7 Weeks Post Op, down 58 Lbs since starting Opti

Mar 22, 2017

I had a slow weight loss week this week; only down 2.4 Lbs. I'm down 58 Lbs altogether since my pre op diet though, so that's pretty good for 10 weeks (since Opti started).  I think so, anyway; and my doctor is happy with my progress, but when I subtract the 23 Lbs I lost on 3 weeks of Optifast from the 57 Lbs, that's only 34 Lbs in 7 weeks since surgery, and that doesn't seem so good.  I'm so confused.  I count from Opti because as far as I'm concerned, that's when my journey began.  57 Lbs is a lot of weight to lose.  I was 304 when I started, and today am 246.  That's awesome, to me.

My BMI was 52.2 when I started, and now it is 42.4, for a drop of almost 10 points!  That is amazing to me!

I think my weight loss slowed because I'm retaining water; my ankles and feet and fingers are really swollen. I only took 2 water pills in the past week because I was worried about getting dehydrated.  I'll have to up my water pills to at least every other day from now on.  My doctor said to take them every day but I don't bother taking them on days where I struggle to get my water in.

It's weird how some days the water and food goes down so easily, and other days it's such a struggle.  Today I already drank half a 500 ml bottle of water in 40 minutes, and other days it takes me 3 hours to drink that much. 

I did my measurments early, accidentally.  I thought it had been a month since I last did them, but then I found out it's only been 21 days.  Oh well; they're done, lol:

Week 6 weight 248.4     Week 7 Weight  246  Loss of 2.4 Lbs

Measurements March 1st,              March 22,        Loss

Neck                17                          16.5                1.5
Waist               45.5                        44                  1.5
Hips                52.5                        52                    .5   
Bust                51                           48                  3.0
L. Thigh           33                          30                   3.0
L. U. Arm         19                          18.5                 .5
L. Calf              20                          19.5                 .5
L. Ankle           11                          11.5 (water)   + .5
Belly Button      53                          50                   3.0

                              in 21 days:    Total lost, 14.5 inches
                                                  plus .5 gained on ankle
                                                  from water retention.

So, 14.5 inches gone in 21 days is great, and I'm especially happy about the 3 inches each off of my belly and thigh.  I only did one side of my body so my inches lost are quite a bit more than this.

This is just the left side, lol.

My fake fitbit from China finally arrived in the mail, and the steps, distance, and calories burned seem to work great.  I compared it to Google fit and MapMyWalk on my phone and they are very close.  I just need to set the stride better, and I"m not sure how to do that as I don't know what stride is; I"ll have to google it, lol. 

The sleep function either doesn't work or I'm too restless for it to track.  It said I only got 10 minutes of light sleep all night.  To be fair, I do move around a lot, and I got up twice to use the washroom, but still, lol.  I have PTSD and when I had my sleep study the guy said I didn't shut up or stop moving all night, so maybe I'm just not still enough for it to record.  Or maybe it just doesn't work; either way, I'm not concerned as I just got it for the steps function.

I actually like the mapmywalk app on my phone better, as it actually maps my walk. I hope it will work for bike rides too.  I can't wait til the snow is gone so I can ride my bike again.  I miss it.

I'm feeling better and was able to walk a bit outside every day for the past 3 days.  Yesterday there was crazy wind so I couldn't go far without an asthma attack.  The wind was so strong I was walking bent into it and could barely move forward, and i had to hold my hood in place with both hands.  I shouldn't have gone out in that, as I'm still weak from pneumonia.  I think I'll just walk in the mall today if the wind is bad again, although it was nice to get outside again, finally.  The two days before yesterday were lovely, it was mild and sunny and walking outside was just great.

I'm turning into quite the Supernatural fangirl, lol.  I already have a Supernatural shopping bag, with Sam, Dean, and Castiel looking handsome on the front and back.  Then I bought a Supernatural blanket, both items courtesy of a store that's going out of business, so I got amazingly reduced prices.  Then last week I bought the Supernatural coloring book, lol.  It helped to pass the time while I was down with pneumonia. I've been binge watching Supernatural on Netflix too; crazy, lol.

I'm so glad I'm starting to feel better.

I'm enjoying the puree stage so much more than the extended liquid stage, although some days I still have a protein shake for breakfast, as it is easier to make sure i get all my protein in that way.

So far, my favorite pureed meal is roasted chicken.  I take the skin off AFTER it's cooked, and then it's nice and moist, much nicer than boiled chicken, which is too dry.  I puree it with 1 tbsp low sugar ketchup, 1 tbsp brown sugar splenda, and 4 tbsp Skryim yogurt (it's actually Skry yogurt but I always call it Skyrim, after the game, lol). After it's pureed I heat it in the microwave for 60 seconds, then add 3-4 tbsp low cal Rancher's Choice dressing, and all the hot sauce I can manage (0 calories, 0 sugar, 0 carbs, 0 fat!). It tastes JUST like hot wings, and I love it.  I use my mug warmer to keep it hot because it takes me awhile to eat. I can eat half a cup, including all of the sauces and yogurt.  It's quite thin and super moist, but still feels like a meal.  I seem to need my purees thin still.

I also had a pureed stuffed red bell pepper that my Dad made. It was stuffed with ground pork, spices, and mine had a very small amount, about 1 tbsp, of rice (my Mom mixed the meat and forgot to leave it out for me).  I added a quarter cup of Catteli's tomato basil sauce (very low carb, low sugar), and pureed it, then heated it, and yum!  I'm going to have another one today.

I've also tried pureed baby back ribs.  1 rib makes a nice sized meal, once the fat is cut off, it makes about a quarter cup pureed.  I make my low sugar low carb BBQ sauce for it.  I can't eat anything without sauces yet, because it needs the liquid for puree.  Once I can eat regular foods it will be easier to go lower carb because I won't need so many added sauces.  I try to keep my carbs under 50 grams but one day went up to 60. Other days I had less than 30 grams of carbs, so I guess it averages out.

I tried chicken and low fat low carb gravy, but it was too bland. I also tried pureed home made beef vegetable stew, and it was good.

One day I ever tried a baked potato.  I did half of a small one, with some chicken and gravy.  The potato was so good I was worried I'd want it every day, so never had it again, lol.

I haven't tried the Ricotta bake this time around because it gave me so much pain last time I tried it.  I'm sure I'd be OK this time, but I remember that pain and it seems to have put me off it.

I need one more week of purees, then I can move to the soft food stage, next Tuesday!  Woohoo!

2 Comments