Well, I've been on the liquid diet since January 1. I've actually lost a few pounds (about 5). Protein shakes, sugar free jello, sugar free pudding, sugar free popsicles, broth, water, sugar free koolaid and sugar free Carnation Instant Breakfast. There are a few other items on the list but I don't eat them (yogurt and cream based soups). Can you see the sugar free theme?
I didn't realize how much of a challenge this was going to be. I miss being able to chew my food.
Monday is going to be even more difficult: no diary products.
Tuesday morning is when my surgery is scheduled. I'm not sure of the time yet (waiting for the call from the doctor's office).
Sunday, January 5, 2014
Wednesday, January 1, 2014
Changing My Life for the Better
Happy New Year! January 1st has long been the day when people attempt to make changes in their lives: quit smoking, exercise more, eat healthy, improve finances, and the most popular: lose weight.
After talking to my doctor (who had the surgery recently as well), I was able to get not only a medical point of view but a personal one. After praying (a lot) by myself and with Patrick, we (yes, we) decided to start the process. After 6 months of doctor visits and lab work, seminars, nutrition class, and support group meetings, insurance approved my surgery..
When Patrick and I attended the support group meeting (one of the requirements for approval), one of the attendees stated that gastric bypass surgery is a tool to achieve weight loss. If you don’t use the tool properly, it won’t work.
When I called Dr. Lee Schmitt’s office at St. Vincent’s East Hospital in Birmingham, Alabama, to schedule my surgery, I was reminded that I would need to be on a liquid diet one week before the surgery. My liquid diet started today, January 1, 2014. My surgery is scheduled for Tuesday, January 7, 2014.
For those that aren’t familiar with the all liquid diet in preparation for gastric bypass surgery, it is quite limited (especially for me with my picky palate). Sixty-four ounces of protein and a minimum of sixty-four ounces of liquid. I’ve tried two types of protein shakes (one liquid chocolate and one powder vanilla) and Carnation Breakfast Essentials. So far, all of them have been okay, but time will tell.
I’ll try to post to the blog often to keep everyone up-to-date. Please keep our family in your prayers. This journey is going to be interesting.
PS. Just to give you an idea, when I stepped on the scale this morning, it rang in at 296.5 lbs.
I’m embarking on the same journey, albeit a little unconventional. . .
Let me take you back to last year. Patrick and I had been talking about our health. I'm taking medication (blood pressure, cholesteral, acid reflux - and sleep apnea) and overweight. My job tends to be sedentary (I’m in front of a computer 8-10 hours a day). I’m not one to exercise much. I’m also predestined to other health issue. My father is not in the best of health right now. I can see the change in my parents lifestyles since this time last year. Since I am very much my father’s daughter, I could see myself in the same situations that my father is in now. Not to go into details but I didn’t want our lives to be like my parents.
We begin the discussion on lifestyle changes: changing eating habits, exercising, and things like that. Because we live in an “instant gratification” society, changes just weren’t happening fast enough. Lose a few pounds. . . yeah! Stop eating properly and the weight comes back.
This past summer, Patrick and I performed together (for the first but hopefully not the last time) in the Canebrake Players production of Return to the Forbidden Planet. It was a musical with dancing as well (right up my alley). One of the people performing with us had discussed his lifestyle change the previous year (with Patrick) that helped him lose weight. . . gastric bypass surgery.
We begin the discussion on lifestyle changes: changing eating habits, exercising, and things like that. Because we live in an “instant gratification” society, changes just weren’t happening fast enough. Lose a few pounds. . . yeah! Stop eating properly and the weight comes back.
This past summer, Patrick and I performed together (for the first but hopefully not the last time) in the Canebrake Players production of Return to the Forbidden Planet. It was a musical with dancing as well (right up my alley). One of the people performing with us had discussed his lifestyle change the previous year (with Patrick) that helped him lose weight. . . gastric bypass surgery.
I’ve known a few other people that had gastric bypass as well. I really didn’t have much thought on the subject in the beginning. After doing some research online, which those that know me know that this is something I do on any subject that catches my fancy, I found quite a bit of information.
After talking to my doctor (who had the surgery recently as well), I was able to get not only a medical point of view but a personal one. After praying (a lot) by myself and with Patrick, we (yes, we) decided to start the process. After 6 months of doctor visits and lab work, seminars, nutrition class, and support group meetings, insurance approved my surgery..
When Patrick and I attended the support group meeting (one of the requirements for approval), one of the attendees stated that gastric bypass surgery is a tool to achieve weight loss. If you don’t use the tool properly, it won’t work.
When I called Dr. Lee Schmitt’s office at St. Vincent’s East Hospital in Birmingham, Alabama, to schedule my surgery, I was reminded that I would need to be on a liquid diet one week before the surgery. My liquid diet started today, January 1, 2014. My surgery is scheduled for Tuesday, January 7, 2014.
For those that aren’t familiar with the all liquid diet in preparation for gastric bypass surgery, it is quite limited (especially for me with my picky palate). Sixty-four ounces of protein and a minimum of sixty-four ounces of liquid. I’ve tried two types of protein shakes (one liquid chocolate and one powder vanilla) and Carnation Breakfast Essentials. So far, all of them have been okay, but time will tell.
I’ll try to post to the blog often to keep everyone up-to-date. Please keep our family in your prayers. This journey is going to be interesting.
PS. Just to give you an idea, when I stepped on the scale this morning, it rang in at 296.5 lbs.
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