Life After Post- Gastric Bypass (9 Months)

Life is good with it's ups and down. I'm almost 9 months post-op and am down 110 pounds without even trying. It feels good. I never knew how self conscious I was pre-op, how restricted I felt and especially how different people treat you.

I look back at pictures and I didn't know I was actually that big. I was 315 pounds and felt I didn't look it but I was in denial. But one thing I will admit it took my a while to actually see the difference and still I feel the same but lighter. It's a little hard to explain but since I'm not constantly in front of a mirror, I feel I'm the same person and look pretty much the same. When I put on my old clothes, I'm like wow this is really big on me and it feels good but when I go shopping I still for a second look for my old size 24 then it's like oh yea no I'm a 14 now. When I'm on the train and there is a seat in between 2 people, I still tighten myself and hold my breath and go in slowly because I still don't think I can fit into that small space, only to find out not only do I fit but there is a little more wiggle room. When old friends look at me, I still feel like they are looking at my rolls or big cheeks so I automatically suck in my gut in a little but they are just so surprised on how much I've changed (then I can exhale). When I look at pictures i realize a little more that I've lost some weight but I still have some insecurities.

The Good:
I do feel better fitting into smaller clothes. I feel things look much better but my legs are still on the bigger side (I feel). I feel lighter and not as lazy. I can walk faster and don't mind walking. Going up stairs is a million times easier. I like eating smaller portions. My confidence is higher than it used to be. I'm motivated to go out, dress up more, take care of myself. I feel a whole new world has opened up. People treat me much better, are much nicer to me (which is so sad and makes me a upset because I'm still the same person).

The Bad:
I have a huge fear of gaining weight or not losing enough. I look at other people and they have lost a lot more weight than me (but then again I haven't joined the gym) and now my weight loss has slowed down I'm scared I'm still going to be "fat". Before the surgery I used to say when I get to a size 12 I will feel good and it'll be perfect but now I'm like no I want to be thin. When people look at me I don't want then to think "oh she is chubby", "if she lost 10 more pounds she will be perfect". NO! I want when people to look at me "a weight problem" won't even cross their minds. This is exhausting believe me. I'm extremely happy I got the surgery because I do feel better than I did before but sometimes I feel it's a never ending struggle. I just think one day, one day I won't worry about this. Hopefully.

Well I hope all is good on your side. Today is a very gloomy raining day on mine.

Simply Denisi <3.

My Lonely Place

Morning Tweet: Hi lonely place, it's been a while..

It's been a while since I've been here. Nothing has changed. Still small, still grey, four walls, one window, one door and 1 favorite corner. I've been here since last night and have yet figured out my way out.

Today, I feel a little blue. I don't really know why (maybe I'm hormonal, lord knows).

Sometimes I feel like I have it all figured out and my life is going as planned. Then all of a sudden, I'm confused, I don't know what I want, what I'm doing. I hate when I'm in this place, because I feel so scared. Deeply scared where I can feel it in my heart. I just want to crawl into a corner and be left alone and just cry it out and scream for my mommy. Things are not clear today, I'm not happy today with anything.

It'll get better, tomorrow is another day but today I just want to think and be to myself.

Just Denisi.

Struggles of being Obese, Over-Weight, Big, Fat etc.

Last night I experienced one of the most humiliating moments with my family that left me disgusted with everyone. It didn't happen to me but it has before but this time I was an outsider looking in and for once their disapproving eyes weren't on me. Because I wasn't the one being humiliated, my feelings for the situation were even stronger because I know how she felt, I felt what she felt and it hurt. Now let me explain what exactly happened:

We were on this ultra sensitive elevator going up to my parents house, it was me, her and 2 others when the elevator just stopped and got stuck. You see this special elevator like I said is ultra sensitive so when I get in it I try not to even move or go in with too many people. I guess we had too many people in it and it stopped. I know how my parents and family are so I prayed they wouldn't have any dumb fat comments. There were none, that we can hear anyway. Until it was time to go, as we were saying our good-byes to everyone my uncle stops and says to her. How did you think you can get in the elevator when the weight limit was 2,000 pounds and you alone reach capacity. Then everyone started laughing and I felt it. The embarrassment, the humility, the sadness, the anger, just a million feelings. Wanting to tell everyone to eff off, you cruel insensitive people. But she kept her composure and laughed it off and walked away. I wanted to cry and scream for her. I've been there before, a million times before with them but back then I had no where to go but the bathroom to cry and console myself because no one understood. I always stood alone as the fat one and when I said something the responses would be: "They are just joking", "they are just concerned", "they do it because they love you and just want you to lose weight", "why don't you just stop eating and exercise", "just lose weight", a total disregard for my feelings.

