Metamorphosis

Part of this weight loss project is to increase my walking to 10,000 steps a day. Yikes! This is a major jump for me and it will take a while to build up to this. So, my new routine is to wake at 5:00am and take George for a walk around my neighborhood then drop him off with his breakfast and I continue to walk the perimeter of our resort. This gets me just shy of 5,000 steps. Eventually I will add a second walk in the evening if I can't get some water volleyball games going. It's fun to see all the cactus blooming along the way since many don't bloom until after everyone has left for their summer homes.  I'd normally miss these, but since I'm hanging around for my one month checkup I get to enjoy them. When I get back I water my plants and scheme about what to move and what to add next season. It will be easier getting in the steps once I return to Minnesota as I'll start playing pickleball and there's lots of gardening to be done. There's also some lov...

  Since I can't eat all the yummy things on this puzzle, it was fun just to put it together.  Recovering from surgery is a bit reminiscent of those days of Covid. Time to break out the puzzles so I can distract myself while drinking a protein shake that I don't find very tasty. I'm learning to eat to live...not live to eat.

  I had my two week checkup and things are proceeding nicely. My bandages were removed, the incisions are healing well and I can go back into the pool now. I'm meeting my protein goals and almost there with the water, but he said nobody meets that goal at two weeks. I no longer have to empty my pill capsules into a spoon of jam and can just swallow them. Never thought I'd be grateful to swallow pills, but there you are. My next goal is to get 10,000 steps in each day and have a couple of days with some intense workout. This is going to take some dedication as I'm nowhere near that amount. By my one month checkup I should be able to do some weight lifting. The only bummer was to continue the puree diet for two more weeks. Yuck!  I shouldn't complain (but I will) the taste isn't horrible it's just so awful to look at.  But it's only two weeks...I'm halfway there already. I can do this.

  No,this is not a shot of me before and after. I just wanted to show you how lovely pureed food looks. The picture on the left is the Pizza Bowl from Marco's Pizza and looks very yummy.  It's basically just the pizza toppings of a supreme pizza without the crust. The picture on the right is after pureeing a small amount of it for supper. It looks as appealing as canned  dog/cat food. The flavor is there if you don't make the mistake of looking at it first. These are things I never thought myself capable of doing.

Little deviation from the norm today and yet part of my journey.  You'll see. I am a Norwegian Worrier. Not warrior...worrier.  My daughter has done personality tests on me and I forget the name of the test, but I was a solid six, signifying that I tend to be hyper cautious in my life. When I'm in a restaurant I need to sit facing the door. It probably stems back to my first marriage but anyway...it's the way I am.  Let me give you some examples of how bizarre my thought process can be. I often joke about the size of a trunk and whether or not a body would fit in there, to the point my therapist daughter questioned me on this. My fear was that if I was ever abducted and they covered my mouth with duct tape (as I know many have wanted to do) I would certainly become carsick being bounced around in the trunk and then aspirate on my own vomit. Horrible way to die. Then when one of the kids donated their hair to Locks of Love I explained why I've never done that. My logic w...

  George and I have developed the habit of waking at 5:30 and heading out the door for out walk. Well, actually it's HIS habit, I'd be happy lingering in bed. In Arizona you need to get out there bright and early while it's safe to do so. It's nice at 68 degrees but it hits 97 really quickly. It is nice to hear the birds and see all the pretty cactus blooms. The one above is at Ken & Barb's house.  This is the first bloom on my little Argentine Giant. The bloom is the size of my hand and the plant is only about 9" high. I did a bit too much the other day out in the heat-watering plants, hooking up the new hose reel and cleaning the front of our property.  Got to feeling almost ill, weak and dizzy. So I went back inside and cooked up an egg with cheese for an early lunch and sat down to rest. After taking the trash to the dumpster I checked the mail and found two things for me- a package with some really cute napkins from my friend Carole and a card from my...

