Friday, October 15, 2010
First required support group
Part of the requirements for pre-surgery is that we attend three seminars/group meetings. The first one I went to was the new patient informational seminar. Last night I attended my second meeting. It was a group meeting for pre-op patients, as well as post-op patients up to 6 months after surgery. The topic of the meeting was "The Blended Diet". It was very informative, as they talked about what the diet is going to be for the first 2 weeks. It is a very strict diet, and they couldn't say enough times that you have to follow the diet precisely! And hearing some of the post-op patients speak and tell us their experiences so far was really enlightening. It was very helpful, and I'm so glad that I was there to be able to hear about this topic.
This whole journey is going to be tough, and I'm glad that I have a great support system of friends and family around me to help me through all of this.
Until next time.....
This whole journey is going to be tough, and I'm glad that I have a great support system of friends and family around me to help me through all of this.
Until next time.....
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Still a struggle, but getting easier
Okay, so I have to admit that it's still a struggle following this strict diet. And I wouldn't be human if I didn't have set backs. But I'm finding that as the days pass by, it's getting easier to follow the diet. After my trip to the grocery store, I took my veggies and cut them up so that they were already prepared, and I stored them in containers in the fridge. This way I could just open the containers and throw the stuff together for a salad....all I have to do is cut up either chicken or steak to add to the salad.....so it makes it easier to prepare my meals. And for the first time in a good while, I'm starting to cook dinners again, and actually finding a little bit of joy in it.
I am so excited for this journey, and I'm really taking joy in each passing day of this adventure.
Until next time....
I am so excited for this journey, and I'm really taking joy in each passing day of this adventure.
Until next time....
Monday, October 11, 2010
First trip to the supermarket
Okay, so I made my first trip to the grocery store to pick up a few things that are on the healthier side. For me, if I don't have the stuff in the house, I will eat all the bad food that's in the house. So my groceries that I got consisted of the following: red, yellow, and green peppers....bagged lettuce....mushrooms...cherry tomatoes...skim milk...yogurt....and bananas. I already had some leftover baked chicken that I will cut up and put into a salad. I am trying to be as strict as I can, and stay away from all the carbs.
Tonight's dinner was a true test for me. My mother-in-law made dinner this evening which consisted of a roasting chicken, green beans, mashed potatoes with gravy, and biscuits. I was extremely tempted by the mashed potatoes and biscuits...cuz I love them!!! But instead, I sucked it up and had chicken and green beans. And boy was that hard to do....but I kept reminding myself that it was worth it to stick with the diet the doctors told me to follow.
This is about me....and being a healthier me is going to be worth all the hard work. And for my friends and family who are reading this, I couldn't be doing any of this without your support....so I want to thank you all for your love and support.
Until next time....
Tonight's dinner was a true test for me. My mother-in-law made dinner this evening which consisted of a roasting chicken, green beans, mashed potatoes with gravy, and biscuits. I was extremely tempted by the mashed potatoes and biscuits...cuz I love them!!! But instead, I sucked it up and had chicken and green beans. And boy was that hard to do....but I kept reminding myself that it was worth it to stick with the diet the doctors told me to follow.
This is about me....and being a healthier me is going to be worth all the hard work. And for my friends and family who are reading this, I couldn't be doing any of this without your support....so I want to thank you all for your love and support.
Until next time....
Juggling the new diet with the family
Okay, so I will be the first to admit that following a strict diet is a lot harder than it seems. And when you have a family that doesn't want to always eat healthy, it makes it even more difficult. Yes, I do understand that this is about me, not them. And although I shouldn't ask them to change their eating habits, my hope is that they would WANT to change their eating habits so that we can get through this journey together. Starting this strict diet couldn't have come at a better time....haha, yeah right! This is probably the worst time of year for me to make this decision....my husband's birthday is just 5 days away, my birthday is next month, and December holds christmas and my son's birthday. Now what am I to do about birthday cake?? It is such a weakness for me. Every year for birthday, I ask for one thing.....a birthday cake from KonditorMeister. If you don't know what that is, check out their webpage http://www.konditormeister.com/
Their cakes are to die for!!! But this year it will be different. Although it will be difficult, I am determined to follow this diet and make all the right changes.....and do it for me!
