1 Month Surgiversary! (With some personal reflection, very long, sorry!)

Congrats on your one-month anniversary! And thanks for sharing so deeply and personally! I've only just begun this process and it's scary as hell, but reading other people's experiences of this is really what's keeping me going. It sounds stupid to say out loud, because of COURSE other people must have this problem, but I honestly always felt like I was the only person alive who ever had to worry about fitting into furniture, or booths in restaurants. Obviously I wouldn't be the only person, but it can feel like you're the only one sometimes, right? Anyway, congrats on the comfy chair and the booth and yeah, 25 lbs in a month is nothing to sneeze at!

I'm in Canada and may have to wait a long time for my surgery, so I'll have plenty of time to work on losing what I can before it happens. Thanks for your reflections on that part, too - it'll definitely help bolster my willpower to stick to this 1,200 calorie/day thing!

I am 5 weeks out from surgery and was kicking myself because I only lost 2 pounds in the past 2 weeks, but then my CRNP kicked my butt about it today. He said that I have lost 14 lbs since my surgery and that he only expects 4-8 lbs in a month. So, I almost doubled that amount and to stop being hard on myself! I almost cried with gratitude. He told me that I'm insightful enough about what is going on, but stop "throwing the monkey wrench" into the issue. He told me that if I continue to feel that way that I will then begin to sabotage my diet. And, he is right! I really wanted to go home last night and have ice cream for dinner, but did not. I had chicken (fried, but peeled off the coating) and green beans.

I had one of my friends recently say to me, "Don't you wish you would have done this sooner", but not in an encouraging way, but rather in a condescending way. To which I replied, "I was too busy doing my chemo/radiation to worry about my weight!" At least I had something I could come back at him with. But it really is emotionally crippling and don't minimalize your emotional response to this type of talk.

I also have NO REGRETS, but remember that this is a tool to use. It is a means to an end, not the end. Keep up the good work!