It’s now four weeks after full knee replacement surgery. My left leg’s range of motion is officially measured from 0° to 115° last Saturday. One key metric indicative of healing is range of motion, and healing is considered nominally complete when it reaches 120°. I hope I reach that either this Saturday or next Wednesday when the physical therapist comes to visit.

Mobility continues to improve. I can walk unaided across uneven ground, which means I can garden around the house and walk around the neighborhood. I started to drive on my on yesterday, when I drove from home to a local Publix to pick up a few items. I didn’t take a an electric cart, but use a regular push cart to walk around the store.

Not all is sunshine and rainbows. The swelling is nearly gone, which is a good thing. However I’m having “uneven” days where my left leg is tired and the area around the need feels sore. This is to be expected as the knee is still “settling back in” to a regular state. My physical therapist told me that there would be down days as well as up, which is to be expected. However, the overall trend is still upwards towards full healing. My only concern is not to perform any activity that would mess up the surgery. These periods won’t stop me from performing prescribed exercises.

One other interesting health metric is my weight. I’m now down to 245 lbs, which is still too high, but nowhere near what I weight when I retired in January 2020: 285 lbs. I’ve lost 40 lbs over 4 1/2 years, which is a great and sustainable weight loss. I attribute the weight loss, in part, to a massive dietary change. I’m now fully vegetarian (not vegan!). This means eating a healthy diet of greens, vegetables, and complex carbs. No red meat at all. When I do eat animal protean it’s a bit of chicken or some fish and shellfish. What I’ve dropped completely is eating heavily processed foods and I no longer eat out at any fast food restaurants. I’m hoping to keep this up, because I would like to drop another 15 pounds.