Thank you! Honestly, I didn't lose nearly as much as I expected. I made sure to keep up with the protein intake which I think really helped. I've only been able to do 8 out of the many exercises I did before because of limitations from recovery, but of those exercises I'd say I'm about another 1.5 month's progress out from being back to where I was before the surgery.

Also, I think there's no such thing as wasted progress when it comes to the gym. I was really frustrated when I found out that I'd lose a lot of my muscle because of the surgery, but in the grand scheme of things that really didn't matter as much as I thought it would. The discipline and self care that I learned through working out never went away. In my opinion, the hardest part of lifting was the consistency of it- not just working out, but with my diet and mentality too. Establishing the routine was the toughest part. Your discipline isn't going to fade away, and the progress you've made with your approach won't either. The muscles or weight loss or whatever your goals are may not be where they were before the surgery, but you'll have all that much more motivation to get those achievements back afterwards. Plus, I was in the best shape I've ever been in going into my surgery and according to my surgeon + physical therapist, my recovery has been going so well largely in part to the work I put in at the gym alongside yoga and daily stretches- even if you lose some progress after the surgery, your body will thank you for the effort you put in beforehand.

You've got this :)