I slept in a bed last night!

Thanks for all the advice on how to handle the bed. I started by taking my pain meds on schedule. Then I tried laying on my left side instead of my right and In was able to get up and down with minimal pulling. It felt great to sleep laying down. I also used the pillow trick to lay on my right side.
So I feel much more well rested today. I also took a shower which also helps you feel more human.

My super glue incision closures are beginning to peel. Is this normal? Should I be worried about that?

I hope that everyone had a lovely holiday!

Saturday and Sisters

Luckily, since it's just me and the ELB alone in the big city, we don't do holidays.  So I don't have to worry about avoiding Easter Candy--because we don't get any.  Especially Peeps. I'm a sucker for Peeps--and I have turned them down at work prior to surgery--when normally I would be all OVER those suckers.

Today as been pretty good. Still sleeping in the recliner couch (but the ELB sleeps there with me because we can't bear to be apart). Hope to be back in a regular bed by Monday--but we will see how I feel with my incisions.

I've started bruising around my largest incision--it's all yellow and purple and would be rather pretty as an abstract painting--if it weren't located on my tummy.

I've also been eating more than I probably should.  I have no restriction-and the swelling must have gone out of my tummy sooner than expected.  I kind of cheated a little bit today--but I wanted to test something.  I made chicken salad.  I took a can of chicken and drained it and then put it into the food processor and ground it up into practically powder. I did the same thing with three sweet gherkins.  And then I mixed it all together with two dollops of Hellman's Mayo--and two dollops of Fage Greek Yogurt--with a packet of sweet-n-low.  OMG--it is SO good. I've limited myself to having it in 1/2 cup portions twice today.  I've also eaten a whole can of Campbells cream of chicken and mushroom soup, a 12 oz protein shake, and a cup of protein pudding. See, I'm eating alot. Along with three bottles of water (48oz) so far.

I really need to work on my portion control. 

I also spent an awesome hour talking to one of my BBF's.  It was so great to catch up with her. I really miss the friends that I made during my class. They are women that I have come to enjoy talking to--even though we are at different places in our lives--we will always have this in common--and that will keep us friends for (hopefully) the rest of our lives.In a year, we have plans to go away for a girls weekend to celebrate our one year surgiversaries.  

I am looking forward to getting past the post surgery portion of this journey so that we can make plans to get together, go to dinner, order one entree and split it three ways. 

I'm also enjoying reading about everyone else and their journey.  We have all gotten here through a different route. Some of us had more restrictive plans to follow--education and diet wise, while others have been able to cruise through things.  But no matter the paths we have taken--we are all in the same place--and that binds us all as sisters (and brothers if any are reading). We are part of a special group that should never judge us for our past, but should accept all of us, provide us all good support, and advice, .  We are all part of the sisterhood of the band.

Unexpected delivery

This just came from my coworkers. Too bad I can't eat any of it. But since I chose to not tell my coworkers the real reason I am out, I'm going to appreciate the thought and send it with ELB to work tomorrow so that I don't eat any of the gorgeous fruit!

Sleep?

Since I came home I've been sleeping in a recliner. Last night I wanted to go to sleep in a bed. HUGE MISTAKE!

I tried to sleep on my back, but had random spasms across my tummy.  That freaked me out. So I tried to roll to my side. This was a HORRIBLE idea on my part. I practically screamed in pain as the largest of my incisions pulled so bad it felt like it was being ripped open.

I finally made it to my side where I could not get comfortable at all. Bracing the side of my stomach on a pillow helped some but I didn't sleep at all. It probably didn't help that I didn't take any of the happy pain pills from the hospital all day. I was trying to be superwoman, and instead it got me a sleepless night.

The plan is to incorporate the happy pills back in today and to stick with the recliner through the weekend. Hopefully by Monday I'll be able to get comfortable in a bed.

Did any of you have this type of experience with trying to sleep in your own bed after surgery?

