Karen R.

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I'm feeling pretty pleased.  I just completed another trip to the States.  This time I was in Chicago for a week to attend a conference.  Now it just so happens I'm originally from Chicago.  So I was able to mix a little pleasure with business.  Rather than stay in a hotel, I bunked with my sister and her family. 

I think I'm going to be one of those people who allows themselves a little leeway from time to time.  I know many weight loss surgery patients refuse to eat any white carbs--and more power to them.  Gotta love that will power.  But I've been doing things like having half an English muffin, or a couple of bites of pancake, or even some tortilla chips, and it really hasn't hurt me any.  Now mind you, my portion sizes are rather small, and I certainly don't do this every day (I tend to follow this behavior when I'm away from home, more than any other time).  But it's been working for me, and I think this is the way I'm going to continue.  I just don't see how I could cut these things out entirely and not feel resentful.  A lack of carbs gives you so many fewer options to work with.  As much as possible I stick to gluten free indulgences, but even that's not 100%.  My key is not overdoing it.  So far, so good.

Now that I'm home, I'm back to exercising daily.  I absolutely must hit the 10,000 step benchmark on Fitbit or I am very sad.  That, combined with 500-700 calories a day (most days I hit the sweet spot of 600-650 calories) have kept me on track.  I've lost 10 pounds so far for June.

And I have nearly a week to go!

As I posted on the forum, my scale decided to move this morning.  I was really surprised.  Yesterday was not a red letter day for me.  I had a bit of gastro-intestinal distress yesterday that kept me from getting the exercise I normally would.  Plus, as a result of my tummy trouble, I laid down for a nap mid-afternoon and didn't get up till after eight at night.  All in all, I had the physical activity of an underachieving slug.

Yet I still dropped two pounds.

Yay!

And not only that--the inches are beginning to pile up too.  Since surgery (eight weeks ago tomorrow), I've lost:

• 3" off my bust
• 5" off my waist
• 5.5" off my hips
• 3.5" off my thighs
• 2" off my upper arm

19 inches in all! 

And I haven't even begun to fight!

I can't believe it--I've succumbed.  Not to some forbidden food (or forbidden anything, for that matter).  I've fallen prey to the old "I can't believe I haven't lost anything!" syndrome.

When I got back home last weekend and weighed in on Saturday, I saw I'd lost a pound, dropping my weight to 201.  And that's where I've sat ever since.  I know a week is nothing and I know that if I keep doing what I'm supposed to be doing (which I am), the weight will come off.  But I'm so close to Onderland.  I keep looking at the scale and thinking, 'Come on...move!"

What I am is spoiled.  I'll be eight weeks out on Sunday and until this week, I've never lost less than three pounds in any given week.  This mini-stall might be my body adjusting to the rapid loss (36 pounds in 8 weeks ain't bad), but it might also be my body adding some muscle, which would be a very good thing. 

I've been working out religiously since coming home (something that went on the back burner while I traveled--though I was far more active than I would have been before).  I brought back with me a Fitbit Zip that I'm obsessed over.  I get in 10,000 steps a day easily (one day, I got above 13,000).  My doctor told me to walk or swim, so I'm following instructions.  I walk my dog for a half hour in the morning (with our summers I don't know how much longer I'll be able to sustain that) and then I go to the gym at work and put in 40-45 minutes (depending on how I feel).  That coupled with my usual 600-650 calories a day assures me I'm not gaining weight (thank you, My Fitness Pal).

So I've just gotta hang in there.  I know that.  But why won't my scale move!? 

I flew back in to the Gulf last night.  I'm happy to report I lost a second three pounds during my time in Chicago, which means that even though I was on vacation and away from my routine, I still managed to lose six pounds total.  I'm so pleased by that.  I managed to keep to plan even though I ate out at restaurants and/or catered events a total of eleven times.  Now I just need to get to the store and replenish my supplies!  I brought back some protein friendly pantry items (protein powders and mixes), which should help.

