By the way

Can I just say, that I am pretty much despising celery at the moment. Plain, stringy, hateful celery.

The crunch is fine, the flavor barely there but good enough. However, that damn stringy texture.

Have I mentioned this diet is making me cranky? More to come on that.

Whew! Just scheduled my esophagram

I almost friggin forgot my esophogram! Oh no!

The surgeon requires an x-ray of my esophogus to make sure there are no obstructions before surgery. But they've been so low-key about it the whole time--it was never required in advance of any appointments or approvals--that I kept putting it off. Until of course last minute.

So this morning I got all nervous that it would be hard to get an appointment, especially since I'll be wicked busy all week with our sales mtg. But NYU's radiology dept was very cool about it, and they squeezed me into the appointment I wanted! AND it's only a couple of days before the results are in and they just fax them to my surgeon. Easy peasy.

Dealing with NYU has been surprisingly pleasant. I'm not talking about the bariatric surgery team, they've been great minus one iffy staff member. But being sent back and forth around the hospital has been clear and easy. All the various departments quite nice, easy-going and friendly.

I can't say the same when I had a lot of back and forth at Mass General in Boston a number of years back.

My GP was a bit surprised they'd leave the esophogram until so late however. Because if there is a random blockage, then the whole thing is off (I'm guessing?!) I think that's quite rare however, so I'm not really worried about it...

UPDATE: Just totally cracked myself up! I've replaced the x-ray image as it seems as though the first one was from some sort of animal, not a human! oops! I was wondering why the esophagram was sideways, but I just figured the person was laying down. I didn't figure the person was actually a dog or a horse or something.... ;)

Got my insurance approval!

Yay! I just got a call confirming that I am officially approved for insurance coverage!

I had my surgery scheduled knowing I had everything I needed for the surgery, but on occasion people get denied, so I'm super excited to finally be approved.

NYU called and confirmed I'll only have a $100 copay for the surgery which is phenomenal. All in all, I'll end up spending more than $1000 based on various expenses such as the nutritionist, psychologist, supplements, shakes, and hospital copay, but $1000 out of what probably costs $20,000 at the end of the day is pretty impressive!

On a side note, I'm watching What Not to Wear while I'm writing this. I just have to put this out there to all my friends and family watching, I'd really like to be nominated post weight loss!

My Amazon order arrived!

I now have a fridge overflowing with Glucerna weight loss shakes, and my entire order hasn't even arrived! The case of strawberry flavor is still on its way.

Plus a bit of veg on the top shelf. I also got the chewable vitamins and low sodium soup I ordered.

I'm really into the Mix1 drinks though. Variety is a good thing when it comes to the shakes. I'll probably do another review of the shakes soon, particularly the Mix1.

Eating Out on the Pre-Op Diet

This week at work has been crazy, and I think that's good in terms of distracting me from being hungry or eating out of habit; however, we had a week-long workshop which meant lots of work lunches and a dinner out.

For the lunches during the workshop I ordered a dry salad and then stepped away and had a protein shake. Someone did comment on that I hadn't really eaten anything, but I said I didn't like my salad, which one day I really didn't, and said I'd gone downstairs and had something, which I did, a protein shake.

Luckily vegetables are allowed on this diet otherwise I'd have no "cover." If you recall, this is the list of what I can eat.

And for our business dinner, I made an effort to choose the restaurant (did the same thing for the lunches too). For dinner we went to a New American restaurant called Beacon here in New York City. I often try and go with the Critics Picks on New York Magazine's website.

Being a foodie, one of the perks I've always loved about my job is all the high end restaurants we get to go to. My boss is a foodie too, so in my time with the company, I've been to many of the city's best restaurants. Luckily, I'm big on ambiance and decor in addition to the food, so with this dinner at Beacon there was still something to look forward to.

I had a shake beforehand and then ordered things but just had a few bites of each. Tomato soup (a few sips), grilled asparagus they ordered for the table (just a little because of the oil) and then my salad with my fork just dipped in the dressing, not poured over the salad. Then a decaf coffee for dessert. It was a fun evening, good company and good food (I'm appreciating small details like the fantastic salad dressing even more than usual). Not awkward at all.

Someone did comment privately about the fact that I must be on a diet for the wedding, so that's another explanation when people ask about all this weight I'm losing.

I don't mind talking about the surgery with close friends, but I really don't want to talk openly about it at work. Next week is our sales meeting, so there will be even more lunches and dinners and this time I can't control where we go. So this should be interesting!

10 pounds lost!

First of all, super crappy picture. However, despite not being dressed up, I am still 10 pounds down!

I decided to go ahead and keep this pic to remind myself what I look like when I'm all scuzzed out not bothering to get done up. (Perhaps this will be a make-over in more ways than just weight loss!)

