JustWatchMe

Do laundry ahead of time. And vacuuming. Carrying baskets and such up stairs was rough.

No Internet Friday in our hotel. Over the last couple of days, we spent a lot of time in Sorrento. The girls went down to the water and splashed around a bit. Intended to go to Capri but never made it. We visited Pompeii. Very humbling to see such a civilized society wiped out instantaneously. Our trip now takes us to Rome for the final leg of our travels. More soon, when I can get reliable Internet! I am afraid the pictures will have to wait until I return home to my PC. I can't figure out how to upload them from the phone app.

I am literally wearing holes in my shoes. I hope they last another day or two so I can get new shoes for Rome. We are at the Amalfi Coast and it is gorgeous. I bought a blouse in Sorrento tonight, and it actually fit. It was wonderful. The food remains easy and delicious. I am basically sharing all of my meals with my daughters. I haven't weighed myself here, but only because the fitness room did not have a scale that I could find. However my one pair of jeans seems a little loose. Wishful thinking? Tomorrow, Pompeii.

Hunger is all over the map that early on. I didn't have much hunger for several weeks postop on full liquids unless I snacked on a pudding or something between liquid meals. That would arouse my appetite. Enjoy it now because hunger will return eventually. Then you'll get band adjustments and have months of adjusting. I do best when I don't snack and when I eat few if any carbs. I'm ten weeks postop. Good luck and keep us posted! Also don't worry about calorie intake this soon. Protein first and hydrate. Some days I had 500 calories that early. Later you'll want more. But at 6 weeks out I was told 800. I average about 900 now except that I'm on vacation so it's higher right now.

Pistachio liqueur. That is all.

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I just realized that I don't need to carry an Atkins shake. I can carry an Unjury powder packet in my belt and just buy a bottle of water. Genius. Anyway, I just had the most lovely dinner all alone. The family went back to the Grand Canal in Venice without me, as my knees needed a well deserved break. So, my second meal of the day, at 10PM, was a lovely Caprese salad and pesto. It was so pleasant to sit in the restaurant surrounded by people speaking Italian, and just soak up the atmosphere. I ate only half of the pesto and brought the rest back to the room for my daughter. It is amazing to me that even with this wonderful food, I can listen to my band and stop when I feel the signal that I have had enough. The only thing I'm eating more of here than I would at home is the bread. I just cannot pass up this amazing bread and local olive oil. But, only one piece. The other thing is the wine. Okay, I guess that's two things. What can I say? It is really good. The other difference here is the portion sizes are all somewhat "normal". For example, I was not given a giant plate of pasta. I was given what amounts to about 1-1/2 cups of cooked pasta. Even that was more than I needed, since I started with the Caprese salad. Oh, and this was cool. The pesto was served normally with pasta underneath, but it was topped off with green beans tossed in the pesto sauce! I had thought recently that pesto was not going to be part of my regular diet, because pasta isn't necessarily the best band choice. But I don't need the pasta! I can make the pesto sauce, and toss it with any vegetables I like. Green beans were perfect. I might actually come home from Italy as a good cook. Tomorrow will be a long, long, long day of traveling by train and private car. We are headed from Venice, in the north, all the way south past Naples, to the Amalfi Coast. I expect not to have Wi-Fi until late into the evening. So, ciao for now!

@@MagillaDaLlama, I just want to say that your post is very inspiring. I need to stop making exercise excuses and stick to a daily exercise plan. Thanks for posting this!

For anyone who noticed, yes, I have poorly planned my meals the last two days. I guess I never thought food would be so inaccessible, since every corner of the US has junk food on it. I should clarify to say that I could have had chips or candy many times, but didn't. I stuck with water. By the way, you have to specify naturale water, or you get carbonated. Anyway, I haven't been carrying a purse, just my money belt, so it didn't occur to me to carry a protein shake all day while walking a medieval wall. But tomorrow I'm carrying an Atkins Shake no matter what. Two days in a row with too many hours between meals isn't a good plan. It's a setup for overeating. So far, it's been okay, and my daughter has indeed been sharing my food when we finally sit down to a meal. But better prepared than sorry.

Side note: when cellular data and roaming are turned off, you sure appreciate free wifi, like in this little grocery next to the train station. Life's little luxuries.

Oh, my feet!!! Today we walked around Cittadella. And I do mean around Cittadella. There is a medieval wall around the city making a circle of 1.5 kilometers. We walked the entire top of it as well as straight through town twice. We tried to find my husband's relatives but ended up on a wild goose chase in a taxi. We found a different family with the same surname. They were so sweet and brought all their family out to meet us, even though we were no relation. Old nonnas came out to talk in rapid fire Italian. It was a hoot. My younger daughter had one semester of college Italian so she tried to translate. The taxi driver took us to the totally wrong town the first try. Not a word of English. You can't help but laugh. We haven't eaten in ten hours. Oh yeah, the town takes a siesta of sorts in mid afternoon. Everything closes for a few hours. Tomorrow we go to the Amalfi Coast via Naples. This leg of the journey better involve some sitting on my tush by a swimming pool!!!