First full day at home

Other than the gas pain in my shoulder, I'm feeling pretty good. Today is all clear liquids and I've had no problem with keeping anything down. I've had Unjury protien jello, Unjury chicken broth, and mock Unjury hot chocolate. I've had sugar free popsicles and water and just had some beef consomme.

I'm hungry. I didn't expect to be hungry so soon.

I've been walking around the house. I actually did two loads of laundry. But no relief for the shoulder pain as of yet. Does Gasx help?

Thanks to everyone for the well wishes. I really appreciate this new family I've gained. I'm looking forward to all the positive changes that this will make in my life. I can't wait to share this journey with you all!

Home again

I am HOME. Everything went well. I lost 16 lbs on my pre op diet. So my surgery day weight was 373.4.
I have five incisions. Each one is sealed with dermabond. They should heal nicely.

I had my GI test this morning to make sure there was no leaking. Then after hours and hours of waiting I was allowed to FINALLY added to have something to drink. Ice water and strawberry jello.

I ate and drank too much too quickly but I was able to control myself and didn't get sick. I was finally was allowed to be discharged at 5 PM.

And now I'm home. I actually feel some hunger so I plan on having some unjury chicken broth tonight.

Thanks for all the well wishes.

Heres to the first day of the rest of my life!

tomorrow is the day

So in 12hours I'm scheduled for surgery for my brand new shiny Lap Band!

I have to report to the hospital at 8:30 for my 10:30 scheduled surgery. I will be staying one night, then coming home on tuesday.

I prepped today by making a batch of Unjury protien jello and pudding. I rearranged dishes in the cabinets so that my small plate and bowls are on lower levels.

I have my pjs ready to pack. I picked out my outfit to wear to/from hospital based on loose waist and nonirritating fabrics.

The only unknown is the weather. The forecast is for snow and all kinds of nastiness tonight and tomorrow morning. We shall see.  The weather people have not been awesome with getting it right in Baltimore recently.  Or all winter.

I'll post an update when I'm coherent.

Thanks for your positive thoughts and well wishes.

something new

I'm trying something new! Welcome to my first mobile update!

It's not super convenient and Swype doesn't seem to work in this forum, but it is about the convenience factor right now.

Having to type everything will keep my posts short and sweet and without cte pictures.

It's Saturday and I'm still relatively
 calm...and lazy. I took a nap. I've done one load of laundry. I haven't done the dishes. I have tons to do and no motivation to do it.

Doing ok with sticking to my preop diet today. I did have a string cheese but everything else has been on track.I am very curious to get on the scale Monday morning before surgery and see my total preop weight loss.

Happy Saturday everyone!

It's the final countdown..for realz this time!

So, I'm really in the final countdown now.  T-minus three days till Lap Band!

I'm still not freaking out. I'm taking things as they come.  I was supossed to have lunch out with a coworker today, since I won't be back to work for at least 2.5 weeks, but she's sick and heading to the doctor.

So now I won't get my power chicken hummus bowl from Panera today. Boo. I was really looking forward to it. It's one of my favorite things now. And unfortunately, I didn't really come prepared for food today because I was supossed to eat out. I think I'll be okay--I have some chicken, apple sauce, and string cheese in the work fridge, and a serving of unflavored Unjury in my desk. I also have a can of stewed tomatoes--maybe I can make a chicken tomato mozzerella Unjury soup? The can of Progressive vegetable soup I have in my desk says that it contains sugar and stuff--so don't want to risk ruining ketosis with that.

Tomorrow and Sunday, my plan is to stick with the Unjury plan rules with no string cheese or chicken add ins as a mini-prep for surgery on Monday morning. Luckily, as a Lap Band patient, I don't need to do a bowel prep like I would if I were having the regular bypass procedure. Thank goodness for small blessings!

So, if you haven't already noticed, thanks to Mon, I was able to successfully add the follower things on the side. Yay me!