I have never lost weight as fast as on this liquid protein shake diet. 10 pounds in 5 days is completely absurd. I was a little sick yesterday, so some of that weight loss might be dehydration. I'm working to make sure I'm hydrated.

Plus, it's the first week and you always get the biggest numbers then.

Finally, I'll be doing a side by side before and after every week. As I begin to lose more weight, I'll get fancier with the before and after comparisons...

Fridge Purge

After being inspired by this previous post about completely clearing out the fridge, I decided to do just that tonight before I start my liquid diet. It really is symbolic of clearing all the crap out of my diet and life.

Since Alex won't be on a liquid diet, I did leave him his eggs and a few other things! And for guests, I've left some alcohol and sodas we never drink anyway. As for the condiments, for now they stay. We'll see what happens to them.

However, once all of my protein shakes from amazon arrive and once I go vegetable shopping, it'll be a lot less bare. For now, I'll get to keep trying some of the new protein shakes we got at GNC and at the neighborhood drug stores. Supposedly the myoplex is terrible according to Alex. I haven't tried it myself yet. But there are lots of other brands here too, just to provide some variety.

I'm quite happy that I don't have to ditch my morning coffee either.

My liquid diet starts tomorrow!

My liquid diet starts tomorrow, and I'm actually excited about it!

I definitely overdid it this weekend which actually just made me feel kind've gross and ready for the liquid fast. There are a few things I can have however, beyond the protein shakes. I'm listing them here. I'm sure I'll be reviewing this list when I'm starving and scrambling for what I can eat!

• Sugar free drinks
• Diet, caffiene-free soda
• Sugar free ices (up to 30 calories/day)
• Sugar-free Jello
• Low sodium broth
• Up to 2 caffeinated drinks/day with skim milk and artificial sweetner
• Up to 2 cups of vegetables (no corn, peas, potatoes, or beans)

Flickr Inspiration

I love to look at before and after pics. It's great motivation!

Check out these inspiring shots I found on Flickr! I especially like this one of her in the pool below. I'm dreaming of having my own "after" pic like that.

Got Paid Today!

That means I was able to cross off a ton of things from my to-do list, like a couple of hundred dollars worth of protein shakes for the next month! Plus tons of supplements including the Juice Plus shown above, to help with the fact that I won't be eating fresh fruits and veggies for a month...

This weekend is also my final weekend of normal food. While I'm not going to utterly pig out, I do plan on a "final meal" out. I'm thinking Italian food. Plus I'm sure I'll order a pizza for dinner tomorrow and have a big 'ol NY bagel for breakfast one morning.

This is it. I'm up to the final countdown!

Lap Band Support Group

So one of the recommendations before surgery is that we attend a Lap-Band support meeting at NYU. I've done a lot of research, but it was interesting and insightful to see and hear people talk.

I'm all for therapy, but I spent my time in the session half interested and half annoyed at the few people that just wouldn't stop talking. One of which didn't even have a band!

I did learn something new about fills though. For those friends and family who aren't familiar with that term, basically, the lap-band can be filled with fluid so that it's adjustable to accommodate appetite and help people feel fuller. Some of the bands go up to 10cc's. One person asked a question about how much the band can be filled. For example, if he filled the band to 4cc's and it was too much, does that mean he can never go higher than 4cc's. I would've thought yes, but i guess as you lose weight your stomach changes and so later on, as you adjust, yes, you may then want to go higher than 4cc's. When your body is ready.

Other people talked about being frustrated about emotional eating, which is my biggest concern -- learning to deal with stress and boredom in other ways.

However, the most significant impression was that many people hadn't lost as much weight as I expected. The average might have been 40 to 60 pounds. A couple had lost more. I guess I was thinking I'd lose 40 just at the beginning, in the first few months!

Again and again people said that they were so glad they'd had it done, but it's a pretty major step just to lose 40lbs!

Four more days of normal eating...

I just realized today that I only have four more days of being "normal!" Not that being at my weight is normal but four more days of eating like a real person anyhow.

Went to lunch with colleagues today. Trying to enjoy my food without getting crazy up until Monday.

Monday is when I begin my liquid diet. I've come to learn that this 6 weeks I'm about to enter without solid food is referred to as "Bandster Hell." Lovely.

Surprisingly, there's a part of me that's looking forward to it. It feels like a challenge. The surgery itself makes me nervous, but the liquid fast beforehand feels like something imposed (in a good way) that I can still control.

Woot! Just scheduled my surgery!

I'm super excited. I got such a rush surprisingly when I actually booked my surgery today.

I'm scheduled for Tuesday August 4th!

More details to come later...

Engagement photos

I'm getting excited about the surgery again. I was so bogged down in all the research I was doing about it, obsessing I'm sure, that I was caught up in all the logistics and details.

