Buh-BYE, Twenty Pounds!

It's official: I've lost 20 pounds from my highest weight at my surgical consult in October.

YAYYYYYYY!

I'm so happy about that. My clothes are a little looser, and my foot pain has gotten much, much better. My plantar fasciitis had become a real problem, I limped every time I stood up and getting out of bed in the morning was brutal. I'm thrilled it's so much better, and I'm sure it's mostly because I've lost those pounds. (BTW, I've lost 7 pounds since surgery on Monday, so most of the weight was before surgery.)

This afternoon I cleaned out my closet. All my maternity clothes are packed up and ready to donate, and all the clothes that were too beat up are in the garbage. Now I know what's in my closet - some of it fits, most of it doesn't. I am looking forward to getting back into the lovely things I've grown out of over the last several years.

My mom and husband left for Florida and San Francisco earlier today. I was sad to say goodbye. I felt so cared for and so loved when they were here taking care of me. The hubs will be back on Thursday, but I won't see my mom until April. I just hope the next time I see her she'll really be able to tell that I've lost some weight. My mom and sister are both very, very slim (neither weighs more than 110 pounds) and they have been my biggest cheerleaders. They're the BEST!

One more week of liquids...

QUESTION FOR VETERANS: What was your favorite full liquid?

Recovery Continues

I'm feeling better every day, just working on stamina now. I've focused on getting as much sleep as possible this week to keep the healing moving along. Just like Vanessa over at Dinnerland , I still have intermittent left shoulder pain, and my port incision is sore particularly when I bend over or twist in certain ways. It also tends to hurt when my baby kicks it. Go figure.

I spent a lot of time yesterday reading Sally's blog, which is a FANTASTIC resource for anyone who wants a comprehensive view of a successful lap-band experience. (Thanks Cara for pointing me there.) There are so many great blogs from people who share their experiences, and Sally's is excellent.

Reading about everyone's experiences has been an important part of my recovery from surgery. When I am sooooo tired of broth or thin soup it's great to hear about the delicious meals everyone is enjoying. It helps me remember that the liquids phase isn't forever. I love hearing that banders often don't miss the foods they don't have anymore, it's comforting when I'm craving a burger even though I'm not physically hungry.

The scale continues to move in the right direction, for which I am grateful. Sally strongly recommended daily journaling, which is sort of what I've been using this blog for. But I haven't been using the journal as a food diary, so I guess I should get moving on that.

I start full liquids tomorrow, although truth be told I've had a few in the last few days. Protein shakes are more palatable to me than the clear Isopure drinks, and the nutritionist gave me the OK on those. Last night for dinner I had V8 roasted red pepper soup that I thinned out a bit with some chicken stock.

I'm in a decent routine now - I have a mug of decaf Twinings Lady Grey tea when I wake up, followed by a protein shake an hour or so later. Lunch is some kind of soup (yesterday it was the broth from matzo ball soup at a diner with my mom and all three kids), another protein shake midafternoon and soup for dinner. Then maybe some jello, and sips of water through the day.

My mom heads back to Florida in a few hours, and the hubs leaves later this afternoon for a business trip to San Francisco. I'll have some help here but it won't be the luxuriousness I had this week. Ah well, I enjoyed it while it lasted!

Tomorrow night I'm going to the hospital's bariatric support group. Hoping it'll be helpful, I'll let you know.

QUESTION FOR VETERANS: What was your favorite full liquid? And does Cream of Wheat count? I emailed my nutritionist but haven't heard back yet.

Hope you're all well!