I plan on doing a blitzkreig cleaning of the house and laundry this weekend so that I don't stress out being at home staring at crap I wish I had gotten done when I could still bend over.

Happy Friday!

Thursday, and something that I noticed

Back on the subject of Aunt Flow, she is being a TOTAL bitch to me this week. O.M.G.

I've noticed that this time, unlike the past when I'm usually eating everything out of house and home to quell the raging fury/hunger inside, this month it really hasn't been an issue.

Yes, I ate grilled chicken strips and pinto beans on Tuesday night to boost my iron and protien levels. And last night, I had turkey meatballs (homemade) and roasted cauliflower. And do you know what I noticed after both of those meals? I felt yucky after. It was like my body didn't want that AT ALL. I know I needed it--the weakness and being winded after a 1/2 mile walk home was enough to convince me that I am battling the anemia pretty hard--and now I'm worried that if my blood counts are low they won't do my surgery Monday.

I'll admit that I'm tired. Even with eating everything that I'm eating protien wise and trying to get to bed by 10:30, I just feel drained and lethargic. I'm off caffiene so that isn't an option.

Would a muti-vitamin help at this point? I only have today through Sunday to take them--but if I thought they would help me feel better, I would go out and get some today.

I'm still working on how to figure out this whole follower thing on blogger.  And I got a new phone yesterday. I finally joined the world of smartphones and data plans. If nothing else, it will give me access to the internet and words with friends while I'm home for two weeks recovering.

Only FOUR days to go. I'm not nervous. I'm not scared. It's almost like a relief.  I've been working towards this goal for seven months now--so to finally reach the end of the pre-op journey and start the post-op journey--well, I think I'm ready.  I've done everything I can possibly do to prepare.  Now it's up to God (and my surgeon) to get me through to the next step.

Need some help!

A few people have asked for the ability to follow.  I just can't figure out how to do that. Can someone tell me what i need to do to make that happen? I thought I did it when I did the google+follow but it didn't set up the thing right. Any help would be appreciated! Thanks!

I share my private info like cookies

In preparation for my surgery next Monday, I did ALOT of pre-planning. One thing I did before I picked my surgery date was to consult both the ELB and my work calendars, and I also counted when my Aunt Flow would show up. I wanted to be post-Aunt Flow when surgery day came so that I wasn't dealing with surgery incisions and having my ovaries scream at me. I timed things perfectly. There was only one two week period in which the ELB had a period of two days off, that fell between my work obligations, and also fell after my Aunt Flow left town--March 25.

Aunt Flow, regulated by the pill, used to show up on Wednesdays and be fully done and out of the house by Sunday at the latest.  Since I started losing weight, Aunt Flow has been showing up on Thursday and staying through Monday. One time, she showed up the Friday before I even finished my pills for the month--so she's been all over the board.

Since she's become a little bit more unpredictiable lately, with the blessing of my GYN, I stopped my BC pills three days early to trigger an early period. This would ensure that she would be gone by surgery date, so if I have to have a catheter, there wouldn't be any akward grossness about things.

She FINALLY showed up last night. Relief on one hand, because she should hopefully be gone by the end of the week--but where I've been doing pretty darn good with my pre-op diet, and not feeling weak or light headed--well, that's all gone today. I assume since I'm having a pretty heavy flow this month, with the combination of the restricted diet, I'm more tired than usual. I also have a tendency to run slightly anemic during my cycle, so it's probably just a combination of things.

Today, even though I'm not really hungry, I'm going to try to get some extra protien in. I'm sitting here thinking about how I could get my hands on a double bacon cheese burger from 5 Guys (no bun--i have to stay in ketosis!) without totally blowing my diet. Good thing I don't have the car today and it's not within walking distance from my office--or that WOULD be in my belly for lunch!

Fingers crossed I can make it through the day!

Everyone shoud also stop by and check on Mon at Mons Lap Band Journey. She just got her band, and I think she's going to be a success!

