Jumping Through Hoops

There's only two more months before our gastric sleeve surgery and I'm more ready than ever! I've gotten way behind on my updates, so I'll this will be a long post! We've had to jump through so many exhausting hoops, so the nervousness is pretty much nonexistent now! My mom, Bonita, and I started our six-month insurance-required diet plan with our primary physician in January. She recommended that we stick to a low-carb diet (right smack-dab in the holiday season, so you imagine how well we did with that at first). February and March were both horrible failures on both of our parts, considering we both gained weight instead of losing. We were both in the middle of career changes, so I can't blame us for being a tad distracted. We were successful in cutting out cokes/diet cokes, but we still have to ween ourselves off carbonated water.  I know....excuses, excuses! We're both doing well and on track now, so that's all that matters!



In March, we had our first visit with the nutritionist at Vanderbilt and our required psychological evaluation with their shrink. The nutritionist's visit was very educational and made us both feel much more secure in knowing what to expect during our first month after surgery and on. Basically, here's a layout of the rules:

• No more carbonated beverages! After one year, you can let the coke go flat and give it a try.
• No more gulping down water. You have to stop drinking 30 minutes before a meal and not drink until 30 minutes afterwards. This is probably what I'm dreading more than anything! 
• We have to get in 60 grams of protein in a day. This will be easier said than done, considering the fact that we can only hold about half a cup of food at a time.
• No more carbohydrates or refined sugar without the side effects of dumping syndrome. 
• Liquid diet only for the first two weeks after surgery! Soft foods for the next two! This is to help us avoid dehydration while we deal with getting used to sipping instead of gulping. 

There's tons of more rules that we have to follow, but that's pretty much the gist of it! 

The meeting with the shrink was definitely the worst part so far, in my opinion. I probably didn't give her much of a chance, since I already have a bias against psychologist from childhood experiences. Needless to say, I'm not big on opening myself up to a stranger about touchy-feely stuff. Despite this, we still had a fairly interesting conversation. We reviewed my hunger triggers, whether or not I was an emotional eater, when I started my unhealthy relationship with food and so on. She had me also complete a cognitive test where I had to do a series of puzzles, word games and (the worst) math problems. I was beyond relieved to hear I'd passed and free to hit the road! 

As of last week, we met with our sleep doctor to review our sleep study from a couple of weeks ago. Unfortunately, but unsurprisingly, we were both diagnosed with severe obstructive sleep apnea and given a CPAP machine to treat it. Sexy, right?! I, of course, requested the nose-only mask when looking at my options. The doctor, of course, said we were both better off with the full face mask. Goose and Maverick, reporting for duty! We've both tried it out every night and, even though we go to bed with it on, we both wake up with it folded neatly on the table. Ha! I have to admit that I do sleep better now, but it has taken practice. According to the sleep doc, the weight loss should help us with our sleep apnea so that we may not even need the CPAP in the future. 

Our next step is to have a upper/lower GI completed and the surgery actual scheduled. I don't have to have a lower, thankfully, but the Vanderbilt doctor recommended the upper for me to check for acid reflux damage. He's absolutely convinced we should both do the gastric bypass, but we refuse. There's too many risks of malnutrition and I don't want to be sick to be skinny. This is going to be a new, fresh start for a healthy lifestyle. 

We've watched so many Youtube videos, looked up recipes, created Pinterest pages and shopped for our future skinny clothes. Any surgery is risky, but I'm beyond ready for this new chapter in both of our lives. I'm excited for what it means, health-wise. I see myself kayaking, rock climbing, white-water rafting and making a lot of new friends. I'm not doing this for vanity--I'm doing this to live life to the fullest! 

Happy New Year!

I'm a little late in posting, but I hope that everyone had a wonderful holiday season and new year! I'm praying and believing that 2016 will truly begin a new year and a new me. I know...if you know me, you're probably already rolling your eyes. New years resolutions are notoriously unsuccessful, especially for weight loss. However, this year I have a wonderful support system in the surgical weight loss team at Vanderbilt in Nashville, my family and a few friends that I've let in on my plan.

I considered making a big announcement to everyone at the beginning of the year, but that would probably just invite negativity and I don't need any of that mess in my life. So, unless they search me out and find my blog, my pathway to my vertical sleeve gastrectomy in June is hush-hush. Anyway, even though the surgery is a huge life-changing decision, it's not the only big decision I have in my life right now. I've also recently accepted a new position at a financial planning/insurance company started by my uncle in the 90s.

Technically, I'll be their "VP of Marketing", but I've always felt that titles were a means to make people feel important, and I'd much rather stay a little humble. I'd much rather be a "marketing coordinator". At my previous job, I worked with a marketing coordinator that absolutely amazed me with his knowledge of everything related to graphic design, social media and pretty much all things marketing. Not to knock my own abilities, but I feel that in this line of work, it's going to be a constant challenge to learn new things on a daily basis. The title of Vice President doesn't intimidate anyone except me. However, that intimidation won't last long once I get the ball rolling. I'm a Leo, after all.

Tomorrow is my second doctor's visit required by insurance to be able to get the surgery this summer. I have to attend six total appointments, along with a psychological exam, a group therapy session and an upper stomach scope. The scope will be done this Friday, so wish me luck! Anytime anesthesia is involved, there's always a risk. I'll definitely post a follow-up on what I find out!