Now yesterday happened to be a pretty good day. I had a normal breakfast (small bowl of multi-gran cheerios with skim milk), a decent lunch (tuna sandwich on wheat bread), and a healthy dinner (boneless, skinless chicken with broccoli and carrots). We had dinner at about 6pm....and by 8:30 I felt like I was starving!!! Part of that is because I didn't have healthy snacks in between....partly because I need to make a trip to the grocery store seeing as there really isn't any food in the house. But anyway, at 8:30 I was soooo tempted to send my husband out for garlic bread with cheese. And I kept playing it in my head...do I or don't I......well, I finally decided not to do it! I reminded myself that it wouldn't do me any good and that I needed to stick with my plan and really follow through this time!
I am always looking for new recipes, and suggestions on how to make healthy meals that my husband and son will eat as well. So please send me your suggestions and tips :-)
Until next time.....
Their cakes are to die for!!! But this year it will be different. Although it will be difficult, I am determined to follow this diet and make all the right changes.....and do it for me!
Now yesterday happened to be a pretty good day. I had a normal breakfast (small bowl of multi-gran cheerios with skim milk), a decent lunch (tuna sandwich on wheat bread), and a healthy dinner (boneless, skinless chicken with broccoli and carrots). We had dinner at about 6pm....and by 8:30 I felt like I was starving!!! Part of that is because I didn't have healthy snacks in between....partly because I need to make a trip to the grocery store seeing as there really isn't any food in the house. But anyway, at 8:30 I was soooo tempted to send my husband out for garlic bread with cheese. And I kept playing it in my head...do I or don't I......well, I finally decided not to do it! I reminded myself that it wouldn't do me any good and that I needed to stick with my plan and really follow through this time!
I am always looking for new recipes, and suggestions on how to make healthy meals that my husband and son will eat as well. So please send me your suggestions and tips :-)
Until next time.....
Thursday, October 7, 2010
First Consultation Appointment
Okay....first of all, I was a little nervous going in to this consultation appointment...not really sure what to expect. I knew that I was going to be there for about 4-5 hours though. So I headed out to Newton in the pouring rain at 7:15am. Traffic was a complete nightmare getting there. I had to call them and say I was running late, because being stuck in traffic on Rte 128 in the vicinity of Boston and the Mass Pike....it just leaves you with nowhere to go!! So after a very long traffic filled ride, I finally arrived at my destination and proceeded to enter the office. I signed in and did all the insurance card info and signed the HIPAA form (privacy act paperwork) and almost immediately I was taken back to meet with Mary, the psych nurse. Mary was very thorough in getting a sense of my past physical and mental history....she really wanted to get inside my head and make sure that I would mentally be able to handle the aftermath of the surgery. She wanted to make sure that I would be able to hold myself accountable for the changes I need to make before and after. So after talking with her for about almost an hour, I was then brought back out to the waiting room. After a few minutes I was brought in to meet with Linda, the nutritionist. At this point, the first thing Linda did was had me step on the scale. I weighed in at 246lbs. After weighing in, she took a picture of me for my file. She then calculated my BMI to be at 45. She had me go through my weight loss trials so that she could document my achievements and losses with each one. Next, she went through my two day food diary and talked to me about what my weaknesses with food are. At this point, she made it clear to me what I had to do as far as modifying my diet. So from this point on, I am on a pretty strict diet. I was told I need to cut out about 90% of my carb intake. For example, I am allowed to have mult-grain cheerios for breakfast, for lunch I can either have a salad with chicken, or a sandwich....but the sandwich has to be either on pita bread or on a wrap. NO sub rolls or bread!!! For dinner, typically a healthy meal would consist of 1/2 the plate filled with veggies, 1/4 with protein, and 1/4 with carbs.....well, I need to cut out the carbs at dinner time and add more veggies. Things I have to cut out of my diet are: sugar, cheese, fried foods, and fast food. I also need to cut out my coffee intake as well as soda. I can drink as much water and crystal light as I want.
Now after Linda went through all of this with me, she made it clear that they don't necessarily want me to lose weight, they just do not want to see me gain any weight. If I gain weight, then the whole process will be pushed even farther away.
