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Today marks my 1 week post op and what a week it has been. Let me recap in a few important catagories. Physical I've experience the pain, which in all honesty isn't as bad as I would have expected. If we ignore the day of surgery and the day after, the rest of the week has been ok. I haven't needed any pain meds since the 3rd day post op. Pain has been limited to gas pain and incision site pain, both completely tolerable. The begining of the week I was a bit more tired than usual and I became tired quicker when doing simple activities like walking, each day this gets a bit better. Today I went shopping with my mother, my fitbit says I took around 3500 steps and walked 1.4 miles. My knees feel better, my back feels better, my feet feel better. I am actually sleeping better and waking up feeling as if I slept, no more waking tired. Looking forward to the next week! Emotional This has been one of the toughest things to deal with, the disappointment in not being able to enjoy the foods I love has hit me pretty hard a few times, always when out. I went to breakfast with my wife and her dad, I assumed that the resturant would have yogurt for me to eat since most do, they didn't. So I sat there with a decaf coffee and a kids sized orange juice while they ate. I don't like eggs and what not, but the smell comming off of their plates was so amazing, it took most of what I had to keep from breaking down into tears. I focused on why I'm doing this and resolved in the fact that I would be able to eat again in a few weeks. The biggest test was Thanksgiving. My family are big eaters, Italian families know how to eat. So I was dreading Thanksgiving at my parents house. The night prior I jumped the gun on my puree phase and attempted some pureed meat pie, a tiny 1/4 inch slice and some beef broth, blended it up, poured it into my 1/4 cup ramekin and heated it up. It looked so nasty, but the taste, after all the liquids and puddings and jello's was so damn amazing. And lucky for me, I didn't have any problems with eating it, I finished the serving a little quick for my liking, but I held off and sure enough, I felt the fullness coming on, but it never got painful, so I knew I hit the mark size wise. This gave me a bit of a bump for Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving came and I pureed some turkey with gravy, some corn and potatos and took a 1/2 slice of cranberry sauce about a cup of food in total. We all said our thanks and got to eating. I focused on taking my time, I watched the clock and put my spoon down between "bites". About 20 mins in I knew I should stop, the fullness was just starting to kick up, so I put down my spoon and pushed the plate away. Everyone was suprised by how little I could eat. But they were all impressed. So one more big eating day left and it will be a smooth year. Weight I saved the best for last. I weighted in at 350 when I finally decided that I had had enough and that diets and yo-yo weight gain/loss had to go. My last appointment with my surgeon I weighted in at 343. The last "official" weight in at my pre-op training class was 336.8. The night before surgery I weighed myself on a medical scale at 335. Pretty good. But these next numbers are amazing. I had surgery on Friday, the following Monday I weighed in at 329, Yesterday, I weighed 324. So from 335 to 324 in 1 week! and all without feeling underfed. This is the motivation I need. I'm feeling the weight loss in my clothes, on my back and knees. It's noticable. I'm greatful to everyone here for the information and support that you are providing. All comments, both positive and critical are appreciated. I understand that to learn we need to be shown our faults. Stay Strong LBT!

Well, here I am Day 1 of the liquid pre-op diet. Yes, I know, I can't believe myself that I'm starting the day before Thanksgiving. But, oh well, I wanted to get the surgery as soon as possible. Which, BTW is on December 8. I'm so excited. So far, I've done well. I just drank my 2nd Optifast shake. They taste great. I'm drinking my water and had my coffee this morning. Will write more as the day progresses.