Day 33 - 4th Day of purees/soft foods

Another Monday, another day at work.  It's getting better and better on the pain management.  I went another day today with no pain meds, so yay for me!  I went to see my doctor today for my (rescheduled) 2 week check-up.  I've officially lost 16 pounds since the day before surgery, according to their records.  My BMI has dropped from 42 to less than 38, which I think is awesome!  I'm making progress, so that makes me happy.

Hunter is making spaghetti for dinner!  So I'll be eating hamburger meat in no-sugar-added pasta sauce.  Can't wait!

7/29/13 Data:

Weight:  263.6
Exercise:  10 minute walk
Food Diary:

Day 32 - 3rd day of purees/soft foods

Sunday came awfully quick.  We rolled ourselves out of bed around 10:00 and got ready for breakfast/lunch.  I intended to get up early and eat breakfast but that didn't happen.  We headed to our favorite Sunday morning restaurant that serves the BEST breakfast taco/burritos in town.  And they're super cheap, which is the best part.  So we ordered some barbacoa for me and then I stole some of Zac's refried beans.  I ate just a small amount and was SO full!  I got a little queasy and I think it might have been from the fatty meat.  It was good though, but I don't think I'll do it again anytime soon.

MILESTONE:  I haven't taken my pain meds for TWO days!  I've really been wanting to cut back so I'm glad I'm doing ok without it.  I'm still on the hunt for liquid Tylenol....no luck yet.  :-(

7/28/2013 Data:

Weight:  265.6
Exercise:  10 minute walk with Dan and Hunter
Food Diary:

Day 31 - 2nd day of purees

Saturday was pretty uneventful.  I got up pretty early at 7:00, ate breakfast, then went back to bed at 9:30 for a nap.  Got up in time for lunch.  Sensing a pattern here?  :-)  I did get enough energy to clean up the kitchen because the mess was driving me crazy.  Then I may or may not have taken another nap......

7/28/13 Data:

Weight:  265.2 (25 pounds!!)
Exercise:  10 minute walk
Food Diary: 

Day 30 - First official day of purees/mashed

Boy was I excited about Friday. Although it was a little anti-climactic since I actually started eating real food the day before. However, I'd been looking forward to Friday for a week. My plan was to meet my friend Jolene at Cheddar's for a cup of their baked potato soup. In the past, I remember it being really thick and creamy. But this time it was thinner, almost brothy. And it just didn't do it for me. So then, since I didn't have enough protein at that meal, I felt like I was hungry the rest of the day. I've realized that I need at least 20 grams of protein at each meal. It helps fill me up and I truly believe it helps me lose weight.
When I got home, I ate/drank dinner (a protein shake) then laid down at 7:30 for a quick nap. When I woke up 3 hours later, I realized how incredibly tired I was! 

7/27/13 Data:

Weight:  266.2
Exercise:  Slept right through my walk!
Food Diary:

Day 29 - LAST day of liquid diet

Praise the Lord!  I finally made it to the last day of my liquid diet.  I really wondered if this day would came, but it got here so fast.  It literally feels like just last week that I had my surgery.  My 2 week post-op appointment is scheduled for 2:30 pm today.  OH wait.....I should say "was" scheduled for today.  That's right, folks.  I got a call from the doctor's office this morning telling me he couldn't make it, yada yada and could I come in on Monday.  I said "yes, of course, BUT I need to know if I can go ahead and start the soft food or DO I HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL I SEE HIM?".  I'm pretty sure I went into dog-pitch at some point and scared the poor girl on the other end, but I had a moment of pure terror thinking I'd have to wait 3-4 more days until solid food.  I think she heard the desperation in my voice because she put me on hold, talked to the nurse, and told me that if I'm tolerating the liquids ok, I can go ahead and start on the purees/mashed/soft foods.  Next to my marriage and the birth of my two sons, I don't think I've ever been so happy.

So within minutes I talked myself into my first solid food in over two weeks.  Tuna fish mixed with lots of RF mayo and pickle juice (to make it really soft and mushy) and some salt and pepper.  OMGITWASSOGOOD!!!  I mean, look at this.....have you ever seen anything so yummy in your life?

