My one-month bandiversary passed on June 21st and I didn't get a chance to write about it in my blog.  So here it is, a few days late.

I last weighed on June 19th, the morning we left for vacation.  I was down 29.6 lbs.  I can hardly believe it, because I feel like I don't have a band most of the time.  But maybe just following band rules helped (just in larger portions).  Now as far as maintaining that while I'm on this 2-week+ vacation, time will tell!  I was at my niece's wedding reception this past Saturday, and I was good with everything except the cake.  There was an entire tier of it left, which we brought back to my brother's house, and needless to say I didn't stop at the one piece from the reception.  Reckon why it is that I can't eat bread but I can easily eat cake?  That's just wrong!  : )  But to tell the truth, I am not stressing about any of it while I'm on vacation.  I will be "good" for 80% of the time, and when I get home an get my first fill, I will get down to business again.

Reflecting on changes I've gone through since starting my 2-week preop diet a little more than 6 weeks ago, I have lost nearly 30 pounds, gone from pants size 24 to a loose 22, blouses from size 3x to 2x, lost 3" inches from my waist, and 2.5" from my hips.  I need to shop for new bras, the ones I last bought slide up my back because they're too loose, even on the tighest hook.  (I look forward to having droopy drawers too, but my biggest "ass"et isn't small enough for that to happen yet.)  I can cross my legs now, and because I've been walking at least 5 days a week I can walk longer and faster without giving out and can "scale" hilly walkways without feeling like I'm going to fall out.  (I actually look forward to my walks, they're good for my body AND my mind.)  My BMI is down to 44, and I really look forward to being below 40 so I'm no longer considered "morbidly obese".

I still feel a bit like a "poser" because I don't feel like I have a band at all until I get something stuck from eating too quickly, or discovering something new that I realize will be on my "no no list" from now on, but I'm happy with what I've accomplished so far.

I'm off now to enjoy more of my relaxing vacation, and as one of my OH friends put it, enjoy those dense proteins that I might not be able to manage after my fill!  : )  (I'm here in the midwest for the duration of my vacation, where the beef is plentiful!)

Let me begin by saying that yesterday my dr. cleared me for eating solid food, anything I can "cut with a knife" as long as it's tender and not too dry, including beef tenderloin, pork, chicken, etc..  I have tolerated everything very well this past week and really feel like I have no restriction.

Well, now I know that just because you don't feel as though you have any restriction, doesn't mean you don't!  I sat down to dinner, with a piece of very tender pork tenderloin (thanks to the hubs), creamy rice, and cooked carrots.  Looked and smelled divine.  Took about three bites (one bite of each, chewing well) and all of a sudden I had this clenching sensation in my chest that radiated up into my throat in hard pulses.  It hurt like hell.  Then I started burping like a croaking bullfrog.  My son kept saying "are you alright?"... and I nodded yes, telling him something just didn't go down quite right.  I excused myself from the table and went out on the porch where I continued to loudly burp, almost panicing at the pain in my chest.  And then when I burped something would come up that was very reminiscent of that bad cold I had back in February.  It happened like 3 or 4 times and was completely involuntary (glad I went outside!)   Eww... what the hell was THAT?!?  Is that what they call "sliming"? 

So much for being cocky and thinking I can eat whatever I want, if I want.  I don't know if I didn't chew something well enough, or swallowed too much at once, or what.  But I'd sure like to know, cause I don't want that happening again anytime soon!

If anyone is reading this and has experience with what I've described, could you please leave a comment and let me know if I should do anything special - like only liquids for a while or whatever?

Thank you!


Update:  Out of nothing more than sheer hunger I tried a few more bites of dinner.  Carrots?  check  Porkloin?  check  Rice?  Uh.... NO!  Got that feeling in my chest again after one small bite, chewed to a bloody pulp.  So, rice is now on the no-no list!! 

My 2-week post-op anniversary doesn't really click over til tomorrow, but since the Dr. was unavailable tomorrow, I went in for my follow-up visit this afternoon.

I'm doing great now.  Unfortunately I'm also feeling hungry now!  I've been making what I believe are wise choices, and logging every bite into thedailyplate.com, but I need to work this plan out so that I'm not as hungry (and I'm not just talking in-between meals, I'm talking 10 seconds after my meal is done...).  The dr. told me to throw the yogurt out the window, I should only be eating solid, dense food right now.  Something that needs to be cut with a knife into little squares.  Nothing soft.  (Boy how things have changed from last week!)  String cheese is ok, but a couple ounces of baked chicken is better.

We talked about my first fill, and he said I should make an appointment to come back in two weeks.  I mentioned that I was leaving that week for a 2 1/2 week vacation (which I think my son is about to screw up for us anyway by having to go to summer school... but that's a different story altogether!).  He said that we would need to wait, then, until after I get back.  Yikes, that is kinda scarey.  Right now I can literally eat anything, and could eat as much of it as I want.  I have been very diligent not to eat more than a cup full at a time, as he recommended, but I know that I could easily eat more than that.  I feel like I don't have any restriction at all.  I expressed my anxiety to the dr. and he told me "this is a marathon, not a sprint.  You may not lose any weight in the coming weeks until your fill, but don't let that get you down".  Yeah, right.  In my mind I'm thinking, that's a least 10 lbs. I could get out of the way during that time!   It's funny how depressing it is to me right now to hear my weight loss dr. telling me not to worry about losing any weight in the next month.   I told him I know it's silly but in my mind I'm afraid of this 20+ lb. loss coming back on during that month!  Which I know is ridiculous, unless I start pigging out on babyback ribs and cheesecake.  (does sound kinda good though, huh?  lol)  So I think what I need to do is to just suck it up and follow Weight Watchers Core diet plan.  I've done well on that in the past, though I didn't ever maintain the loss.   But for the coming month, it should help me through at least without gaining.  In fact I might accidentally lose a few lbs.

And speaking of lbs.... I weighed in at the dr. and again the minute I got home, just to check my scales compared to his.  For the second time, mine weigh 5 lbs. heavy.  So, I'm going to record my weight on my scales tomorrow morning, less 5 lbs., as my official weight for my 2-week anniversary.  (Especially since my weight this evening was 3.5 lbs. heavier than it was this morning - I'm sure not using that!  LOL)  That means' I've lost 24 lbs since starting my preop diet, and 26 since first meeting with the nutritionist. 

So, that's about it for my 2 week post-op story.   I'm feeling fine and several people (even ones who don't know I"ve had surgery) have commented that they can tell I've lost weight.  I like that!  I can tell too, my pants are all baggy and I bought a couple new tops in 2X instead of 3X and they fit perfectly.  Yeaa!