I'm Doing Fine.

 Yep I'm doing just fine. No real issues since I had my surgery. I just have to be careful and not eat to fast or too much. I had joined this group of  Bariatric surgery patients on FB thinking I'd learn something but I've found it more entertaining than helpful. So many of them are screaming I didn't sign up for this or when I can I enjoy food. Bad news for those folks you did sign up for this the day you decided to have surgery. Most insurances have an evaluation period where you go through a psychological evaluation and nutrition classes for 3-6 months so these folks must have slept through it. I had to do 3 months and I still put the surgery off for 5 months. Not counting the 5 years prior that I refused to consider the surgery. What I did learn that not everyone got a manual like I did from the doctor and the hospital (or they conveniently tossed it). The manual was and is very helpful. When I decided to have the surgery after I decided to let myself off the hook that I wasn't taking the easy way out. It wasn't an easy decision and the process is not easy. The biggest issue is having your mind in the right mode so that you are ready for the life changing things that will be happening. 

It's even hard for David to get used to how much I don't eat now.  He's always asking what I can or can't eat. We were out one day and he bought me a whole sandwich of which I ate 2 slices of the meat inside and that's it.  

I am in Phase 4 of this process which is soft foods like Chicken, fish or pork and veggies and only 2-3 ounce servings. I can't have seeds or skins until after 3 months after surgery to give my stomach time to handle. I have gone out to eat a few times and brought home leftovers for a couple more meals. LOL  I'm a cheap date now. Pamela shared some of her plate with me and David will be doing the same unless I want the leftovers. The hardest thing for me is not drinking during the meal. I have to wait 30 minutes after to give my stomach time to digest and not over fill it plus time for my body to absorb nutrients. The surgery apparently altered the absorption rate.

On June 28th I move on to the Maintenance Phase where I can start eating all kinds of foods but still small portions. It says I can up the portions sizes some but my stomach says "no you can't". But that's okay. Currently I'm down 26 pounds since May 2nd. I try to only weight on Mondays so I hope I'll see a few more pounds gone by this coming Monday.

David and I ran errands on Wednesday 5/25. First David dropped me off at the gym so I could have a workout while he went to Home Depot etc. My knee is still an issue but I decided to try the tread mill to get my heart rate up. I was riding the elliptical bike for 30 minutes but it didn't get my heart going. Surprisingly the treadmill didn't hurt my knee as bad as I expected. I got my heart rate up but was only able to walk a quarter of a mile. I know I'm a whimp. It does wear my knee out but I'm trying.

David picked me up 45 minutes later and we went to a place called Farm Patch in Bryan. We found some fresh veggies that we don't grow and several pretty plants to add to our tank off the back porch and our other pots.

 They're really filling in nicely. 

On Wednesday 6/8. I had a doctors visit and afterwards I went down to visit Mom and Joe. It had been a while. They were doing pretty good. Mom was fairly talkative as long as I thought of things to talk about. She would get tongue tied and forgot how to construct her sentence but it was a good visit. I took some pictures of us using the Snapchat filters. That usually makes her laugh and it did. 

This visit Joe let 'Q'  join us. He's part beagle and a terrier of some kind. He can be a handful but this day I was able to get him calmed down and he laid in between me and mom. Of course I had to continuously pet him so he'd stay calm. LOL

When I left Mom and Joe's I went back to Bryan and spent the night with Pamela since I was going to go to the Wildflyer Mead Co. in Navasota the next night for book club meeting. Our book was Jurastic Park. I actually liked the book. Surprised me.

That way I wasn't wasting gas going back home and go back the next day.

Check out Chef Dave's pizza he made for himself while I was at Pamela's. He had a few questions on the construction of it but he made it look pretty. It's made with a cauliflower crust so it's health friendly. Presentation - A+

Nice job and he said it tasted good too.

On Tuesday evening June 14th David asked if I wanted to sit on the front porch for a while. Sure it's happy hour time right. Well I can't drink alcohol/wine currently but it doesn't mean I can't put a protein shake in my sippy cup to keep it cold to drink. So that's what I did. Put it in my sippy cup from Nurse Stephanie. She works with Pamela at the hospital.

And there was a full moon that night.

It was really bright.
And the Belinda's Dream roses in front were in full bloom.

David decided to lay on the couch to watch TV and Bruno decided he would too. He curled up behind David and promptly went to sleep.

This dog is something else. He loves his humans.

Gonna stop for now. 

Everyone stay cool if you can. Our AC for the guest rooms, my sewing room and David's office has been out since April. They finally found a compressor and are coming out Saturday 6/25 to get it fixed. YAY.

Until next blog post: "Mama always said life was like a box a chocolates, never know what you're gonna get."  ~Forrest Gump