So I pretty much avoid Wal-Mart as much as humanly possible, especially with kids. Well, it was my little sister's baby shower last week. Due to the fact that I now work 7:30 pm to 4 am, I barely made her shower....let alone bought a present. I finally decided to go and get her a gift. She had a great baby shower and got almost everything that she needed, so I got her a baby bathtub. I am with my two little boys trying to survive in Wal-Mart and I go to check out and the cashier said to me "Oh, did you buy that for a new grand baby? Um...are you frickin' kidding me? Ok, I did just have a birthday...but I just turned 31. 31 people.
On the surgery front, I did have my consultation with Dr. Sherman Smith for gastric bypass. I spent most of this week collecting my medical records which I am supposed to fax to their office. I'm hoping their office accepts faxes of 400 plus pages. he he. We're hoping it gets approved by insurance. We would already have to come up with $1,600 and we're trying to figure that all out. Because of my fatness....the doctor considers me high risk. He said people in the supra obesity category, (super...I have my own special classification) have enlarged livers which can block the view for surgery. So for the past 3 weeks, I have been on a 1000 calorie a day diet. This will help reduce my liver size prior to surgery. The travesty of all of that is that I have followed the restrictions to the dot. I have packed lunches with low calories and packed healthy snacks like fresh pineapple etc. I went back to the doctor and I have lost .02 pounds. Ok, seriously, how is that possible? I am just hoping that even though my metabolism is about as slow as my father drives, that it is somehow making my liver smaller for surgery.
I have struggled with some people's idea of gastric bypass. I didn't realize how taboo it is. I told a couple of my friends that I was going to have the surgery and they said to me (two separate friends) "Why would you do that? That's the quitter's way of doing it" or "Wow, you're taking the easy way out" or "Well aren't you worried about excess skin."
Um what? seriously? Ok, how many people do you know that have lost 30 pounds and kept it off for more that 1 or two years? I honestly have seen my cycle...I lose weight and gain it all back plus 15 pounds. etc. etc. etc. Looking at this rationally, statistically if I don't do something, I'm going to die, and most likely die young. Also there is very little chance of me losing 200 pounds on my own. Yeah, I agree, it's possible to lose 20, 30, 40 or maybe even 50 pounds, and there might be some chance of keeping it off for the rest of your life. Maybe. Statistically, only 1% of those who lose 10 pounds will keep it off for two years.
Gastric Bypass may be quick, but it is not going to be an easy fix. I am well aware of that. The doctor that is doing my surgery has a 70% success rate after 10 years, that gives me a whole heck of a lot better odds.
First of all, this is major surgery. There are some things that I will never be able to eat and drink again. Carbonation is one of them, Caffeine is another.
The first 4 weeks I'll be on a clear liquid diet (with no juice intake) Which means I can have broth. After that I can add other liquids, without solids like strained soups and yogurt. Then it progresses to pureed foods. Sounds like fun right?
During the first year, I will be allowed 3 meals a day that are 3 oz. Sounds ok right?
well 3 oz is the size of a medicine cup. Also the food that I will eat will consist of 80% protein, 20 vegetables. No carbs/grains, fruits or juices, sugars or fats.
Now, as for the excess skin. Um, I have it now, it's just filled with blubber, yeah...I'd prefer just skin...
Robert just got offered a job today, we're super excited about that. It's got good benefits, which is fabulous as well.
I'll post more about the surgery as I know. We are still waiting for approval.