  I wouldn't put it past George to do this! My energy is back and I find myself finding little things to do around the house.   My cute turquoise suitcase arrived today and I'm starting to assemble things for Minnesota. Left Brain has the same suitcase except in a dark color and orange highlights. He said how nice it worked for him and I decided I'd get one also. Now that we are "known travelers" through TSA we don't have to remove our shoes. Well, he doesn't anyway because he's older but I'm so much younger .  It will be nice not to have to deal with that, although now that I wear sketchers it's not really a bother.   Oh well. The other perk is that you don't have to take everything out and put it in a bin.  I will be able to pack my cpap, all my electronics and whatever oddball things I need to haul along in one small carry-on case. Since I'll be hauling  George's fat fluffy butt, this really simplifies things.

  I woke this morning and felt full of energy. George was insistent that we leave immediately for our walk. He's become a little furry overlord. Maybe I should have sent him with Left Brain. On Tuesday I went to the Grub Club for the meatloaf, carrots, mashed potatoes & gravy. I ate the mashed potatoes & gravy there so I could visit with friends. Technically I'm not supposed to have potatoes yet but forgot that little fact. It felt so good to eat and socialize! I'm getting better at not drinking anything right before or after eating. That was hard to get the hang of. Cal (kitchen manager) pureed my meatloaf for me.  It looks nasty, but tastes good and will be a nice lunch for me today. It looks a little like either refried beans or cat food and I may have to offer some to George. The gas pains are completely gone. It no longer hurts to eat or drink, even when I take a little more than a sip. If it wasn't for the incisions I wouldn't even know I had this surg...

  This is kind of how it feels when I fix my meals these days. I've gone from a serving for two being almost enough for me to a fourth of a cup making me feel so full.  It's still hard to wrap my brain around this. Breakfast this morning was an egg with cheese that I soft scrambled. So tasty. Enjoyed this while working on my jigsaw puzzle. I went for my early morning walk with George and visited with another lady who had the same surgery and same surgeon two years ago. It's so wonderful to have people share their stories with me about their experience. Then I wandered over to my friend Kat's house for a visit on her porch before the day heated up too much. Before going in I watered my plants and put a few things inside the shed that I knew I wouldn't be using until next season just to get a jump on it. I was no sooner home when Andy and Mitch stopped by for a wellness check to see how I was doing. Andy had his surgery five days ahead of me. He joked that when we get...

  Yesterday I picked up an order of red chicken curry from my favorite little Thai restaurant, without the rice. Took it home and blended it down and put into my little 2oz containers.  OMG! Smooshing it into oblivion didn't alter the taste at all.  It was so good! I really wanted to just keep eating for the taste but when I started to burp I remember that that can indicate the stomach is full.  I remember the doctor saying I'd learn within one bite how much is too much and decided I'd better stop. After all, it was the eating as much as I wanted that got me into this mess. I managed to get my whole protein shake down as well as 48 oz of water.  I scored 52 grams of protein that day, a record for me since the surgery.  But the crowning achievement was that I was finally able to poop. Yeah, I know...TMI.  Now I feel that I'm really on the mend. I didn't walk as much as I should have but managed to get a few things done around the house.  I still fe...

  My body feels like that cat on the treadmill. I hope this gas doesn't last much longer. It feels like the times I've overeaten at Thanksgiving dinner and it hurt to take a deep breath. I imagine that if someone stuck a knife in me right now I'd fly around the room like a balloon. The day started early on Friday when taking Left Brain to the airport. We had agreed that if I was doing well he should head to Minnesota as he is on the board up there and there's lots going on.  The plan was to either fly out Friday or wait until Monday. The price difference made that decision easy. $83 to fly Friday or $414 on Monday. Yikes! This was my preference as it will be easier for me to only care for myself until my one month checkup. By the time I am ready to leave home and join him up north I will be on soft foods and that's way easier to cook for two people. I've pureed a bowl of Panera broccoli and cheese soup and packed it into little two ounce containers so they are a...

  I knew the first few days would be rough and I'm glad for all the research I did to prepare for this surgery.  Otherwise I'd be asking myself right now WTF did I just do? The overnight hospital stay was an experience. I learned quickly that you don't get to actually sleep in the hospital with all the attention that is given.  They constantly brought me meds to stay ahead of the pain and nausea which helped immensely. My pain level was never over a one on the one to ten scale. More of a discomfort than pain. The only vein that worked well for the IV was in the crook of my left arm so I was not able to bend it or the machine would alert. I had both legs in the things I called python leggings that would give a constant squeezing to prevent blood clots. There's nothing like being hooked up where you can't move that makes you need to pee. I soon became an expert at unhooking my legs, unplugging the IV and rolling it with me to the bathroom or when I took my walks arou...