I've been traveling for a week now with five more days to go.  I did close to five days in DC and am currently visiting my family in Chicago.  Being away from routine and my own kitchen has been a revelation.

My surgeon's post-op nutritional plan is a bit loose.  I have the classic clear liquid-full liquid-pureed food-soft food-regular food stages, but the kinds of foods and timeframes for each level are vague.  

For example--I was told to stay on clear liquids for three days.  Or five if I wanted to.  Because I wasn't hungry, I went for the full five. Full liquids were to be for one to two weeks,depending on patient tolerance.  I did two (again--not because I was having problems, but because I thought I should take advantage of my lack of hunger).  Pureed was supposed to be two to four weeks.  I'd planned to go the full four, but when I left the Middle East, I was only two weeks in to that part of my program.  I soon discovered continuing to eat pureed meat, etc. when I wasn't the one preparing the meal, wasn't going to work.

DC was a business trip full of various lunch, dinner, cocktail reception duties, and while I brought my protein powder and shaker as backup, I found myself faced with restaurant/catered food.  A lot.  I muddled through as best I could, choosing protein, some veggies and light carbs (a cracker here, a slice of bread there--both permissible according to my soft food diet plan).  No booze.  But I'm not a big drinker really, so I haven't missed it.  No sweets.

I've lost two pounds since last Sunday.  I plan to weigh in again tomorrow.  I'd love to lose three pounds this week.  We'll see what happens.  I'm pretty proud of myself for figuring out a way to make this work.  Myfitnesspal.com is definitely my friend.

Edited to Add

I lost the third pound.  Success!  I lost three pounds this week, while traveling.  Yay me!

Lost another pound today, which makes me very happy.  Like last week, that means I'm down four pounds.  That's not bad for four weeks out (tomorrow).  I've lost 28 pounds total.  The weight has been dropping off pretty easily.  I worry a bit about the dreaded stall, but it hasn't happened yet.  So I'm trying to tell myself why look for problems when there aren't any.

The inches are coming off too.  I've lost a total of 12 inches since surgery--2 from my bust, 3.5 from my waist (yay!), 3 from my hips (yay, the sequel!), 2.5 from my thighs and 1 from my biceps.  I couldn't be happier.  I can see it when I look in the mirror and feel it in my clothing.  I'm not down a size, per se, because I was straining at most of my size 20 waistbands.  I'm still able to wear them, albeit far more comfortably and I'm happy with the way my size 18s are fitting now (I'd still had some of those I could squeeze into, but many things I'd pushed to the back of my closet).  I'm like a lot of heavier people, in that many of my clothes have elastic waistbands, which hide a multitude of sins.  I'll be very excited when it's time to buy some size 16s.  I don't have any of those in my closet.  But I'm guessing I'm about 10-12 pounds (a month?) away from that.

I'm still struggling with eating though.  I'm truly not hungry.  Today, I didn't eat till noon, which admittedly isn't good (or actually planned--I had a hair appointment this morning and put off eating till afterwards).  I'm going to try meat again tonight.  After last week's disastrous attempt at chicken, I've been very cautious.  Instead, I've been eating beans and split pea soup and various dairy.  But I'm not anywhere near where I should be for protein, so I need to step up.  I've begun drinking my shakes (not too bad) and am trying to be more conscious of what I'm putting in my mouth.  The one area where I'm not falling down is my water.  I love me some aqua fria.  Thank goodness.  I aim for 80 to 100 oz of it a day.

Onederland is in sight.  I can't wait.

Prior to surgery, I was one of those people who almost never felt truly full.  I'd go out with friends and invariably someone would say, "I couldn't eat another bite."  When pressed to have one last slice of pizza or one final bite of dessert, they'd say again, "No, I couldn't.  Seriously.  I'll be sick."

And I would think they were speaking in hyperbole.

