I will be four weeks post-op tomorrow, and 30 days post-op on Thursday. I can’t believe that a month has nearly passed since my surgery! I am willing to bet the time feels like it has flown by because my recovery from surgery was more smooth than I ever imagined it would be. My energy levels are increasing each day and I am feeling more and more like myself, which is good since school starts in a few weeks. I am lucky to have had such a good recovery. I attribute it to my doctor doing all he could do to make sure I was safe during surgery as well as afterward.
So there wasn’t much of a loss this week, but a loss is a loss and I’ll take it. Here are some reasons why I think my loss this week was not nearly what they have been in the past 3 weeks:
- I had my period this week. I always get really puffy the week of my period, and for the few days afterward. I retain more water than the Titanic, and no matter how much I move or how much I drink, my legs and feet hold on to that fluid. Damn hormones.
- Perhaps this is my body’s response to changing over from all liquids for my nourishment to soft solids. I’m taking in more sodium than I was when I was drinking all my meals, so I’m guessing my body is getting used to the increase in salt. Also, my calorie intake is slightly higher, but only by about 200 calories. I’m still under my goal of 800 calories daily though.
- I think my body’s cells have finally gone, “WTF DID YOU DO TO US? WE WERE SO CHILL WITH YOU BEFORE AND NOW YOU’RE MAKING US WORK MORE FOR LESS FOOD, WTF???” I don’t think my body much likes what I did, but I’m trying to teach it a new normal. It’s a slow going process but I think my body is still in an adjustment period. This may take a little bit for it to get used to.
- Also I think my body is finally settling into its new shape so things have moved around a bit even though the scale has not moved much.
I seem to have avoided the infamous 3-week stall that I keep reading and hearing about, but I have a feeling it will be inevitable. I’m not going to stress about it because well…I noticed a few things this week that told me my body is definitely getting smaller:
- I tried on a pair of shorts I had in my chest of drawers that I bought the last time I tried to lose weight because I thought I’d be able to wear them then. They were a size smaller than the shorts I’d worn last week. I didn’t think they’d fit, but to my surprise, they DID. So I have been wearing the hell out of them this week because I don’t know how much longer I’ll be able to wear them without them falling off me eventually! That’s two pants sizes down in 4 weeks.
- I am seeing more veins in my upper chest. Because of this, I have determined that I am really veiny. Yuck.
- My watch fits better now than it did when I bought it. It actually slides around on my wrist now, which I like my watches to be able to do. It didn’t do that before.
- The part of my upper abdomen immediately below my boobs is flattening out so now my boobs don’t look like they’re continuous with my belly.
Also, logically if I can only take in around 600-800 calories daily and my BMR says I use roughly 2300 calories, then mathematically I should be losing roughly 3 pounds a week. But because there are so many variables involved in weight loss, I’m not worried about a 1 pound loss. It’s a decrease in weight, and that’s all that matters to me mathematically. Besides, I’d rather the weight come off slowly so my skin stands a decent chance of looking good when I get to goal.
Things I am going to do this week to continue being successful:
- Crank my protein up to 70g minimum daily. If this means I have to drink more Isopure, well then so be it. My tummy can only hold so much meat at a time, and I can only eat so many times in a day because in between I have to drink.
- Get in more movement during the day. If this means I have to head to the mall to walk, then I will, because it is too frickin’ hot outside to do it! Or I could use the Leslie Sansone walking DVD I have. It’s a 20 minute walking workout.
- Keep getting 96 oz water minimum, more if possible. I was drinking this or more pre-surgery, but it’s even more important for me to do this now that my protein intake is so large and my carb intake is so low.
- Write here every day. It’s therapeutic and helps me get things out of my head so I can process them easier.
- Keep going to group each week. Keep going to therapy each week as insurance allows. This may change once the insurance year rolls over and my deductible starts over again. Ugh…new insurance has doubled my deductible AND OOP max. Not. Excited. About. This.
Another thing of note: I am now at the bottom end of The Range. I am hopeful that next week will show me a weight I have not seen in nearly 20 years. *fingers crossed*
Today’s food choices:
Today’s food choices, clockwise from upper left: multivitamin and calcium chewables x2; homemade lettuce wrap filling; Syntrax Matrix mint cookie shake; Sargento 2% sharp cheddar cheese snack; leftover Genghis Grill lettuce wrap filling; Isopure Zero Carb icy orange flavor drink. If I am going to hit my minimum protein goal of 70g each day this week, I have to continue drinking protein drinks. Yuck. But if they help me to meet my daily protein goal, so be it.
I decided since I’d been given some extra sauce yesterday to make the lettuce wrap filling at home based on how I think it was prepared. Here’s how I made my own. You will need:
- 1 pound ground boneless, skinless chicken breast
- 2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
- 1/2 cup water chestnuts, minced finely (I put them through a food processor)
- 2 cubes Dorot frozen crushed garlic (you could also use 2 teaspoons minced garlic)
- 4 oz. your favorite stir-fry sauce
- ground pepper to taste
Heat the oil in a large skillet over high heat until it shimmers. Grapeseed oil has a very high smoke point (420 degrees F) which makes it good for cooking things at high heat. Once the oil is hot enough, drop the chicken in the pan and stir in the minced garlic and water chestnuts. I used a potato masher to break up the chicken as it cooked. Quickly move the meat around the pan so that it cooks on all surfaces. It will cook fairly fast. Once the meat is done, add in the stir-fry sauce and make sure it coats all surfaces. Let the meat cook with the sauce, taking care to stir the meat rapidly around the pan so that it does not stick to the bottom. Season with the pepper–salt is not needed as the stir-fry sauce has plenty of sodium.
This recipe will make approximately 9 2-ounce servings.
Nutrition information from My Fitness Pal (per 2 ounce serving): 119 calories, 13 grams protein, 8 grams carbs, 4 grams fat.
La Guerra de La Gorda 