PRE-OP DIET - DAY 2...

Well... yesterday was rather easy... no hunger at all. Today I started out hungry-ish & had just a slight edge of hunger throughout the day. Not bad, just more aware, I guess.  

10am - Muscle Milk. 11 oz shake, vanilla cream. 180 cal. 20g protein

.............better than the chocolate, I thought, but still really sweet. 

12pm - Swansons Natural Goodness chicken broth, low sodium, 1 cup. 15 cal. 2g protein ............added some curry to it to add a little flavor.

2:30pm - Muscle Milk. 11 oz shake, vanilla cream. 180 cal. 20g protein + 1/2 cup skim milk (45 cal. 4.5g protein)

............cut this one w/ some milk to cut the sweet a bit, didn't make much difference. 

7pm - Carnation Breakfast Essentials, NSA w/ skim milk. 150 cal. 14g protein.......I like this stuff but can't really think of it as high protein & something that will help satisfy me long term. 

10:30pm - Carnation Breakfast Essentials, NSA w/ skim milk. 150 cal. 14g protein

11:30pm - Edy's Real Fruit bar. lime. 45 cal......... yum! :o)

All in all it was a good day. Haven't hit the 5-6 drinks/day goal yet, but that's okay.... I was told to hit 60g of protein, so that hasn't been an issue.

765 calories

74.5g protein

On to day 3!

PRE-OP DIET - DAY 1...

Well... here we go. Day 1 of my pre-op liquid protein diet. I slept in, so didn't get started until noon.

12pm - EAS Myoplex orig. 17oz shake, chocolate fudge. 300 cal. 42g protein.................blended w/ ice... it was okay, not fabulous, but I didn't have to choke it down, which is good. A little too "frothy", since we're not supposed to drink it w/ a straw. Think this amount/calories was too much for 1 serving. Good thing I only bought a 4-pack.

3pm - Muscle Milk. 11 oz shake, chocolate. 180 cal. 20g protein + 1/2 cup milk (45cal. 4.5g protein) ...............um, WAY too sweet! Drinking it straight from the bottle. Not really "gag", but way too sweet. About half way through the bottle I cut it w/ some skim milk...better, but still really sweet! Will try their vanilla next... I'm doubtful it'll be less sweet, though.

9pm - Carnation Breakfast Essentials, NSA w/ skim milk (double batch) 150x2=300 cal. 14x2=28g protein  ...............yeah, I know, 9pm. Went out w/ hubby, had drink w/ me but never drank it until late. This stuff is fairly good... basic chocolate milky, not too sweet, but not all that high in protein, compared to the other stuff.

That's it for the day. It was rather easy, except for the sticky-sweet drinks.

825 calories
94.5g protein
.............more than enough calories & protein.

I can't believe I'm supposed to drink 5-6 of these sweet drinks a day. Will be happy to throw some broth into the mix. Thinking about adding some seasonings to it, like curry. Don't think that'll mess things up if I do.

I'm going to Sam's Club tomorrow to pick up some Premier protein shakes... dietitian told me they were supposed to be good. Hope so!

On to day two!!

INTRODUCTION...

Just thought I'd write a little bit more about myself, in case someone does actually stumble upon this blog. :o)

My name is Julie & I'm a married mother of 2 awesome teenage boys. I'm a glass bead artist... I make glass beads & objects and I LOVE IT!! Here's a bowl of beads soaking in water...a few days worth of work...

Click on the picture for more detail. Awesome, huh? :o)

I've always been creative & am so happy, being able to do what I do. I'm also very blessed to have a husband who supports his family & gives me the freedom to do what I love! If you'd like to see more of my work, head on over to my website, CREDIT RIVER ART GLASS. 


I've also had weight problems all of my adult life... since high school, really. Up until 2003, I had tried mostly things like Weight Watchers, lost 10-20 lbs, then would quit, gain it back & then some. (If I only knew then what I know now, I never would've started that first diet!) Gradually getting heavier & heavier... especially after having kids.