Well, it may not look yummy, but it was SO good.  I think my co-workers got sick of hearing me say (after every single bite) "OMG this is SO good!!".  I did take it very slowly and chewed every bite like 20-30 times.  I'm very nervous about doing any damage to my insides, so I'm taking it very easy.  But man, it was so nice to have actual food.  I'm so sick of the protein shakes.  I know I have to keep drinking them because they're a great source of protein, but ugh.  It'll be so nice to get my protein from other sources.  Thankfully, I love me some meat, so there won't be any problems there.

When I got home, I actually made dinner for the first time in awhile.  Well, 2 weeks to be precise.  One of our favorite dishes is egg/cheese/sausage breakfast burritos.  So I cooked up the eggs and pork sausage and broke them up pretty good.  I made the guys their burritos and then made myself a small bowl of eggs and sausage.  Again, I chewed very slowly and thoroughly and didn't have any problems with anything going down.  I had about 1/4 cup in total.  And even threw away some of it!!  That's a big step for me.

Like most children of the 70's/80's, I am a serial plate-cleaner.  Remember all those starving people in China?  Plus, my eyes have always been bigger than my stomach, so I usually would get way too much food, then feel compelled to eat it all.  That's a lethal combo.  I experienced it the other day when I was heating up my soup.  I poured it into the bowl and I thought "OH NO, it's not ENOUGH!!".  Because let me tell you, 8 ounces does NOT look like much.  However, once I got it down I was full.  Which is the whole point of this surgery, amiright?  It's true when they say it's psychological.  You really have to work on your brain to get past alot of your issues.  They don't just magically go away.  Unfortunately.

7/25/13 Data:

Weight: 267.2
Exercise:  10 minutes with the hubs - we need to start "training" for a Graffiti 5K we're run/walking in October.
Food Diary:

Day 28 (13th day of liquid diet)

I had an interesting conversation with a co-worker yesterday, who also happens to be a good friend. Now this friend is tiny.  And I mean tiny, like 5 foot nothing and 125 soaking wet.  So my 5'10" self looks like an amazon next to her.  Especially when I was pushing 300 pounds. So anyhoo. She asked how much weight I'd lost and I told her almost 23 pounds. She said "does that scare you?" And I said "what do you mean?" And she said "that you're losing so fast?". So I was thinking (1) does she not know the point of this surgery and (2) can a fat person EVER lose weight too fast?  Then she says "yeah, I really need to lose about 8 pounds". Now, I have lots of slim friends that say this to me. And I get it. I do. But when you need to lose 100+ pounds, it's REAL hard to have a lot of sympathy for 8 pounds. And I think THEY think it's the same thing. But it ain't. Not...even...close, amiright?
7/24/13 Data:
Weight: 267.4
Exercise:  10 minute walk
Food Diary: **Note** I combined all three shakes into one entry for my convenience.

Day 27 (12th day of liquid diet)

OMGTWOMORE DAYS!!!!  I cannot wait to have real food in my mouth.  Even if it is pureed.  I'm already salivating just thinking about the egg salad, tuna salad, pudding, peanut butter, creamy soup, etc.  Although I'm a little nervous about getting it down, I can't wait to try.

I made an adjustment on my protein shakes.  I had gotten some protein mix from Complete Nutrition called Annex.  The only flavor I thought I could stand was Chocolate Malt.  Turns out, it was NOT good.  And I bought a HUGE tub of it.  So I was gonna gulp that crap down until it was gone.  But my friend Tricia reminded me of the peanut butter powder (PB2 - amazing!), so I started adding that in.  It made it taste SO much better.  So I realized that with the protein powder (22g), Mootopia milk (12g) and PB2 (5g), I was getting 36g of protein in each drink.  And I remembered the nutritionist saying your body could only absorb 20g of protein at one time.  So I was wasting 16g each time!!  I decided to only do 1/2 scoop of powder, 1 tbsp of PB2 and 1 cup of Mootopia, bringing it to 25.5g each drink.  It also cut back on calories a bit, so that helped.  I also cut out the cream of mushroom soup, sadly, because it had way too many carbs.  I'm going to miss it.  Which is sad, right?  I also realized how many carbs are in the NSA popsicles.  But that's on my eating plan, so I assume it's ok right now.  I was reading Weight Loss Surgery for Dummies last night and it said I should keep my carbs to 20-30 net grams per day.  But surely they mean after I start eating real food.  That's what I'm going with anyway.

