New Blog Title

This blog originated as a way to document my Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy surgery on 12/12/12. Back then I was a single 22 year old living with my Mom and working at my first "grown up job" at a Credit Union's headquarters. I exclusively posted on my little blog about my surgery and struggles after surgery. About 6 months ago I became really involved in reading other great blogs and found the uselfulness of keeping a family blog for pictures, recipes and life events. Now I am 24, married and working at a fabulous non-profit doing exactly what I wanted to do "when I grew up." So with that I am converting this blog into a family blog for Tony and I. I will still post about my surgery but now there will be other fun posts about life. Our new Blog name is "Two Tall Mexican Bookends." Tony is almost 6'4" and I am 5'9" and the reaction we always get from people is we are going to have big babies and we look like bookends. So there you have it! I hope you stick around :)

My Teammate

Decided I would post on my humble little blog. I had tried not to post until I lost more weight. Unfortunately, not only have I not lost weight, but I have gained some! I am terrified of stepping on the scale and I need to get back to basics and eating a high protein, fiber packed, water hydrated diet.

 

But not all is bad. I wed the love of my life on May 16, 2014. since then I have enjoying newlywed bliss while still adjusting to the natural changes that come with marriage. I have learned so much about myself since marrying that I didn't know. My wonderful husband has been there through it all and I am so incredibly blessed to have somebody as patient and loving as him by my side.

 

Since I married, there have been tears. Tears of happiness and tears of missing my family, especially my Momma. I never realized how much my Mom babied me growing up until I married and realized I miss her so much. My mom struggles being a single mom and raising my little sister and it makes me sad not to be with her everyday to feel like I can make her feel better if she's ever sad. Nevertheless, my mom is a strong woman and she still does well for herself.

 

Now.. the wedding. My wedding day was a day I will never forget. I committed myself to my Tony for better or for worse and not a single day goes by that I am not filled with confirmation that I made the best choice for me and for us to marry him. Sometimes at night when he falls asleep and he's so peaceful I can't help but smile and kiss his cheek because my heart is so big and I love him so much. We wed in a simple ceremony at City Hall. I fought back tears as I had to say my vows to him after hearing him say he would be with me for better or for worse until death due us part. I get chills just thinking!

 

Here a couple pics (his ring was too tight by the actual wedding day so he took it off right after the ceremony)...

We held a small reception in my Mom's backyard. There was chicken mole, rice and tortillas. We're true Mexicans! His Aunt made the mole and his mom made the rice :) We held our reception the Saturday after the wedding. A lot of family and friends were there and we got the most awesome gifts. We were married on a Friday and had the ceremony Saturday. Friday night, our wedding night, we went to stay at a cute little inn on the coast. We binged watched "Locked Up" and ate Round Table Pizza. We truly are huge nerds.

 

My stud muffin works a crazy 4 AM to 12 noon shift. So when I get home from work he's there waiting for me. Our evenings consist of dinner, going on hikes or the gym and watching Netflix. Currently we are (well 75% me and 25% him) obsessed with "Orange is the New Black." He wasn't able to get me addicted to "The Walking Dead" Every weekend since we got married has been crazy busy too!

 

Love this man. We are both in the process of trying to lose a few pounds because we totally packed on a few pounds in the few months leading to our wedding.

 

Thanks for stopping by! Until Next Time,

~Mely

24

I just turned 24 two days ago on February 17th and I truly feel like I get better with age! My sleeve has helped me start enjoying life and savoring things and experiences I didn't before.

I have maintained a slow but steady weight loss of about 5 pounds per month. I know that most people expect bariatric patients to lose like crazy but it's just not that way when you are a year out. I have learned that I will always be a curvy girl but I will be healthy! I can run on a treadmill now and do stairmaster and lift weights and feel strong!

I also eat what I want in moderation. I still indulge in things like good bread, chocolate, croissants (Gasp!), steak, full fat dairy and cheese but I am mindful of keeping my intake of the following foods high: lean protein, water, fruits, veggies and other sources of protein and fiber such as oatmeal, eggs, cheese, and whole grain sandwich thins! One of the things I have learned on my dieting/surgery journey is that it's important to still eat whole foods that you love and make you feel satisfied and not nasty. For that reason I stay away from processed foods, fast food (although I am a sucker for Taco Bell, always will be) and soda.

My birthday celebration was wonderful. I am so lucky to have the amazing people in my life that I do. I have an incredibly supportive family that is there for me at all times. I have a strong (emotionally as well as physically) boyfriend that loves me the way I am even when I am being a complete weirdo and saying random things as well as being a little overly enthusiastic and easily amused. I love him because he is so different than me and really balances me out yet at the same time is so much like me and shares my same values and ideals. I also have an incredible set of friends who I know I will be friends with for years and years to come.

The Sunday before my birthday I had a nice little celebration with friends and family at my house... I didn't get as many pics as I wanted of that but here am I with the boyfriend (Can you tell I was having a good time, it was fun!)

Then the actual Monday of my birthday we went to the California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. WOW! That place is so amazing! Here are some pics of that...

 

 

 

I've, also taken up juicing... Did you know Beets are such an all around beneficial super food?!

I have been trying to work out at least 4 times a week and do high intensity cardio and running. Here I am post-bike workout at the gym.

Now if I could just get stay away from my Kryptonite food I could finish losing those last 30!

Until next time,

Mely