New Post -- Sorry for the delay.

Well, sorry for not posting for so long, though based on the numbers I haven't disappointed very many of you.

I'm not sure what to tell you except that the surgery continues to be a success.  As of this morning I have crossed the 70lb mark.  I weighed in this morning at 278.9 pounds.  Up to this point I was losing weight at about 4-5 pounds per week, but this week only lost about 2 to 3 pounds.  That may be that I've retained some fluid or maybe I just ate more the past week than I have in the weeks prior to that.

Lots of people have started to notice the weight loss (who knew you had to lose 60lbs before anyone would sit up and take notice?), which is nice to hear.  It is a little awkward when they ask what I'm doing.  I just tell them that I'm on a low-cal diet...which is technically the truth since they never ask what I "did".  Furthermore, I guess in most cases I just don't feel like it's any of their business.  I did this for me and my family and not out of any vanity on my part (let's face it, once all the weight is off, I'll be a thinner bald guy instead of a really fat bald guy) and so I don't feel that I owe anyone any explanations.

That being said, most of my immediate family already knows.  I spent Superbowl Sunday at my brother's house in Wyoming and all of my brothers were there.  My younger brother was the first to notice that I'd lost weight and asked about it.  When he did, the other two noticed it also.  I was pretty forthcoming with them regarding what I had done.  To my surprise, they were all very supportive.  The oldest of the bunch (after me) even said that they'd been increasingly worried about my weight and so they were glad to see me do something about it.

The funniest comment award goes to my wife, however.  As I've noted here before, she's been attempting to take off some extra weight for some time now and has at times gotten quite frustrated with the lack of success.  She hasn't gained weight but it won't come off either.  She said that it didn't really matter that she hadn't gained weight because I had lost so much weight that when she stood next to me it made her look bigger!  Not sure what I can do about that!

The starkest change is in my relationship with food.  Whereas eating was once a source of enjoyment, pleasure and relaxation, now it is a chore.  First of all, I'm still trying to figure out what foods work for me now and which ones don't.  Bread seems to be hard on me which is something the doctor and all the literature suggested would be the case.  It's not that I can't eat it, it's just that it seem to be hard on my system.  I can eat about one hot roll at sunday dinner and that's about it (though I did discover that the hot roll goes down easier if I dip in gravy first!).  I have also discovered that I do much better with foods that have a sauce of some sort with them.  So, I do pretty well with something like Orange Chicken because the chicken they normally use is a darker meat, so it is jucier and the sauce helps it go down, though I can only eat about five or six at a time.  I also do pretty well with tender-type cuts of pork and, for the most part, chicken does okay too.  I haven't really tried a lot of ground beef, though I did order the little "shot" burgers at Chili's one day and while I could only eat one, it went down just fine.

A couple of weeks ago I was watching a program on Discovery Channel that actually talked about bariatric surgery and it was pretty informative.  The one thing they did say is that I should avoid four foods until I get to my target weight: 1) Bread; 2) pasta; 3) rice; 4) potatoes.   Apparently, something about the starches in those foods can hinder weight loss.  Who knew?  The potatoes thing is still a mystery to me because  I once read that potatoes are like 80% water and you eat something like 11lbs of them before you gained a pound.  Still, I have avoided them for the most part . . except on Sunday when I eat a small portion with gravy.  Hey, a guys gotta live.

Interestingly, I have also discovered that I don't tolerate plain water very well.  By that I mean that I can drink it, but it is kind of a chore and it makes me feel oddly bloated. On the other hand, drop a little lemonade mix into it and it goes down quite smoothly.   So, I've purchased some little Crystal Lite packets that I mix with water and that helps quite a lot.  Also, I still drink a lot of the low cal Gatorade that I've mentioned before.

On a related note, I've discovered: I tolerate sweet and sugary foods much better than I do salty foods.  Now, that may sound like a problem, but so far it isn't because I was never a big "sugary" foods eater before.  My problem was always the salty/savory type foods that I couldn't get enough of.  Cheeseburger v. Cheese cake, I take the burger every time.  That being said, I have also discovered that I tolerate chocolate VERY VERY WELL.  In fact, chocolate seems to go down very nicely, which is something that I will have to control in the future.

Beyond that, I don't watch so much what I eat as just how much.  Last Saturday my wife and I went to a little Japanese grill place her that we really enjoy.  The last time I went I ordered the orange chicken (told you it was good) but I had noticed that they have an appetizers menu, so this time I just ordered some breaded shrimp skewers.  When they arrived, they were a little larger than expected, so I was only able to eat two of them.  They rest were consumed for lunch today!  Prior to the surgery, I would have gulped all 5 of them and still been hungry.

That is something else that has changed.  Before, being "full" meant feeling exactly that: loaded up and contentedly uncomfortable.  Now, "full" just means uncomfortable and it's really easy to get to that point.  

So, what is the hardest part so far?  Really, I don't miss food that much.  I still get the tastes and and textures that I loved before, just in much, much smaller portions.  No, the hardest part is two fold: 1) I really struggle with the rate/speed at which I eat.  I never realized how I used to zip through a meal.  Now, I really have to force myself to slow down, an I'm not very good at it, so I note that "full" arrives quickly and it can hurt if I'm not careful.  Making my small portions last requires a real effort.  Second, I miss having a drink w/ my meal, but I'm told that I should not drink 1/2 before and 1/2 after I eat.   That is hard also, and it's probably the rule that I break most often (though I am getting better).

I missed my doctor's appointment for February, so now I need to get in for this month to make sure everything is okay.  The only on-going complication I have the surgery is the numbness in my thighs, which at this point I am almost sure is the result of a pinched nerve somewhere.  The condition has slowly gotten better because for the first month after the surgery, when I would sleep I would occassionally roll over and wake up with a suppressed scream because it felt the very skin of my thighs was literally tearing apart.  Thankfully, that has stopped.  Now, I deal with a low level numbness and a fairly constant muscle pain.  However, I can walk without pain now and that was a real fear for a while because one of the reasons I did this was to be able to go hiking with my kids and now it looks like I can do that.  In fact, I'm quite keen for summer to get here.  Also, as it is now getting warmer, I'd like to go play a round of golf and see how I feel during that activity.

That's it for now.  I'll try to get some updated pictures up soon along with new measurements.