Nine Months Since Surgery (Almost)

And this month has not been great for weight loss

This Wednesday will be my official 9-month surgi-versary, and as of today I am down a total of 113 pounds, which means that in the past month I have only lost about 3 pounds.  I am trying not to become too frustrated by that.  I realize that weight loss patients have plateaus, times when the body has a chance to catch up with all the changes it is experiencing.  I still have 40-50 pounds that need to come off, and this leg of the journey will go more slowly.  It's normal and to be expected.

Tuesday morning I went for my Slam-O-Gram.  I have not received my results yet, which is probably a good thing.  Several years ago, a spot showed up that required further testing, and the office called me right away to let me know I needed to come back in for follow-up.  So I am assuming that no news is good news for this year's smashing extravaganza!

Tomorrow I need to run by the surgeon's office to get blood drawn to see if my iron deficiency anemia has improved.  I've been taking an iron supplement since my checkup in December and I'm hoping that my iron level is better now.  I also have not had a major period since November, (and the November one was indeed major) which may have a positive impact as well.

Early last month I had a couple of days when I felt terrible.  I ran a low-grade fever, felt achy all over, tired and just generally unwell, almost fluish.  Then I had a couple of days of very light spotting, after which I felt better.  My hormones may indeed be taking me into menopause for real now, which I hope is the case.  I'm just ready to be done with Period Madness, The Hormone Zone, whatever one prefers to call it.

Last night my chorus and chamber chorale had our annual Young Classical Musicians Concert, the one where we give scholarships and showcase the winners of our YCM Contest.  Last night's young performers were 3 outstanding high school students who performed with great poise, musicality and immense talent.  Seeing and hearing young musicians who excel gives me hope for the future of music in our society and the world.  Last night's concert was also the debut of The Diva's new Batwings, the jacket for our concert wear.  It's wonderful to have better-fitting Batwings, and I think that I will go the extra step and get the sleeves hemmed, maybe not in time for the April concerts, but if not, then definitely over the summer.

My cousin Judy and I spent Tuesday afternoon together having lunch and girl time.  After lunch we went to her house, where she eased me into the swimsuit trying-on world again by letting me try on some suits from her swimsuit drawer.  It was nice to have an honest yet kind person with me to offer opinions on what worked for me, style-and color-wise, and especially what did not work for me.  She sent me home with one that she said worked very well for me and has a lot of adjustability so it may still work in May when we go on vacation.  Judy and I are just about the same size right now, although she is much taller and we are shaped differently.  I think Judy has a wonderful figure so it surprised me that I could now fit into some of her clothes.  Then she started pulling out other things to try on, including some jeans and a gorgeous designer dress she had bought last year and worn to a show while she was in New York.  The dress was stunning, both on her tall, long-legged body and on my shorter, curvier one.  You know a dress is well-designed when it can look wonderful on 2 such different body types!

After I got home from work Friday night, I went on a little trip down memory lane in my own closet, digging into a box of very old dresses, some from as far back as college.  I tried on several of my former favorites, and a few of them fit me again.  A few others will need to wait until I have shrunk some more, but they're close.  My "lucky dress", a green satiny jacquard number with a dropped blouson waist, fits me again almost as well as it ever did.  It became "lucky" when I wore it for vocal performer's contest my senior year of college and won.  Then I wore it again for a regional singing competition a week or two later and made the finals, something I had never done before.  Fitting my body into it again was a surprise, like an unexpected meeting with an old friend.    

So, while my numerals on the scale have not moved that much this past month, there has still been progress, and there is more progress yet to be made.  The journey is for the rest of my life.  A healthy life isn't something I can achieve and then mark off my bucket list.  It is something that I will have to choose to achieve daily, hourly sometimes, much like any other kind of recovery.  One day at a time.