At the beginning of this past week I signed up to work with a personal weight trainer here at my local YMCA.  I had to wait a few days before I started with one since during the holidays they were closed.  So on Friday I called them back, after not hearing anything about setting up a program.  I got to talk to a one of the staff and he said he would be happy to work with me, we’ll call him Jaq (for purposes of protecting the names of the innocent, and keeping with the Cinderella theme, I’ve changed his name ).

I was a little concerned at first that he hadn’t worked with people who had had Gastric Bypass Surgery, but I also took into account that there were others on the staff that we could go to if there was any questions in relation to the surgery and workout programs.  So with all that set up I was to meet him on Saturday at 9 a.m.

My alarm clock went off at 8 a.m. Saturday morning.  I got ready and then headed over to the YMCA, I’m glad it’s not too far of a drive – 10 minutes if there’s any type of traffic at the most.  I check in and then head to the wellness center where Jaq is waiting for me.  I had gotten my old work sheet out from the file cabinets I was using in September and October to give him an idea where I was prior to the surgery.  So we started off doing some paperwork, exchanging phone numbers and also figuring out some exercise classes for me to take.

I was impressed with Jaq, for his admitted lack of experience of working with gastric bypass patients, he sure had read up a lot in less than a day, as well as did his research.  I knew that water exercise is a great activity for gastric bypass patients just after surgery, and that was the first thing he went to in the book of classes.  I’m hitting it right on for the classes, they start the week of January 5th and run until March 20th.  Jaq pointed out that the Deep Water Workout would be a great place to start.  I then asked him if there was any other classes I could do as well, since the water workout was just once a week and just running was starting to get a little monotonous.

We looked through the catalog, he pointed out some other classes, but we finally settled on a basic step class.  I laughed when he pointed this out at first and said “I have no rhythm”, Jaq laughed.  “My Wii Fit says so!”  Jaq laughed a bit more.  I like my Wii Fit, but I don’t like that it tells me I lack rhythm.  Jaq assured me not to worry to much about the lack of rhythm part that it eventually comes.

From there I did 20 minutes on the arc trainer, Jaq showing me some things about the machine I didn’t know before.  So now I have a set way to work on that machine when I come in to do the work out he’s set up for  me.  I need to start out with a warm up on that machine before going into my weight machine work out.  After I warmed up, it was off to do a quick cool down with 2 laps of walking around the indoor track, and then off to do some stretching.  A long time ago, back in high school I ran long distance so I had been doing some stretches but Jaq added more to my repertoire.  Now, it was time for the weight machines.

We started off with legs, moved to back, then to biceps, triceps and finally ending with shoulders.  I learned a few things yesterday, resistance weight training means – don’t bang the weights between repetitions!  I’ve always tried not to bang the weights, but even letting the weights touch quietly breaks the resistance you are introducing to your body to help build and tone muscles.  An ‘ah ha’ moment of my first session.  My second ‘ah ha’ moment was that I didn’t need to do 3 reps of 10 for every machine.  Since different muscles are at different stages and also can respond better to different styles, my workout on the machines is different from one to another.  on some I do 20 reps and that’s it, other 3 reps of 10, others 2 reps of 15.  Thankfully Jaq was kind enought to write this all down.

So after my workout, we went to the front desk to sign up for my classes.  Thankfully for me, both classes we picked out had openings.  One was free, the other (water workout) was a minimal fee.  So on January 6th I start the water workout, on January 9th starts the step workout.  For the first few weeks I’m working with Jaq twice a week Wednesdays and Saturdays, after I’m pretty well set, we’ll go down to meeting 1 time a week.

I’m excited about this, I’m actually going to have an exercise program just for me, that won’t get me bored with it (lots of variety!) and will help me really attain my goal, hopefully with out a lot of saggy skin!

Gastric Bypass Surgery Tip: When your surgeon gives you the o.k., start working with a weight loss trainer or personal trainer at a local gym.  Make sure it isn’t all about the weights, ask them for help in picking out some exercise classes to add into your exercise program!

Each week I’ve been diligent about weighing in weekly on Tuesday and taking weekly pictures. I did do that this past Tuesday, I just didn’t manage to find the time to post them here to the blog until today with all the holiday rushing around. From buying gifts, to decorating my tree (yes, I procrastinated way to long), to wrapping presents (one of my least favorite Christmas tasks) – time just slipped away.

