Bariatric Ballerina

So this week was a mess. I didn't track my food as I should because I was preoccupied with the pH Monitor that I was wearing until yesterday. No antacids, no Nexium until yesterday at 4:30. It was a very uncomfortable week. With the pH thing in my esophagus, it's really hard to eat because things feel like they're getting stuck. It's supposed to fall away within a week to 10 days. I hope it's soon. The good part is it slowed down my eating a lot. I couldn't drink soda because it irritated my throat and I lost weight. I'm down to 211 this morning according to my scale. My high weight on my scale is 221 so I've lost 10 pounds, though officially I am down 9 pounds per my doctor's official weight. I'm back to tracking this morning and hope to get back to exercise as well. It's a damn heat wave here though. Could get to 100 today, with heat index of 110-115. Not exactly encouraging for moving outside. I may get some yoga in later, in the comfort...

It's about 8:45 am and my endoscopy is scheduled for this afternoon. I have a half day of work and then going home and my wife will be driving me to my test. It's been a week of no Nexium. The last 2 days with no Zantac and eating Tums like they are candy. What I don't know is if I'll be able to start taking my Nexium again after the test. I'm supposed to be recording when I get hearburn afterward. I will be carrying a recorder around the size of a pager. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous. It always makes me nervous to go under anesthesia. I always worry I won't wake up. Can't wait to get some food. I'm on clear liquids until around 9:15 and then nothing. I have a tea and a water next to me. Today's test is at Johns Hopkins Hospital and although I've been there numerous times as an employee, this will be my first time as a patient. According to my scale, I have lost 6.6 pounds. My official start weight for WLS is 220. I am req...

It's hard to lose weight. It's also hard to be fat. I'm choosing my hard now. I'm tired of being fat. I'm doing this prep like it's my job. I have notes, I have a schedule. Everything I need to do is going on my work calendar so I stay on track. I've been tracking everything I eat and drink like it's my job. I'm putting everything I put in my mouth on MyFitnessPal. I'm determined that this will be the last time. No detours or pauses. Tomorrow will be the last day I take Nexium in preparation for my endoscopy next week. This is going to be tough. I can still take Zantac or Pepcid until 2 days before the procedure. Then I have to tough it out. I had a whole day at home today and I needed it. I watched the women's world cup soccer game final. USA wins again. I got my dresser drawers organized and pretty much took out anything I can't wear anymore. I decided that as I lose, I will get new clothes. I really want to purge everything that...

So yesterday was my first nutrition class. The subject was meal planning. It starts with being weighed in and then I was shown to a conference room where the day's class would begin. I have 5 of these and then the last month I have a 1 on 1 with a nutritionist.  One hour of some good information and discussion. At the end you have to come up with 3-4 goals for the next month. Mine is drinking 8 glasses of water, tracking my food and exercise, putting aside 30 minutes to plan meals and walking 30 minutes 3 times a week. I tracked my breakfast this morning and drank 2 cups of water. Saturday I will plan my meals for the next week. I will get 30 minutes of walking in this evening after it gets cooler. It's the 4th of July. I'm going to a get-together at my sister-in-laws today and there will be lots of delicious and fattening food. I plan to bring chicken and a veggie platter. Fortunately, they are trying to eat better as well and will have fruit and meat platters.  Hoping...

So why am I doing this? What's the purpose of putting myself through major surgery, psych evals, 6 months of weigh ins and logging food, liquid diets, pain, etc.? 1. Health - Unfortunately my family has a history of health issues. Diabetes, high blood pressure, arthritis, stomach ulcers, obesity, etc. I don't want to be diabetic, I don't want to have high blood pressure, I don't want my joints to ache because there's too much weight on them. 2. Life - I want to enjoy it, and not have to sit out on things that I can't do because I'm overweight. I want to climb the mountain, ride the roller coaster, swim, dance, and run if I want to. I want to not have any physical barriers to what I want to do. 3. Clothes - Let's be honest, clothes look cuter in smaller sizes, and without rolls underneath. The plus size clothes section is small and frumpy in most places. I also have a little dress that I bought in Las Vegas from a cute boutique years ago....