Day 14 - Has It Only Been 2 Weeks?

Today I celebrate the end of the liquid diet by errrr...ummm...having a liquid protein shake for breakfast.

Now I enter Phase 3 of the post-op diet, which consists of pureed and soft foods.

It's now two weeks after the surgery and my body has hit a weight loss stall. I've done some research and this seems fairly common. The body is confused by new foods after practically being starved for a long period of time. It's trying to figure out how to stop using Glycogen here and there and start burning fat.

I'm fairly sure I'm hampering the process by not eating enough. That's right! Based on what I've read, I'm not eating enough. Right now that's basically because of the desire to eat the foods I'm allowed to - I not haz the desire. Regardless, the past few days I've eaten less than 400 calories a day. And I'm afraid I've sent the body into panic-save-all-you-got mode. The result on the scales has been a 4-day stall at the same weight.

That's freaking frustrating. My body absolutely refuses to give up the 50th pound. I told Jen this morning that I could stay the same weight without the damn surgery. That's just frustration talking, but nevertheless it is true.

Adding to the frustration is nagging leg problems. As I've mentioned before, my outter thighs are numb. The numbness is just sort of annoying. But after standing or walking for 20-30 minutes, the numbness becomes an excruciating burning sensation. I took the boy to Toys R Us Saturday and after browsing the store for about 40 minutes I had to limp back to the car the pain was so bad.

THAT'S stopping me from exercising, which is also hampering the weight loss efforts.

I've seen two doctors about it and they both say it's likely a pinched nerve, or perhaps even a slipped disc. There's nothing I can do at this point except to try to wait it out and hope it heals.

I got frisky Saturday night and decided to advance my diet by a few days. I browned some beef and grabbed some spaghetti sauce. I pureed it together, hoping to make something appealing to the palate. Instead I brewed a concoction that resembled dog vomit, and didn't smell far from it either. A few bites and I decided to abandon ship.

Thanks to my lovely wife, I had some mashed potatoes last night that hit the spot. God bless the potato. For I'm not sure how I would have made it this far without it.

Weight this morning - grrrrrr - 392 (-49lbs)

There's no pity party being thrown here. It's frustrating by I wasn't naive enough to think this would go perfectly. I'll get it figured out and until then I'll soldier on.

Regards,
The Vanishing (albeit slowly) Taylor