I'm not going to go over day 20 because it's been the same as the other days.
I got my results for the H. Pylori and thankfully it's negative but now I wonder where the gastritis and polyps are coming from. I don't know how long it'll take to get the results for that but I'm anxious to know it.
April 21'st was my second nutrition class and it was a lot of information to take in. It was about the day before surgery and the day after. I also got weighed and I'm on track for next weeks weigh-in!! That was pretty awesome.
Okay here's some information about what my bariatric program requires for surgery:
I'm keeping a food diary now but I'll continue to keep one after the surgery and bring it with me to all post-op appointments
Week 1: Full Liquid 1 Diet
Week 2-3: Full Liquid 2 Diet
Week 4: Pureed Diet
Week 5-6: Solid Food 1 Diet (soft solid food)
Week 7: Solid Food 2 Diet (regular solid food)
Wow! 7 weeks until I can have regular food! That seems like a long time. The dietitian said that I'll be craving salads so get them in now. Honestly, I think there will be other things that I'll be craving.
The day before surgery is:
- No Food and stop taking Optifast or any protein supplements
- Follow a clear liquid diet only
- Drink at least 100 ounces of fluids but it's things that I can drink now so I don't think it'll be that bad regarding what I can drink.
- Exercise Goal: At least 30-45 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity to prepare you for minimal exercise to come in the next few days.
The 100 ounces of fluid is going to be a bit hard, but I told my mother that I'll probably have a hard time sleeping so it won't matter if I'm up and down going to the restroom through the night.
I'm now able to walk 45 minutes but I can't do it moderate to vigorously because of my asthma. They'll just have to accept that. I think it's awesome that I can walk 45 minutes now!
Once again I'm doing two days together. Everything is still going good with the Optifast diet. I did have a weak moment on Saturday and ate a cookie. Back on track though and hopefully the scale will show it on Tuesday when I have my next nutrition class. I'll be having my pre-surgery group on Thursday and have to be there at 7:30 in the morning! Not looking forward to that.
Today marks 24 days until surgery! It really is passing so fast. I bought some of the vitamins at Walgreens that I'll be taking after my bariatric surgery because they were buy 1/get 1 and buy 1/get 1 50%. I got a multivitamin, calcium citrate and vitamin B12. I still need vitamin C and maybe iron. Awesome deal! Spent $50 but that will get me through 2 months and hopefully Walgreens will have the same sale during that time.
Today I tried something different for my protein, veggie, fruit and oil meal. I had grapes and greek yogurt with sugar free jello crystals for my protein and fruit which tasted so decadent! The yogurt was peach and the jello was strawberry and it was so yummy! Then I had broccoli with butter for my veggie and oil.
I've tried the strawberry shake and the chicken soup and love the strawberry but really don't care for the chicken soup. I'll finish up the box but from now on I'll stick with the tomato.
Today was really a do nothing day which was rather nice since my week has been packed with stuff to do.
Tomorrow is my EGD and I'm hoping everything turns out okay.
Sorry I've had to post the two days together. This is what happens when real life comes in to play. It was a struggle to get each meal in and also at the right time.
On Tuesday my niece and her two kids came over for a couple days so that kind of messed things up. Then I had my first nutrition class and that also messed things up.
On Wednesday I had my hair colored and highlighted. First time I've done that. I really wanted to go into this new chapter in my life with a new look. I got it cut up to a little below my chin line, got it colored the same color as my natural hair to get rid of grays and then got purple highlights. It looks awesome! My natural hair color is two shades up from black and the purple is a deep purple. When I post before and afters I show what it looks like. My hair is naturally curly but the hairdresser straightened it and it actually looks good either way. My family loves it which was a good sign.
I've lost 6 lbs. since Saturday. Yay me!! It honestly has been rather hard because I'm having to deal with head hunger. I've only gotten truly hungry a couple times. After my class, I got more optifast and decided to try the chicken soup and the strawberry shake since I didn't like the chocolate. I've also heard and read great reviews on the chicken soup. Well, I tried both and really like the tomato soup the best and love the strawberry!
Alright, on to my class. It was just going over things that I already know. It'll be nice when they get more in depth.
Today is an empty day but tomorrow I'll have my EGD. It's also 28 days until my surgery!!
I never thought I'd say this but I hate eating or should I say drinking, actually both. I have to set my alarm for each meal so I don't forget to eat and I also have to get up earlier than I want to so I can get started on eating.
I'm liking the extracts in the shakes but I used too much of the mint when I had a chocolate one today. So far my favorite is the banana.
