4 Weeks Out & I Feel Fine (mostly)

It has been almost a month since I had gastric bypass surgery and some things have gone well and some things are still a struggle. Last Saturday I weighed in and had lost 56 pounds from my starting total of 521 pounds. Now at 465 pounds, I move better, my feet and legs don’t hurt nearly as much, I feel generally happier most of the time. I also want to be moving more and one of the times I look forward to the most each day is my walk.

When I’m at work, I tend to go for a walk around the perimeter of the campus. I get to see the new construction that’s happening. Spring is well underway here despite it being February. The last couple of days have been in the 80s and trees are showing signs of life, at least the few who lost their leaves. I listen to an MP3 player loaded with some of my favorite songs and walk for a little over 30 minutes at lunch everyday. The perimeter of the campus is about 1.25-1.5 miles and it’s a nice walk.

On weekends I try to walk in my neighborhood. It’s not as easy to do because of the distractions of home life and the requirements on my time. Weekends are busy with running errands and lately Amy has been traveling a lot but that should change soon. We did get to the zoo a couple of weeks ago and that was a good walk. I should try to take Elizabeth more often because I think she really enjoys it too. My typical walk is about a 1.5 miles through our neighborhood. It’s less interesting than the walk at work mainly because about a third of the houses in our neighborhood are in foreclosure. Our neighborhood is not very lively right now.

The hard part right now is still food and surprisingly the hardest part is eating enough. I still do not have any appetite. The nutritionist says I should be consuming between 800-1100 calories a day and most days I’m lucky if I can consume 400. I measure my food into 2 ounce servings and eat 3 times a day most days. The protein shakes and other liquids are another challenge. The protein shakes taste fine when I mix them fresh and they are cold but they tend to upset my stomach. I have only been consuming about 8 ounces a day when I should be consuming about 24 ounces. That would add a couple hundred calories to my daily intake if I can get to that point. And other liquids are just hard to keep up with because of the quantity. My water and sugar-free drink intake should be between 64-96 ounces a day. That means I spend most of my day with a bottle in my mouth so that I can get the minimum amount of liquid each day. It also means I feel full all the time which makes me not want to eat. It’s a nasty cycle to get into.

Most of my mental energy outside of work is spent trying to wrap my head around all of these changes. It’s not always easy and I find myself getting angry once or twice a week. I know that is has everything to do with me and I try not to make anyone else suffer. Trying distractions like painting models and reading have not been working lately because I feel like I need to be more active. I definitely have a sense of restlessness. After Amy has her surgery and is feeling better we may have to spend more time being active. We probably should just for the operations to be successful but I also want to which I haven’t felt since my early 20s. I feel younger just for what weight I’ve lost already. I hope it continues.

It's Finally Done... & It Begins

On January 29th, 2009 I finally had my gastric bypass surgery. I was in a lot of pain that day and for a couple of days after but then things got better quick. 6 days after the surgery I was walking about 2 miles a day over 2-3 sessions throughout the day. A week after the surgery I walked 2 miles in one shot but that was too much and I got dehydrated and ended up in bed for the afternoon. I just can't drink enough water yet to offset that much sweating.

Which brings me to the 2nd part of the header. I knew the surgery was going to be a radical change for my diet and I read and studied everything I could get my hands on but it doesn't sink in until you are looking at a 2 oz serving. A 4 oz yogurt is breakfast for 2 days. I can't finish 1 large egg scrambled. I'm nowhere near consuming the 64-96 oz of water or 70 g of protein that are my daily goals. And I'm never hungry. I skip meals simply because the idea of eating the 2 oz makes me sick. This should get better over time but I'm afraid of slipping into malnutrition. I do take 4 chewable vitamins most days and probably get about 30-35 g of protein a day.

My doctor seems happy with everything. 12 days after my surgery I had lost 41 lbs and felt great. 3 weeks after my surgery I'm back at work and things are falling into a routine. I walk 1-1.5 miles at lunch around the campus. I need to punch more holes in my belt because I'm on the last hole. My wife wants to get new pants for me but I'm holding off until I make a significant change in the weight because I don't want to have to buy new pants every month.

I am excited to see what I will look like in 6 months and a year from now. I am also looking forward to being able to fit into theatre seats and in the rides at Disneyland. I hope to be able to keep up with my daughter and enjoy more time with her at the park and doing more physical things which she enjoys. She loves to run, jump, and play and that's been hard for me. It's been a hard change but it should get easier and it will definitely be worth it.