Preop Diet - Days 9, 10

Things have pretty much been the same here lately so there isn't much to write about. I did have a birthday party to go to tonight.....my 8 year old niece's. It was kinda rough. There was pizza and, oh my, it looked soooooo good. There was also fruit, veggies, chips, soda, cake, icecream. The only thing preop diet friendly on that list were the veggies and that's what I stuck to. I sure didn't want to. However, I have this huge fear of waking up and finding out Dr. Nick didn't do my surgery because my liver hadn't shrunk. I don't know why I fear this. I have no reason really to but I do. I guess the only way it's gonna go away is after I find out my surgery was done. I think the nerves are setting in. Funny that they are about not getting the procedure. I hope everyone is doing well in their journey. ~Amy

Preop Diet - Days 7 & 8

Preop diet days 7 and 8 have gone good.  Today was the start of my second week.  A week ago I wouldn't have thought I'd be as okay with it as I am.  I do miss eating food at breakfast and lunch though so I can't wait to start eating those meals again.  But, it sure does make my dinner meal so very good.  I look forward to it everyday, that's for sure. 

On another note, I found out my surgery time is 7:00 a.m.  I think that means I'm the first for the day.  I don't imagine they would be doing a surgery earlier than that.  However, a 7:00 a.m. surgery means having to be at the hospital way early.  Like 5:00 a.m. early.  Yikes!  I have a sneaking suspicion that I won't be getting much sleep the night before.  Heck, I probably wouldn't be getting much sleep the night before anyway.  This just makes the night of no sleep that much shorter.  It's hard to believe that by this time next week I will be sleeved!  I cannot wait...I think!

Preop Diet - Day 6

Another good day down and another day closer to my surgery.  I can't believe that it is as close as it is.  I am seriously getting excited for it.  Okay, not the actual surgery part but for my future life after having the surgery.  I finally feel some hope in my battle with my weight.  I felt like I was in a hole I couldn't get myself out of.  Now, I feel like I'm getting a tool to help me be a healthier, skinnier and happier me and I can't wait for the future.  I can't wait to be off my blood pressure medicine.  I can't wait for my body not to hurt all the time.  I can't wait to have more energy.  I can't wait to be able to do more with my youngest niece and nephew.  I can't wait to do for a lot of things.  I'm just plain excited to be on this journey.

As I've mentioned, I am going to be documenting my journey in scrapbook format which I will have made into a hardbound book once I make my goal.  Each month will have two pages.  One page will be my stats (weekly weight and once a month measurements, BMI and fitness scores).  The other page will be my pics.  Since I only have my starting stats, I'm not posting that layout this month.  I am going to post my starting pics though. Hereout, every 4 weeks I will post the prior months stats with the current pic.  For starters, here is my beginning pics at a weight of 304.6:

~Amy

Preop Diet - Day 5

Things just seem to be getting better and better on this preop diet.  I still haven't had any negative symptoms other than the bad day on day 2 and I continue to make strides in drinking my protein shakes.  I am managing to get them down much easier now.  I'm not gagging when I drink them anymore and I don't obsess over the aftertaste of them for 30 minutes plus anymore.  Woo Hoo!!  All that being said, I don't think I will ever drink chocolate milk again once I can get off the protein shakes.  I've always LOVED chocoate milk, but I'm getting a ton of it in my chocolate protein shakes that I think I will be over the chocolate milk taste!

On another note, I've began talking to two people I "met" on the VST boards.  Both are having surgery by Dr. Nick at Forest Park on June 5th just like me.  One lives in West Texas and the other about an hour 1/2 east of me.  Getting together isn't an option right now but we plan on meeting up after Kristi from West Texas gets in town.  I so cannot wait to meet her and my new friend Donna who I chatted with for the first time tonight.  I love having new friends who are going through this at the same time as me and I look forward to continuing to build my new friendships.  Today has been a good day.  I hope things continue to go as good.

~Amy  

Preop Diet - Day 4

It's amazing how much different I feel today compared to how I felt just 2 short days ago.  No, I haven't magically started liking my protein shakes.  But, I did manage to drink them today without gagging and that's an accomplishment.  Not a big one, but an accomplishment none-the-less.  I have felt awesome today.  I think I'm getting some of the energy II've heard people get when they are eating low carb.  I haven't really had any carb withdrawal symptoms.  I guess my "meltdown" on Tuesday could be considered one, but I'm talking about the stuff other people talk about...the headaches, feeling jittery or nauseous or the desire to "kill" someone, anyone.  I really feel like I must be doing something wrong because I haven't felt any of those.  I hope I'm past the point of feeling any of those things.  I just want the next 11 days to go smoothly....PLEASE!

I wish everyone luck on your journey....whereever you may be in it.

