My first big social event after surgery.

On Thursday I attended a 3 day scrapbooking convention here in Las Vegas.  This was my first big outing away from home since I had surgery.  I had it all planned out.  I packed enough protein shakes, juice plus, b12 and calcium for the three days.  Not only was I going to be attending classes but would also be working our Close to my Heart booth for 4 hours each day.
Living in Las Vegas I know how important water is and certainly learned that the first week back to work after my surgery.  So I made plans to keep up with my water drinking.  When I work and at home I keep 4 32 ounce bottles filled with water in the refrigerator and I make sure to drink at the min 2 of those a day.  I usually get in 2 and half.  I will do three if I've been traveling out in the heat or have spent a lot of time outside.
Well my careful planning did not turn out the way I would have liked.  I was so excited on Thursday that I only really drank 1 32 ounce bottle of water and did not really have that much after that.  On Friday I only got in about 40 ounces.  I realized Friday night that I did not get enough water in.  I was having headaches and was very tired even though I had a 2 hour nap that day.  On Saturday my headache continued and was really constipated.  My lips were dry and chapped and I was really craving water.  I had 40 ounces of water that morning while I worked in the CTMH booth but is was not enough.  Once I got home around 5pm I proceeded to drink 64 ounces of water and my headache went away.  I still felt weak, tired and vomited my dinner after I ate. I ended up sleeping for 14 hours but did get up 3 times during the night to get more water.
Sunday was much better as I drank 4 32 ounce bottles of water and really focused myself on getting enough water in me to re hydrate and get myself back on track.

After the incident I had the first week back to work I have been very careful about water and getting enough.  But it is so easy when you do social events that are out side your normal routine to get off track.  You are really more susceptible to dehydration after any bariatric surgery.  Next time I will be more focused on the water and make sure to take at least two of my water bottles with me to keep track.  While this time the dehydration was not as bad as before it definitely was not fun and it was a learning experience.

I did have lots of fun, bought some really great stuff and picked up a few new customers for my Close to my Heart scrapbooking business.

8 weeks since surgery

 It's now been two months since I had my surgery.  It's been a journey so far.  I've had re learn how to eat and drink.  It does feel strange to never have hunger pains and to feel full after only a few bites.  I'm still amazed at how little I eat.  While food tastes good I really only have a few bites and am done.  I have discovered that I much prefer to have a protein shake or nectar protein drink.  I feel better with those than when I eat something.  I think it's because of the high protein content. 
I've had a few bites of cheesecake and a little chocolate but not much.  I like the sugar free products better.  I really enjoy weight watchers snack size fudge bars and ice cream cones.  Those are the perfect size.  I also like weight watchers candies if I need a bite of chocolate.  although wanting a piece of chocolate and ice cream is more my taste buds and my head.  My stomach could care less what it gets. I really do never feel hungry.  I can tell when I've gone to long as my stomach will start to cramp because it's empty.
Today I had a chicken wing and yes it was deep fried. Don't ask me why I had it.  It tasted good but boy did it sit like a rock in my stomach for about an hour.  It was my first fried food and I will be steering clear of that for a while.

I've been very careful about getting enough water in.  Since I live in the desert and we have started having daily temps of 110 I really push to 2.5 liters in a day.  I carry around a 750ml water bottle that I sip all day.  I was working outside on Tuesday in the heat and I noticed quickly that I needed to keep drinking to stay hydrated.  You don't realize how hard it is to get enough water in when you can only drink so much at a time.
Anyway as of Monday June 10, 2013 I had lost a total of 54 lbs.  I feel thinner and my clothes are baggy.  You can really see it in my face.