7/23/13 Data:

Weight:  267.8
Exercise:  Walk with the boys.  Probably 10 minutes.
Food Diary:

Day 26 (11th day of liquid diet)

Monday here....back at work.  And I feel better than I have since the surgery.  I know they say it gets better every day, but it does, it really does.  I can't wait until I feel like myself again and I can do all my old stuff, like cleaning the house, doing the dishes, doing the laundry.....wait.  WHY exactly am I waiting for this?  Maybe I'll just take it easy for another week.  Or two.

The week before surgery, I went out to Steinmart and got myself a super-cute thermal cup for the tons and tons of water I'd be drinking, like this:

Super cute, right?  I wanted this because I hate when my drinks "sweat" and get water all over me when I drink it.  Well, when I got it home I realized you can't wash it in the dishwasher.  Seriously??  Who hand washes things nowadays?  Well, not me, that's for sure.  So I was really bummed.  Until.  

I got to the hospital and they gave me this pitcher: 

NOT very cute, right?  But it turns out, it works just as well.  Actually, probably better.  AND the best part?  You guessed it.  Dishwasher safe.  Heaven.

7/22/2013 Data:

Weight:  268.6 (22 pounds)
Exercise:  I'm going to try walking with Hunter tonight and see how it goes.  Although, just walking to and from my office from the parking garage takes at least 5 minutes each way.  And I did it round trip twice.  Plus I walked around Target for almost an hour.
Food Diary:

Day 25 - Things I haven't done.....(10th day of liquid diet)

As I laid in bed Sunday morning, I started thinking about all the things I haven't done in the past month or so....good and bad:

I haven't:

- had soda (diet or otherwise)
- had coffee (that was a BIG one)
- had sugar (I know I'm addicted to sugar, so this was huge, too)
- had starches (white rice, pasta, bread)
- had milk (if you knew how much I love cold, white milk, you'd be more impressed)
- had headaches (since the surgery...which is awesome!  used to have them every day)
- had foot/joint pain (just a few pounds can really make a difference)
- had hunger pains (this really shocked me)

I'm sure there's more and I'll add to this list as I think of them.

We went to the grocery store today and I actually drove for the first time since the day before surgery.  I did just fine, although I was exhausted after shopping with my children.  But that's an all-the-time thing.  I promptly went home and crawled into bed.  I did manage to oversee some room cleaning, dishwasher emptying and laundry washing.  My boys are really going to appreciate me more when this is all over.

7/21/2013 Data:

Weight:  270
Exercise:  Walking the grocery store for almost an hour.  That counts!
Food Diary:

Day 24 (9th day of liquid diet)

Had to take my puppy to the vet today for her shots. Tricia scheduled her dogs at the same time so we went together.  For some reason, just sitting in the exam room hurt so bad. I just couldn't get comfortable. Felt like my stitches were pulling no matter what. I'm really ready for that to be completely healed. Spent the rest of the day in bed. And for some reason all I can think about is food. I want to eat food SO bad. I'm not hungry so I know it's all in my head. And sometimes, for just a minute, I wish I could eat whatever I want.  And I think "why did I do this??". But then I remember that eating whatever I want is what got me to almost 300 pounds. And I don't ever want to go back to that. I did try something new today. I blended up some Progresso Tomato Basil soup. OMG it was so good. Maybe just because it was something new, I think. I must have drank it a little too fast because I got really full really quickly.  Lesson learned. I can't wait until Friday. I need to plan what I'll eat first. :)
7/20/13 Data:
Weight:  269.6 (21 pounds!!  Yay!!)
Exercise:  walked to the mailbox and Tricia's house
Food Diary:

First Vet Visit!!  Bella on the left, my Dixie on the right.

Day 23 - One week post-op (8th day of liquid diet)

Ugh.  That's about all I'm in the mood to say.  Just....ugh.  Second day back at work.  Just as tough as the first one.  I'm so, so, so tired I can barely stand it.  I'm about to prop my eyelids open with a toothpick.  I had read about how tired people were for awhile after surgery and, of course, I thought 'pish-posh, that won't happen to me'.  Well, folks, I was dead wrong!  I am exhausted and don't want to do anything but sleep.  Took another nap on the floor.  I would rather sleep than EAT and that's never happened before.  Also today....I hit the "I don't want to see another protein shake in my LIFE" point.  And that sucks because I have at least another week on liquids.  I'm going to lay down now.  Please don't wake me until tomorrow.  Late, preferably.  Ugh.