Day 8, and a weigh in

Today starts week two of my self imposed pre-op diet (this is when I was supossed to actually start).  I had to run to the surgeons office today to pick up some more Unjury powders and some calcium citrate for post surgery, and I decided to hop on the scale while I was there.

According to the scale, I weight 377.0.  That is a 12 pound loss since starting the pre-op diet (I gained a little in the two weeks between the end of my class and starting the diet)! And I've been adding chicken and cheese to my daily food allotment--so even with this little bit of cheating (okay, AND the pound of turkey burger I ate on Saturday), I still lost weight. I am VERY proud of myself!

This is motivating me to buckle down and do my best to stick wtih the plan for the remainder of the week. 

So far today, 6:30am vanilla shake with Irish Creme SF Torani, 8:15 1 pack cream of wheat, 10am string cheese, and now at 12:30 I'm having my protien chicken yogurt dip with veggies. Hoping to stay on plan the rest of the day. I've also been drinking as much water as possible. I read that when in ketosis, it's important to drink tons of water to flush the toxins from your system--so I'm probably getting 120-160oz of water a day!

If you are pre-op and you are offered a choice of plans, I highly recommend the Unjury pre-op diet plan. Not only do their shakes taste AMAZING, but you get to add some variety in with some soft foods. And I'm proof that you still lose weight!

I'm hoping to lose another 5-10 before end of week two. Wouldn't it be awesome to go into surgery on Monday weighing 20lbs less! That would put me closer to my post-surgery goal weight!

Happy Monday!

It's been rough... I won't lie

And it's not so much the pre-op diet that has been tough this weekend. It's been the emotions. The ELB does have to work today, so I'm home alone again. 

Yesterday, I was bad. I cooked a pound of ground turkey with veggies and ate it all during the course of the day. I know I shouldn't be emotional eating--I know that I do it, but sometimes, I just can't get my brain to shut up.  Right now, my heart hurts and I miss my mom. 

I was so tired yesterday after the week of appointments, that I tried to take a nap.  But when I went to bed and got comfy, my brain began going a mile a minute, so instead of sleeping, I cried. Alot. For about two hours. Then I got up and ate. All day.  Everything was protein, so I shouldn't have come out of ketosis--but by the end of the day, I felt stuffed and bloated and gross. 

Today, to fill up some time, I started washing the clothes that I kept from my mom that I hope I will be able to fit into by summer--a good selection of 22/24 crops and tees.  My mom had pretty good taste, so classic pieces should fit into my work wardrobe without issue--IF I can fit into them by that point. Right now, I'm in the 28/30 range in pants (even though they are looser) and 26/28 in tops (I carry my weight in my stomach/thighs).

Today, I'm tired. I'm not hungry like yesterday.  I think I got my binge out and today I'm just meh. So, 7 days in, I don't know how much I've lost because I'm too heavy to weigh on my home scale--but I might run to the surgeons office tomorrow to pick up some more Unjury products for post surgery, and I'll jump on the scale there to gauge my progress. Of course, I'm also supposed to start my period this week, so that will most likely skew my numbers a bit. 

So, in review, I am a bloated emotional jacked up mess of a person this weekend. Fingers are crossed that the week ahead goes better so that  I can leave my baggage at the curb and coast into my surgery on March 25. We will see...

Day 5 already?

Day five has started like the rest of the mornings this week--EARLY! Albeit, we did get to sleep an extra 20 mins today--which was SO awesome!

Shake for breakfast at 6:30 (LOVING the SF Torani Syrups!), cream of wheat at 8am when I got to work. A mini-snack of 1/2 cup SF apple sauce and a string cheese around 10. Large cup of decaf Hot tea to keep me from snacking, and then my awesome greek yogurt protien chicken dip for lunch with raw veggies for dipping. I took a walk, and am ready to tackle the rest of the day.