Just got an email from my mom. The animal care center where our dog is boarded said he's having anxiety and won't eat. My mom visited him for an hour yesterday and brought him homemade chicken. Comfort food?

Oh, and does anyone remember the episode of Friends when Monica takes a tropical vacation? Her hair got bigger and frizzier every day? Yeah, that. Kinda freeing actually. I debated whether to pack my hair appliances and decided against it. I didn't know just how big my hair could actually get until this week. My kids like it. I might keep the look.

Another amazing day. Venice is indescribable. More walking and many stairs, of course. I'm wishing I had a FitBit to track all this exercise! The city is like a labyrinth, with every turn a new adventure. Of course, we took a gondola ride. I didn't realize until I was in the boat that I didn't fret about my weight. That was new for me. The gondolier balanced us as a family in the boat. It was expensive, but worth every euro. Eating has been interesting. I'm walking and climbing so much that I'm way more hungry than usual at meals. And the wine! But I'm tracking it every night in MyFitnessPal, and the numbers haven't been too bad. McDonald's has a Pasta salad in Venice that is outstanding. That was my evening meal (11pm) because by the time we got back to our hotel tonight, that was the only place open within walking distance. It feels sacrilegious to eat pasta at McDonald's in Italy, but lunch was literally 9 hours earlier. Ya gotta do what ya gotta do. And it really was good. Not as good as our amazing lunch, but surprisingly good for fast food. My daughters are smitten with the ceramic masks that are everywhere here. I have a feeling we'll be carrying one or more home on the plane. Tomorrow we take a train into a small town where my husband's family originates from. More walking! My poor shoes!

The more I resist food anesthesia, the less tolerance I have for @$$#0\€$ in my life. It's become clear to me that taking the WLS step was not just about me losing weight and getting healthy. It was about self respect and making life changes. It took a lot for me to get to the jumping off point. But now that I have started, I've set in motion something bigger than dropping some sizes. Maybe that's why it took so long for me to take the WLS plunge. Because it's not all about the weight, is it?

@@gowalking, your sister sounds like my wls skeptic husband. My doctor wanted maximum weight loss in the post op liquids phase. This gave my husband the argument that the band didn't do anything because I was eating so few calories and had no fill. I've stopped explaining because he really doesn't want to know. I'm now on foods and one fill, and weight loss has slowed. This is my project, and I know from decades of marriage that he will not help me with this, so I'm getting my support elsewhere. I didn't do this for him. Sometimes it's hard, but it is what it is. Denial is spot on. As long as he does not actively interfere with my efforts, I don't give a rat's patootie what he has to say.

I'm so exhausted but wanted to send you a picture or two from Tuscany. We walked up hills and down hills all day in Siena, San Gimagnano, and Pisa. My daughter got a leather coat. We drank four different wines. All is wonderful. Side note: there are no fat people in Italy. They walk all day up and down hills and eat the most amazing fresh food. Ok, I saw one plump nun. But she looked like a tourist. I'm going to try to attach a photo or two, but I don't know if the phone app will let me. PS: I can't find the way to add a picture from the iPhone app.

I'm so happy! I've ditched the seat belt extender and flew to Europe with belt inches to spare! I walked the airports without getting winded. This trip is gonna be amazing! Five more hours until I'm reunited with my daughter who hasn't seen me since way before pre-op. I was even able to eat on the six hour flight to Dublin. I made sure to chew really well and take my time. On to Italy now. I feel like a normal person for a change!

Hovering around 247. I fly to Italy tomorrow. My goal for Italy was to fly without a seatbelt extender. We'll see if it happens. Wish me luck!

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My NSV today is this. For the second time in three days, I am moving my younger daughter's college stuff out of her 14th floor dorm and bringing a carload home. Although my joints are hurting from my arthritis, I have not been out of breath even once. This is amazing to me, because less than six months ago, I could not walk even half a block with empty arms without getting winded. Now less than nine weeks postop, I can do all of this with ease and feel so much healthier. The surgery has truly saved my life.

One piece no shorts

Down 45 pounds but it's NO easier finding a bathing suit that fits. My old ones are old and stretched out, and nobody makes a suit for an apple shape like me that doesn't look like crap. I'm so aggravated. I'm going on vacation in a month, and I have an Aqua Zumba class now every week. It's so depressing. Trying them on in the store is bad enough - I can't imagine attempting to find one online. Nothing. Fits. This. Body. That is all. Carry on.

@@jaybro, I don't have that every day, but I do still have a left shoulder pain occasionally. It always surprises me, because I thought it would be completely gone by now. I was banded March 13. However, it does not last long and does not hurt as much as immediately post surgery.

Very inspirational! Thank you for posting this!