Fat Friday: 33 percent gone!

It’s Friday, and I am drinking my chocolate peanut butter shake for breakfast. It is going to take me a couple of hours to actually finish it, but I will. It is a chocolate instant breakfast, a scoop of chocolate-flavored protein, two tablespoons of peanut butter, and some ice cubes all mixed up. It will get me about 40 grams of my necessary 70 grams of protein today and fill me up for a long time. The 40 grams is also why it will take me a while to drink it even though it is only 20 ounces.

Last Tuesday was the sixth week anniversary since my weight-loss surgery. To mark the moment, I took measurements. I am down 24 inches overall. I measure my calves, thighs, waist, hips, butt and hips, chest, neck and upper arms, so 11 spots all together. I do this every two weeks, and it is nice to see the inches going away.

In addition to the measurements I take every two weeks, I am taking photos every month. The first time was the day before my surgery. I will not be sharing these photos online since I am in a bra and underwear, but I wanted to make sure I really recorded the changes my body is undergoing for my own motivation and records. Maybe next month I will take photos with more clothes on to post online as well.

I have lost 38 pounds, which is 33 percent of my excess weight. My goal weight is 140 pounds, which is 77 pounds away. I keep track of my food intake and weight at myfitnesspal.com, and I should be in Onderland before Halloween.

I saw my doctor, and I am doing great. I am still on a mostly liquid diet, but I am adding stuff. I don’t drink anything caffeinated, carbonated or alcoholic. This doesn’t leave me a lot of options in a restaurant. And yes, I have gone to restaurants. I don’t mention my WLS, and if I have leftovers, I take them home. The first time I went, I had a cup of cream of broccoli soup. I don’t take home soup leftovers.

My doctor didn’t want me to do sit-ups yet because my stomach is still healing. I also am supposed to have weight restrictions with lifting, and I am trying to adhere to those. It isn’t always easy.

This week, I met with the nutritionist. This is the third meeting. I have two more available for some time in the future as I need it. In this third meeting, she discussed how to count protein when eating real food. After the nutrition class, I went to my first support group meeting since my surgery.

One of the requirements of surgery is that I had to attend a support group before my surgery. It is also highly recommended to attend one after your surgery. Studies have showed people who attend the support groups lose more weight. I have not been motivated to attend because it is anywhere from a 45 to 90 minute drive (one way) for me to attend one. Still, I’ve enjoyed the ones I’ve attended. Personally, I prefer the online support group I go to (verticalsleeve.com) and a private facebook group that grew out of one of the face-to-face groups.

I haven’t had any complications from my sleeve surgery. I haven’t had any nausea or vomiting even when I was in the hospital. It has worked so well, and I feel so good. I can’t wait until that Wii fit board weighs me and no longer waits for a long time before saying “That’s obese” in such a cheerful tone. Or goes “oohh” when I step on the board.