I went threw the dietitian class Wednesday

Hello out there blog world, just thought I would touch base, and mention that I went threw the diet class for after surgery this past Wednesday. WOW, its amazing at the can nots.  Can not have any meds containing NSAIDS, can not have a pill bigger than a pencil eraser, ever.  Can not chew gum ever, no alcohol, which that ones OK, I do not drink, no caffeine, no soda, can not use a straw.. The list is lengthy of the things you have to do after the surgery, but to be healthy, its all totally worth it.  The first two weeks after surgery I will be strictly liquid.  After that, the dietitian upgrades you, according to your progress, first puree baby food consistence, then to  small chopped, and so forth.  My date is inching near, only 2 weeks and 5 days away... yay so excited, to begin my new life, to get my health back, to take charge.  Keep me in your prayers that all goes well.  I go this coming wed, the 8th of September, for my final visit and then to the hospital to preregister.  Will blog about all that once it has taken place.

Going to try to start an exercise program

Well, its a couple days over a month, and I will have had my surgery.  My body is in poor shape physically, but I am going to have to try to get a exercise routine in place.  I believe I am going to start out by walking, and we have a WII so I have rented a dancing game, I figured that would be a fun way to get some exercise in, and still be able to find a seat if I get to weak. 

My bestie Andi and I are working on trying to get a support group together for this area.  We are an hour away from everything, including the office where our doctors are at, so we wanted to have a group for the people here... Now we just have to find a place to have the meeting at once a month.  Sure hope we can.  Anyway, that's all that's going on right now, still on my prescription of phentermine, and still loosing good with that. I am hoping to be down as small as possible before the surgery date.  Good luck to all out there that are still trying, or have had it already, and working on the goal.

40 pounds off since my first appointment back in April

I went to my MD. yesterday, for my normal check up, due to having high bp, being diabetic, injured knee, and back, along with being overweight, I have to go to my regular doctor two or three times a month..  Yesterday when i weighed in, I had dropped 40 pds since beginning of my journey.  Of course 40 pds is a drop in the bucket, but its 40 pds off, not on. I am so please and proud of myself.  I only need to drop another 9 pounds to be down to the weight Dr. Williams wanted me to be at to be safe for the BPD surgery.  Of course I changed my mind with that one, and am having the normal gastric bypass instead, but to me, this is a big stepping stone to my weight loss that I have conquered.

I started the 800 cal diet early

I decided that today I would start the 800 calorie diet I had spoke of in a earlier post.  I went with special K shakes and bars though, instead of the NLBC supplements to start with, because this way is cheaper.  Not as healthy as Dr. Boyce's supplements, but its more affordable for me right now.  I was able to get the correct amount of shakes/bars for the day that the centers diet plan calls for, with only 60 extra calories a day in it, using the special K brand.  I am hoping I can stay on it until surgery date, in efforts to drop extra weight before the surgery.  Keep me in your prayers that I can do this.

As the days tick by

Time to have my surgery is going to be here before I know it.  I am trying to get myself mentally ready for my life change.  No sugar, fine we do not eat it anyway, No soda, OK we do not drink that much either so giving it up will not be a problem. It is going to be odd not to be overweight though.  I have been big my entire life, from toddler up throughout the years, so actually loosing the weight, and being healthy and fit, believe it or not, its a big pill to swallow.  I do not know what to think, how its going to feel.  Its things that are silly I know, but it is all part of the anticipation and excitement of this second chance at life.  To me, that's exactly what this is, see my life as I know it now is a poor excuse for one.  Sure I have things that others may not, I have a wonderful set of loving caring parents, a absolutely terrific husband, I have a home, a wonderful little pug puppy that steals my heart daily, but the things most of you have at my age, I have lost.  I have lost the ability to walk, to run, to go to amusement parks with my family, or to the pool to swim.  I have lost all these things due to my weight problems, and my back and knee problems that have been brought on from my knee.

