Bette B.

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September 17th, 2003 ~~~~~~

I had my first meeting with Dr. Ehrlich on September 15th, and am even more impressed with him and his staff than I was before. The only negative was finding out how much I actually weigh. The average bathroom scale only goes to about 300 pounds, if you're lucky, and I was off the scale, as well as the standard doctor's office scale that goes to 350. I was horrified to find that I am up to 376 - I had gained 30 pounds in the 9 months since I started taking insulin!

We discussed the options for WLS, as well as the steps required before the surgery can take place. Along with all of my other paperwork, I gave him a list of "50+ Reasons Why I Want This Surgery" (65, actually), and told him that half of the reasons were serious, and half not so much.

Example (serious): #1. I'm at least twice a healthy weight, and I don't want to be that anymore.

Example (not so much): #43. I want to hear a cricket chirp and not wonder if it's just my thighs rubbing together.

[NOTE: I'll be happy to email the list to anyone who wants to read the whole thing.]

Dr. Ehrlich is wonderfully light-hearted, and won more approval from me when he told me that he doesn't take anything seriously - neither do I. Of course, I'm sure that's not exactly true for either of us, but it was nice to hear. He told me that he wouldn't be able to read the list right away, but that he was sure he'd enjoy it.

I got a call the next day from him saying how much he laughed, and that it really made his day. How can you NOT like a doctor like that?!

October 13th~~~~~

Had my upper GI (not a blast; I can still taste that nasty bubbly stuff), my ultrasound (no biggie) and my H. pylori (just another blood test.) My PCP and one of his associates have agreed to write letters on my behalf. Tomorrow I have my meeting with Health Extenders and after that....I don't know what happens next. I should be pretty much ready to go but for another couple of meetings with Dr. Ehrlich.

October 25~~~~~

Just got word today that my surgery has been approved by Connecticare - with little resistance, apparently - and I've got my surgery date: December 2. YAY!

November 16th~~~~~~

"Hell Week" starts in two days. Actually, it's "Hell Fortnight", but that doesn't have the same cachet as Hell Week.

It's fourteen days with 1000 calories (fat-free ones, at that) per day. I don't know how many calories a day got me into this predicament, but it certainly was a lot more than 1000!

I'm trying to stay positive and plan on filling up on steamed chinese vegetables with steamed or baked protein (salmon, swordfish, scallops, etc.) with a light sauce. A trip to the huge Asian supermarket in Hartford is on the schedule for tomorrow to pick up some items to help spice things up in a fat-free, low cal way. [Just as an aside: "fat free" goes against all I believe to be good and holy. Foods with fat weren't meant to be fat free, and the fat frees usually taste like spackle. But, again, I'll tough it out.]

November 17~~~~~~~

It's just two weeks away. The 1000 calorie diet has been okay, so far. 'Course, it's only been two days. On the plus side, I've lost 5 pounds in the month between nutritionist visits.

November 25~~~~~

One week to go. The 1K diet has been surprisingly effortless. I'm staying away from carbs, loading up on protein and veggies and I feel great. The swelling in my feet has FINALLY gone away, after months of annoyance. I can actually get my shoes on without my feet hurting.

It's been fatfree, sugarfree yogurt with a couple of teaspoons of Kashi "7 in the Morning" cereal with a banana and coffee for breakfast, salad with tuna and fatfree dressing or steamed veggies and baked fish for lunch, and steamed veg with baked fish for dinner. When you're filling up on veggies, those 1000 calories actually goes a pretty long way.

I've been frequenting an Asian market in Hartford for fresh bok choy and great low-fat/no-fat sauces, and invested in a bamboo steamer tonight. A great big pile of steamed veggies with steamed squid and scallops, a little sauce of my own creation, and I'm set for the night - not even hungry.

DECEMBER 1~~~~~~

Well, it's the night before surgery. I'm preregistered at the hospital, I've packed my clean undies, my toothbrush and a book to read, so I guess I'm ready to go. My surgery has even been moved up an hour.

In looking back over the last five months since I first considered having the surgery done, here is some of what I'be learned:

*Almost all the info you need to make an informed decision about the surgery is available on the internet. Notice that I said, "almost". Nothing, of course, takes the place of a face-to-face meeting with your doctor(s), but you can start the process on-line, and especially on this website.

*You will be amazed at the number of people who will be supportive of your decision. Not one friend, relative or co-worker has thought this was a bad idea, and they are all rooting for me. More surprising was how many folks on this website - not just from my own state, but from all over the US - emailed their support to me.

*The time you have to wait between making the decision and having the procedure goes by in no time.

*An Upper GI is unpleasant, with nasty things to drink. Be prepared for it and just struggle through it. A sense of humor helps.

*A 1000 calorie, high protein/low fat diet is nowhere near as painful as I thought it would be. You can cram a lot of steamed vegetables and fish into a 1000 calories! I even got my husband to eat the same dinner as me.

*2 days of clear liquids have not been a horror show, either.

That being said, here is the most important thing I've learned:

*DON'T WATCH FOOD NETWORK WHEN YOU'RE ON A VERY RESTRICTED DIET! Especially now, since all they seem to want to show is how to make things with chocolate.

That's all for now. See you on the skinny side!

Please bear with me. I'm trying to turn my "old school" profile over to the "new and improved" version. Why they had to be changed, I dunno, and why it's such a P.I.T.A. to do it is beyond me.

So, as time goes along, I'll be posting - as blog postings - my old profile which runs from September 2003 to the end of 2008. Stay tuned.

Okay, since people have asked, here they are. For weight training, I do three routines that I cycle through, which take about 30-35 minutes each depending on how fast I go and how busy the gym is. They are listed below. All are done on machines, rather than with free weights. Gym rats, spare me your lectures. This is what works for me.

I follow the weight training up with cardio, the routine(s) and lengths of which vary based on my energy that day, my mood, etc. Sometimes it's 20 minutes of treadmill and 40 minutes of stationary bike, sometimes it's 20-20-20 of treadmill, ellipticial and bike. Sometimes it's just a half-hour of bike. Like I said, it varies.

WEIGH ROUTINE 1
Leg Curls
Leg Extensions
Back Extension
Ab Crunch
Overhead Press
Vertical Chest Press
Lat Pulldown
Cable Tricep
Cable Bicep

WEIGHT ROUTINE 2
Leg Press
Glutes
Back Extension
Torso Rotation
Pec Flye
Rear Delt Flye
Lateral Raise
Cable Tricep
Cable Bicep

WEIGHT ROUTINE 3
Adductor
Abductor
Hamstrings
Ab Push
Back Extension
Chest Press
Row
Cable Tricep
Cable Bicep