andreasimmons
Progress
Apr 22, 2009
Well, Monday will be 6 weeks since my surgery already....I can't believe it! Time crawled until I had it, and now it is flying now that it is over. I had my 1 month check up at Dr. Verseman's office and everything is great. I am on my Fourth week back to work without any problems. I have been working out at the gym pretty regularly....I had our trainer, John give me a free weight routine for my arms. I would love to be able to wear something sleeveless or a tank top this summer.I am down about 35 pounds....I did have a 2 pound weight gain this week...I have no idea how that can be as I am eating less in a day then I did at one meal prior to surgery. I know the body does funny things when it doesn't get the food it is used to. I am not going to get upset as I have read on the boards that that is a normal part of this whole process. I have decided NOT to buy a scale as I know I would be on it non stop. Instead, I have decided to weigh myself once a week on Sunday at the gym. Hopefully Sunday will find me with a nice loss and this "stall" will be over. I know I am making an effort to do what I need to, so I know it will come off. I put on a pair of jeans today I bought quite a while ago assuming they would fit me (they didn't). They have been in my closet for quite sometime. Today I wore them. So I know that I am making progress.
I have decided that this is a full time job. The vitamins alone are an all day affair to get down. I bought a pill box thing where each day comes apart. Each morning I put that day in my purse and work all day at getting them all down. I guess I am vitamin D deficient so that is one more I have to take. Then there is the challenge of getting the water in. Sometimes I do, and sometimes I don't. I work at it everyday though. And then there is the protein. I do pretty good most days. I do try to have at least one Nectar protein drink each day. I like the "Roadside Lemonade" flavor and just ordered some "Crystal Sky". I got so sick of milk based drinks during the pre and immediate post op phase that the Nectar is a welcome change. It has 23gm of protein per scoop. Not too bad...no carbs and only 90 calories.
I have had a few incidences of food getting stuck..always when I am eating too fast. I am working on breaking a life time habit of eating very quickly. I have never had such an uncomfortable feeling as I do when that food gets stuck. Feels like a golf ball in my chest. I have learned the warning signs finally and try to slow down at every meal. Old habits are very hard to break.
Today my surgery buddies Elaine and Marci and I went to the Salvation Army because in honor of earth day all clothing was half off. We had a lot of fun buying smaller sizes and also buying clothes we hope to wear this summer. I got two bags of clothes and two pairs of shoes for $34.00. Not too bad. Could have spent that on one pair of pants at a regular store.
I feel great and would have this surgery over again in a minute. I love being the person who can only eat a half a slice of pizza and not the girl who hates herself after eating 4-5 pieces. Marci and I were talking about that at lunch today. We split an entree at Appleby's and had food to take home. Imagine that...before surgery I would have eaten the whole thing myself. The changes in my diet and in my attitude are amazing. I am actually looking forward to the summer, not dreading it and wondering how I can come up with yet another excuse so I don't have to go to South Haven when my husbands whole family goes.