Christmas after Gastric Bypass Surgery, wasn’t as tough as I thought it would be.  For other personal reasons, this holiday was tough for me.  Memories of Christmases past, loved ones who’ve moved on, chances lost, all managed to put things in a different light for me, but all of that for another post.  This year of course is also a year of new beginnings for me, a new lease on life and one to take full advantage of the road in front of me.

I actually thought the puree food period would be the toughest for me, but I’m finding, this soft food period is tough.  There are just some foods that aren’t staying down.  Or I’m eating just way to fast.  I’ve got to really slow down – which I thought I was doing, but obviously not enough.  I know one of my biggest problems was I’d eat too fast.  That all started when I was a teen – working at the mall and only having a 1/2 hour to eat your lunch.   That half hour included fighting the customers in the mall to get your food, then scarfing it down and getting back out onto the floor for the job.

Regardless of that, here’s my Tuesday Weigh In Photos – Weight on 12/23/08 – 244 lbs.!

On Friday I made my way to my surgeon’s office for my 1 month follow up after my gastric bypass surgery. The weather wasn’t so great and my surgeon’s office isn’t exactly around the corner, so I gave myself a little more time than usual to get there. Kind of glad I did because the weather was a mix bag of snow, sleet, freezing rain and rain. I arrived, and lucky for me there wasn’t many other patients in the office today so they took me right back (I like it when that happens!).

They weighed me on their scale (with clothes on of course) and I was at 250 pounds. From the time they weighed me right before surgery I was down 20 pounds which is 15%. Not totally super, but not bad, from what the LPN discussed with me. While I’m excited I’m loosing weight, I’m anxious, perhaps a bit disappointed more didn’t come off this month. She did a run down with me to make sure I’m doing all the things I should, which I am, plus some.

She commented that maybe the “plus some” – meaning me jogging and some situps, might be giving me muscle while also loosing fat and that could be on reason why I didn’t loose more. Muscle weighs more than fat, so it could be while I’m getting stronger it’s building some muscle as the fat is going away. She then asked me about how my clothes are fitting. I told her that when they did the weigh in at 270 pounds, I was wearing my size 22 stretch denim jeans and that today I am wearing my size 18 stretch denim jeans. She smiled and said, that seems just fine, and watch next month you’ll likely loose a lot more than just 20 pounds!

I can only say – I sure hope so!

The other good point about my visit was my blood pressure. The RN came in first and did all my vitals, and asked me all the “any pains, shortness of breath” questions. He took my pulse and then my blood pressure. When he was done with my blood pressure he said “120 over 68″. I blinked, and said… “what did you say”. He laughed and repeated the number and my mouth dropped. My blood pressure hasn’t been that low in about 10 years! Wow!

My surgeon came in for the last part of my 1 month checkup after gastric bypass surgery and looked at everything the RN and LPN recorded. He smiled, and asked me how I was feeling. Told him “Great!” then he said – “Blood pressure is down!” I just smiled and said “That’s the lowest in about 10 years!” From there we did more talking about what I’m currently doing. He did note that I’ll probably start loosing more weight at a faster rate this month (quietly inside I’m hoping this is true). Of course, I asked him about getting my trainer and also about bowling.

Trainer is a “good to go!” situation. Due to the weather though I’m waiting till Monday to head over to the YMCA and purchase my hours. Bowling, they’d like me to wait 2 more weeks, which is just fine since we’re off for both Christmas and New Years (bowling is on Wednesday nights). So all in all, I think it was a good visit. Incisions are all healing just right, I’m on the right path for my diet and exercise. Hopefully my darn metabolism will kick up soon!

I also started soft foods. Let me tell you, I enjoyed every bite of the Chicken in lemon/white wine/garlic sauce that I could eat. 1/2 of a Chicken breast worth. It tasted soooooooooo good! It’s one type of food at a time. The Chicken seems fine, and I also had an omelet, and that went down and stayed down just fine too. Soft foods for about 3 weeks and then I can go back to the unrestricted textures, which means I can add in the raw fruits and veggies. Right now, I’m really craving having a salad, 3 weeks isn’t really all that long to wait, is it?

As fate might have it, last night for a brief while my internet went down.  Having Comcast, I have that triple play deal, so just to check it wasn’t that a line went down somewhere, I turned on my TV.  The Biggest Loser finale was on since NBC was the last station I had my TV when I shut it off on Sunday.  I was intrigued, which I found surprising.

