Pre-op Day 7

Halloween!  

I woke up not feeling too hungry. I want dying to get something in my stomach. 

Then mid morning I put a crockpot of taco chili on. About noon it starting smelling really good. Torture!

Breakfast:  vanilla Optifast with fruit punch Powerade Zero. 

Lunch:  chocolate shake

Mid afternoon:  vanilla Optifast with berry Powerade Zero. Yummy!

Dinner:  chocolate Optifast

Made it through Halloween. Kids had fun and they lasted over an hour. 

Pre-op Day 6

Breakfast:  mixed vanilla Optifast with fruit punch Powerade Zero. Yum!  Tasted like a strawberry shake. 

Lunch:  chocolate Optifast with ice and water. I added peppermint extract. Big mistake. I could only get half of it down. Yuck!

Dinner:  chocolate shake, sans the peppermint extract. 

Fourth Shake:  fruit punch Powerade Zero with vanilla Optifast. So good for breakfast decided to make another one. 

Really down today. These 2 weeks just can't go by fast enough. My energy is really down today and having trouble thinking and concentrating. I'm very irritable.

Had some vegetable broth today. It was a nice change from the beef.  

A week almost down. 

Halloween is tomorrow and its gonna be rough. I won't lie, not swiping candy from my kids' stash is going to be hard. We are going to leave our bowl of candy out for the trick-or-treaters and take the kids around the neighborhood. I usually have candy duty but better to be out of the house this year. 

Pre-op Day 5

Really busy day and didn't have a chance to jot down my day. 

Breakfast:  hot cinnamon apple tea and vanilla Optifast

Lunch:  Orange Fanta Zero and vanilla Optifast

Dinner:  chocolate Optifast and water and ice

Snack Shake:  Orange Fanta Zero and vanilla Optifast. 

I actually was so busy yesterday that I had that my husband whip up a shake for me while I was fixing delicious barbecue meatballs for the rest if my family. 

I also didn't haven last shake until after 8pm. Right after dinner my daughter had dance class and then we carved pumpkins and then baths. Late night for everyone. 

Sure did miss eating those meatballs. One of my favorites. 

Pre-op Day 4

First day on the liquid fast that I was on my own and getting the kids fed and to school. I actually woke up feeling pretty good. My migraine is 98% gone. The pain I usually have in my feet when I first get out of bed was hardly there. Could this be from the cleansing I am doing to my body?  I wasn't limping around like I usually do.  That's the first thing on my list that I am looking forward to when I start losing this weight:  walking around like a normal 38 year old should and not like a 90 year old woman with severe arthritis. 

Fed the kids breakfast and lunches made and got them to school. I was able to make my hot tea vanilla shake while I made them breakfast.  I was able to drink it not too fast, but still felt rushed.  I was really hungry and had to get something in my stomach. 

Breakfast:  cinnamon apple tea with vanilla Optifast. 

Lunch:  chocolate Optifast with ice and water

Mid-afternoon shake:  Orange Fanta Zero, vanilla Optifast and ice. (Creamsicle. Yum!)

Dinner:  Black Cherry Herbal iced tea and vanilla Optifast. 

Cravings and hunger were subsiding today. But then I popped some popcorn for my kids' after school snack and it just about killed me. I love popcorn! But I was good. I didn't even try to lick it!

My energy is way down. I thought I would be able to exercise while doing this. Not the case, so far.  I will try to take a walk tomorrow. 

My life saver:  beef broth. Sounds weird, I know. But it's just so comforting and tastes delicious. 

Day 4 down!  Onto tomorrow!

Pre-op Day 3

Woke up feeling better. Nausea gone but migraine still hanging on.

Breakfast:  Celestial Seasonings Cinnamon Apple Spice tea with vanilla powder. Yum!  It was frothy, warm and delicious.  Couldn't taste the powder at all.  This will be my go to breakfast. 

This is what I use to make my beef broth. It's much cheaper to buy this and make it myself than to buy boxed or canned broth. And the flavor is just wonderful. I have used the chicken version of this in cooking. I bought some cheap boxed chicken broth and don't like the taste at all. So I'm going to go get some chicken base this week. 

Lunch:  I made some iced tea with Celestial Seasonings Black Cherry herbal tea. I mixed that with the vanilla Optifast. Very good flavor. Mixed it in the Blendtec and that makes it very frothy and smooth. 

Mid-afternoon shake:  chocolate with ice and water. Gotta figure out something else to mix the chocolate with. 

Dinner:  vanilla Optifast with cinnamon apple tea. Again, delicious and smooth. 

In between snacks:  beef broth, strawberry-banana jello, Popsicles (all sugar free, of course). 

I've noticed that I am more hungry in the afternoon than in the morning. I am hoping that in the next day or two that my cravings and hunger will pass.  

I am not looking forward to fixing meals for my family. I love to cook and bake and not being able to partake of my creations is going to be hard. I have not been able to sit at the table with my family. They had pizza Friday night, including my favorite:  crazy bread!  I admit I took a finger and ran it across one and licked that tasty goodness off of it.  Admit it. You would do it too. 

I will have to learn to fix my kids breakfast and their school lunches and get them on to school each morning. I will have to learn to sit down with my 2 year old and help him with his breakfast and lunch and not nibble on it.  I will have to learn to make dinner for my family, sit down to eat with them and be satisfied with my shake.  

