Well, it's been about four months since my weight loss surgery.
The past month was a bit frustrating, intially, as my weight loss slowed numbers-wise. However, my surgeon warned me to expect this, and also advised me to remain alert for shape changes when the numbers stopped moving, and she was right. I've 'only' lost around 10-11 lbs over the past 30 days, which is slow compared to my prior rate but still a fast loss rate by any other measure. When I checked my lean mass/fat mass readings for the month, I could see that although my weight wasn't changing much, I seem to have accumulated slightly more lean mass and lost fat mass, which my surgeon says is my body reacting to the continued loss by trying to retain muscle tissue - moving fat into muscle. This is accentuated by the fact that I'm walking more (up to around 3 miles/day, sometimes 4-5).
Several friends spontaneously noted this month that I look 'dramatically thinner' - and these are friends who have been seeing me regularly since the surgery, which would seem anecdotally to indicate that in fact, yes, I was undergoing shape changes this month much more than straight weight changes. I think what is going on is that I've lost most of the excess weight on my extremities - most of my fat is now concentrated in my gut. I hadn't realized how much fat I had elsewhere until I started losing it - I think my legs are maybe 4/5 the width they were, in some places. My shirts fit very differently, as apparently I've started losing excess weight around my shoulders and upper back, which people have said makes me look noticeably different especially from the rear.
My joints ache a bit in weird places. I'm not sure why; I'm going to ask my doc if it's nutrition related, but I don't think so. I suspect it's just that since I have much less padding, I need to relearn how to sleep and sit and generally operate my body, because I'm putting more pressure on bones and muscles directly.
I'm still eating between 700 and 1100 calories a day. I find that eating 'real food' makes for faster weight loss, within reason - I think because protein shakes have more concentrated nutritional value, or more highly available nutrition. I've eaten several of my old favorite restaurant meals in the past month, including Peking duck, and have found as expected that I can eat much much less of them. However, it's wonderful that I still seem to enjoy all the foods I used to, perhaps even more now that I'm limited in the amount I can consume. I'm taking my time, and savoring my food - not only does that increase my satisfaction, but if I eat slowly, I can generally eat perhaps 6-7 oz instead of 4, as food moves through my stomach (over the course of 90 mins or so, whereas I used to bolt my food in maybe 20).
I really wish I'd been ready to do this surgery 10 or 5 years ago. But I wasn't, and had I done it, it would have had a bad outcome - I'm very confident of that. I did it when I was ready to do it, when I finally decided I needed to do it, and I think that has a great deal to do with my so far apparently relatively painless recovery and adjustment. I haven't made myself sick to the point of vomiting, not even once. I've tried not to stretch my stomach, and I think I'm so far doing OK because the maximum amount I can eat at a time has only gone up by a small amount. I've managed to stay under 30-40 grams of carbs per day this entire time, and I've adjusted to the notion that this should be a lifelong change. While I miss sugar and pasta and pizza and french fries and bread, I miss it intellectually - I've finally moved past the physiological carb cravings.
The only thing that really grates on me, I have to say, is that I'm a New York Jew, and not being able to eat bagels is really a constant sore spot.
Weight: 251