Now after the surgery and and 70 pounds lighter I don't feel as self conscious as I used to but sometimes I forget I'm not as big and still have the feelings. I've cried for her for since last night. No one knows this feeling, unless you are big no one can even imagine. We are still people with personalities other than being over weight. Others don't understand this is an illness like substance abuse but it's part of our physical. It's an illness you can see but that doesn't mean we need to be reminded, it doesn't mean we are weird and need to be stare at, we are people! Regular people that sometimes over eat and have a little junk in our trunk!

I sometimes wish everyone with this issue could have the surgery or be the same size, just so we can ALL feel better about ourselves, I mean the surgery doesn't fix it all. The eating and emotional issues are still there but it's a tool to help us loose some of the weight. I don't want to promote the surgery like that because one has to be ready for it and want it. It's a huge step and I'm so scared of failure, I've become emotionally attached to my scale. When I don't see it move, I feel scared with a chance of failure. Then for the rest of the day I feel really conscious of what I eat and how much. But the good part is that I can fit into a more comfortable size (16 from 24 almost 26) and I'm a little bit more confidence when I go out. I feel better being intimate with my husband. It has a lot of positives but you definitely have to be mentally ready for the good AND the bad.

I've always had an optimistic outlook in life. Just let things roll down not letting comments get to me. I've always tried to overcome my issues and live as freely and positive as possible but sometimes it does get to me. Sometimes in the back of my head I feel people still stare, I could just imagine what they were thinking, I second guessed myself, the what-if thoughts are always around the corner and that moment yesterday with her triggered all those feelings. I felt them, all of them. And they are the problem, my family, my Dominican culture, this society, this skinny culture but they out number us and instead of helping us, they laugh and make us feel isolated.

But know even though you may feel alone, you are not and don't give up on the battle. We are all here for a reason and are the way we are for a reason. The battle is not over until you say it's over and always have control over your own life and live with no regrets. I had the surgery because I wanted to. I felt I needed to do it to help me, help me lose weight, get healthy and begin healing me. As you can tell I still struggle with some emotions but I cope. If you've had the surgery or is thinking about the surgery join or visit thinnertimesforum.com , this has been amazing to me. I found super inspiring people here and they have helped be move forward and keep fighting.

If you are going through something, want someone to speak to or anything please don't hesistate to contact me at simplydenisi@gmail.com

And the grind continues...

And the grind continues...

Well I'm still hoping for the best in 2010. I haven't been accepted to any graduate program. I've received some rejection letters and havent heard anything from three programs. I want this like you wouldn't believe. I want to be successful, I want to set an example for my children, I want to have a career. But none of these programs care, they dont know me. My GPA is not as high as it should be but I poured my heart out on my statement of purpose and I have 6 graduate credits that proves I can do the work. I just want to chance to go out there and change lives and I know I can. But let's see where it takes me..

I hope to get accepted to a MSW program or a Mental Health Counseling program, I want to work with adolescents in a school setting and in the future open my own practice. I have plans people and why can't an admissions comittee see that?

I dont want to give up, Im not going to give up. When I think this year my going to be 26, I feel time is running out. If I get accepted for Fall I can work on my school work and prepare to have my children when I'm about 28 which I think it's the perfect time. By that time I can have my masters or almost be done, I'll have my house. That'll happen in my little perfect world but things seem to hold me back but one day I'll get there.

SimplyDenisi <3

To Fail or Not to Fail

Well after an agonizing wait my first paper came back.. B+ its okay but for a girl looking for an A it's not so good. You see now I have to really plan my plan B. And I really don't want to. This is very depressing and stressful. I have so much pressure and so much determination but I feel like I'm fighting a battle that's been lost already.
People tell me relax, you're thinking too much into it. It's not that serious and I know it isnt I've been in school for most of my life. But I cant HELP feeling this way. When I got my paper I was shaking, I didnt want to look at it but I did. I didn't know what to expect, I felt sweaty, my hearting was pounding, I just had to open it then BOOM B+. My intial reaction was like okay how can I make this to an A, I'll make it so my final average equals an A. But as everyone else received their paper and the professor was talking about the great papers. I started feeling little again. Then I read his comment on how I have to be more sophisticated. What? I know my vocabulary is not 100% but come on I'm a Dominican New Yorker, I'm not white, I dont use big words when I speak. When I'm writing my papers I write how I know how to write. I use big words when appropriate, I check my grammer, I had other people read it a thousand times to make sure it sounded like I knew what I was talking about. I got good reviews.