One of my BBF's (Bariatric Best Friends) will be here to pick me up after work so that we can head to the hospital and visit our other BBF who had her Rouxen Y yesterday, along with another girl from our class who also had hers done.  They should be on the same floor, so that should make things easier. There were only like, three of us in the entire class, that are having the Lap Band. One has already gotten hers, I'm scheduled for 3/25, and the third one wasn't in my circle....so yeah, I'm a snob like that.

Looking forward to the weekend, despite the obstacles that I'm facing with boredom hunger and sadness hunger. Fingers X'd that the ELB is off Sunday so that we can spend the day together.  Sunday is also the one year anniversary of my mom's death. Don't worry, I'm not crazy or anything--but I don't think I'll want to be alone.  Besides, we have like five bars within a two block radius of our house--and people in Baltimore go ape-sh!t over St. Patricks day--it's really not safe to be outside unless your drunk.

Day four and counting...

It's officially Day 4 on the pre-op plan, and I will admit, it's getting easier! My only cheats have been chicken breast and string cheese--and yesterday, it was only chicken! I'm hoping that by the weekend, it's way easier to stick to the plan--because Saturday I will be home....alone...all day long.  And me + alone time = boredom eating.  In the past 6-7 months, I've thwarted the Saturday hunger monsters by making huge pots of turkey chili or vegetable soup--which I would allow myself to eat only that when I was hungry.

Now, on the pre-op diet, I can't eat endless bowls of chili or soup.  I have limited protien shakes and greek yogurt/jello/pudding/cream of wheat to consume daily--along with my chicken breast cheats that I eat to make me feel full and satisfied.

How will I get through the 20 hours from the time the ELB leaves to start his crazy work day, until he gets home that night? I've been good at slowly ridding the freezer and cabinets of things like pasta and rice. The only sweets we have are Fiber 1 brownies and Fiber 1 protien bars and Fiber 1 granola bars (do you see a pattern here?) and those are off limits to me right now.

I have things to stay busy with--things I don't particularly like doing--like I REALLY need to scrub down the shower/tub before surgery, and put up a new shower curtain, and wash the floors. I have tons of my clothes that need to be sorted into what I can potentially keep and continue to wear, and what I plan on getting rid of at the first opportunity. I have two huge bins of clothes that were my moms (in size 20-24) that I need to wash and sort and decide what I may be able to fit into by summer, and what needs to be donated. The kitchen is okay, but the living room feels like a tornado hit it--and I could really focus some time there. I could also resurrect my jewelry making--but I feel that the house cleaning needs to be done first.  The question is--how to make myself do it.

Any suggestions on how to deal with the boredom eating? Maybe I'm worried for nothing, but I'm a planner--and I like to anticipate how to deal with things before they happen.

BTW--breakfast shake was Vanilla Unjury with a shot of Irish Creme SF Torani Syrup. Delicious!

So, about those pre-op rules....

I know that there are rules to my pre-op plan that I am supossed to abide by. I get it.  I'm not one to normally shun the rules for anything.  I LIKE rules.

That being said, the pre-op diet can be challenging, especially when your job has you traveling during the day to other locations, or you have busy evenings (ie: support group, Good Will shopping, visiting classmate who just had her Lap Band, and then picking up the ELB from work) when you don't get home until after 10pm. And it's too warm out to carry around shakes, because let's be honest, cold they are ok--but warm is pretty narsty.

Yesterday, that was my day--busy busy busy! I was great on plan, except for the addition of chicken to my Unjury chicken dip yogurt--but last night, knowing I was nowhere near home and not able to get a shake, I had to get something to eat to hold me over. I ended up with a 12 pc grilled nugget from Chick-fil-a (my absolute favorite and ONLY fast food place I can eat at), and a string cheese.  I also walked for about 20-25 mins just to get some fresh air. The office was so hot I thought I would MELT!

