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January 23, 2007 - I certainly apologize for not posting more frequently.  I can say that is due to both having little to report and because I've been lazy about posting.  The hurdles I've completed to date have been:

1.  Appointment with the psychologist
2.  Attended Psychology Workshop #1 out of 5 (the next 4 classes are scheduled for the next 4 Wednesday evenings, so I'll be done by around Valentine's Day)
3.  Appointment with Physical Therapy.
4.  Both my appointments with the Nutritionist.

So at this point in their bariatric process, I am working to lose more weight, and finish up with the psychology workshops.  My next appointment with the bariatric coordinator is February 9th to review my progress to date.

As far as weight loss goes, I need to lose approximately 105 pound to qualify for their surgical requirements.  Since November 15th, 2006, (approximately 2 months), I have lost 53 pounds!  Which means I have just passed the 1/2 way point!

It's been tough, very very tough.  But I'm determined.  I've had a few small instances with eating things I shouldn't have, however, none of these have derailed me.  If I screwed up, especially over the holidays, I did not wait until the next day to "get back on the wagon".  I got back on the wagon even if it was in the afternoon.  And I think that's important.  Besides, there is no magic switch that occurs during the night when it comes to dieting.

I hit a major plateau at the beginning of this month, that lasted at least 2 full weeks.  Nothing is more frustrating than suffering on a diet and not having the pounds drop.  But I kept my spirits high, and now I've broken through that plateau.  Once again, this is important, because I have proven to myself that plateaus do in fact exist, and that they do have a finite duration.

Well, that's all for my update.  Stay tuned.

December 19, 2006 - Today I spoke with Nancy Seesman, the bariatric coordinator with Portsmouth Regional Hospital.  I have been assigned to Dr. John P. Gens, who was the surgeon I happened to speak with at the informational seminar.  According to Nancy, the BMI restriction is still strict at 60 BMI, which means my pre-op weight must be 415 pounds.  Well, as of this morning, I have currently lost 40 pounds and am now at 477.  That means I will need to lose another 62 pounds to qualify for the surgery.  Do I even need to mention how depressed this news makes me?  It is difficult to know that you are too fat for weight loss surgery.

December 14, 2006 - Yesterday marked the beginning of a flurry of appointments in this stage of my process.  I had my first official appointment with the bariatric coordinator.  My 3rd official weigh-in came in at 488 pounds, subtract 7 points for clothing, bringing me down to 481.  I have lost 36 pounds so far!!

The next steps are the appointments with the nutritionist, the psychologist, my primary care physician and with physical therapy.  My wife somehow managed to get these all crammed into December which was important, since my next follow-up appointment with the bariatric coordinator will be on January 12, 2007.

December 5, 2006 - Well, I finally had my second "official" hospital weigh-in today.  Virtually all conditions were the same, the clothing, the time of day, etc. and my weight was 497.  So my official weightloss to date is only 27 pounds.  However, I'm not discouraged because I'm still averaging around 10 pounds per week weight loss.  I also took my own scale to see what the differential was.  My scale weighs me 4 pounds lighter then the hospitals.  So from now on, I'll be able to measure my weight at home and simply add 4 pounds for accuracy.  This morning, I weighed 481 in my underwear, so I technically weighed 485 this morning.  I also weighed my clothing, which is similar every day, and those weighed 7 pounds.  So any weigh-in I do in the hospital from now on, I'll subtract 7 pounds.  Since I weighed 497 at the hospital, I actually weighed 490.  Now, the remaining differential is between 485 in the morning and 490 in the afternoon.  That difference is accounted for by breakfast, lunch, and all the drinks I had up until my weigh-in.  So in conclusion, I will generally go by my own scale and add 4 pounds, since it will always be a morning weight.  So now I am officially 484 pounds.

Also, I got my first introductory appointment next Wednesday, which gets the process officially underway.  Since they scheduled that appointment, and the surgeons have reviewed my application, this is a good sign that they may be willing to take my case.

And lastly, tomorrow I turn 40 years old.  I know it sounds silly, but leaving the 30s and entering the 40s is kind of depressing.  But I'll cope with that, just as I'm successfully coping with my weight loss, and the work that is involved to finally get my surgery.

