One week before surgery

Over and over, the staff at Beth Israel has said that weight-loss surgery is a tool. It's not a magic solution — it's just another tool in the box.  

I've heard of a hospital requiring patients to lose 30-40 pounds before weight-loss surgery. Beth Israel asks patients to lose a very modest amount, just 5-10 pounds, to prove you can follow a healthy eating plan and use the tool wisely. 

From July to December, I worked hard and lost 10 pounds. I cut back my wine with dinner, bought a community-supported agriculture (CSA) farm share so I'd have fresh vegetables to cook, ate more fruit, drastically cut back on fast food, drank more water and incorporated healthy snacks. I tried to eat on a regular schedule, and I walked. I also found a therapist who specializes in food issues (more on that another time) and kept food journals that we reviewed each week.

In December, I regained 3 pounds. I tried to be gentle with myself; it's just 3 pounds, after all. But, another part of me said, it's 30 percent of what you've lost; imagine if you lost 100 pounds and regained 30 percent of that! Well, yeah, that's true. Still, it wasn't 30 pounds. It was 3. 

Happily, I've lost those 3 and a little more so far in my pre-surgery diet. And man, it feels good. My jeans are a little looser, and it's awesome to see the number on the scale going down — knowing as the number decreases, my health increases.

Caffeine update

As of today, I'm back off caffeine. I did that one day cold-turkey and then did about a week of half-caf. Now, the last week before surgery, I'm off completely. I had a mild headache today, but nothing bad. 

Pre-admission testing

Late Friday afternoon, a nurse from pre-admission testing called. In 20 minutes, we went over my health history and medications. And a funny thing happened: I got nervous. So many people have asked if I'm nervous, and the honest answer has been "no." Until Friday evening. I didn't have a lot of time to dwell on my nerves, though, since Saturday we drove to New York for a funeral. We returned last night, and this morning I had a pre-admission testing appointment at BI. 

After a slightly stressful drive (my Google Maps app decided to take me off the highway and onto a route I wasn't familiar with), I arrived early. And they took me early! First someone drew blood, and then a nurse practitioner anesthesiologist went over my history and did a brief exam. She was reassuring, and my nerves disappeared.