Protein

Getting the required amount of protein a day is a challenge. My doc wants me to have 50-60 grams a day spread over 3 meals. This doesn't seem like much but when you are eating less than 500 calories and your portions are small it's tough.

Luckily I love eggs, so breakfast is a no brainer. Lunch and dinner are more of an effort. I try to keep varying my meals but I fall into a rut and just grab the cottage cheese or beef jerky.

I'm not caring as much about food, okay, I'm not obsessing about food as much. I do think about sweets and that bothers me. I try to get some blueberries in everyday to help with that craving. My doctor approves of my choice, my nutritionist is not as receptive but I have to treat myself or I will go insane.

3 month Check up

I'm seeing my surgeon on Thursday this week. It's my 3 month check up and I'm looking forward to going over my blood work and showing him my progress. I've been tracking my weight loss from the time I started the process of getting ready for surgery. My weight was 332 in September of last year. By the time I had my surgery on Dec 22nd I'd gotten down to 308. When I left the hospital after surgery I was 314. So I wasn't sure what number I should track from after surgery so I went back to the beginning since that's when I started to change and get healthy. 61 pounds and counting.

One day at a time

I posted on Facebook yesterday that I'd lost 57 pounds. Why post at 57 and not 60? 57 lbs brought me to just 100 lbs over my driver's license weight. I've had my weight listed at 175 forever. I don't even know if it was accurate when it was first issued. My goal is to reach my driver's license weight. My nutritionist and surgeon have a more lofty goal in mind. They feel I can get to a healthy weight of 145 lbs.

I haven't weighed under 150 since jr high school. I've been heavy my whole life. But I feel for the first time, that I have a shot at reaching this. Although last month I had my doubts.

Lots of people think that having WLS is a magic bullet and that the weight will come off with no effort and life will be all sunshine and roses. We (my people, the fatties who are going in for surgery) are told that WLS is just one tool in helping you lose weight. But I went into it with the wish that it was magic and I'd be skinny in no time flat.

I lost weight right after surgery but it wasn't falling off that quickly. Although I was eating between 200 to 400 calories and exercising more than I had in years (face it, I don't think I ever got regular exercise except for chewing) I only lost a few pounds. I knew I was shrinking, my clothes were getting baggy and I was feeling better but the scale was not telling me what I wanted to hear. And I was still obsessing about food. About 10 days ago I started dropping pounds, I've dropped a pound a day. I have been thrilled. I know that I will go through many plateaus during this journey but I hadn't expected to have one right off the bat. I'm hopeful that the weight will continue to drop off.

This morning I got out of bed and noticed that my knees weren't hurting as much as they had even a week ago. I look forward to the small changes as well as the bigger ones. My surgery was not an easy fix but it is helping me. But when it comes down to it, it's me thats in control and it's up to me to make the right choices.