I am essentially 2 weeks post weight loss surgery, and and I am thrilled to report that I am feeling great! I am incredibly happy with my decision to do this! My husband said he expected me to somehow be “different”, and actually, I think maybe I expected to be “different”, too, but honestly, I just feel like myself, only freer!

You might be thinking, “How could she possible feel freer? There are so many changes and restrictions that come with weight loss surgery.” And that’s correct, but I don’t really think of them as limitations. Instead, they’re all just tools for me to use. I am not feeling deprived of food. I am not feeling “left out”. In fact, I don’t even really feel hunger. I am sure that will change with time, but so far, I have not really felt hungry at all. I eat my 3 meals a day 5 hours apart because I know I need to, but so far, I have not eaten because I feel hungry. I am fortunate that I don’t really have any issues with food aversion, so it’s not like I am forcing food into myself. I am still eating soft foods, and not much at that! A typical day for me right now looks like 1/2 cup of cottage cheese for breakfast, two eggs made into egg salad or deviled eggs or scrambled with a little cheese for lunch, and 2-3 oz. of finely shredded chicken with some ranch dressing and hot sauce for dinner. I supplement with Gatorade Zero protein during the day to help reach my protein goal of 60 g per day, and as much water as I can to reach my 64 oz of fluid per day (still struggling to meet that goal.). While I may nor be feeling hunger, I can tell when I am full. It’s kind of like a pressure in my chest; it’s not the traditional feeling of fullness I’ve experienced in the past.

I did experience what happens if I eat too fast or eat too much, though, and it’s not pleasant! When I ate too fast, I was playing on my phone while eating, so I wasn’t paying attention to my eating like I should. When I ate too much, I was socializing and not paying attention to my eating like I should. Common thread: not focusing on my eating! It’s very important for me to be conscious of my eating while I am doing it. Otherwise, I get hit with some pretty strong nausea. I’m glad I didn’t actually get sick — but the nausea was enough to send me to lie as still as possible in bed until it passed.

So why do I feel free? Because I don’t feel like I am a servant to food anymore. Instead, food serves ME. Food is fuel for my body, not love or comfort or entertainment. I have a check valve in place that will prevent me from scarfing down copious amounts of food that aren’t good for me — no more eating half a pizza or 3 cupcakes or a dozen buffalo wings or a large order of fries or drinking an entire large chocolate shake. I would be sick, and now that I have had the chance to feel that nausea, I know I DON’T want that! It’s freeing to know that I have a tool in place that will help keep those unhealthy foods and habits in check. Since this surgery, I have been around people eating pizza and McDonald’s, and I was fine. Did the food smell good to me? Sure did. But right now, since my stomach is still healing, I KNEW I absolutely could not have any of it at all, and I found that liberating! Once I am back to “normal”, I could eat it, but only a small amount, and I find that liberating, too!

Two weeks down, a lifetime to go!