That Fat Chick

Things “they” don’t tell you about gastric bypass

That Fat Chick — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 17:42:08 +0000

I read about and researched gastric bypass surgery and the lap band procedure for about five years before I finally had my surgery. I thought I had learned everything there was to know about gastric bypass, but in the eight months since having my surgery, I have found that there are many things — and probably many more things yet undiscovered — to know about gastric bypass surgery.

Drinking water — or any other kind of liquid — too quickly will result in the liquid your stomach pouch, then sloshing back up, causing you to have to vomit vigorously.
You know that icky drop sensation you get in your stomach when you ride a roller coaster? It’s pretty much non-existent. I rode several roller coasters last week, including one with a 220 ft. drop, and they were almost disappointing since that sickening and thrilling sensation wasn’t there.
Hair loss is common after weight loss surgery, but it will continue if you don’t keep your protein intake up.
Speaking of protein, you will get sick of worrying about it. You will also get sick of how the protein shakes taste.
Your sex drive will remain the same. It may even improve, since you’ll feel better and have more self-confidence. Your ability to orgasm, on the other hand, will decrease, due to hormonal imbalances, fluctuations and deficiencies.
You will probably experience body dysmorphia. Despite weighing 200 lbs., you’ll see yourself and act as if you still weigh 300 lbs. You’ll find yourself shopping for a plus size swimsuit, when in reality you just need a regular one in a size XL (true story — this happened to me this summer!!!).
The things you were self-conscious about before won’t bother you now; things that shouldn’t bother you now/never bothered you before will suddenly be a Very Big Deal.

In the literal sense

Getting my protein on

The sweetest place on earth

I’m cold!

That Fat Chick — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 17:44:22 +0000

An unexpected side effect of gastric bypass surgery is not being as tolerant of the cold as I was before. I say “the cold” like I live in the artic, when the truth is I live on the east coast of the United States, and our summer temps are usually in the high 80s and low 90s — and on those especially scalding days, upper 90s, with the occasional 100°+ day.

Right now I’m sitting in our living room wearing a tank top, a t-shirt, and a hoodie. Our ceiling fan is on, the air conditioner is off, and it’s at least 85° outside.

This past winter was brutal to get through. For purely frugal purposes we keep our indoor thermostat set to about 65°, which wasn’t bad at all the last several years. But this past winter? It SUCKED. I was always cold.

I swear, I’m investing in an electric blanket before fall gets here!

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A pang of… something

That Fat Chick — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 19:56:11 +0000

I get asked questions about my gastric bypass surgery all of the time, but what has to be the most common question is, “Do you regret it?” My answer is always swift, absolute, and straight to the point: never. And it’s true. I don’t regret it. Not once I have I ever wished that I continued trying (and failing) to lose weight “the old-fashioned way”. Not once did I wish I tried everything but stopped short of surgery. Even days out of surgery, when I was sore and achy and out of is and going through withdrawal from sugar and carbs, not when I had massive stomach pains that made me think my gallbladder was twisting itself inside out, not when I spent several months vomiting randomly and spontaneously (that has slowed down a lot, thank god). Never ever ever.

I do, however, get pangs of, longing, I guess you would call it. It isn’t regret. It isn’t remorse. It’s just longing. I long to be able to eat an entire hamburger, or an entire hot dog. Not for the quantity, but because it’s frustratingly difficult to get the full “flavor” and “feel” of a delicious piece of barbecued goodness from just a few bites. Last night my husband and the couple we were having dinner with happily wolfed down a hamburger or two, a hot dog or two, and a full earn of corn each. Me? I had about 1/4 of a hamburger patty, no bun, with a sliver of lettuce, tomato and cheese on it. I had two bites of a hot dog — again, no bun — and about half of a small ear of corn. Big contrast there, huh?

The other longing I get for is for MILKSHAKES and SMOOTHIES. But the sugar content prevents me from being able to enjoy them. Heh, a few months ago I was at Panera Bread and mistakenly sucked down just HALF of a mango smoothie in about fifteen minutes. That half of a smoothie had over 60 grams of sugar, which is OVER THREE TIMES THE AMOUNT OF SUGAR I can tolerate in a sitting. I was so sick, I thought I was going to pass out. Or die. Or both. “Little” things can get me into dumping trouble too, like a few licks of the mixing spoon used to whip up brownies for the kids (licked after the mix was poured into the baking pan, obviously). That happened two weeks ago, and mannnnn did I feel shitty afterward.