~Amy

Preop Diet - Day 3

Well, today is a better day.  I'm still not sure how I am going to get through having to use liquid protein other than to just do it.  I don't have to like it.  I just have to drink it.  Sometimes that just seems easier than others.  Like right now, it seems like such a simple statement but that is probably because I'm done with them for today and don't have to stress about it until tomorrow  On a positive note, I've already lost about 6 pounds.  Yeah, it's just water weight, but hey, it's a start right?

I've mentioned before that I am planning on tracking my journey in multiple ways and then putting it in a scrapbook format.  I will be weighing weekly.  Once a month I am going to take pictures, do my measurements and redo my fitness tests.  I plan on posting them here too.  That's a little scary for me because, without my picture on here, I feel somewhat anonymous should someone I know come across this blog.  However, anyone who knows me in real life would know this is my blog after reading it.  I don't think with alot of the details in here that it would be hard to figure out.  Maybe I'm more worried about them seeing my stats.  Outside of doctors, no one in real life knows my weight.  Not even my best friend who knows EVERYTHING else about me.  Aw well, I need to get over those fears and just do it, right?

I hope everyone is doing well!  Happy Friday Eve.

~Amy

Preop Diet - Day 2

This is already a roller coaster ride and not the fun kind either.  I only managed to drink 1 of my 2 protein shakes today.  I just couldn't stomach the 2nd one today.  I JUST FREAKIN' HATE ARTIFICAL SWEETENERS!!!!  I have no idea how in the heck I am going to do this.  This totally sucks!!!!  Ever since lunch, I just can't bring myself to believe that I can do this.  How am I going to drink protein shakes that I hate for at least 5 weeks (2 weeks preop and at least 3 weeks postop)?  I really don't know if I can do it.  I really don't.  I've tried no less than 8 and still can't find one that I can't taste the artificial sweetner in.  I thought the Premier Protein Shakes were it, but nope.  Just another one on the list of ones I don't like.  I want this surgery so very much, but I just don't know if I will be able to get to that point.  I haven't quit YET.  I have moments where I tell myself I can do this, but those really are just words coming out of my mouth.  There really isn't any belief in those words right now.  It doesn't help either that I feel like crap.  My sinuses are just messed up.  I don't know if I am still healing from surgery or if I am getting sick.  I really think it is the latter based on the new symptoms that developed over the last few days.  Crap!  I just am not liking life right now.  Yeah, I'm whining ALOT in this post but I can because it is my blog and my place to do it.  For anyone who may be reading, I'd like to be my usual self and put on a happy face and pretend I know everything will be okay, but I just truly don't know that right now and therefore I truly can't pretend.  Not tonight anyway!

~Amy

Preop Diet - Day 1

I seriously need counseling for my mental issues with food.  In this case, I'm talking about my preop protein drink, Premier Protein Shakes.  I know I sound like a broken record, but I just have such an adversion to any artificial sweetener.  At least a mental one anyway.  When I initially tried them, I thought I didn't taste the artificial sweetener in these shakes but I do.  I know logically it isn't going to kill me to drink these things I just don't wanna!!!!  Okay, I'm done with whining.....at least for now.  Overall, day 1 is going good so far.  I keep telling myself this is temporary and I can do anything for awhile.  Of course, it is only day 1.  Who knows how I'll be down the road.  There will probably be a lot more whining.  But no more for today.  The protein shakes are done for today and now I get to have my meal of 5 oz. of lean protein, 2 cups of non-starch veggies and 1 fat serving.  Yippee!!!  I can't wait.

I hope everyone is doing well in their journey!

Take care,
~Amy

Pre Op Diet

So this weekend is my last weekend to eat whatever and how much ever I want.  My preop diet starts this Tuesday.  This Tuesday....Oh crap, that is only a few days away!  I can do this, right?  I'm so scared of the low carb thing.  I.LOVE.MY.CARBS!  I am so nervous about this preop diet.  Heck, I'm more nervous for it than the actual surgery.  How crazy is that??? Yeah, crazy, I know.  I just have to keep reminding myself that it is only for 2 weeks....14 days.  That is the blink of an eye in the whole scheme of life.  Plus, there's a "prize" at the end of those 14 days.  My new life will begin.  June 5, 2012 will always be a special day to me just as January 18, 2006, the day I quit smoking, is. 

I'm mostly prepared but still working on the final things.  I live alone so this weekend I'm cleaning out my pantry, fridge and freezer.  I'm getting rid of all the junk that I can't have on my preop diet and that I don't want to have after my surgery.  I also wanna make a list of things to pack.  I will be in the hospital up to 2 nights.  Then, I will be staying with my parents until I feel ready to go home.  I need to get my vitamins organized and find a medicine reminder for my phone and get everything put in there.

As I mentioned before, I love to scrapbook.  More specifically, digital scrapbook.  I plan to document this journey here as well as in digital scrapbook format with pictures, measurements and fitness scores.  In the Weight Loss For Dummies book they have a way to help measure your fitness levels.  They have you do certain things that "measure" your upper and lower body as well as your abdominal strength and you retake the "tests" over time to see how you are progressing.  I guess I need to do those "tests" this weekend too as well as take my measurement and some pictures.

