Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Twelve!

Out of strict curiosity, I weighed myself for the first time in over a month. I've lost twelve pounds since the surgery on September 1. 12! I'm still trying to figure out exactly how that managed to happen. I know my eating habits may have changed slightly during the first few days immediately following the procedure, which may in turn have caused me to eat a little less, but that didn't last long. I love all kinds of food and I love to eat. Anyone who knows me can attest. If you and I share a large pizza, I'm going to eat 4 or 5 slices of it. If we go to the buffet together, I'm going to bring back a full plate 3 or 4 times (unless we're on a first date, because that's just disgusting). I often need to get up in the middle of the night to snack on something, anything. Last night, my evening consisted of sitting on the couch watching the Yankees lose, playing video games, and consuming a large quantity of ice cream. You get the point. I'm probably going to miss this metabolism in 10-15 years, but right now I really don't know what's going on. My eating habits haven't changed in a while. Despite all this, the equation is pretty straightforward...I must be using more calories than I'm consuming. The question then becomes: "How am I spending those calories?" Going up and down the stairs is difficult, but not that difficult. Getting around on crutches can be considered exercise, but it's nothing like going on a walk through the neighborhood, running a couple of miles, or taking a trip to the gym. I haven't done any of these things in 5 weeks. I'd understand if I had gained weight instead. If I can figure out how I've managed to lose weight by maintaining my eating habits while reducing my activity level, I'll sell the information and become a billionaire by this time next month.

To continue the trend of drawing out useless and boring information, I think I've made good progess in the past week or so. I can get around much easier and do most things on my own. Andrew has gone from multi-tasking caretaker to providing occassional on-call help, like lugging large amounts of groceries from Trader Joe's. I've gone from being 95 years old to a young-at-heart 75 year old. It feels good. Benjamin Button-good.

That's really all for now. Sorry to leave you on the edge of your seat waiting for this thrilling update. I'll try to not let it happen again.