And In This Corner, Weighing In At......

.....Well honestly I'm not ready to say how much I weigh on this blog yet but someday I swear I will. It will make your jaw drop.

Here's some of what's been going on since my last post a week ago.

Wednesday, Nov 23, I had my one week follow up appointment with the doctor. I got some staples removed and of course weighed me. I was down 18 pounds in a week! It was wonderful! I pretty much felt like crap but the weight loss made it worth it. I was also down a total of 27 since June 10, when I had my initial consultation with the surgeon.

I was "promoted" to the next food level which allows me to add reduced fat creamed soups and drinkable yogurt to my food plan. Truth be told I really wanted a tuna fish sandwich!

Thursday, Nov. 24-Thanksgiving. I wasn't really worried about Thanksgiving because I felt like I could have some soup and maybe some runny mashed potatoes and feel fine. That's pretty much what I did. It did fill me up and I didn't feel like I was missing out on too much. I wasn't hungry in the way I would have been prior to surgery. I did have a couple of bites of moist turkey which satisfied me. I was a little nervous about how it would make my tummy feel but all was well.

Friday brought a new challenge because I REALLY wanted something to chew. I had some tomato soup for lunch and added 3 Cheese-It crackers. NOT the best idea. It didn't bother me at all, except in my brain because I knew I shouldn't really have crackers. I figured it couldn't be all that bad since it was all soggy and mushy from the soup. I resolved that Saturday I would not add any extras to my food plan.

On Saturday I needed to go to the grocery store. I hardly eat a thing but the rest of my family needs to eat. I have been tracking my calorie intake and I'm basically surviving on any where from 300 to 500 calories. It's not a great way to sustain yourself when you have much to do. So basically I almost passed out at Walmart because by 3 in the afternoon I'd managed to get water in but also only about 4 ounces of a protein shake so that was only about 75 calories for the day. Walking around Walmart, pushing a cart and shopping pretty much did me in. Luckily my husband was there, took me to find a seat, gave me some applesauce and I waited for him to finish.

It was an interesting phenomena to be in Walmart surrounded by food but not really have the desire to want to buy something to eat it. Nothing really sounds that great except for tuna fish!

I joined a group online called Obesity Help and have found a lot of people in the same circumstances as I am. It is a great resource to have and a great way to feel supported by people who KNOW what I'm going through.

One thing I've found is that EVERY single surgeon out there has their own idea of how to "graduate" food levels. There are some people who are eating soft foods within 4 days of surgery. My surgeon, however, seems to be very conservative. His plan is for you to be on liquids for a week, then for the next two weeks to be on modified liquids with the soups and yogurt added in and then at week 4 to add soft meats, cheeses, etc.

Well....one of the gals I met on the site had surgery the same day I did and she's been eating ALL kinds of stuff including eggs. I REALLY wanted something savory. The protein shake, sweet drinks, water, broth thing gets old REAL fast. So I made myself an egg on Sunday night. NOT the best idea I've ever had! That thing just sat on my stomach and made me feel terrible. I was up until 2 a.m. drinking water trying to get it down and out of my tummy. Lesson learned.

I go back to the doctor on Friday to have the rest of the staples removed. I've lost another 3 pounds since being there last week so the losing has slowed down significantly. It can be a little discouraging because I'm like, "Geeze, if I'm only eating like 500 calories a day and I can't lose more weight than this is it going to be worth it?" But I have read a lot and talked to a lot of people and I'm assured that my body is just adjusting and that I'll start losing more again.

Non Scale Victories- I put away my summer clothes NEVER to wear them again. I will donate them to the local clothes closet in the spring when they want summery clothes. It felt wonderful to say, "it's all too big!"

I also go out my winter clothes and all of my jeans from last year are already too big. I'll just have to wear baggy clothes for now. I'll have to get a couple of slacks at the new year for sure! Whoot!