Well, I have had lots to say since the day I started talking but never put it in writing before. This should be interesting. Too bad I have to type it all out -I'd rather just talk into the mic like I do with texts on my iPhone!

Ok - 6 weeks out of surgery...

Week 1, down 7 now THAT's what I'm talking about!! (290)

Week 2, down 6 Oh I got this... so easy! (284)

Week 3, down 6, More food choices and it's still dropping away. Finally under 283 - that hump from hell I couldn't pass on my own! (279)

Week 4, down 2, Hmm, well ok, not great but still a loss. (277)

Week 5, down NOTHING! OMG!! Nada, Nyet, Rien!!! how can this be? How can the famous 3-4 month honeymoon phase be over already? I knew this was too good to be true. I'll probably wake up tomorrow and have gained 30 pounds! WTH! Ok, now really bummed. Am I really sticking to the program or do I just think I am? Maybe it's a fluke. Bad scale at gym... It did just get fixed so maybe it's way off. Hope so.

Week 6, down NOTHING! Ok now wait a darn minute. Depending on the scale, even gained 2! Although it seems like I'm taking in less than 800 calories a day, I think I need to be even more vigilant. Maybe it's what I'm eating. No more pudding and small pieces of bread. Maybe it's not about what I can tolerate as the doc says, but making better choices? In the first months you're supposed to lose almost no matter what you eat since you're eating so little. Maybe my body is used to the smaller amounts because of my pre-surgery diet and so there's not much impact.

Ok, I'm not giving up, I'm getting tough (and mad) at this fat. IT IS GOING!! So for the last 10 days I have had virtually no simple carbs and no sweets. Nothing but protein shakes, cottage cheese, yogurt, cheese stick here and there, and mainly fish with a few veggies. Also did some research on the rules and why they are as such... seems I was taking a few for granted, like the "no drinking with or 30 mins after a meal". Now I realize it's to keep you full longer as well as not wash the nutrients away before they're digested. Good to know. Also, protein and heavier, thicker things stay in the stomach longer than say... all the soup I was eating, so those food should keep me full longer.

I have noticed that I get hungry more often, obviously because my stomach empties more quickly. I like the protein shakes but I'm hungry not to long afterward. Hmmm. Need to get with Katie, the nutritionist to make sure I'm doing things right. Eating about 6 times a day but small and full of protein. With -315 or so from the gym, my calorie count is about 500-600 a day. So, why the hell am I not losing?

Theories - Maybe my body is used to the smaller amounts because of my pre-surgery diet and so there's not much impact.

My body is in shock form the quick 19 pounds loss and is hording the calories fearing starvation?

According to Ruth you always gain a pound or two before you lose a big amount.

Rather than steady decline, it's a step like scenario, and I'll catch up with a big loss soon?

800 is too low, shoot for higher or your body thinks it's starving.

There are apparently many posts on this 4-6 week stall - happens to lots of people so I feel a little better about that. If I stay very much on track, then the laws of physics should apply soon. They have to. In the meantime, it is sure disheartening. I even cried. Feeling like the whole thing was pointless if I have to struggle so hard already. Really, it's the same damn policing work since now I'm going for 800 instead of 1,200. I was hoping that it would be simpler... not such a fight. I knew I'd have to eat well, but I thought I'd have no more hunger pains pulling at me. I thought the sleeve would make it easier to stay within the calorie count of 1,200. I chose 800 to speed things up and make the most out of the first year of tremendous weight loss, since I have so far to go.

I wanted 20 in month 1 and 10 per month thereafter, hoping for a loss of 60 and a weight of 237 by the time we go skiing in December. Stay tuned.

In the meantime, gotta stay devoted, focused, upbeat, and fierce.