Time to Update

Its been a while since my last blog and its time to fill you in. I am now down to 217 lbs!!! I am so happy! Also my BMI is down to 33 :-D I am working out and getting really excited about our performance of Urinetown. If your in the Savannah area between July 16-Aug 2 please come and see us at The Freight Station. Its going to be great. Also, in 4 days Markus and I will be celebrating our 1 Year Anniversary. We are both very happy and excited that we have 1 year under our belt and many more to come. Next adventure? Hmmm not sure at the moment but I leave everything in Gods hands. Hope to see you all at Urinetown!

Your-In-Town!!!

I am very happy and proud to announce that my husband auditioned for his first play/musical, and he was given a part! Oh and I'm going to be in it as well :-) Markus and I are both going to be performing in Urinetown with 'The Little Theatre of Savannah'. My dear husband will be playing Robby the Stockfish and I will be Senator Fipp. I am very excited and we are both having so much fun. Oh and the reason the title of this blog is "Your-in-town" is because we were talking at rehearsal about what we can call the play without it sounding so bad and someone said "Your-in-town", so there you go.
Ok I suppose its time to give a weight loss update. Since the last time I blogged I have lost another 10 pounds. I stopped checking my weight everyday so I wasn't sure if I had lost any weight. My pants are very lose but they still fit. Today Markus and I were at Verizon Wireless and I just about lost my pants. Thank goodness I was able to grab them in time before a very embarrassing situation happened. But, because I just about lost my pants I checked my weight and I was 10 more pounds down. I am now 8 pounds less that what my driver license says. I am a very very happy woman. Well I suppose I will post more when I know more.

PS

The new season of Army Wives is FABULOUS and the new season of Pushing Daisies is SPECTACULAR. Also, if you live in Savannah you MUST go to Masato of Japan off of Abercorn St by the Oglethorpe Mall.

PSS

Make sure to see Markus and I in Urinetown on July 16, 17, 18, 19, 23, 24, 25, 26, 30, 31 and August 1 and 2. If you want more information send me a email at armywifeberg@yahoo.com. Hope to see you all there!!!

Back To Life

It has been 1 month and 6 days since I had my surgery and I feel GREAT! I am almost completely back to normal except I have to be very carefully I dont lift anything to heavy because it really hurts my side. But other than that I'm great. I finally have the engergy to work out and I'm even starting to audition again...lets see what happens. So here is a headshot of a slimmer April Berg.

2 Weeks Later and Doing GREAT

My surgery was 2 weeks ago and I am starting to feel a lot better. Since I can only eat about 1 oz at a time I have to change my eating habits drastically. I have to make sure that I take 20 minutes to eat 1 to 1 1/2 oz of food. First I have to eat protein then followed by vegetables or fruit. I also have to chew each little bite about 30 times. I'm not allowed to drink during my meals and I have to wait an hour afterwards before I can even take a sip of something liquid. When I drink I need to take tiny sips. Even though I'm eating such small amounts of food it really does fill me up. If I eat or drink just a little to much I am sick for hours. So I have to be very careful because the feeling is not "Oh I ate to much, I'll be careful next time" its "wow I'm so sick I cant stand it, I feel like my heart is beating out of my chest". But all this pain will pass once I learn how to eat carefully. Me getting sick is just my body telling me I put to much in my stomach.

If you are considering having weight loss surgery you have to be ready to make a life change. This surgery is not a "quick fix". This is NOT the easy way out. Not only do you have to change everything you are used to eating, you have to change your exercise routine as well. You have to exercise or your not going to achieve the weight loss you want to see. This is the hardest thing I have ever done and I am thankful for it. I am still healing so I'm in the "what was I thinking" stage. But I know in about 2 more weeks I am going to feel back to normal and then I will really be able to see all the good this surgery is doing. So far I have lost an additional 20 pounds and I am now down to 242. The last time I was 242 I was 16 years old and I lied on my licence and said I was 235. I am very excited that I am only 7 pounds away from the weight on my licence and it actually being the truth. I know that for me this was the right chose. I could not have gotten down 40 pounds on my own and I am so happy to see my progress. I just cant wait to see what the next months will bring and to see how my body will change.

Note: The picture above was taken the morning of my surgery. I will be taking my next picture on May 28th. Keep an eye out for it.

