GETTING READY

Happy New Year all of you lovely Sparkers. I am ready to make BIG changes this year.
Some of my friends and family think that I am taking a drastic step. I have enrolled in a surgical weight loss program.

I truly admire people like ~INDYGIRL AND GPALMER2019 who have lost large amounts of weight with diet and exercise, and I so wanted to be one of those people.

I have been fighting the same 10 lbs. for the last year and a half. This past June, I suffered a knee injury, and I have not been able to do much exercise. I have been enrolled in the medical management program for three years. I was doing fairly well at first, and had managed to lose 20 lbs. I had a very strict calorie range and I needed to stay on top of the exercise, but there was progress. Then it just stopped. It wasn’t a plateau, because weight started going up. I would increase my exercise, and I would then fluctuate losing and gaining. I was exercising 5-6 times a week, for 30 minutes to 2 hours a session, depending on if it was just cardio or cardio and ST. I was starting to feel exhausted, no matter, how much sleep I was getting. I was in tears at my doctor’s appointment. He ordered a sleep study and I found out I have sleep apnea. I started using a C-pap, and just as I was starting to feel energized and capable of really working out, I injured my knee. I have been off and on crutches and in and out of PT (currently in) since the end of June. When I saw my doctor in September, he said that I have a medically certifying reason for by-pass surgery. I have resisted this step, but I am caught in a catch 22; my knee situation is aggravated by the excess weight, but I can’t exercise because of my knee situation. (I actually re-injured it in November and I am now in a brace.) My metabolism is really low, so dropping my calorie intake even more is going to put me under 1000 calories a day. I am already struggling with 1100-1300 daily calories. I have gained about 20 lbs. since June, and I am now at the highest weight I have ever been in my life.

I had my initial consultation on January 2nd. I met with my bariatric doctor, who cleared me for surgery. Then I met with my dietitian. There is a process for clearance from her and from the Psychologist, with whom I also met. I must meet with them for a minimum of 3 visits. I have to demonstrate that I am ready to take this step by completing “homework” and keeping consistent food and activity logs. Thanks to Sparkpeople, I am used to doing that. I have protein and fluid goals I have to meet for my food logs, and I must practice eating ever 3-4 hours. My next visit is on the 16th, and then my third will be about 2-3 weeks after that. I am trying hard to get cleared on that third visit, as I would like to schedule my surgery for the 2nd week in March. The program requires 4 weeks off of work post-operative, so you can focus on learning your new eating practices and your new body. I have family coming to stay the summer, and I don’t want to be fresh post-op with them here.

I am nervous, but I am also ready. Here’s to creating a new me.