new clothes now that I'm out of my compression garment! :)

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A perfect, uneventful Christmas

It was so nice to just relax today and not have to go anywhere! Jerry came home from work at 6:30 this morning, so when he got home, the kids opened their gifts. We decided to get them each just three gifts this year. In the past, we have always gone overboard, focusing on quantity over quality, and most of the stuff just winds up in the back of the boys' closet.

So this year, we focused on things they really wanted, and bought them each three gifts. One of Eli's was a set of books called Junie B. Jones. His teacher read them one, and he loved it--he kept asking me if I could buy him the Junie B. Jones book that his teacher has. So I went on E-bay and found a gently used complete set of them. Eli was THRILLED when he opened them. I have never seen a kid get so excited over books!

He kept telling me thank you, over and over again. They're chapter books, and he's only 5 years old, so I have to read them to him. But I totally don't mind doing that--I'm just thrilled that he wanted books for Christmas :)  We already read one of them today.

Noah's favorite gift was an iPod touch. He's been begging for one for a long time. We told him we couldn't get it, because it was too expensive and he would have to save his money for it. So he was very surprised and excited when he opened it.

After they opened gifts, I made a breakfast that I only make once a year (on Christmas morning): biscuits and sausage gravy. We used to eat this all the time when Jerry and I were fat, but once we started losing weight, we stopped having it (except for Christmas). It was delicious! I had one biscuit and about 1/3 cup of gravy... when I was fat, I would have eaten about five biscuits and half the pan of gravy!

Speaking of breakfast, I got to make something yesterday that I've been wanting to make ever since I first tried Cookie Butter ...Oats in a Cookie Butter jar!  I made cinnamon-raisin oats (cold) and put them in the almost-empty Cookie Butter jar, scraping the sides as I ate it. It was heavenly!

On second thought, maybe it was a little more than "almost empty"  ;)

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Kelli, a reader of my blog, wrote me an e-mail saying that she found something I just "had to have"... and she sent it to me in the mail. It's an adorable ornament, and so perfect for cookie-loving me!!

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Tomorrow is the big 6-week mark since my surgery!! I get to stop wearing my compression garment :)

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Well, Eli is waiting for me to play Go Fish with him... Merry Christmas everyone!!

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