I think committing to some form of physical activity if its just a walk in the park. Your motivator is sitting right next to you, your beautiful dog. Walk a mile with your dog everyday and make sure you start off slow pace then work your way into more fast pace. Do it before work which is best for me or after. You really have to take a look at yourself and say what time of day am I really willing to make this happen. I bought some dumb bells and put them on my side under the bed so I never have an excuse not to do some form of exercise. I sit in bed and do arm exercises. You can look up a lot of different ones on line. You would be amazed at how much my muscle tone has improved just by making that adjustment. Or put them some where they are very visible like almost in your way kind of thing so you will use them. Get some leg weights and wear them once you start walking more aggressively. Just a start if you have a specific question don't hesitate to ask. I hope this helped!

Jenipher

I had to give up diet coke and all the same stuff you did. I love bread and french fries etc.

One strategy I am using is My Fitness Pal app. or website. It is free and you can log your food. It has a bar code scanner and it helps me to keep track of all my calories, fat, carbs, protein. Before my surgery I used it and it helped me lose 15lbs. I use it now to tack protein and carbs. It might help with making choices and tracking calories.

The next thing I did was cut my portions by one third. Not half because it seemed to drastic at first. Once I got used to it then another third was not as hard. I also bought small plates and got rid of large plates. Now we all use the small plates. My son has also lost 22 lbs like this and he didn't even notice. (teenagers)

Lastly I made an effort to try new foods. I went to the farmer's market, new places to eat, tried foods that I would never try before because I figured that once I had a very limited capacity I could eat more expensive food beacuse it would be so little a portion that the cost would be minimal. I found lots of new foods. Some are vegan and so good. I love meat but it is easier to eat light after surgery.

One more is that I always carry my snacks or emergency food in my purse. I have some type of protein bar, cheese, yougut or before surgery small packs of almonds, granolla bars, or other walmart snacks that were 100 calories. This helped me stay away from drive through.

I would pick one and try it for a while. Once it is part of your routine add another. Lucky you have time to make changes slowly. I took about a week on each step and it worked. I lost 20 lbs before surgery.

I think that is why my recovery is going well.

K