Sometimes I don't know what I'm doing or what should I do. This new school has thrown my off my mental state. But its me I know it. I usually cope with things pretty good. This is really kicking my ass, this has been the hardest. So far so bad :( I'm a really spirtual person, I go by energys and I believe everything happens for a reason and if things are meant to be, they will be. But this I dont know. Should I fight or should I let it go and see where it goes. Its hard because I dont want to do all this work and fight then lose anyway. I dont want to let it go because I want it SOOO bad! This is what I want; this is what I want to do.

Maybe it's because I'm an only child but I'm a thinker. I think A LOT about everything. I didn't have any siblings around so I couldn't speak to anyone but myself. It was me and my mom (always makes me so emotional) but I didn't have anyone to share things with and get some feedback. I couldn't share everything with my mother because she was raised not only ina different country but a different time. So I was left to figure things out by myself. It's going to sound crazy but when things are going on I talk to myself and just talk it through. Sometimes I still do it, I cry by myself and laugh by myself. It makes me feel better like I have someone there. I'm like my own best friend :) I'm not crazy lol.

Man I'm going to do it. Once again I'm going to throw myself in there but I'm scared.

Have a good night!

Simply Denisi <3

*These entires haven't been edited as you can tell, I will get around to it this weekend.

Just Me ...

Rainy day in NYC and I'm at work ugh! I've been feeling a little blue lately and sometimes I'm experiencing these mini-anxiety attacks. (what's that about?) And no I'm not PMSing. I've been under pressure from no one in particular just myself; some financial, some personal. I've just been feeling very alone and insecure; no one gets me. I don't have a best friend and I really haven't had one since high school and sometimes it really gets to me. I have friends but no one that I feel comfortable enough to burden with my issues or thoughts. I have my husband but I don't want to burden him either. I just sometimes need a friend not just any friend but an exclusive best friend. It might sound silly and even a little immature but everyone (my friends) seem to have their own best friend so I don't want to be like second best friend or something.

My best friend was like the best, I loved her like family, like a sister. I would kill and die for her and I felt the same way back. I mean she knew everything about me and I knew everything about her. Barely fought or had disagreements. We had the greatest time together we were bad girls together and were good girls together. Always had something to speak about. Everything we did and anywhere we went, we were together. I just felt like I had someone there for me. Sometimes I don't like going to places alone or planning things alone and sometimes I just want someone's opinion. And I don't have that right now. It's just me, myself and I.

Sometimes I don't mind being by myself, I pretty independent and I love having me time. I sit home, watch TV or just sit a think. I think about my goals and what am I going to do. I plan my me day when I'm home alone, I plan my menu for the day, my movie list, my music play list, my comfy clothes and just chill. If I need to cry I do, I reminisce, I do my makeup and I take pictures. lol It may seem corny and boring but I work my inner Denise out. Its feels a lot better than it sounds. Its sounds a little crazy but it's not lol I hope lol.It's a little secret that I guess isn't a little secret anymore. :)

Right now I'm just going through somethings.. I'm dealing with a new school and just adapting to being an A student which I've never worked that hard. So now I'm scared of failing. I'm scared that I'm going to spend so much time effort and money then at the end I still won't be accepted to the program. I'm scared to face the reality that I'm just a dumb chubby latina. I know I'm not but in this school that I'm going to be have honor students, people working towards their doctorate, well spoken professionals. Then you have me..

In one hand I'm excited to go to school and aim for the best and be around all these intellect professional but in the other I feel under qualified, i feel super young and immature. I tell myself nah you bugging Denise you can do why not, you just have to put your all into it. BUT I can't help it, I just can't stop. I feel like a scared 5 year old going to her first day of school every time! I tell myself everything is going to be okay; but is it really? What happens if it's not? Then what all this hard work for nothing because it's still not going to be good enough? I think about it and I get nervous, my heart starts beating super fast, my eyes water and I feel crazy (anxiety). But I can't do anything about it, just do what I can.

BUT THEN..

I'm pretty independent. I like doing things myself so that then in case whatever happens I don't owe anyone anything or if things go bad I don't have anyone to blame but myself.

