The Diet... IS WORKING!! :)

So, as I stated when I started the blog, I was 365? 363 when they weighed me in class. Today? 355.8 So, yes, as much as I hate this diet, it seems to be working. And honestly, I don't really hate it. There are just several things that I really wish I could eat, but I can't (i.e. mac-n-cheese). But there are some cool things you can make in the diet. For example, today for lunch, we made taco zucchini boats...

I did mine with a little dollop of fat-free Greek Yogurt, in lieu of sour cream. My husband did salsa with his. They were very good! And VERY easy to make! Tonight for dinner, we're having spaghetti squash spaghetti. :) I'll post pics of that later, but, for now, check out the first attempt at our cutting spaghetti squash... and try not to laugh too much. ;)

~♥~
Lady D

"Exercise" Class

Well, that class was definitely interesting. It's not at all what I expected. The whole premise of the series of classes is to retrain your body to correct posture, and breathing, so that you can exercise without pain, and eventually move to more heavy workouts without pain. I don't know that I'll go to the next classes, but, if the guy teaching the class can really do what he says he can do, it's intriguing, especially for someone with a bum knee (when my husband and I were hiking in the Smokies a few years ago, I slipped, crossing a stream, and managed to injure my knee. I've had trouble with it ever since).

Two of the stories he told of his previous students were a lady who completely destroyed her ankle in an accident. Her husband, a retired orthopedic surgeon, wanted her to get an ankle replacement. She, however, did not want to do that. So, she turned to my instructor, and he was able to get her walking, and even biking, without pain at all. The other story, was a 60 year old woman who was in the same boat I'm in. Bad knees, overweight, health problems, that joined the bariatric program. Her goal was to go to Yosemite and hike the hard trail, not the easy trail. She worked in the program for 15 years, and the instructor said he has a picture of her in his office, hiking the hard trail at Yosemite... crossing one of the log bridges across a gorge... with NO rails. He said the impressive thing is not that. It's the 75 year old woman goofing off as she crosses the log bridge while two 20-somethings behind her are crawling across it.

I love to hike. I knew I loved to walk, but, that hiking trip to the Smokies (injury not withstanding), taught me that I love to hike. But, with my knee the way it is, I don't know if I could do that right now. If he can really retrain my body so that I can walk without pain, or without my knee "clicking" (yes, it makes a clicking noise sometimes) when I walk, I'm totally considering taking his classes. The best part? Pre-op, the classes are free to me.... well, not free, but, they're wrapped into the surgery fee. Post-op, there is a fee, however. The instructor said that the program they do can be done for up to six months before the procedure, and three months after. Then I assume, you need to move to more strenuous workouts. While I'm not decided either way yet, it's definitely something to think about.

~♥~
Lady D

Ok then...

I'm warning you straight off... this is kind of a gross personal post. But, since I want to be honest about this, in case someone out there is considering this journey, I'm not going to shy away from medical issues that go along with it. So, if you don't want to read about it, feel free to skip this post. :)

Well, one thing that I never considered with this diet is the "GI Distress" (that's what my OB/GYN calls it... it sounds so much better than the alternative, don't you agree?) that can come along with it. I was already experiencing a little of this from my metformin... I'm on a high dose (1500mg/day) for my PCOS, and honestly, the GI issues I was having with that kind of sucked. But the cool thing about my metformin is that I'm on 500mg pills, so, if I have to back it down, I can. But, for the most part, my body adjusts to the metformin within a week, and then no issues.

So, the past several days, I've experienced no issues, and then today, BOOM. Major GI issues. :'( And, if you think about it, it totally makes sense. Massive diet change, it's going to take some time for your stomach to adjust. Another thing I'm experiencing is some minor fatigue. I'm not tired all the time or anything, but I do notice I'm going to bed a bit earlier, and I'm getting tired earlier in the evening. That, however is evening out already. So, I guess, if you're interested in this journey, just be honest with your surgeon/PA/NP, until everything settles.

You'll see a lot of shortened terms in my posts that I realized that people may not know what they are...

