I have heard horror stories through the years of the pre op diet "a.k.a 'The Liver Shrinking Diet.'" For those of you who may not know, you have to go on a high protein, low sugar/low carb, and low fat diet before surgery (usually two weeks). So, I have to admit that I was not really looking forward to this day. After hearing from many different people, I have decided that my doctor's plan isn't as bad as some of the all liquid protein diets other doctors have their patients go through. At my center (which is a Bariatric Center of Excellence) they want you to use a meal replacement plan called New Direction for those two weeks, which I have to use four of those each day. I also have to take in 1 (and only 1) 4 oz portion of lean meat (96% fat free or more). Besides that, I have unlimited amounts of low calorie drinks (5 calories or less a.k.a Crystal Light, Powerade Zero), SF Popsicles, SF jello, and non starchy veggies. The no nos for those two weeks (but SOME can be added after surgery, as tolerated) is anything with more than 5g of carbs, starchy veggies, bacon, dairy (which I am a huge dairy lover), no oils/butters, no carbonation, and the biggy....no salmon. That last one is probably gonna kill me the next two weeks because we eat salmon at least once a week.
My doctor's office lets you pick 8 different boxes from the system, so you really get to pick what you like (and if you have food allergies like I do), things you can eat. I got 4 packs of bars (1 of which is a variety pack) 2 different drinks, 1 soup, and a pudding. So, I tried 3 different bars today and was thinking that they were actually pretty tasty. One of them even tasted just like a candy bar. I let my husband try a nibble of two of them (he didn't like the flavors of the third that I tried) and he even said they were pretty good. I fixed a lovely little dinner of chicken breast stuffed with onions and garlic, then topped with different spices. I also made a side salad and some herb baked squash. All was very yummy....UNTIL....IT HAPPENED!! A couple of hours after dinner, I decided to go ahead and get in my last meal replacement for the day. I remembered that I had a chocolate pudding set and thought...that sounds good. BOY WAS I WRONG!!! It's a powder that you have to mix with 6 oz to 8oz of water. When I mixed it with 6oz, it seemed really thin so I didn't add anymore water. When I tried it, it tasted NOTHING like any pudding I've ever had. After the look on my face, hubby decided not to try that one. lol. I told him it was too bad that I couldn't pass it off to our pups. I finally did choke it down but man was it awful. I have 7 more lovely packs of that stuff. (sarcasm). I think I am going to try to blend it with ice next time and hopefully make a protein shake from it. ((oh joy)). I guess dreams really do come true....but certainly not free!!
The other part of the day is that after 2 1/2 year of marriage, my driver's licenses FINALLY has my married name on them. In my state, we have to get a new license every 4 years. If you have to change name/address (or loose them) and get new ones, you still have to pay the full amount and keep the same date you had before, so I kept the ones with my maiden name until they expired (which was this month). I was excited to take my last 'big gurl' licenses picture!!! Maybe when I take the next one if four years, I will be under the 190lbs that mine currently say that I am (I never changed it after I got my permit.....who does? lol) So before we left for the DMV, I got the hubby to take a couple of pictures of me. That is part of what I really want to chronicle through this journey is the physical changes through pictures and the mental changes through my words.
I want to give a huge shout out to my husband. He has been amazing through this process. He supports me, metaphorically kicks my tail when need be, and holds me when the tears (good or bad) comes! I couldn't do this without you, Babe! I love you!
Until Next Time,
Cass
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