Category: weight loss surgery

Check In with the Surgeon

I’m taking half a day off of work today for a doctors appointment. Today is my five month (approximately) check in with the surgeon. I don’t expect anything beyond how are you doing, that’s great, any issues, that’s great. That’s what I am hoping for at least. We’ll probably be booking the next round of appointments too.

I got a decent night’s sleep last night. I only got one of those last week. Here’s hoping I don’t make that a habit. Let’s have another good night tonight, please.

This morning’s exercise was different than usual. I went 3.2 miles as normal but I did it in 32 minutes. 18 of those 32 minutes was done at a trot. I kinda sorta ran for half of the time. It hurts my feet and my calves but it cranks up the ol’ heart rate. That’s good, right?

Check in today. Weigh in tomorrow. Here’s hoping for a good week all around. Right on, brothers and sisters.

Week 23 Weigh In

Happy Wednesday Weigh In, once again. 23 weeks post surgery and nothing but a lifetime left to go. My 10’s column changed again so let’s celebrate.

I am down 3.6 pounds. That brings me down to 287.2. 300 pounds seems very far away now. Happiness. Granted, 300 would feel more comfortably far away if I was down to 187.2, but we’ll jump off that bridge should we ever come to it, m’kay?

I just earned myself an Apple Watch activity app award. Most calories burned in a single workout. I was doing my walkies while watching the new episode of Andor and I hit that 3.2 mile (simulated) goal without realizing it. I didn’t notice that I could allow myself to stop until I was almost at four miles (simulated), so I just kept going. 4.02 miles in 45:21 for 758 calories. My exercise goal for today has been obliterated, and my calorie goal is over 75% done. I think I am in good shape for closing that ring today. Hurrah, babie.

Speaking of goals, I didn’t hit my protein goal of 60 grams yesterday. I was super close, 58.38, but I didn’t get there. I had some trouble with my lunch and I didn’t want to push things at dinner so I kept it a lot smaller than usual. I will do better today, guaranteed.

My next check in at the clinic is on Tuesday. Everything is going well so I expect that appointment to feel like a formality. Here’s hoping it all stays on track.

Milestone Achieved

Last night, as expected, I achieved another post-weight loss surgery milestone.

I ate pasta.

Oh the glory! I only ate a tiny bit. 1.5 ounces to be exact. There was a little red sauce and about four ounces of meatballs as well. Protein, dontchaknow. No stomach issues. No nausea. No anything but happiness. Tiny amounts of pasta are back on the menu, boys!

In today’s episode of That Pedal Show, which was almost exactly the length of time I needed for my morning walkies, Dan buys a new Telecaster and gets it refretted, rewired, and has a pickup respun.

Oh, has that lit me up or what. Both of my 70’s Gibsons needs to be refretted, one needs to be rewired, and one is in line to get new pickups. I want to sell my USA Stratocaster to pay for some, if not all, of this work but I’ve been afraid to actually list the guitar anywhere. After watching today’s show… the guitar might go up for sale this weekend. We’ll have to see. There’s a distinct possibility that today’s photo-a-day submission might be for-sale pics of the Strat. I am equal parts excited about this and really scared to do it. I honestly have no clue how much I should ask for.

Speaking of this coming weekend (eight hours and 11 minutes to go!), the agenda includes hanging new curtains in the living room and getting a flu shot and the new Covid booster. I expect to be wiped out for at least some of the weekend. We’re trying to arrange things so that the worst of the vaccine push back will happen over night while we’re sleeping… or at least trying to sleep. I’ll let you know how that goes. My first three shots didn’t really affect me. The fourth did. It wasn’t terrible, but I definitely felt ill the next day. Fingers crossed.

Wordle Stats

The first time I got the Wordle word in three tries I got all proud and stuff and posted it to Twitter. The first time I got it in two tries I got super proud and stuff and posted it to Twitter and Facebook. A workflow patter was thus created. That was during a brief period where I was feeling okay about going to Facebook again, entirely due to the weight loss surgery support groups. Now I am feeling down on the whole thing again so I need a new Wordle workflow.

Wordle 474 2/6

🟩⬜🟨⬜🟨
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

That’s right, boys and girls. Now when I get it in two tries, like I did today, it’s going to Twitter and The Blog. Enjoy!

In the immortal words of Barnie Stinson, “this is so going in my blog!”

Last night I was put in command of the television remote control and managed to get caught up on every show I’m currently following. There were three shows that I was one episode behind. I watched ’em all. Andor, Rick and Morty, and The Handmaids Tale. Andor has been my main focus, but after the cliff hanger in Handmaid I might be watching the next episode of that show first.

The plan for tonight is to do something with dinner that I haven’t done since the surgery. We’re going to have some spaghetti. I’ve made spaghetti since the surgery, for Jen and Harry, but I haven’t eaten any of it. Pasta, bread, rice, and rice-like things were the last items to come off of my do-not-eat-these list. Well, sugar is eternally on that list but as of now it’s the only thing left.

