Week 2

So once again I stepped on the scale this morning.  The question everyone wants to know...how much have you lost???  In an stunning 12 days - not even a full two weeks, I have lost 20 pounds!  I keep thinking about pounds of butter.  It's like 20 boxes of butter had been taped to my body and they are gone! Melted off like I had stuck them in the microwave or something.

The next obvious questions have been - how do you feel?  Are you hungry?  What can you eat?

1.  I feel amazing.  After those few horrible days, I am amazed at my level of energy and the desire to accomplish things I've put off for months.  I reorganized my kitchen to make room for my protein powder, vitamins and supplements.

I finally sat down and filed the accumulation of papers I'd stuck in a box that said "to file".  It took me seven hours, but I finally waded to the bottom of the stack and feel great that everything is finally in order.

I've walked every day with the help of Mrs. Kravits - making it fully around my small block as of last Thursday.  Tomorrow we'll push on a little further.  I keep reminding myself I have a lifetime to add distance to my walk...right now it's about getting the routine in place.

I had Harry, the handyman, come by yesterday and we ripped out the horrible, shredded carpet that was in one of the guest rooms and prepped the plywood for me to paint.  I can't wait to create a fun and exciting alternative to traditional flooring in what will become my office/craftroom.

I had my toenails painted and my hair cut.  A treat to myself for coming this far.  It will be important to reward myself in new and different ways for accomplishments that don't include food.

I tried on clothes I wore just but a month ago and felt them glide on my body easily rather than sucking in my stomach to loop the buttons.  That is a feeling you can't pay money for.

2. Am I hungry?  Not really.  Yesterday I was truly hungry for the first time.  But I had been running at 90 miles an hour since I woke up for my walk.  At 2:30 I realized I was hungry.  Typically this would mean I would eat twice as much as I needed and then either need a nap or was physically 'done' with any meaningful activity. Instead I had a bowl of soup.  Momentarily thinking I should have more before remembering my stomach is now the size of a golf ball.  I waited about twenty minutes and realized I really didn't need anything else.  I was then able to continue working on the various projects around the house I had started earlier.  That too is a wonderful learning curve.

3.  What can I eat?  I have to have 60-70 grams of protein each day to ensure I don't lose too much muscle as I shed the weight.  I have figured out that I can get 50 grams each day just in a morning breakfast shake.  With a scoop of protein powder, a small container of Greek yogurt and a cup of skim milk, I get more than 2/3rds of my daily protein in just at breakfast.

As of today, I can start adding pureed food - broadening my menu from shakes and soup to include real food.  Lots of folks have suggested baby food, which I did purchase a bit of the other day - but couldn't bring myself to buy baby food meat.  Too gross to look at :)  Instead bought some pre-cooked teriyake  chicken breasts that I can blend with a bit of broth which I am sure will be more palatable than whatever bland yuck we feed our babies!  I can't wait to try this for dinner.

I expect by next week I can start adding things to my diet like scrambled eggs and cottage cheese.  Soft solids.  So far - I have have been fortunate that I have had no negative reactions to what I've eaten.  Sticking to the suggested plan, allowing the fear of pain to positively affect my choices.  And when you step on the scale each morning to see the reward of those choices...it makes it easy to stay on track.

Every day I am encouraged to think that soon...I will be half the woman I am today :)

So again, all is wonderful in my world today and I could not be happier I finally made the decision to take proactive action; allowing myself to live the life I am supposed to live.

Off to take a shower and head to church.  Can't wait to share more later!

Cam