Pre-Surgery Weight Requirement Met!

YESSS! I did it! This morning, the scale showed that I have lost the 21 pounds required before they'll schedule my surgery. For the last week, I've stopped having those "we want you to think we're nutritious, but we're SO not" granola bars for breakfast; I've had only a protein shake for lunch(www.spiru-tein.com); if I MUST have a snack at work, it's been string cheese, but most of the time, I've satiated it with WATER (I love Crystal Light)! And I've upped my walking to 2 miles a day instead of one! For dinner, I've tried to be reasonable about things. Yesterday, my husband had ordered a pizza, and I had 3 pieces instead of my usual 5 or so (well, there were only 3 pieces left, but still...)
I'm not going to the doc for my weigh-in til tomorrow. I've been losing a pound a day since starting the protein shakes, and just in case their scale is a little off from mine, I hope to lose that extra pound first. I don't want them to say, "Nope! You've lost 20 pounds, not 21 pounds" and send me home, because that would crush me. AND, they're not open yet before I go to work, so I won't be able to weigh in til I'm on my lunch break, at which time I'll have several bottles of water's worth of weight in my belly. Plus, my best friend (a gastric bypass patient, about 7 years ago) have a date to donate blood at the blood bank this evening, so there's an extra pound off! LOL! (I learned while working there that the pint of blood they take from donors weighs one pound)
I'm doing a happy dance in my head!!! I let out a loud "woo-hoo!" this morning when I stepped on the scale. My husband was like, "what's going on in there?" Maybe he assumed my frogs, who live in an aquarium in the bathroom, finally laid eggs, because I've been catching them "in the act" a lot lately, LOL.
So yesterday, I called the surgeon's office to tell them I was about a pound away from my goal (or should I say THEIR goal for me), and asked whether I needed to make an appointment or just come weigh in (it's the latter). Someone is supposed to call me within TWO WEEKS to schedule me. Argh! I asked the nurse, "NOT that I plan on doing this, but what if I gain a couple of pounds back? It's ok right, because I'll lose again when I do the 2 week liquid fast?" And she said NO! I'll be having several appointments: physical, 'female's annual', EKG, chest x-ray, labwork, etc., and they'll be weighing me every time. She said if I gain a SINGLE POUND, they'll cancel my surgery! Sooo many people have said that after they met the weight loss goal required before scheduling, they totally splurged and had all their favorite restaurants/dishes one last time, and many have said they were actually heavier on surgery day than in the beginning because of this "last hurrah" attitude... So much for that! I definitely have to have all of my favs one last time, but I won't go crazy and I will keep working out and doing my protein lunches! The RN also said the more weight I lose, the safer my surgery will be. FINE, YOU PARTY POOPER! LOL
Also, I emailed my surgeon yesterday with the nutrition facts of some ready-to-drink soy protein meal replacements I found online (I can't have any of the ones they recommend, because I'm allergic to milk). He said it's pretty high in calories compared to Boost, etc., but that it will be OK if it's the only thing I can find. Well I'm NOT trying to drink too many calories, dummy! Back to the drawing board. Worst comes to worst, I'll drink HALF a can per meal.
So PLEASE wish me luck; I'll be weighing in tomorrow!!!

Just Checking In

There's really not much to post about until I get a surgery date, etc.
I had my ultrasound to check for gallstones. (If you have them, they remove your gallbladder at time of surgery) I don't have any, but they said I do have an enlarged, fatty liver. Which is why you have to do a 2-week clear liquid diet before surgery (to shrink it so they can get to the stomach easier). I was like, "the liver regenerates itself, so can't we just lop some off to get to the stomach and then just let it regrow?" LOL And no, vodka, etc. do not count on your liquid diet, although I'm sure it would make the 2 weeks much more tolerable ;p Just crap like chicken broth and jello. Boy, I'm gonna be a peach during that 2 weeks.
I'm down about 10 lbs, so 10 more to go before they'll schedule surgery. From what I've read on the message boards, most people haven't been required to lose any prior to scheduling. Of course my surgeon requires it. So to lose the 10 pounds, I've been cutting restaurant portions in half, eating a lot less fast food, and the big one- dropping soda. Diet Pepsi was my life! LOL Friends called it my crack, my oxygen... I literally drank over a gallon of diet Pepsi per day. And while there's no sugar/no calories, the aspartame (artificial sweetener) and sodium aren't so great for you, either. I've been allowing myself a diet Pepsi on the weekends only. I miss it, but I'm not dying like I thought I would. But it's soooo rewarding now when I get some on the weekend :)
I've also been walking most days. I do a mile around the neighborhood on my lunch break at work. At home, I use my Wii Just Dance game for a fun but intense workout! I try to do SOMETHING most days. I actually feel deprived when I miss my walk, so that's a good thing. But with the weather rapidly getting warmer, I won't be able to walk at lunch-- I can't come back to work all stinky. And let's face it, if it's over 70 degrees, I'm whining. I really, really wish I had a treadmill so I can park it and a tv in my spare room and walk inside when it's hot out. My husband thinks it's a waste of money when I could just walk outside. Hello, heat stroke is no good (I'm prone to that), and when it's dark out by the time I'm ready to walk, I can't go, because it's not the safest idea to walk alone in the dark. Let me buy a used treadmill!!!!! Because I know for a fact I won't get out there and walk in the heat. At least our puppy is finally done with his shots, we can take the dogs for walks now!
Soooo, in the mornings, I've been having a large glass which consists of a cup of ice, a cup of soymilk, and a cup of coffee. After that, just water water water. Crystal Light is a lifesaver. I've only been drinking about 3 bottles a day, and I need to do 8! But I'm getting there. I love me some extra-pulp orange juice, but wow, it's high in calories! I want to do the whole protein-shake diet like they recommend for my pre-surgery weight loss, but I'm allergic to milk, and it's been hard to find a low-calorie, high-protein soy shake. They're a lot pricier that the regular protein, but I'll have to buckle down and get some this weeks. I want to lose that 10 lbs and get scheduled already!! They also say to consume only 800 cals a day. I certainly haven't been following that, but I'm gonna try now.
SparkPeople.com is an awesome free site which helps you track your calories, carbs, fat, protein, exercise, water intake, etc. I totally recommend it to everyone trying to lose weight! It's really awesome. I'm also following several blogs of other VSG patients, which is inspiring and informative. ('Waning Woman' is my favorite blog so far. She's funny and real and having great success!)
Lookie there, and I thought I didn't have anything to say! I do expect posts to be sporadic until I'm really on the path to surgery, though.
Anyone on Facebook is welcome to join my group, "Sherry's Gastric Sleeve Journey". I post my blogs there on the 'discussions' tab, and there are lots of Sleeve patients, curious people, and supporters on there giving feedback. Thank you all!
Til next time.
PS- Blogging makes me feel like Doogie Howser :)