A Very Busy Day

Day 13. I am going to be spending the day packing up my apartment to get ready to move. It will be a very busy day. I did some major prep work already during the week, so it actually shouldn't take all that long to finish up.

I am curious about how much weight I have lost so far, but I just don't think getting a scale is worth it at this point. I think I am going to wait until I have finished the soft/pureed foods stage to weigh myself for the first time. The cons of having a scale are so much greater than the pros. Scales can be a huge motivational tool for me on a diet. But in the end, they are actually motivation killers because they don't really tell the full story at any point in time. I know this in my head, but in my heart of hearts I just want the needle to move down every few days and when it refuses to budge or moves backwards, that just serves to depress me. So, I am going to continue to judge my progress by how my clothes fit and to successfully complete each day by sticking to the diet plan.

Today's Total Caloric Intake: to be added
Coffee, EAS Carb Control Shake, Light n Fit Carb & Sugar Control Smoothie, ...

I Have A Confession

Day 12. I have a confession to make. It has nothing to do with the diet, but it did supply me with a tip that I am going to use on the diet. My dark little secret is that I am addicted to the reality series Big Brother and especially the Big Brother live feeds. My addiction has been out of control this summer because it is an All Star season and my favorite reality player of all time has been back and playing the game even better than before - Dr. Will Kirby.

And it is he (via the live feeds) that provided the accidental tip that I am going to use on this diet. There is a brand of yogurt out there that has 12g of protein. It is Kroger's Carb Master yogurt and it has 80 calories, 4g carbs, 4g fat and 12g protein! I am going to go pick some up this weekend.

I also checked out the nutritional information for Smoothie King smoothies and they have high protein shakes that have mid 30g to high 40g levels of protein. I am going to have The Gladiator smoothie for dinner this evening. It has 187 calories, 0g fat, 1g carbs, and 45g of protein.

Today's Total Caloric Intake: 420
Coffee, Weight Watchers Smoothie, Beef Broth (2 cups), Creamy Chicken Soup, Jello (sugar free), Applesauce (unsweetened), Chocolate Pudding (sugar free)

My Birthday

Day 11. It is my birthday today. I am now 38 years old. Wow! I don't feel 38 at all. And thanks to years of staying out of the sun, I don't look it either. I could easily pass for mid to late 20s. In fact, I still get carded when I buy alcohol.

Now, I just have to continue the journey of getting rid of all of this extra fat I have lying around my body and I will really look good.

Yesterday was awful for me. I wanted food and I wanted lots of it. I wanted cheeseburgers. I wanted chinese food. I wanted pizza. But my willpower prevailed and I didn't eat one bit. I simply stuck to the liquid diet. Go me!!!

And I now have 5 more days til soft foods.

I switched to the new beta version of Blogger today and I love it. It is so much easier to work with.

Today's Total Caloric Intake: 470
Coffee, Weight Watchers Smoothie, Skim Milk, Beef Broth (2 cups), Chocolate Pudding (sugar free), Diet Peach Tea, Weight Watchers Yogurt, Jello (sugar free), Applesauce (unsweetened)

On The Downward Trek

Day 10. My department at work has a tradition in which we all go out to lunch on the day one of us has a birthday and the boss pays for it. My birthday is tomorrow and the liquid diet is throwing a kink into that plan. So, we are going to defer my birthday celebration until the next person's birthday at the end of next month.

I have less than a week now (6 days) until I can begin eating soft/pureed foods. I am hanging in there for this phase of the diet, but I cannot wait to get some actual food into me. This is tough. I'm not going to lie. But I made a commitment to stick it out for the first 2 weeks. I thought if I could do that then I could do the actual diet when real food was allowed. And I am on the downward trek portion of that commitment.

I am noticing a difference in how my clothes fit. They are getting looser. And my hands and forearms actually feel thinner. I have no idea how many pounds I have lost since I don't have a working scale. But I think that is a good thing. I tend to be a slave to the scale and it has driven my motivation into the ground on previous diet attempts. So, I am simply going to do this thing for a while and not focus on numbers but rather how I look and feel.

Today's Total Caloric Intake: 630
Coffee, Weight Watchers Smoothie, Green Tea, Beef Broth (2 cups), Cream of Potato Soup, Jello (sugar free), Applesauce (unsweetened), Ensure Vanilla Shake

All Sorts Of Stressed

Day 9. I am all sorts of stressed right now. I am in the process of finding another place to live and moving all in the span of a week's time. I had intended on renewing my lease, but changed my mind at the last minute.

However, I have mainly stuck to the diet even though my pattern of stress eating would kick in about now. I did consume some extra calories today, but I stayed within the allowed food list.

I still crave a cheeseburger daily, but after putting so much time into the hardest two phases of the diet I am not going to ruin it now.

Today's Total Caloric Intake: 680
Coffee, Weight Watchers Smoothie, Ensure Vanilla Shake, Chocolate Pudding (sugar free), Cream of Chicken Soup, Applesauce (unsweetened), Chocolate Pudding (sugar free)

Just A Typical Monday

Day 8. Today is just a typical Monday.

The creamy soups are certainly helping the boredom with this liquid phase of the diet, but boy do I want something more solid now. And I have only 8 more days until I can have soft/pureed foods. I am dying to have some chicken, mashed potatoes and/or scrambled eggs.

Today's Total Caloric Intake: 670
Coffee, Weight Watchers Smoothie (2), Jello (sugar free), Ensure Chocolate Shake, Weight Watchers Yogurt

My First Week

Day 7. Today marks my first week on the gastric bypass diet.

It has been a hard week, but a satisfying one. It has been hard because I am always hungry. But, it has also been satisfying because I have done so well and it is becoming something that I know I can do.

Everyone I know thinks I am crazy to do this. But I think I would be crazy not to do this diet. I have about 170 pounds to lose. The only way that I am ever going to do that is if I find something that works for me. This diet is what I believe is going to work for me. And isn't that half the battle - to have faith that what you are doing is right?

I have looked around the web and have seen the weight loss averages that occur on this diet. It is astounding the amount of weight that is lost during that time period. So, judging by those numbers, I can conceivably lose around 100 pounds in 6 months. That completely blows my mind!

So, now that I have reached the end of my first week, I am 25 more weeks away from losing at or near 100 pounds. That makes the hunger pangs so much easier to take. And that is SO satisfying!

Today's Total Caloric Intake: 490
Coffee, Weight Watchers Smoothie, Cream of Broccoli Soup, Weight Watchers Yogurt, Applesauce (unsweetened), Chocolate Pudding (sugar free)