Pasta has been off of the do-not-eat list for over a month, I just haven’t felt confident enough in the universe and my tiny, rebuilt, mangled stomach to give it a go. I haven’t had bread or rice or quinoa either. I can if I want, I just haven’t. Tonight I am going to have a tiny little serving of spaghetti. Cross your fingers that it doesn’t make me sick. I expect it is going to be friggin’ epically delicious. I hope so, at least.

Week 22

Hello and welcome to week 22! The week where I did not weigh in. I weighed in yesterday. I was thinking of doing it today, but if I don’t then we’ll get an extra day when I weigh in next week and maybe that will give me a more impressive number. Or not. Who knows. As long as I keep moving in the right direction I really don’t care how fast it goes. Though in this case bigger is, if not better, more fun.

I think we may have weathered a storm at work. Fingers crossed, right?

I watched half of last week’s That Pedal Show while doing this morning’s exercise. I should have watched The Handmaid’s Tale. A new episode is out but for some reason I keep thinking new episodes come out on Thursdays, like Andor. Wait… is Andor out on Wednesdays too? Shit, is there an Andor that I haven’t seen? I gotta start writing this shit down. Ugh! Lunch is going to be an hour late today. Maybe I’ll be able to watch something during lunch, but I usually try to avoid TV during work hours.

Crap. I just checked Disney+. There is a new Andor today. Grrrrrr.

Anyway, my walking is done. I still need to do the weights and the elastic. I didn’t do them yesterday because I was too busy, but I’ll do them today.

22 weeks and 140 pounds since surgery. I still can’t believe it. It’s starting to feel like a fairy tale. Some kind of make believe. It’s almost too good to be true. My next check in at the clinic is October 18th. I wonder how much I’ll weigh when that day comes around.

Happy Five Months

Today is October 4th. Five months ago today I had gastric bypass surgery. In honor of the monthaversary, let’s weigh in. Yes, weigh ins are supposed to be Wednesdays and today is Tuesday, but the 4th of the month is a special occasion, right?

My weigh in last week was good but a little underwhelming. I lost 1.6 pounds. This week is a little more like it. Five pounds exactly. From 295.8 to 290.8, Sooooo very close to flipping that 10’s digit. Yesterday I said I might skip this week’s Wednesday weigh in. Now that I know I am less than a pound away from the 280’s, I might actually do it. You know, just in case.

The 10’s column did flip on the totals. My total weight loss since the surgery is now 140.6 pounds. My total weight loss since the first appointment back in January is now 161.2. Sweet Christmas, that’s a lot of weight. I’ve lost the equivalent of an adult human. I googled “weight loss equivalence” and found two sites that compare your weight loss total to something relatable. Neither had a value for 160. They both had the same value for 150 that wasn’t all that relatable. They both said the complete Oxford English Dictionary. Eh. One of them had an entry for 185 that was Hugh Jackman. I guess I have a goal now. It also had an entry for 235 that was Arnold Schwarzenegger. Again, goals.

This morning before work I did my daily walkies. I watched last Friday’s episode of The Rings of Power. I was planning on going the equivalent of 3.2 miles (about five kilometers). I was so into the show that I wasn’t paying attention to the data on my watch and I was over 3.8 miles before I realized I could stop. I thought about pushing it up to four miles, but I think that would have stretched a little beyond 9:00am so I stopped. Maybe we’ll do that tomorrow. Maybe going a little extra today will shave off that 0.9 pounds and get me into the 280’s by tomorrow. Who knows. I just feel silly with this whole thing now. Hugh Jackman, here I come.

Week 21 Weigh In

It’s Wednesday so it’s weigh in day, and it’s pretty underwhelming this time. That’s okay, after the celebrations last week, I was due for a slow week.

I am down 1.60 pounds. In the weight watchers days I would be thrilled with this. In the post-surgery days I am still pretty thrilled, even if it’s a great deal less than what I am used to at this point. We’ll see if we can have a bigger drop next week. As long as we keep going in the negative direction, I’ll be pretty stoked.

I had a bad time with dinner last night. It was just a split second’s worth of forgetting the new normal and it screwed me up for hours. In the old days I was a super fast eater. Bite-chew-chew-swallow. My teeth are pretty screwed up, so the less chomping I did, the lower the chances for dental issues. I can’t do that anymore. I need to chew the holy hell out of every small bite before I gulp. Last night I cut myself a small bite of chicken and forgot to chew thoroughly and swallowed it after just a few chomps. I realized the mistake immediately and knew I was going to have a bad time.