I never watch reality shows, I really don’t like them at all.  But here I was at my desk, watching this show glued to it.  I didn’t even realize that Alison Sweeney from Days of Our Lives was the host!  She’s on her third child now or is that just her 2nd?  Regardless of that, the girl who won, just WOW she lost 111 pounds!  Tiny little thing she is now.  The other guy and other woman who were the two other finalists, they amazed me too!

Now I know they didn’t have gastric bypass surgery, and that I did, but it still is hard work with this surgery.  You can’t just wish this weight off because you have a smaller stomach, if you do that, you’ll be wishing a long time.  You’ve got to put the effort into it just like those contestants did.  You have to follow the regimen your doctor sets out for you.  Follow your water intake closely, take your vitamins, make sure you’re getting enough protein and exercise.

Exercise is the most important part to me.  From the get go in the hospital, I was up and walking around.  I accredit the walking from the outset to how great I felt right after the surgery up until now.  Although I wish I was loosing a little more during this time, I realize its my body’s rate it needs to loose at and everything else that my body’s adjusting to with the changes gastric bypass did to my system.  I have been told the 2nd month after gastric bypass surgery you loose more than you do in the first month.  If that’s true, I’ll be jumping for joy!

What watching the Biggest Loser made me realize, is that if I work as hard and follow a regimen like these contestants did, eventually I’m going to get there.  We just had different tools to get there.  While they had “The Ranch” and those trainers watching their every step as their tool, I have Gastric Bypas Surgery as my tool, and my will power and desire to make myself healthy.

Tip for Today: In weight loss realize you need to utilize the tools allotted to you to your best advantage.  The weight, no matter if you had weight loss surgery or not, doesn’t just come off by sitting on your arse and watching a TV show, its hard work!

So I’m now into my 4th week of recovery after gastric bypass surgery.  Things are progressing rather well, I even managed quiet well traveling while recovering after gastric bypass surgery last week.  I did have to take a few naps, and finding mashed potatoes in the airport was a little tough, but I think I made it through with flying colors.  I couldn’t keep up with my exercise as much as I would have liked though.  One hotel wanted to charge me $25 a day to use their gym and I wasn’t even at the hotel 24 hours!  Thankfully at the next hotel I’m a premiere member so no charge for using the gym there, I’ll have to remember next time I go there I can swim and do laps!

I got home rather late on Thursday and went right to bed.  Friday I started right back up with my twice a day exercising.  I actually felt energized on Friday. I went out to the bar that I sing karaoke at that night and I realized I could have ricotta cheese!  I ordered manacotti, but didn’t eat the pasta, just the tomato sauce (they made their sauce homemade no sugar added) with the ricotta cheese, yum!  There was three shells there, I was lucky to eat 1 and 1/4 before I felt full.

Saturday I was up and at ‘em too early as I had to get to my hometown to get my hair done and visit with my mother.  By the time I made it back I was in desperate need of a nap again, and then it was off to my other hangout for karaoke.  I decided to try on my older pair of jeans that had fit 6 months ago (albeit quite snuggly).  The jeans I was wearing were a 22, these were an 18.  Granted, they are stretch denim, Aura brand from Wrangler.  I put those jeans on and I didn’t even have to suck it in, or lay on my bed to zip them up, wow what a great feeling!

Sunday I was back at it with the exercise, same with Monday and today.  Tonight we were suppose to have our support group meeting, but due to inclimate weather, it was canceled.  Tomorrow is bowling and the Christmas party there.  I’m just going to go up and say hello to my team like I have been for the past 4 weeks, and let them know I might be bowling with them on Sunday (when they plan to do a prebowl for Christmas Eve) if my doctor clears me on Friday.  I’m actually glad that the doctor’s office called and asked to move me from Monday next week to Friday this week, I really do miss bowling!  I’m also hoping that on Friday he says “you can go back to the YMCA, and start working with a trainer”.  I’ve been itching to do this for at least 2 weeks now.

As far as eating goes, I’ve only had 1 incident so far where I had some problems.  I ate to fast.  I got way to cocky, and shoveled down that food and 5 minutes later I knew what I did and I’d be paying for it. About 20 minutes later my food came back to pay me a visit.  That was not fun, and I hope I don’t get too cocky again, as that was not a great experience at all.  These last couple of days on puree are starting to get tougher, Saturday is looking better and better right now, soft foods, here I come!