7/19/2013 Data:

Weight:  271.2 - I don't even have the energy to care that it's up from yesterday.
Exercise:  Yeah, right.
Diary:

Day 22 - First day back at work & 7th day of liquid diet

All I can say is, thank goodness I work with wonderful people.  Today was a little rough.  It hurts more than I thought to sit upright in a chair all day.  And I didn't realize that because I've been laying in bed every day for a week.  Everyone was really happy to see me, though, which was nice.  And I didn't have much going on today.  So I've had my heating pad across my belly for the majority of the day.  And at lunch time, I went into an empty office and took a nap.  ON THE FLOOR!!  And I didn't even care, I was so tired.  Now I'm just waiting on my husband to get here.....I just want to go home and go to bed.  The boys are staying at the grandparents tonight.  The A/C is still out and it's just easier to have them there.  I can't take another night with my youngest in the bed with us.

TGIF tomorrow!!!

7/18/13 Data:

Weight:  270.4 - down 20 pounds in 20 days!  awesome.
Exercise:  Not much today
Food Diary:

Day 21 (6th day of liquid diet)

Today was fairly uneventful. Just hot because the a/c is still not fixed. And depressing because I have to go back to work tomorrow. I guess I'm as ready as I'll ever be. Still tired and pain in my belly when I do too much. I'm going to ride with my friend Lisa in the morning so I don't have to walk so far. I'm taking my heating pad and my pain meds because I suspect I'll need them both. At least they have working a/c!

7/17/13 Data:

Weight: 272
Exercise: meh
Diary:

Day 20 (5th day of liquid diet)

So today kinda sucked. Not for any post-surgery reasons though. But because our a/c is broken. And I live in Texas.  So....yeah. I've pretty much stayed in my bed with two fans blowing on me so it's been bearable. But just barely. My boys have taken turns hanging out with me. And thank goodness it's been in the 80-90's and rainy. If it was in the 100's, I'd be typing this from a hotel right now.

Other than that, today was pretty good. Although I'm getting a little worried about Thursday. I walked to the mailbox, came in and made the boys a sandwich and had to lie down because my side was burning.
I don't think I'll make it all day at work without the meds. Which means I can't drive. But we'll see how tomorrow goes. I have one extra vacation day I was saving but I may have to take it this week. I really thought I'd be further along by now. I'm not hurting terribly. Just very tired.

7/16/13 Data:

Weight: 272.6
Exercise:  walks to the mailbox
"Food" Diary:

Zac was keeping me company.

Day 19 (4th day of liquid diet)

Today is Monday. I have to go back to work in 3 days and I'm trying not to freak out. I feel pretty good but I'm still moving pretty slowly. I've spent most of the day in bed but I did make it out to the mailbox twice today. I'm definitely taking it easy. :) My friend Suzy brought BBQ tonight for the boys, which was so sweet. It's nice to not have to worry about them.

7/15/13 Data:

Weight:  272.8
Exercise:  2 trips to the mailbox
Food Diary:

This has been my view for several days now.

Day 18 (3rd day of liquid diet)

Sunday was just about a repeat of Saturday although I did feel a little better. I'm trying really hard to cut back on the meds so I only had two doses today. I'm really really taking it easy so as not to pull anything. It's really really hard to walk past the dirty dishes in the sink and the mess in the living room, but I am. I refuse to over-exert myself right now. I need all the rest I can get so I'm ready for work on Thursday. Still no problem getting fluids down but the gas is still there. I wonder how long that will last?

7/14/13 Data:

Weight: 276.8
Exercise:  still not much
Food Diary:

I could seriously sit and look at this all day!

I mean, come on....how cute are my fur-babies?

First full day home - Day 17 (2nd day of liquid diet)

Saturday was my first full day home. I actually slept pretty well although I couldn't sleep on my left side. Guess what I did first thing?  That's right.....weighed myself!  I was still a bit above my pre-surgery weight but I was able to let it go. No, really. I spent most of the day in my recliner with a heating pad on my tummy. Watching lots and lots of TV. I didn't worry a lot about protein because the nurse said staying hydrated is most important now.  Tricia and Colton came over to keep me company since Dan had to go out of town. He took Zac to grandmas so I didn't have to stress over him. Tricia was a huge help with the boys and the dogs. I tried to get up and move but my left side would start burning so I took the meds pretty regularly. All in all a pretty decent day. The worst part was the gas pressure in my belly. But it felt like every sip I took pushed some of it out. I could literally feel each sip going down. Very weird.

