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!