Thursday, March 15, 2012

A Long Long Time Ago

Well not sooooooo long ago really more like 19 or so years ago....  I was what they would call skinny fat.  I was small in size with pretty much no muscle definition and I was certainly not fit.  But boy was I thin and rocking the size 5s. 

Since then, I have had the joys of babies, fast food, pizza, Pepsi addiction, nicotine addiction, serious depression, no self confidence and becoming a professional at the yo-yo diet.  There is no one to blame for the shape I am in today except for myself and my own lack of self confidence and self image. 

Lord knows I am a professional dieter. I have done most of them out there and some that are not as easy to get into like Optifast....  I can lose weight and I have done it many times over the past 2 decades. I can not seem to maintain it and push that loss all the way to a healthy weight though. Then when I gain it back I usually manage to find a couple of extra pounds in the process. YAY!  Who doesn't love friends? 

I finally hit the wall after gaining back everything that I lost while on Optifast in a mere 6 months once I was back to eating real food.  Talk about a brutal and vicious diet!  Nothing but liquids for 20 weeks!  I was always hungry and honestly I think my brain quit during that process.

February 29th I met with Dr. Thomas Brown and his team at Colorado Bariatrics. I chose this team for a couple of reasons: my insurance company is ok with them, they have the "surgeon supervised" weight loss plan that my insurance requires, it is interdisciplinary, it is in Pres St Luke's Hospital and I have a special place in my heart for that hospital after they saved me and my son almost 14 years ago. 

I have to do a 6 month "surgeon supervised" weight loss plan. Hoorah....  Not really but I understand why the insurance company requires this.  I am actually going to take this a little farther just to make sure there is nothing that the insurance company can do to deny me on this point. I will drive the 3 hours one way to Denver and back home once a month to go to the classes in the Surgeon's office.  I am going to see a local doc here and get him to get me started on a 6 month medically supervised plan with him. I will see him once a month to weight and check in and then I will see the nutritionist for the local hospital once or twice a month.  I hope to take that time and have her get me ready for the preop and postop diets and changes. I am going to start going to the bariatric support group at the nutritionists office now as well so that I have everything firm in my life when the time comes.

I think at this point one of the hardest parts has been quitting smoking....   I went to DC Stop Smoking Center in Grand Junction and got the ear shocking therapy again.  Last time I did this, it didn't seem to be such a hard thing but I think because I was on Optifast at the time and only taking in liquids I was distracted from the nicotine withdrawal.....  I have not slept well in a week.  I wake several times a night and when I wake I am alert. Here's hoping I finally get some real sleep soon.  I have to be smoke free for 6 months and have to take urine tests in May and August.  So needless to say, I have to stick with this regardless of how hard it is. I just wish the kids and hubs would realize not to push my buttons right now....  I am trying not to gain weight since I am not allowed to between now and surgery.  If I could walk off some of the tension that would be awesome but unfortunately I am hobbled right now due to a sprained ankle.....  that story is pretty funny but I will save it for later.....  If we can't laugh at ourselves who can we laugh at?????

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