Thanks for reading my Blog, I'll try to post regularly.  Next post will likely be after my first appointment next Wednesday.

November 27, 2006 - I've made it through the weekend completely unscathed.  I was able to even watch people eat pumpkin pie without getting stressed out.  As of this morning, I'm down another 5 pounds, making a total of 40 pounds lost.  I'm excited about that, and I can see physical body changes occuring.  I do have a sore throat, headache and a fever that started soon after Thanksgiving.  My daughter has been coughing like a champion, so I think we might have caught something from other family members on Thanksgiving.  She's feeling better, but I'm feeling worse.  I'm going to check with the doctor and make sure my diet isn't contributing, or even causing, this sickness.  I know this diet requires a careful balance of nutrients to be safe.  Anyway, thanks for your wonderful support everyone.

November 21, 2006 - As part of this great war on my excess weight, I've rallied the family and friends to sponsor my weight loss, to provide me a financial incentive as well.  As you can see, I'm showing my excess weight no mercy this time!  They are sponsoring me for $1 per pound.  As of this morning, I have now lost 34 pounds.....in ONE week.  It's quite amazing actually, but I know it will slow down tremendously now.  But at least I am alot less concerned about meeting the surgeon's BMI requirements.  I'm also feeling better too, and can see the difference in my body.  I'm staying focused!

November 19, 2006 - This evening marks the end of my 5th day on the Protein Sparing Modified Fast diet in preparation for qualifying for the surgery.  I'm pleased to announce that this morning, I have officially lost 30 pounds so far.  That means from 524 to 494.  I'm staying strong, I'm staying focused, and this is going to be a success.

November 17, 2006 - Today is essentially day 3 of my new Protein Sparing Modified Fast diet.  Things are going well, and I'm feeling better.  I am suffering almost hourly, but it is almost a good suffering.  I'm trying to put my attitude and frame of mind into sharp focus.

I'm in the process of finalizing my application, and gathering all the materials that Portsmouth Regional Hospital have requested.  On Monday, I have another appointment with my primary care physician, and we will undoubtably cover some of the details of what is needed from him.  I plan to discuss the issues of my BMI being too high for surgery at Portsmouth, and being too high for insurance coverage.

I can already notice the weight loss I've already experienced.  And I'm feeling better today.  The war is just beginning, I'm sure there will be battles won and battles lost, but the war has already been won by me.

November 15, 2006 - I went up during my lunch break to Portsmouth Hospital, filled with enthusiasm and hope, to get my first officially recorded weight.  Getting on the scale, I knew it would be bad, but it was worse.  The results, 524 pounds with a 74.1 BMI.  Then, the coordinator's voice echoed in my head that they normally do not operate on people larger than 60 BMI, but she will bring it up at their next committee meeting.  OK, I just feeling like crying.  Too fat for weight-loss surgery, what a concept.  I have a 90 minute drive home this evening, and I'll just cry.  But then the war begins.

November 14, 2006 - Well, I'm home now from the seminar.  It was pretty much what I expected, an explanation of obesity, the surgeries, the diet and lifestyle changes, and their requirements to have the surgery completed.  In general, they said the surgery generally occurs around 2-3 months from now.  That doesn't seem bad.  The next step on their long checklist is to fill out a rather detailed application, and mail it to them.  Then, they will call me to set up my initial appointment with the bariatric coordinator.  They indicated this would take 2-4 weeks.

One of the things that has been bothering me is the weight loss they expect prior to surgery.  In this case, they expect 10% loss of your excess body weight.  My concern was not that I needed to lose the weight, but that I wanted to get started right away.  But the first pounds are the easiest to lose.  So if I started now, and had to wait 2-4 weeks for my first appointment, those new pounds would be harder to lose.  Well, the good news is that I can come into the office TOMORROW to get my first official weight recorded.  This is exciting news for me, because now I can actually start losing that 10% immediately.

It's been a long, stressful day, but I'm glad to have this seminar piece checked off my list.