Changing my eating habits means changing theirs, too.  My kids are going to hate it. My Asperger son is very picky about his food and textures. My daughter hasn't touched a vegetable since she was about 3. Luckily my 2 year old will eat anything I put in front of him.  

Day 3 coming to a close and I made it. On to conquer day 4. Thankfully my migraine is gone and my week is busy. 

Pre-op Day 2

October 26, 2013

Worst day ever!  Woke up with a severe migraine and nausea. I suffer with migraines. Wonder if its the sweetener in the shakes. I threw up all day. I got my shakes down but threw them back up.  I. I only got 3 shakes down instead of 4.  I cheated and had about 10 Ritz crackers. I was so hungry and my stomach was so upset. I just couldn't take it anymore!  I needed something salty and something to settle my stomach.

Breakfast:  orange Fanta Zero with vanilla shake.
Lunch:  chocolate with water
Dinner:  chocolate with water and a bit of ice.
Inbetween: beef broth, lime Jello, Popsicles.

Also had doses of Tylenol with codeine.  Felt a bit better by evening and kept my last shake down and also beef broth and Popsicles. Kept everything down.

Props to my hubby for holding down the fort.

Pre-op Day 1

My surgery is set for November 8. The day before my 11th wedding anniversary. My husband and I celebrated early and went out for my "last meal."  It was a delicious pork shoulder roast with winter vegetables and an apple cider reduction.  If I had to pick a last meal before my Lap Band surgery this was it. I wouldn't change anything about it.

To prepare for my surgery my doctor has required that I do a 2 week liquid fast. I had been dreading this for weeks.  I am doing the Optifast powder shakes. 4 shakes a day. I was given vanilla and chocolate. I can also have as much sugar free Jello, clear broth, sugar free popsicles as i want inbetween my shakes. I can mix my shakes with any clear, zero calorie and sugar free liquid that i want, including diet soda.

 I started day one on Friday, October 25. I was a little late picking up my shakes from my doctor so I didn't have my first one until about 9:30.  I had my first shake orange Powerade Zero with the vanilla powder. Yuck!  Not a great way to start. But I got it down. The day went great.  I had chicken broth, Jello, beef broth (my favorite),  Popsicles, and my shakes. Lunch was chocolate with water. My third was vanilla with orange Fanta Zero and ice. Tasted like a creamsicle (mostly). Dinner was chocolate with water.  I wasn't too hungry. It was a great day.

Helpful Tip:  thank goodness for my Blendtec blender.  It makes mixing these things a breeze.

A Change in the Making

It's been a lifetime struggle.  My weight. I was never a skinny kid. I was always "husky."  I struggled. I was always active. I danced since I was 3 and continued into high school. I played sports - soccer, baseball, softball and then as I got older and into junior high school and high school I was on the volleyball, and soccer teams. I was a manager for the track team. I did this and held a part time job, as well. I got into college and still struggled. I remember starving myself and going on crazy diets like the crazy cabbage soup one. Anyone relate?  I wanted to be skinny like my roommates and all those other girls on campus. I was probably my thinnest in college.

I got out of college. I went through a period of depression. Of course I medicated myself with food.  Then one day I had enough. I started eating healthy and exercising. By this time I had my first teaching job and was motivated to keep my weight down.  I joined Weight Watchers and exercised religiously.  I was succesful and list more than 50 pounds on WW. A short time later I met my husband and. gained a little.  I was married. I got comfortable.

Six months later I got pregnant with my first child. I gained more.  I only lost what I gained in baby weight. We moved. I suffered a devastating miscarriage. I medicated with food. A few months later I got pregnant again. We had a beautiful baby girl.  I never lost the weight. When my son, our first child, was in second grade he was diagnosed with Aspergers Disorder. Guess how I coped?  Yup, with food.

I initially started looking into Lap Band about 4 years ago. I went to the orientation. I met with my surgeon. I completed all the steps to prepare myself for surgery. I was just waiting for approval from my insurance.  There was some miscommunication about where I was having my surgery and they denied me. Okay. Um. Well, food is my friend. Food will never let me down.  

And then a surprise pregnancy!  While pregnant with my third child I got an approval letter from my insurance for a different surgery center. Of course I couldn't go through with it because I was pregnant. With my third pregnancy I had Gestational Diabetes that I had to control with Insulin. 4 shots a day and pricking my finger numerous times a day. I was a good girl. I ate right and was able to control my blood sugar. My son was born a healthy 7 pounds 12 ounces and no complications.  After my son was born my diabetes went away but my diabetes counselor warned me to get the weight off or the diabetes would return. 

He's 2 now and the weight plus more is still here and I am at my heaviest.  I have pain in my feet. I am tired all day. My migraines are out of control. I can't keep up with my kids. 

About 6 months ago I decided to go through the Lap Band process again. I got discouraged a because I knew how long it could take for all the approval. I called my doctor about 2 months ago and thankfully all my info was still on record and was expedited through the process. Within weeks I was approved once again for surgery at a surgery center 45 minutes away.  I'll take it!

I created this blog to keep track of my progress, my daily intake, my successes, my thoughts, disappointments, frustrations. Hopefully it will help and inspire others to start a healthy lifestyle.  Lap Band isn't the answer for everyone. It's just what's right for me.  I am doing this for me, for my health, for my husband, and for my kids.  

I am ready to start a new life. Let's do this!