7/13/13 Data:

Weight:  278
Exercise: Very little
"Food Diary":
Lots of water
Crystal Light
1 Unjury protein shake with Mootopia
Carnation Instant breakfast with Mootopia
2 SF Popsicles
Chicken broth with 1 tbs RF cream of chicken
2 sips of a protein shot. yuck.  Won't be doing that again.

Check out my seatmates!  They were very good company. 

Surgery!! Days 15 and 16 (First day of liquid diet)

Thursday morning I woke up at 4:30 am and couldn't fall back to sleep.  I was just so excited to get started! We made it to the hospital right at 6:00.  I was taken back to pre-op very quickly and changed into my gown.  And hair net!  Not a good look on anyone, really.  The last thing I remember is the anesthesiologist asking if I wanted some "happy juice" to relax.  Ummmm, YES please!

Someone suggested cute socks, so I couldn't resist!

The next memory I have is waking up in recovery.  I don't even remember going to surgery!  I think the surgery itself took about an hour, then another 1 1/2 hours in recovery.  Dan and Hunter were able to wait in my private room for me to get done, which was really nice.  I'm so glad I chose The Physician's Center over St. Joseph.  My nurse only had me and one other patient that night.  Plus, my day nurse actually had WLS so she was really a great inspiration for me and a good source of information.

I was able to get up and walk just a few hours after surgery.  I was very sore, of course, but not in a lot of pain.  Of course, it could have been the pain meds :-)  I really wanted to try and stay ahead of the pain the first few days, which I did.  The absolute worst part (which is what I had been expecting) was the dry mouth.  Oh boy!  I've never had that before and it's brutal.  Luckily, my nutrition class teacher had suggested bringing a wash cloth, wetting it and wiping my mouth with it periodically.  Man, it really helped so much!  Plus, I would brush my teeth and gargle every time I got up and that helped too.  I was able to walk the halls 4 times that first day, which definitely helped with getting rid of the gas.

The next morning, they took me for my barium test at 7:30 am.  It was pretty cool, actually.  They stand you in front of the x-ray machine and then hand you the drink and tell you to throw it back "like a shot".  The doctor then watches the fluid flow through your new stomach to make sure there's no leaks.  Good news for me!!!!  I was ready to start my liquid diet.  You may not think so, but I was SO happy to see this:

I got a little excited when I saw the blue cover, but it was just warm chicken broth. 

I started with the apple juice and got that down pretty easily.  I had a few sips of the broth, a few bites of jello, then I finished off the ice water.  I don't think anything has ever tasted so good.  I was able to go home around 10:00 am.  I spent the rest of the day in bed, with a heating pad on my tummy, sipping ice water and eating a few popsicles.  I also tried something Tricia's mom ate.....mixing about a tablespoon of reduced-fat cream of chicken soup with chicken broth. That made it taste SO good.  It never ceases to amaze me how good food can taste when you can't eat much. :-)

I made the mistake of weighing myself when I got home.  I told you I have a problem with weighing in.  Well, the scale said 281!!  The morning of my surgery I weighed 277 so I was super bummed.  I didn't understand how I could gain weight after no food for two days.  But Tricia made me feel better....she said the IV fluids and gas cause bloating and that her mom 'gained' 10 pounds, so that made me feel better.  I'm trying to be patient and not expect the weight to just fall off.  But it should, right??

7/11/13 Data:

Weight: 277
Exercise:  Walking the halls....does that count?
Food:  NONE!

7/12/13 Data: 

Weight:  281
Exercise:  Walking the halls and walking to the mailbox (we have a loooong driveway, so don't judge! :-)
Food/Drink:

Lots of water
Chicken broth with RF cream of chicken soup added in
2 SF popsicles

Pre-op Diet: LAST DAY!!!!

Wow...it's almost here.  This is the last day of the Pre-op Diet.  Honestly, I almost can't believe I survived.  I truly expected it to be much harder than this.  I was afraid I would literally starve to death.  I was so afraid of that hunger feeling.  I always have been.  I used to always eat to 'stay ahead' of that feeling.  In fact, when I told the hypnotist (yes, I tried hypnotherapy...haven't you?), she said she had never heard that before.  Now, this is a lady that specializes in weight loss therapy, so THAT was scary to hear.  She finally decided that I was a peasant in a former life and didn't have enough food to survive.  YIKES!  Needless to say, that was my last visit with her.