So since its Tuesday, here’s this week’s weekly weigh in photo, today I weighed in at 251 pounds!

I certainly wouldn’t recommend traveling the first week after gastric bypass surgery.  The second week might be tough too.  This is my third week out and I’m feeling great, if I hadn’t, I would have had to cancel my trip.  Luckily I didn’t and I was able to plan ahead for things I’d need for this trip and to keep up my regimen and follow my puree food diet.  I also had to keep in mind I wasn’t traveling to just one place, I had two stops on this trip.

So the first thing I made sure I had was packets of protein, in different flavors. I bought them right after surgery to make sure that I’d have them for this trip.  I’m really glad I thought to do this, as it turns out it was a good thing to do.  It really helped as I couldn’t order a lot of foods from restaurants or food stands at airports.  It’s really tough to find food stands that serve mash potatoes!

I also made sure to bring along my vitamins, counted out for each day.  I did great with keeping up with them and didn’t miss a beat taking them.

The other thing I did was that I went out and bought a small cooler bag.  In it I stuck my small 6 ounce Greek style yogurts and some baby food – fruits.  I also packed a small Tupperware container of instant mashed potatoes.  I put in some ice, but forgot my frozen gel packs.  In retrospect, the gel packs would have worked much better, as the ice melted and the water eventually did leak out, not too badly though.  When I got to my destination though, I found out I hadn’t closed the lid on the instant mashed potato flakes just right and it spilled over the cooler bag.  So I had a bit of a mess to clean up.

Otherwise this turned out to be a decent way to make sure I ate what I needed to and got the protein I needed.  The hotels have ice, if they didn’t have a fridge, so I could keep the yogurt cold enough so not to spoil.  I added protein to the yogurt to boost that protein intake up.  I also used the protein that is like chicken soup a day or two for lunch, and added the protein to my walmart sugar free drink mixes to make sure I was keeping up with the 60-70 grams of protein needed each day.

I do have to say one thing about my trip, it was such a relief to get on the planes, sit in the seat and not totally fill them and not to have to totally use all of the length of the seat belt!  I was smiling to myself and silently cheering, I was so happy and it will only get better from here on out!  I had a goal, to be 255 or under by the time I stepped on that plane on Monday, and I was 254.4, that brought a huge smile to my face too.

Some of my friends did notice I’ve dropped some weight and remarked about it, I was surprised by that.  I just told them I had some ulcer surgery, and I am on a limited diet, just to avoid having all types of questions thrown my way that I’m just not ready to answer yet.

Tips for traveling if you are recovering from gastric bypass surgery:

1.  buy a cooler bag, use the freezer gel packs (Rubbermaid makes some you can cut and make fit)
2.  get smaller sized Greek style yogurts to bring along
3.  make instant mashed potatoes to take along, don’t take along the potato flakes
4.  if you use ice, tie it in a bag and place at the bottom of the cooler
5.  Buy protein travel/office packs to take along and mix with your food to make sure you get enough protien (take along a small funnel to make it easy to put in water bottles)

I was hoping to get up a  post before I left on travel last week, but unfortunately due to time and other obligations as well as lack of internet hookup where I was, it just didn’t happen.  So I’ll recount my last week in this post and then talk about traveling while recovering from Gastric ByPass Surgery in the next post, followed by this week’s photo updates.

So  last week was interesting, I’m in the puree stage of recovery and eating foods.  I’ve been trying different things pureed because to be quiet honest, baby food sucks.  Just really not that appetizing.  So since my nutritionist has told me that as long as the food is pureed I could try some different things, I’ve been doing that.  I love my Magic Bullet, this is really a great little appliance, it really has made dealing with the puree stage not so “bland”.

I’ve experimented with chicken tenderloins, cooking them up and then letting them simmer for a bit in a tomatoes, garlic and onion mixture so the chicken absorbs some of that flavor.  I then pop that into the magic bullet.  I can’t eat all of it, so I save half for the next day.  I’ve been experimenting too with the tomatoes, sometimes I use the garlic and basil mixture which has a slightly different flavor.  This is a delightfully tasteful meal believe it or not, even pureed.  It is also low in fat and pretty high in protein.

Next comes eggs!  I actually am using the egg beater type of eggs from my local grocery store.  I cook up two of those till they are done, i add a little bit of cheese and then when its all cooked together, I pop that into the magic bullet too.  I really thought that was going to be gross tasting, but it actually reminded me more of the texture of a deviled egg mixture (which I love too).

