Be prepared...

I'll admit it....I wasn't as prepared as I thought I was. Oh, I think I was mentally prepared to make changes. I haven't had any cravings for sweets and snacks. I made as many physical preparations as I could--cleaning out fridge and cabinets, restocking with immediate need items.

However, I wasn't prepared for the things I didn't know about.

• I didn't know that I would be as sore as I was for as long as I was. Even now, if I sit too long, my waist area begins to ache and feel sore as if I had on pants that were way too tight--even tho I don't.
• I wasn't prepared for the waves of nausea that would hit me during the day this past week at school...and having dry heaves over the trashcan. Today is the first day I didn't experience any of this! I felt very down and frustrated yesterday, because this doesn't happen at home. The a/c isn't working in the library, but I have turned on box fans to help. I've left school every day between 1:30 and 2:00 after I've finished seeing classes for the day because I've just felt so drained....and still had a 45 min. drive home.
• I didn't know about the hard burps that I would have after drinking liquids. I get really thirsty sometimes and find myself not wanting to drink anything because I hate having those hard burps! I have no idea if this will go away or be a constant. Everything I read on the message boards isn't very encouraging in that area. Many people even years later still deal with the air/gas problem.
• I didn't have any idea that wearing a bra longer than 3-4 hrs. would just feel like torture!

It has been 3 weeks today. I'm probably wanting to heal faster than my 50 year old body wants to heal. I'm wanting to move around more and faster at school than I physically feel like doing. Patience was not a virtue I was born with, unfortunately.

To help myself out, I've learned to:

• Always travel with a wet washcloth in a ziploc bag in case of nausea.
• Always have a sleeve of crackers (wheat for me) to nibble on.
• Always carry a bottle of water in my purse. I've got 2 flats of bottle water in my office at school.
• Always carry a bag of food---pudding, crackers, protein drink, v-8, string cheese, yogurt.

I'm very happy to be down 24 lbs.....but it really has leveled off the last week. I don't think I've lost any during that time. I understand the it comes off much more slowly for the lapbander than for the bypass people. I'm ready for the energy level to increase so I feel like being out walking for longer distances and even re-joining Curves within the next month.