So anyhoo...I think I'm officially prepared for tomorrow.  My surgery is scheduled for 7:30 am, so we have to be there by 6:00.  I'm the first one in line, so hopefully I'll catch Dr. Mason nice and fresh.  I'm not quite packed, but I have all my stuff ready to go.  Tonight, I'm doing one last load of laundry, the dishes are all done, so I don't have to worry about that when I get home.  'Cause it WILL bother me, y'all.  I want to be able to just lie in bed, sipping my water and watching The Closer (all 7 seasons) in peace.  And of course, I'll be joined by this dynamic duo:

And I guess I'll start doing the headshot thing, like everyone else seems to do, so here you go:

I won't make this one too big....you're welcome!

7/10/2013 Data: 

Weight:  277.4

Exercise:  20 minutes walking

Food Diary:  The nurse told me to keep it light tonight, so we're going to our favorite Chinese restaurant and I'm going to have their house wonton soup (without the wontons, of course!).  It's basically broth with wonderful steamed veggies and chunks of meat like beef, chicken and shrimp.  Then I plan to drink, drink, drink until I go to bed.  The nurse said this would help with the hydration/dry mouth issues tomorrow.  

Pre-op Diet: Day 13

Second to last day on this diet.  Honestly, I know people say this all the time, but it literally FLEW by.  I think since I had other things to occupy my mind (going out of town, getting a new puppy), it helped me.  I don't think I would say it was "easy", but it was definitely less painful than I expected.  I finally had to stop reading stories on the http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/index.php? forums.  Don't get me wrong, this place is a GREAT source of information, but eventually you start reading about other people's issues and it can scare you.  So I'm done for now.  I'll probably get back on sometime after surgery, but for now I'm getting my mind clear of all that stuff.  I had my final pre-op with Dr. Mason today.  My official "start" weight is 279.5, which is down from 293 at my first visit a month ago.  Made my 2 week post-op appointment.  It's almost here!!!!

7/9/2013 Data:

Weight:  277.2
Exercise:  Lots going on, didn't get it done.  :-(
Food diary:

Pre-op Diet: Day 12

Today has been a pretty good day.  I did not wake up with a headache for the first time in a few days, so that was nice.  I'm not super hungry, which is always nice.  I got my bedroom organized last night, so I'll feel MUCH better spending lots of time in there later this week.  Three.More.Days.  I can't believe it!  It seemed like forever when I started this journey in May, but you know what they say, time FLIES by.  I'm so close I can taste it.  I've already printed out my packing list and washed almost all the clothes in the house.  Tonight I'll do more organizing/decluttering and fold some laundry.  Fun stuff!  Oh - and for dinner we're trying a new crockpot dinner - Garlic Lime Chicken.  Just squeeze lime juice (2 limes) over the chicken, then sprinkle with garlic, then cover with chicken broth.  Cook on low for 8-10 hours.  
Yummy.


7/8/2013 Data:

Weight:  278.0
Exercise:  20 minute walk
Food Diary:

These two definitely make folding laundry more tolerable.

Pre-op Diet: Day 11

I have a love-hate relationship with Sundays.  Obviously I love it because it's Sunday and it's still the weekend.  But I hate it a little because it means the next day is Monday.  And I feel like every minute is just ticking closer to Monday.  We met the in-laws for lunch at Carino's.  Now, you might wonder how the heck I was able to eat properly at Carino's.  I wondered the same thing.  BUT you might NOT know that Carino's now has steaks!  That's right.......a 12 ounce ribeye and a 12 ounce strip.  It comes with steamed veggies, pasta and a salad.  So I talked the hubs into splitting it with me.  I got 4 ounces of the steak and half the vegggies.  The steak was awesome, y'all!  I highly recommend it.  AND I sat there while everyone else tore up that bread and it didn't even bother me.  However, I'm not gonna lie.....when Zac's big-bowl-of-mac-and-cheese came, it was all I could do not to stick my face in it and inhale the whole thing.  But I refrained.  And somehow made it through.  All in all, a success in my book.

Then Hunter and I went to see White House Down with Mandy and her son Dalton.  The smell of popcorn didn't affect me as badly as I thought.  I brought a shake and drank it right before the movie started because HEAVEN FORBID I get hungry during.  But it worked.  I sipped on water throughout and felt great.  Another milestone for me!  Also - great movie....you need to see it if you haven't already.