Today, I had my UGI and chest x-ray--so fasted from dinner last night (at around 8pm) until almost 11am today. Woke up with a headache. Wasn't allowed to take pills or drink water until after the test.  Tests went well--I think.  Everything looked good to the Radiologist, or so they told me. Then, because I was starving and the CFA is actually located halfway between the hospital and my office, I stopped and got another 12 pc grilled nugget and unsweet iced tea. And OMG was it good. I enjoyed every single bite/sip. And I've been caffiene free for almost a week now!

Now, I will be on plan the rest of the day--and I'm not going to worry about plain chicken throwing me off plan.  Protien is protien, right? And I just had a serving of the Unjury high protien pudding I made. And dinner will maybe be more of the chicken dip with some veggies. Just need to work on getting my water in today, and I should be good. Normally, I can knock out 64 oz of plain water by lunch time (my average daily total of water is 128oz)--today I'm lagging because of the testing--but not to worry--I will have it all down by bed time.

BTW, a shoutout to Mon from  Mon's Lap Band Journey (who is set to be banded around the same time as me!).  She seems really nice, and from what I can tell, we could totally be besties in real life!

It's not quite EPIC, but it is a FAIL

The best laid plans of mice and men.....

So, after an awesome first day of being on pre-op plan (with the slight addition of some canned chicken breast), I got home and went to fix my chicken Unjury soup and roasted cauliflower for dinner.  And somewhere between heating the water for the soup and actually making the soup, I got waylaid by the last serving of some turkey chili I had taken out of the freezer last week....so, I had leftover turkey chili and cauliflower. I didn't get in my last two protien powders--but I think I'm okay because my turkey chili is awesome--and chock full of protien with ground turkey and three types of beans.

Today, I'm off to a good start again.  Shake at 6:30, Cream of Wheat at 8:15, string cheese at 10:30, and then I made greek yogurt dip using 6oz Fage 0% yogurt mixed with 1 scoop of Unjury chicken powder, a dash of black pepper, and then I added 2 oz of shredded chicken breast. I put in the fridge to chill for about an hour, and then ate it with some peeled cucumber slices and baby carrots.  I'm stuffed. (Yes, I added chicken to it, but I really don't feel full without solid protien--it's probably years and years of being raised in a meat/potatos household)

I love greek yogurt, especially the Fage brand--it really reminds me alot of sour cream--so I like to sub it on my chili or a baked potato, or in dips--but to eat plain Fage alone with nothing? I can't get past the "I'm eating a container of sour cream" bit.  Yesterday, I added a Tbsp of Torani SF Raspberry syrup to my Fage to help to sweeten it up.  For some reason, it tasted gross. I won't be doing that flavor again any time soon.

So, slight fail, but not total disappointment in yesterday.  Better to screw up on day one than on day 13, right? I am totally not going to make the same mistake again today! Besides, there's no more chili. But I did go to the grocery store at lunch to pick up more yogurt, red/orange bell peppers, carrots, celery, and cauliflower (because roasted cauliflower is the BOMB).

Onwards to the end of day two--and a good start to my pre-op diet.

Tonight is support group at 4pm, then picking up the ELB from his job tonight before heading home.  I just happen to have my shaker jar with me from breakfast this morning, so before I head out the door, I'll mix up a shake to get me through the afternoon.

Only 13 more days till Surgery!

The best laid plans...

So, I had every intention of starting my pre-op diet on Saturday--putting me on it (voluntarily) for 16 days. 

Well, Saturday ended up not working out for me--so I just shifted it a day to Sunday.  No big whoop--I'd still be on it for 15 days (considering my surgeon told me I only had to do 7 days, I'm still being awesome!).

Well, Sunday didn't work out either. Both days I was out running errands, at lacrosse/softball games (as a spectator), and no way to transport perishable soy milk/dairy products. Nor did I want to be out and about and starting a new diet.

So, today is day one.  As stated before, I am doing the Unjury plan.  With this one, you get to eat some stuff like plain greek yogurt, cream of wheat, SF apple sauce, raw or cooked veggies and SF pudding/SF jello along with 4 servings of the Unjury protien. I only have to do two shakes a day. the other two are mixed with the SF Jello or SF Pudding or in water. I actually made the protien pudding using soy milk and unflavored powder.

