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Ok, so my surgery is scheduled for the 19th.......and my "freak-out" level is starting to increase daily.  I guess it's normal to feel apprehensive when facing surgery, but the fact that I'm doing this voluntarily seems to add to my anxiety.  Then, of course, I remember why I'm doing this in the first place, and I settle back down.  I'm so psyched to be going through this process and I can't wait to take the next step along this path I've chosen.  

I've really prepared myself about as well as can be expected.  I've changed my diet, become very mindful of my food intake, been diligent (well, I could always do more!) about exercise, and have lost about 30 pounds.  My parents are supportive and my wife has been amazing.  The only thing left to do is to do it already and get on with the business of developing a brand new relationship with food; one that's more "eat to live" rather than the other way around!

Now I'm off to surf the Net to find a good deal on a good scale......knowing me, I'll have my post-op weights charted on an Excel spreadsheet!

Was back at Tufts-NEMC today for my pre-op testing appointments and it was quite a full day!  Met with the surgeon's assistant and was glad to find out that my weight is down to 293.6 (putting my loss in this program at 27.4 pounds and 33.4 down from my all-time high).  On to pulmonary testing to make sure the lungs still work, then to the lab to have more blood pulled and an EKG.  A chest x-ray and a visit with the anesthesiologist and the day was done!

Exhausting, but satisfying at the same time, as the "light at the end of the tunnel" is getting closer every day.  I'm starting to think more and more every day about life after the surgery, both the recovery period and everything else to follow.  I'm trying to not get overly excited, but I can sense that there's a truly positive change that's just beyond the horizon for me now.   

Can't hardly wait!

With a surgeon, that is......

Dr. Shikora's office just called, and I'm still trying to wrap my brain around what his assistant said...."so we've got a date for your surgery......how's June 19th?".   "Uh, ok with me!"

It's been a while since I posted, so it's time to get caught up.  I completed the Behavior Change group meetings with Dr. Kaplan.  Over the course of the meetings (2/22 - 3/29), I learned about mindful eating and other strategies that will come in handy as I begin life post-op.  Additionly, I dropped another 16 pounds (318.5 to 302.5), bringing my total weight loss since starting the program at Tufts-NEMC to 18.5 pounds. When I met with Dr. Shikora on 4/5, I weighed in at 299, so I've lost 22 pounds since 1/17/07.

I've completed all the required elements of the Tufts program, so now all I'm waiting for is official confirmation of insurance approval and I'll be good to go.  I'm scheduled for a pre-op testing appointment on May 8th and then........the waiting truly begins.  

Be careful what you wish for....you might just get it!  Actually, I couldn't be more thrilled at the prospect of making this change in my life.  I know that the hard work truly begins after surgery, but I feel very confident that I'll be successful. 

Ok, so I know many of you have come up with lists of things that you're looking forward to after the surgery.......and naturally, I've gone and created my own list.  I have a feeling this will evolve over time, but as of right now, here goes:

Wearing clothes in a size that doesn't have an "X" in it....or a number in front of the "X"
Sleeping without a mask (bye, bye, CPAP machine!)
Buying clothes in a regular store paying regular prices.
Wearing pants sized in the 40's again
Wearing pants sized in the 30's for the first time since high school
Saying "sayonara" to blood pressure meds
Seeing my Adam's apple for the first time
Not needing a seatbelt extender on a plane
Fitting comfortably into seats on planes, buses, subways, theaters, etc....
Fitting comfortably into a seat at Fenway Park or Gillette Stadium (a challenge even for the non-obese!)
Being able to run and chase after my little boy.....
Never having another one of my students refer to me as "jolly"
Never having another chair collapse beneath me.......unless it is truly broken!
Having only one chin
Regaining the pride I once had in my physical body
Regaining my health and sense of well-being

and finally, I'm looking forward to being the best husband, father, son, brother, friend and colleague that I can possibly be!

Had my intial psych interview on January 17th with Dr. Kaplan of the OCC staff at Tufts-New England Medical Center in Boston. It was a very pleasant experience and left me feeling I made the right choice for my WLS. I'll be going back in about a month to have a full physical exam, meet with the nutritionist and the exercise physiologist, as well as to begin the pre-op "behavior change" support group meetings. To say that I'm excited about getting this process started would be an EXTREME understatement! The only difficulty is that I really can't get the surgery done until after my school year ends in mid-June......as Tom Petty said so well "the waiting is the hardest part"!

Well, it's been a while since my last post.......so let's start with the numbers!

Weight at all-time high (10/23/06):             327
Weight on surgery day (6/19/07):          297
Weight one month post-op (7/19/07):   265
Weight 7 weeks post-op (8/7/07):         256

So far, I'm down 71 pounds from my all-time high and 41 since the surgery.  Once again, I'm trying to not obsess about my day-to-day weight loss, but it does get a bit frustrating when the scale seems to be standing still.  Then, all of a sudden, I'll drop a few pounds and feel ecstatic.  I know it's crazy, but those feelings exist.  I continually strive to keep a longer-range focus, and when I look at the numbers above, I realize how far I've come from the beginning of the process.

Went into the closet and tried on some of my work wardrobe from last year.  My XXL polo shirts still fit, although rather baggy......guess I'll have to invest in a few XL shirts to start the year and then hopefully replace them with straight-up L's!  As far as my pants are concerned, those need to be replaced before school starts in 3 weeks.  The Dockers I started the year with (size 50) didn't make it to the end of the school year, as my pre-op weight loss rendered them too big.  Now, when I try them on, it's incomprehesible to me that I used to wear such large pants.....yet I clearly remember going to Casual Whale to find SOMETHING big enough for me to wear to teach in.  I'll definitely take some pictures to document how far I've come.  The pants I ended the year with are size 46 and I might cinch them up with a belt and use them at the beginning of the year, but they certainly won't last long.  I'm pretty sure I'll be going to a REGULAR store to buy myself some NORMAL sized (albeit still a bit larger than I'd like) pants to start the year with.  I've always tried to dress well regardless of my size, but I feel that in the very near future, I'm actually going to be able to really indulge my newly-developing desire to really be fashionable......

I've been working very hard to improving my aerobic base over the summer and I think it's starting to pay off.  Certainly, it's helped my post-op weight loss and will continue to do so over the next few months, but it's time to really get to work and start weight training again.  I was very diligent in my weight training pre-op and wasn't quite prepared for the loss of strength I've experienced over the last 7 weeks.  This morning, I plopped myself down on the incline press bench in the free weight area of my local Y, tossed the "regular" number of plates on each side of the bar, took a breath, leaned back, set my grips and hefted the loaded barbell off it's pegs........and very quickly, depression set in!  Ok, so that's overstating things a bit, but a weight I used to press out 3 sets of 10-12 reps before my RNY was now a weight I could barely move for 4 reps before realizing I was in over my head!  I knew I was going to lose strength, but this was a real demonstration of how far I have to go just to get back to where I was in June.  

The consolation, naturally, is that with the weight loss, all the lifting I put in now will produce gains I'll actually be able to see when I look in the mirror.......so it's not a total loss!