Day 34 Post-op – Hitting My Stride

Day 34 post-op.  

Max (12/17/19) weight: 305.1
Pre-pre-op (8/28/20) weight: 293.5 
Surgery (9/4/20) weight: 284.3 (-9.2 since pre-op)
Current (10/8/20) weight: 261.6 (-22.7 since surgery, -31.9 since pre-op, -43.5 since max)

I have to say, this picture of me from surgery day is a bit overinflated.  I guess I really was pumped full of fluids at that moment.

My progress continues to go well. I feel like I have cleared most of the hurdles on the post-op diet. I instinctively can tell what I can and cannot eat, and what I will feel like as a result.  I'm sure I'm still breaking some rules, but in very small moderation.

After my prior meeting with the dietitian a few weeks ago, as noted in my previous blog post, I did dial back my food quantities, and I believe that has helped. I still do not experience hunger pangs, and I occasionally will enjoy some flavors that I crave.  For example yesterday, Seth and I went to PDQ restaurant, and I ordered one of their chicken sandwiches and added pimento cheese to it. In the past I would have devoured that entire sandwich along with an order of fries. Yesterday I cut the sandwich, and gave myself 1/3, and was completely satisfied with that.  A few nights ago we went to MOD Pizza, and I ordered a barbecue chicken pizza with cauliflower crust. I ate two pieces of that, and felt overfull and a little queasy in the following hour. So the next day I only had one piece as a leftover for lunch. Live and learn. On a positive note, I have to think a cauliflower crust has got to be a major improvement over a flour crust.

One of the bitter sweet benefits of losing weight is the challenge in finding clothes that fit. I have a vast collection of T-shirts which will serve me well for another 50 or 60 pounds of weight loss, I’m sure. However, pants are another challenge. It took me a while, but I did locate some shorts and jeans in the attic that now fit me and should fit me over the next 10 to 20 pounds of loss.  After that, I guess I’ll go shopping.

I have switched to a capsule for my daily vitamin, instead of the nasty chewable vitamin that I started with. Hopefully that will absorb properly and not be an issue. But that chewable vitamin was disgusting. I’m still walking 4 to 5 days a week, and Lori goes with me sometimes.  Speaking of exercise, I really need to get to the gym and start working on some strength training. It’s on my list.

I finished the real estate class a few weeks ago, and I passed the NC licensing exam on Tuesday of this week. So that is a huge relief off of my shoulders. I will somewhat miss having to study and practice all the exam questions I worked on the last few months. But my break will be short-lived, because I will be taking two of the post licensing classes beginning in November.  I love learning new things.

I need to do some catch-up time with Old Play, as I have neglected that for several months. We have a gig this Saturday night, and then another one on October 24 in our neighborhood (outside).  The last gig we had was during my pre-op liquid diet, on the day that I was going into ketosis! That was a memorable evening, that I hope to never relive!