PA= Physician's Assistant
NP= Nurse Practitioner
PCOS= Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome

If you ever come across something in my post that you don't understand, leave me a comment. I promise I'll explain to the best of my ability. :)

~♥~
Lady D

Diet Struggles Pt. 2

The struggle is real. Oh boy. So, yesterday, we had a vendor lunch at work, and what did they bring in? Boston Market. First of all, who doesn't like Boston Market? No one. They brought chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, MAC-N-CHEESE (My favorite comfort food!), salad, cornbread and butter, brownies, and chicken. Oh my goodness. The chicken smelled so good, dripping those lovely drippings off the skin, and the mac-n-cheese looked so creamy, and wonderful.

Note how I said everything looked and smelled good. What did I eat of that meal? About a 4-6 oz. portion of chicken breast that I peeled the skin off of. *pouts* Seriously though, I was surprised at how little I really wanted the stuff. I mean, today, honestly, those brownies are calling my name a bit, but, I'm not going anywhere near them. I think I'm going to have to learn with the struggle of vendor lunches. As long as I can get in there, and get whatever I can eat (if anything) early, before other people start going in and eating my favorite foods in front of me, then I will be fine.

My husband though, is totally testing my resolve... *angry face* He still has a good sized portion of hash brown casserole in the fridge. I LOVE hash brown casserole. :( But, I guess it's the way I feel about the situation right now... and this may sound dramatic, but, once you think about it, it's really not... my life depends on me succeeding at this. And, honestly, it does. I'm not dying right now, or anything like that, but with the way I am at this moment, theoretically, I could. I could have a heart attack or stroke, I could develop full blown diabetes, and go blind, or have to have an amputation like my grandfather did. And I don't want that. I want to see my daughter graduate high school or college, and I want to see her walk down the aisle. I want to hold my grandchildren, and watch them grow up. And with my health in its current state, that's just not happening. :(

I have my one mandatory exercise class on Thursday. We'll see how it goes, and if I want to keep going to those classes. I'm going to have to pack a change of clothes in my car, and plan to change as soon as I get to the office. Well, I guess that's all for now.

~♥~
Lady D

Diet Struggles

I'm not going to lie... tonight was kind of tough. My in-laws came over, and we hadn't told them yet about the bariatric diet yet, so, my mother-in-law, being the awesome person that she is, brought all of my favorite dishes of hers: apple crisp, hashbrown casserole, deviled eggs, all of which I can't have anymore. She felt awful. I told her not to. It's our fault for not telling her, and besides, I was able to eat the steak, and for lunch, we went to Qdoba, where I did an improvised burrito bowl.

But this brings to light the diet struggles that will happen for the rest of my life. If we go to a party, and all they have to eat is stuff I can't, well, I just don't eat until after the party. Honestly, today, the food was slightly tempting, but, I had no real desire to eat it. I'm committed to this new lifestyle, and I'm going to do everything I can to maintain it.

I have a whole list of questions for my dietitian next time that I talk to her: Can I do soy sauce? Is asparagus ok to eat? Can I use lemon or lime juice for flavoring (neither are on my approved list of fruits)? Can I use little sprays of Pam to aid in cooking? Can I eat avocados? How about fruit Greek yogurt? These are all questions that will make my life a lot easier to manage. They may seem strange, but, you have to understand, they literally gave me a list of things I am, and am not allowed to eat. And it's a fairly restrictive list. So, I'll have to talk to them about it. #LifestyleChangeForTheWin

~♥~
Lady D

Supervised Weight Loss Classes

So, I had my first supervised weight loss class today. All in all, the class was very informative. One of the big things that I learned is that I start post-op diet... well, now. I do not start eating the 2 oz. meals, but, I do have to switch to a high protein, low carb diet that will be the same diet that I will have post op. I also learned that literally, bread, pasta, rice, and most of the grains that we normally eat are off limits. So are peas, and corn, and potatoes. Oh boy. My husband and I started talking about the diet, and it's a big change, which we were expecting, but we weren't expecting it quite this soon. It's ok, after tonight, which is kind of our last hurrah with carbs (We're ordering Chinese for dinner... and not healthy Chinese either), we start the diet tomorrow, and will stick to it.

