EGD today

I had my EGD today, last thing to do before I start my liquid Pre-Op.  Dr. Hodges eased my my mind bit, I was worried if my esophagus was too big of a mess, they would not do the surgery....she assured me that gastric by-pass was actually the treatment of choice for severe acid reflex in someone with a BMI over 30....I then said That I must be the perfect patient!.....then they knocked me out.  Propofol....which is what Michael Jackson OD'd on, when I woke up I was dreaming about technology....how nerdy is that? Anyway, they did take a biopsy, and I should hear about that in about 4 days.

I also got a hair cut this weekend, I've been thinking of a shorter style for a while....thought it would look cuter and easier to look good with the surgery and all.  When I mentioned it to husband and my daughter, who is also my fashion adviser...they weren't too thrilled....but I did it anyway.  My hair was too the point all I was doing was slapping it back in a pony tail.....so here is a picture (with my fashion adviser).

Goals

I've been thinking about goals this week, I didn't really have a number in mind for weight, but to be in the "healthy" range for BMI will be good.  Of course mini milestones like getting out of the 200's and into "onederland" will be cause for celebration.  Going from obese to overweight in the BMI category will be great too....but the ultimate goal is health, so I think in the healthy zone for BMI is a good goal.  I'm thinking of getting an Aria....scale that records your weight wifi...

I need to also have some fitness goals, so 10,000 steps a day (not sure if every day or 5 days a week) will be a good goal.  I understand I will need to start getting some strength training at some point post op...but I'm not really sure when.  Right now I'm exhausted when I just get 3,000 steps...so 10,000 steps consistently will be huge.  I got a new fitbit (my old one would not charge), if you don't have one of these it is a great way to track your steps...it's fun and extremely motivating.  I also have an Eliptical, right now it's a struggle to go 5 minutes without feeling like I'm going to puke....so working up to 20 minutes, then 30 minutes....then doing some of the full courses will definitely help me get more healthy and fit... I'm just not sure if doing the arm movements will help with strength....or if I will need to look into something with weights or resistance.  I would love to be able to get a personal trainer once I'm ready....that might be a good reward.

I'm not sure I will be able to get off all my prescription meds, but that is my goal.  My high Cholesterol may be a gift from my dad.....but if I can get it controled with diet and exercise....and get off B/P meds and not go on Diabetes type 2 meds.....then that is really the #1 reason for surgery.....looking and feeling better are just great by-products.

I wonder

Yesterday I was in Brenham Texas for the Texas Google Summit...that has to do with Google for Education which has nothing to do with a weight loss surgery blog....but the event really got me thinking about my future (in between thinking about all the cool technology I was learning about.  So the event starts with coffee, doughnuts, and Kolaches ....then for lunch it was a Bar-b-que sandwich, sweet tea, and Blue Bell Ice Cream...(if you are not from Texas you probably don't know that Brenham is the home of Blue Bell Ice Cream)...it was all good since I'm pre op (23 days to start liquid pre-op diet and 30 days from surgery)...But what I'm wondering is: How am I going to handle this sort of situation after I have my surgery?  Do you always have some protein shake supplies around just in case? Do you just eat the meat and leave the bread?  There was un-sweet tea...so I need to always have Truvia with me.  How do you handle events in general where you don't have control of the food and may not know what is in them, or you do know what is in them and know there are no good choices for you?  Will a bottle of water and quest protein bar need to be with me at all times (Just in case)

and the preparations continue

I took 2 before pictures today, one of me:

  The background is the master suite that we've been remodeling for years, don't even get me started.

And below is the before of my part of the closet, the plan is to put my clothes is size order...get rid of as stuff getting too big...take pictures of both a shrinking me and shrinking closet....and once I have almost nothing left to wear....then I get to do some shopping.

My last picture is some of the products I've purchased as I'm preparing.....I'm a month out from starting my pre-op liquids!

I have a date!

      Insurance approved the procedure and I had a long part 2 consultation on Thursday.  My surgery date is June 17, I start my pre-op liquid diet on June 10.  Last (contract) day of work is June 13....I hope no one notices I'm on a liquid diet...most of my team has such negative views of WLS; that I'm just not quite ready to share outside of my family.
     I got a bunch of paperwork and our out of pocket expense to the Dr. will be $810...I don't think that is too bad.  Not sure what the anesthesia and hospital cost will be.
   Although the classes took a lot longer than expected; they were informative, interesting and even a little funny.  There is a medical Dr. with this group that does the follow-up care....he asked everyone if they were on their "eat around the world tour".....there was silence for a for seconds...then guilty chuckles all around the room.  I know I've been enjoying everything I think I'm not going to be able to eat again....or at least enjoy for a long time...enjoying to the point that I'm miserable....even my biggest clothes are getting even tighter. We learned a ton of good information about the nutrition and protein post-op....I'm glad because I was a little bewildered reading labels.  We got some great resources, so I'm feeling more prepared for that big change in my life.  There will be 4 weeks of soft and pureed food (after one week clear liquid and 1 week full liquid) ...we heard a few horror stories of what can happened if you try to eat solids to soon....made a believer out of me.
     I have a plan for my closet, I'm going to organize from my biggest to smallest...so at first I'll be "shopping my closet". I have clothes all the way down to size 10....so it will be awhile before I need to shop.  I also have a plan for getting this protein down,  I have a journal to track my grams of protein....I need 100-120 grams a day since I'm having the by-pass....and if I've learned nothing else it is that the protein is critical.