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Just got back from my 2 week checkup. Down 21 lbs from my pre-surgery start weight. Doc put me on the puree diet and told me to walk at least 1 hr a day 4 - 5 times a week. That's going to be difficult because of all the rain coming up for the next week. I'm doing pretty well with cream of chicken and cream of mushroom soup and peanut butter. But I've tested a tiny bite of chicken, hamburger and Vienna sausages, seems like anything along those lines is still too tough for my stomach. Almost immediately I can feel rolling gas bubbles in my stomach and I have to burp. Found some great food storage containers at Wal-Mart. They seem to be the perfect size for how much I can eat at one sitting.

Good Evening all, So today I'm in day 4 of this pro-opt diet and i can say i feel great. But I see why they say drink plently of water. If you don't you will pay for it....

Like many others i am sure.... I get a lot of PMs from people at different stages of their journey asking how they can be as successful as I have been, what were my challenges, what do I eat etc....... And I answer each and every question. A handful of people, write back thanking me or expressing their concerns, frustrations etc....But I really am not sure why most of the others actually do not... I offer my opinions, answer their questions and give them the what worked for me speech... And then I never hear from them again. Not even a thanks for taking the time to answer me... I am not expecting life long pen pals and i I am greatful when Someone actually acknowledges my repy... But for someone to take the time to write, m to take the time to answer I am baffled as to why they don't acknowledge my answer. Just another thing to make you go hmmmmm

My day started out typical...until I left work for a 1045 a dr appointment. My plastic surgeon has been concerned about the bleeding from my belly button that started almost 2 weeks after my tummy tuck.....but stopped since I saw him Monday. For precaution he wanted to check me out anyway. Last night I thought I was in the clear...no bleeding, minimal swelling... But I went anyway because I am a firm believer in following drs orders. And this morning there was a small amount of blood and swelling above the incision line. Immediately the dr noticed the swelling and decided to make 3 tiny incisions, pack them with gauze and let me drain for 24 hrs. Once he did that.... He said that would redirect the belly button bleed but my body has a mind of its own because it didn't work. After another 15 minutes of push and trying to figure out where is drainage was coming from he decided to send me accross the street to the hospital for an ultrasound so he could see exactly where they pockets of blood were. Keep in mind this drainage isn't too unusual...it's not life threatening... its just messy and inconvenient. But the fact it didn't stop once he made the cuts concerned him. So he called the radiologist ...you know the one doctor who you never meet but sends you a bill for reading your radiology reports.....LOL Anyway they saw me right away...which was a little concerning to me ....but comforting too. I hop on the table and the tech starts to do the ultrasound and finds two dark spots on either side of the belly button...not under the muscle....just under the skin. I also saw my port which looked pretty!!! The tech called in the dr who assured me he just spoke to my plastic surgeon and he was going to aspirate them.....or try too. Basically that means to take a needle and stick it in the dark spot and try to suck it out. The dr called the spots blood clots or hematomas. After i heard the blood clot word I asked him how concerned I should be. He said they were not in arteries or veins so not life threatening. He said they are not unusual and they would eventually be absorbed by the body but they would just as soon get rid if them. He brought out a 5" needle and plunged into the larger clot. Nothing. It was so think he couldn't suck it out. He said he needed a bigger needle. I equated that to JAWS...we are going to need a bigger boat! The larger needle didn't help....he got about an Inch up the needle and it stopped. Too thick. He did get a little to send to the lab to rule out anything funky but he decided to move to the smaller one. That one came out lick a dee split. One down..one left.... The radiologist called my PS and told him what's was up and they decided to let me go and let the drains do their thing tonight and I go back in the morning to clean the drainage and decide what to do with the remaining clot. I was uncomfortable but had to go back to work to clean up stuff which I left...considering I was gone 4 hrs and only prepared for one!! I was walking a little funny but finished out my day and drove home. My PS called me on the way home to see how I was doing... And to tell me what he and the RAD discussed... So tonight I am lying in bed...resting and being really mad at my body for keeping this old blood as a souvenir from my surgery....

This is a little different from my previous posts in that I'm not going to post about my new stomach, or how much I've lost, or food. I want to talk about telling people about my surgery. I've been very selective so far about telling people about it. Not at all because of how they might react, but generally because its none of their business. Of course my wife and kids know about it, and even though I told them in confidence, I'm certain that most of my wife's friends (and maybe some acquaintences) probably know. I just know my wife The part that's a little tricky is when when MY friends ask how i've lost the weight. It's easy to say I just don't eat as much or that I'm going to the gym or its a New Year's resolution - all of which aren't lies. But then there's a part of me that really wants to tell them about the surgery - only because I don't want to have to hide anything. So far I've told them on a case by case basis, just making a decision at that moment to tell them or not. But I'm certain a time will come when a friend will approach me asking why I told the truth to another friend and not him. Oh well. I guess the answer is that I didn't feel comfortable telling him at the time he asked! I don't lose sleep over it. Still the best decision of my life! More soon, Joe

Good evening all, ​I had my support meeting tonight and we met our new dietitian. She handed out new recipes and I just tried a great one and needed to share it. Homemade Baked Cheese Crisps (they are great) preheat oven to 350 and put parchment paper on a cookie sheet. Must!! use parchment paper. use shredded cheese and seasonings (I did not use seasoning) and put little lumps of the mixture on the parchment paper, spaced out because the will grow. and spread. (Their words not mine) about a teaspoon of cheese. Now put it on a rack centered in the middle of the oven and bake 5-7 minutes. When they start to turn brown take them out and let them cool. I made mine with a pizza cheese blend and the hub and I loved them Enjoy! You can use cheddar/jack and Ranch dressing to make it a Mexican blend. Add garlic, chili powder.

Excited but a little exhausted at the same time!!! Had surgery on December 20th and the first week was smooth sailing. Wasnt until about 12 days post op did I realize I had not had a bowel movement. I was in an all out panic and my surgeon was too. He ended up having me take some Miralax and Colace and this morning had my firt BM since surgery.. Glad that's over with! Stepped on the scale last night and was 235.6lbs!! Not much of a loss like in the first week, but I'll take every single pound. Starting Weight: 256 Day of Surgery: 247 Day Left Surgery: 258 1 Week Post Op: 241 2 Weeks Post Op: 235 total loss thus far: 21 pounds Not bad. Won't complain. But I think in this week I will begin taking my vitamins (and boy there are a lot!) and doing some cardio at the gym. So blessed to have gone through this process with little to no complications and even more blessed that I am on my way to a healthy new me! Happy losing all!

I Cooked a fab dinner for my Inlaws, hubby, one of our daughters and the light of my life her 18 month old daughter. Even though I am less than week post op from the tt and bj surgery I started early and rested in-between chores. Polishing the silver was more strenuous than I expected but I didn't push it and was fine. I did have someone clean this week so didn't have to worry about that... But the shopping and cooking was all me. We had rib eye steak w bernaise sauce, sauteed caramelized onions and mushrooms, twice baked potatoes, Lima beans, green beans, carrots, my speciality spinach salad, rolls and apple pie, vanilla pudding pie laced with chocolate and homemade cookies. Since I am maintaining and healing from surgery I decided I would really enjoy a few more bites then normal since I cooked all my favs...well except the Lima beans...bleckkkkk. So the eating commenced and I ate about 2 oz of meat, a teaspoon of the mushrooms and onions, a few green beans, 1 carrot, and about a 1/4 c of salad. I also had about 1/4 of the potato and one cookie.... I was amazed... I seriously couldnt eat any more... I love my band. I will never gain the weight back... Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night....