Junior high was hard, high school was harder. Wedding was a breeze. Nursing school, wow. Kid number one, what was I thinking? Kid number 2...I wasn't thinking, lol. The past 8 years of my life has consisted of being a wife, mother and nurse. Who thought at 27 I'd be starting over? Literally.

A little over a year ago I started the process of gastric bypass. I went into the surgeons office in April  thinking since I had my 6 months worth of documented weights I'd sign up, and set a date. Boy was I wrong. I've kept the prospect of the surgery on the DL because I didn't want to hype myself up or have a ton of ppl know about it only to be turned down or for some reason not be a candidate. To me, it feels like it has been a long road. I have a folder stuffed full of medical documents, receipts, diets, procedures, dates, etc, etc. Here is a pic of the sheet my time has revolved around since then. The last four months has been psych evaluations and counseling.

After all this was completed, I was able to see the surgeon for my "appointment appointment." October 24, J and I headed to Memphis to see when we were gonna take the plunge. Being the punctual folks we are, we were the first ones to sign in, and got first choice of surgery date. 16 days later! We are to be at St. Francis at 5:30 am November 9th. Never thought it would happen this soon. And once again, I thought I was prepared for what was to follow, but I was enlightened again! Lots of yall have been asking what the Liver Shrink Diet consists of, see below.

Breakfast:
Protein Shake or Protein Bar
(you may use any shake or bar as long as it has 220 or less calories and 10gm or less fat/serving)

Mid Morning Snack:
1 small piece of fruit

Lunch:
Protein Shake or Protein Bar

MidAfternoon Snack:
1 small piece of fruit

Supper:
3 0z lean meat (the size of a deck of cards) like fish, chicken, turkey..and thats 3 oz cooked
steamed vegetables or salad with fat free dressing
6 unsalted crackers, 2 slices of low calorie bread or 1 small baked potato (size of a computer mouse)
1/2 c fruit or 1 small piece of fruit

Evening snack:
1 small fruit

Beverages:
only CALORIE FREE beverages
No ALCOHOL
examples: decaf tea, crystal light, sugar free kool aid, powerade zero, water (<---yuck)

Not only does this diet physically prepare me for surgery, it gives me a little "taste" (pun intended) of what my diet will be like after surgery. Post op diet will include clear liquids, followed by full liquids and then on to puree.... My new stomach (medical folks now call it a pouch) will hold approx. 4 oz of food at a time. No liquids 30 minutes before or 30 minutes after meals. 75-100mg of protein daily. 2 multivitamins, 500 mcg vitamin b12 and 1200mg calcium citrate daily.

I feel like I have been rambling for the entirety of this blog. And now I feel blank, thoughts empty. I just wanted to write a little of what this process entails. There is so much more depth that I would need hours to go over. Reading back over all this I am seriously wondering, how am I going to do this? What have I gotten myself into? Then I look up and see my boys playing outside. I'm not out there with them. I look to my left and see myself in the mirror. Someone I don't want to be anymore. And that among other things makes surgery a must, not an option.