Markus recorded this 20 minutes before I went into surgery.



Of course this is me after I have come to my room shortly after surgery.

PS

I just want to say 'Thank You' to all the people that prayed for me and came to see me. Thank you for your letters and your phone calls. Thank you so much Mama "Peggy" Berg, both my parents, Catrina, Katie and members of IPC for coming to visit me.

4 Days Away

Me at my heaviest 282 pounds

I am currently 4 days away from my Gastric Bypass surgery. The past week and a half has been very difficult on this liquid diet. Its hard when you get hungry to instead of reaching for a sandwich to have to drink a protein shake. Sure it keeps you strong and you get all the nutrients you need, but I didn't realize how nice it was to be able to pick out what I want to eat and enjoy it. When I get hungry I drink an protein shake, have jell-o or I can drink water. That's not a lot of variety, and your choices get boring very quickly. BUT I have been sticking too it and have been filling my days with cleaning the house instead of thinking about what I'm going to make my husband for dinner. One of the great things that has come out of this is that I have already lost 20 pounds. Unfortunately, from the time of my first appointment and the start of my liquid diet I had gained 6 pounds. I shot back up to my heaviest weight, 282. I am now 262 and even though I have dropped 20 pounds and people have said to me "see you can lose the weight why don't you just cancel your surgery?" I cant! I noticed that I lost about 3 pounds a day when I started the diet but now I am lucky if I lose 1 pound every 3 days. The weight loss slows down and it eventually stops. I cant live on a liquid diet the rest of my life. So I am going to continue with my plans for the surgery.

I had my past doctors appointment yesterday and they said all my lab tests came back great. This is really it. I am finally going to have weight loss surgery. My husband tells me I should start buying smaller clothes when I see them all sale, but I cant. I cannot convince myself to buy smaller clothes to get ready for my post-op weight because in a way I don't feel like I deserve those clothes yet. So I am going to wait until my clothes are falling off, and then I will have to go shopping with my girl Catrina.

I just want the next 4 days to fly by so I can get closer to my surgery. I cant wait to start healing and see the results of hard work. I am still working out and I'm actually starting to really enjoy it. Well, I suppose the next time I'll be writing is after my surgery. Please keep me in your prayers. See you all then!

Everything Changes in April

I am so excited I now know when I am going to be having surgery. Markus and I received a call yesterday when we were on our way back to Savannah from Cumming, and we were told that April 28th was my day! The only bad thing is that I did not get a change to eat my favorite things before I have to say goodbye to them. But I think for me that was perfect, because it doesn't have me craving anything. I suppose its kind of perfect...April is having surgery in April. I'm really excited and I just want these next two weeks to fly by. I started my two week diet today and its not been that bad, but it does make you very tired. They say the first 3 days are the worst and then it gets better. I had my last preop class today so I am officially ready for surgery. I'm really excited but I'm also scared. Actually, when I was on the phone with the doctors office I was getting very sick to my stomach. This is a BIG DEAL! Its going to be completely different. I just pray that everything goes well and that there are no complications. Please keep me in your prayers.

Almost There!

I am very excited to say that I am currently waiting for a call from my doctor, Dr. Whipple, with my surgery date. I have been approved with my insurance for my surgery, I have my letter of medical necessity and my clearance for surgery all signed. I also had my appointment with the psychiatrist Dr. Whipple has us see before he will agree to perform the surgery. She told me she does not see why I should not have the surgery, because I'm mentally sound...enough, and that she will tell him that I should have it. The only things left to do is have an Upper GI to make sure there is nothing wrong with my stomach and get my results back from my H Pylori test. I have been working hard to get ready. Markus and I had our bikes fixed and we have been riding around like crazy. So far I can go 10 miles without hurting too badly. I love riding my bike. I make sure to ride it at least 3 miles everyday. Also, I am working out at the gym. I am very blessed to have such a great support team down here. There is my darling husband Markus who has NEVER judged me about my weight and is standing behind me 100%, my girlfriend and personal trainer Katie Simmons and her Husband Travis. I cant believe that I am so close. That is actually why I am still up, I am just so excited. I cant wait to start being able to live. Here are pictures of Katie before and after her Gastric Bypass. She truly is an inspiration.

Before: 250 Pounds After: 120 Pounds

130 Pounds GONE. Thats a Backstreet Boy!