I tried to eat a little more, but soon enough that stomach pain and nausea hit me. I gave myself a 10 minute break. That didn’t help so I turned it into 20 minutes. Nope. 30 minutes. Still nope. 40 minutes and I was starting to feel like the end was in site. I put my dinner plate away in the kitchen and went grocery shopping. When I was home again I restarted eating dinner and everything went smoothly. I can’t mess up like that anymore. Pay attention, Robert!

Okay then, in summation, here’s hoping for a bigger bang for our bucks in week 22, and also don’t forget to chew your food. At least 32 times, just like Nana used to say.

Week 20 Weigh In

Line up that marching band, babie! Kick off that circus parade! Today is a gigantic day! A huge, massive, gigantic landmark of a freakin’ day!

It’s been 20 weeks since the surgery. I think today is the day that I am going to share just how much I actually weigh, and along with that I am going to share how much I weighed on day one. That number is huge. It’s embarrassing. We’re talking about someone who has been grossly overweight his entire life and never really been shy about the numbers, and this number is too high for me to have shared because it’s so embarrassing. So this post is going to be a big deal for me. I’m not doing it for anyone but me so please don’t comment or anything. Just let me stew in it, okay? Right.

Last week I said I was 4.2 pounds away from flipping down the hundreds column of my total weight. I think I also mentioned that waiting a whole week to step on the scale was going to be impossible and it was. I actually weighed myself on Sunday but didn’t update my records. I was 0.8 pounds away from flipping the hundred. Close but no cigar.

Last week I was 304.2 pounds. Today I am down to 297.4. That’s a drop of 6.8 glorious pounds, and the hundreds column has changed for the second time! I am so fucking insanely happy right now. Pardon the Eff-bomb, but it’s the only adjective that fits the feeling. I never thought I would be here again. Never. My whole adult life I have been over 300 pounds. This is a really big deal. A super big deal.

Now for the embarrassing part that will be topped off by a seriously exciting part. On January 19, 2022 when I walked into the weight loss clinic for the first time I weighed 452 pounds and my BMI was 55. On April 29, 2022 when I walked into the clinic for the last time before having the surgery on May 4th I weighed 431.4 pounds and my BMI was 52.5. Today I am 297.4 and my BMI is 36.2. That’s a drop of 154.6/134 pounds and 18.8/16.3 points. Are you kidding me? ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY FOUR POUNDS!

Prior to the surgery they gave me an estimate of the amount of weight I could reasonably expect to lose. It was between 130 and 170 pounds. I’m over 130 since the surgery so it’s safe to assume the leveling out will start at some point soon. I am nowhere close to being done though. I did the math a few weeks ago and in order to get my BMI down to an actual healthy point I will need to get down to about 190 pounds. That means I still have over 100 pounds to go.

I’m not concerning myself with what still remains right now. Today I am just feeling happy and I want to stay with this mindset for a bit before I start focusing on the future. The day I flipped from the 400s to the 300s (May 16, 2022) was a great day. It felt so good. Today, as we flip from 300s to 200s is just indescribable. I can’t put it into words. It’s epic. It’s magic. It’s majestic.

Just wait until the 200s flip to the 100s (fingers crossed I can get there). Oh boy will that be a crazy day.

Happy 20 weeks, and happy 200s! WOOHOO

Rough Morning

This one might venture into TMI territory. I’ll be careful not to overshare, but given that this blog is more like a personal weight loss surgery journal just for me (sorry) I feel I need to document today’s fun. Again, sorry.

A couple of times over the last two months my digestive system has rebelled. I go a few days with nuttin’ but chirping crickets and then a very difficult, rather painful morning of struggle and teeth gritting and all sorts of fun. That’s me today. I have spent a lot of time in the bathroom with… very little reward. Is that skirting the TMI line? There has been success, it just took a lot of work and a lot of discomfort and now that things are… well… moving (wink wink) I don’t think it is going to stop for a while. How’s that? Did I give enough detail for me to know what I am talking about when I review this post five years from now without maybe grossing out all of you fine people who happen to read this? Would it make you all feel better if I say that people who read this page are among the finest people on the Earth? You are all kind hearted, generous, strong, good looking folks who are respected and looked up to by all who meet you. Given that, I hope I didn’t gross you out.

In other news, Jen is in the office today and it sucks. She’s going to be in the office tomorrow too and that is going to suck. Suck for me, at least. I miss her. She also has an after work, work function tonight and she won’t be home until late. I’m on my own for dinner, which isn’t a big deal, but I am going to be sad without her around.

I’m thinking of taking the camera into Boston tonight. Maybe I could get some pics of all the signs and lights in the theater district. That little area has been on my photo-to-do list for a while. Unfortunately there are thunderstorms in the forecast. We’ll have to see how it goes this evening. It would be nice, and I’ve already started researching how high I can set my ISO before the digital noise gets too obnoxious.

Here’s hoping the weather forecast changes and things clear up.