Countdown to PreOp Diet

Happy Monday everyone. 

I've been so busy with my new job. To be completely honest, I'm not really liking it that much, so in actively looking for something else. 

As September comes to an end, I come closer to the start of my pre-op dieting. My pre-op diet will consist of no more than 870 calories per day. This means that I will be drinking 3-4 protein shakes a day and then eating 1 lean cuisine type meal. I will be starting this October 1 as my surgery date is October 26. 

The reason that my surgeons want me doing this, and any surgical patient, is to lose as much liver weight as possible before the surgery. This is because they lift up your liver during the surgery, and the less it weighs, the better. 

For anyone interested, here is the link to a video of the surgery I will be having. It does contain graphic images that may not be suitable for everyone. If you are squeamish at all, I don't recommend watching.

http://youtu.be/X7lsUPsoUzY

Have a great day!

Jenelle

Final Pre-Op Weigh In

I Happy Monday everyone!

Today was my final pre-op nutrition appointment!!! I lost a total of 6 pounds this month, which is amazing considering I've been really struggling with eating right this month. I really think that I only lost weight because of this new job I started that requires me to be on my feet standing and walking for 7-8 hours a day.  The first day I was so sore, but it's gotten easier to do.

Today we went over post-op dietary phases. We start on a clear liquid diet for the first 4 days after surgery, then progress to full liquids for the next 2 weeks. Then for 2 more weeks we are on soft foods, and then we can slowly start integrating hard foods. We also went over the pre-op diet that our surgeons want us to be on in order to lose liver weight since they have to lift up our liver to get to our stomach. I think that will be the hardest because we are drinking 3-4 protein shakes a day and only eating 1 Lean Cuisine meal a day. That's going to be brutal. 

From here my surgeon will submit the request to my insurance company for the surgery, using all of the goals I've met and the weight I've lost to justify my case. Insurance will take about 15 days to get back to them, and then we can schedule the date! They think I'm looking at late October to early November. 

I wanted to share this picture with you all. 

This is a picture showing my progress so far! I can't believe I've ever been as big as I am on the left! It's weird, but I never had a connect between what I saw in my mind of how I look and what I actually look like. It's hard to explain, but when I picture myself in my mind I'm not overweight. My self image has always been kind of an out-of-body experience between my mind's eye and the mirror. 

I promise to keep posting, and will let everyone know once I schedule! 

Have a great week!

Jenelle

***Update: I just received a tentative surgery date! Let the countdown begin to October 26. 

This is why...

Happy Monday and happy Labor Day to you all. 

I am excited to be starting a new job tomorrow, one that's back in my field with better pay. I'm grateful to my last job for allowing me to take all of the time off I needed to take. They were always understanding of doctors appointments for this process. My last nutrition appointment is next Tuesday, and then hopefully I can set my surgery date. And believe me it can't come soon enough. 

People ask me all the time, if you're doing so well by just dieting, why do you want to have the surgery? This is why. For some reason, this month I have been plagued by a seemingly unquenchable hunger. It's not emotional hunger, because I know how to recognize those signs. This is different. This is the feeling that I am never full, and then once I get full, it's stuffed and uncomfortable. I am 99% sure that I have gained weight this month. 

This is why I need to have to have this surgery. I need to physically be unable to eat like this. I was talking to one of my skinny friends a while back about why I wanted to have this surgery, and she told me that she never realized that people who are overweight don't really get full. It might not be all overweight people, but I know that it's my case for sure. 

I am almost giddy with excitement of being able to actually schedule my surgery. It's finally happening. 

Happily yours,

Jenelle

Garlic Brown Sugar Chicken

Happy Wednesday everyone!

I've had quite the week! I accepted a new position as a Marketing Agent with a hotel in Downtown Seattle. My boss was less than cordial with accepting my notice, so my last day is Friday. It was more than a little upsetting having him tell me that it "wasn't working out anyways" and he felt like I hadn't done anything, when I built their new website, and completely organized a new sample area for them, among many other things. My supervisor is sad to see me go, and so are my coworkers, so that's enough for me. 

I tried an amazing new recipe this week, and had to share it with everyone. 

Brown Sugar Garlic Chicken! I used the recipe from 5 Boys Baker, but instead of cooking it in a slow cooker, I baked the chicken in my oven at 400F for an hour (mainly because I forgot to put it in the crockpot early enough) and paired it with Trader Joes Harvest Grain mix. It was a huge hit in my house. For the recipe, visit:

http://5boysbaker.com/slow-cooker-brown-sugar-garlic-chicken/

I hope you all have a good 3-Day weekend!

Jenelle