Who is this small human looking younger and healthier each and every day? It's me...It's me!!! Sometimes I cannot believe what I see looking back at me in the mirror. It is almost as if I am looking at myself 10 or 15 years ago.

Here is an update on my progress. First and foremost let's talk about my liver. My formerly very, extremely sick liver is looking pretty good. It is about 3/4 the size it was before surgery and continues to shrink. The 3 enzymes of note GGPT, SGOT and SGPT have all gone down. SGOT has dropped 15 points, SGPT dropped 52 points and GGTP dropped 51 points! That is pretty impressive and is evidence that the surgery is accomplishing the goal. While those levels are still high, they are closing in on the normal range rapidly.

My weight is now 129 and I am down 37 pounds. I haven't been at this weight in 20 years. I still have about 24 to go to reach my goal weight of 105 and BMI of 22.7. Remember, I am 4'9". Those numbers are right in the middle of the "normal" range for me. Right now my BMI is 27.9. That is classified as overweight but NOT obese by the National Institute of Health (NIH).

After doing some measuring I have lost a total of 52.75" from my body. 15 of those inches have been in the last month. Weight loss slows down after the first 4 weeks. That's because your body starts getting "real" food again and continually adjusts its metabolism. It fights to hold on to body mass as you lose so it takes more time. I am 8 weeks and 2 days post surgery and I am making really good progress.

I am making progress in what I can eat as well. Chicken, Tuna, Beef, Beans and Cheeses are staples. I always eat a lean protein with a carbohydrate. I enjoy pretzels, crackers and thin bread if is toasted to a very crispy state. This week I added fruit. So far I have tried bananas, blueberries and V8 juice. I bought a peach so that is next . Dairy products are a mainstay of my nutrition. I have to say I was never really very thrilled with that food group but I have grown to like dairy. I drink a milk-soy protein shake every day as well as having cheese, yogurt and regular Lactaid milk. Protein and calcium are the big areas of focus.

Physically I feel as if I have been re-born. Seriously. I don't think I knew how lousy I felt until I didn't feel lousy anymore. I have so much more energy and stamina now. I don't find myself constantly taking breaks from physical activity. I am consistently walking (I've even jogged 50 yards at a time a few times), mowing the lawn without stopping and I am going back to the wellness center for some alternative aerobics (like a seated stepper), beginning weight work and flexibility training. The trainer, Kevin, had me working with one of those big balance balls. I don't know who was laughing harder, Kevin or me. All I can say is that is not as easy as it looks.

My shoulder blades have reappeared and I think I saw/felt what might be a rib the other day....maybe......School starts next week. The challenge with that will be timing my eating and pacing my day to include exercise.

Solids

It's been just under 5 weeks since my surgery. To date I have lost 27 pounds. Wow! I am seeing collarbones that have been buried for years. I have lost 37.5 total inches from my body. 5.5 of those inches are from my waist. I am now walking about 4 miles a day when the weather cooperates and I have been given permission to ride my bike. I'll probably do that later this week.

In the past few days I have been introducing solid food to my diet. It has to be cut into tiny pieces and chewed thoroughly. So far I have tried roasted chicken, refried beans with cheese, pretzels, lettuce and baked tortilla chips. The lettuce was the only thing that gave me trouble. It was shredded and too stringy. I think I'll try cutting it into little squares to see if that works better. Here is an example of a meal: 2 baked tortilla chips, 1/4 cup of refried beans, 1/8 cup of shredded Mexican cheese and a tablespoon of lettuce. That used to be a small snack. The weird thing is that it takes about 15-20 minutes to eat and is more than satisfying. I'm still not really hungry but I've learned to read my body's signals when it needs fuel. Eating is now largely experimentation. I have been encouraged to try a variety of foods. The main recommendations were that the food should either be very moist or very crunchy. Those textures are easier to chew and digest. Regular bread tends to stick in the pouch and can result in having to have it extracted via the esophagus. Caution and rule following are important. I have even been encouraged to try going to a restaurant and to be sure to ask how the food is made.

Right now I am to eat 3 meals a day. In between I should drink skim or 1% milk, water or I can make a smoothie (milk, banana, splenda, ice) or have popcicles. I am allowed to flavor the milk with anything sugar free. As a former non milk drinker I have to say that I am working at that. I need to consume 1500-2000 mg of calcium a day. I have a supplement if I don't get enough in my food. I have to keep a chart each day to keep it all straight. I have to get 50-70 grams of protein each day. I have worked my way to the mid 50s.

Another encouraging sign is in my recent blood work. My liver enzyme readings have already dropped: SGPT dropped 25 points and SGOT dropped 3 points. That is really good for only a month. My Dr. said that in 6 months he'll order a CT scan to see how the size of my liver is doing. Since my abdomen isn't particularly distended my guess is that is shrinking. One of my friends commented on the fact that the whites of my eyes are now actually white instead of light yellow.

School and work are only a month away. I'm really glad that my surgery was able to be done during the summer as I will have time to fully recooperate and will be fresh to begin a new school year.