Two weeks from today, I'm having weight-loss surgery. Most people have heard of Lap-Band and gastric bypass; I'm having gastric sleeve, a newer operation that's less well known. Having the Lap-Band in my body doesn't feel right to me, and gastric bypass creates malabsorption problems, a problem with my anti-depressants. Gastric sleeve, then, was an easy choice.
Easy? No. The decision to have bariatric surgery wasn't easy at all. More about that another time.
Pre-surgery diet
Today, exactly two weeks before surgery, I started my pre-surgery diet. I'm sure recommendations vary from hospital to hospital; I'm having surgery at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. They recommend three meal replacements and one "real food" meal a day. I'm keeping things simple right now and having 1 protein shake and 2 protein bars as my meal replacements. Beth Israel (BI) gives several examples; I opted for Atkins Advantage and The Zone Perfect (partially because they're sold at BJ's). My biggest complaint so far is that most shakes and bars are sweet, and I'm not a "sweet" person.This morning I had an Atkins Advantage shake for breakfast, an Atkins Advantage meal replacement bar for lunch, and a Zone Perfect bar late in the afternoon. For supper, I heated some low-sodium chicken broth (a "free food" that I can have in unlimited amounts) and then a Healthy Choice frozen dinner. I'm happy to report my hunger has been totally manageable.
Today's challenges
I've had two challenges today. First, BI asks that you give up caffeine before surgery. Withdrawal symptoms can mimic dehydration symptoms, and after surgery, they want to know exactly what's going on. I've been moving from coffee to black tea, which I know has caffeine but which feels different to my body. Since I have 1-2 cups a day, I decided to just stop cold turkey today, and I've spent much of the day with a headache.My other challenge is that it's New Year's Eve. I'm a fan of staying home on holidays (my parents' preference and what I've always been used to), but I've always, ALWAYS toasted on New Year's Eve. Even when I was young, my parents would wake me up a little before midnight and I'd have a sip of champagne when the ball dropped. In recent years, my husband and I haven't always made it to midnight, but I insist on toasting before we go to bed. This often means popping the cork at 10 pm, but as long as we toast, I'm happy.
Needless to say, alcohol is not part of my pre-surgery diet. I could have a single sip, but that would mean wasting most of the bottle of champagne — and frankly, I'm not sure I could have a single sip. So as of this moment, I'm not planning on toasting at all.
Instead, as I sit with a cup of herbal tea, I'm thinking about the title of this blog: moving forward in health.
