Observances at 9 weeks post-op

[Butterflyhigh 504]

Nine weeks post-op. This is where I'm at....

I finally figured out that Water is just way to dense for me to tolerate easily. It took me seven weeks to realize that my daily feelings of "Ugh-Blech" was the water! Weird because that's all I've ever drank. I've switched to green tea which has helped tremendously.

I went on vacation for two weeks and kinda fell of track. Not in the eating bad food or too much food type of misstep...but of not eating enough misstep. I was so busy and active and totally out of my normal routine. I think I've just been eating 2-3 times per day! I stick to Protein but I think I was only averaging 300-400 calories per day at most. As a result I only lost a couple of pounds...but my jeans have gotten baggier around the butt, so inches must be dropping still.

Beef Jerky is my friend. I can eat it, not feel sick, get in protein, chew meat, and feel like I'm doing a good thing for myself. Please tell me if Beef Jerky is a good/bad snack choice??

I ate a bit of steak for the first time last night, three ounces and I couldn't finish it. I cooked it quite rare so it wasn't at all chewy. I am VERY happy about this!

I HAVE A CLAVICLE BONE!!! I thought my pregnancies swallowed it up, but no....it's was just buried under a layer of fat. Same goes for the hip bones. I can feel them again so I know they are there too!

My mind is a tricky bit**. Everybody can see my weight loss. I can see it in pictures but I can't tell by looking in the mirror that I've lost anything. I look exactly the same to myself in the mirror. I've lost almost three pant sizes and I can't see it (other than in my clavicle YAY!). I know it's my mind playing tricks on me and I wonder when it will catch up??

To anyone reading this in the early stages...it's true. It Does Get Easier. Day by day gets a bit easier. How you feel at two and three weeks post-op will not be how you feel at seven and eight. At about the four week mark I was really feeling like I made a mistake...that being fat and overweight was a fair trade to being able to eat a big plate of food. It's not and I don't feel that way today.

WLS is NOT FOR SISSY'S. This is a 10% physical and 90% mental game. I've had to learn new ways of coping with stress. I've had to say goodbye to the old comfortable methods of rewarding myself. I've learned new self-comforting techniques. I've learned that loosing weight is not going to fix me. I have got to fix myself.....and that happens through good ol' fashioned, roll up your sleeves, deal with your inner bulls**t, blood sweat and tears Hard Work. The sleeve is a very awesome tool...one that has finally cut the chains and allowed me to take a step back from my food addiction...but it is apparent that it is ONLY a tool to be used. Not a magic wand to be waved.

I've also learned that I really love myself. I really do! Each one of us does. We would not have chosen this WLS for ourselves if we didn't have love in there somewhere. I have not been treating myself kindly for many years...but it stops now. It actually stopped when I made the commitment to surgery, but NOW is when I get to shower myself with love and good care. Good Food. Healthy Food. Good Portions. Good Choices. Exercise. Right Mental Thinking. Awareness. Self-Forgiveness. Self-Acceptance. Self-Reliance. Accountability.

All because of a little surgery that took away my ability to drown out everything around me with food.

Edit: Oops...I'm Eight Weeks post-op! haha

Edited August 4, 2014 by Butterflyhigh

[Bufflehead 6,358]

I think beef Jerky is great as a snack choice if it is approved under your plan and you don't eat so much of it that it puts you over the recommended sodium guidelines.

[Butterflyhigh 504]

I think beef Jerky is great as a snack choice if it is approved under your plan and you don't eat so much of it that it puts you over the recommended sodium guidelines.

Sodium. That's an unknown for me. My nut says to only focus on Protein and sugars (carbs)....not fat, calories, or sodium. But for me, too much sodium makes my hands swell overnight. I don't really know what is a good/normal/healthy sodium level??

[snowkitten 371]

Sodium. That's an unknown for me. My nut says to only focus on Protein and sugars (carbs)....not fat, calories, or sodium. But for me, too much sodium makes my hands swell overnight. I don't really know what is a good/normal/healthy sodium level??

Also be aware that some beef Jerky is loaded with sugar

[kpay10 95]

I eat beef and turkey Jerky, too. Are you on My Fitness Pal? If so, when you input your food, it tracks EVERYTHING! I use it to keep track of sodium, among others like my carbs, fat, calories, and Protein. I highly recommend it! PS. Never gone over on sodium.

I can relate to pretty much everything you said, too! Yay, for clavicles and hipbones! I am starting to feel, really feel, my ribs, too! :) I'm a little further out than you @ 13 weeks.

Continued good luck and success on your journey!!

[CdnGirlinNC 10]

Thanks for your post. I enjoyed reading it. I am at the 4 week mark and it's still challenging but not terrible. I'd love to tuck into a tall glass of cold Water and drink it down fast but that apparently is not an option for me at this point. I don't miss the big plates of food (I actually feel freer without that) but I do miss chewing on something as I am still on soft foods and pureed.

Everyday is a new day of wondering what will work for me today. It's taken a bit of imagination in the kitchen to find new ways of preparing foods that will give me the Protein I need with a consistency I can tolerate but I know this will be short lived and I'll be able to handle normal foods soon enough.

All the best to you as you continue on your journey to wellness.