poegirl100

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Well, here we go.  Today I started my 2-week liquid protein diet before surgery.  I'm not real sure how well I'm going to do with this part.  Let me just say that the sweet protein shakes are already hard to choke down.  I need something salty or savory, too.  The only thing that keeps me going is knowing this part is temporary.  I only have to do these shakes for 12 days.  Then I can leave this phase behind me.

I also started on my vitamins and supplements today.  I can tolerate the orange chewable vitamin twice a day.  The sub lingual B-12 was also fine.  But gag--that berry flavored calcium tablet is a horse of a pill to get down 3 times a day.  We might have to find another alternative for that one.  It's like a huge berry sweet tart or something.  Not very cool.

They did say I could have beef or chicken broth, as well as tea and water, so that's good.  I had a cup of hot beef consomme a little while ago and it was delicious.  So salty and savory.  And so unlike those shakes!  I've had 2 shakes today and 1 cup of the Optifast tomato soup.  I know I'm supposed to have 4 protein shakes a day, but I don't know about this.  I'm not hungry.  I just don't want another sweet shake.

The good news is that I bought some Ketostix and I tested my urine a little while ago.  I already show signs of being in a very mild state of ketosis.  That will help.  I'm glad I'm burning fat.  I need to continue to keep to this diet.  I know it will help me get through surgery.  Got to toughen up that liver!

Well, no more complaining from me tonight.  We'll see what Day Two brings tomorrow.

Hello OH!

I've been gone for the past 12 days visiting my daughters and my grandson.  It's been quite a hectic two weeks.  But the good news is that I managed to do all that travelling and dining out without having a single Coke!  I've got this.  Never thought I could do it, but I have truly managed to give them up.  I'm still hooked on sugar and fat, but I gave up the damn Cokes before surgery.  So go me!

Also, I flipped the calendar over to February and bam!  there's my surgery date, Feb 22nd, staring me in the face.  I've been waiting and waiting for this surgery for so many months now, it never quite seemed real, you know?  Now I can look at the calendar and realize that it's less than 3 weeks away.  OMG.  Am I ready for this?  I hope so.

I go next Tuesday for my pre-op appointments.  Then I will start my two week liquid protein diet to prepare for surgery.  So I guess, in a way, this weekend is my last hurrah.  My last chance to eat foods I will probably never eat again.  I realize that's probably the wrong attitude to have, but I can't quite help it.  I love food.  Especially the calorie-laden, no-good-for-you kind.  It's such a battle for me.  Always has been. 

But that's one of the reasons I'm so looking forward to my surgery.  I can finally FINALLY lay that burden down.  Yes, I'll still be responsible for what goes in my mouth.  Yes, I'll still have to make wise food choices.  But I will FINALLY have the tools I need to make those choices more easily.  I certainly don't intend to put myself and my family through all of this only to sabotage myself by eating the wrong foods again.  Besides, I'll make myself sick if I try.  How great is that?  Sugar begone!  Fats go away!  Junk food--get thee behind me!  I will be FREE!

Wow.  Got a little carried away there.  LOL.  Must be more nervous about this surgery than I'm willing to admit to myself, huh?

More nervous about the 2 week liquid protein diet.  I've never tried to do anything like that before.  It sounds hard.  Will I be able to do it?  Very scary for me to contemplate.  But, if I can give up Cokes voluntarily, I can do anything, right?  RIGHT.

Today feels like a good day.  I'm visiting my daughter this week.  She and I slept late and we're having a lazy day together.  BUT, I am continuing in my committment to eating healthier foods and exercising.

We took the dogs for a walk and I feel much better for my exercise.  I know I need to walk daily to prepare for surgery.  I need to build up my strength and stamina so that I can have a speedy recovery after surgery.  I'm going to continue to try and remember to walk at least 10 minutes a day, although we walked long than that this morning.

And I'm doing so well with my Cokes!  Or, should I say, my absence of Cokes!  This is Day Seven with NO COKE!  Really, this is such a milestone for me.  I know I have to give them up forever.  I was really dreading it, but it's been easier than I thought.  I guess I finally reached the point in my mind where I knew I had to do it, so I just did it. 

I'm drinking more and more water, too, which is GOOD for me.  I really think I feel better now. 

I'm trying hard to make better food choices this month.  Last night we went out to dinner and I had the beef tenderloin, grilled veggies, and a baked potato.  Okay, to be completely honest, I ate the steak, I nibbled at the veggies, and I pretty much scarfed the baked potato.  I do love a potato.  Oh, and did I "forget" to mention the appetizer?  Fried pickles!  Utterly without nutrition or redeeming value, but so good!  I know I won't be eating those again.

Still I'm up and prepared to do well today.  Had a scrambled egg, 1/2 an English muffin, and some fresh fruit and Greek yogurt for breakfast.  The Greek yogurt must be an acquired taste, that's for sure!  But I'm trying to learn to eat it.  It's on Dr. Davis's list of good post-surgery foods. 

So, I've saved the best news for last.  We will be celebrating our 30th anniversary this year and we're planning a trip to the Canadian Rockies to celebrate.  I am so excited.  (And I can't help but wonder what size I will be by June!  I hope I have lost at least 50 pounds by then!)  Anyway, we decided to rent a condo with a full kitchen so that I can control my food better on our trip.  My husband is such a sweetheart.  He is being so very supportive.  I'm a lucky, lucky gal.

Oh happy day!  I have almost made one full week with no coke!  I know I have to give them up after surgery, and it feels so good to have made a start on it one month before surgery happens.  I have always said that if I could just give up Coke and chocolate (my 2 biggest food addictions), I could drop 10 or 20 pounds in a month.  Well, we'll see, won't we?

