No Pain - No Gain

I have to say, I'm one of the lucky ones in terms of recovering from my VSG surgery.  I had no complications at all.  I was up, dressed, and walking the halls of the hospital one short hour after returning to the floor after surgery.  Even better, my staples caused me no drama - and other than the normal and expected odd gas discomfort - I would never know that I had major surgery 3 short weeks ago.

I still have no idea how much weight I've lost.  I'm gearing myself up to step on the scales though, as I will be seeing my Dr. next week at my 4 week post-op appointment, and I will be weighing then.  My clothes are looser, my watch is looser, and my rings are floating on my fingers. Thankfully I took my measurements the night before surgery so that I will always have something to compare to in case the scales are not tipping in my favour. 

That being said, this surgery makes it hard to go wrong.  It is simply not possible for me to eat anything in any amount, so cheating is more like putting a piece of chocolate on your tongue instead of hitting the Golden Arches for 2 plus-sized combos.  My friends have helped me realise many things along the way so far, one of which is that I need to lose my fear of fooling this up.

In the sleeve world, there are ways to go wrong.  Carbonated drinks, for example, can bloat the sleeve and actually encourage it to stretch a little.  No problem for me - I bade them farewell without an issue and don't miss them at all.  Other questionable behaviour includes drinking alcohol simply because it messes with your system - one drink might now actually put you at intoxicated - or on the other hand, it may now take an excess amount to even feel a buzz.  No problem for me - I won't drink.  (I didn't drink til I was 34 and met Hubby, so I have no issues returning to the "non-drinker" status.  I made the mistake of receiving communion while at church on Christmas Eve, and let me tell you the pain of the wine hitting my sleeve was something that I don't care to revisit anytime soon!

In terms of food, a very long way away from where I am right now, I will be able to eat just about anything - but in smaller portions.  Of course like anything, if I consistently try to push the envelope with portions I can also stretch the sleeve - but the part of the stomache that has been removed is the most elastic part, so even this sabotage would take a very long time.  (Not that I want to sabotage!!).

Neglect - which I have been guilty of my whole lifetime - is more of a concern.  I no longer have any hunger.  This requires me to actively think about needing to eat something now - and even drink liquid.  If I dive into mindless behaviour such as channel surfing or playing video games, I could very well skip all meals and all liquid requirements.  I think that is the biggest possibility of failure - because the potential is there to totally wreck my metabolism.

So today - marking the new year - I have realised that I need to try my best to actually observe 3 meals a day.  I started with oatmeal, ate a half cup and was full.  For lunch I had vegetable soup broth and it was glorious.  And for supper we were invited out to my Brother in Law's for ham and all of the fixins.  I'm very happy to report that I managed to eat 4 tablespoons of mashed turnip, carrot, and potato.  Then I was as stuffed as I had ever been... and it all went down fine (after chewing very small portions extensively of course).

I am wrestling a little with heartburn and reflux and have been since surgery.  In the coming weeks and months with medical supervision I will hopefully find a prescription that fixes these little issues.  But overall, I feel absolutely top-notch.  110 percent.  I'm returning to work in 3 weeks and I'm looking forward to it - but I have to stop napping first lol!  This should be easier once I am able to consume more calories for energy.

I have no pain.... and any luck at all I'll have no gain.

I guess I couldn't possibly hope for anything more!!