A Whole New Perspective on this WLS thing...

Let me pick this back up by saying that I did start on my new diet on Monday. I had a shake for breakfast, a protein bar for am snack, another shake around lunch time, another protein bar for afternoon snack and a dinner that conisisted of a lean protein and vegetables. On Monday, I had a total of 970 calories and on Tuesday I had about 1010. On Tuesday night, I was starving. I also had 92 ounces of liquid. Also during lunch time, I've been walking around going up stairs and such which was roughly 1/2 mile. On Monday I walked a mile on the treadmill and on Tuesday, I went to water aerobics. I love water aerobics.

This morning was my appointment with the dietician, exercise specialist, and psychologist. The absolute first thing that we did was I weighed in. I lost 1.7 pounds (mind you, I didn't start this until Monday). It's not much, but I'll take it!

First was diet. She asked about my eating habits and food preferences. We all know that I have some very bad eating habits; however, her biggest concerns are that I am skipping meals and not getting enough liquid. While she loved my enthisium, she said I over did it on the calorie cutting. She gave me a new diet plan to stick to. It includes a shake for breakfast, protein bar for snack, lean protein and veggies for lunch, protein bar for snack, lean protein and veggies for lunch, and if I feel I am still hungry at night I can have another shake or I can sugar free jello or a sugar free popsicle. No starchy veggies, no starches, no fruit. It will be hard at time, but, I can do this.

Next was excercise. He was pretty impressed with what I've done so far and wants me to keep it up. He does want me to watch my intensity. It's not about intensity: it's about consisentcy. Fat burn actually happens in zone 1 of heart rate. I should be keeping my heart rate between 115-124. It's hard because I feel that I'm not pushing myself at that rate. But, I'm going to keep trying. I also have to do some stretching every day. He suggested that I take two tests. One shows my metabolic rate. The other is an actual physical test that shows where my fat burn is happening. So, I'm going to give this month a try with the diet and excerise and see where I am.

Finally, was psychology. I was nervous and not looking forward to this. As a psychology minor, I imagined every kind of test possible that could be done. You have to pass psychology to get the surgery because there are many different issues that can prevent you from being a success. Before I had my visit with the doctor, I had to complete an 18 page questionnaire about different aspects of my life. He came in and started asking me questions about my support system (which includes of you since you all are so supportive), my childhood, my marriage, my job, my school and my goals. Dr. Keller really made me feel good about myself. He told me that I am the perfect patient for this surgery. He said with because I am self-reliant and self-disciplined that he can tell that I am a go-getter and set out to accomplish what I am doing. He can tell that I am hard worker and what is really important to me. It has been really easy in this infertility thing to lose sight of my strength and good qualities. I know you all tell me this all the time because it felt a little more real knowing someone that I just met recognized it. His only concern is that because I am so Type A and goal minded, that I can take the surgery restrictions too far. I can cut too many calories (obviously, I was already told that I did that) or excercise too much which can be bad because then your body thinks you are starving it and starts storing because it's not sure when you'll feed it again. I just have to be careful and follow the diet as planned not to maximize the weight loss. With the goal of a baby in sight, I have a strong enough goal to help keep that in perspective. He said that the Weight Loss Surgery (WLS) is not about weight loss. While the weight loss will be dramactic and worth celebrating, I really need to focus on the metabolism recharging which will help keep the weight off for good and keep me healthy.

So, it was a good day and I walked away with a different perspective on the whole WLS thing and a recharged self-confidence in myself. I go back on the 21st of November so be praying for me as I dig into this pre-op diet to lose my 10%. I almost have 2 pounds off of that so celebrate that with me!