But besides the longing for more flavor (it’s hard to really “taste” certain foods without eating more than a spoonful or two) and the wistful feelings about milkshakes and smoothies (especially now that it’s summer!), I have no negative feelings/thoughts/consequences to deal with since having gastric bypass surgery. I’m very happy.

Psst… for those interested, I set up a profile with Formspring. Questions are completely anonymous, so feel free to ask away!

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Feel free to ignore this

That Fat Chick — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 19:41:33 +0000

This is a post that is intended for Technorati. H33QQDSENQP6

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Hello ONEderland, are you there? It’s me, that fat chick.

That Fat Chick — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 00:14:03 +0000

ONEderland has been oh-so-close yet oh-so-far-away for nearly a month now. I dance close to 206 and most recently 205, and then jump back up to 207, 208 and even 209. I haven’t gone over 209, which is nice, but dammit, I was really hoping to see 199 or below by now. Weight loss stalls really effing suck!

I hope I’m not overeating. That sounds ridiculous, but lately I have noticed that I’m filling up on food faster. I’m not eating larger quantities or more often, so I don’t know what gives. Maybe it’s because I’m drinking so much water in between. I’d cut back on the water consumption, except that it’s, you know, summer, and staying hydrated when it’s hot is always a good thing.

But believe me, I’m not having a total bitchfest here. I’ve lost 126 lbs. in a year and two months, and 75 of those pounds came off since surgery, so I’m not complaining. I’m counting my blessings, and each and every day I find something new related to my weight loss to marvel at. Most recently being the fact that I am now in a SIZE FOURTEEN HELLO. Fourteen is HUGE (no pun intended), because it means that once I hit a 12, I will no longer be shopping in Fashion Bug’s plus size section. Then I can look REALLY good for any event I’m invited to — a birthday party, Christmas party, baby shower, whatever! AHHH!

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One year and 102 pounds ago.

That Fat Chick — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 18:21:25 +0000

I turned 26 on June 13th, 2010. 26, ugh. That puts me on the other side of 25, which means that I am officially closer to 30 than 20. Ick, ick, ick. But this last year has been a huge one for me, no pun intended.

On my 25th birthday, I weighed 309 lbs.

On my 26th birthday, I weighed 206.8 lbs.

I’m still struggling to get to ONEderland. There is nothing quite so frustrating as being SO CLOSE to having a weight that starts with a 1 instead of a 2. I have been less than ten pounds away from that accomplishment for nearly a month now. I’m telling you, I am the queen of stalls. Water retention, hormonal fluctuations and general weight loss stalls seem to keep me bouncing around in a 3-5 pound range for a few weeks, and then BAM, I’ll drop 5-10 lbs in a matter of days. It’s weird, and nice when the BAM part happens. Speaking of which, I’m due for another BAM soon, so maybe I’ll get to ONEderland before August? I can only hope! In the meantime I’ll keep busy with work — I have my full-time job, plus many freelancing opportunities for baby shower themes articles to keep me busy!

A few weeks ago I registered gastricbypasschick.com. I plan on switching over to it once I hit 185 lbs. According to this BMI chart, I’ll be out of the obese category, and simply labeled as overweight instead. That right there will be an amazing accomplishment, one even more amazing than going from 331 to under 200 to 199 or less. I’ve been classified as obese for at least twelve years, so to break out of that category will be abso-fucking-lutely amazing.

Hello ONEderland, are you there? It’s me, that fat chick.

Post-op things I wasn’t expecting

I’ll update soon, I promise!

Plus size swimsuits: then and now

That Fat Chick — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 17:05:37 +0000

Last year I had a black halter top style swimsuit that I picked up at Fashion Bug. It was a size 26.

This year I’m wearing another black halter top style swimsuit that is very similar in style to the one from last year, except that it is a size 16. Going down five sizes in a year’s time is pretty damn awesome. I’m probably just 20 or so pounds away from a 14, which means that next year I might be in a 10, or even an 8 or even — oh my freaking god — a 6!

I really don’t mind the fact that I still need plus size swimsuits. Going from nearly the max size in plus size swimwear to nearly the smallest size in plus size swimwear has been a hell of an accomplishment.

Time to go for a swim…

Pasta? Yes…. and no.

The old me’s gone, I feel brand new, and if you don’t like it fuck you.

That Fat Chick — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 03:28:17 +0000

For obvious reasons I can really identify with Christina Aguilera’s new song, Not Myself Tonight.