I also learned that I don't have to do a liquid diet two weeks before surgery. Since I'll be on the same diet that I'll be on post-op, my liver will shrink anyways. I will have to start taking dietary supplements, since they want our bodies used to them. I was already taking calcium, but the calcium I was taking was calcium carbonate, and they say to take calcium citrate. I was also already taking a multivitamin, so, I was good there. My new addition is the Vitamin D3. I have to take 1000mg of calcium citrate a day, split into two doses, and 3000IU of D3. They also talked about the fact that we'll have to take protein supplements between meals for a while post-op, since we won't get enough protein in our 2 oz. meal. We're still supposed to be drinking 64 oz. of water, and post-op, we are not going to be allowed to have carbonated beverages or caffinated beverages, so, those stop now too. That's not a bad thing, since I didn't drink a whole lot of those to begin with.

They gave me my lab orders, which I can't do for two weeks, because of a breath test, which tests for a bacteria in the stomach that can cause ulcers. Why will it take me two weeks to take this test? Well, I'm on Prilosec for acid reflux, which can cause a false negative. So, I have to switch to a Zantec or Prevacid for two weeks. After the test, I can switch back.

The dietitian was very nice, and very down to earth. She didn't preach, but explained things in a concise and friendly manner.

I did learn tonight that I have another mandatory class that they didn't talk about at the seminar, which is a balance and exercise class, but it's only one. However, if I would like to go to subsequent programs, they're free up until surgery. After that, there is a fee to go to those classes. I don't know if I will, I'm not really a joiner. But then again, maybe I'll like it, I don't know. I do that class next Thursday.

Something kind of cool that the schedulers at the surgery office does is they schedule your next few appointments, for you. For example, I have my psychologist follow-up in June. They scheduled that for me, but I had to go ahead and reschedule it, since it conflicted with work.

I also learned tonight that they have no problem with pushing surgery back, they just can't move it forward. Which is good, since my classes will be over in October, and we go on our cruise in November. Couple that with the fact that Brandon can't take another vacation until January, and I'm looking the first of the year for surgery. That's ok. That gives us plenty of time to get our ducks in a row.

Sorry that this was kind of a long post, but I had a decent amount to cover. I'll write more when I have more. :)

~♥~
Lady D

Seminar

So, I went to the Seminar on Thursday evening, and, while it was informative, because I've been doing my research, it's nothing I didn't already know. I got to meet one of the surgeons, who explained the two types of surgery, which was cool. He's not the surgeon that I'm going with. My husband calls me sexist when it comes to doctors, because I'm a female, and I prefer female doctors. LOL.

Honestly, the best part about the seminar is that I got a timeline for the whole process, and I got to schedule my surgery consult with my surgeon. I have to do 6 months of supervised weight loss classes per my insurance. I don't get to meet my surgeon until June 6. But, I AM starting my weight loss classes this Wednesday. I have to do one class a month. Sadly, they don't do them in the evenings, so, I have to leave work a little over an hour early every time. Oh well.

I'll do a post after each class, just talking about what happened, how it made me feel, ect. I'm feeling pretty good still about the whole process, although I'm not going to lie, it's putting a bit of a strain on me. My husband and I got into a fight already because I have trouble explaining the way I'm thinking. We got over it quickly, but, I doubt it will be our last fight.

So, with my timeline, I'm looking October at the earliest. But, since we're going on our cruise in November, that would be late November at the earliest. But, since that's my husband's busiest time of year, we're thinking first of the year, honestly. It's something that I'll have to talk to the doc about, and see if she's ok with that, but I don't see why she wouldn't be. Anyways, that's really all for this post.

~♥~
Lady D

My choice

So, this weekend, I talked to some of my support group; my mom, my dad, my sister. I asked them what they'd think about me having bariatric surgery. They all were super supportive, and said that they didn't care how I did it, but that they wanted me healthy.