I’ve been making Yogurt smoothies as well.  With the Yogurt smoothie, I take pure pineapple juice that I got in the organic section of my local grocery store, then I add a scoop of vanilla protein powder, a few ice cubes, 1/2 a banana, and a few berries – blueberries, cranberries (ones without seeds), and then about 4 to 6 oz of regular (unflavored) Greek Style Yogurt.  Again, these all get popped into the magic bullet and whipped into a liquid.  It’s actually quite yummy and with the added protein powder and the higher protein from the Greek Style Yogurt, its nutritious too.

For my exercise I’ve been keeping with my walking twice a day as much as possible (traveling did make this tough to do).  I did find myself a little be worn out a lot quicker than normal, but I expected that to be the case since I am still recovering from weight loss surgery.  But I’ve come a long way since I’ve started, I’m burning close to 300 calories a work out, which I’m happy with.  I really feel like I’m ready to take my workouts up a level, but I have to wait for my doctor’s clearance on the 22nd to do that.  I’m feeling stronger each day, which I think is a great sign that I’m making progress.

So here are my pictures for this week (3rd week after surgery) – I took them the morning before I flew, at which time I weighed 254.4!

So yesterday was my first post gastric bypass surgery visit with my surgeon’s office.  I didn’t have to go in 1 week after surgery since they removed my drain the day I went home (Saturday 11/22), so I was fortunate in that case.  I’ve been functioning a lot better without that drain in – at least I think I have!

It was an unusually long wait to see the one nurse who was conducting my follow up, but eventually she came in.  What was also unexpected was that my surgeon actually came in to see me – he was impressed with me, said “what a change!”, seeing that on November 3rd I weighed in at 285 (with clothes on), on Monday I weighed in there at 269 (with clothes on).  He asked me how I was feeling and what I was doing – he smiled really big when I told him I was walking, not just once a day but twice.

The nurse then went on with my checkup, asking me all types of questions, and I told her “I’m a total dork”, she laughed and asked why I said that.  “I track everything in an excel spreadsheet!  Water, Food, Walking, Vitamins and my Weight.”  She smiled and said, that’s not being a dork, that’s being smart!  Regardless, it helps me keep track that I’m getting the protein, water and vitamins I need.

I also got to ask my nutrionist about my craving for Cheese!  Oh Cheese how I love thee!  LOL

She told me I could melt some and put it in with my potatoes.  Just make sure its low fat, and it doesn’t become like a hard ball.  Woo hoo! Cheese, yes!  I know, I’m a bit overjoyed, but man have I been craving it.

I also asked her about scrambled eggs.  “As long as they are pureed”.  Well that I was happy to hear.  I bought a Magic Bullet before my gastric bypass surgery, and man this little thing has come in awfully handy!  One of the best $50 I’ve ever spent.

So today I did my normal routines, nothing out of the ordinary.  But today I had some tasty pureed foods!  I tried some baby food over the weekend, and it just wasn’t doing it for me.  Today I had scrambled eggs (for lunch) and put them in the magic bullet.  I also made a yogurt smoothie for breakfast with that little gadget, and for dinner …… I took chicken tenderloins (2 small ones) and cooked them in a small frying pan, I then simmered them in tomatoes, garlic and onions (comes in a can – I used 6 ounces) for about a half an hour.  Oh did that smell good!  Once they were done, into the magic bullet they went.  Pureed and actually eatable.  Tastey and chalk full of protein but not too many calories.

I usually weigh myself after my shower that I take after my 2nd round of walking. So I did just that, but before that I took my weekly pictures.  I was hoping to hit 255 before I have leave town next week for a few days, and it looks like I’ll do just that.  So my scale says 257.2 (without the clothes, btw).  That made me smile.

My tip for this post for Gastric Bypass Surgery – Buy a Magic Bullet, it makes pureeing your food quick and easy and you can make better fresh food, than the baby food in the grocery stores!

My apologies for being so lax, it seems the days have just slipped by me and I found little time to write.  I’m working on freeing that up, but I also don’t want to bore anyone with the same stuff day after day.  So I’ll try to keep to a 2 to 3 time a week update.  Tonight I’ll post this in two posts, the 2nd one will have my weekly photos.

So how’d my week go?  I think it went pretty darn well!

All day though Wednesday I was craving potatoes – odd!  Being still on the liquid phase, Potatoes were out until Saturday – so I stuck it out.