In 2003 I joined Weight Watchers for the last time & over the next year & 1/2 I successfully lost 90 lbs. I had more to go, but I was happy w/ where I was @ the time. I felt great, life was good. I was heavily involved in a great message board that kept me motivated, as well as busy! I was able to maintain that loss, give or take 10 lbs, until I found glass in early 2007! I became obsessed w/ it & lost focus on ME. I realize now that I was so hyper focused on myself w/ my weight that any little deviation in my plan would've knocked me off course anyway. I kept up the good eating habits for quite a while but stopped finding time to get to the gym. Gradually, over about 4 years, the weight came back on until I found myself about 10 lbs heavier than my highest weight. I realize now that even thought I was happy w/ my life.... glass, family, etc... I was seriously depressed & the inability to control my weight made it even worse. You know that cycle...

Anyway... I have the depression under control now, THANK GOD, but am still miserable w/ my weight & my inability to control it. My doctor has brought up the subject of weight loss surgery (WLS) to me several times over the past few years.... at first I didn't even consider it. I've never been the type to jump on any fad diet wagon or anything...I considered WLS to be an extreme thing that I wasn't willing to even go there. I also looked at it as a cop-out... an easy fix. (oh, I know better!) Over time, however, w/ much research & even more weight gain, I realized that I was in a never ending cycle that I seriously needed to do something about.  I stopped looking @ WLS as an easy fix.... realizing that I was still going to be required to do all of the work & instead, I started looking at WLS as an amazing tool that I've never had access to before. Yeah, I know how to lose weight & yeah, I should be able to do this on my own, but for some reason, I haven't been able to. WLS is a permanent fix. Yeah, I know weight can still be gained if you try, but the fact is that a large part of my stomach is going to be removed & I'm going to have minimum capacity there. I'm taking a huge risk to do this & I'm not about to be stupid about it. I know how important getting the right nutrition is going to be & I also know I'll need to move my butt. This is the heavy hand that I obviously need to get this job done! I'm not taking this lightly. 


.............so... that's enough about me today. :o)


Till next time...

IN THE BEGINNING...

I decided to start a completely new blog to help me document my new weight loss journey through weight loss surgery. The "rebirth" in the blog title is because I already went through a Weight Watchers journey as "Remodeling.Me", complete w/ website, blog, etc. Did fairly well over several years, then crashed & burned over the past 5 years, as my focus went elsewhere. I have a really hard time NOT looking back @ how I did, how I was... WHO I was during my successful time during that journey, finding my failure fairly depressing & am trying really hard to separate this new journey from the previous one. Still love Remodeling.Me, it really fits me & fits what I'm doing... but since this is a new journey, I wanted to start fresh... new blog, new outlook, etc..... so REBIRTH. 

My surgery date is set for August 9th, 2012... just 12 short days away! I'll be having the Vertical Sleeve procedure done & am really pleased that this is the way I've decided to go. I know it's drastic, but I feel like it's the right "untapped" tool for my arsenal. I've struggled w/ my weight for so long & know what it takes to live a healthy lifestyle, but after so many years of backpedaling, I've decided it's just really time to put the brakes on & regroup. This procedure gives me no choice in the matter... I obviously need a heavy hand right now, so here I am.

I start my 10 day liquid protein diet in 2 days & am ready to go. My hubby took me out to our favorite pizza place today, Pizza Luce, so I could enjoy my last bit of pizza for a while. Kind of my "Farewell Stomach" celebration. :o) It was a good send-off, & fairly guilt-free, as our favorite pizza is a thin crust Greek vegetarian... so good. I'm actually looking forward to this upcoming restrictive liquid diet for a bit, ready to let food go for a while... take the choice out of my hands while I regroup. My dietitian says I'm going to be hungry & crabby this first 10 days before surgery... I hope I handle it better than that, but I'm ready to take it on.

I've taken my before pictures & measurements.... knowing that it's always a good idea to have those starting numbers to have something real to compare your progress to as you go. I definitely NEED the pictures along the way to show me the visible changes, as I don't really see them otherwise. I'm considering video, too...

Can't tell you how tough it is to see these full body shots, but it's my reality & it's time to face it! & yeah, I know, I need to smile, LOL, but I don't feel very photogenic @ this weight, so I'll pass, for now. :o)

So... this is me, BEFORE, at 272 lbs. I'm actually down from my all-time high of 285 lbs from my first visit to the bariatric clinic. I'll post my pre-op weight after I finish my 10 day liquid protein diet, just before surgery. 

Anyway... this is me. For now.