 I honestly can not imagine what life is going to be like.  I have my mind set that the two week no food diet will be totally doable, and that I will make it threw that without any problems. I have to get my mind thinking that, because if I do not, then I am going to be suffering those two weeks, and I do not want to go into this suffering. I am going to start replacing meals with protein shakes now, that way when it gets time to have to do it full blast, it will not be that difficult.

 My friend and I are trying to check into getting a support group started here in our community for the people here that have had, or are thinking of having the weight loss surgery, because we feel like we deserve to have a group to attend to, and we do not want to have to drive for an hour and a half to get to it.  Hope the office can help us get that going.

 So far the diet pills are still really helping me control my appetite, I fill up way faster, and stay full alot longer, so that has to be helping me to drop so weight now. 

I got my information packet in the mail today.

My hubby always checks the mail everyday, cause our mail box is all the way down at the bottom of our extremely long drive way, and I can not walk that far right now, so when he came in he handed me the mail, like every other day.  But today, I received my paper work for my preop appointments, and instructions for surgery.


  First of all, I will have to attend a 4 hour class on nutrition, which I personally think is awesome, and it asked that I bring my support with me.  Just be coincidence its on a Wednesday, which is my hubby's day off.  Yay, my support gets to go!!  It also states that I will need to purchase a started kit, that consists of vitamins, protein supplement, 6 shakes, 6 pudding shakes, and a box of meal replacement bars.  Its 100.00.  At first I thought, OMG that is soo expensive, but then I got to adding it all up individually, because you can order your supplies off the website   individually. It would be about the same price, if you ordered it individually, as it is getting the starter kit.  I also saw that I will have to be on a 2 week program of strictly protein shakes/ bars. I will need approximately 8 boxes of bars, and 28 shakes.  I have heard these things taste horrible.  We shall see. I will be looking at approximately 145-160 dollars for this.  I am thankful that my insurance pays for the entire weight loss program fee though, because that alone is 3000.00 dollars and most insurances only pay half of this.  Strictly medicare does not cover it at all, but I have humana gold plus as my secondary insurance, and it covered it all.

  My two week diet will be as followed

Breakfast 

• 
  
  1 new life supplement shake or bar               
• 
  
   2 tbsp. benefiber mixed with a non- calorie beverage (aka Crystal light, water, decaf tea)

Morning Snack  

• New Life Supplement Shake

Lunch 

•   New life supplement bar

Afternoon Snack 

• New Life Supplement Shake

Dinner

•   New Life Supplement Shake OR Bar
• 2 TBSP Benefiber mixed into a non-calorie- drink

Evening Snack

• New Life Supplement Nutrition Bar

So needless to say I am going to be hungry, lol.  Plus we will be on our vacation during this time.  This will really test my strength, everyone else having seafood, ice cream, sodas and yummy stuff, and I will not allowed to have any of those, but since I have been on this 1200 calorie diet since April, maybe this will not affect me to much.  I will update again when I get new information.

The little things that make you wonder about the surgery

I have dreamed for the past two nights that I am going to die while in the hospital after I have the surgery. I know its just my mind living out my fears in my dreams but it still scares me. Some other things that go threw my mind are things that I should not even think about, because its part of what got me to the terrible condition I am in today, but I will never be able to have bread/carbs again, or so I was told in the support group meetings, have not met the dietician yet, so this is still hearsay until the dietician tells me for certain. I can do without sweets, I have splenda, I can do without soda, I have for months, that stuff does not bother me, but the thoughts of never having another piece of lite bread scares me, lol. I love bread, but from what I hear if you eat it after the surgery it makes you violently ill to your stomach, and I have a very sensitive stomach now,I can not even imagine it after the surgery. Stuff like that really worries me, I am afraid of blood clots, which is the number 1 complication after the surgery, and of all the other risks, but that's only natural, anyone will fear the unknown. I just have to stay strong, think positive, and move forward!!!