Now, I'm finding that's not true.  Not with Pouchy McPouch (aka Ms. Pouch).  I eat a certain amount (often not much at all) and then suddenly even the thought of another bite is enough to make me go running to the bathroom.

Portions in general are a revelation.  According to my plan, I'm supposed to have 90-120 grams or 6-8 tablespoons four times a day.  That's not going to happen.  The last two days (which is when I made the transition to pureed foods), I've only managed two pureed meals, and they're usually around 80 to 90 grams of food each.  I can't even imagine how I'm supposed to double that.

That's one of the things I find confusing.  We're supposed to only eat until we're full, yet what do you do when "full" is on the skimpy side?  I don't want to stretch my pouch or feel ill, but I also want to follow my plan.

This is all a learning experience.

So I started eating yesterday.  While I hadn't had solid foods in three weeks, I wasn't really missing it.  This surgery has completely killed my appetite.  I'm never hungry.  It's gotten to the point where I need to remind myself to eat.  Case in point, it's 7:15pm and I haven't had dinner yet.

Still, after a V-8 breakfast (I had somewhere I needed to be yesterday and didn't trust eating something and then running out the door), I made myself a scrambled egg with parmesan cheese sprinkled in it.  I took it slow and did just fine with it.  Success!

Then for dinner I made ground chicken that I pureed in the blender with some homemade broth.  Um...not so good.  It stayed down, but man, my belly was not happy.  I felt it all night and into the morning.

So I took it easy today.  Had some cottage cheese for breakfast.  Thumbs up!  For lunch I made oatmeal I'd crushed first in the food processor before cooking it.  Ick.  I wound up with that heavy, bloated, nauseous feeling again.  I had to lie down for an hour.

I think I'll have another egg for dinner.

Kilos, that is.  I'm an American who thinks in pounds and ounces, but I live in a metric country.  So when I went out to buy a scale for myself, my only options were those that reported back in kilos.  Now, every morning when I weigh myself, I take that kilos figure and convert it online to pounds.

I went into weight loss surgery at 107.4 kilos (237 pounds).  This morning, when I stepped on the scale, I weighed in at 99.2 kilos (219).  I hit a milestone I didn't even know would matter to me.

Yay!

I'm surprised by how stir crazy I'm getting, being at home.  I haven't been home for even a week yet, and I'm looking for things to do.  I'd originally planned to be away from work for two weeks and then work from home for a couple of weeks.  But instead, I think I'm going back to the office part-time starting next week.  It'll do me good to get out of the house.

Yesterday, I filled my afternoon shopping online.  I found My Bariatric Kitchen and bought a bunch of stuff for when I'm eating food (rather than drinking it).  They have all kinds of different brands--Bariatric Living, Isopure, Bariatric Advantage, etc.--and a great selection of goodies.

I also picked up a Fitbit to keep track of my walking and whatnot.  That's been my main form of exercise and I expect that will continue for the next several months.  I plan to begin working with a personal trainer in August (my doc had told me I could work with weights after three months--but I've giving myself a couple of extra weeks just to be safe.

I've been reading through recipes on the Bariatric Foodie and World According to Eggface sites, and found mention of FlapJacked pancakes.

One of my favorite things to do on the weekends is to have a special kind of breakfast, something a little more elaborate than your usual everyday dine and dash.  So protein high (15 grams per serving!) pancakes sounds like heaven to me.  They had a sample pack, so I decided to purchase that.

And finally--off to the Unjury site, where I bought some of their excellent protein powder.

Why the rush to buy?  I'm going to the U.S. in a month for a week with my family and I need to stock up.  You learn when you live in this region (where I've been for the last two years) that while many U.S. and British brands are available, not all are.  Plus, Bariatric aftercare is kind of a new concept for this part of the world.  So there really aren't the resources here.

Now the trick is to make sure everything fits in my suitcases!  Hopefully I haven't overdone it.