That night before Thanksgiving my friends picked me up to go out to my usual place for Karaoke.  I love Karaoke, I know it sounds cheezy, but once I got over my fear of singing in front of my friends, I was hooked.  So armed with my water bottle and sugar free drink mixes I went off to Karaoke.  It was fun to get out of the house and feel a bit more “normal” than I had in a few days.

Thanksgiving wasn’t so bad for me.  I opted out of any gatherings, so that kept food off of my mind.  The thing about Thanksgiving I love the most, is the casserole my mom makes from the leftovers.  Since my mom went with my sister to their Thanksgiving, it wasn’t such a big thing.  Next year, I’ll get some and savor it just that much more – albeit in much much smaller portions!

I was invited to a few friends houses, I was truly flattered!  Most didn’t know I was having Gastric ByPass Surgery, a few did, but either way it was nice to be invited.  If my mom opts out of Thanksgiving day next year, I’ll have a few invites to pick from.

So my Thanksgiving was spent watching the Spiderwick Chronicles and a football game.  Thankfully my team won.  But for the most part it was a lazy day, spent doing other things that I normally don’t do on Thanksgiving.

Friday I headed out to the other place I go sing Karaoke at.  This place is more of a restaurant, so being around some of the food I thought was going to be tough, but it really wasn’t.  The waitress got me a mug of chicken broth from the chicken soup they make, that was good.  It also managed to keep my mind off of not being able to order from the menu.  When my friend got pizza though, I looked at it, and felt a craving.  I stopped though and really thought about WHAT I was craving.  It wasn’t the pizza, it was the CHEESE!  oooh the cheese – I love cheese!

I knew I was going to see my surgeon on Monday and the nutrionist too, so I figured I could wait to ask her, could I melt cheese and mix it w/ my potatoes?  By that time I’m on puree stage, so I was hoping the answer was yes.

Karaoke was fun, as usual.  Not a lot of people were there so we got to sing a little more than usual.  For the first time in all the time that I can remember my bill for being there was less than $5.  I guess that’s one advantage to being on liquids!

Saturday was my first day of the Puree Stage.  You know what I had – Potatoes!  Oh glorious potatoes!  Instant ones, mind you.  I use chicken broth instead of water, and the higher protein skim milk and some Unjury protein and man, I don’t remember Potatoes tasting so good!  I know, something so small, but it tasted so good!

I had some more fun at the other Karaoke spot I frequent on Saturday night.  This is a bar, so no food to make me drool here.  I did have a few people ask me why I wasn’t drinking my normal beer.  “Ulcers” is my standard answer which usually answers it.  The bartenders at this place are pretty accomodating, too.  I tip them pretty well even for just getting me water.

Sunday was actually pretty busy, I bought a new desktop because my laptop just can’t handle some of my software on it – needed more memory and higher processor.  So Sunday I spent setting that up.

All throughout these days I kept with my regimen of walking twice a day, 20 minutes at a time.  Sunday I bumped up to 25 minutes.  I also added some situps (slow and minimal reps).  Things feel great so I’ll just keep at it!

My best advice for holidays and weight loss surgery of any kind – if you just had it, is to not put yourself in situations where you’ll be tempted.  Staying alone by myself on Thanksgiving was a little lonely, but in the end this time it was the best thing for me.  Christmas I’ll be on soft foods, so that will be a bit different, but I’m not going to insert myself into any cookie baking – that’s for sure!

So today I made it through my 3rd full day home from my gastric bypass surgery.  I have been doing pretty good!  Been keeping track of my water, my vitiamins, food and exercise.

I work at home, so I don’t have a totally strenuous job, so I’ve been doing work.  Found myself a little worn down today so I had to take a nap.  But I got a decent amount of work done.

I find each day I’m feeling a bit better.  I’m finding each day I’m able to do a little more, able to drink a bit more water, and get myself up to more protien.  So I think overall I’m on a good path.

I haven’t weighed myself until today.  To be honest, I didn’t want to feel disappointed when I first came home, I figured I’d be a bit bloated with all those fluids and swelling.  So today I was pleasantly surprised.  So I took my weekly pictures and I’ve got them ready for veiwing.  I don’t see much of a difference, but the clothes did fit a little less tight today!

So.. *drumroll* … I’m at 263.3 pounds!  I keep in my my start point at November 3rd, 2008 was 285, I think I’m on my way.