Possible Set Back

Tomorrow Im supposed to meet with the Nutritionist. I dont know if Ill make that appointment as Im suffering with terrible neck pain. I thought Id slept wrong but the pain is worse today and I have a large lump on the back of my neck. (possible pinch nerve?) I also have slight numbness down my left arm. Ill be seeing a doctor tomorrow to see whats going on.

 If Im better I should be doing my sleep study Friday night. I hope this issue wont cause me to get behind on appointments. I have had a rough week! I suffered with a stomach virus Tuesday-Friday and then Saturday was hit with neck pain! 

Praying things calm and settle soon.

two of six

Monday I went to my second pre-op visit for a weight check. It was a short appointment where he asked about my eating habits. I was excited to tell him Ive stopped drinking soft drinks!!! Its been four weeks since I had a soft drink! I drink only water and maybe one cup of coffee a day. I eat the six meals a day ..... example:  yogurt or boiled egg (breakfast) protein shake (around 10m) lunch around 1 which is a salad with egg or turkey in it or a turkey sandwich on wheat bread. around 3 protein shake or bar and then dinner (from the cook book) and many times a light snack like apples and cottage cheese. He said as long as i continue these things Ill do great and lose a lot!

In 1.5 weeks I will see the Nutritionist and then a Psychiatrist and a sleep study.

Only four more visits of weight checks!

Goulash

My doctor recommended that I purchase, read and live by the book,

 Eating for Life by Bill Phillips.

I found it on Amazon for under $5 (and that's with shipping!)

Bill Phillips is a body builder. In this book he teaches to eat six times a day small protein packed foods, including carbohydrates! (from the list he provides) 

The majority of the book is filled with recipes and tonight I cooked American Goulash from this book. I changed is slightly but it was so yummy!

American Goulash

ground turkey, tomato sauce (with no salt) onions, zucchini, green peppers, pink Himalayan salt, chili seasoning, cayenne pepper, fettuccine pasta

 Brown turkey and remove from pan. Cook onions, zucchini and green peppers in a little olive oil. Add back the turkey and can of tomato sauce along with seasonings. heat until hot. Cook pasta and drain. Add a little olive oil. Put a fist size of pasta on plate and pour meat mixture over the top.

On my way

Last week I checked a lot of things off my list when I went to an appointment at the local hospital for and EKG, Labwork, Chest XRay and UpperGI tests.

Next week I see the surgeon for the second time.

I have stopped drinking sodas and increased my water intake. Ive consumed up to 64 oz in a day but thats not an average day.  I consume a very small amount of caffeine and am trying to limit my sugar intake. I now eat six times a day (as instructed by my doctor) in small amounts and a lot of protein.

Making this choice for surgery is not taking the easy way out. Its a lot of hard work, breaking habits, eating a different way, and  exercising, Surgery is simply a tool to help me lose a little faster but with the same hard work!

Review of the past and looking forward to the future

I cannot believe that we are five months into the year 2015. Its been busy thus far but not as busy as 2014.

Last year we started the year by rescuing Lucky-Bear. We bottle fed him every two hours just like a newborn baby! We found and met my husband's son.My children met their oldest brother for the first time. It was an emotional weekend but an amazing time! We cannot wait to see him again in a few months! My oldest child (and only son) returned from Afghanistan safe and sound Memorial weekend (2014) 

My middle daughter, had quite the year as well! She graduated high school and a few short weeks later, after an emergency trip to the ER, she had heart surgery (Ablation) it was scary but it healed her and she is no longer a cardiac patient! She has taken a year off while working part time at a grocery store but will soon begin Cosmetology school! 

Last year about this time we made a drive to Charlotte North Carolina so that my husband and oldest daughter could ride in a real Nascar around the track side by side! Man, those were fun memories! 

I enjoyed a girls weekend with a good friend in the Outer Banks and marked off a few things off my bucket list....  by visiting several lighthouses!  

For so many years Ive battled my weight issues. In 2014 I tried green smoothies. They are actually good and a great way to get greens in but that didn't help me lose weight which is why Ive started this journey in 2015 with the Gastric Sleeve.  While I did make it through a 5K run (walk) in 2014, my goal is to run the entire 5K in 2016! 

If you haven't been  following me for long, you can click on the links above to see my posts from 2014. its was quite the year last year and I think my current journey will compete with last year... but this year its more about "me" about getting healthy, feeling better about myself and losing weight.

Interesting photo/facebook post

I found this photo on Facebook and found it fitting.

My Support System

He supports my decision to lose weight this way and get healthier! 

That means alot! 

 

Dangers in Chicken Keeping

What a weekend! The chicken coup needed a deep clean and I worked on that this weekend. However, when I was in there spreading fresh straw a piece poked right into my eyeball. 

This morning it was still very red and draining. I ended up at the eye doctor before work. After he put a dye in my eye and looked with a special light, he saw I had a scratch on the cornea. 

He put in antibiotic drops and patched it and sent me off to work.

Oh the preschoolers loved that! I was told that I look like a pirate and they asked if my eyeball fell out and all sorts of funny questions. I came home totally drained and with a terrible headache! 

Who knew that chicken keeping could be so dangerous?

My Choice

I know quite a few people who have had the Gastric Bypass. This is where the surgeon cuts part of the stomach out and makes a smaller pouch and then he will reroute or bypass part of the intestines to reduce absorption of nutrients. This is a major surgery and limits the amount and types of foods that you can eat (for the rest of your life) For example, most can no longer eat any sugar in addition to other foods. I DO NOT WANT THIS TYPE OF SURGERY! I don't think I need this one. 

I have chosen the Gastric Sleeve. This is a newer surgery that some surgeons are doing. The sleeve's results are comparable to the Gastric Bypass but its less invasive with shorter hospital stay and shorter recovery time. It also has less side effects. 

After explaining to my surgeon that these were the reasons I wanted the sleeve over other options, he agreed that those facts were correct and that the sleeve would be his suggestion for me as well.