In wedding planning, I've come across lots of really fun, creative engagement photos. My mom also suggested engagement pics recently too.

However, Alex and I were just talking and have decided to postpone our engagement pics, and instead do them when we've lost weight. I guess we'll have to decide what the "marker" number will be. I think for me, 75lbs lost... Though of course I have more to lose (or else I wouldn't be having surgery!)

I've shared some of the engagement photos I like. Definitely not traditional, but more modern-meets-vintage that seems to be the style right now. Love them! Especially the shot in the grass above. And we'll have to include our dogs in the pics too!

More Energy?

So I'm hoping post surgery that I'll have a lot more energy! I definitely did the first time I lost a ton of weight. In fact, at times, it was hard for me to sit still.

I was admiring a friend's adventuresome pics on Facebook. She's recently moved to Europe and looks like she's living the life and traveling.

I've been feeling really bored lately. At home, at work. A bit shocking considering all the major changes going on in my life these days, getting married, having the surgery and all.

I guess now, I have to consider what exactly I'll do with all this new energy I hope to have. It'll probably involve at least a bit of travel post-wedding.

NYU's Program for Surgical Weight Loss

NYU's Program for Surgical Weight Loss is the program I am going through for the Lap-Band procedure.

So far I've been very pleased with the staff and the surgeon. And their materials have been quite thorough. However, if you're a patient, please note that their website is not up to date (at least not as of this posting) in regard to what you need for your procedure. I had a few problems with that.

I've been doing this list-thing on my other blog Dabble, and it's remarkably effective, so I thought I'd do that here too.

1. Order Juice Plus fruit and vegetable supplements (waiting for 7/17)
   


2. Buy chewable or liquid multivitamins (7/17) (Centrum Adult Chewables) The "Silver" has extra supplements
   


3. Attend support group before surgery (Mtg date 7/15)
   


4. Sign up for a "heal faster" seminar Call (Mon 7/6)
   


5. Send replacement insurance card (Found it! Mon 7/6)
   


6. Call surgical coordinator Tuesday to confirm she has my paperwork


7. Follow up with surgical coordinator Friday
   


8. Make an appt with my GP for a B-12 shot (unrelated to surgery)
   


9. Arrange with GP for esophogram


10. Get esophogram
    


11. Arrange ride home


12. Arrange care post surgery


13. Pass along hospital info to family / friends


14. Go shopping for pre-surgery 2 week shake diet (70 shakes for 14 days) (7/17)


15. Go grocery shopping for post surgery thin-liquid diet (7/17)


16. Order low sodium, vegetable broth (7/17)

Also just realizing that I'm going to have to wait until my post-rent-pay day for a few of these things. Some of the expenses related to the surgery have me pinching my pennies. Though I think I have it better than many in regard to insurance coverage.

365 days on Flickr

I find it quite entertaining to search flickr for before and after weight loss pics. I'd run across this guy's pics previously, and they stuck in my head.

Everyday, he took a photo of himself in the same position, often even in the same clothes. It's quite fascinating.

He ended up getting tons of hits too. His weight loss is impressive, the hair and the t-shirts are funny, but what i love most is his final comment.

"I want to thank everybody for coming at looking at my fat ass."

Photos via Adhadda Kedhabbra

Empty Fridge

I had a weird thought last night when I went to get a shake from the fridge. I actually can't wait to have an empty fridge. With nothing in it except shakes and maybe some veg and water. For the liquid fast part of the diet (since they do let us have 2 cups of veg a day).

Somehow that just seems to be symbolic of purging all the crap and starting new.

Will definitely have to plan on a good clean out of both the fridge and the cabinet. It feels rather liberating. (I say that now!)

Vitamin D

So my GP is putting together my recommendation letter for the surgery and as a part of that I had a physical and some blood work.

So one of the nurses called me today and told me that in addition to having a Vitamin B12 deficiency (due to a virus I had that caused a lack of intrinsic factor), I now also have a Vitamin D deficiency. (For anyone stumbling upon this, this is pre-surgery).

I certainly eat my fair share of dairy, and I even take a multivitamin, so I'm surprised that I have a problem. I walk outside everyday as a part of my regular commute too. (Vitamin D is the sunshine vitamin). Though I could absolutely stand to get more sun.

However, I just looked it up and it turns out that obesity can lead to Vitamin D deficiency. There's a shocker.

Here's the low down from The Vitamin and Supplement Guide I looked up:

Obesity: Vitamin D deficiency symptoms increase in people who are obese. Since vitamin D is fat-soluble, it can accumulate in body fat, making it less available to other parts of the body.

Vitamin D is essential for healthy bones. The main job of vitamin D is to regulate the body's use of calcium. It helps make the hormones that make sure calcium goes into bone and not into other tissues.