After this, I was then handed a slip to go to the lab and have my bloodwork done. Once I returned, I was brought into a room with one of the medical assistants. She took measurements of my neck, waist and hips....and checked my pulse, oxygen, and blood pressure (which were normal). Now it was time for Dr. Patridge to come in and speak to me. She came in and reviewed my history, and reviewed what Linda had stated about my diet and made it clear that I needed to keep up with it, as well as increasing my walking from every other day to 4-5 times a week. She also let me know that surgery would be at least 2-3 months out from the time I quit smoking...which I did before coming to this appointment. And for the record, I have no cravings at all!!!!!!!!! So as it stands right now, it looks like late December or January would be the earliest that I could have the surgery.
My next appointment is scheduled for Friday November 5th. I also I have two support groups that I will need to attend as well. I will attend one before my next appointment, and the second one I will be able to attend a few days after my next appointment.
As far as going back to college, I am going to drop off my application at the college today, and I also finished my application for federal student aid.
Things are moving forward!! And I am really happy, and looking forward to this amazing journey!!!!!!
Until next time.....
Now after Linda went through all of this with me, she made it clear that they don't necessarily want me to lose weight, they just do not want to see me gain any weight. If I gain weight, then the whole process will be pushed even farther away.
After this, I was then handed a slip to go to the lab and have my bloodwork done. Once I returned, I was brought into a room with one of the medical assistants. She took measurements of my neck, waist and hips....and checked my pulse, oxygen, and blood pressure (which were normal). Now it was time for Dr. Patridge to come in and speak to me. She came in and reviewed my history, and reviewed what Linda had stated about my diet and made it clear that I needed to keep up with it, as well as increasing my walking from every other day to 4-5 times a week. She also let me know that surgery would be at least 2-3 months out from the time I quit smoking...which I did before coming to this appointment. And for the record, I have no cravings at all!!!!!!!!! So as it stands right now, it looks like late December or January would be the earliest that I could have the surgery.
My next appointment is scheduled for Friday November 5th. I also I have two support groups that I will need to attend as well. I will attend one before my next appointment, and the second one I will be able to attend a few days after my next appointment.
As far as going back to college, I am going to drop off my application at the college today, and I also finished my application for federal student aid.
Things are moving forward!! And I am really happy, and looking forward to this amazing journey!!!!!!
Until next time.....
Monday, October 4, 2010
Blood work from my doctor
Well, I just got my blood work from my doctor. It looks as though most of my labs came back normal. Yay!!! Oh wait...not so fast.....my cholesterol levels were not good at all. Out of the four things they look for in your cholesterol, the only level that was normal was my LDL (bad) cholesterol. Go figure. My total cholesterol was 207, my HDL was 45, and my triglycerides were 259. Now, I'm not a nurse or a doctor or anything, so I had no idea what any of these numbers meant. So I surfed the web, and got my answers. Apparently these numbers are not so great.
Now what really is kinda weird to me is this.....I have been obese for over 11 years now. Each and everytime I have had blood work done (which is at least once, if not twice a year), my levels have ALWAYS been normal, or at the low end of normal range. I was diagnosed with diabetes this past December, and have been on Metformin since then...and it has my sugar levels quite normal. But never before have I had any problems with my cholesterol.
So I guess this is just another eye opener for me.....another bean to throw in the pot, letting me know that things need to change drastically. Well, I have my consultation appointment on Wednesday with the doctor....so I'm sure you will hear from me then.
Until then......
Now what really is kinda weird to me is this.....I have been obese for over 11 years now. Each and everytime I have had blood work done (which is at least once, if not twice a year), my levels have ALWAYS been normal, or at the low end of normal range. I was diagnosed with diabetes this past December, and have been on Metformin since then...and it has my sugar levels quite normal. But never before have I had any problems with my cholesterol.
So I guess this is just another eye opener for me.....another bean to throw in the pot, letting me know that things need to change drastically. Well, I have my consultation appointment on Wednesday with the doctor....so I'm sure you will hear from me then.
Until then......