I started my day at 5am. I had a shake at 6am. I ate cream of wheat at 7am. I had SF apple sauce at 10:30am. The plan suggests meal plans/times for how to get in all your food.  I'm not good at following plans.  As long as I consume everything I'm supossed to consume daily, then I'm still meeting the terms of the plan, right? I'm doing what feels best for me, and if that means eating something every two hours instead of regimented meal/snack times, then I'm going to do what I need to do to be successful.

As a fallback, I also brought some canned chicken and some string cheese.  If I can't stick with it, then I need to eat protien.  As long as I stay away from sugars/carbs, then by day 3-4, I will start ketosis, and the fat in my liver will begin burning off.  And that's really the whole reason to do this. Shrink the liver so that the Lap Band is easier to install. Smaller Liver means more room for the doctor to do his job.

So far, I'm doing okay.  I still want to go eat something. If I can get my headhunger to shut the hell up, I will probably be able to do this with flying colors.  However, be prepared for me to bitch about being hungry for the next 14 days.

When I fall, I fall HARD

Last Thursday, the ELB and I packed a bag and headed to my dad's house for the weekend.  We weren't there for pleasure--it was a total work trip.

We spent three days sorting, ridding, organizing, throwing away, and donating a ton of things (5 loads to the Goodwill!) that comprised a culmination of my mothers, my grandmothers, my great-aunt, and my 2nd cousins estates. My dad has moved on after my mom's death (more quickly than I think he should have), and it's up to me to figure out what to keep and what to toss. It's a very hard job, but if I didn't do it, everything would be gone and I wouldn't have any of the memories for any of these women who have so strongly influenced my life.

It was cold! The temperature never got out of the 20's--and the house we were working in did not have heat.  It was dirty--years of dust and dirt and mold and all kinds of nasty crap had accumulated. We wore gloves and asperators the entire time we worked in there. Everything we wore we would have burned if, you know, we were rich and could afford to go out and just replace our clothes--but we aren't-so they were bagged into a garbage bag, and then washed in hot water with oxyclean and Tide and then dried on high to kill anything that lingered.

We made HUGE progress--but it will take at least another week of hard work to get the house to a manageable position. 

The good thing is--we were so busy and consumed with getting things done, I was totally not snacking or thinking about food--or really that hungry at all.  The bad thing is--when we DID stop to eat, everything was fast food.  I stepped on the scale at my surgeons office today to check to the damage..and I was up 3 lbs from my presurgical visit on that scale (which had me at 387.8 two weeks ago).  The other bad part was that eating only junk made my tumbly off. VERY off. And I am still trying to get things back to normal in there. And I didn't drink near enough water--so it could very well be water weight.

I went to pick up my protien shakes and vitamins today, but wasn't able to get my post-op chewable calciums--they were all out of every flavor. I did get the multi-vitamins--but I'll pick up the calciums tomorrow at the hospital pharmacy when I go to visit another BBF--who is having her Rouxen Y procedure done today!

I still need to schedule my UGI and now chest x-ray.  My doctor called today to reschedule my pre-op testing, so I was able to stop by her office and get that done (she is in the same building as my surgeon--#helpful), so my pre-op is now this Friday.  I'm so glad that I didn't rush to get a super early surgery date--I didn't know I would need so much time to get the little things taken care of!

I'll keep plodding along--starting my pre-op diet on Satuday (or maybe Sunday). I have wiggle room since I technically only have to do one week-and am choosing to do two--so if I don't start right on time, I'll still be okay.

I'm starting my official countdown on Saturday--that will be 16 days out. 

Any suggestions on how to get through the pre-op diet without going crazy and eating like, a whole ham or a carton of Little Debbie Cakes? I'll take all the help I can get right now.