I haven't been doing so good on cutting out sugar from my diet, but I am working on it.  And I haven't had any chocolate in several days.  Unfortunately, I've been substituting peanut butter and sweetened cereal for my "sugar fix".  However, we climb this mountain one step at a time.  This week's step has been giving up Cokes!

I also keep forgetting to walk every day!  I intend to do it, but then I just forget.  I think I need to work on a better system for making sure I do my daily exercise.  Need to give that one some thought.

Enjoying a visit with my oldest daughter this weekend.  And I get to go see my grandson next week!   

Goodness, these new habits will take time to form.  I completely forgot to walk on my treadmill yesterday!  I didn't avoid it, I just forgot to do it.

Start of Day Four with no Coke!  I have to admit, the urge to go get one right now is there, but it's nothing I can't ignore. 

I am trying to get through the day with no sugar, but that's a tough one.  Yesterday I had a couple of spoonfuls of peanut butter in the middle of the afternoon.  Then I had a small bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch last night after supper.  The urge to eat something sweet is just so powerful.  Once it hits, it's very hard to ignore.

I hope Dr. Garth is right when he says that most of his patients lose their cravings for sweets after surgery.  But I think maybe this isn't true.  I see a TON of recipes on this site and others for psuedo-desserts and fake sweet stuff.  I think it would be easier to just give up sweets all together (except for fruit, of course), than to try to make do with the fake stuff.

On a positive note today, my husband and I are planning a trip for our 30th anniversary this year.  Our anniversary is in May, but we'll be taking our trip in June.  I'm so excited.  I hope I will be "back to normal" by then and can find things to eat comfortably away from home by that time. 

I wonder what I will weigh in June . . . ?

So, this may not sound like much of an accomplishment to some, but for me, 3 days with NO COKE is tremendous!  I am a certified Coke-aholic!  I have had a Coke for breakfast every day of my life since I was about 16.  I don't drink coffee, I drink Coke.

Well, in making my preparations for my surgery (just 34 more days), I recognize that I'm going to have to let Coke go out of my life forever soon.  I had managed to cut back to just one of those baby Cokes a day, but now I've almost made 72 hours with no Coke at all.  I keep waiting for the kick-a$$ headache to occur from the caffeine withdrawal, but so far I've managed to dodge that bullet.

Also, on a different note, I went to the store this morning and I tried very hard to follow the grocery list in Dr. Garth Davis's book.  Took me 2 hours to read and compare labels, trying to make the best choices, but I did it.  I'm stocking my pantry NOW with the foods I'm going to need later on.  My goal is to have all the junk and the not-so-ideal foods out of my house by Feb 8th (that's the day I start my 2-week liquid protein diet before surgery). 

It feels good to be taking control of my pre-op life.  I really, really want this WLS to be a success.  I know I have to work hard to have the best possible outcome. 

Just a little accountability note:  I walked 12 minutes today.  A little increase from yesterday, but I wanted to walk a full half mile.  I will aim for working up to 15 minutes by the end of the week.  I think could have done that today, but my right knee twinges now and then.  No point in blowing it out at this point.  As the turtle said to the hare: slow and steady wins the race!

I have been reflecting hard this morning on my mental preparations for this surgery.  That's good.  I needed it.  I feel like I am hurtling towards my surgery date now.  Only 35 more days.  I need to get on top of things. 

I have especially been thinking about my mantra.  Dr. Davis wants each of us to pick a mantra--a little phrase we say to ourselves all day long to combat negative thinking and to promote our well-being.  It might sound silly, but I know this works. 

Several years ago, we went through a terrible bad phase with one of our teenaged daughters.  I have never felt like such a failure in my life!   Whenever I would start to bog down with depression and fear and anger and self-loathing, I would chant in my mind:  "let go . . . go on" and it helped!  I found I could turn off the negative messages in my head and move on. 

So I thought about it and I decided that my mantra to help me through my WLS will be:  I LOVE MY BODY.    To me, this phrase--I LOVE MY BODY--has many levels of meaning.  It addresses physical self-image, as well as physical well-being, and not incidentally, hope for the future.  I do need to love my body--I need to love it back to HEALTH!  I need to quit avoiding looking at myself in mirrors.  I need to quit saying mean things to myself when I do see myself in the mirror!  And I need to believe that my body is worthy of love again. 

You know, I would have never treated my children's bodies as badly as I've treated my own.  In fact, it would probably be considered abuse if I did.  I need to recognize the damage I've done to myself, sure, but I don't need to dwell on it.  I can't change the past, but I can move forward.  So, I LOVE MY BODY.  You're going to hear that a lot from me over the next few months.  It's a good message for all of us.

I'm feeling pretty good about my day yesterday!  I tried very hard to LOVE MY BODY.  I ate lots of protein, I exercised, I took my pills, and I didn't drink a single Coke all day!  Whoop!  Coke is my nemesis.

So I will try again today.  And I think I will go to the grocery store and stock up on some better food choices.  Hard to be good when all you have is junk in the house.

I expect I will have a headache today from the lack of caffeine and Coke, but maybe not.  I always get a kick-butt headache whenever I try to come off of the Coke.

Missing my husband and the sunshine again today.  Perhaps exercise will keep me from falling into the blue funk!  Looking forward to my next email from my DH.  Hopefully tomorrow.

Countdown to surgery date:  35 days!

First of all: I LOVE MY BODY (this month's mantra, you know)

Secondly, I just walked on my treadmill and I also have to say this:  I LOVE MY NOOK! 

OMGosh.  I set the font to extra extra large and I could actually READ it while I was walking!  I love it!  That 10 minutes just flew by.  I always get so freakin' bored walking on the treadmill, but if I can read while I'm walking, I'm gonna love it!  I'm already looking forward to exercising tomorrow.