Things I’ve done since surgery (namely in the past month, since I’ve dropped from 331 to under 210, and from a size 28/30 in clothes to 16!):

Danced… in public!
Danced naughtily in public.
Got quite tipsy at a bar twice, and wasn’t afraid to let it be known, haha.
Jumped off of the diving board instead of stepping off of it as discreetly as possible.
Walked out of the community pool (shallow end) instead of feeling like I was shoving my body through the water in order to get out.
Went out in a skirt for no reason other than I wanted to wear it. ABOVE THE KNEE, FYI.
Wore an above-the-knee skirt and heels to a wedding reception and danced my ass off with my husband.
Run around outside with the kids.
Jump off the side of our front steps, instead of walking down the steps.
Had kinky, fun, interestingly-positioned sex… on multiple occasions!
Smiled more.

207.6 as of yesterday, by the way.

Stricture, smichture

The last night

Time to go for a swim…

That Fat Chick — Tue, 25 May 2010 00:39:35 +0000

Our local community pool opens on Friday. I’m very excited about going, but at the same time I’m very anxious about how I’ll look in a swimsuit. I’ve been spending the last month and a half looking at plus size swimwear both online and offline, and I finally settled on a black halter-top style one from Fashion Bug. Actually, what’s really funny is that it’s nearly identical to the suit I had last year, only this one is a size 16 instead of a size 26, and instead of having a gold ring around the fabric in the cleavage area, this one has a cute little twist.

Swimming, swimming, in a swimming pool… I am seriously excited to go swimming! Flab or not, I’m going to jump right in come Friday!

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Blog Advertising Store AKA Paying Post is a scam

That Fat Chick — Mon, 17 May 2010 22:22:55 +0000

Update #1: As of 05/17/2010 at 6:00pm EST Blog Advertising Store AKA Paying Post blocked my home IP address. They also blocked my email address. Too bad they don’t know all of the IP addresses I use (mobile wifi ftw!), and hello multiple email accounts?

I was able to use an alternative wireless network connection to login to my Blog Advertising Store account, take more screenshots of the opps I have taken and have been approved for. I also copied down the URL of every advertiser that is currently working with Blog Advertising Store. I am going to contact them tomorrow to inform them of the shady business they are dealing with, since in the end scammed, pissed off bloggers will yank down their written posts, which will ultimately hurt the advertisers themselves.

Update #2: As of 05/18/2010 at 10:00am EST I have sent all of the advertisers listed in Blog Advertising Store’s aka Paying Post’s Open Opportunities page the following email:

To whom it may concern:

I am writing to give you a head’s up about Blog Advertising Store (http://www.blogadvertisingstore.com) aka Paying Post (http://www.payingpost.com). They have a disturbing trend of not paying bloggers on time, or paying them at all, for opportunities that were written by bloggers and accepted by the company. I, unfortunately, am their latest victim. I am contacting you because as the advertiser, you are the one that is ultimately being hurt by Blog Advertising Store’s despicable behavior. Like other bloggers, I will soon being pulling down the posts I have written for you and other advertisers; therefore you are paying Blog Advertising Store for a service that is not being fulfilled, except temporarily. Furthermore, I am sure that some of the other bloggers that have been scammed by Blog Advertising Store are now not only avoiding them, but you and the other advertisers as well, despite the fact that you personally have done nothing wrong in this situation.

For the good of the blogging community and for your bottom line, I would strongly suggest that you cease doing business with Blog Advertising Store. And since they are not using the money you have paid them to compensate bloggers such as myself, you may also wish to consider contacting them and getting a refund.

FYI, Blog Advertising Store owes me $109 for posts written between January 2009 and February 2010. I have been waiting for payment for over two months now, and two weeks of emails have gone unreturned. Additionally, as of yesterday evening, Blog Advertising Store blocked my home IP address from accessing their website (this was confirmed when friends of mine on other connections were able to access the site; I was also able to access the site using a work IP address), and also blocked my emails (also confirmed when I sent them an email from an alternative address).

Here is a detailed, organized blog post I put together explaining the situation and calling for action from the blogging community: http://www.blogging-girl.com/2010/05/17/blog-advertising-store-aka-paying-post-is-a-scam/

Thank you for taking the time to read my email.

