It's been a crazy week!

I am now one week from surgery on June 28th with Dr. J.D. Fuller @ Baptist Medical Center in Little Rock, AR and....

I have not eaten solid food for a week.

No, I am not joking, and yes I have been at work every single day of this... cooking.  For those of you that don't know me, or maybe haven't read my intro (or looked at the address to this page for that matter) I am a chef.  I am currently the Executive Chef at Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia, AR... while I really like my job, cooking, food (especially this part), and in general have a good time at work...

THIS WEEK SUCKED! 

It is to the point currently that I am over it, but earlier in the week making pizzas and burgers for 1000 kids at a time was the LAST thing I wanted to do with my time.  I wanted to hide in my office away from the smells of all these things I can't even think about having a single bite of. 

Every surgeon has different mantras, and patient rules, pre-care, requirements, and post-op care plans... some let you eat high protein low fat solid foods until a few days before your surgery and then switch you to clear liquids (anything you can see through), some put you on a full liquid diet (more on this in a moment) for a period of time, and others require nothing of you but a couple days of clear liquids prior to the cutting.

As far as how I specifically am staying alive and getting some calories / protein in throughout the day... Here is an exact list of what I am allowed to eat taken straight off of my pre-op emails. This is considered a full liquid diet for those wondering -

Your will need to drink 3 protein shakes daily, one for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. We do not require you to purchase a particular brand of shakes. Some good examples would be Slim Fast Shakes, AdvantEdge Carb Control Shakes, or Adkins Advantage Shakes. You may supplement the 3 main meals with sugar free clear liquids and sugar free full liquids.

Examples of Sugar free Clear Liquids and Full Liquids:

            Fat Free broth                                    

Sugar free Jell-O (nothing added)

Coffee or Tea

Unsweetened fruit juices

Sugar free plain popsicles

Sugar free flavored beverages (Crystal Light, Sugar free Kool-aid, Very Fine H2O)

Hot cereals (oatmeal, cream of wheat)

Fat free cream soups (ex. Healthy Choice Cream of Mushroom, Tomato Soup)

Skim Milk or Fat free Milk

V-8 Vegetable Juice

Sugar free pudding

Sugar Free Low Fat yogurt

Liquids sweetened with Sweet-n-low, Equal, or Splenda are OK!!

Now - I know that this list seems pretty long, and it is... but when you go from cooking great food and tasting as you go to make it the best you can; to jello and protein drinks... Something is left to be desired.  The secret surviving this process is flavor... if you can't find something you like on this list - you're going to cheat yourself out of the ultimate diet plan which is making a safer surgical environment via shrinking the fat in the liver, and making a little room in the skin.  Cheating on your surgeon's pre-op diet can cause a variety of problems but the most important three I can think of are -

~ Cheating yourself out of changing your mind set of how you need to look at food for this diet... it takes a lot of reprogramming to be able to change your eating habits.  We need the time given during this phase to make us ready for what lies ahead.

~ Not shrinking the liver - thus making your surgeon have to maneuver around it possibly causing damage to it, other organs around it... the other major half of a fatty liver is the possibility of converting from a laparoscopic surgery to an open surgery - This means going from five tiny cuts to what I can only equate to what happens to the girl that runs upstairs w/ the killer in the house in every bad horror movie - a slice down the chest from belly button to sternum.... Ouch.

~OR and the BIG ONE: Your surgeon may not even work around it and your surgery will get cancelled or postponed - meaning you get all of the awesome recovery of being cut open, and none of the benefits of actually having your procedure done.

Current Stats / Update on MY diet.
I have not cheated on my diet, and I don't think it's going to be a problem for another week.  At this point I am used to it and barely feeling hunger at all.  The first 3 days of the diet were the hardest, but if commitment can get you through those; the rest are easier!  In the 7 days I have been doing this diet - I lost 20 lbs!  I am currently at 388.1 on the scale, and a week ago I weighed in at 408 at Dr Fuller's office.  I am not silly enough to think that all of this was legit weight loss (a lot of it I am sure is water weight that is being released), but it's a great start anyway!


That being out of the way - I have some things that may help people just starting out on this journey specific to my diet plan...

Greek yogurt is AMAZING - You have to watch the sugar and get lower sugar options and add your own Splenda, but the thick creamy texture of this pudding like yogurt really saved me on filling up my stomach.  Key brands to try - Chobani, Oikos, Fage - Vanilla and Plain are the best bet because they are usually much lower sugar than the Honey flavors.  P.S. - This yogurt has 12-18 grams of protein, 0 fat, and only 110 ish calories per container.  That is like gold on a nutrition label to me!

Find the right protein drink - do NOT wait until your liquid diet starts to find your protein of choice.  If it's not working for you and you're mid-battle... it's like having your gun barrel pointing at the cheat button... You
NEED this to work for you.  The brands that worked for me are Chocolate, Strawberry, and Vanilla Muscle Milk Light (though this one has a few more carbs than are really recommended), Myoplex Vanilla / Chocolate, and 4everwhey Vanilla (this one is not a thick shake, but its 0 carb 0 fat 0 sugar, so it works well w/ 1 scoop of another flavor to add more protein for less calories / etc).  Before I forget; a word on proteins and amounts to use at a time - more than 30-35 grams can not be absorbed in one serving.  Most protein powders are 30 or less, but a tip - Using more than 30 grams of protein at a time won't hurt... but it'll definitely cost more and you won't utilize it.

Last but not least - Crystal light is a BEAST.  For people like me who eat for flavor and not hunger... this is a very low calorie way to get some flavor in the middle of the day or between meals, and to make sure you stay hydrated!

