Root Canal

So on Thursday I went to the dentist for what I thought was going to be a filling.... Surprise! Root Canal! I'm still in pain. I can't eat anything that requires chewing. And I don't think this is what they had in mind when they told me to try to lose 5% of my weight. I bought some of the high protein shakes that I will need after the surgery and figured now was a good time to try out a few and see which ones I like. Muscle Milk-Chocolate and Pure Protein-Cookies & Cream. They are about the same. I may just go back to my Isagenix. I think I still have a canister of that around.

Saw a picture of C. holding a picture of herself from 2000. WOW! The contrast is amazing. I knew we were heavy, how could you not know, but the difference in her face! I always thought she was beautiful. She's gorgeous now that her face has thinned out.

Thursday, no exercise, lots of pain medication. Friday, I took my son to the zoo. We walked around the whole thing twice and I was good.... no fried food! :) Had a wonderful time just me and The Boy.

Today, I didn't go out and exercise but I did spend about 2 hours rearranging furniture and cleaning. That totally counts toward exercise! I only had help in one room with the really heavy stuff. I did the toy room/living room all by myself. That was a lot of bending over picking up all the toys, sweeping and them moving furniture around.

Hopefully there will be no rain in the morning and we will walk up to The Purple Salamander for our usual Sunday family breakfast.

So excited to finish this month and see Dr. Simon on July 1st. Then off toward Arizona for a month! YEAH! Finally, some hot weather!

Out with the ladies

So last night I went out with some friends of mine from the Curves I worked at. We try to get together every other month or so. I was very good all day so that I could really enjoy dinner last night. The Brewster Inn is a local bed and breakfast that has a very nice restaurant and on Tuesdays you can bring your own bottle of wine for no extra charge. There were 6 of us there last night and 5 bottles of wine. I did try all the wine but probably only actually consumed 1.5 glasses.

For dinner I ordered off the Tavern menu, smaller portions, smaller price. The dish I went with was Truffle encrusted Tuna with wilted spinach and homemade noodles. Really good and just the right amount. The tuna had the added bonus of still tasting good even when cold which is the temp. by the time I finished. I was the last one done. One of the other ladies asked for a dessert menu and the waitress commented that she had been waiting for everyone to be done. I still had 4 bites left.

I did finish before everyone was ready to order dessert. I looked at the dessert menu, so many good things and "tried" to be good. They make their own ice cream and sorbet so the flavor changes daily. Yesterday it was coconut sorbet! So good.

In the end I probably went over my calories for the day, I didn't go for a walk and I'm okay with that. If that only happens once every few months that's okay. It's been allowing that to happen much more often that has lead me to this point. I just have to make sure I get in some exercise today.

What a day

Today was one of those days that in the past would have had me running through a fast food place or worse yet craving, and getting, a donut or some other comfort food. But I resisted and spent some time chatting with a friend and reading to my son instead. :) In the end I couldn't even finish my dinner.

I'm doing much better about slowing down as I eat and even waiting a few minutes between bites. I have to be honest though. It wasn't until the 3rd or 4th bite before my brain kicked in and I put my fork down and concentrated on chewing my food throughly. But, baby steps, baby steps, I'm getting there.

I tried to get up early this morning and maybe go for a quiet walk with some worship music, but, The Boy, was already awake! At 6:15 am! Crazy kid. Did at least get to read my Bible and have a quiet cup of coffee. Maybe tomorrow. If The Boy goes down for bed soon I may take off and have my walk yet tonight. Right now he is up in the bath with Daddy listening for too much splashing.

I called and set up my Psyc. Eval. for the 25th of this month. My sleep study is the 24th. So I will already be in town. Here's hoping I actually sleep at the sleep study or the Psychiatrist may have trouble understanding me.

That just leaves my blood work, which I have to fast for 15 hours for, and an EKG. That's where I'm having the trouble. My primary care doctor no longer has someone in her office who does them. I need to call my OB/GYN to see if they can do one.

I would like to be able to show up to my next appointment with all of the prelim stuff done and ready to show that I am serious about this and able to follow through. I know that this surgery is not a cure, it's a tool. I'm just so ready to begin using that tool.

The biggest challenge will be the month of July. We are taking the month and driving down to Arizona to visit family. Eating on the road may get a bit tricky. I'll have to pack carefully so that we can also take the cooler and pack some of our own food. That way we are not eating out for every meal while traveling.

