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Good morning!
First off, thanks for all your supporting comments yesterday. I sometimes feel like I am such a whiner, when I complain about the weight fluctuation, the fluids sitting around the wounds and all that.
Sorry, guys. They just bug the hell outta me.
I know that post-surgery takes time, I know it's normal and I know it will disappear, most likely without significant help. I just get SOOOO impatient, and I want it gone now.
Like SkInnyfuture mentioned yesterday, my head is still fully active, and I am so used to doing so many things that it simply won't accept that I am temporarily put out of the game.
I try to do as much as I can, without pushing it too far. I try to keep myself reasonably active. I try not to "get stuck" on the couch.
In my line of work - I work with people out on long term sick leave - I often meet people who "get stuck". I see how hard it is for them to get back to work, to get back to normal life, and I will not let that happen to me. Then again, I think you guys know me well enough to know that it wouldn't happen anyways.
I keep active playing as much music as I reasonably can. I have worked out a reasonable way to sit with my bass without too much strain, at least for 15-20 minutes at a time and with a LOT of breaks. The guitar is heavy, so I have to watch out.
Also, having friends over keeps my head entertained. It's nice.
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Much to my surprise, I gained almost a kg today. I stayed true to my RDI, and generally did good. I drank all my water, a glass full every hour on the hour the entire time I was awake.
These weight imbalances drive me nuts. Of course, it's a different situation right now, but I hate that I can't predict where I am going to be on the scale.
I wonder what caused the gain? Is it just regular fluctuation? Is it fluids around my wounds? Is it because of all the walking? If so, does walking make it better or worse? Does the walking ease it and soften up the liquid to hopefully be drained at the next doctor's visit, or do I "scare" my body by walking and thus make MORE fluid appear? I have no idea. I tried to get to google it a little yesterday, but as I had guests all morning and afternoon, and I was so tired yesterday, I just didn't get to do it. I think I'll try again today. I really want to learn about this.
Also, I have now seen through the week that I tend to end up at around 1600-1800 calories consumed per day. I wonder if this is actually ENOUGH for my body to heal properly? I mean, the cut looks better and better every day. The bruising is coming down nicely, and the main concern is the bulging from the fluids. It's a LOT.
The surgeons didn't find it necessary to put in drains when they did the surgery, since everything behaved so nicely. I kind of wish now that they had done so. Sure, it would have been tedious for a few days, but I wouldn't have had so much of an issue now. Oh well, what's done is done, and I assume they know better than me what is good when it comes to surgery, right? :)
Anyways, I am thinking that calorie restriction probably ISN'T a great idea right now. I've been on this topic before. I see that I have a need to count my calories, to not let things go crazy, and for me to feel that I am eating right. However, when I start counting my calories I automatically start restricting myself. It's a habit, I suppose. I get cheap on my calories and don't want to spend them. So the question is if it is simply a bad idea to count calories while I'm healing? I'm not sure. I think I will keep counting for at least the week - but maybe try to NOT look too much at numbers. I just like to know how much I actually consume. It's a lot trickier for me to do this than it sounds. You'd think it's easier to count calories if I did NOT have to restrict myself, but simply just count, right? Well... wrong. :)
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As I mentioned, I had a friend come over yesterday, and it was an amazing experience.
My friend - let's call him Big Fella - used to be a HUGE guy. He used to weigh more than 205 kgs, that's 450 lbs, and of course suffered severely from this. He had lots of pains, and walking was a real challenge. We talked about it many times, and he told me that it was pretty much impossible for him to walk for more than maybe a minute or two, about 50 meters/yards.
Well, about two months ago he had the gastric bypass surgery. He has adjusted fine to it, and is really embracing it, learning his new ways of eating and doing amazingly well.
Yesterday, Big Fella came to visit. We sat around a little while, he brought a couple of bread rolls for a 2nd breakfast and we enjoyed it.
After a while, he asks if we should go for a walk. I'm kinda surprised as he normally doesn't (can't) do this, but I also know that he's been talking about walking when he was ready for it.
So of course, I tell him "let's go". I can use the exercise too, and the weather was amazing. Super summer day in Denmark - something we haven't seen too much of this year.
End result? We walk for about TWO FULL FRICKIN' HOURS! Sure, he was tired. Sure, he had pains between his should blades (I had those too, maybe you remember? I'll talk about that in a moment), and sure, his calves were tired, but he kept pushing himself, he enjoyed it, we talked comfortably all the time - meaning that he was NOT out of breath - and it just made me SO happy to see this change.
Big Fella has lost 50 kgs total. That is 25% of his body weight - a great start for him. Of course, there is still quite a ways to go, but he is doing it like a sport. I am SUPER proud of him.
