The Good, the Bad and what I'm doing about it

So first the good news - as of t his morning I'm 14lbs down in 16 days. I had a slight regain at the end of the first week due to poor choices. I also think we were both treating it as a 'last supper' type of thing because the liquid diet was looming.

Still, if I can maintain this rate of loss I'll be at my goal weight by mid-August.

The bad news - the liquid phase is torture and I didn't do very well.

Between trying to choke down a protein shake that tastes like rotten monkey butt (though the cocoa powder helped a little) and feeling like absolute crap all last week, it was miserable. I know ther's usually a certain level of 'detox' to be expected, but I'm doing this to get healthy - not to feel even worse than I normally do.

The challenges:
1 - the level of salt in most broths was triggering headaches. Due to my BP, I'm sensitive to salt and I guess not eating anything to balance it out increased that sensitivity. The ones that are low-sodium have absolutely no flavor and despite being hungry I had trouble forcing myself to drink them.

2 - I HATE SUCRALOSE. Seriously - I cannot stand the flavor. I don't understand how people can live on it and don't notice the flavor difference. I can take a taste of something and immediately tell you that it has sucralose by that nasty after-taste it leaves in my mouth. This means that these protein shakes, sugar-free jello, sugar-free pospicles are about as appetizing as eating dirt. I deal with it while drinking the protein shakes, but it pretty much eliminates the other 'free foods' I'm allowed.

The above challenges, combined with the nurse's failure to explain a few details about this portion of the diet, meant I was subsisting on 2-3 12oz protein shakes a day and maybe 1 cup of broth. Oh and my multivitamins and calcium of course.

So the hubby and I had a talk about it and have decided to make adjustments. Yes, I fully understand I won't have the freedom to do this after surgery, however I do now and am taking advantage of it. Plus, when the hubby had his consult with the (same) surgeon he was just told to lose the weight and the surgeon ultimately didn't care how.

So for week 2 of our 'liquid' phase, we've mad the following changes.

- Picked up 2 cases of the Premier protein shakes. The surgeon isn't a fan of these because of the protein degrading or something along those lines, but I can stomach these. I don't feel like I'm marching along death-row every time I have to drink one.

- We're picking up 1 container of Body Fortress protein powder from WalMart. I've heard that it tastes decent and I'm willing to try. I'm making sure it's a flavor other than chocolate.

- We're eating a sensible, protein-centric dinner. This has helped tremendously. The first night, after about 5-6oz of steak and a 1/2 cup of veggies sauteed in coconut oil I felt 100% better. My headache started going away, I didn't have the shakes, I didn't feel sick.

So far so good. I'm still losing. I feel human again. I can think clearly again. I can work and take care of my kids the way I have to every day and not want to just sleep.

If I notice that it's seriously stalling my weight-loss, I'll re-evaluate. Right now though, I've got to do what I've got to do to survive.

In other news, just 6 days until I go have my EGD and the majority of the other testing I have to get done. I'm looking forward to it, but I'm also nervous. It's been 16 years since I was under anestisia or in the hospital for anything other than child birth. I know I'll be fine - hubby was fine after his 3 years ago. I think it's normal to be a little apprehensive though.

I just keep reminding myself that it means I'm that much closer to being able to get a surgery date. I'll have 75% of my testing done that same day. Then I'll get the remaining 25% done the following Friday along with my cardiologist visit and the nutrition consult. I think it's then just a matter of waiting for insurance approval once the office gets all of the paperwork submitted. I think I'll feel a lot better about all of this (including the torturous liquid diet) once I have a date. Once I have a surgery date, then at least I know there's a light at the end of the tunnel. I can't say an 'end date', since I know I'll be back on the liquid diet after surgery, but at least I'll have a goal. I do much better when I have a goal or a countdown to use as reference. Then it doesn't feel like I could be doing this for weeks and for no reason (well, other than whatever weight I manage to lose) if I can't get approved for surgery.

Moving right along

So since my last update I've survived my 1 week of high protein, low carb eating. It wasn't too bad, especially since I followed a lot of my Whole30 strategies. I also managed to drop around 8lbs which isn't to bad. I'd hoped for more, but considering I had a hard time getting in regular exercise, I'm not going to complain.