Okay, so I have a little more than I originally thought to do, but it is all quite doable this weekend.  I'm off Monday for my preop, so I have and extra day to get things done.  Oh heck, preop.  There's another thing I need do too.  I need to quit typing as my list keeps getting longer.  

So overall, I am really excited.  This surgery gives me hope which is something I haven't had a lot of lately.  Here's lookin' toward the future.....

~Amy

Randomness

June 5th is fast approaching. What's coming quicker is my two week preop diet. Mine isn't as bad as others. I'm supposed to have 2 protein shakes and two snacks with one meal a day that includes 5 ounces of lean protein, 2 cups of veggies and one serving of fat. Sounds okay, right? The problem is this menu includes very little carbs and I am a carb addict! I've read about people going through carb withdrawal and it isn't pretty......lack of energy, headaches and grumpiness just to name a few things. I just have to keep reminding myself that it is only for two weeks.

I'm really staring to prepare with all the things I will need food, vitamin and liquid protein wise. I'm also trying to get a few things for at home exercising as well as looking up exercises. I also am a HUGE digital scrapbook lover and want to do a book to document my journey so I've given that a lot of thought as well. Oh, and My Fitness Pal. They have apps in both the Apple and Android markets. I've downloaded it and have been busy customizing it so it will be ready to go. I plan to start using it when I start my preop diet. If you haven't checked it out, it is worth a look. It is awesome! It is highly customizable. You can do a lot from the app but,if you go online, there's a lot more you can do. You can track all kinds of measurements that you manually enter as well as your exercise, and your food calories, fat, carbs or whatever you choose to track. Another cool feature is you can have friends on there to connect with and you can even keep a blog there if you wish. It's just a really cool site.

Happy weekend to all!

~Amy

New Date and Protein Liquid/Powder

First, I have yet another date.  I have something at work that only I do and really need to get one of my coworkers trained on it before I can be out.  I'm in the process of doing that, but didn't think I'd be ready by May 22nd so I've pushed it off for two more weeks and am now scheduled for June 5th.  I hope that is my final date.

Now, on to the protein thing.  I think a ton of us struggle with the liquid/powder forms of protein. It seems to be a contanst topic of discussion on the support boards I frequent  I know this issue had me struggling bigtime.  I just couldn't find anything tolerable despite having tried quite a few different things.  I am probably the pickiest person in the world about what I eat and drink. I like absolutely no type of artificial sweetener which presents a huge problem in finding a protein source for the preop and postop diets. I just cannot find one I stand.  They all make me gag. Needless to say, I have been very stressed about what to do and was even trying to figure out if I could do this without having to use a protein powder/liquid. Yeah, I know, not a good thing and I knew that. However, in being totally honest, it crossed my mind to try and avoid the liquid/powder forms of protein and just start getting it in once I could do it post op with food.

I totally understand that we all have different likes and dislikes but in all my reading and trying to find something that could work, I noticed that for every person who recommended a protein powder/liquid, there were just as many or more that said they couldn't stand that particular protein source. But, recently I noticed so many posts recommending Premier RTD Protein. The opposite though wasn't true. Unlike the other protein recommendations having just as many or more hating a particular recommendation, I didn't see that trend with Premier RTD Protein. I thought there just has to be something to these things so I made a decision to try yet another protein recommendation. However, you can only get it at Sam's or Costco and I don't have a card for either of those places but my Mom does. We had plans to hang out today so I asked her if we could go there to get some so I didn't have to buy a membership only to find out I don't like the darn drinks. Don't ya just love my positive attitude??? :-) Anyway, we made it to Costco and I picked up a case of chocolate Premier RTD protein.  As soon as I got home, I put one in the freezer to get it cold quickly. After about an hour and a half it was nice and cold. I opened it up knowing I wouldn't like it, but I was wrong. Yippppeee!!!!! I've never been so happy in my life to be wrong about something.

The chocolate has no vitamin, protein, gritty, lumpy or chalky taste. I cannot taste any artificial sweetner and it has absolutely zero aftertaste. It tastes just like a chocolatey chocolate milk. Just like the full flavor stuff with all the calories and sugar and fat but without all that.  It only has 160 calories, 3 grams of fat and 1 carb.  Man, it was really good.  If I had to pick one thing "negative" to say about it, it would be that it is very chocolately. That could be good if I'm having a craving for sweets. If I'm not, I could tone it down with milk. The benefit of that is I've added even a little more protein to it by using some milk. I totally cannot wait to try different things with this drink like making it more of a shake and by adding some banana and/or PB2 to it.

So.....If you have yet to find a liquid/powder protein souce and you haven't tried Premier RTD protein, I highly recommend you try it.  I seriously cannot tell you how picky I am and the fact that I'm highly recommending these is something else. Now, all this being said, I know not everyone will lke these. I just wanted to tell others my experience in hopes it can help someone else like others helped me by what they posted about it.

~Amy