Yesterday afternoon, as I was enjoying the thunderstorm outside, I decided that I should go through my very overpacked closet and pare things down. I had been planning to do that for ages because there were many things in there that I just simply do not wear anymore. However, there were two additional things that happened that I really didn't expect.

First off, I started looking at my winter clothes and realized that I likely would never wear some of these items ever again. This was a pretty shocking thing for me. I love hooded sweatshirts and there were 5 or 6 in there that are just simply going to be too big by the time we get back to cold weather around these parts. I will admit there was a tiny twinge of sadness or whatever in seeing these things go because they had been my "fat shield" for years. (nothing like baggy clothes to make people think you aren't fat, right!) That feeling passed very quickly as I realized that I won't NEED that "fat shield" anymore. It was pretty awesome.

Second, I found several items of clothing in my closet that I had outgrown but that now fit just fine. In fact, there were 2 concert t-shirts that I had bought a few years ago from my favorite band that I never wore because they were too tight. I got them simply because they were unique and I wanted to hope that one day I would be able to wear them. That day was yesterday because I tried them on and they both fit great! To say I was happy would be a colossal understatement. Even better is the fact that I know I will be outgrowing (undergrowing?) them in a month or two as I continue to lose. It's just amazing so far. Two weeks in and I loving it!

(Also, can you get over how much room fat people clothes take in the closet?? Holy hell, I feel like I have a whole new closet available to me.)

It's amazing how easy this journey has been so far. Now, granted, I am only a week post-op and there are so many challenges ahead that I haven't experienced that it is possible that my attitude will change, but for now, I am cruising along rather nicely.

So let's get the stats out of the way:

Decision Weight (3/1/10): 420.2 lbs
Weight at booking (3/17/10): 413.4 lbs
Surgery Weight (5/7/10): 394.0 lbs
Current Weight (5/13/10): 379.6 lbs

Down 40.6 from peak.
Down 33.8 from booking.
Down 14.4 from surgery.

So, as you can see, this has been a pretty good thing thus far and I am ridiculously pleased.

I am coming to the end of the clear liquid phase and will be incorporating liquid yogurt into my diet tomorrow. Any change is good, and I am looking forward to trying something new. (Oddly, I chewed a piece of gum yesterday for the first time in a couple of weeks and realized that it was the first time I had chewed something in over a week. Weird sensation.)

So where am I at now? I am still looking to the future and hope that what Dr. Ortiz said to me before doing my surgery holds true. He said that if I were to follow all the rules that it would be possible that I could lose up to 68 lbs prior to my first fill. Now, I am not a fool and that seems incredibly "pie in the sky", but man, if I can get anywhere CLOSE to that I will be over the moon!

I have been taking it sort-of easy on the exercise front this week as my incisions heal. I have walked some, but nothing crazy. However, things are starting to feel better and I am ready to start exercising more regularly. I know that this will help me in the loss column (and the "feeling awesome" column) so it HAS to be done. I will see what happens as I ramp up.

So there you go. One week in and I feel great! I am excited, I am motivated and I *am* going to succeed.

Here I am, 13 or so hours away from something pretty big happening.  I am pretty nervous about the whole thing if I must be honest.  I mean, I know everything is going to be fine and I am going to be fine, but that hasn't really quelled my trepidation about what I am about to do.  Don't get me wrong, I am very comfortable with the decision but the machinations of that decision are pretty daunting!  I guess I will find out just how daunting in 13 hours. 

Wish me luck.