Jenn

Well over a year ago I signed up for Blog Advertising Store, though at that time they were calling themselves Paying Post. Between then and this past February I have written $109.00 worth of opportunities. I followed the instructions on each opportunity, included the required links, wrote relevant, high quality content, and submitted each opportunity on time. Every opportunity that I did was approved, and as of April 2010 I was eligible to receive payment, as my balance had rolled over $100 (that is Blog Advertising Store’s / Paying Post’s minimum payout amount).

Only… I didn’t receive a payment in April. I didn’t receive one in May, either, despite Blog Advertising Store’s / Paying Post’s dashboard stating that I would be paid $109 on May 1st, 2010.

Screenshot of Blog Advertising Store’s / Paying Post’s Account page

Screenshot of Blog Advertising Store’s / Paying Post’s My Posts page

On May 6th, 2010, I sent the following email to support@blogadvertisingstore.com and support@payingpost.com:

To whom it may concern:

As of May 1st, 2010 I was due for a payout of $109.00 to my PayPal account x@jenn.nu. It is now May 6th, 2010 and I have not received anything.

I have been a bit wary completing posts for your company, as in the past I have read some unsavory things about your business practices and the handling of payouts. Please ease my anxieties and compensate me with the money I am rightfully owed. Again, the balance due is $109.00, and my PayPal account is x@jenn.nu.

Thank you very much.

I forwarded the email to them on May 8th, 2010, and again on May 9th, 2010.

As of May 11th, 2010, I still had not received any kind of response, so I sent the following email:

I will continue to email every day until I receive payment. I will continue blogging on multiple blogs about this issue. I will post on Facebook, Flickr, MySpace, Twitter. I will contact the Better Business Bureau. I am also going to contact all of the companies that bloggers have written posts on behalf of in order to let them know that while they are paying you, you are not doing your part in paying your bloggers.

Please, prove to me that you are not the scamming, fraudulent company that the majority of bloggers who have worked with you claim you are. Pay me what is rightfully owed. The balance is $109.00, and my PayPal address is x@jenn.nu.

I forwarded the May 11th email to them on May 12th, May 13th, May 14th, May 15th, May 16th, and May 17th.

Last night I sent the following email:

If I do not receive a payment of $109.00 to x@jenn.nu by 5pm EST tomorrow afternoon, I will be blogging about your company and its scamming practices on the following blogs:

http://www.blogging-girl.com

http://www.heytechgirl.com

http://www.in-my-bag.com

http://www.jenn.nu

http://www.kitty.nu

http://www.mamahood.org

http://www.thatfatchick.com

Additionally, I will be posting about your company on the following forums/public groups:

http://www.payu2blog.com

http://www.lavish.nu

http://www.ning.com (every single product review/paid blogging/mommy blogging community I can find)

Finally, I will be spreading the word on at least a dozen social networks, including:
Facebook, Flickr, MySpace, StumbleUpon, Twitter

Please, take the professional route and pay the money that is RIGHTFULLY OWED TO ME.

I sent yet another email this morning:

I will also be contacting every single company that I have written a post on behalf for through your company, as well as every company I find listed in the open opportunities list.

It is now after 5:00pm EST on May 17th, 2010 — over two months past the date I should have been paid $109 for the opportunities I wrote and had approved by Blog Advertising Store and Paying Post. Interestingly, I suddenly am unable to access blogadvertisingstore.com or payingpost.com, though the few people I asked on AIM reported being able to access it with no problem.

Summary

Blog Advertising Store aka Paying Post is a scam. Do NOT take any of their opportunities, as you will not be paid for the work that you do. Essentially, Blog Advertising Store aka Paying Post and the advertisers that they work with will be getting free advertisement on your blog(s).

Unless I am paid the $109 that Blog Advertising Store aka Paying Post owes me, I will stand firm in my belief that the company is a SCAM. They collect money from advertisers and turn around and provide opportunities to bloggers, only they do NOT hold up their end of the bargain and pay the bloggers for their work.

Spread the word

Spread the word about the SCAMMING COMPANY that Blog Advertising Store aka Paying Post is! Please don’t let them continue to get away with this behavior! We can effectively shut them down by refusing to work for them. With no bloggers to blog about their company and the companies and products of the advertisers they work with, Blog Advertising Store aka Paying Post will eventually go out of business.

If you have a Twitter account, please spread the word by tweeting about this post:
Blog Advertising Store AKA Paying Post is a scam! http://bit.ly/basppscam #paidblogging #scam

P.S. Now I’m going to go calm myself down by picking out some cute personalized baby gifts for a pregnant friend of mine!

I think…

Seven weeks post-op