The Test

Well, tonight was fun. The Boy wanted to go "play with kids" so we went to McD's for dinner. I have thankfully found an app for my Droid that is a food diary, calorie counter that has all these restaurants and their food all programed in. Seems the best tastes good/low cal meal at McD's is the Southwest Chicken Salad. Okay, I like that. I got water! And when I looked at my total cals for the day found out I could have one of the yogurt and fruit parfaits for dessert! WOOHOO!

I am loving this app for the phone. I don't have to worry about keeping a paper journal with me, I have my phone attached to the hip, and it's super easy to use. Especially once you've been using it for a few days. It has a "recently eaten" category that pulls up everything you've eaten the past few days for that meal, then it's just check off all that apply and hit save. Since I have the same thing every morning for breakfast that is the easiest meal to record.

Now that I am in the habit of recording my food, it's time to add another of the behavior modifications in. Chew each bite 20 times. Really? How many actually do that? Try it next time you eat. Better than counting, just chew till all the flavor is out of your food then swallow. :) Oh well, that's what they want me to do so that's what I'll do!

The hardest one I think is going to be the no liquids 30 minutes before meals, with meals or 1 hour after meals. I get the reasoning. After surgery liquid can make the food move to fast through what is left of your stomach and cause MAJOR problems. However, knowing the logic behind something doesn't necessarily make it easier to do.

I actually came in just under 1,850 calories for the day. I think I will have a glass of wine before bed. :)

The Start of My Journey

My decision to pursue bariatric surgery was actually made in January. I have had several friends who have had the surgery, but I wasn't ready to take such drastic measures myself. That is until I found out I'm no longer ovulating. We have one wonderful little boy and want more children, however, even the highest dose of clomid did not force ovulation. Maybe weight loss might. My whole adult life has been a series of diets. Before you ask, yes I have done everything from the small portions with exercise, whole foods only, no wheat, low carb, low fat, low taste, zone, south beach, to many dangerous "fad" type diets. They all work for a while then, even though I'm following them to the T, the pounds slowly creep back on and bring a few friends they found along the way.

So, there I was, sitting in my friend Cs kitchen, as she tells me how much better she is feeling just 2 weeks post surgery. It hits me. I'm wasting time continuing to try what has never worked in the past. I am the definition of insanity, "Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results". After talking with my husband I decide to call the Dr. What the office staff tells me, sends me to tears. I have waited and struggled with this decision for 4 years, watching friend after friend go through this, and when I finally decide I'm ready, I'm told that before I can see the Dr. I must go to an informational meeting and the first one with a open space is 6 weeks away. I know that after the meeting there is paperwork to fill out along with a fee (which I thought was only $50) and after the office reviews the paperwork they will call with a date to see the Dr. which is usually another 6-8 week wait. So I know I am facing minimum 3 months till I can see the Dr and START the whole process. Then you have to begin doing some of the behavior modifications that will be necessary for post op success, lose 5% of your body weight, and start an exercise program. All of which must wait until you see the Dr or it doesn't count!

March comes and I go to the informational meeting. When I get the paper work I find out that the fee has been TRIPLED! Now, I have to figure out how to squeeze $150 out of a very tight budget.... can't be done before August. Again with the tears.

I hear of another surgeon in the area that also does the surgery. I call his office. When I get off the phone I am in shock. I have an appointment for not only their informational meeting but to see the surgeon the very same day! I call my friend C. She's concerned about the surgeon. She of course recommends the one she went to that we had both worked with and know. I explain all that I had gone through to try to get into Dr. Simon and my disappointment. Since I no longer work at the hospital with him, my only way in is through his office staff and the hoops that have been set up to aid them in weeding out the patients who are not really ready for this. She says she'll see what she can do.

Two days later I get a message from C. She talked to Dr Simon and asked his opinion of my new surgeon, not high. He told her I needed to come see him. C told him I had been trying since January and it was now May. C also told him that right now the biggest deterrent was the non refundable fee. He offered to waive the fee! :)

That was on a thursday. On Friday C asked if I had heard from Howie, no. C and her kids came over for Memorial Day that following Monday and she promised she would bug Dr. Simon until he called me. I got a call just after noon on Tuesday. He told me to come in to the office the next day at 2. It's great to have friends in the right places! Now, my journey can actually begin and I get my first choice for a surgeon!