  Let the healing and my new life begin! One of the best parts of today is the start of a puree diet.   I never thought I'd look forward to eating food that's all smooshed and blended but after 14 days of liquid it sounds pretty appealing.

  May 6th and I'm so ready to do this and start my journey to a new life and better health. I'm heading off to the hospital to begin my transformation. Yes, I know it will still take a year or two to get there, but it's a beginning. I may not be able to blog for a while, it will depend on how well I feel when I get home.  Wish me luck!

  Happy Cinco de Mayo!  I had a premonition that my surgery would be on this day.  And it very well may have except it fell on Sunday this year.  Tomorrow's the Big Day!  As the song says: My bags are packed and I'm ready to go.    I didn't think I'd live through the two weeks of just liquids, but now it's done. I never thought I'd say this, but I'm excited to start the puree phase of my life, it's all relative. Since I won't be able to drink anything alcoholic for at least a year after the surgery would you be so kind as to have a margarita for me in my honor? Be sure to lick the salt off the rim, that's one of my favorite parts.

This quote really resonates with me. You might be able to mentally block reality in your own fantasy world but the body simply won't buy into that BS.  Scary that the body is smarter than the brain, huh? I've always felt healthy and able to do most everything I wanted after I gained weight but there's all those hidden things going on inside. Cholesterol that starts creeping up, sleep apnea, diabetes...and the list could go on and on. Or I could do something to change things. I was able to continue playing pickleball while heavy and played pretty well. Then came a bout of plantar fasciitis that literally knocked me off my feet for about a year. I guess the body was telling me it "couldn't stand" what I was doing to it any more. I'm amazed that while playing as long as I did I didn't wreck my knees. I wanted dearly to take advantage of the free line dance classes in our resort but couldn't continue due to the pain in my feet and how out of breath I w...

  Whoo hoo!  Almost to the end of the liquid diet. It wasn't as bad as I feared it would be but I'm really glad it's done. Using zero sugar flavors for water has been helpful as well as the skinny syrups to squirt into my protein shakes. The hands in the photo is the thing I bought while out shopping last week. It's supposed to be a jewelry holder but I liked it just as an art object. To me it represents a gratitude tray.  And I'll be glad to be done with the liquid diet, although it has been very insightful for me during this time. I finished the card holders I was working on for next season's craft shows.  Now there are 23 ready to sell. It's nearing crunch time now and I've started to pack up things I want to take with me to the hospital for my overnight at the spa.  It will be nice to have my jello and broth served to me as I luxuriate in my bed with full control of the remote.  Living the La Vida Loca baby! 

I'm thinking that this liquid diet is kind of like a boot camp for my stomach, preparing it for what's to come. Also, it takes two weeks to change a habit so I'm learning when I'm anxious or bored to drink some water instead of mindlessly shoving food in my face. It's weird that I don't really feel hungry doing this, not that I wouldn't love a cheeseburger and fries right now. But that's what got me into trouble...eating without needing to. I can't wait until I have my new little tiny pouch that will not allow me to eat too much at a time. I will learn to savor the flavor and chew slowly and really enjoy each bite. I've observed over this time how much eating is such a part of everything I do. Social events always involve food. When I go out shopping I would always stop for a bite somewhere or get a cookie...or both. Movies meant having popcorn and soda. So much of this was mindless eating, dealing with boredom or anxiety and habit. It's stra...

  Happy May Day everyone! If you're old like me you probably have memories of creating little May Day baskets and hanging them on the doorknobs of loved ones.  I don't know if anyone still does this, but it was a lovely tradition. Today my friend Andy has his surgery, so I'm thinking of him a lot. Ran a bunch of errands today as I had good energy to do so. Even did some fun shopping at Michaels.  I ordered a ton of stuff from Amazon that I couldn't find while shopping.  I don't know what I'd do without them! Took a nap so I would have the energy to play water volleyball tonight. They started playing at 6:00pm when it's cooler.