Bottom line: Now I get to take another daily supplement. 800-1000 int'l units of Vitamin D with calcium. I'll also be squeezing in more eggs I guess and some mushrooms. Mmm...a mushroom omelet.

Lipton Cup-a-Soup

I'm trying to avoid the vending machine here at work this afternoon, so i dug through my drawer and found a box of Lipton's Cup-a-Soup spring vegetable.

I must admit, it looked pretty puny, especially at only 45 calories, but it did the trick. I am no longer starving. Definitely more of a snack than a meal, but good to know I have an option other than a candy bar to tide me over between the time I leave work and when I get home. That's always the hardest for me for whatever reason.

Not sure if this is the same size/ packaging (for the calories), but Amazon does seem to sell these. I think I'll need to get some more.

Slim-Fast, not so much

So today I tried the Slim-Fast shake. Had to go with the low carb option as the regular one just has waaayyy too much sugar! I'm very glad that I'm testing this all out and getting used to it before I get to the actual 2-week liquid diet before my surgery. This makes me feel like I have a little more control over adjusting myself to eating less food.

Post surgery, I'll have the lap band, but pre-surgery, I'm going to need to make it as easy on myself as possible.

I'm not at all loving the Slim-Fast. This one has too much of an artificial sweetner aftertaste.

I'm surprised at some of the shake options that were on NYU's list. Not only Slim-Fast and Glucerna, but also Carnation Instant Breakfast and a number of others.

I do plan on going to GNC to check out some of their options as well.

Once I know my surgery date for sure, I'll work up a transitional meal plan. Right now, it's a shake for dinner, but eventually they'll replace all my meals and I'll have five a day.

BEFORE

I've decided this will be my official before pic. It was taken this afternoon on the street in front of our apartment here in Brooklyn.

I'm reminding myself to get that side angle as well since that's the one that really tells the whole truth of the situation!

I've seen so many interesting ways that people track and display their weight loss. I'll be featuring some of those and coming up with some of my own interesting ways as I progress.

How many calories post-op?

First of all, I'm learning that people refer to the lap-band and other procedures as WLS (weight loss surgery). Despite the various packets of info I've been given and the websites I've been sent to, I didn't have a clear sense of how many calories I'd need to be eating post-op. However, I just found the most fabulous blog post over on melting mama. She posted this info below about recommended calories, protein, fat, etc.

The ASMBS guidelines (which is where many surgeons GET their recommendations for you) state:

• 1,000 to 1,400 calories depending on the individual and activity level.
• 60 to 100 grams of protein depending on the individual and activity level.
• 27 to 47 grams of fat based on 20 to 35 percent of a daily 1,200-calorie intake.

Check out her post for more interesting info and some really insightful comments from others who've also had surgery.

Glucerna Shakes

So for two weeks before my surgery, I'll have to be on a liquid diet. The one exception is that I can eat certain vegetables as well -- plain of course, but steamed or raw is fine.

I don't have my surgery scheduled yet, but I did meet with the nutritionist, and she walked me through the options for weight loss shakes. The goal is to make my liver less fatty, and hence smaller, to make the laproscopic surgery easier.

Post surgery, I then have to fast for 20 days -- 10 days of a thin liquid diet followed by 10 days of a pureed food diet. All in all, at least 5 weeks without solid food.

Given that, I decided I would try out the different shake options and start out slow beforehand in order to adjust. So for now, I'm going to replace one meal a day. Today I've replaced dinner, and supplemented the Glucerna shake with some raw cucumbers and carrots so I had something to munch on. I'll also have to give up caffeine and soda at a certain point, so I'll need to transition to that as well.

So tonight, so far so good. The Glucerna tastes good. In fact, I'd like another one. They cost $2 each and are 200 calories each. Of the list of shake options, I chose to start with Glucerna because of the low sugar content, only 6g (it's made for diabetics). I also prefer that they come in resealable plastic bottles rather than the cans.

Mostly the shakes are higher in sugar than I prefer. Up to thirty-something grams of sugar each which is way too high for me. I can just see myself crashing after that and wanting to eat.

I'll be trying the other shakes this week too, so more to come on that.

A major announcement

So for any of you who've followed this blog, you know I've struggled with my weight for a long time. So recently, I've made a pretty major decision to undergo the lap-band procedure.

I've only told a few close friends, but I also plan to dedicate this blog to documenting the process. (Since I haven't given this web address to many people, only those who search for lapband or weight loss will find it.) Happy to share my story with the world, just less sure about telling work colleagues, acquaintances, etc.

The pics above were taken the day of the lap-band seminar at NYU when I decided I would go ahead with the surgery. (Goofy grin and all!) Ironically, yes, I am holding a bag of groceries in my before pic (ha!); however, it's a salad from Whole Foods if that helps at all!)