Seeing a Difference

I am now down a total of 30 lbs. and the difference is beginning to show.  My necklace is not so close around my neck, my tight pants are no longer tight, my jeans are loose around the waist, and I feel a lot better.  Next weekend, I will be picking up the used treadmill from my friend's house.  She hardly used it since she became a member of the local gym and it is a very nice, expensive Nordic track that I am getting for a steal!  I just have to make room for it and I have already started working on that.  I am moving my bedroom to another room in the house and the porch is going to become my treadmill room.  I can't believe I am going to say this, but I am looking forward to walking.  The thought of being a big saggy mess of loose skin scares me. lol  Walking and working out will minimize this.  I am going to have some loose skin because of my age, I am not going to bounce right back but I can exercise to make it minimal.  That's what I get, I guess, for allowing myself to become so big. 

The diet is still very hard but I am no longer on just liquid.  I am now on puree but I found that if I chew food into mush, I don't need the food processor.  I am still having some issues with my protein and fluids, I haven't been keeping track, but I am beginning to eat different foods.  Scrambled eggs, meatballs, chicken pot pie, cheese....so much better than just shakes and yogurt.  I still eat the yogurt and drink at least one shake a day, but I can now eat semi-normal food, just not much.  I fixed a little mashed potatoes and cheese the other day and ate about half of what I fixed.  I can still only eat about 2-4 ounces in one sitting.  The one thing I was not prepared for when I began to eat food was the overfull feeling.  After I eat, I feel like the food is just sitting there and it feels like a golf ball is stuck in my throat.  This lasts for about half an hour.  I cannot drink while I eat which is very hard to get used to, but I do take one tiny sip when I am done eating to wash everything down.  I did a little research and apparently this feeling is normal and will go away with time.  It is a little uncomfortable, because it feels like the food may come up but as long as I do not overeat, I keep everything down.  After about 30 minutes, the feeling goes away and I can have something to drink.  My stomach is still healing and is still inflamed so it is just part of the healing process.  The only time I cheated, was on Halloween.  I ate one single Reese's cup.  It was too sweet and too filling, but I enjoyed the hell out of it anyway. lol  Today, I am going over to a friend's house.  He had the gastric bypass a couple of years ago, so he knows what I am going through and our meal should be interesting (and very small!).  This is my last day to go out before getting ready for my return to work.  I can't wait!