7/7/2013 Data: 

Weight:  280.2 (up .2 pounds, but it's ok.....not gonna panic!)
Exercise:  20 minute walk
Food Diary:

Pre-op Diet: Day 10

Yesterday was tough.  Probably the toughest day I've had on this 2-week diet.  I was hungry ALL day and my head hurt so bad.  Luckily it was super slow at work, so it wasn't too bad.  But it was one of those days you just make it through, you know?  I still managed to walk, which is super awesome.  But it was only for about 10 minutes.  Halfway through, I looked at Hunter and said "Are you done?" and thankfully, he was.  :-)

Today was a very lazy day.  My favorite kind, in fact.  We slept in, which means eating breakfast later, which means being hungry less.  Like that math I did there?  And of course, spent time with the new puppy, Dixie!!  She is a cutie-patootie.  And she's in love with Hunter.  So she's pretty much his dog now.  Which actually worked out, because our Shorkie (Shih Tzu/Yorkie mix) Duke was none too pleased about her.  He wasn't mean to her, but he really wanted nothing to do with her for sure.  I told Dan it's like we're grandparents....Hunter brings her to us when he's eating or taking a shower or such, but then we hand her back and he feeds her, takes her out, sleeps with her, etc.  It's pretty freaking awesome!  All the fun without the responsibility.  This must be what it feels like to be a kid......

7/6/2013 Data:

Weight: 280.0
Exercise:  Push-mowing the yard for 1 hour
Food Diary:

Pre-op Diet: Day 9

I can't believe I had to work today.  But I have to save all the time I can for surgery/recovery, so here I am.  Slaving away.  Actually, not really.  All the bosses are off today and it is soooo quiet, so it's almost like a vacation day.  Got a lot done, which is always nice.  I planned the next week and a half of meals for my family so they'll have something to eat while I'm recovering.  I'm hitting the store today and hopefully that will be it for awhile.

So exciting news today!  Our new puppy is coming home.  My bff Tricia is picking up her and her sister out of town and bringing them back.  My puppy is Dixie and hers is Bella.  We are SO excited.  We've been waiting for them for several months.  I foresee not much getting done this weekend.  I'll be busy playing with my puppy.  :-)

Check out this cuteness:

Bella on the left, Dixie on the right

7/5/2013 Data:

Weight:  280.6 (it's probably been well over a year since I weighed 280!)
Exercise:  20 minutes walking
Food:  I've been really hungry today for some reason, so this is the first time in awhile that I've had all 3 shakes.  It definitely helped.  For dinner, I made Mexican Chicken, which is basically 1 can of reduced fat cream of chicken soup mixed with 1 cup of salsa, poured over chicken breasts and topped with 1 pkg of taco seasoning.  Cooked in a crockpot on low for 8-9 hours.  Yummy!!!

Pre-op Diet: Day 8

Happy (Belated) 4th of July!!  We actually did more this year than we've done in awhile.  Probably because I know I won't feel like doing much for awhile after my surgery (next week, baby!!).  We slept in, went and got lunch at Cotton Patch, watched Despicable Me 2 in 3D, went home for a bit, then headed back out to the George Bush Library for fireworks.  It was a great night.  And I was afraid I wouldn't get my walking in, but.....we parked in a parking garage and rode the shuttle to the site, not thinking about the return situation.  Well, after the fireworks were over, the lines for the shuttle were a mile long.  So we walked.  It was about 20 minutes at a VERY brisk pace, so I was really glad it worked out that way.

Here's my boys waiting for the fireworks to start:

And the obligatory shot in the "Oval Office":

7/4/2013 Data:

Weight:  282.8
Exercise:  20 minute hike to parking garage with Dan and Zac
Food:

Pre-op Diet: Day 7

Hi, my name is Cheri and I'm a compulsive weigher-inner.  You know how you're supposed to only weigh yourself once a week?  Yeah, well I don't do that.  I weigh myself at LEAST every morning.  Sometimes more than once if I don't like what it says the first time.  Then I weigh myself when I get home and try to estimate what it will say in the morning.  THEN I'll weigh again before I go to bed.  Why, oh why do I do this to myself??  It's totally a mental game.  I've done this so many times over the years......stay motivated when I'm losing weight, but then the FIRST time that scale goes up, I think "Well, screw this!  Might as well eat what I want!!".  Sound familiar?  Well, the reason I'm talking about this today is because it happened.  The scale went up this morning.  Just .4 pounds, but still.  Wrong direction!!!  However, this time I'm keeping my head.  I'm not freaking out.  I'm just re-evaluating.  If I'm honest, I've been a little loosey-goosey with my diet.  Not eating sweets or carbs or anything.  But not following it 'to the tee', if you know what I mean.  So today I'm back on track and following it to the letter of the law.  Wanna know why?  It's that dang liver.  It's all I can think about!  My liver has to lose some fat/weight/whatever by next Thursday, so it's on like Donkey Kong.  

