Back to Reality

I'm back to work tomorrow - today I am officially two weeks post-op! I'm ready to go back, actually. I miss my buddies, miss interacting with folks, etc. It would be fun to be independently wealthy and get to travel and spend money when you have time off. But if you're not loaded with disposable income - you may as well work. :)

It will be interesting, because although I do feel great, I do also get tired. Heck, I just had surgery two weeks ago! But more than that - I'm only taking in a few hundred calories a day. No wonder I get tired! I should be fine, though. My job is total office work, and I can get up and walk around, go to SBUX, etc. whenever I want.

Today was a good day. I tried eating a couple different things that didn't agree with me at all. This morning, I made the kids omelets, so I scrambled myself up about two ounces of egg. I only ate a couple bites - it sat in my belly like lead. Yuck. Maybe next time I'll try egg whites, instead.

This afternoon, I ate about 1/2 of a string cheese. Same reaction. Yuck! Just got into my tummy and felt awful. Thankfully, this feeling passes pretty quickly! But it is really unpleasant.

So, my experimentation with food so far has resulted in these "good" items: cottage cheese, turkey deli meat sliced ultra-thin, Wendy's chili. (I had that one on Saturday, actually, following my weight loss support group - the subject of the chili came up and was resoundingly recommended as easy on the tummy, filling, and tasty. Had to try it myself.) Refried beans are iffy. I've tried them a couple times since surgery (diluted with broth to a gruel-like consistency). They sit *okay* in my tummy. Not great.

Bad: string cheese, eggs. I haven't tried much else.

For my food tomorrow, I'm packing two two-ounce containers of cottage cheese and two ounces of turkey meat. I'll bring along a protein shake, too. Bottled water. I've been drinking iced tea from SBUX - I pre-negotiated this diet staple with my surgeon, haha. I don't drink coffee, I don't drink much pop, and won't following surgery, at least for the foreseeable future. But I like my iced tea (sweetened with two Equals) and I don't want to give it up. He was fine with that.

It's interesting. It's amazing how little interest food holds for me now. I'm not hungry - I know I have to get my liquids and proteins in, but I'm neither hungry nor thirsty. I still totally enjoy watching the Food Network - I love cooking shows. :) But I just don't have much interest. I'm feeling good, keeping busy, working on liquids slowly all day.

In the evening, I am battling a bit of the boredom/eating that has plagued my life. I just feel like I *should* eat. I'm using this disinterest in food as a time to totally re-train my brain. What if the disinterest is temporary? I'm trying to teach myself now, then, to finish up my food for the day and be DONE. Instead, I'm chatting with the kiddos, finding ways to distract myself. Like I said, right now it's not hard - I just don't want to eat. I just want to be very, very successful with the sleeve and my new way of life.

Speaking of success - I'm not losing any weight. This is frustrating, but not tremendously so. I'm not eating, therefore the weight has no choice but to ultimately come off. I did take a couple quick measurements today, though. Since the day before surgery: THREE INCHES off my waist, an INCH off my upper arm, nearly an inch off my calf, etc. Clearly, even if the weight is stuck for some reason, my body is changing! It's all good.

Today I shopped for a cute return-to-work outfit, but I ended up only buying a couple pair of earrings. I found a pair of jeans that were a size 20 - they fit great and looked great and I was soooo tempted to get them! But they were about eight inches too LONG and I just didn't feel like getting them altered. Being 5'2" has its challenges! I have my Divorce Day jeans which fit fine (although I already need a belt) and another pair of jeans that are too snug to get into right now, but *just*. There will be plenty of new clothes in my future. :)

And finally - I did take the boys up the YMCA and walked on the treadmill for twenty minutes. I'm thinking of some work out goals and a way to track them here on the blog. My big challenge will be working out when I'm back to work. It is *difficult* to get three kids wrangled through dinner, homework, working out and other evening requirements. Plus, I am a stickler for an early bedtime. My crew goes to bed by 8:30 p.m. That leaves us with evenings that are only two hours or so - I generally pick the boys up from daycare at 5:45 p.m.

It will all work out. I think once we're in a good routine, I'll find a bit more flexibility in our schedule. Right now I'm not too worried about anything: I'm feeling good, things are moving forward, I'm feeling very optimistic and excited about the future!