My husband works at a university, a prestigious university in NY, because he is an employee his family can attend the school for free. I took advantage but my grades weren't good enough to get into the school so they allowed me to take 2 courses as a "non-student" so I can then apply to and have a better chance. They said you only have to pay the school fees and the taxes. I get the bill and its $700 and I'm like this is going to be GREAT! I wish! Last week they have started bascially taking an extra $200 in taxes fro my husbands paycheck and they will do that for the next 10 weeks! YES 10 weeks!! That's $2000 in taxes! I mean it's still a good deal to go to this school but charge me! I dont have this kind of money to pay him back. We have bills, super credit cards. This is just a huge set back.

I know, he is my husband, we are a family. my bills are his bills, visa-versa. He hasn't complained but still. I feel bad and even worse that I dont have 200 a week so maybe I can put on one of his bills. So I've decided I'm not going back to school until I can either pay him or take a loan to cover our expenses. BUT I can't take a loan until I am officially accepted to the counseling program. UGH!

Everything goes as God planned it to be...

If anyone is out there please pray for me.. I really really want this.
Well until next time. Peace and good health.
simplyDenisi <3

Just me.

I'm back and ready to conquer it ALL.

Well I see I lost some followers but new beginnings it is.

I've fell off my dieting and exercising and just focused on getting better then came school. I didn't even want to think about dieting even though it was in back of my head everyday. I realized we are really obsessed with food, dieting, self imagine and sometimes it looks and feels so unhealthy.

WoW will I spend my entire life yo-yoing with diets and thinking about my diet. It makes me sad to think this is going to be a never ending struggle.

I don't think I'm necessarily obsessed because I try not to think about it as much.

But I DO think about and it DOES bother me. When I do think about I try to shake it off and think like no

Denise you are who you are and eff them. I can't help but when I'm around my thin sisters or my other family members I feel ugly, fatter than what I usually feel then I think I HAVE to lose weight RIGHT NOW. I don't want to eat around them. I sometimes don't like to eat in front of people generally because I am the size that I

am they might think I eat like a pig and keep it fat kid style all day but I don't. Don't get me wrong I pig out sometimes but usually I get full really fast; I don't like greasy, fatty foods like that, I don't eat candy often but I am obsessed with

chocolate.

Most of the time I am comfortable with myself and I love my chubby self but others make me feel self conscious because being over-weight isn't socially accepted. Will we ever over come this?

Don't get me wrong I get it, we are unhealthy, we ha

ve a short life span etc. BUT my mother's side of the family is mostly overweight; so is that a coincidence? The advice thin or "healthy" people give me never surprises me. Since I've been overweight all my life and have known about it I've been hearing all the health risks and how to lose weight, and when to lose weight and how different I would look, feel, be.. I'VE HEARD IT ALL.. Sometime others just don't understand what we struggle with.. I mean we can be almost compared to like when Africans were slaves. We aren't beaten or even go thought what they went through but they were looked at as different. People made them feel inferior and like outsiders living in white society. We are fattys living in a "skinny" society.

I cope with it pretty well. I have my good days and bad days but mostly good but others don't. They are looked as hungry hippos so they conform and in their mind they use food as make me feel better pill. The pill works for about 5 seconds then it's like wha

t did I do? DAM that 5 MORE pounds! But they fall into it again then it becomes a cycle then you're superduper obese.

Sometimes it's deeper. I'm still looking and working on myself but it's a work-in-progress. When I'm home and something is bothering me or I'm depressed I do eat more but why? Why does my friend losses her appetite and experiences the total opposite when she is depressed but my appetite increases by like 100%?

What shall we do? When will we change? Obesity is a huge problem, have you guess seen the McDonalds portions in europe compared to the ones in the states? funny. They can control fast food over there why can't our government do the same here? The FDA controls everything else? Why not control what vendors put in our food? It's almost like they don't care, or trying to make us sicker so more money for programs, more money for doctors, more money for taxes.

Why are people trying to fight Obama on healthcare?

Im not like making theories or trying to uncover government secrets, I just wonder whats going on sometimes.. looking at the bigger picture..

Interesting...

Until next time.

simplyDenisi <3

It's Over for Chris Brown!

Just a small comment..

Today I was coming into the office and on the elevator there was a girl with blasting earphones. I could hear the song clearly and it was Chris Brown. She was humming along like it was her favorite song. Humming the lyrics, bopping her head. I have to admit it, I was a little angered.

