Category Archives: pre-op

Pre-Op Diet Week 3 Complete: Progress Report

Posted on July 7, 2013 | 5 comments

preopweek3-070713Well, it’s the day before surgery, and I feel like pregnant women must feel before they have babies.  I feel the need to nest and do domestic things, so what am I doing?  Making soup.  Doing laundry.  You know, domestic things. Continue reading →

5 Comments

Posted in pre-op, progreso, weight loss surgery

Tagged , , , , , , , ,

So Hard

Posted on July 3, 2013 | 5 comments

givingup-whykeepgoing

There have been multiple times in the past few days when I have just wanted to lay down and quit.  This has not been an easy row to hoe, that’s for sure.

I had been told by several people that the pre-op phase of this process was the most difficult, and now I know exactly what they meant.

Continue reading →

5 Comments

Posted in pre-op, vsg, weight loss surgery

Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

Week 2 Pre-Op Diet Complete: Progress Report

Posted on July 1, 2013 | 2 comments

preop063013And a second week of pre-op dieting comes to a close.  One more week to go.  I’m pleased with the loss, and not surprised that it is significantly smaller than last week’s.  I am pretty positive that I won’t have another weekly loss like last week’s ever again, barring anything unusual like another bout with Giardia (no fun) or food poisoning of any sort.

This week was tougher than the first week for several reasons. Continue reading →

2 Comments

Posted in pre-op, progreso, vsg, weight loss surgery

Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

Week 1 Pre-Op Diet Complete: Progress Report

Posted on June 23, 2013 | Leave a comment

week1preop062313I have officially completed one week of my pre-op diet!  Hooray!  I made it!  And I didn’t kill anyone!  I think that should be applauded more than anything.

I dropped 17 pounds this week, all of which I am sure is water weight.  But hey, they are 17 pounds I am no longer carrying, so that’s really what matters most here.  So how did you do it? you’re probably wondering. Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Posted in pre-op, vsg, weight loss surgery

Tagged , , , , , , , , , ,

Protein Drinks: Mikey Likes It!

Posted on June 22, 2013 | 1 comment

Well, Day 5 of my 20-day pre-op diet is winding down and so far I’ve learned the following things about protein drinks:

  • I prefer that they be ice cold.  This makes them tolerable.  Of course I haven’t tried mixing plain protein powder into a savory broth yet.  That’s an experiment for next week.
  • I really, really don’t like them to leave a filmy residue in or on my mouth.  This makes me less likely to drink them.  Or anything really.
  • I also don’t like them if they smell in the least bit chemical.  No off-putting smell and delicious taste are two important criteria any drink I consume must meet.  This is why I don’t drink beer, eggnog or buttermilk–all of them have a horrible stank, in my opinion.  But hey, to each his own.
  • Fruity flavored drinks are okay so long as they are clear and not cloudy.  For some reason I have an issue with drinking a cloudy looking fruit flavored drink.  Perhaps it is because the first fruity flavored drink I tried was Isopure Zero Carb, and it is completely translucent, so I expected the next fruity flavored drink, Syntrax Nectar, to mix into water with no problem.  I was wrong.
  • I have found a couple of sources of protein that I really like and find delicious (thus they are tolerable).  They are: Continue reading →

1 Comment

Posted in pre-op, vsg, weight loss surgery

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Pre-Op Diet: Progress Report

Posted on June 20, 2013 | Leave a comment
Can you believe that bacon is allowed as a fat choice on my pre-op diet? Me either!

Can you believe that bacon is allowed as a fat choice on my pre-op diet? Me either!

Today marks Day 3 of my pre-op diet, and I have to say, it’s actually going better than I ever expected. I have been stomach-growling hungry only twice so far, and had a wicked headache yesterday.  I think that was partially due to the fact that I didn’t eat breakfast–I couldn’t, because I had an upper GI series scheduled for yesterday morning–and carb withdrawal.  While my surgeon’s plan allows me to consume 1200 calories and 120 grams of carbohydrate, I’m trying to keep my carbs below 100 grams.  I wasn’t given a specific protein goal to hit, but I’m trying to get between 80 and 100 grams of protein daily as this is my post-op goal.  I have also managed to keep my fat grams below 40 each day.  And of course, I’m drinking water like crazy.  So far, the result has been that I’m down 9 pounds (!) and my shorts are fitting a bit more loosely (I need a belt!).

Of course, this is only Day 3 of 19.  Ask me how things are going at this time next week!

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Posted in pre-op, vsg, weight loss surgery

Tagged , , , , , , , , , ,

And so it begins

Posted on June 17, 2013 | 1 comment
June 17, 2013: Three weeks pre-op. Pre-op diet began today.

June 17, 2013: Three weeks pre-op. Pre-op diet began today.

I met with my primary care doc this morning to review my latest labs and to get my pre-op clearance from her taken care of.  Labs, while not fabulous, are providing me with baseline a1c, fasting glucose, triglyceride and cholesterol levels.  My EKG was picture perfect and I have been deemed fit for surgery.

Continue reading →

1 Comment

Posted in pre-op, vsg, weight loss surgery

Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

Food Funerals and Last Meals: Breaking Up is Hard to Do

Posted on June 15, 2013 | 3 comments
image

One of the last regular meals I’ve eaten today: tacos al carbon at a local Mexican restaurant.

Today is T-minus 3 days and counting until I begin my pre-op diet.  I’m beginning it a week early, as the week I am supposed to begin it I will be teaching workshops to adults.  As I told my teaching partner, “I’d rather not be in carb withdrawal and bitchy while I’m trying to teach these people!”  So I’m going to start a week early to get the withdrawal out of my system.  I figure it can’t hurt anything to begin a week early, and whatever I can do to lose a little more weight before surgery will be a good thing for both me and my surgeon.

But before I start the first stage of the next stage of the rest of my life, I decided that I wanted to have a few “last meals” so to speak.

Continue reading →

3 Comments

Posted in pre-op, weight loss surgery

Tagged , , , , , , , , , ,

Jumping through hoops…nearly done.

Posted on June 12, 2013 | Leave a comment

Surgery Day is closing in, and there is so much left to do.  Documents to get in order, last meals to eat, and hoops to jump through.

So much to be done...

So much to be done…

One of the things that you are not told prior to embarking on the surgical journey is that there are an awful lot of hoops you must jump through to make the procedure happen.  At least there are with my doctor, but I realize there is a reason for all of the hoops–he is trying to keep me as safe as possible so that complications are avoided both during and after the procedure.  He’s also trying to make sure I have all the tools in my toolbox that I need to be successful with the sleeve he is going to craft for me in a few short weeks.

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Posted in pre-op, vsg, weight loss surgery

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , ,

Planning for Success: Eating Pre- and Post-Op

Posted on June 10, 2013 | 4 comments
Laying out a plan of attack for eating before and after surgery.

Laying out a plan of attack for eating before and after surgery.

If you know me, then you know that I am a planner.  Always have been, always will be.  When the thing I have to tackle is a major life event, planning is critical to the success of the event.  I look at my upcoming surgery as something that needed to be planned from the get-go.  From the initial surgical consult down to my pre-op testing (starts this week, yay!), everything about this has been carefully planned and orchestrated.  The eating I’ll be doing for the rest of my life is not excluded from this planning.

Continue reading →

4 Comments

Posted in pre-op, vsg, weight loss surgery

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , ,