ObesityHelp

I'm a grandmother looking forward to a second chance for health and fitness. My surgery is scheduled for Monday, May 24. I plan to be dancing and hiking a year from now!

May 28: I'm home, sore, healing daily. Bored, restless, hard to stay focused on getting much done, so mostly just hanging out, reading, watching tv.

May 30: Sat up without noticing today--a first! After days of liquids, had a mango-banana smoothie (yum!), met friends in park to practice walking. Good to get out!

June 3: 15 pounds off! Stitches out today, I hate having to wear this band, but Dr. A says to keep it on for two more weeks. I still am not hungry and much prefer liquids, so am adding protein powder to Smoothies, eating yogurt, V-8 juice, Bought chewable vitamins today; stopped crushing pills and tablets.

June 7: I do more each day, but still feel flattened some of the time. Read and watch tv. Boring. Went out for air Saturday and Sunday, saw friends. They notice weight loss. It's easier to walk. I didn't mention earlier that because of arthritis (knees, hip, back) I use an electric mobility scooter to get around, So walking more is a big deal. My back aches a lot. I got a book on tofu and am using it a lot for protein. V-V-8 juice, mashed potatoes and veggies, and fruit smoothies are the bulk of my diet.

July 4: After weeks of feeling nauseous and wobbly, my internist has changed my meds, and suddenly I feel like a human being again--just in time to leave on a long-planned trip to attend the International Eistedfad in Llangollen, Wales--a week-long music and folk dancing festival.

July 15: The Eistedfad was wonderful beyond my expectations. Lots of opportunity to rest and enjoy music coming from every part of the quaint ancient village on the River Dee. It was like a week living in The Sound of Music! Food was trial and error the whole time, but it would be at home, too. I rested for a part of each day. The Welsh are so genuinely friendly and caring; the entire effort (2000 singers from all over the world) is planned and implemented by volunteers who were the greatest hosts I could ever imagine. I never would have dared go if I hadn't lost 30 pounds. I was able to use my electric mobility cart to go anywhere I wanted. My travel companions were so supportive! The joke became that every day they looked more tired and haggard while I had improved from the day before. What a great venue for convalescing and coddling myself!

July 27: Weight loss is slow compared to most people, as I rarely walk more than a few feet in my apartment. For the next three months, my focus will be on working at the fitness center with my new personal trainer. I'm doing aerobics, weights,mat and circuit training every other day and water-dancing in between. Still have down days but they're not nearly so frequent. I really feel fortunate to have this much time off from work. I'm loving my life!