I think this is all I have to say for now, but I will definitely let you all know what comes next, and my impressions before and after surgery happens next Tuesday.

Thanks for reading, and Good Luck!

The road goes on and I'm finally moving down it!

Ok... So this has been a very sparse blog as of yet, and that was because everything had been moving slowly for me in my search to get surgery set up.

That wait is over!  I am scheduled for Laparoscopic Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass (which you will see me refer to as RNY) with Dr. J.D. Fuller on the 28th of June!  The surgery will be at Baptist Health Medical Center in Little Rock, AR.

I know I know... I told everyone that I was going to do Lap-Band and I was... but the surgeon and my PCP (primary care physician) told me that RNY would be a better option for me to help me get to a healthy and sustainable weight.  At first, I was at the point where I could really care less what either of them thought and was willing to tell them forget about it; give me the Lap-Band or forget the whole thing.  At the end of the day though... I decided to look into the differences in each procedure and the outcomes possible after following the requirements set forth by both. 

After a lot of research; and lets quantify that... I read 4 books, spent nearly 100 hours reading about the different surgeries, and read thousands of testimonials from non commercial forums... I decided I was okay with doing RNY Bypass.  In fact, I believe that in the end it will create a much better outcome and my life will be changed in a far more positive way than Lap-Band could do for me. 

So... with that decision being made - I went and paid the hospital and surgeon fees ($1,786.00) after insurance, and set the date.  I have an entire gambit of pre-tests that they want to run on the 15th as well as a visit to the in-practice dietitian.  Should be an interesting day full of lots of needles and signing papers telling me all the ways I will be able to die by paying these people to cut me open.  I am stoked!


I have met some people through a fantastic website called obesityhelp.com and I think that they, along  with my fantastic girlfriend and family will be the key to my success in the long run.  Support is so important, and if my support system has anything to do with it, this will be a fantastic experience for me!

I will have more soon, but for now... patiently waiting until the 15th and much more information to be had then!

Solon

Waiting...

So March 3rd I was eligible for the insurance company to receive my pre-determination for surgery...and at this point I am still waiting for it.  There was a two week delay before it was actually sent in due to paperwork not being completed by my PCP. 

I have been calling the insurance company every couple days to see if my surgery has been approved yet or not and at this point it is still not ok'd; so with that being said not much going on in that part of my life.

I have given up Diet Coke... and caffiene...yup... the life force.  Those of you that know me will know that it was my primary source of water, sodium, energy, and my security blanket for most of my life.  I have not had any carbonated caffiene (or any large amount of caffiene at all) for three weeks now.  So far so good; I no longer have urges to go back to it and at this point I am sure it wouldn't taste as good anyway. 


That's pretty much it... More when I have more!

Thanks for reading.

Welcome

Hello there!  Welcome to my first blog... also my first attempt at putting anything other than a few forum messages out into the multi verse that is the Internet!  I guess first things first I should introduce myself and tell you what this is and why it all came about.

My name is Solon and I LOVE food.  In fact I love it so much that I decided to go to culinary school and spend my life making great food for other people (and myself) but more on that later... it's not the focus of this blog!  It's not a love to eat thing (although there has certainly been more than enough of that), and it's not even eating the food that gets me in the end... It's the food itself... food can represent hundreds if not thousands of cultures, families, friends, gatherings, holidays.  Food plays ridiculously important roles in almost every single milestone in our lives... it's there at our birthdays, Christmas parties, Halloween, Thanksgiving, first dates, weddings, anniversaries, and even our funerals.  No matter how we look at food Humanity as a whole has a very intimate relationship with this fuel that runs our lives, and if it's not paid attention to some people can end up with severe emotional attachments to it and/or health issues from it. 

I am a Chef for a company called Sodexo.  My specific unit runs food services for a small private university in Arkansas.  On average we feed anywhere from 1600-1800 meals per day plus any retail business we do on the other side of campus.  With this many people coming through and readily available unending amounts food choices it can be hard to a) find time to sit down and eat appropriately and b) make the right food choices while eating on the go.  After years of dealing with this, and just generally not paying attention to my body's needs etc... one thing is abundantly clear.... I am a fat kid.

I have never been skinny, and over the years with eating on the go and having gourmet / unending food access via my career... the pounds added on and on and on until I got to the point I am at now.  I am still a healthy (as healthy as can be at this weight) individual, but I am not able to do the things that I want to do in live, and I know my health can only hang on for so long before deteriorating drastically.  It is time to make an adjustment... urgently.
My choices and making myself take time to eat and do things the way are becoming a new focus in my life, and my commitment to these changes is coming from my decision to have weight loss surgery in the form of Lap Band.  It was something I have seen many people use and succeed with, and while it was not a quick decision... in the end it was a very easy one.  I needed help, and I always will... It is defeating to say, but willpower alone does not work for me; I need something more...something to help me guide that willpower.

My request for a pre-determination (approval) from my surgeon was sent in on March 3rd and I am quietly and patiently awaiting the approval to go ahead and have my surgery.  While I wait I have started some things in my life that I think will only help as I leave the starting gates in this adventure...

a)  I bought Power 90 - This is the precursor to the ever feared P90x workout.  Trust me this scares me enough, and I think if I had to try to do the P90x it might kill my fat butt.

b)  I bought a set of high quality resistance bands to use during this Power 90 death machine I will be initiating. 

c)  I started this blog... and if anyone is reading it... Thank you for becoming part of my change.

d)  I will be starting a Vlog on YouTube.com and doing a video journal of my weight loss changes over the next...well... possibly forever really because that is how long this change is going to have to stay to make me successful!

I don't really know who to end this so to whoever was here and saw this... Thank you for reading... and I'll be around!

Solon