I was a fan of him since day one but it all ended that day in February 2009. He beat his then girlfriend Rhianna down. I was following the story like no other person. Every day, multiple times a day going into blog sites, gossips sites, entertainment sites for weeks! I was looking for his reason. Come on, what excuse is he going to give the world for his actions. My co-workers made fun of me because I added him on MySpace and sent him a message to see if he would respond and he didn't. I didn't want to believe he did this. Like what was he thinking!! She couldn't of done anything to deserve that. Even if she slapped him, have self control report her, break up with her, get away but don't beat her to the pulp!

I don't think he can bounce back from that.. I hope not because I can't see how us as women or poeple can listen and support him when he beat someone like that and then didn't have any remorse. How was he sorry then go jet sking on Miami Beach? All smiling in to the camera! He doesn't have any pictures with any bruising or with huge bumps coming out of his head. Even though I feel she didn't making a big deal as I think she should of, I'm not supporting him. I'm not supporting him or anyone that does anything like that. She should make a big deal just because of so many women going through the situation and her as a international icon should lead by example.

The situation is not okay and anyone man or woman doesn't have to put up with any abuse, physical or verbal or ANYTHING! No one has that right to gain power over another human being. We are all humans, we are all equal so stay in your lane!

He is a no GO! Thought? let's talk about it..

When will I get there?

OK well still don't have a bathroom but its coming along.. The walls are finally up but nothing else.. At least they made an outlet because the bathroom had none. So hopefully, I'm praying the bathroom will be done early next week. I still have to shower at my mothers house but it's almost over!!

I had a somewhat stressful day not because of work but because of my school situation. Okay let me start from the beginning. As I posted in my previous blog, I composed my goals and made a timeline. One of the most important ones was to start on my graduate degree. But unfortunately I decided to work on this a little too late. My husband works from NYU so I can get my masters for free, I'm only responsible for student fees and taxes. I'm excited because this is BIG! One problem the programs I want to pursue are not accepting applications because the deadline was February 1st. I'm trying to reach out to people in the school but no one is returning my emails.

Today I read facts about the program which is Mental Health Counseling, NYU only accepts 40 students A YEAR! Now my GPA not very good, doesn't reach 3.0, not because I'm not a good student or because I'm not smart but because when I started school I wasn't focused. But now I am. I feel helpless. I feel like there is no where to go. I have a goal that seems impossible to reach. I want to make a difference in people's lives but I can't seem to get a chance.

I really care about people and helping and becoming a resource. I really need a prayer. 40 students?? What are the odds of my being one of them. A Dominican girl from queens with a sucky GPA but that doesn't tell them who I am, what I'm about. The love and dedication I want to provide to the public. I want to open my counseling office, just come in, sit and let's talk.

I don't know what I'm going to do. I don't want to give up but it's hard. I want to see the light at the end of the tunnel. This is something I want so bad, it's what I've always wanted, it's something I always imagined myself doing. I want to give back. I want to be the example not only to my future children but to everyone around me. I'll have to continue this tomorrow I'm getting choked up and I'm getting a headache.

Until next time. Thank you for reading. Feel free to leave a comment.

simply Denisi <3.

PS gramatical errors will be corrected tomorrow.

Bathroom Remodeling NIGHTMARE

OK well I'm going through IT!! I've been almost in tears for ALMOST 2 weeks. My bathroom was basically molding into pieces so my landlord (thank God) decided to do my entire bathroom over. The contractor came over Monday (5/4) and said he was going to start working on it the next day. I was happy to get it over with and indeed Tuesday they came demoed the everything so I was unable to use my bathtub but luckily my parents live a few blacks away so I can take a shower there.

Wednesday rolls around and just my luck the contractor has an emergency job and wasn't able to return until the following TUEDAY!!! yup that's 5/12!!!! So that's one week without a bathroom, just a room with no door and a tiolet (thank God for at least that). So Tuesday he discovered more mold then the pic above so he bascally took down ALL the walls. I dont have pictures of that because my camera has no battery (nice!).

Now we are here on friday (5/15) sheet rock is on wall, no tile, no plaster, not able to shower in my apartment! WTF thats almost 2 weeks with no bathroom!! I so hope this is worth it.. I want the ability to shower in my own house and just come home from work and chill.. Jeez..

Just venting!!

Is it the contractor's fault? I don't know because he couldnt prevent emergencies or the crap that was going in my bathroom BUT I feel that he could be working a little bit faster instead of 3 to 4 hours a day. I feel I can't call the landlord to complain because the contractor is like family lol.. SOO I'm caught UP! I dont know what to DO! I need Jesus lol... Im hoping he will work this weekend and be done at least WEDNESDAY!

God I feel like crying, I just want it to be over!