1 Month (Weeks 3 and 4)

Weigh-In Week 3


Highest Weight: 320lbs
Weight Before Surgery: 311 lbs (-9lbs)
Previous Week: 293.8 lbs  (-17.2 lbs)
Weigh In: 289lbs (-4.8 lbs)
Total Lost: 31lbs
Total Lost Since Surgery: 22lbs

Weigh-In Week 4:

Highest Weight: 320lbs
Weight Before Surgery: 311 lbs (-9lbs)
Previous Week: 289 lbs  (-31 lbs)
Weigh In: 287lbs (-2 lbs)
Total Lost: 33lbs
Total Lost Since Surgery: 24lbs

Before Surgery:

1 Month:

 The Holidays were pretty hectic.

I am still taking my anti-nausea meds as the nausea hasn't let up. I am still taking gas-x. The burps and gas get pretty bad sometimes and walking doesn't always relieve it all.

I tried a new protein shake, Premier. But I have to pour it into a cup because if I smell the carton, I'd start dry heaving. I still wasn't wild about shakes. It didn't seem to fill me up like solids.

I noticed the acid reflux was getting worse. It was so bad that I would wake up at night, coughing and choking upchuck from my stomach. It was gross and made me wheezy. It bothered me with certain foods. Even when I was just sitting up it felt as though I had fire in my throat. I felt like I was turning into a dragon! (Okay, maybe I was watching too much television...)

We called the surgeon's office and they suggested propping the head of the bed up on books. The next day was noticeably better. My reflux meds changed as well. Obviously the Omeprazole wasn't working anymore. I started taking Pepcid and Tums. I was nervous about taking the Tums as it contains calcium carbonate, which can cause kidney stones in DSers sometimes. I also started some mini saltine crackers. They had carbs (11g carbs per 17 crackers) but helped with the reflux a lot, especially in the morning. My husband was known to get into them as well. :)

I slow cooked some hot dogs this week. The smell was intoxicating and I devoured what I could...which was only a few bites. My husband finished off the rest. I tried a slice of bacon but it was too thick for me so I didn't finish it. I got brave and ate the skin off the chicken. It tasted really good. I wondered why I hadn't tried it sooner. My husband brought home a rotissere chicken and I guess I didn't realize how hungry I was. I had my hands in there, when I was supposed to be cutting it, and eating bits and pieces from every angle. I didn't wait to put it on the plate. I felt like a wild beast! The solid food tasted wonderful.

I had also started my vitamins. My surgeon's office only had me on three different ones so far: multi, calcium, and D. I didn't know if I should be taking more or not yet but I stuck with it. My multi one smelled, which made the nausea worse.

My mind hadn't caught up to the weight loss yet, either. I still felt like the same me but was able to do more and that I hadn't lost much weight. But my clothes were fitting differently. I got to take 3 extenders off of my bra and the straps were falling down. I was excited for them to shrink. To me they have always been too big.

But I still was having a little bit of buyers remorse. On the one hand I was happy I was getting healthy but on the other, waking up just sometimes sucked. Seeing all of the food ads made me want a normal stomach for a day. And going to visit people for a food outing was difficult when they didn't have many options that weren't carby. It was depressing.

I knew I had to push on. Happiness is a direction, not a place. I was moving in the right direction, I just had to make it through this rough patch to get there first.