One Month After

Friday was exactly a month after my surgery, making today a month after I was released from the hospital.  To "celebrate" the former, I had a bunch of appointments at the Weight Center.  The nutrition group kicked off the morning, and I was glad to see many more faces around the table and hear experiences spanning the first three months after surgery.  We learned more about the reasons for the prescribed diet, how our bodies now operate, and more.  One of the things that really stuck out to me is that fat is lighter than fluid and muscle - it just takes up more space.

I also weighed in again and got some perspective on my progress.  As of Friday, I'm down 52 pounds from my peak (since they have been tracking me anyway), over 34 of which have been since my final pre-op appointment.  Last week, I was a bit disappointed with my loss since the previous visit, and while my daily average had increased this time, I still didn't know what to expect.  The conversations with the staff at the Weight Center reassured me: I'm losing at a rate 2 to 8 times as fast as most people do with a basic change to diet and exercise (depends on who you get the rate from - some say 1 or 2 pounds per week, others a half pound per week).  *phew*

I'm still just adding fruits and vegetables to my protein intake.  Once I can handle a certain amount of those things, I'm allowed to add in starches - but do I want to?  Starches/carbohydrates are fuel, and my body will try to burn those first, rather than the fat.  I'm supposed to be gearing up for a somewhat-normal diet, and eventually I will need that external fuel again.  At this point, it's not worth thinking about, since I'm still having trouble eating much.  I had an omelet at a restaurant today and the waitress didn't think I had eaten any of it when I requested a box!

Today was my second experience dining out, the first being Tuesday night when I had a cup of chili.  It's certainly an adventure, but so far it has worked out well.  I'm now that annoying person who asks about the ingredients and food prep before saying all of the things that I want left off or out.  Hahaha...  :)  As far as I'm concerned, doing so politely is definitely worth the opportunities to dine with friends!

With regard to exercise, I did more walking this past week than I had the previous two.  On work days, I've added events to my Outlook calendar for walks, meals, supplements, when to start drinking, etc.  The weekends are still amorphous, so I'm working to make them more regulated.  As far as walks, I didn't do too badly on Saturday, and today went really well.  Steady progress and a positive outlook, one month into my new life.