If you get the tomato soup make sure you don't get it too hot because it'll give it a funny texture. Still tastes good but just a weird texture.
For lunch I had some of the chicken that I did in the crock pot yesterday and it was really good! Much better than cooking it in the microwave. I also had broiled asparagus which was really good and an apple for my fruit.
I'm down a total of 2.7 lbs. Yay me!! I can't complain about that. I have to lose about 4 lbs. a week before I have the surgery. My sister says it's doable because I'm only eating 1200 cal. a day but I'm so used to diets not working I am having a hard time believing that I'll be able to do it.
Today I walked 2 times today for a total of 40 minutes. The second time I forgot to use my inhaler before starting and ending up having an attack. I was walking with my mother and she ended up having to walk back to the house and then drive back with the inhaler. Lesson learned!! At least I hope so, lol.
Tomorrow is my first nutrition class and I'll also get weighed. I'm also getting my hair done on Wednesday and will be getting highlights for the first time. I'm very excited about that. I figured I needed a new look for the beginning of a new me.
I'll also be having my EGD on Thursday. Kind of nervous about that but it's a simple procedure and shouldn't have any problems. A busy week! and tomorrow will be 30 days until my surgery.
Today is day 2 of my optifast diet. I messed up and drank a shake for my noon meal instead of a real meal but I made up for it at my 3:00 meal. I'll have the optifast tomato soup at 6:00 and then the rest will be shakes.
For my real meal I had tuna with low fat mayo, green beans and a small apple. I also put some marinated chicken breasts in the crock-pot so I can do something different than the tuna. It's really hard doing the protein, veggie, fruit and a fat all at the same meal because I would love to have an apple for a snack.
I went to walmart today and got some more SF jello and some pickles for when I need something for cravings. I also got some Watkins flavor extracts to put in the shakes because I really don't like the chocolate one! I got mint, banana, caramel and lemon.
Honestly, it's hard fighting the head hunger! I'm so glad that I can have the sugar free jello and popsicles and pickles.
I woke up with a stabbing headache that I know is coming from my body detoxing. Hopefully, my system will be clean in a couple days. Good news is I lost 1.4 lbs. I also walked for 20 minutes this morning and hopefully will walk it again this evening. I made sure to use my inhaler before walking which made it so much easier.
Can't say I'm looking forward to tomorrow but at least it'll be one more day closer to surgery.
Nothing really new to tell. I'm anxiously waiting for April 10th when I start my Optifast diet. I belong to a facebook gastric bypass group and from what I've read it's not a real bad diet. I was thinking the hardest part is going to be the 4 weeks but then I realized that's so stupid to say because I'll still be eating that way after the surgery and actually for a while. I know I can do it!
So... there is still no date for the surgery. I got the IVC filter placed yesterday so I'm hoping that I'll get the call next week. I'll probably email my coordinator on Monday.
Getting the IVC filter wasn't bad at all. What's ironic is that I got more "feel good" medicine with that versus the heart cath. The filter goes through a vein and the heart cath goes in an artery... go figure. Anyway, I didn't feel anything and I was pretty loopy. Because they went through the groin I had to stay flat for a couple hours which was ok because I was still loopy and slept most of that time. The worst part was having to be there at 6:30 am!! Afterwards, it hurt a little bit so I took some aspirin and then slept most of the rest of the day. All-in-all, it's not a bad procedure if you have to have one. It's nice knowing that I have it and it decreases the chance of having a blood clot again.
My journey started September, 2014 when I decided to have the GBS after having a pulmonary embolism in April, 2014. Honestly, it scared the poop out of me. It's amazing that a person can have multiple clots passing through the heart to the lungs and not die! I had lots of small ones in both lungs and 1 big one in my right lung. Very scarey!
After having tried numerous diets and only having temporary success, I decided that the surgery was the best option for me. Many people say that it's the easy way out but after much research I've found in no way is it easy. Sure the weight comes off quicker but that only lasts for about a year and that year isn't a walk in the park.
I went to the information group September 9, 2014 and I was so proud of myself! So many times I've let my fear of doing something without support from someone else ruin things. There were maybe 15 other people there and because we are all suffering from obesity it didn't intimidate me. I came away from it feeling excited and scared at the same time. I knew I didn't need to think about it for a while so I signed up and paid my $100. I've had to do 6 months of groups, weigh-ins, obtaining clearances, 4 week Optifast diet, etc. I'm about to go into the last month and hoping to have the surgery around the beginning of April.
