Well as of yesterday it’s been five weeks since my surgery and all is well. I am seeing major changes in my body which is extremely exciting. My range of motion is so much better. It’s amazing how much that inner tube of fat around your mid section gets in the way. And my bip (also know as the butt-hip, the never ending hip, the shelf, or the ghetto booty) is almost normal. I’m pretty sure no one has ever had a bip like mine. I could balance a glass of Dom Perignon on my bip and walked around the block without having to worry about it crashing to the ground. Sure, it would have sloshed around a lot, but it would have been secure on that protrusion of fat that could have easily seconded as a dining room table. Now it’s more like a nightstand and for now, I’m okay with that.

The rest of me is getting smaller too. I can’t tell you how good it feels to be on the downswing. There have been a few times in my life when I’ve lost some weight, but nothing like this, this is different. I guess because it’s happening quickly. Well that and I’ve never lost THIS MUCH at one time before. I’m officially down 40lbs from December 1st. That’s pretty damned amazing. I actually hadn’t really thought about that until just now. (Excuse me while I go do a happy dance…)

Okay. Whew!

Now that I’m in my fifth week my diet is no longer restricted. I am free to make my own choices and that is a relief! The only time I struggled during the restricted phase was during the “liquids only”. It only lasted one week, the week of my surgery, but by the fourth day I was STARVING. That pretty much sucked. But other than that it’s been smooth sailing. The only thing I’ve really had trouble eating are scrambled eggs- which are supposed to be a staple in the post diet– Leave it to me to be the opposite of the norm. I’ve been very fortunate to have not gotten “sick”, but the few times that I’ve tried to eat eggs have hurt. Like bad. They feel like they get stuck and the base of my esophagus and just sit there, turning into nails that dig at my abdominal cavity. It’s really pretty awful. But I’ve found that if I get up and walk around it subsides pretty quickly. I’ve also found that if I just avoid eggs it doesn’t happen at all. 🙂 (Though there’s bound to be something else that will do the same thing- so it’s good to know for future reference)

So what do I eat? Well, The last few days it’s been fruit smoothies in the morning- which let me tell you…are the best damned thing that’s happened since, you guessed it, sliced bread. Every morning I wake up hungry AND thirsty but I have to choose between food or drink because I can’t have both at the same time and, in fact, have to wait 30 minutes between the two. So a fruit smoothie satisfies both. Heaven sent I tell you, heaven sent. So fruit smoothie in the morning, or protein hot chocolate made with coffee…yum! For lunch I was eating left overs but this week, now that I’m not longer restricted and am tolerating them well, it’s CUCUMBERS and hummus with piece of salami and provolone and wedge of laughing cow or a fresh mozzarella ball. YUM!

It’s funny what I can eat and what I can’t eat. And what goes down easy and what doesn’t. Sometimes I eat three bites and I’m done, other times I can eat four inches of cucumber, 2tbs of hummus, salami and three kinds of cheese. Weird. Eating slow is certainly key and most of the time I’m really good about it, but every once in a while I forget to chew my food to liquid and swallow too soon. Then I have to burp and burp and burp and burp and burp. Fortunately I’m a champion burper, always have been (I was actually worried that I wouldn’t be able to burp after the surgery) which makes getting through some tough situations much easier…or at least quicker.

BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURP!

I guess that’s it for now. I’ll try to post some before and now pics soon. If you’re half as curious as I am then we’ll all be thrilled!

Like those who have gone before me, having this surgery was the best decision I’ve ever made.