Weight: 272 lbs. Total Weight Lost: 88 lbs. Weight Lost This Month:17lbs.
The third month turns out to be the easiest one so
far. I feel wonderful. My clothes are almost all too big for me. Exams by both
the surgeon and my PCP are encouraging. We pick up a new hobby and extend old
activities. I sleep less and exercise more. I don’t experience a prolonged
plateau.
I am still supposed to be eating protein exclusively.
This means meat, eggs, cheese. Period. No vegetables, no fruit, no milk, no
pasta or potatoes or bread. Nothing else. If it has a mother, I can eat it. I
find that, at times, this regimen palls and I want something else. I try having
a piece of toast with peanut butter and some sugarless jam for breakfast. While
the docs and their nutritionist tell me this is forbidden, it seems to settle my
stomach some. I do this about once a week. I also start eating protein bars.
These things, in a variety of versions, have may have some carbohydrates in
them, but provide about 20 - 25 grams of protein in a one and a half ounce bar.
When we’re driving somewhere these are a pretty good substitute for cheese and
meat. We go out to dinner at a friend’s home one night, and I try a little
salad, a couple of bites of corn, and a bite of Irene’s coconut cream pie. The
pie tastes delicious, but I’m not tempted by more. My limit is still about four
ounces of food per meal, three times a day. I find, however, that I’m beginning
to get hungry. The general feeling of queasiness is less and less common,
although it’s still hard for me to eat breakfast. Maybe it’s the three cups of
coffee that are doing that. I still enjoy flavorful (read spicy) food, and it
doesn’t seem to bother me. Food is much less at the center of my life, although
maintaining the diet regimen takes some thought and planning.
As the weight and size comes off, there are some
seemingly meaningless events that mean a lot to me. I discover that I am
comfortable sitting with my legs crossed. I can bend over while driving and pick
a dropped water bottle off the floor between my legs. I can reach my zipper to
unzip my fly. I can bend over to tie my shoes and the knots are in the middle of
the tongue. I have to take in my hats. Irene takes in the waist bands of all my
shorts and trousers. We throw or give away the largest sizes. I’ll never need
them again. We buy some new clothes, and I enjoy trying them on and making
choices. We put off buying more because I’m changing sizes so fast they’ll be
too big before they get worn.
During this month my energy becomes greater and
greater. We have been talking about getting a pair of small solo canoes. One day
we go out and rent a pair of solo kayaks and take them into a saltwater creek
tributary to the Gulf of Mexico. We paddle for two hours. I feel fine sitting
almost on the bottom and paddling. Later, my forearms and shoulders are sore,
but I’m eager for more. A couple of weeks later, we show some friends of ours
the ropes. Meanwhile, we schedule ourselves to attend the East Coast Canoe and
Kayak Festival near Charleston, SC. We expect to test paddle canoes and kayaks,
take classes, and learn a whole lot. I look forward to this with anticipation
for the learning and the exercise rather than the dread I might have felt
earlier.
We ride our bikes almost every day. One day we find a
paved bike trail and ride eleven miles along it. At the end of the trail we find
a large pond where fisherman wade in shin-deep water casting for snook. We ride
back, sensing that a distance barrier has been broken. On other days we ride the
deserted, not to say abandoned, roads nearby where the real estate boom of the
seventies lies in ruins. Actually, a few houses have gone up along the canals in
recent years, but the anticipated development has never occurred. Thank God. One
day I go to the pool, thinking I might go for a dozen lengths and end up doing
twice that, four hundred yards. With each excursion I feel stronger.
We drive to Ft. Lauderdale for a last visit to the
surgeon’s office. I weigh in and get measured. According to the nurse, I’ve lost
twelve inches around my waist, but she pulls the tape tighter than the one who
originally measured me. All is well, and we head home. I go to the local doc’s
office for blood tests and return a week later. All the usual blood measures are
normal. HgA1C, a measure of blood sugar over a three-month period, is 4.5 on a
scale of 4 - 8, which means it’s at the low-normal range. Cholesterol is well
into the normal range as are HDL and LDL lipids. Dr. Cohen asks me for details
on my doctor to suggest bariatric surgery for another patient of his.
We buy me some new shorts. It’s a bit risky, because
they’re not going to fit for long. On the other hand, I need some fast drying
clothes for the canoe and kayak festival. We’re heading north in a few days.
We’ve been in Florida for almost seven months. The goal of coming here for
surgery and recuperation has been met, and the results have equaled, if not
exceeded, our expectations. I am purposefully not sending out pics or posting
them because I want to surprise people when they see me. This is a small guilty
pleasure I intend to indulge myself with. We look forward to seeing family and
friends as we head for the Adirondacks and New England.