He is now at my starting weight, and I can't wait to see him lose more. I am following him closely, and we have a standing agreement that whenever he is up for exercise to just call me and I will join him as much as I can. He is DEFINITELY one that I want to support.
Big Fella DID do the gastric bypass surgery. Normally, I don't really approve of this, I have to admit. I think for most people it is a MUCH HARDER way of losing weight, because their lifestyle has to change significantly more than if they just got their butt moving and lost the weight the good, old fashioned way. There are so many things that needs to change, so many new complications when it comes to food, and so many risks that you take when you have the surgery.
In Big Fella's case, I fully understand why he accepted it. We actually talked about it yesterday. Had he realized that his overweight was killing him slowly 50 kg earlier, he wouldn't have taken the surgery. But at 205 kgs, there were so many complications, and a real concern that he might not survive to reach 150 kgs on his own, that it became less of an option and more of a necessity. I can understand that.
And, of course, it is always up to the individual whether it is something for us to do.
I simply think it is much easier to follow the FatSecret calorie restriction rules that I have followed than doing what he has been doing the last few months. What a challenge. I gotta say, I am deeply impressed with him.
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Now, about the hurting shoulder blades.
You guys might remember that I wrote about this quite a while back. Probably about a year ago, I started having these weird pains in my upper back when I would walk more than just a short while. It hurt like a mother, and was really holding me back on my exercise.
I asked around here, googled and tried to find out what was going on.
From the research I concluded that it simply was a muscle strain from the shoulders and back over compensating when I walked. I had lost so much weight, and my muscles simply hadn't adjusted to it.
So when I would walk for a longer time, the muscles would try to counter weight a belly that was no longer there. This would make the muscles pull too hard, and thus hurt. I was told back then to not worry and that it would pass. And so it did. After a month or two the pains simply disappeared and I haven't had them since.
Well, now Big Fella is having those very same pains, so I told him what I had learned about them, and seeing that he has lost 50 kgs I think it sounds very likely that this is the issue. Of course, I also told him to check with his doc if he feels that it's necessary. I don't want him to ignore some issue just because I tell him things are okay.
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So what's in store for today?
Well, I have set up a "play date" again today. A dear old friend is in town to visit family on her summer break, and she will stop by around 9:30 am or so. We'll have a little coffee, and when the stores open we'll go for a walk.
I do try to walk as much as possible, but it takes SO much energy to do so. After yesterday's walk I was COMPLETELY drained from energy. I could barely stay aways all afternoon and evening, and I don't think I woke up even once through the night. I totally konked out.
Anyways, I will try to repeat that today, depending how much walking my friend can handle. We'll see.
It's nice when I get a helping hand to pass time through the mornings. Waking up with Wife at 4:30, and her leaving around 5:30 makes it a LOOOOONG morning. Boredom can easily kick in if I don't occupy myself.
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I started writing music again, a little bit. I wrote most of a song yesterday, and have most of the music recorded for it. I am still working on melody line and lyrics, but I like the song already. I may have to adjust it a little bit, some bits are not fitting all as I like them too, but the general idea is there. I'm curious whether I will see this one to the end, or if it will end on the curring room floor. It has some cool ideas, but I am not fully sure if it is like I want it to be.
My studio is very limited, and I am very depending on what drum tracks I have available, as they are not very programmable. It's not as such a drum machine that I use, but more like pre-recorded drum tracks, so I can only change them around so much.
This really limits creativity, but at the same time it makes the process of "jotting down" a musical idea super fast and efficient, and it makes for a very creative process in so many ways. It's both a win and a lose thing.
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Today, I am thankful for:
- A SUPER long walk yesterday, with great company.
- The outlook to a nice walk again today.
- Coffee.
- Wife bringing home a couple of cookies or cake. :)
Happy Thursday! Life is good!
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180.8 lb
Lost so far: 160.9 lb.
Still to go: 0 lb.
Diet followed 100%.
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Diet Calendar Entry for 05 July 2012:
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1481 kcal
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Fat: 45.62g | Prot: 71.15g | Carb: 200.76g.
Breakfast: Egg, Rye Bread, Sliced Ham (Extra Lean). Lunch: Ranch Salad Dressing (Reduced Fat), Lettuce Salad with Assorted Vegetables, Sliced Ham (Extra Lean), Pita Bread. Dinner: Chicken Thigh (Skin Not Eaten), Spanish Rice. Snacks/Other: Chocolate Cake (Without Frosting), 2% Fat Milk, Frozen Strawberries. more...
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gaining 12.3 lb a week
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