NCMTNEER13

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I have a RMR (Resting Metabolic Rate) test tomorrow. So I'm in the 24 hour window of no exercise, no medications, no vitamins, no alcohol, and no caffeine. After 8 PM it will be no food or liquids until my test is completed. Yea for me!!

What, if anything, does the RMR test tell you?  

On Monday, I had my first consult for my insurance-required 6 month weight loss program. Visit started off with weigh-in, which I was disappointed to see I had gained almost 1 lbs. since my last visit with the fitness coach 2 weeks prior. I was disappointed, but not surprised as I had been on vacation all week prior and knew I hadn't eaten well. But the bright side is that I still have lost 4.6 lbs. since my very first consult with the WL surgeon. My goal is to lose at least 20 lbs. during my 6 month program and hopefully 25 before surgery.

The doctor that will be working with me during my 6 month program, was very friendly and explained the purpose of the program. He emphasized this was an opportunity for me to start making the lifestyle changes that will be necessary to keep the weight off after surgery. He was very open and frank about me having to commit to changes to not only lose weight, but keep it off, which was positive. While he stressed nutrition was important, we really emphasized fitness before and after surgery. He really didn’t give me any magic formula and strict rules to follow, but did get me some documents with initial recommendations. He said he would get into more specifics after I met with the nutritionist and after my metabolic tests next month. I revealed to him that I was using OH to help me start some of the nutrition changes and I have been taking the advice of the fitness evaluation to get a minimum of 150 minutes of exercise a week. He was pleased to hear that. Of course, I did admit I had not eaten well on my vacation, but that I still found time to exercise, for which he said was expected and perfectly acceptable.

Speaking of that, not only did I exercise on my vacation, I also ran/walk my first 5k ever! Well kind of…. My local YMCA held a Anyway/Anywhere/Anyhow 5K for their members, so I enrolled before I left North Carolina. It was self-administered, self-monitored, and self-reported 5K. We were requested by the YMCA to take pictures and post them on FB and IG with the hashtag #Anyway5K. The cool thing was I was vacationing in Reno, NV, and South Lake Tahoe, CA, so my pictures of me doing my 5K were definitely the coolest. One day I did 1.2 miles in downtown Reno, complete with a selfie at the famous Reno “Biggest Little City in the World” Arch. It was really cold outside so I did my running portions outside on the sidewalks, and then ducked in the casinos for the portions I needed to walk. I completed the last 2.0 miles a day later at South Lake Tahoe, with my run/walk passing the famous Gondola at Heavenly Ski Resort. Took another awesome selfie of me with the gondola and snow covered mountains in the background. Unfortunately I had to walk most of the 2 miles due to bitter cold and most of my route being covered in snow/ice. But I really didn’t care about walking most of it or about my total time. I was more focused on just completing the 3.2 miles to say I did a 5K. So even though you can argue I didn’t do a continuous 5K, I did the 5K “Anyway/Anyhow”, just as the event was described.

Now I’m back to reality at home and at work and ready to get focused on my eating habits more. I’ve been taking a lot of notes from the “Whatcha Eating Today VSGers” posts and will be taking a special trip to the store this week to stock up on high protein/low carb foods. Any suggestions on foods are welcome.

 It’s been 12 days since my initial consult. I haven’t technically started my 6 month program yet, but I have been making minor changes to my lifestyle. I have cut out soda, am down to 1 small cup of coffee a day, and slowly reducing the amount of carbs I consume. I went in for my fitness assessment/consult today. I was surprised at the weigh-in that I’ve lost 4.5 lbs. The fitness assessment went well as expected. I do work out so 2-3 days a week, so walking on a treadmill for 10 minutes and doing some simple exercises wasn’t too much to ask. I even shocked myself and did 5 full pushups. I got some some advice on the types of exercise I should be doing and look to implement that soon. I still have 2 weeks before my official 6 month program starts but I’m not going to sit around and wait. If anyone has fitness recommendations for pre-op, I’d love to hear them.

The date I began my weight loss surgery journey will be easy to remember. While most couples are sharing gifts, chocolates, flowers, and enjoying romantic dinners on Valentine's Day, I spent the morning with my wife sitting in the Carolinas Weight Management clinic answering question after question about my health and facing an issue that I had spent most of my life trying to avoid. I have struggled with weight since I was a teenager, but now I am at a point where it is affecting my ability to do normal activities. This was my first consult with the weight management program that will eventually lead me to weight loss surgery. I had attended the informational session back in December and was finally getting to speak with the doctors and surgeon. I don't have a fear of doctors but I can get nervous when they ask questions. So on that day I was especially nervous. I’ve never had a surgery, at all! And now I was here asking for one voluntarily. What in the world was I thinking!!?? Luckily I have the support of my wife, who has WLS before and is a R.N. Despite still having issues with her lap-band, she is being super supportive of my decision and helped me with all my medical questions. The staff at the weight management office was great that day and really helped ease my nerves. Initially I was a bit concerned, as my surgeon wasn’t the friendliest or most enthusiastic, but after talking about VSG with him, my wife was 100% convinced he was the best surgeon for the job. And being a RN in an ICU, I trust her judgment on doctors and surgeons. He was very confident and serious, which come to think about it, that is what I want in a surgeon. I don’t need a friend. I need a professional with a great track record. During my visit, I confirmed my decision to go with the VSG. The only down side to my consult visit was the weigh-in. unfortunately, my weight at the consult was my all-time high, 320 lbs. While very depressing, this just reaffirmed to me that action is necessary and is now a motivational factor.

So now I begin my weight loss journey. My insurance requires a 6-month medically supervised weight loss program, but that doesn’t bother me. I would like to start making my lifestyle changes now and hopefully get down below 300 before the surgery. That might be too ambitious for 6 months, but that’s my goal. I’m still nervous about this journey so I was thrilled to find this community online. I hope that by documenting my journey here, I will find additional support and guidance. I’m not very good at doing things on my own, but when I have a detailed plan, have support from others, I tend to do very well at accomplishing my goals. I look forward to sharing my stories with this community.