This week I've started my 2 weeks of clear liquids and it's definitely tough. I'm home with the kids all day and between prepping their food and having to feed the youngest, it's kind of torture. I'm starting to realize how often I take a bite or taste of her food during mealtime. If it didn't require massive amounts of clean-up, she'd be full-on finger foods. I know it'll get easier - but during these first few days it's definitely harder than I expected. I'll admit, I was looking forward to the 'ease' of this phase, for the sheer fact that I wouldn't have to put much thought or prep into what I'm going to eat. I think I'd enjoy it more if it was just and my husband (who's being a champ and doing this with me!) that I had to worry about. Ah well - the life of a parent. :)

On the upside, I did discover that adding a scoop of unsweetened cocoa powder to the shake helps the taste tremendously. I also think I'll be picking up some sugar-free syrups to help with the flavor, as well. I definitely need to find at least one other shake option, because chocolate is going to get really old really fast. I wish there was an option that didn't use sucralose, because I have a hard time with that flavor.

I am hoping for some big losses with this stage. I have to lose 35lbs before I have surgery and I think I'll have all of my pre-op testing and requirements fulfilled by August 1st. Once that happens it's just a matter of getting insurance approval and I think we can set a surgery date. I really want to get this done the first week of September to ensure I'll have double-coverage for my insurance and so that I'll be a couple of weeks out from surgery when it's time for my daughter's first birthday. I want to be able to celebrate and enjoy the milestone. 

Anyway, that means I've got to lose around 27lbs more in just a few weeks. Even when I was hardcore dieting and working out 1-2hrs/day, it would still take me a few months to lose that amount. It's intimidating and discouraging but I'm trying to stay positive. If my intake is around 800-900 calories a day for 2 weeks, it's got to result in some decent loss. If not, I'm in trouble even after surgery LOL

In less stressful news, I did my psych consult yesterday. As long as I don't come back as a raving lunatic, that should be all they need to submit my paperwork for approval.

So fingers crossed and lots of losing weight vibes going on over here! 

Big Day #1 - Consult with the Surgeon

I had my consult with Dr. Srikanth today and overall it went as I expected. No, actually, it went exactly as I expected. He definitely recommends the DS as the best surgery for my situation. I don't have to jump through a bunch of hoops with my insurance company, meaning no 6 month supervised diet (as of yet). I just have to get my Psych evaluation done and provide proof of past, failed weight-loss attempts. I've got logs from SparkPeople, Weight Watchers and doctor's records that should suffice. I do have to lose 10% prior to surgery, which at this point is going to be somewhere in the range of 35lbs. To do that, Dr. Srikanth has me following his 'sandwich diet' - which looks o-so-fun!

Starting next week I get to eat high protein, low carb for a week. Breakfast is protein and more protein, lunch is protein plus some veggies if I'm still hungry and dinner is a salad with added protein. That doesn't worry me too much - it's a lot like the Whole30 I did last year prior to getting pregnant and I loved how I felt on it. 

The week after, however - not such a fan! For the next 2 weeks (yes, 2 weeks) I get to do a clear liquid diet that consists of 80oz of water/liquids, clear broths and 3 protein shakes per day. I can have all of the sugar-free jello and popsicles I want - well I could if I could stomach the taste. I can't stand fake sugar, so unless I get really desperate I'm going to be skipping those. I know that'll be challenging when it comes to the protein shake, but I'm going to do my best to find one that doesn't taste like total crap thanks to the nasty sucralose. Yes - I can taste the difference.

After that, I get to go back to Week 1 and rinse and repeat until I've lost enough weight for him to schedule me for surgery. My goal is to have my surgery by the beginning of September, so I've got my work cut out for me but I also have a lot of motivation to stick to the rules. 

I also have to find a way to fit in 90min of exercise every day and, I have to be honest, I'm stuck on that one. I work from home and take care of my kids, so it's not like I can just go for a quick jaunt on my lunch break and then again before I get home at night. It's going to take some creative scheduling - okay, a lot of creative scheduling considering my schedule. Don't get me wrong, I know I need to make exercise a part of my daily life, even after surgery, it's just hard to figure out where it'll fit in and still allow me time to eat, sleep and spend time with my husband.

There's also a long list of tests and appointments I have to schedule. I already have my EGD and Nutritionist appointments scheduled for the end of this month. I still have to get a bunch of blood work, an electrocardiogram, a psych evaluation, a consultation with a cardiologist, a pulmonary function test, an EKG and I think 1 or two other tests. My head is spinning just thinking about it all.

I decided to use the weekend to take a breath, get my food in order and then start scheduling everything on Monday.

Here we go again!  Here's hoping I can make it to the end this time. :)