first postoperative check-in with Dr. G.

First time on a scale since before surgery and I'm down 25 pounds.  Hooray!  If I weren't feeling so tired today, I would be even more excited.  I don't know why, but I just cannot seem to get the fog to clear from my brain this afternoon.  The nurse at Dr. G's office told me it's probably because I am having trouble getting in all my protein, and she may be right.  But I did manage to get at least 65 grams in on Wednesday and Thursday, so I'm getting better.  I must admit that it is MUCH more difficult than I ever imagined.  I have almost decided that the people who do manage to get in all their protein and all their water must not sleep at night.  Using the full 24 hours is about the only way I can figure they are doing it.  The pouch only holds a tiny amount and it takes a long time to eat.  So there's no time or room for anything but protein.  Since we aren't allowed to drink anything at all from 30 minutes before a meal until 30 minutes after, you can see how getting 64 ounces of fluids in a day gets to be a little tricky.  


Ah well, I am not complaining.  I will work through it and do my best, just like the hundreds of thousands of other people before me.  I have been extremely fortunate, indeed, as I have had no complications whatsoever thus far and I feel really great most of the time.  No trouble with any foods I've tried, no feelings of nausea or unease in the GI tract, no unexpected pain, nada.  


So yeah, I'm pretty pleased with 25 pounds in 22 days.  The loss won't stay at such a high rate for long, nor do I want it to.  If there's only one lesson I've learned in my 20 years of struggle with weight fluctuation it is that the faster you lose it, the faster you find it again.  I know that with a pouch so small, my chances are much improved this time around...but still, I'd rather lose it slowly. 


Thanks so much to my friends and family for your thoughts and prayers.  I know God heard you and I am thankful He has made this such a breeze thus far.  I will remember you in my prayers, too, and my thanks to God for you and your faith and friendship.  


Love to you all :)

finally got around to writing my review for Carnival Cruise Lines...

I finally went to Carnival.com and submitted my comment/opinion about our recent cruise (October 17 - 24, Carnival Conquest, out of Galveston).


My family and I sailed on the Carnival Conquest out of Galveston, October 17-24, 2010.  This was our fourth or fifth Carnival cruise and it was absolutely our last.  From the very first contact we had at the terminal until we departed the ship back at Galveston, this was the worst cruise experience of our lives.  The terminal agent could not be bothered to smile even one time at us, and basically mumbled at me so that I had to ask her to repeat every single question.  Not only was she not friendly, she was slow.  She also screwed up our booking so that Carnival was convinced we had 3 Spencer Coleses traveling with us.  Our balcony suite was directly above a bar where a tone-deaf band played every evening at approximately 1000 decibels.  When we asked to be moved or at least have the band turn it down a bit, we were basically told "too bad".  We could not converse in our suite, it was that loud.  The paintings on the walls shook and the bass caused the entire room to tremble.  It was beyond ridiculous.  The fact that any cruise professionals would put any human being in that room speaks volumes for that cruise line's care of their customers.  Every employee on that ship, with the exception of our room steward and our waiter, was so rude that it was nearly not believable.  They could not smile to save their lives, and if they needed something from a buffet line, they simply elbowed their way in and over you without a single word of apology or even an "excuse me".    I could complain about the food being sub par, but that pales in comparison to every other experience on that ship.  Our last Carnival cruise before this one was years ago and we swore then, NEVER AGAIN.  But, as usual, you offered something extremely cheap and we, like fools, jumped at the chance for a balcony room.  Our entire vacation was ruined and it was completely miserable as we could not even converse in our own suite.  We also had the privilege of having neighbors who believed that since they got up at 7 a.m. each morning, everyone should get up at that time.  They turned on their stereo as loud as they pleased AND opened their stateroom door every morning so that everyone could enjoy it with them.  But that was nothing more than anything we should have expected, since the entire ship was filled with absolutely the most inconsiderate, rude and low-class people we have ever seen.  But you get what you pay for, and that's exactly the clientele that you attract.  We will be absolutely certain to go with any other cruise line in future, as long as it is not owned by or called Carnival.  It was the biggest waste of money of our lives and we basically had 10 days stolen from us that we could have spent doing anything else.  And ANYTHING else would have been better.  You are the cheapest and it's obvious you don't pay your employees anything or they would care more about keeping customers happy.  But when you are the cheapest cruise line, this is to be expected.  With our experience, Carnival should have paid us, not the other way around.  


So thank you again for taking thousands from me and ensuring that the last cruise we would probably get to take with our parents and our children all together was a complete disaster.