A Date!

So on July 8, I have a date with this man:

He’s promised to take good care of me and assured me that he is indeed good at his job. He is one of the best in the country, after all.

He’s informed me that our date will be a relatively short one, which I’m okay with. It’s not like I’ll be awake the whole time anyway.

He’s also told me that I’ll be a little sore since he’ll be making 5 incisions in my abdomen, removing a goodly portion of my stomach and possibly doing a liver biopsy. But that one is only if necessary.

He’s also informed me I’ll have a short nap, a dinner of clear broth served afterward and that I’ll be clothed in the finest gown Dallas Presbyterian has to offer.

Most importantly, he’s informed me that afterward, my life will change in some pretty miraculous ways.

I’ve never been more excited, nervous and scared to have a date as I am this one.

Like I told him yesterday at our pre-op meeting, “Let’s do this!”

The little things

I believe that the little things add up to big success.  I know this has been true in my professional life, so I’m betting the same will be true as I begin preparing for surgery next month.  Here are some little things I have done to ensure that I’ll be successful once my surgeon’s done his part–the easy part.

Staging the House for Success and an Important Question

This week marks the beginning of the end of my pre-surgical life and body.  This week is the beginning of what is sure to be a cascade of busy-ness, most of which is related to my upcoming surgery.

I meet with a dietician this week.  I am unsure as to what will happen during this meeting, but it is something my surgeon has recommended I do, so I am doing it.  I am sure we will discuss the way I currently eat and that I will get schooled in how I should be eating, and how I will be eating post-sleeve.  I know that I have many questions for her about things I can do prior to the hardcore pre-op diet my surgeon puts all his patients on.  I am a little anxious about this preliminary meeting but I think once I get it over with, it might not be so bad, and might actually alleviate whatever anxiety I have regarding eating post-sleeve.

We have slowly begun the process of ridding the house of processed carbs, sugary things and foods we simply won’t be able to eat.  I call it “staging the house for success.”  Much like one might stage their home to successfully sell it to a willing buyer, the process of ridding the house of things that will impede my success in this major effort to lose weight is the process of staging my environment for success in my endeavor.   For example…

Fear

I have learned over the years that when one’s mind is made up, this diminishes fear; knowing what must be done does away with fear.–Rosa Parks, American civil rights activist

I am less than two months away from surgery and the reality of what I am about to do to myself is rapidly sinking in.

I am about to ask a surgeon to remove 80 percent of my stomach.  On purpose.

I’m Gonna Dress You Up

I went into a clothing store, and the lady asked me what size I was.  I said, ‘Actual.’  I’m not to scale.–Demetri Martin, comedian

The biggest thing politically within fashion is that the clothing should be displayed on different body shapes.–Zac Posen, American fashion designer

If you’ve ever had the privilege of having to buy plus-sized clothing, then the two quotes above probably resonate with you in some way.

Cost Savings and Shifts

I’ve been saving since the beginning of the year for the new clothes I know I will need once I’ve lost a significant amount of weight. What you see here is the result of saving a dollar a week, increasing by increments of $1 weekly. The idea here is that I’ll put away money weekly and by year’s end, there will be over $1300 in the jar–plenty for a great new wardrobe!

I was dumping a load of laundry in to wash while my husband put away the groceries this afternoon, and after I finished filling the washer, I said to him, “You know, once we have surgery and start losing a lot of weight, we won’t have to run the washer as much.”

He said, “Yeah, this is true.”

I said, “We’ll be able to fit more clothes inside the washer and then we’ll have less laundry to do at a time.”

Then he went on to say, “And our grocery bill won’t be as much either.”  I said, “Well, it might be the same since we’re going to buy protein powder and stuff, but the types of things we’ll be buying will be different–we’ll still buy milk and meat and veggies, but not breads and pastas and stuff like that.”  Then I thought about it:  we won’t be eating nearly as much, so yes, we will save money there too.

That conversation got me to thinking:  what else will we save money on? 

Getting Ready

“Spectacular achievement is always preceded by unspectacular preparation.”
–Robert Schuller

Think about it. The preseason of any sport is never as exciting as the season itself. When a favorite television show is shooting a new season, no one gets as excited for that as they do when the new episodes finally air.  I mean, I was chomping at the bit for the season premiere of Mad Men last night (finally!) and I was not disappointed!  But all the prep that went into a spectacular 2 hour program?  I never saw any real news about it, never heard anything of note regarding it, and didn’t hear anything of it until a couple of days ago.

I am discovering that my preparation for surgery is about like that. So far I have felt like I have jumped through multiple hoops to get to the place I am now–the insurance company has a way of making you feel that way, for sure.  Now that it is going on the second week of April, and I am anticipating a surgery date during the second week of June, I am beginning to think about all the prep that I’ve done so far, and the prep I have yet to do.