To be honest, even before taking to them, I had made up my mind. I'm choosing life. I want to be healthy for my self, my husband, and my daughter. So, I'm choosing to have the surgery. Since my appointment is on Thursday for the seminar, I don't know for sure if the doc will agree, but, my OBGYN thinks it's a good idea, and she's totally down to earth. So, I'm sure the surgeon will agree.

I started talking to a friend who had surgery with the same surgeon I'll be seeing, and she said that it only took about three months to go under the knife, which is much sooner than I expected. She also said that if I had surgery by August, I should be ready to go on my cruise in November. So, if the surgeon also agrees with that, I may have the surgery before the cruise, rather than after, which again is a big surprise. The same friends said that she went back to work a few days after surgery, which is good, because if I do it before the cruise, I may not have enough time off for the cruise if I have to take more than a week off. I guess we'll just have to see. This is so stuff that I'll have to go over with my surgeon.

~♥~
Lady D

It's tough

Thinking about how my life is going to change if I have surgery is a big thing. I was going through my Facebook feed today, and so many people post so much good looking food. Scrolling past the good look food is hard too. But it can be done. I can do it.

Anyone who is considering a lifestyle change for the healthier needs to start thinking differently about food. Now, when I go to my consult on Thursday, I'm going to have to be totally up front about the cruise that I'm going on in November. I will make health conscious choices in regards to food, but, dammit, I'm going to enjoy myself. But thinking about the fact that if I have surgery that I may never be able to eat sweets again? For someone who has used food for comfort her whole life, the idea of changing is tough.

Even before thinking of bariatric surgery as an option, I started changing my food habits. At work, I still keep snacks, but they're all healthier snacks, weight watchers, snack Wells, fruit, veggies, and cheese have added themselves to my snack foods. Before? Chips, cookies, brownies, Ice cream. I'm trying to eat smaller portions, but it's not always effective, and in general, just trying to do better. I am still losing weight. I've lost another pound, but it's slow. And idk if I can lose enough on my own to be really effective. I guess we'll see what's what.

~♥~
Lady D

The Decision

Well, after talking to my husband, and a co-worker, and a friend who had RNY, I've come to the decision that I'm going to look further into bariatric surgery, since honestly, I think that long term, it will be the thing that leads to the longest life, and the best health. I have a consult/seminar next Thursday, where I'll learn more info about the surgeries, and even get to talk to my surgeon. When I looked in to bariatric surgery before, this was a mandatory thing that everyone had to do even before they were allowed to talk to a surgeon. Whether or not it still is, I'm still going to go to it. I have a lot of questions, and very few answers right now.

My husband is very supportive so far, although I think the idea that I'm even looking into doing this is still setting in for him. It's constantly on my mind, whereas it's not on his. Like, at all. It will be on his mind before long though. I'll post more as I know more, but one thing I have to say, is that this is not an easy decision. This is going to be a TOUGH journey. But I'm not living for myself anymore. I want a long and healthy life with my husband, and my daughter.

~♥~
Lady D

Day 1

Well, this isn't really day one. I've been battling with weight issues my whole life. And yes, I'm overweight. I currently weigh 365 lbs. My daughter just turned a year old, and I've started having health issues because of my weight. Hypertension, insulin resistance, PCOS, high cholesterol. And it sucks, and it's hard, and I want to be there for my daughter. I don't want to die Young.

I went to my OBGYN yesterday, and one of the things she and I talked about was bariatric surgery. I had once considered it before, but I didn't know if it was really right for me. My family doc at the time instead put me on adipex. And yeah, I lost 60 lbs. But sure enough, as soon as I went off the meds, I gained it right back. Every diet I've ever tried has failed. I've had several friends who've had bariatric surgery, with success. I know it's not easy, and I know that it's a lifestyle change, but it's something I need to look into. Talking about it with my doc yesterday put me in tears. Today I'm much stronger. And I'm curious. And I'm determined to do this one way or another. For my daughter. For my husband.

~♥~
Lady D