Friday, October 1, 2010
First info meeting
Well, last night was the New Patient Information Seminar for weight loss surgery at Newton Wellesley Hospital. This seminar is required for anyone that has a consultation appointment already scheduled, and you MUST attend this seminar before they allow you to come to your consultation appointment. Talk about overwhelming!!! The good thing about this seminar, is that it was presented by the doctor with whom I have my appointment already scheduled...Dr. Sheila Partridge.
Now earlier in the day, I had made a trip to see my primary care doctor to get the paperwork filled out for their part of my info packet. And of course, as part of the appointment, my nurse practitioner (Cathy Obin at Blue Hills Medical.....she is AMAZING!!!) had me step on the dreaded scale so that she could document my starting point with this whole journey. Needless to say, I was not happy with what I saw....starting weight is 242lbs....a BMI of 45. Now, I knew that I was overweight....and I have tried many diets. At one point my doctor had me on prescription "Meridia", which I did well on and lost about 20-25lbs, but unfortunately I hit a plateau....and at that point it was getting too expensive to pay for, seeing that insurance didn't cover it. So after coming off the Meridia, I gained all those pounds back :-( Then about a year after that, I started doing "LA Weight Loss" at their center in Brockton. I followed this program to a T....and I lost about 20-25 pounds, hit a plateau.....and yet again, it was getting too costly to pay for the food and supplements. So yet again, I gained the weight back...and then some!
It is very unfortunate that some of the good weight loss programs are so expensive, and not cost effective for people to be able to access. Yeah, I know....you should be able to diet and exercise on your own. Well folks, I tried that too. For about 6 months, I was watching what I ate.....had lots of veggies and protein, and kept my carb intake very low. I was walking about 1.2 miles a day as well. And guess what....I lost about 20-25lbs on my own in the first 2 months....but got stuck there yet again.
Now one thing that was stated at the seminar last night, is that even with diet and exercise, some people metabolically are not able to lose the weight. This is something that I had always thought in my mind, but hearing the doctor say it out loud made me feel so much better. Growing up, I was always the real skinny one. My mom used to tease me and say I looked anorexic.....but it wasn't the case. And believe me, if you saw what I consumed for food everyday, you would wonder where it all went. But as I have grown older, my body and metabolism have changed. And now, for the first time in a long time, I can see a light at the end of the tunnel. I want to go into this process with my eyes wide open.
Until next time.....
Now earlier in the day, I had made a trip to see my primary care doctor to get the paperwork filled out for their part of my info packet. And of course, as part of the appointment, my nurse practitioner (Cathy Obin at Blue Hills Medical.....she is AMAZING!!!) had me step on the dreaded scale so that she could document my starting point with this whole journey. Needless to say, I was not happy with what I saw....starting weight is 242lbs....a BMI of 45. Now, I knew that I was overweight....and I have tried many diets. At one point my doctor had me on prescription "Meridia", which I did well on and lost about 20-25lbs, but unfortunately I hit a plateau....and at that point it was getting too expensive to pay for, seeing that insurance didn't cover it. So after coming off the Meridia, I gained all those pounds back :-( Then about a year after that, I started doing "LA Weight Loss" at their center in Brockton. I followed this program to a T....and I lost about 20-25 pounds, hit a plateau.....and yet again, it was getting too costly to pay for the food and supplements. So yet again, I gained the weight back...and then some!
It is very unfortunate that some of the good weight loss programs are so expensive, and not cost effective for people to be able to access. Yeah, I know....you should be able to diet and exercise on your own. Well folks, I tried that too. For about 6 months, I was watching what I ate.....had lots of veggies and protein, and kept my carb intake very low. I was walking about 1.2 miles a day as well. And guess what....I lost about 20-25lbs on my own in the first 2 months....but got stuck there yet again.
Now one thing that was stated at the seminar last night, is that even with diet and exercise, some people metabolically are not able to lose the weight. This is something that I had always thought in my mind, but hearing the doctor say it out loud made me feel so much better. Growing up, I was always the real skinny one. My mom used to tease me and say I looked anorexic.....but it wasn't the case. And believe me, if you saw what I consumed for food everyday, you would wonder where it all went. But as I have grown older, my body and metabolism have changed. And now, for the first time in a long time, I can see a light at the end of the tunnel. I want to go into this process with my eyes wide open.
Until next time.....
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