On another note, here's a picture of my sweet family....and my bad hair, puffy face, fat, fat, fat, yuck.  But we're all together, so that's all that matters.  I love these three with all that I have. 

My Hunter and Zac...aren't they the cutest?  

And all four of us again.  Did I mention it was a REALLY bad hair day??

7/3/2013 Data: 

Weight:  283.6

Exercise:  20 minutes walking with the boys

Food Diary: 

Pre-op Diet - Day 6

Back at work today and it's not too bad, since it's only 2 days until the 4th of JULY holiday!!  Man, I love a holiday.  We're planning to do something fun with the boys, but don't know what yet.  Stepped on the scale this morning and.........I actually lost FIVE pounds on our road trip!  I KNOW, right???  I'm super duper excited.  Man, I hope it's all from my liver.  :-)

7/2/2013 Data:

Weight:  283.2 (so actually 7 point FOUR pounds!)
Exercise:  20 minute walk with the boys
Food:

NOTE - I switched from the Bariatric Advantage Iced Latte protein to the Unjury Chocolate Splendor and it's SOOOOOO much better.  I'll keep the BA Iced Latte for after surgery when I probably don't care what I'm drinking and use the Unjury for now.....while I still care.  

Road Trip!!!

So we hit the road on Saturday for our annual road trip with the boys.  I was a bit nervous about my eating. I feel like ALL I ever think about is eating. You know what I'm talking about....so anyway. I ate breakfast and lunch at home, so that helped.  Then we stopped at McD's on the way and I drank a shake while everyone else had a snack. We went to a movie that night and ate dinner at the mall food court.  I was able to find a really good, very fresh grilled chicken salad.  I got the fat free ranch dressing and just barely dipped my fork in for the taste.  I don't know about you, but I can't eat a salad dry.

On Sunday, we got up, had the standard free breakfast (which had EVERYTHING I needed...I was shocked), lounged in the room for a bit, then checked out around noon.  Since we couldn't check into Great Wolf lodge until 1:00, we stopped for lunch.  Then we hit the park.  Had a great time, but it's always good to get back home and back to a normal routine.

Wow!  This will definitely be a "before" pic of me.  Yikes!

I didn't track on My Fitness Pal for Saturday - Monday, but I really watched what I ate and had NO breads or sweets.  Here's my stats:

Weight:  288 (Saturday morning before we left)
Exercise:  We walked the Grapevine mall for at LEAST 20 minutes looking for something to eat on Saturday and I walked for 20 minutes with my boys on Monday night.

Saturday, 6/29/2013

Breakfast:  1 hardboiled egg, 1 piece of toast with spray butter, 1 small apple, 1 glass of crystal light
Lunch:       Chili made with ground turkey, beef broth and diced tomatoes
Snacks:     2 protein shakes made with water (decided to cut out the almond milk and save the calories)
Dinner:      Grilled chicken salad with cucumbers and 1/4 of the 40 calorie package of fat free ranch dressing

Sunday, 6/30/2013

Breakfast:  1 hardboiled egg, 1 piece of bread, coffee with half and half, water
Lunch:       Cheddar's parmesan-encrusted sirloin with wedge salad (you must try this...it was aMAHzing.  I didn't eat it all.  It was 6 oz, so I left about 2 oz. on the plate, which is something I've really been working on.  I was raised as a 'clean-your-plate kid.)
Dinner:       4 oz. of prime rib, salad with fat free vinaigrette dressing.
Snacks:      2 protein shakes (I'm having a hard time getting all 3 shakes in, but I'm not hungry so I'm not worrying too much about it)

Monday, 7/1/2013

Breakfast:   Omelet with spinach, mushrooms and ham (OMGSOGOOD!!), coffee, water
Lunch:         Cracker Barrel chicken tenderloins, green beans.  NO rolls.  I consider that a personal accomplishment, for sure!
Dinner:        Leftover over turkey chili
Snacks:       2 protein shakes