I have a lot to do before the surgery

Weight Loss Surgery Requirements

1. Appointment Made: 1/9 -Done
2. Seminar: December 21st-Done
3. 2 Support Group Meetings-1/12 & 2/8-Done: Continuing to go
4. Nutrition Consult(6 consecutive months): 1/15, 2/14, 3/14, 4/12
5. Psychological Consult:
6. Labs(Blood work):
7. Chest Xray:
8. EKG: 4/11-Done
9. Cardiac Clearance: Cardiac consult: 4/11 Echo: 4/17 Echo stress test 4/19 Results Appointment: 5/11(hopefully I will be cleared then)
10. Pulmonary Clearance: Pulmonary: April 2nd-Done
11. Mammogram: 12/29-Done & Faxed
12. Pap
13. Most Recent Pre-Op Visit
14. Join a Gym
15. Pre Surgery Education
16. Surgery

Nutrition Visit #1

My first visit to the nutritionist was January 15th. 


Doug and I went to my first appointment and I already knew what I was going to hear.
There's no doubt in my mind or anyones mind I eat too much. I had to keep a food diary for 3 days before my appointment.

She showed me a new way of eating. Is it easy? No its not. But I'm trying.

35-45 grams of Carbs per meal. 15 grams of Carbs for snacks. 6-8 ounces of Protein a day. 5-7 teaspoons of fat per day.

So now I have to do a 30 day diary of what I eat every day.

My next appointment is Valentines Day.

Support Group

On January 12th I went to my first support group, which was amazing.

They discussed everything. People asked questions. The doctor was there. Also nurses and nutritionist.
I watched a woman get a pin for hitting 100 pounds. I heard women and men talk about the struggles, the highs and lows. It was amazing. I listened to the fears of others. The encouragement from those who have already been through the surgery. People laughed and cried. There was nearly 80 people there.
I have to go to 2 manditory group meetings but I intend to go to many more. They are so interesting. And you learn so much.
The question and answer portion is the best though. To hear what all these people have gone through and not in a totally negative way. Its just awesome. To see the progress they have made.
To hear what medicines they have come off of since having the surgery. I'm really excited about that.

My first challenge for the next month was to drink 64 ounces of water a day.


I'm going to add the next Support Group to this post because I'm behind in my posting.

February 8th:

Tonights Support Group was interesting. Doug went with me tonight.

I turned in my challenge. I DID IT! at least 64 ounces of water every day!

We had a special speaker. She was a dietician. She talked about different things that cause you to gain weight after losing weight by gastric bypass or by using medicines to lose weight.

We heard questions about how do we change the way we eat when we love food so much.
We heard a man talk about how a rescue of a patient was the last straw and he chose to have the surgery.

There was no pins given tonight. But it was still a great meeting.

Our next challenge is to eat 3 meals a day.

The Beginning

On December 9th, I went to my consultation with Dr. Spencer at Weight Loss Center at Chesapeake Regional.

A few days before my appointment I received a phone call from his office saying that my insurance company approved my surgery. Talk about being shocked! We had decided to try and pay cash for the operation. This was such a blessing to hear.

So, Doug and I went to my appointment and I weighed in and then talked to his assistant. Then Dr. Spencer came in. He talked to us about the whole process. I have learned details I had no clue about.

And the process begins. I have a list of things I have to do before the surgery and I'm excited and nervous but I'm ready for this.

I hear people say all the time....weight loss surgery is the easy way out. I laugh about that statement but it truly confuses me. I would love for someone to explain to me what is easy about only being able to eat 1oz of food at a meal. What's easy about having to go on a liquid diet for a week to more before surgery. Going to the hospital and being put under and having your stomach cut, intestine cut and glued back in another position. What's easy about not being able to drink 30 minutes before or after eating. Having to crush up all your medicines. Having to work your way up to drinking 64 ounces of water a day but not filling up at meal time on liquid. Not being able to have anything but liquids for at least a week up to 2 weeks and then moving to baby food(puree) stage for a month. Then to soft stage food. Not being able to eat regular food for 6 months to a year. To never be able to eat certain foods again for fear of having dumping syndrome. There's also the chance of losing too much weight.  Before you tell someone they are taking the easy way out, do some research. 

Just to make it clear, I'm not having this surgery to get "skinny". I've never wanted to be "skinny". I want to be healthy. I want to stop taking insulin & metformin. I want to stop using my CPAP machine. I want to do things that I cant do now. I want to be able to go places with my husband and take the stairs. I want to spend time with my grandchildren and do fun things. That's why I want to have the surgery.

I've had people try and guilt trip me into not having the surgery. God made me but I put the food in my mouth. It's not going to work. This is something I and my husband have discussed for years.

“Do something today that your future self will thank you for.” Anonymous

“Improvement begins with I.” Anonymous

1 John 4:19 We love because God first loved us.