A hint of waist discovered (and a brief ode to string cheese)

28lbs down at three weeks post-op, and we're seeing a bit of waist again! 

We're also seeing fantastically baggy skinny jeans which were skin tight before the surgery.  I really liked those jeans... 

Since the jeans were size 20, I'm taking that to mean that I'm back into size 18 territory.  Once I hit size 16, I'll have a plethora of clothes that fit me again but have been hardly worn.  It'll be like having myself as my personal shopper, or something.  I'm trying to wait until I'm definitely a 16 before opening the boxes so that it'll be more fun.  Has anyone else done that? 

It's not all sunshine and daisies, of course.  Protein is HARD, y'all, especially when you've lost the ability to tolerate the shakes at all.  I'm keeping up with low fat string cheese and plain yogurt which, fortunately, I love.  I've also discovered that string cheese with marinara dipping sauce (and, eventually once it's allowed, pepperoni) is an excellent substitute for pizza when that craving hits.  Talk about a relief.  Pizza, in its many forms, has been my go-to food when I'm feeling nauseous but still need to eat.  Since even before surgery I spent a lot of time nauseous, I was really missing my sure-bet food.

Thank goodness for cheese.  That's all I'm sayin'.  And at 50 cal/8g protein, it's been good to me.